I turned my Android right into a Home wi...

I’ve examined a variety of smartphones through the years, together with fashions from Asus, Google, Samsung, and Apple. Nevertheless, one sort of cellphone I by no means had the chance to check, which I deeply remorse to today, is a Windows Phone.

The final Home windows Cellphone to be launched earlier than Microsoft gave up on them was the 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 cell OS was its distinctive tile design for its house display screen. Was it the fanciest design on this planet? No, however it was simplistic and attention-grabbing, and I discovered it notably attention-grabbing as somebody who has primarily used a Windows PC all their life.

With Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 quickly, it obtained me out of the blue fascinated by the Home windows Cellphone once more, and its distinctive sq. house display screen. Then the thought occurred to me, there have to be a third-party Android launcher obtainable 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 named Square Home. 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 like the appear and feel of One UI 7, one thing is charming in regards to the simplistic tile design that Sq. Dwelling provides, which is a pleasant throwback to the Home windows Cellphone period. Here is the best way to arrange Sq. Dwelling in your Android system, and why you won’t need to swap again to your default launcher after utilizing it.

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Sq. Dwelling provides you the Home windows Cellphone expertise

You possibly can customise all of the tiles to your liking and add widgets

To get began with Sq. Dwelling, you may obtain it without spending a dime from the Google Play Retailer. After putting in, you will see two apps: Sq. Dwelling and Dwelling choices. If you faucet Sq. Dwelling, it instantly opens the launcher, permitting you to begin customizing your tiled house display screen, just 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 may add apps, shortcuts, launcher actions, dividers, tile teams and extra. To rearrange or resize the app tiles already on your private home display screen, merely faucet and maintain them, identical to you’d on the default Android house app.

I selected to maintain my calendar and the time on the high of the display screen, and I positioned the apps I exploit most frequently all through the day — equivalent to Gmail, Google Messages, Spotify, and Chrome — close to the highest as nicely. What I like about Sq. House is you can customise the colour of the tiles to match your model and make every app tile stand out. Widgets are additionally supported, so you may add an indicator in your battery, a photograph collage, or some other Android widget if you want. Sq. Dwelling 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. Dwelling additionally provides one other distinctive characteristic, just like what the Home windows Cellphone had, known as Stay Tiles. These are a kind of tile that mechanically shows notifications from its corresponding app. For example, I’ve X (previously Twitter) on mine, and with Stay Tiles enabled, it mechanically shows notifications from the app, equivalent to direct messages I’ve obtained. It additionally works for a lot of different apps, just like the Cellphone app, the place you may view any missed calls via the Stay Tile.

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Methods to set Sq. Dwelling as your default Dwelling app

It is an ad-free expertise, however you should buy premium options

If you obtain Sq. Dwelling, you additionally get one other app known as Dwelling Choices in your system. Opening this reveals further customization choices for Sq. Dwelling, together with adjusting tile sizes and types, organising gestures, choosing your wallpaper, and extra. On the high of the Dwelling Choices display screen, you will see an choice known as Set default house, which mechanically directs you to the Settings menu in your system to set Sq. Dwelling as your default Dwelling app. Alternatively, you may change your default launcher at any time in your Android system by going to Settings > Apps > Select default apps > Dwelling app.

Though Sq. Dwelling is not a 1:1 remake of the Home windows Cellphone, it’s a trustworthy adaptation, and its tile design genuinely evokes its nostalgia. In contrast to another third-party Android launchers, Sq. Dwelling is totally ad-free, so you will not be seeing intrusive advertisements on a regular basis in the event you set it as your default launcher.

That stated, it provides an choice to pay yearly for $2 or a one-time lifetime price of $6 to unlock further premium options (marked with inexperienced icons within the settings). These embrace the power to arrange extra gestures, totally different tile animations, change the font, and far more. If you first arrange Sq. Dwelling, you do get a 14-day free trial to check out the premium options, so you may at the least strive them and see in the event you like them or not with out having to pay.

Though I’ve by no means personally used a Home windows Cellphone, Sq. Dwelling permits me to expertise what it may need been like to make use of one. Its tiled design gives a refreshing various to the standard 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 simple, and I’ve had no hassle accessing all my apps and going about my day by day routines with Sq. Dwelling. It will be nice to see Microsoft launch an official Home windows Android launcher sometime, however that is in all probability an extended shot.

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