According to Nail Sadykov, who discovered something new in the last Android update, there is a hidden option called “Search Engine” in the Pixel Launcher application in Android 14 QPR 2 Beta 3. This option allows you to: Select the app you want to use to search the web; This will affect the search and content on your home screen.
This means Pixel users will soon be able to use Pixel Launcher’s default search engines for universal search and other on-device search features. Currently the only option for these features is Google Search, but new setting implies Google may allow other search engines Bing, DuckDuckGo and others will be used instead.
Also read – Google will change its search engine’s homepage on the Web by adding content
Google will soon let you use other search engines
Another hint that Google is working on this feature comes from Lance Adams, who noticed “flags” referring to search engines in Chrome for Android. The #enable-search-engine-choice flag enables the search engine selection screen and related features that will be displayed in the initial runtime experience, profiling flow, and more. The flag also enables the new UI for the search engine settings page in Chrome and the PC version of Android.
But, It’s unclear whether changing the search engine will also change the appearance of the search bar widget on the home screen Pixel Launcher or if it will remain unchanged.
The reason for this change may have to do with the regulatory pressures Google faces around the world. Google has been accused of having a monopoly on many of its businesses, and some regulators are demanding that Google allow users to choose the default search engine on Android. So the new Pixel Launcher tweak could be a way for Google to comply with these different regulations.
