The Pixel Launcher’s fixed search bar may finally become optional

https://www.androidpolice.com/pixel-launchers-fixed-search-bar-may-finally-become-optional/

Publish Date: 2026-05-07 06:52:00

Love it or hate it, if you use a Pixel phone, you have to deal with the Pixel Launcher and its quirks. While Google has added several customization options to the launch over the years, it’s nowhere near as customizable as some third-party options available on the Play Store. More importantly, you have to deal with certain Google “perks,” like a fixed search bar at the bottom. Thankfully, Google may be working on letting you get rid of it.

In the latest Android 17 QPR1 beta 2 build, the Android Authority team found strings related to customizing the search bar in the Pixel Launcher. More specifically, it includes a toggle for “Show search bar.”

Unlike other third-party launchers, the Pixel Launcher does not allow you to remove or even reposition the search bar freely. For an OS that’s all about customization, this feels unnecessarily restrictive, especially for users who prefer a clean home screen. But it seems after years of requests, Google could finally give Pixel users what they have been asking for all along.

This change will pair perfectly with Google adding the option to hide the At a Glance widget from the Pixel Launcher’s home screen in Android 17 beta 1. Together, these changes could finally give Pixel users a much cleaner and more customizable home screen experience by allowing them to remove two of the launcher’s most persistent elements.