Google Glass To Get Sideloaded App Launcher

Officially, Google Glass apps – Glassware, that is – are developed using the Mirror API, and there are a fair number of them available now with more sure to come in the future. On the other hand, there are sideloaded apps, which are installed as APKs and aren't supported by Google. As far as sideloaded apps go, accessing them once they're installed isn't the easiest thing in the world. That's where Launchy will come in.

Launchy is a project "in the pipeline" by Mike DiGiovanni, who developed Bulletproof and Winky, two sideloaded apps that have garnered a fair bit of attention. The first, Bulletproof, gives the user's Glass a lock screen not unlike the one you use on your smartphone. And the second, Winky, does what its name suggests – enables winking as a way to inconspicuously take a photograph.

On his Google+ account today, DiGiovanni announced a new sideloaded app he is working on, this one that aims to make all other sideloaded apps easier to use – Launchy, an app launcher. This would be Google Glass's first app launcher, and will bring a much-needed ability to the device, simplifying the use of sideloaded apps and, perhaps, taking the non-supported software side of Glass to the next level.

Says DiGiovanni about his project: "The big problem for most Native app development with Glass, is that once you install an app, there is no way for you to launch that app easily. Launchy is going to fix that. I figured out a way to get Launchy running from GlassHome without affecting general usability too much." He goes on to state that the launcher is Glassy-looking.

[via Self Screens]