The first is Overview Mode, which can be accessed by long pressing with one finger anywhere on the home screen.

To customize Microsoft Launcher, users will need to be familiar with two different menus. If the user was using another third-party launcher, they will also have the option to import their current home screen configuration to be used in Microsoft Launcher, though I found that this didn’t import gestures. When first opening Microsoft Launcher, users will be prompted to set Microsoft Launcher as the default Android home screen in order for the app to work properly.

Microsoft Launcher does not replicate the user’s PC home screen on their phone or allow for users to access Windows applications on their phone. Microsoft Launcher requires users to have a free Microsoft account, but they do not need to have Microsoft 365/Office or any other paid services. Users can still download Android apps onto their phone and Microsoft Launcher does not replace any other applications like messaging, camera, phone, gallery, or otherwise affect the usability of the device. Microsoft Launcher is a free Android app for creating custom home screens and replaces the default Android launcher/home screen for devices with Android 7.0 and higher. Here are my tips for how to create a custom Android home screen with Microsoft Launcher, aimed at users with low vision/vision loss. I found that the Microsoft Launcher app would work perfectly for what I was looking for, and have been using it every day since. Over the years, I have experimented with a few different Android home screen layouts and launcher applications, and discovered that gesture-based UIs/interfaces with a colorful phone wallpaper work best for me.Īfter my previous favorite home screen customization app was discontinued (RIP Buzz Launcher), I went looking for another custom home screen app that would support a custom gesture UI and other customization features. My first custom home screen design featured custom app icons with photos of my best friends that I had designed in a photo editing app, as I liked being able to see large photos that made me happy on my phone, instead of having photos on my home screen masked by a bunch of icons.

I’ve been designing my own custom Android home screens for over ten years now, and first started exploring the concept of making Android phones easier to use with low vision when I was a sophomore in high school.

Launcher windows for android