Month: January 2020

The Microsoft Launcher has been around for some time. Before it was rebranded as such in 2017, it was known as the Arrow Launcher. But a lot has changed since then, and with the impending Microsoft Surface Duo, the company has big plans for its launcher. So, now that the new and improved Microsoft Launcher 6.0 is available in the Play Store via an alpha preview, we thought we would take it out for a spin to see if it will be ready for the Duo.

Microsoft Launcher’s new look and feel

Some of the main changes Microsoft has made with the 6.0 launcher update include tweaks to the overall look and feel. The most dramatic come by way of the home page, introducing a more cohesive design language that’s more in line with Windows 10.

Firstly, Microsoft has implemented a new landscape mode that will rotate automatically, given the user has auto-rotate enabled. This is a feature a few other launchers may provide, but it hasn’t been available in Microsoft Launcher until now.

This new landscape mode could make for a better tablet experience. And with the Microsoft Surface Duo offering both tablet and standard smartphone form factors, this tweak should help users better take advantage of the device’s screen real estate.

There are a few other changes Microsoft has made that users will also find incredibly useful. One of which is new and enhanced dark and light modes. Both modes look great throughout the entire UI, and this revamp includes custom transparency blur effects and more overall spit and polish.

Some of the other UI tweaks include slightly more rectangular elements with rounded corners like the search bar, improved animation fluidity, and memory usage optimizations. We also get shortcuts to easily download any Microsoft apps, a Bing wallpaper which is updated daily, and several other settings that allow the user to tweak the launcher ’til their heart’s content.

There are a few hiccups here and there in the launcher’s overall performance, but it is currently in alpha, so that’s to be expected.

The new dock

Another tweak Microsoft has made in the 6.0 update changes how people will use the dock. Before 6.0, a swipe up from the dock gave users quick access to device settings toggles like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and airplane mode, as well as twice as many of their favorite apps than is typically available with a standard dock.

Now, users only have access to the second row of apps, and Microsoft has omitted the toggle panel. This feels like a regression on Microsoft’s part, but for all we know, it could be planning to reimplement the toggles before the launcher is finished.

There are also a few general UI tweaks to the dock and app drawer in this latest update. These include the updated transparency blur effects, the removal of the app drawer button, a slightly bigger and more prominent design, and more fluid animations.

Not everything with the dock has changed in Microsoft Launcher 6.0, though. In recent versions of Android, users typically access their device’s app drawer with a swipe up from the bottom of the home screen. Though that’s true with Microsoft Launcher, users will still need to do so further above the dock than they are accustomed to as not to expand its second row, meaning your muscle memory may need some retraining.

Microsoft Launcher’s Google Now alternative

The left-hand Google Now screen has always been one of the shining features of stock Android setups. In recent years, launchers and OEMs have included Google Now into their launchers, while others have developed substitutes.

OnePlus is a prime example here, offering its own alternative called Shelf. Microsoft Launcher is also a Google Now replacement offender, but like OnePlus, its implementation isn’t bad.

As far as functionality is concerned, not much has changed in Microsoft Launcher 6.0. With a swipe right, users still get access to Microsoft’s Glance, News, and Timeline pages, which offer quick access to current events, tasks, appointments, and even sticky notes that are all easily integrated with Windows PCs. Where this section has really changed is in its design.

Like the rest of Microsoft Launcher’s updated design elements, the search bars and info cards see an updated boxy redesign with rounded corners, the new transparency effects, and an overall cleaner presentation. This Microsoft Launcher Glance redesign embraces the Windows 10 aesthetic significantly more than before, making its desktop integration both more visually and functionally seamless.

Right now, Microsoft Launcher 6.0 is in alpha via the launcher’s preview app, meaning it isn’t quite finished yet. Plus, Microsoft has quite a while to iron out any wrinkles before the Surface Duo lands later this year. Regardless, Microsoft’s take on the Android home screen offers quite a few usability and UI enhancements over the competition. From what we can tell, the app’s future is genuinely promising, but we will have to see its implementation on the Surface Duo before we give it a final verdict.

One of the most anticipated phones of early 2020 is the Xiaomi Mi 10, and new hands-on shots have given us the first ‘real’ pictures of it (other than leaked renders). Fans of Xiaomi phones might find these pictures eerily familiar though – they show a device that looks a lot like the Xiaomi Mi Note 10.

These pictures come from TechDroider, who posted them on Instagram. It’s not clear where these pictures originated though, and the posting refers to them as a ‘concept device’.

But based on some contextual clues (a wire attached to the device, and a visible placard in the background), we’d guess it’s a media hands-on event where they got to test the phone.

The leaked pictures show a sleek device with a curved screen, a rear camera bump in the top left of the back of the phone, and a punch-hole cut-out front-facing camera. Save for this last point, it’s incredibly similar in terms of design to the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 from late 2019, even down to the color of the device, known as ‘Glacier White’.

While the Instagram post refers to this device as the Xiaomi Mi 10, we’d expect it’s actually the Mi 10 Pro, as we’ve heard the former will have a flat screen while the latter will have curved display edges.

We were pretty big fans of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10’s design, but it’s still surprising just how similar the Mi 10 seemingly looks to the older device. Perhaps Xiaomi has taken to heart the mantra ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

It’s worth emphasising that this image is referred to as a ‘concept based on leaks’, but it’s almost unprecedented for someone to make a physical device based on leaks. So while it’s possible that someone went to a lot of effort for this posting, it’s also possible that was just said to protect a source (or is a translation error of some kind).

Either way, we’ll find out for sure in the first few months of 2020 (likely at MWC 2020 in February) when we’re expecting the device to launch. Stay tuned to TechRadar for all the latest news.

Microsoft Edge, the web browser that replaced Internet Explorer with the release of Windows 10, has been given a dramatic overhaul in the last year or so to be rebuilt on the same Chromium source code that Google Chrome is based on. Today, the new version of Microsoft Edge, based on Google’s Chromium, has been officially launched on Windows and macOS.

Late in 2018, Microsoft confirmed rumors that the company was rebuilding its Edge browser on Chromium, the open source base for Google Chrome. At the time, the reason given was for Edge to be able to offer “improved compatibility” over the existing EdgeHTML browser engine. The announcement put Microsoft Edge in league with other Chromium-based browsers like Vivaldi and Brave.

After over a year of development work and public beta tests, Microsoft, via The Verge, is formally launching the new Microsoft Edge based on Chromium. While Microsoft Edge, in its original form, was originally exclusive to Windows 10, rebuilding on Chromium has helped open the browser to more platforms. Today, you can download Microsoft Edge for macOS and all current versions of Windows.

Even a version for Windows 7 is available, despite the fact that Windows 7 reached End of Life earlier this week. No doubt, this is thanks to Google’s own commitment to support Google Chrome on Windows 7 until July 2021.

These additional desktop platforms follow the work already done to bring Microsoft Edge to Android and iOS. On those platforms, Edge uses the platform’s preferred/required browser engine with a layer of additional Microsoft features like sync.

If for whatever reason, you’re a fan of Chrome but not Google, Microsoft Edge may be the browser for you. The two browsers have a great deal in common including the ability to sync your browsing history and more between devices. One key difference is that you’re trusting Microsoft with that information instead of Google.

The similarities even run deeper than that, with the new Microsoft Edge being able to use nearly all of the same extensions that Google Chrome can use. Unfortunately, that also means that Microsoft Edge will be affected by the upcoming controversial changes to how Chrome extensions can and cannot work, collectively known as Manifest V3.

Where Edge sets itself apart from Chrome is in its built-in tracking protections that help you maintain privacy by default and handy features like Collections that let you handily organize images and pages from the web.

As of today, Edge is an optional program you can choose to download and install, just like any other alternative browser like Chrome or Firefox. What will give Microsoft’s new browser some stopping power is when the new Edge becomes the default built-in browser for Windows 10.

Verge notes that OEMs have already been given the new Edge, meaning new Windows 10 devices should begin appearing with Edge pre-installed. By giving users a competent cross-platform browser out of the box, there’s a chance people may no longer feel the need to immediately install Chrome, as the jokes go.

Additionally, over the next few months, Microsoft will slowly push this new version of Edge to Windows 10 users via Windows Update. This rollout will happen in gradual stages until a full, wider release happens in the summer.