Say goodbye to physical keys; Google Pixel 3 to come with gesture navigation only

Google released its latest version of Android 9.0 Pie and the operating system is already started rolling out for all the Google Pixel smartphones. Android Pie is the successor of Android Oreo with several notable changes and upgrades. Out of which the gesture-based navigation has grabbed a lot of attention. However, the feature is not enabled by default when the phone will upgrade.

According to a new report from Google UX executive, the upcoming third generation Google Pixel 3 will feature the gesture navigation system, which will be the only option that users will have. According to Google, the gesture mode will not be a default feature in the Pixel 3, but the only navigation method in the handset.

EK Chung, UX manager for Android handheld and Pixel at Google told Android Central, what was the company's stance on design with Android 9 Pie. He also revealed some of the details regarding Google's plan for the new gesture navigation method. He said that the upcoming Google Pixel 3 lineup will ship with gesture navigation and there will be no other option to use the navigation. The three buttons navigation system will be completely removed.

"While Pixel devices that are updated from Oreo will still see their three-button navigation by default with an option to switch to gestures, future Google phones (and any other manufacturer that wants it) will ship with only gesture navigation," Chung was quoted as saying.

Google isn't forcing the gesture navigation features on all manufacturers. The smartphone makes are free to adopt and create their own the gesture navigation or they can also proceed with the traditional three-button setup.

The search giant has taken its first towards gesture-based navigation with Android 9 Pie, this navigation system was earlier seen on Apple iPhone X when they removed the home button from the smartphone.

There are many speculations about the upcoming Pixel 3 and 3XL. Lots of reports claim that Google will unveil the smartphones on October 4. The Pixel 3 XL is said to be powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC, clubbed with 4GB of RAM, and run Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box.

Reports also suggest that the Pixel 3 lineup will offer wireless charging support and come with a dedicated wireless dock at the launch.