Pixel Launcher Tricks Expand While Arrow Launcher Updates
The Google Pixel launcher for Android is now available for more phones than just Google's own. Google doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the working abilities of the launcher beyond Pixel and Pixel XL – but it is what it is. At the same time, Microsoft has updated its own Arrow Launcher to take on what Google has with their Pixel phones.
We previously went over a small number of phones Pixel launcher works on. Now, in addition to the Pixel and Pixel XL and CyanogenMod 14, we've confirmed that some phones with CyanogenMod 13 work, too. Our original report has been updated, and users of most phones from the past two years (new phones) should be able to use the launcher. They should, that is, just so long as they're using CyanogenMod 13 or 14 when they make the attempt.
For those users that cannot access the app through Google Play, there's an APK Mirror listing. The most recent update to the app via APK Mirror is Pixel Launcher 7.1.1-3359438 from October 19th, 2016 as of press time for this article. This is the same version we've tested with both most recent versions of CyanogenMod.
Microsoft's update to Arrow Launcher comes just as the Google Pixel and Pixel XL hit stores – and the latter device is re-stocked online. This update to Arrow Launcher adds memory efficiency, bug fixes, and the return of the widgets pack from a previous iteration of the app. This version also adds icon size customization – though we stress that modifying the size of Android icons may very well make pages look quite crazy.
Microsoft added several features that were likely inspired by the Pixel launcher from Google. The most prevalent of these features is the ability to add shortcuts to app icons. Users could also potentially have all of Google's newest icons by downloading the Pixel icon pack from Google Play by Saurabh Gupta.
Microsoft's Arrow Launcher is also available through Google Play and is, as always, delivered without cost. This app was updated on the 8th of November, 2016 to version number 2.6.0.27593. Users will find that they'll need Android version 4.0.3 and up if they want to make use of the app.