I turned my Android right into a Home windows Cellphone, and I do not assume I am going to return

I’ve examined a variety of smartphones over time, together with fashions from Asus, Google, Samsung, and Apple. Nonetheless, one sort of cellphone I by no means had the chance to check, which I deeply remorse to at the present time, 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 Cell, 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 dwelling display. Was it the fanciest design on the earth? No, nevertheless it was simplistic and attention-grabbing, and I discovered it significantly attention-grabbing as somebody who has primarily used a Windows PC all their life.

With Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 quickly, it acquired me instantly fascinated about the Home windows Cellphone once more, and its distinctive sq. dwelling display. Then the thought occurred to me, there should be a third-party Android launcher out there 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 known as 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. This is learn how to arrange Sq. Dwelling in your Android machine, and why you won’t wish to swap again to your default launcher after utilizing it.

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Sq. Dwelling 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. Dwelling, you may obtain it at no cost from the Google Play Retailer. After putting in, you may see two apps: Sq. Dwelling and Dwelling choices. Whenever you faucet Sq. Dwelling, it instantly opens the launcher, permitting you to start out customizing your tiled dwelling display, just like a Home windows Cellphone (as seen within the picture above).

So as to add completely different apps, faucet the plus button on the backside of the display. 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, merely faucet and maintain them, identical to you’d on the default Android dwelling app.

I selected to maintain my calendar and the time on the high of the display, and I positioned the apps I exploit most frequently all through the day — reminiscent of Gmail, Google Messages, Spotify, and Chrome — close to the highest as nicely. What I like about Sq. House is that you would be able to customise the colour of the tiles to match your type and make every app tile stand out. Widgets are additionally supported, so you may add an indicator on your battery, a photograph collage, or every other Android widget if you want. Sq. Dwelling additionally encompasses a distinctive app drawer, situated beneath Functions, which organizes all apps into tiles. A search bar is included for simply discovering any app in your machine.

Sq. Dwelling additionally provides one other distinctive characteristic, just 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. As an example, I’ve X (previously Twitter) on mine, and with Reside Tiles enabled, it robotically shows notifications from the app, reminiscent of direct messages I’ve acquired. It additionally works for a lot of different apps, just like the Cellphone app, the place you may view any missed calls via the Reside Tile.

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How you can set Sq. Dwelling as your default Dwelling app

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

Whenever you obtain Sq. Dwelling, you additionally get one other app referred to as Dwelling Choices in your machine. Opening this reveals extra customization choices for Sq. Dwelling, together with adjusting tile sizes and kinds, organising gestures, deciding on your wallpaper, and extra. On the high of the Dwelling Choices display, you may see an possibility referred to as Set default dwelling, which robotically directs you to the Settings menu in your machine to set Sq. Dwelling as your default Dwelling app. Alternatively, you may change your default launcher at any time in your Android machine 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 devoted adaptation, and its tile design genuinely evokes its nostalgia. Not like another third-party Android launchers, Sq. Dwelling is totally ad-free, so you will not be seeing intrusive adverts on a regular basis in case you set it as your default launcher.

That mentioned, it provides an choice to pay yearly for $2 or a one-time lifetime payment of $6 to unlock extra premium options (marked with inexperienced icons within the settings). These embrace the power to arrange extra gestures, completely different tile animations, change the font, and rather more. Whenever you first arrange Sq. Dwelling, you do get a 14-day free trial to check out the premium options, so you may at the very least attempt them and see in case 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 might need been like to make use of one. Its tiled design supplies a refreshing various to the everyday dwelling 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. When you’re a Home windows Cellphone fan, you may really feel the identical after testing it out. It is easy, 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 most likely an extended shot.

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