Microsoft Launcher has become one of the company’s best performing services on mobile. The Android launcher is hugely popular and has hundreds of millions of installs. Much of the success has been down to Microsoft’s consistent updates that have allowed the launcher to be feature rich. Now the company has announced its Microsoft Launcher Preview.
As the name suggests, Microsoft Launcher Preview gives users early access to features in exchange for testing them. The app will become the Alpha testing ground for Microsoft Launcher.
Microsoft has the preview differs from the full launcher app because it is built on a new codebase. Essentially, this allows features to be tested without disrupting stable builds. Because of this, the app will not function as a genuine launcher as it will be missing some core features.
Among the first features for testing are an overhaul of dark mode and a landscape mode. Here’s how Microsoft Launcher Preview is starting:
- Give your phone a new look
- Personalize your apps with custom icon packs, and use adaptive icons to give your phone a consistent look and feel.
- Enjoy Bing daily images as your wallpaper, or use your own photos.
- Dark Theme
- Microsoft Launcher supports Dark theme for your viewing pleasure. Select dark theme for comfort of use at night or in low light environments. This feature?is compatible with Android?phone’s?dark mode settings.
- Landscape mode
- Microsoft Launcher supports horizontal orientation?to enhance your viewing preference.
It is worth noting that Microsoft Launcher already has a beta app. It is unclear if Microsoft plans to shutter that preview channel in favor if the new one. Either way, you can download Microsoft Launcher Preview from the Google Play Store.