Essential Phone December update rolls out with gesture support for 3rd-party launchers (Download links inside)

The release of Android 10 Beta 5 came with the shocking removal of the ability to use the operating system’s full gesture navigation method in third-party launchers.

Android being the open-source software it is, some geeky guys found a way to enable gesture support in third-party launchers using ADB command, but of course, that was never going to yield the perfect results.

When the stable Android 10 arrived, Google didn’t restore the support for full gestures in third-party launchers, but the company promised to bring the functionality at a later time. Those who picked the Pixel 4 already got this functionality.

As of December going forward, owners of all Google Pixel phones on Android 10 apart from the OG models can now use full gestures for navigation in third-party launchers like Nova, Lawnchair and so on.

Not to be left behind, Essential is also adding gesture support for third-party launchers to its PH-1 phone via the latest December security update.

Arriving as build version QQ1A.191205.017, the incoming Essential Phone December update weighs in at 40.3MB, which suggests there isn’t much more to expect from the software other than the usual bug fixes and performance optimizations.

Interestingly, though, Essential doesn’t mention a thing about the support for full gesture navigation in third-party launchers in the update changelog, not even in the official announcement tweet.

But of course, we do have confirmation from actual owners of the phone who have received the new update, confirming that indeed the gesture support is now available in third-party launchers.

Guys! The December update includes gesture capability for 3rd party launchers! Oh Nova, how I’ve missed you!! The splash page in the app still says they’re not compatible… But they are… Totally and completely!
Source

It works…but it’s not 100% perfect.
Source

Some say the gesture support for third-party launchers after the latest Essential Phone December update isn’t perfect yet, so we do hope future updates will improve it.

Also, the latter screengrab further suggests the update is also available on Canadian carriers like TELUS and Koodo, which is quite a rarity for owners of the Essential Phone in this region. So far, someone on Sprint says they haven’t received the OTA yet.

It’s worth noting that the incoming Essential Phone December update is airborne, meaning it may take several days before all units receive the download notification. It recommended that you stay patient as you wait for your turn to pick the update.

Alternatively, you can grab the download file below and install it manually.

• Device: Essential Phone
• Codename: PH-1
• Channel: Stable
• Version: QQ1A.191205.017
• Android: 10
  • Type: Recovery
    • Download: Link
    • SHA-256: 64d25f155bb4f3be3aa9db0a297f4b62fc0b250f0be008be898576c8424864c9

• Type: Fastboot
  • Download: Link
  • SHA-256: cb1adde4f9c320e3784b9a0343386383122fcb297066ad3074e97a524482fd1d

NOTE: For more Essential-related coverage, check out this section.

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