A Microsoft Launcher Preview is now available in the Google Play Store, offering users an early peek at future changes to Microsoft’s Android home screen replacement.
“Be among the first to help us test brand-new early-stage features as we build an improved version of Microsoft Launcher,” the app listing reads. “The goal of this program is to gain your valuable feedback to improve quality, performance and shape the overall user experience.”
Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!
"*" indicates required fields
According to Microsoft, the Launcher Preview has been completely rewritten in order to make new features like Dark Mode and Landscape Mode possible. It also provides “numerous performance improvements (speed to load, low memory utilization, battery optimization, and fluent animation).” That said, this early version of the product isn’t complete, and it offers only a subset of the features available in the shipping version of Microsoft Launcher.
New features include:
A new look. You can personalize your apps with custom icon packs, and use adaptive icons to give your phone a consistent look and feel. As before, you can use Bing daily images as your wallpaper or use your own photos.
Dark Theme. This feature is compatible with Android’s Dark Mode settings.
Landscape mode. Microsoft Launcher now supports horizontal orientation when the phone is rotated.
proesterchen
<p>I fundamentally don't understand the appeal of a Microsoft launcher for Android. (Yeah, I know, there supposedly is a small group of fans that's far enough off the reservation to actually long for that, yet somehow sane enough to have moved on from Windows Phone.)</p><p><br></p><p>The fact that Microsoft (according to their own PR!) had to rewrite the entire thing to implement a dark theme and the ability to use the device in landscape mode is completely baffling to me.</p><p><br></p><p>Are we really expecting Microsoft (or really anyone) to come up with a meaningful improvement to mobile UIs in the year 2020?</p>
proesterchen
<blockquote><em><a href="#512392">In reply to suavegav:</a></em></blockquote><p>So a device that wont be on sale for another 10 months, targets a basically non-existent market, and will by then compete with 2nd and 3rd generation foldables is why Android users should be interested in this Microsoft launcher now?</p><p><br></p><p>Sure, makes perfect sense.</p>
proesterchen
<blockquote><a href="#512399"><em>In reply to MikeCerm:</em></a></blockquote><p>"Makes complete sense to me. Microsoft Launcher is there to integrate with — and push users to — Microsoft's other products."</p><p><br></p><p>That's a great rational for Microsoft to have such a thing, and no rational at all for users to care. (much like Edge, for example)</p>
proesterchen
<blockquote><a href="#512440"><em>In reply to MikeC:</em></a></blockquote><p>"There's literally hundreds of millions of people who use Outlook.com or Office 365 for email, and a lot of those users might actually like the experience that Microsoft's launcher provides."</p><p><br></p><p>Does it appear a bit far-fetched and widely optimistic to you to suggest that someone having a mail account with Microsoft would provide them with enough momentum to change the launcher on their Android device?</p><p><br></p><p>Cause I agree with most of the rest of your post, but cannot see the pre-existing customer relationship Microsoft may leverage to rack up significant usage of their Android launcher.</p><p><br></p><p>(btw: In the 4 hours since this post went up, the launcher preview went from 10+ to 500+ installs. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest there's not a huge ground-swell of momentum for this pre-release product as of right now.)</p>
PeterC
<p>In the style of Bill S Preston esquire; Most Excellent.</p><p><br></p><p>(note: time to start saving for the Duo)</p><p><br></p>
proesterchen
<blockquote><em><a href="#512401">In reply to Daekar:</a></em></blockquote><p>A great idea indeed. In 2010.</p>