You can’t use Samsung Android 12L’s Taskbar with third-party launcher

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the first Samsung smartphone to debut the Android 12L operating system, crafted by Google for large screen and foldable smartphones. The new OS introduces Taskbar, which is a feature letting users experience seamless multitasking with a PC-like bottom bar.

The Taskbar feature is currently available for various Samsung devices with the Android 12L software update. Meanwhile, it looks like, the Taskbar won’t be accessible on Samsung devices in case you use a third-party launcher, instead of the default One UI Home.

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According to the info (via 9to5Google), the Android 12L’s Taskbar feature is automatically disabled if you use third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher or Niagara Launcher. Using any of the 3rd party launcher apps prevents you from accessing the settings section of the Taskbar feature.

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Image: Samsung disabled Taskbar when third-party launcher in use

It’s worth mentioning that the Taskbar feature on Google Pixel smartphones running Android 12L or Android 13 doesn’t disable the Taskbar even when using a third-party launcher. Instead, the OS continues to let users access Taskbar with third-party launchers, however, the Taskbar’s icons don’t sync with those on the launcher’s dock.

Notably, you can still access the Taskbar settings menu when using a 3rd-party launcher by going to the system Settings > Display > Navigation bar and scrolling down to the “Looking for something else?” From here, you can force enable the Taskbar with 3rd party launcher (tested on Niagara Launcher).

However, when using the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with Niagara Launcher in unfolded form, you’ll notice the taskbar still shows on the multitasking menu, and often breaks, showing no apps at all, moreover, it randomly crashes, which should be fixed with future updates.

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