Android 16 QPR2 may let you flip your Pixel’s navigation bar like on Samsung phones

For years, Samsung phones have defaulted to a three-button navigation layout where the back button is on the right and the recents button is on the left. In contrast, Google’s Pixel phones use gesture navigation out of the box but offer a three-button option with the traditional Android layout — where the back button is on the left. The problem is that there’s never been a way to flip the button order on Pixels. This poses a challenge for Samsung users switching to a Pixel, as they have to retrain their muscle memory or switch to gesture navigation. Fortunately, Google is finally adding an option to reverse the buttons in the navigation bar.

Last month, we reported that Google is preparing to let users flip the navigation bar on Pixel phones. Although we previously spotted code for this feature, we didn’t know how Google would present it to users. Now, after digging through the recent Android 16 QPR2 Beta 2 release, we’ve discovered new code that details how the option will work.

For starters, we found code in the Settings app pointing to a new page called “Button navigation” under Settings > System > Navigation mode. This page will be accessed by tapping a settings cog icon next to the “3-button navigation” option. On this new page, a “Button order” header will appear above two choices. The default order is “Back, Home, Recents,” while the new option, “Recents, Home, Back,” mirrors the layout on Samsung phones.

We don’t have screenshots of the new “Button navigation” page yet, but it’s not difficult to imagine how the feature will work. Here’s what the navigation bar should look like once this option becomes available:

While we spotted the code for this setting in QPR2 Beta 2, its appearance in the stable release isn’t guaranteed. With one more beta left in the cycle, the setting will need to show up in Beta 3 to make the final cut for December’s public release.