Google today launched Android Pie, the latest major upgrade for the company’s mobile OS. With Android Pie, Google introduced a new gesture-based navigation system inspired by Apple’s iPhone X that is supposed to offer a much more intuitive navigation experience when compared to the on-screen buttons and other physical solutions.

While the gesture-based navigation system on Android Pie is pretty cool, they have been quite controversial. Not a lot of beta testers have been a huge fan of them, and it all seems pretty janky. I haven’t tried Android Pie personally, but it looks like quite a mess when compared to what Apple did with the iPhone X. Either way, Google is taking a big step with the gesture-based navigation system with its upcoming Pixel phones. The company is apparently ditching on-screen navigation and physical navigation buttons on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in favour of the new gesture-based navigation system.

“While Pixel devices that are updated from Oreo will still see their three-button navigation by default with an option to switch to gestures, future Google phones (and any other manufacturer that wants it) will ship with only gesture navigation,” EK Chung, a UX manager for Android at Google, told Android Central. It’s not clear whether the upcoming Pixel devices will include an option to switch to the classic on-screen navigation system, though that almost seeems mandatory unless Google improves the gesture-based navigation system before the Pixel 3’s release.

So when exactly is the Pixel 3 coming out? Like the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, Google will be reportedly announcing the Pixel 3 on October 4. That’s not surprising as the company usually launches new products in October. We have already seen how (hideous) the device looks, and it’s going to be an iterative upgrade for the Pixel line from the looks of things. Pixel phones aren’t the only things we will be looking forward too, though, as Google is expected to announce other hardware at the event.

Tagged with Android Pie, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL