When you want to switch between apps on your smartphone, you quickly open the Recent Apps menu and select the previous app. It is just the normal behavior we all have, but what if I tell you there is another way to do so? No, I am not talking about those fancy gestures, but an app called Floating Dock. It is a small overlay app that pins a desktop-style taskbar to the bottom of your screen. It sounds like a gimmick until you realize how easy it is to switch between apps, and it naturally becomes a part of your setup.

If you have already tried Android’s built-in multitasking features and still feel like you are doing too much tapping, this one’s worth a look.

App switching is exhausting

It is like a game of whack-a-mole

When you are switching between two recently opened apps, then it is fine. But if you want to switch from an app you currently have open to one you opened two hours ago, you know the drill. You have to open the Recent Apps list, search for the app, then tap on it to open it.

My work involves switching between multiple apps. Between checking Slack, replying to WhatsApp, jotting a quick note, and glancing at the calendar, I was unlocking my phone, opening the app drawer or the recent screen, finding the app, and repeating the cycle every few minutes.

Android has tried to fix multitasking by introducing split-screen and chat bubbles, and Google has even leaned further into it with App Bubbles in Android 17. But those are scattered across different menus and gestures and not very convenient. I wanted something easy and quick.

Enter Floating Dock. It renders a persistent bar above whatever app you are in, similar to how a Windows or Mac taskbar behaves. A small pill on the edge of the screen brings it up without opening a separate menu first. You can pin whichever app you use most so it’s just a single tap away, instead of being buried under multiple steps.

Quick Controls turned out to be the part I use the most

Little conveniences add up faster than you’d expect

Floating Dock also offers you an app menu with a full-screen search to find those apps that are not pinned. Swiping up on the dock reveals a quick toggle row that includes torch, brightness, and volume sliders, screenshot, DND, and a QR scanner, among others.

There is also a small floating music player with playback controls and a clipboard panel with tabs for clips, favorites, notes, and to-dos. While I have tried clipboard apps in the past, Floating Dock’s clipboard is convenient as it sits in a floating panel. I can easily find what I copied through this floating panel instead of hunting for it in the notes app.

If you work a lot in split screen or with app pairs, having a clipboard just a swipe away is a perfect fit for your tasks. It adds to the workflow rather than replacing it.

If you are worried that this floating panel will interfere with your home screen setup, then note that the dock hides itself when any app goes fullscreen. It also hides when you flip to landscape, or when the screen is off or locked. It won’t sit on top of your video or the game you are playing.

It also follows Material You dynamic color on Android 12 and above. This ensures that the app looks like a part of the setup rather than being a bolted-on third-party widget. You can enable an optional accessibility service that provides extra features, such as auto-restarting the dock after a reboot, but it’s not required for basic use.

OS

Android

Price model

Paid

Floating Dock adds a customizable floating taskbar to your Android device for faster app switching, quick controls, and instant access to your favorite apps. It also includes features like clipboard management, media controls, brightness and volume sliders, and Material You theming to improve multitasking.

Setting up Floating Dock is easy

Permissions and privacy are reasonable

Since the app is available on the Google Play Store, you don’t have to go through the slight hassle of side-loading an app downloaded from a third-party source. Keep in mind that it is not free; it costs $0.39. Not a lot, but if you are someone looking for a free app, luckily for you, there is a free alternative you should check out.

Here’s how you can set up a floating panel on your Android phone:

1. Get the app from the Google Play Store.
2. Once installed, open the app.
3. You will be greeted with a welcome page. Next, you will be asked to select the edge to open the dock from.
4. The app will then ask permission for the Draw over other apps, which you need to grant.
5. You will be shown a list of optional features you can enable by granting specific permissions.
6. Pressing the Start button at the top will enable the Floating Dock on your smartphone.

You can tweak all sorts of stuff in the settings menu, and when you head to the Dock Settings, you can add your favorite apps to the dock, as well as the ones you want to hide. You can also add any quick controls you want to the floating panel.

It is a great addition if you need it

If you frequently switch between apps, you would appreciate this overlay. It won’t feel like visual noise added to the home screen just for its own sake. But if you use one or two of the same apps in a day, then you might want to skip this app. If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, as I do, then you would probably be better off with Samsung’s pop-up and split-screen tools.