Half Sheet

A half sheet is the panel that slides up from the bottom of your phone screen and stops partway, so the screen behind it stays visible. Apple Maps does it, the share menu does it, Uber does it when you pick a ride.

The point of a half sheet is that you never really leave. The page behind it dims but stays put, and one swipe down puts everything back the way it was. It exists for quick decisions that borrow the screen instead of taking it over: pick an option, adjust a setting, confirm a thing.

You'll also hear "bottom sheet," which is the Android and design-system name for the same family. Some sheets stop at fixed heights (those stopping points are called detents), and the pill-shaped handle at the top is the grabber, the visual hint that you can drag it.

If it slides up and covers everything with no view of the screen behind it, that's not a half sheet anymore. That's a full-screen modal wearing a sheet costume.

When you want "let me choose something without losing my place," ask for a half sheet.