I turned my Android right into a Home windows Cellphone, and I do not assume I am going to return

I’ve examined a variety of smartphones through the years, together with fashions from Asus, Google, Samsung, and Apple. Nonetheless, one kind 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 Cell, 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 house display screen. Was it the fanciest design on this planet? No, nevertheless it was simplistic and attention-grabbing, 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 received me all of the sudden desirous about the Home windows Cellphone once more, and its distinctive sq. house display screen. 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 really like the appear and feel of One UI 7, one thing is charming concerning the simplistic tile design that Sq. Residence affords, which is a pleasant throwback to the Home windows Cellphone period. Here is the way to arrange Sq. Residence 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. Residence provides you the Home windows Cellphone expertise

You may customise all of the tiles to your liking and add widgets

To get began with Sq. Residence, you’ll be able to obtain it free of charge from the Google Play Retailer. After putting in, you may see two apps: Sq. Residence and Residence choices. Once you faucet Sq. Residence, it instantly opens the launcher, permitting you to begin customizing your tiled house display screen, just like a Home windows Cellphone (as seen within the picture above).

So as to add totally different apps, faucet the plus button on the backside of the display screen. 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 private home display screen, merely faucet and maintain them, identical to you’d on the default Android house app.

I selected to maintain my calendar and the time on the high of the display screen, and I positioned the apps I exploit most frequently all through the day — comparable to Gmail, Google Messages, Spotify, and Chrome — close to the highest as properly. 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 on your battery, a photograph collage, or every other Android widget if you want. Sq. Residence additionally encompasses a distinctive app drawer, positioned underneath Functions, which organizes all apps into tiles. A search bar is included for simply discovering any app in your machine.

Sq. Residence additionally affords one other distinctive characteristic, just like what the Home windows Cellphone had, known as Dwell Tiles. These are a sort of tile that robotically shows notifications from its corresponding app. For example, I’ve X (previously Twitter) on mine, and with Dwell Tiles enabled, it robotically shows notifications from the app, comparable to direct messages I’ve obtained. 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 via the Dwell Tile.

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Methods to set Sq. Residence as your default Residence app

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

Once you obtain Sq. Residence, you additionally get one other app known as Residence Choices in your machine. Opening this reveals extra customization choices for Sq. Residence, together with adjusting tile sizes and kinds, establishing gestures, choosing your wallpaper, and extra. On the high of the Residence Choices display screen, you may see an choice known as Set default house, which robotically directs you to the Settings menu in your machine to set Sq. Residence as your default Residence 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 > Residence app.

Though Sq. Residence 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. Residence is totally ad-free, so you will not be seeing intrusive advertisements on a regular basis should you set it as your default launcher.

That stated, it affords an choice to pay yearly for $2 or a one-time lifetime charge of $6 to unlock extra premium options (marked with inexperienced icons within the settings). These embrace the flexibility to arrange extra gestures, totally different tile animations, change the font, and rather more. Once you first arrange Sq. Residence, you do get a 14-day free trial to check out the premium options, so you’ll be able to no less than attempt them and see should you like them or not with out having to pay.

Though I’ve by no means personally used a Home windows Cellphone, Sq. Residence permits me to expertise what it might need been like to make use of one. Its tiled design gives a refreshing different to the everyday house 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 may 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 every day routines with Sq. Residence. It might 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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