If you’ve been an Android user since the early days, you may remember when your phone had a dedicated menu button in its navigation bar. Although the button has fallen out of fashion, the brand new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL include a hidden menu button — you just need to know where to find it.
Spotted by Android Police, the secret menu button lives in the right corner of the navigation bar, at the bottom of the screen. Tapping it opens an app’s main menu bar, saving you from reaching the top of the screen. See it in action here:
Launching the secret menu
The hardest part about using the menu button is finding an app it works with. As demoed in the video, you can use the button while in the phone’s Settings app. The button was also found to work with Google Chrome. We found that it works successfully in Settings, Chrome, Messages, Calendar, Docs, Calculator and even YouTube. Basically, almost every app made by Google.
If you want to test out the button on your Pixel 2, open up an app like Settings and tap the lower right corner of the navigation bar. There is no icon, but there should be a tactile response and the menu will pop up if done successfully. Right now, the feature seems to mimic any upper-right corner menu button.
The button currently only works on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, not the original Pixels — so it’s not a new feature of Android Oreo. We can’t confirm if the feature will out-live future software updates or if it will come to other apps (Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment). But if you get your hands on a Pixel 2, it could save you from reaching the top of the screen — especially the Pixel XL’s.
The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be in stores Oct. 19.
