The Microsoft Launcher Challenge: First Steps (Premium)

It seems simple enough: Install a new launcher on your Android phone, make a few configuration changes, and away you go. But using the Microsoft Launcher may require a few additional considerations. I consider this to be the line between what Microsoft wants and what you want.

Don’t get me wrong: There’s nothing malicious about Microsoft Launcher. And it absolutely gets better the more invested you are in the Microsoft ecosystem. But I don’t approach this with a child-like “Microsoft knows best” worldview like we see on certain Redmond-obsessed tech enthusiast blogs. And neither should you.

Also, we can and should extend this conversation beyond Microsoft Launcher, too, since it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. That is, you have some choices to make about other Microsoft products and services that you may or may not want to use on your phone. This includes, but is not limited to, Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Office (various apps), and OneDrive. And technologies like Timeline and Continue on PC that make your phone and PC more integrated.

This conversation can quickly get complicated. For example, you may argue, as I would, that Cortana or Microsoft Edge—or whatever—is less powerful, or full-featured, or whatever than the Google equivalents that are built-in to Android.

And you’d be right, in isolation. But in many cases, these Microsoft products and services take on new life—become more useful or valuable—when can use them across platforms. Point being, it’s never a good idea to dismiss something out of hand, even if you’d previously made up your mind about it on the desktop.

With that in mind, I’m trying to be open about Microsoft products and services—like Cortana and Microsoft Edge, and like Bing—that I previously dismissed as inadequate. If I’m going to use the Microsoft Launcher—no guarantees—these and other also-rans might suddenly make a lot more sense. (Plus, there’s nothing inherently wrong about using Cortana and Bing in Microsoft Launcher, but using Google Assistant elsewhere.)

Here’s a very small example, and it doesn’t hurt anyone, no matter your preferences. If you install Microsoft Launcher right now and sign-in to Microsoft Rewards (through Microsoft Launcher settings), you will earn 100 points and a temporary one-month Level 2 status in the loyalty program. Longer term, you also earn Microsoft Rewards points every time you perform a search (through Bing) using the Microsoft Launcher’s search bar.

If you’re not familiar with Microsoft Rewards, you need to look into this. (And this is a topic I need to write about separately.) It’s a way to be rewarded for using the Microsoft products and services you may already be using. And to be rewarded even more for using them more. And that temporary Level 2 status means you can earn more loyalty points in the month than would be possible with Level 1 status, plus other perks.

Again, just a small example. But you can find more profound examples of Microsoft product and services integration when you install and configure Microsoft Launcher. The ability to use the Bing picture of the day as your lock and home screen background, for starters. Cortana voice control in its Bing-powered search. Microsoft account, Office 365, and (a curiously outdated) Wunderlist integration in accounts. Quick access to Microsoft mobile apps, including ones you’ve not yet downloaded.

You also gain access to Microsoft’s current vision for mobile user experiences, which I find interesting.

As many readers know, Microsoft pioneered a number of user interfaces—like live tiles and hubs—in its initial release of Windows phone several years ago. But with that platform falling off a cliff back in 2015, Microsoft promised to transition to a “mobility of experiences” future over the longer term.

Microsoft Launcher is just a part of that strategy, but it’s a big one, given that the software giant no longer has its own mobile platform. If it can convince users to replace their stock home screen with Microsoft Launcher—no small feat—it can enable this “mobility of experiences” to a much wider degree than would be possible if its users only engaged with it using certain mobile apps.

On that note, Windows phone loyalists will initially be disappointed to discover that Microsoft Launcher does not provide access to those unique Windows phone features—live tiles, especially—that they loved so much. But my advice here is to stay calm and carry on: That kind of user interface requires deep system integration and is only feasible when the software maker controls the platform. More to the point, and this one may be hard to take, those unique Windows phone features failed anyway. They were part of the reason Windows phone no longer exists.

In other words, it’s time to move on. Microsoft certainly has: Microsoft Launcher is chock-full of unique user experiences of its own, and it offers a level of customization that I think most will find quite intriguing. It really does pay off to spend time examining all of your options here and seeing what’s possible.

So that’s the “first steps” part of this challenge: Install Microsoft Launcher and configure it. Yes, that sounds simplistic. But just getting through all those customization options will take quite a bit of time. You can almost literally customize everything.

In my case, I set out to duplicate, as much as possible, the look and feel of the stock Pixel launcher I had been using previously. Primarily, that means the same icons in the same places on each home screen. Which I had to do manually.

There is still Microsoft replacement tech all over: The Google feed has been replaced by the Microsoft Launcher feed.

The time and weather widgets are now Microsoft’s. The home screen search bar is now powered by Cortana and Bing. And the dock now conforms to Microsoft’s view, with a double-row of icons and some quick status icons when you swipe up.

As noted, the number of options can be overwhelming. I spent time playing with the “density” of the icons on the home screen, for example.

And it’s worth examining the available gestures, all of which can be customized to your heart’s content.

One thing I really miss from the Pixel Launcher, for example, is quick access to the Google feed. So I configured a gesture to simply load the Google app, which achieves the same end.

It’s mostly where I want it, I guess. Now the question is whether I want to dive deeper into the Microsoft ecosystem on my phone—perhaps by using Microsoft Edge for web browsing or Cortana as my default assistant—or keep things where they are.