Home screens on Android phones have gone from being the spotlight to the most underrated aspect of a software. If you think about it, you don’t go beyond the home screen in the majority of instances because all your favorite applications are already pinned there and more or less, each setting can be toggled from the notification panel. So, how do you create a smarter home screen and make the most out of it? Let’s start with installing some of these apps.
Contextual App Folder
This nifty little app is capable of generating a dynamic folder based on various factors such as your location, whether a headphone is connected, time, Bluetooth connection, and more. Hence, when a particular event is triggered, the content i.e. the apps of this folder will be changed with the ones you’ve selected. For instance, you can configure a scenario where when headphones are linked, the widget shows all the music applications. It’s an extremely useful utility once you begin to use it on a day-to-day basis. And the best part? It’s free! So go ahead and give it a shot.
Arrow Launcher
Next up on our list is Microsoft’s Arrow launcher. In a way, this app brings everything that’s missing from Android’s stock launcher – a universal search that is only a swipe-down away, a recent activity section displaying messages, calls, notifications you received, quick access to contacts, and more. Furthermore, if you’re a Wunderlist or any Microsoft service user, there are dedicated tabs for displaying content from them. Additionally, a bunch of quick settings such as brightness control, WiFi can be accessed from the swiping up from the button which can be handy if you’ve a massive phone. It’s really one of the most intuitive launchers available out there and unlike others, Arrow launcher is entirely free of cost.
CSBW – Custom Search Bar Widget
This is a customizable search bar for your home screen. Currently, the search widget on your home screen is limited to Google, however, with this widget, you can add any website you’d like to search. Hence, for instance, you can configure Amazon or YouTube and look up content directly without loading up the site. The widget’s aesthetics can also be altered, although you’ll have to opt for the pro version to benefit from those features.
DashClock
DashClock has been around for years and if you haven’t heard of it, I feel bad for you. Nevertheless, DashClock is a modular or you can say, extensible widget meaning you can install extensions for it. Therefore, if you want it to display Wunderlist tasks, you can download an app or if you want detailed CPU stats, there’s an app. The Play store has hundreds of DashClock extensions available and most of them including DashClock itself, are free.
Download Link
S.Graph
Lastly, we’ve S.Graph. It’s a clock widget that shows your day’s agendas in the form a pie chart. This is primarily for people who aren’t particularly great at keeping track of time throughout the day. You can add anything from a meeting to a simple to-do and have it all displayed in a single place. S.Graph is free and integrates with Google Calendar for maintaining the appointments.
So, those were some of the applications you can download for creating a smarter Android homescreen. Do let us know in the comments section if we missed any good one.