Pixel Launcher Initial Opinions

The Pixel Launcher has been around for a while now and is expected to be the default on Google's upcoming phones Pixel and Pixel XL which are going to be announced at an event on 4th October 2016.

My initial thought was how much bigger the icons are in this version. At first I was a bit taken back by this but after a while I began to like the larger size of the icons. The top of your home screen has to be taken up with the fixed Google G logo and date which, given the customisation Android is famous for, is a tad odd that their is no flexibility in the size or look of these 'widgets'.

My favourite thing about the launcher is that the app drawer still exists in the form of swiping up from the bottom four icons. There are rumours every now-and-then that the app drawer will be disappearing from Android completely and this has already happened on the the LG G5.

Overall this launcher has a lot of potential to be a great option as a launcher but I still prefer Nova Launcher as it has a lot more customisation options.

Thanks to Android Police for supplying the link to the launcher.

Comments

Android 7.1.1 New Features

Launch Actions Launch actions are the biggest addition to Android 7.1.1 in my opionion. The ability to get to where you want to in an app without having to find it within the app itself is really quite useful. To use this feature you just long press on an app icon and it will bring up a range of shortcuts. You can still move icons in the same way by long pressing and dragging. For now it seems like only Google apps have these shortcuts but I'm sure that developers will soon start adding support. However, since the first beta Twitter has added Launch actions to their app. Twitter Launch Actions Gender Equality Emoji There is a host of new emoji in this Nougat update. One the main additions is job based emoji now have both male and female representation. There are also loads of now job emoji such as rock star and teacher. GIF Keyboard There is now an option to send a GIF straight from your keyboard in Android 7.1.1 in supported apps such as Allo, Hangouts a...

Reasons Why I'm Choosing The Pixel

I've spent the last month deciding over which phone to purchase next and I've assessed a lot of options including the iPhone. In this post I will look at the reason as to why I'm choosing the Pixel Phone by Google over the iPhone. 1: Putting Google First I am fully integrated to the Google ecosystem in which I use a lot of Google apps such as Calendar, Keep, Inbox and Drive Pretty much everything I do on technology, apart from my Xbox One, always involves some kind of Google service or product so it makes sense to continue that by choosing the Pixel. I am of course aware that almost all of Google's apps are available on the App Store for iOS but nothing will quite beat that pure Google experience offered by the Pixel Phone. Google Daydream 2: Daydream This is something that I believe will completely revolutionise the virtual reality industry for everyday consumers with a simple affordable headset and controller combination this is the first place most peo...

#MadeByGoogle Event Preview

Tomorrow is the day of the long awaited Google Event where we are expecting to see many products announced and showcased. Pixel Phones These handsets have being pretty much entirely leaked at this stage but tomorrow will see the confirmation of the leaks and hopefully a few surprises from Google with some additional features and exclusive software functionality for these phones Chromecast Ultra We are also expecting top see the follow up to the Chromecast 2 and Chromecast Audio. This new Chromecast will support 4k and cost $69. Google Home Tomorrow should see the release date announced for Google's Amazon Echo rival in Google Home. This device is rumoured to cost $129 which is considerably less than the Amazon Echo. We also expect to see the announcement of a 7-inch tablet, Google Daydream and the new Chrome OS/Android crossover operating system Andromeda.

Ben Sage

Search This Blog