{"id":420699,"date":"2026-05-10T10:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/420699\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T10:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:20:13","slug":"google-to-change-search-on-pixel-phones-after-10-years-with-new-setting-report-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/420699\/","title":{"rendered":"Google To Change Search On Pixel Phones After 10 Years With New Setting, Report Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Google<\/p>\n

Google Pixel 10 \u2014 is the home screen about to change?<\/p>\n

T3<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s Pixel phones have always featured pure Android, unlike other brands which can customize the look. A new report says that in Android 17, Google may allow users to turn off the search bar on the home screen. <\/p>\n

ForbesQualcomm\u2019s New Chips Promise Gaming Boost For Affordable AndroidsBy David Phelan<\/a>The End Of Compulsory Home Screen Widgets<\/p>\n

This would be a first, and seems to come after there were issues with Google\u2019s decision to place two items, the At a Glance widget and the search bar permanently on the home screen. <\/p>\n

Until recently both were compulsory and couldn\u2019t be removed. Since Android has historically emphasized customer choice from the beginning, this seemed surprising. <\/p>\n

When Android 16 arrived, there was finally an option to remove At a Glance and allow that screen real estate to be used for other purposes. <\/p>\n

Android 17 QPR1 Beta Leaks Reveal New Toggle<\/p>\n

Now, a screen recording shared by Mystic Leaks on Telegram and picked up by 9to5Google<\/a>, it seems that Android 17 may make the search bar optional \u2014 a slightly radical choice for a company whose entire history began with search.<\/p>\n

\u201cMystic Leaks shared<\/a> a screen recording from what appears to be a leaked build of Android 17 QPR1\u2019s stable release \u2013 given the timeline at play here, this is all subject to change. With that in mind, this build shows a new toggle that allows users to easily turn off the search bar on the Pixel Launcher,\u201d 9to5Google explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we are just as shocked as you are, and honestly, we can’t believe it either… but Google is finally adopting a long-requested feature from its user base. We are talking about the ability to remove and customize the infamous Google Search Bar on the home screen,\u201d Mystic Leaks commented.<\/p>\n

Matching iPhone Customization Standards<\/p>\n

While infamous seems like putting it strongly, it\u2019s true that not everyone wanted to have the search bar there. Home screens have become increasingly customizable in recent years \u2014 Apple\u2019s switch to remove the need for app icons to sit in rows with no spaces between is an example from iOS.<\/p>\n

The change is not definite yet, but the stable release for Android 17 QPR1 is expected to land in June 2026.<\/p>\n

ForbesiOS 26.5 Release Date: Will The New Beta Delay Your iPhone Update?By David Phelan<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Google Pixel 10 \u2014 is the home screen about to change? T3 Google\u2019s Pixel phones have always featured…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[216066,105705,216068,216063,216067,111,139,69,216069,216065,216064,145],"class_list":["post-420699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-android-17-qpr1-beta","tag-android-17-release-date","tag-at-a-glance-widget","tag-google-pixel-home-screen","tag-mystic-leaks-android","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pixel-10-pro-features","tag-pixel-launcher-customization","tag-remove-google-search-bar","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}