I turned my Android right into a Home windows Cellphone, and I do not assume I will 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 Cellular, 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, however it was simplistic and crowd pleasing, and I discovered it notably attention-grabbing as somebody who has primarily used a Windows PC all their life.

With Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 quickly, it bought me instantly excited 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 accessible that resembles the Home windows Cellphone in some capability, proper?

The reply is sure, and the one I have been having fun with utilizing essentially 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 really like the feel and appear of One UI 7, one thing is charming concerning the simplistic tile design that Sq. House presents, which is a pleasant throwback to the Home windows Cellphone period. Here is how you can arrange Sq. House 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. House provides you the Home windows Cellphone expertise

You’ll be able to customise all of the tiles to your liking and add widgets

To get began with Sq. House, you’ll be able to obtain it totally free from the Google Play Retailer. After putting in, you will see two apps: Sq. House and House choices. If you faucet Sq. House, it instantly opens the launcher, permitting you to begin customizing your tiled dwelling display, much 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’ll be able to add apps, shortcuts, launcher actions, dividers, tile teams and extra. To rearrange or resize the app tiles already on your own home display, merely faucet and maintain them, similar to you’ll 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 — corresponding to Gmail, Google Messages, Spotify, and Chrome — close to the highest as nicely. What I like about Sq. House is you could customise the colour of the tiles to match your type and make every app tile stand out. Widgets are additionally supported, so you’ll be able to add an indicator to your battery, a photograph collage, or another Android widget if you want. Sq. House additionally includes a distinctive app drawer, situated underneath Functions, which organizes all apps into tiles. A search bar is included for simply discovering any app in your machine.

Sq. House additionally presents one other distinctive characteristic, much like what the Home windows Cellphone had, known as Stay Tiles. These are a kind of tile that robotically shows notifications from its corresponding app. As an illustration, I’ve X (previously Twitter) on mine, and with Stay Tiles enabled, it robotically shows notifications from the app, corresponding to direct messages I’ve acquired. It additionally works for a lot of different apps, just like the Cellphone app, the place you’ll be able to view any missed calls by the Stay Tile.

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Tips on how to set Sq. House as your default House app

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

If you obtain Sq. House, you additionally get one other app known as House Choices in your machine. Opening this reveals further customization choices for Sq. House, together with adjusting tile sizes and types, establishing gestures, choosing your wallpaper, and extra. On the high of the House Choices display, you will see an choice known as Set default dwelling, which robotically directs you to the Settings menu in your machine to set Sq. House as your default House app. Alternatively, you’ll be able to change your default launcher at any time in your Android machine by going to Settings > Apps > Select default apps > House app.

Though Sq. House is not a 1:1 remake of the Home windows Cellphone, it’s a devoted adaptation, and its tile design genuinely evokes its nostalgia. In contrast to another third-party Android launchers, Sq. House is totally ad-free, so you will not be seeing intrusive adverts on a regular basis when you set it as your default launcher.

That stated, it presents an choice to pay yearly for $2 or a one-time lifetime payment of $6 to unlock further premium options (marked with inexperienced icons within the settings). These embody the flexibility to arrange extra gestures, completely different tile animations, change the font, and far more. If you first arrange Sq. House, you do get a 14-day free trial to check out the premium options, so you’ll be able to at the very least strive them and see when you like them or not with out having to pay.

Though I’ve by no means personally used a Home windows Cellphone, Sq. House permits me to expertise what it may need been like to make use of one. Its tiled design offers 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 bother accessing all my apps and going about my every day routines with Sq. House. It could be nice to see Microsoft launch an official Home windows Android launcher sometime, however that is most likely a protracted shot.

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