Started in 2015 as an experimental project (called Arrow Launcher) in times when Windows smartphones still existed, the Microsoft Launcher on Android has become over time something much more serious, with a continuous and dedicated development that has led it to become the tool to conquer the market of cellular systems starting from a different point of view.
Instead, therefore, of making a new operating system, Microsoft relies on Android to bring its applications and tools, transforming Android phones of all brands and models into Windows Phones, including Samsung Galaxy, LG, Huawei, Oneplus etc.
These days the Microsoft Launcher has finally come out of its beta version and is available for everyone via the Google Play Store.
The launcher has become complete now thanks to the possibility of being able to synchronize the Windows 10 timeline with the Android phone and therefore have that much-needed work continuity.
This means that from the phone it is possible to see the history or timeline of the activities carried out on the PC, including the sites visited and the programs used.
READ ALSO: best launchers for Android
Microsoft Launcher, compared to traditional launchers, makes the attempt to put all the important things of a phone directly on the home screen .
At the first start it asks whether to use the layouy of the launcher that was being used, so as not to lose the app icons and the position of the widgets.
The screen that can be reached by swiping your finger from left to right is the one that distinguishes the launcher, which now includes three sections: Glance, News and the history of Windows 10 .
Glance, after giving the necessary permissions, brings together all the recent activities on the phone in order to have both the most used apps and the most called contacts at hand.
In Glance you can view or hide the calendar, recent activities, recommended apps, favorite contacts, Family (which allows you to see the position of the children), the activity list, notes and documents.
In recent activities it is possible, by pressing the button with three dots in the section, to add messages, the latest calls, notes, photos and recent videos.
The section of recommended apps is automatically populated with the most used ones and has the button (written More ) to customize the list.
In Glance you can also add the to-do list and the space to write notes, which can be textual, vocal or drawn with the pen / finger.
These activity and note screens can be added as a widget on the main phone screen by tapping the button with three apps above the section and then choosing the "add to new page" option.
Activities can also be synchronized with Wunderlist (also from Microsoft) while notes can be saved in a cloud backup.
The News section is a continuously updated flow of the main news of the day from Microsoft News, similar to Google News.
Here too you can choose which type of news to see and which to hide, personalizing the interests.
The timeline is the Windows 10 timeline that can be viewed by logging in to the Microsoft Launcher with the same Microsoft account used on the PC.
To activate the timeline, deactivated by default, you must press the button at the top right next to the search bar.
At the moment the timeline view mainly shows the documents that have been worked on with Excel, Word and Powerpoint.
The Timeline of file activity works well if OneDrive for Android is installed on the phone and if the document folder of the PC is synchronized in Windows 10 by Onedrive.
The search bar allows you to search for both contacts and apps on your phone and on the internet.
When you search the internet the results are displayed on the Microsoft Bing search engine, using the Edge browser for Android (if it has been installed) (this can be changed in the settings)
Internet searches made by Android will be synchronized and visible in the Windows 10 Timeline on PC.
You can also search using the item or tap the button to scan codes, which is the square in the search bar.
In the normal Microsoft Launcher screen, scrolling from bottom to top the line of the 4 favorite apps, the selection of fast access apps expands and the switches appear to turn on and off wifi, bluetooth, flashlight and airplane mode .
The gear button quickly takes you to the settings and customization of the launcher .
The settings can also be opened by touching an empty part of the screen and holding down.
From here you can also add widgets, set the main screen, view and remove the screens to scroll and then also to change the background.
Speaking of the wallpaper, the Microsoft Launcher allows you to choose whether to automatically change your mobile wallpaper by taking pictures of the Bing search engine.
Microsoft Launcher settings .
In the launcher settings you can do the following things:
- Backup of the current layout to be able to restore it at any time on the same phone or even on another Android smartphone.
- Customize the graphic theme, changing it from white to black or transparent, deciding blur, opacity and colors.
- Customize the shape of the app folders, customize the main screen (to choose columns and rows of the main layout, icon sizes, hide the page indicator, hide app and folder names, headings, the status bar, the hidden apps and recommended apps.
- Customize the dock (called here Again) to change the buttons that appear by pulling up your finger from the bottom of the screen, the app drawer (vertical or horizontal grid and recent apps).
- Customize notifications on app icons .
- Change icon pack for apps.
- Activate the high performance mode, to lighten the launcher on the phone memory (visual effects are activated), ideal for older and slower smartphones.
- Change search engine to use Google instead of Bing and default browser to use Chrome and not Edge.
In this section you can also change the order of the search results categories, to make contacts and apps appear first instead of the results from the internet.
- Customize Movements, i.e. quick actions with finger gestures on the screen.
In essence, the Microsoft Launcher, also thanks to the integration of other Microsoft apps such as Edge, Onedrive, Office, Outlook, To-do and News, wants to become like a complete phone management tool.
Thanks to its dynamism, the integration with Windows 10 and the speed with which it can be run even on less powerful or advanced smartphones will certainly become a first choice for all those who work a lot with Office programs and want to have the professional phone screen beyond how nice to see.
READ ALSO: Connect the Phone to Windows 10 with "Continue on PC" (Android and iPhone)
Instead, therefore, of making a new operating system, Microsoft relies on Android to bring its applications and tools, transforming Android phones of all brands and models into Windows Phones, including Samsung Galaxy, LG, Huawei, Oneplus etc.
These days the Microsoft Launcher has finally come out of its beta version and is available for everyone via the Google Play Store.
The launcher has become complete now thanks to the possibility of being able to synchronize the Windows 10 timeline with the Android phone and therefore have that much-needed work continuity.
This means that from the phone it is possible to see the history or timeline of the activities carried out on the PC, including the sites visited and the programs used.
READ ALSO: best launchers for Android
Microsoft Launcher, compared to traditional launchers, makes the attempt to put all the important things of a phone directly on the home screen .
At the first start it asks whether to use the layouy of the launcher that was being used, so as not to lose the app icons and the position of the widgets.
The screen that can be reached by swiping your finger from left to right is the one that distinguishes the launcher, which now includes three sections: Glance, News and the history of Windows 10 .
Glance, after giving the necessary permissions, brings together all the recent activities on the phone in order to have both the most used apps and the most called contacts at hand.
In Glance you can view or hide the calendar, recent activities, recommended apps, favorite contacts, Family (which allows you to see the position of the children), the activity list, notes and documents.
In recent activities it is possible, by pressing the button with three dots in the section, to add messages, the latest calls, notes, photos and recent videos.
The section of recommended apps is automatically populated with the most used ones and has the button (written More ) to customize the list.
In Glance you can also add the to-do list and the space to write notes, which can be textual, vocal or drawn with the pen / finger.
These activity and note screens can be added as a widget on the main phone screen by tapping the button with three apps above the section and then choosing the "add to new page" option.
Activities can also be synchronized with Wunderlist (also from Microsoft) while notes can be saved in a cloud backup.
The News section is a continuously updated flow of the main news of the day from Microsoft News, similar to Google News.
Here too you can choose which type of news to see and which to hide, personalizing the interests.
The timeline is the Windows 10 timeline that can be viewed by logging in to the Microsoft Launcher with the same Microsoft account used on the PC.
To activate the timeline, deactivated by default, you must press the button at the top right next to the search bar.
At the moment the timeline view mainly shows the documents that have been worked on with Excel, Word and Powerpoint.
The Timeline of file activity works well if OneDrive for Android is installed on the phone and if the document folder of the PC is synchronized in Windows 10 by Onedrive.
The search bar allows you to search for both contacts and apps on your phone and on the internet.
When you search the internet the results are displayed on the Microsoft Bing search engine, using the Edge browser for Android (if it has been installed) (this can be changed in the settings)
Internet searches made by Android will be synchronized and visible in the Windows 10 Timeline on PC.
You can also search using the item or tap the button to scan codes, which is the square in the search bar.
In the normal Microsoft Launcher screen, scrolling from bottom to top the line of the 4 favorite apps, the selection of fast access apps expands and the switches appear to turn on and off wifi, bluetooth, flashlight and airplane mode .
The gear button quickly takes you to the settings and customization of the launcher .
The settings can also be opened by touching an empty part of the screen and holding down.
From here you can also add widgets, set the main screen, view and remove the screens to scroll and then also to change the background.
Speaking of the wallpaper, the Microsoft Launcher allows you to choose whether to automatically change your mobile wallpaper by taking pictures of the Bing search engine.
Microsoft Launcher settings .
In the launcher settings you can do the following things:
- Backup of the current layout to be able to restore it at any time on the same phone or even on another Android smartphone.
- Customize the graphic theme, changing it from white to black or transparent, deciding blur, opacity and colors.
- Customize the shape of the app folders, customize the main screen (to choose columns and rows of the main layout, icon sizes, hide the page indicator, hide app and folder names, headings, the status bar, the hidden apps and recommended apps.
- Customize the dock (called here Again) to change the buttons that appear by pulling up your finger from the bottom of the screen, the app drawer (vertical or horizontal grid and recent apps).
- Customize notifications on app icons .
- Change icon pack for apps.
- Activate the high performance mode, to lighten the launcher on the phone memory (visual effects are activated), ideal for older and slower smartphones.
- Change search engine to use Google instead of Bing and default browser to use Chrome and not Edge.
In this section you can also change the order of the search results categories, to make contacts and apps appear first instead of the results from the internet.
- Customize Movements, i.e. quick actions with finger gestures on the screen.
In essence, the Microsoft Launcher, also thanks to the integration of other Microsoft apps such as Edge, Onedrive, Office, Outlook, To-do and News, wants to become like a complete phone management tool.
Thanks to its dynamism, the integration with Windows 10 and the speed with which it can be run even on less powerful or advanced smartphones will certainly become a first choice for all those who work a lot with Office programs and want to have the professional phone screen beyond how nice to see.
READ ALSO: Connect the Phone to Windows 10 with "Continue on PC" (Android and iPhone)
