Category: Microsoft Launcher

Another new update is rolling out to Microsoft Launcher, bringing with it more customizations as well as full support for Android Oreo.  The update is version 4.12 for those keeping score at home and that version has been in beta for a few weeks now.  If you have been running that beta build, there isn’t anything new for you but if you are in the stable channel, there’s lots to talk about.

First, folders and app icon gestures are now a thing.  You can now setup folders on your Home screen or apps to open when you swipe them.  This is done by long pressing the folder or icon, tapping the edit icon (the pencil) and the enabling swipe.

Arguably one of Microsoft’s most popular Android apps, and one of the most frequently updates, is Microsoft Launcher.  The launcher has now passed 10 million downloads and is great for readers who are deep in the Microsoft ecosystem at home or at work.  The app now had a new update rolling out that brings a handful of improvements, especially around the user interface.

For those keeping score at home, the new update is version 4.11.0.44176 and it has been released to the Play Store.  If you are using the launcher on your Android phone or tablet, you likely have the update available to you.

So what are you getting in this update?  First, on the Family card on the information screen (a right swipe on the home screen) you can now show or hid kids on that card for privacy reasons.   This assumes, of course, that you have children accounts associated with your own so that the feature will work.

Microsoft has rolled out a new update to their Android launcher app, Microsoft Launcher.  The new build, version 4.9.0.42615 for those keeping score at home, doesn’t bring a lot of orbit changing updates but rather focuses on creature comfort updates.  In other words, small tweaks that makes the launcher a little bit easier to use.

In this update, Microsoft Launcher has improved Home screen import logic from another launcher to make it a little bit less clunky of a process.  You can now also sort your apps alphabetically in folders on the Home screen so you don’t have to manually arrange them.  Display names of apps or folders are now visible in your dock while you can get customizable gesture for pressing the Home button from the Home screen too.  There is also a new gesture to quickly lock the layout of your Home screen.

Over the course of the past couple of years it has been clear that Microsoft’s mobile strategy is developing apps for Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.  This isn’t a bad strategy overall and it is clear from presentations this week at Build, Microsoft’s developer conference, that they are continuing that strategy.

One of the more exciting announcements on the first day of the conference is Windows 10’s new Timeline feature making it to both Android and iOS.  For Android users, access to Timeline will come via Microsoft Launcher while iOS users will have access to via Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft is one of the most consistent at updating their apps for Android with the company’s launcher, Microsoft Launcher being no exception.  The latest beta of the launcher is rolling out to testers and it shows that the Redmond company isn’t just updating their launcher, but listening to what users want in it.

The new beta build is version 4.7 for those keeping score and it brings an expansive change log with it.  First, you can now get a new daily background on your phone.  While you can do this today, it only can come from Bing daily wallpapers.  Now, based on user requests, you can set up your own custom set of wallpapers to be rotated daily on your device.  Oh, and those wallpapers can be set to be scroll-able.

Microsoft Launcher, the popular launcher app for Android, has a new and big update rolling out.  The new build is version 4.6 for those keeping score at home and it brings a full integration of Microsoft Cortana to the launcher.

Until now, Launcher and Cortana were two separate downloads and apps with basically no interaction between the two.  Now with the integration done, the behavior of Cortana in Microsoft Launcher is similar to the standalone app.  You can make calls, schedule meetings, change wallpaper and continue a browsing activity from your phone to your PC (assuming you are using Microsoft Edge in both places).