10mo ago

Pixel Launcher now lets you switch search providers in EU

9to5google.com Google Pixel Launcher rolling out option switch to a different search provider in EU

Google is rolling out a Pixel Launcher update that delivers the ability to switch the default search provider from Google, but only in the EU

Was very excited about this but turns out I can only use DuckDuckGo app, not DuckDuckGo in Firefox. I'm afraid this feature won't really be usable for me since I rely on FF add-ons and synchronization.

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29 comments

How come you can't use DDG on Firefox? Is this a limitation on pixels? Seems to work fine on android in general. I even have uBlock origin on Firefox on my phone!
- I can (and do) use DDG in FF but if I chose DDG as a search provider for the launcher searchbar it opens the app.
  
  What if you uninstall the ddg app? Its just chromium under the hood anyway
  
  Then I can't set it as a search provider. It requires the app.
  
  What about using a different launcher, such as Lawnchair?
  
  Yeah, I'm using Niagara currently. Here are my thoughts about Lawnchair: https://lemmy.ml/comment/10231968
  
  I had a similar issue where everything would open on chrome. I just uninstalled chrome and now it opens everything on Firefox. Pixel might do things differently though
  
  This is specifically about the search bar in the Pixel launcher. It's just how they implemented the feature - it requires the app.
  
  Ah sorry, have never owned a pixel. So the search bar is not just a widget that you can remove or replace with different widget?
  
  Yup, it's part of the home screen and can't be disabled or replaced. Until today it could only search Google so it's a big step in the right direction anyway.
  
  Well it used to be able to launch the assistant but they removed the only useful function it had.
  
  That's one of the annoying parts of the stock OS (unless you can ignore the search bar), it's an unremovable part of the default Pixel launcher. To get rid of it you'd have to install a 3rd-party launcher, or just install GrapheneOS 👀
  
  FYI, you can have a shortcut to a new tab in Firefox that pulls up the search bar. And I saw that you use Niagara, so I'll tell you what I do (with Niagara on Pixel):
  I have a swipe up gesture set on the Niagara button to open a new tab in Firefox. It pulls up a new tab, and I can immediately search from there. And you can change the search provider within Firefox to whatever you want. It's typically faster than any search from the Google app or the assistant.

29 comments