So, it's no secret that we love the Windows Phone here at XDA. Whenever we see someone get Windows running on their phone, or change their device to look like a Windows Phone, we love it. So, when I reported that someone turned their Android phone into a pseudo-Windows Phone using an app , I knew I had to give it a try. So, here's how things went after I turned my Android device into a pseudo-Windows Phone.
I kind of like the tiled menus
A nice change from app icons
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I say "pseudo-Windows Phone" because I'm not actually changing the device on the OS level. Instead, I'm using Launcher 10, a free app that changes your app launcher on an Android device. The operating system is still very much Android; I'm just making the app menu look like it was from a Windows Phone.
The first thing that hits you when you load up Launcher 10 is the tiles. It's the iconic look that all Windows Phone fans love. When I first saw these tiles during Windows Phone's launch, I didn't really think much of them; in fact, I thought they were kind of ugly. Now that I was using them on my own phone, I understand their design.
The cool thing about the tiles is how they let you decide how important each app is. With the stock Android app launcher, all the apps are presented as-is, and you can't really tweak their size. With the tiles, I had a ton of freedom over what color each tile is, and how big they are. This allowed me to give more screen real estate to the apps I use often, and tuck away the ones that see less use.
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Finding a specific app is a breeze
If you know the name, you're set
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So here's something I didn't know Windows Phone had. If you swipe to the side, you get this list of apps that feels pretty much like a Windows Start menu. They're all arranged alphabetically, and you can scroll through them to find the app you want to open.
However, manually scrolling through your entire library is for chumps. If you really want to get the most out of your (fake) Windows Phone, you can tap the letter at the top of a section. This will bring up an alphabet menu, from which you can pick the first letter of the app you're looking for. For example, if I want to open Discord, I can tap on the letter at the top of a section, tap on "D" in the menu that appears, and then be whisked to the correct section where I can find Discord. It was a great deal easier than hunting through my home screen or going through my list of apps.
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However, a lot of creature comforts go away
Maybe Android is better, after all
Source: Pexels
So, was I a convert and ditched Android's systems for Windows-based glory? Not quite. As I continued to use Launcher 10, I realized that some of the things I had come to love from stock Android were missing from the forest of tiles.
For example, with how I have my home screen set up, I have my four most-used apps at the bottom of the screen. No matter which page I'm on, I have direct access to the apps I like the most. It's a feature I really missed as I used the tiled format.
Also, while the Start menu-esque apps list worked well if I knew what I was looking for, it wasn't so great when I forgot the app's name. With Android, the list of apps is more of a grid, which makes it easier to browse through and find the app I was looking for. Compared to Windows Phone's list-based format, it was a lot faster.
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Maybe one for the Windows Phone fans
Overall, while the tile format was interesting to work with and the app list was fantastic for honing in on a specific app, I think I'm going to stick with my stock Android app launcher. There have been years of tweaking system UIs based on how users use their phones, and I think modern-day launchers benefit from all of that research.]
However, if you yearn for the Windows Phone years once more, I can't recommend Launcher 10 enough. I used the free version for my experiment, but the paid version unlocks a lot more features that would suit someone who likes the tile system a lot more than Android's offerings. As such, while it didn't work out for me, I think Launcher 10 is the perfect app for people who love the format.