One of the things that sets Windows apart from Andriod is the ability to run more than one app on the screen at the same time. Or at least it was one of the big differences. Software makers have been working on modified versions of Android with support for running multiple apps in multiple windows.

Now folks who have the Chuwi V88 tablet can download a beta firmware update from the Chinese tablet maker to try the multi-window software.

Chuwi V88 multi-winodw

The software is based on the work done by chip-maker Rockchip to bring multi-window support to Android.

It lets you run apps in resizeable windows that you can drag anywhere on your tablet’s display. You can also tap a button to automatically divide the screen into four panels with one app running in each corner.

Samsung also offers the ability to run some apps in windowed mode on its latest phones and tablets, letting you do things like watching a movie while surfing the web. What makes the Rockchip/Chuwi software different is that it’s designed to work with pretty much any Android app.

That means you should be able to bring the third party video player of your choice, play a game, or edit office documents in windowed mode.

You’ll need a tablet with fairly decent specs if you want to use multi-window mode, and the Chuwi V88 seems like a pretty good candidate. It has a Rockchip RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 7.9 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display.

PandaWill sells the Chuwi V88 for $173, you can grab it from Geekbuying for $180, and you might be able to find one for a little less at AliExpress.

via Mike Cane

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5 replies on “Multi-window Android build released for Chuwi V88 tablet”

  1. How do you install this after you download the .rar file to the chuwi v88 tablet? Help

  2. This feature is the one and only that will kill Windows and make Android the final winner (Replicant permitting)

  3. This feature is the one and only that will kill Windows and make Android the final winner (Replicant permiting)

  4. This is great for people who need to write while looking at various other texts, like translators or people writing papers etc.

    Samsung’s version on the Galaxy Note 2 does a reasonable job of this, even though the display is only 5.5″.

    On a 10″ tablet, this isn’t far away from 11″ laptops. Of course its preferable to use multiple windows on a 30″ display, but thats just not portable, so compromises are unavoidable till we get FHD headworn displays, obviating the need for displays limited to the size of any given gadget.

    Kudos and thanks to Rockchip for bringing Android a significant step forward!

    A step that Google is likely hesitant to make, as they’d prefer people using Chrome OS. But I dislike the ‘always-connected’ idea, because for anyone who travels, internet is not always available, or in many places, bandwidth is limited and expensive. So Chrome OS is designed for city dwellers who trust that the internet will always be available and who never plan on leaving their city with their chromebook.

  5. For phones and most tablets this probably has limited value. There are already some media players that will play video in an always-on-top window which might be about the only useful case on a small screen or “10 foot UI” TV screen. I think this could be more valuable for Android on larger monitors used in “2 foot UI” operation, i.e. desktop Android. This probably means x86/x64 Android is where this will make the most difference to users as it begins to replace Windows more and more.

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