After neglecting Android tablet for years, Google has now started showing them some affection with Android 12L and its various big screen specific optimizations and features. One of them is a PC-style taskbar, providing a smoother app switching experience closer to that of a desktop. The new element is undergoing more refinements in the freshly released Android 13 DP2 with resurrection of the feature.
Android 13 DP2’s taskbar has got an app drawer shortcut that should make navigating between the apps even easier. In DP1 the way to access all of your apps was simply by returning to home screen and swiping up. DP2 streamlines the process by adding an app drawer icon to the taskbar, allowing you to jump right to your apps no matter which you are working on at the moment. The icon seems to appear when you are in an app and disappears upon returning to home screen.
Android introduced the app drawer icon many years ago when Nougat arrived with its swipe-up gesture. Back then not everybody liked it so this return may be a pleasant surprise for them.