I turned my Android right into a Home windows Cell...

I’ve examined a variety of smartphones over time, together with fashions from Asus, Google, Samsung, and Apple. Nevertheless, one kind of cellphone I by no means had the chance to check, which I deeply remorse to this present day, 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 cellular OS was its distinctive tile design for its residence display. Was it the fanciest design on this planet? 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 obtained me abruptly serious about the Home windows Cellphone once more, and its distinctive sq. residence display. Then the thought occurred to me, there should be a third-party Android launcher obtainable 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 is named 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. House affords, which is a pleasant throwback to the Home windows Cellphone period. This is the best way to arrange Sq. House in your Android machine, and why you won’t wish to change again to your default launcher after utilizing it.

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Sq. House 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. House, you possibly can obtain it without cost from the Google Play Retailer. After putting in, you may see two apps: Sq. House and House choices. Once you faucet Sq. House, it instantly opens the launcher, permitting you to begin customizing your tiled residence 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 possibly can add apps, shortcuts, launcher actions, dividers, tile teams and extra. To rearrange or resize the app tiles already on your house display, merely faucet and maintain them, identical to you’d on the default Android residence app.

I selected to maintain my calendar and the time on the prime 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 effectively. What I like about Sq. House is that you may customise the colour of the tiles to match your model and make every app tile stand out. Widgets are additionally supported, so you possibly can add an indicator on your battery, a photograph collage, or every other Android widget if you want. Sq. House additionally encompasses a distinctive app drawer, situated below Purposes, which organizes all apps into tiles. A search bar is included for simply discovering any app in your machine.

Sq. House additionally affords one other distinctive function, much like what the Home windows Cellphone had, known as Dwell 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 Dwell 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 possibly can view any missed calls by the Dwell Tile.

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set Sq. House as your default House app

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

Once you obtain Sq. House, you additionally get one other app known as House Choices in your machine. Opening this reveals extra customization choices for Sq. House, together with adjusting tile sizes and types, establishing gestures, choosing your wallpaper, and extra. On the prime of the House Choices display, you may see an possibility known as Set default residence, which robotically directs you to the Settings menu in your machine to set Sq. House as your default House app. Alternatively, you possibly can 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 trustworthy 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 for those who set it as your default launcher.

That mentioned, it affords 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 flexibility to arrange extra gestures, completely different tile animations, change the font, and far more. Once you first arrange Sq. House, you do get a 14-day free trial to check out the premium options, so you possibly can a minimum of attempt them and see for those who 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 gives a refreshing different to the everyday residence 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. Should you’re a Home windows Cellphone fan, you would possibly really feel the identical after testing it out. It is simple, and I’ve had no bother accessing all my apps and going about my each day routines with Sq. House. It could be nice to see Microsoft launch an official Home windows Android launcher sometime, however that is in all probability an extended shot.

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