Abstract
- Sq. House is a third-party Android launcher that mimics the Home windows Cellphone house display screen tile design.
- You may regulate the dimensions and colours of Sq. House’s app tiles. You may as well allow Reside Tiles to get notifications proper on the app’s tile.
- Sq. House is ad-free however affords premium options for added customization, providing a free 14-day trial.
I’ve examined a variety of smartphones over time, together with fashions from Asus, Google, Samsung, and Apple. Nonetheless, one kind of cellphone I by no means had the chance to check, which I deeply remorse to at the present time, is a Home windows Cellphone.
The final Home windows Cellphone to be launched earlier than Microsoft gave up on them was the Home windows Lumia 650 in 2016, which was powered by Home windows 10 Cellular, an working system developed by Microsoft for its smartphones. One of many standout options of Microsoft’s cellular OS was its distinctive tile design for its house display screen. Was it the fanciest design on this planet? No, but it surely was simplistic and crowd pleasing, and I discovered it significantly fascinating as somebody who has primarily used a Home windows PC all their life.
With Microsoft ending help for Home windows 10 quickly, it bought me instantly eager about the Home windows Cellphone once more, and its distinctive sq. house display screen. Then the thought occurred to me, there should be a third-party Android launcher accessible that resembles the Home windows Cellphone in some capability, proper?
The reply is sure, and the one I have been having fun with utilizing probably the most is known as Sq. House. Over the previous few days, I have been experimenting with it to remodel my Galaxy S25+ right into a Home windows Cellphone-like expertise. Whereas I really like the appear and feel of One UI 7, one thing is charming concerning the simplistic tile design that Sq. House affords, which is a pleasant throwback to the Home windows Cellphone period. Here is how you can arrange Sq. House in your Android system, and why you may not wish to swap again to your default launcher after utilizing it.
- Developer
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Total_Apps
- Free trial
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Sure
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No
Sq. House is a third-party Android launcher that makes your property display screen appear like a Home windows Cellphone with a singular tile design.
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Sq. House offers you the Home windows Cellphone expertise
You may customise all of the tiles to your liking and add widgets
To get began with Sq. House, you’ll be able to obtain it totally free from the Google Play Retailer. After putting in, you may see two apps: Sq. House and House choices. Whenever you faucet Sq. House, it instantly opens the launcher, permitting you to start out customizing your tiled house display screen, much like a Home windows Cellphone (as seen within the picture above).
So as to add totally different apps, faucet the plus button on the backside of the display screen. From there, you’ll be able to add apps, shortcuts, launcher actions, dividers, tile teams and extra. To rearrange or resize the app tiles already on your property display screen, merely faucet and maintain them, similar to you’d on the default Android house app.
What I like about Sq. House is that you could customise the colour of the tiles to match your model and make every app tile stand out.
I selected to maintain my calendar and the time on the high of the display screen, and I positioned the apps I take advantage of most frequently all through the day — akin to Gmail, Google Messages, Spotify, and Chrome — close to the highest as nicely. What I like about Sq. House is that you could customise the colour of the tiles to match your model and make every app tile stand out. Widgets are additionally supported, so you’ll be able to add an indicator on your battery, a photograph collage, or some other Android widget if you want. Sq. House additionally includes a distinctive app drawer, situated underneath Purposes, which organizes all apps into tiles. A search bar is included for simply discovering any app in your system.
Sq. House additionally affords one other distinctive characteristic, much like what the Home windows Cellphone had, referred to as Reside Tiles. These are a sort of tile that robotically shows notifications from its corresponding app. For example, I’ve X (previously Twitter) on mine, and with Reside Tiles enabled, it robotically shows notifications from the app, akin to direct messages I’ve obtained. It additionally works for a lot of different apps, just like the Cellphone app, the place you’ll be able to view any missed calls by the Reside Tile.
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Learn how to set Sq. House as your default House app
It is an ad-free expertise, however you should purchase premium options
Whenever you obtain Sq. House, you additionally get one other app referred to as House Choices in your system. Opening this reveals further customization choices for Sq. House, together with adjusting tile sizes and kinds, organising gestures, deciding on your wallpaper, and extra. On the high of the House Choices display screen, you may see an possibility referred to as Set default house, which robotically directs you to the Settings menu in your system to set Sq. House as your default House app. Alternatively, you’ll be able to change your default launcher at any time in your Android system by going to Settings > Apps > Select default apps > House app.
Whereas I’ve by no means had the prospect to make use of a Home windows Cellphone personally, I am joyful that Sq. House offers me an opportunity to expertise what it could have been like.
Though Sq. House is not a 1:1 remake of the Home windows Cellphone, it’s a trustworthy adaptation, and its tile design genuinely evokes its nostalgia. Not like another third-party Android launchers, Sq. House is totally ad-free, so you will not be seeing intrusive adverts on a regular basis if you happen to set it as your default launcher.
That stated, it affords an choice to pay yearly for $2 or a one-time lifetime payment of $6 to unlock further premium options (marked with inexperienced icons within the settings). These embrace the flexibility to arrange extra gestures, totally different tile animations, change the font, and far more. Whenever you first arrange Sq. House, you do get a 14-day free trial to check out the premium options, so you’ll be able to at the very least attempt them and see if you happen to like them or not with out having to pay.
Though I’ve by no means personally used a Home windows Cellphone, Sq. House permits me to expertise what it might need been like to make use of one. Its tiled design gives a refreshing various to the everyday house screens on Android and iOS. After utilizing it for the previous few days, I plan to maintain it as my default launcher for the foreseeable future. Should you’re a Home windows Cellphone fan, you would possibly really feel the identical after testing it out. It is easy, and I’ve had no bother accessing all my apps and going about my every day routines with Sq. House. It could be nice to see Microsoft launch an official Home windows Android launcher sometime, however that is in all probability a protracted shot.
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