Google's Upcoming Pixel Launcher Leaked, Available For Download
The Nexus Launcher, the launcher to be a part of the upcoming Nexus devices, was leaked about a month back. Renowned HTC leakster LlabTooFeR has now come up with the news that the Nexus Launcher has been renamed to the Pixel Launcher. To give us a proof of the same, he has even shared an APK file of the same.
Link for the download https://t.co/nsnEAw63eI— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) September 12, 2016
Changelog
The Nexus Launcher was earlier named as "Launcher3" under the settings menu, but now the updated Pixel Launcher can be seen as following:
It can also be noted that the package name is same in both the Nexus Launcher and it's new version "Pixel Launcher". The version number and launcher icon has also been changed.
We didn't come across any changes in the widget picker as well.
While we couldn't spot any other changes under the launcher itself, we did notice that the WallpaperPickerGooglePrebuilt did receive an icon change too. The image above depicts the icon of the Wallpaper Picker that had been leaked alongside the Nexus Launcher and the image below depicts the Wallpaper Picker seen along with the Pixel Launcher.
Elisseo Martelli spotted that the calendar icon in the Pixel launcher shows the date of the month. Also spotted by a Reddit user included changes such as the bouncing of the app drawer when the device is unlocked and lack of transparency in the app drawer.
Another fact which might come in handy for you is that, the Wallpaper Picker present in the Pixel Launcher can be used alongside any other launcher such as Nova Launcher, Action Launcher etc as well as shown below.
The Wallpaper Picker gives you an option to update your homescreen everyday automatically.
Along with that, the Wallpaper Picker also brings to you a beautiful collection of handpicked wallpapers.
Tapping on any wallpaper will give you a preview of the wallpaper along with the details of the designer or snapper of the wallpaper.
Features
As we had covered up in our last post on the Nexus Launcher, the Pixel Launcher also comes with some great features. We have summarised them in brief below.
The Pixel Launcher does away with the app drawer as shown above. Now to access the app drawer all you need to do is swipe up on the screen and the app drawer will pop up as shown below.
The launcher settings allow you to enable or disable app suggestions, show Google app when you swipe to the left on the main home screen and screen rotation.
Another great feature of this launcher is the great adaption of the wallpapers in both the portrait and the landscape mode. Wallpapers chosen from the in built wallpaper picker supplied along with the launcher are especially adept at this.
Long pressing on the upward arrow on the home screen will directly allow you to search for apps in the app drawer as shown below.
The app drawer looks neat in the landscape mode as well. Have a look:
Download Links
To get access to swipe to Google Now feature, you need to flash the zip file linked below in recovery. If you do not flash the ZIP file and install the APK file natively, then the swipe to Google Now feature will not work.
Does the launch of the Pixel Launcher mean that the Nexus devices have come to an end and is the stage actually set for the Pixel devices? The answer might appear to be a yes, but the picture is still not that clear. We will be doing a follow up post soon in which we will talk about this. Stay tuned :)
Google's Upcoming Pixel Launcher Leaked, Available For Download
Reviewed by Krittin Kalra
on
9/13/2016 04:23:00 AM
Reviewed by Krittin Kalra
on
9/13/2016 04:23:00 AM
Subscribe To Us
Get All The Latest Updates Delivered Straight To Your Inbox For Free!