Multitasking on mobile devices often involves pairing complementary applications together—such as keeping Google Maps open while managing Spotify, taking notes in Google Keep during a YouTube tutorial, or referencing a spreadsheet while drafting an email. With Android 15, Google has baked native support for App Pairs directly into the core operating system. Users can now save their favourite split-screen combinations directly to their home screen as a single, combined icon that launches both apps side by side with one tap.
What Are App Pairs in Android 15?
While split-screen multitasking has existed in Android for years, setting it up previously required manually opening the first app, invoking the Recent Apps overview, selecting “Split Screen”, and then browsing your app drawer for the second application every single session. Android 15 streamlines this entire workflow by allowing you to pin pre-configured two-app sets to your home screen.
When tapped, an App Pair icon launches both apps simultaneously in their configured top/bottom or left/right orientation, restoring the exact split divider ratio you established.
How to Create and Split Two Apps in Android 15
Before saving an App Pair to your home screen, you first need to open the two desired applications in split-screen mode:
- Launch the first application you want in your multitasking pair (for instance, Google Chrome).
- Swipe up from the bottom of your screen and pause to open the Recent Apps (Overview) screen.
- Tap the application icon located at the top of the app preview window.
- Select Split screen from the pop-up options menu. The active app will dock to the top or left half of your display.
- From the bottom app carousel or your application drawer, tap the second application you wish to pair (for instance, Google Keep or Calculator).
- Both applications will now share your screen, separated by an adjustable centre divider handle.
How to Save an App Pair to Your Home Screen
Once both apps are running together in split screen, saving them as an App Pair takes just two taps:
- Swipe up and hold from the navigation bar to enter the Recent Apps overview screen while both apps are active.
- Notice that the two split-screen apps now appear grouped together as a single unified card in the recent tasks carousel.
- Below the grouped card, tap the Save app pair button.
- Android 15 will generate a composite application shortcut icon and automatically place it on your device’s home screen.
The resulting shortcut features miniature dual badges showing both application icons side by side, making it easy to identify at a glance.
Adjusting App Pair Proportions and Orientation
Android 15 provides flexible controls to fine-tune how paired applications behave during daily productivity:
- Resizing Windows: Drag the central divider bar up or down (or left and right in landscape mode) to allocate more screen real estate to the primary app. Android remembers this split ratio when you relaunch the pair.
- Swapping Window Positions: Double-tap the central divider bar to instantly invert the positions of the two apps, flipping the top app to the bottom and vice versa.
- Landscape Mode and Large Screens: On foldable phones and Android tablets, App Pairs automatically adapt to wide-screen viewports, placing applications side by side in landscape and stacked vertically when held in portrait orientation.
Organising and Managing Saved App Pairs
Saved App Pairs function identically to standard application icons on your home screen:
- Moving Icons: Touch and hold the App Pair shortcut to drag it across home screen pages, dock trays, or inside folders.
- Grouping into Folders: Drag multiple related App Pairs into a dedicated “Work” or “Travel” folder for fast project-based access.
- Removing App Pairs: Tap and hold the shortcut, then drag it up to Remove at the top of the display. Deleting an App Pair shortcut removes only the home screen link; neither underlying application is uninstalled or affected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do App Pairs work on all Android 15 phones?
Yes, native App Pair saving is integrated into the core Android 15 operating system, making it available on Google Pixel devices as well as modern handsets from Motorola, Nothing, and other manufacturers running Android 15.
Can any application be part of an App Pair?
Most modern Android apps support multi-window mode seamlessly. If a legacy application does not natively support split screen, you can enable Force activities to be resizable within Android Developer Options to bypass restrictions.
Do both apps stay in memory when launching an App Pair?
Android 15 launches both applications in parallel. Modern devices with 8GB or more of RAM will keep both applications active simultaneously without background pausing or aggressive memory culling.