Photo: Softpedia
Google Maps looks like it just lost another important feature following the update to Android 12, though this time, it appears to be just a glitch that Google should resolve with a future patch.
More specifically, the navigation app can no longer run in the picture-in-picture mode on Android devices, and users posting here on Google’s forums claim the whole thing started taking place after updating devices to Android 12.
The PiP mode comes in handy to users because it allows them to run an app in a smaller window while also interacting with another app in a separate window. The PiP mode is great for apps like Google Maps and YouTube, though on the other hand, it’s obviously supported by many other solutions out there.
Someone on Google’s forums claims Android 12 actually breaks down the PiP mode for more apps than just Google Maps, as the feature appears to be missing for both Netflix and YouTube as well.
The typical workarounds that the impacted users have turned to don’t seem to make any difference. These generic fixes include restarting the phone, clearing the cache, and even removing Google Maps.
Given the problem is happening at the OS level, there’s not much you can do, other than going back to the previous version of Android. Of course, this isn’t exactly the most convenient solution, and it’s not something that the Average Joe can do easily anyway.
At this point, Google is yet to acknowledge the problem, so nobody knows for sure how many people are affected and when we should expect a fix.
Unfortunately, without a known workaround, users have no other option than to just wait for Google to release a fix. In case you’re wondering, the January update shipped a few weeks ago doesn’t bring any improvement on this front, so fingers crossed for the February release to include a patch.
The next update should receive the go-ahead in just a few days.
The PiP mode comes in handy to users because it allows them to run an app in a smaller window while also interacting with another app in a separate window. The PiP mode is great for apps like Google Maps and YouTube, though on the other hand, it’s obviously supported by many other solutions out there.
Someone on Google’s forums claims Android 12 actually breaks down the PiP mode for more apps than just Google Maps, as the feature appears to be missing for both Netflix and YouTube as well.
The typical workarounds that the impacted users have turned to don’t seem to make any difference. These generic fixes include restarting the phone, clearing the cache, and even removing Google Maps.
Given the problem is happening at the OS level, there’s not much you can do, other than going back to the previous version of Android. Of course, this isn’t exactly the most convenient solution, and it’s not something that the Average Joe can do easily anyway.
At this point, Google is yet to acknowledge the problem, so nobody knows for sure how many people are affected and when we should expect a fix.
Unfortunately, without a known workaround, users have no other option than to just wait for Google to release a fix. In case you’re wondering, the January update shipped a few weeks ago doesn’t bring any improvement on this front, so fingers crossed for the February release to include a patch.
The next update should receive the go-ahead in just a few days.
Google News