Microsoft Launcher 6.0, officially released with a completely custom interface

Already undergoing numerous Beta revisions, Microsoft Launcher 6.0 is now officially released, the application offering Android users a completely redesigned interface. Dark display mode and support for landscape mode scaling represent only a small part of the upgrade to the Android skin developed by Microsoft since 2015.

For version 6.0, Microsoft has decided to rewrite the application code from scratch, which means that some of the features appreciated in previous versions have also been reinterpreted or, as appropriate, removed. For example, the old transparent theme has been removed, along with the system theme option. However, some of their elements have been implemented in the two remaining themes, which allows to obtain a more consistent aspect.

What’s new in Microsoft Launcher 6.0

The appearance of the interface now automatically changes from Light mode to Dark mode, when we check the Dark Mode option in the Android configuration menu.

Microsoft Launcher

The feed on the left screen receives perhaps the most important changes, with the new version having a less crowded appearance. The “add a task” widget no longer fills the entire screen width, and the mini icons displayed at the top have disappeared.

In the App Drawer menu, recently used applications are delimited by the rest of the list using a horizontal bar. At the same time, the New Apps category has disappeared. The Search apps option turns into a clearly delimited bar, complete with a voice search button. The new search bar changes shape depending on how you customize the main search widget.

Microsoft Launcher 6.0 provides full support for Landscape usage, with the Redmond company adding this feature in preparation for the upcoming offering of Android-based Surface tablets. At the same time, the use of an external screen is now possible without compromising the vertical bars that waste the display surface.

Microsoft Launcher 6.0 can be installed from the official Google Play Store page. The bad news is that the new version is only compatible with devices based on Android version 7.0, or newer, with certain features reserved for devices running at least Android 8.0.