Notes:
– Select a link to download for free. You can choose the MOD version or the original APK, it depends on your purpose.
– Read Installation Guide if you haven’t done this before.
Android is the perfect place for anyone who wants to customize their phones deeply. There are loads of options to consider, but I particularly like how they allow launchers to integrate into users’ devices. Microsoft Launcher is among the most downloaded launchers on the Play Store, and I’ve been using it for months now. I’d say that it is the best one for good reasons. We also bring you the latest version of the APK file of this application. So you can download and install it easily.
What are launchers exactly?
As I stated early on, Android allows the user to customize their settings further. After a while, you may feel that the default interface is annoying and require a change. While there isn’t a straightforward way to apply your settings to particular fields, launchers tend to bring a whole new look to your phone’s screen.
Some launchers are up there on the Play Store to download. Some are free, some are not (like Nova Launcher Prime). A general launcher will change every visual aspect of your phone. For example, if you’re tired of your original icons, give your launcher a chance to change that. All apps will look different, too, depending on how much effort the creator puts into his launcher. What is more, some can have much more impact on your device performance-wise.
Microsoft Launcher’s overview
This has been my most used launcher since the day I bought my Android phone. This is an upgrade project for the Microsoft Garage Arrow Launcher. It comes with loads of exciting features, like Feed, Cortana, Dock, and so on.
Visually, this brings an elegant look to your phone. Motions and displays are reduced, delivering smooth user experience. Get ready to show your right class!
Feed
If you’re a Samsung user, you will find this similar to your Bixby Home. Right on the top of Feed, you can see your name along with weather data and calendar events. Below it, there’s a Bing search bar that can work with photos. Simply take a picture to search or scan a QR code.
The Feed’s menu has three sub-categories, which are Glance, News, and Timeline. The Glance tab is like a database of every Microsoft service like Cortana, Calendar, Recent activities, People, etc. The News menu is the combination of some brief headlines. You can have your personalized news feed, which integrates with your Microsoft account. The Timeline tracks each of your activities, and sort them in time order.
The Feed can be turned off by navigating through the settings near the search bar.
Apps menu
With this Microsoft Launchers, new apps will show up first. Whenever you have anything new on your device, the launcher will detect it and put it on top of the list. Anyway, others are still in the alphabet order. A slider to the right will let you find apps according to their names. However, I’d always prefer the search bar for this. Searching is more convenient, and it’s faster by a significant margin.
Holding down to an app lets you choose various options. In my case, I usually do that to add new apps to my home screen. You can also choose to uninstall every app or find related widgets.
Customize Dock
This brings more elegance to the total experience. To access the Dock, swipe up the line right under the Bing search bar. This place is where shortcuts are located. Instead of swiping down like the usual Android phone, you get to go in the opposite direction.
Settings like Wifi, Bluetooth, or Airplane mode can be found in Dock. This is totally customizable, and you can add more to it like the camera, or notes.
The home screen
Right in front of us on the main screen, there are two search bars: Google on top and Bing at the bottom. To my mind, both are decent tools to navigate through the web’s information sources. To be fair, though, I’m quite confident that Google gets used a lot more. In fact, nobody really uses search bars at the home screen.
Some apps are present on the first tab, and if you swipe all the way through to the right, you will find the Feed. To access the App menu, swipe up, and doing the opposite opens the Search menu. Here you can find all the installed apps.
The Bing daily wallpaper is the feature I’m really fond of. Like your Windows 10’s lock screen, it changes your wallpaper regularly. Its gallery is vast, and all the pictures are fantastic. Interestingly, you can download every single of them if you like.
Customizable gestures
The launcher can record and perform tasks that bind to your gestures. Upon touching, double touching or swiping, the launcher can offer some exciting follow up tasks. For example, you can turn off the screen by double-tapping the center of the screen.
Microsoft has a great feature for Windows users. This launcher lets some apps to synchronize their data to your PC, then you can start working on another device. This is still experimental, but it won’t be far before you can do everything without a cord to your computer.
Changing the themes
The Microsoft Launcher comes with three separate themes, and they are the most common you can find on any device. The light theme is present by default. Toggling the Dark theme gives you a black colored background, while the Transparent mode makes your background always visible. The transparency is what I really like about the launcher, as it feels more professional and eye-catching.