Ah! Android & its beauty. What differentiates Android from all other mobile operating systems is surely the freedom to customize it the way the user wants.(On your face, iOS!) Launchers are like the building blocks of every Android customization. You cannot expect and in fact cannot do the things with the stock Android launcher that you can do with custom launchers.
When it comes to Android launchers, there are two famous names – Nova Launcher and the Action launcher. We all know Nova Launcher is the king of Android launcher, but still, a lot of users also prefer the Action Launcher which provided almost the same features as the Nova Launcher.
The launcher has got its one of the biggest update so far that adds almost every Android O feature in it like App Shortcuts, Notification Dots, Quick Theme, Google Feed Integration and more.
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ACTION LAUNCHER V26 – WHAT’S NEW?
So talking about the new featured that are added, here is the latest changelog for the version 26 –
- NEW: Google Now integration for all! Requires installation of the Action Launcher Google Plugin application.
- NEW: Full Notification Dots support!
- NEW: Long-pressing a shortcut will display a preview of app’s notifications and allow notifications to be dismissed ala Android O. Available when using either Notification Dots or Unread Count.
- NEW: Unread Count support extended to all apps that have a current notification.
- NEW: Android O style App Shortcuts panel.
- NEW: Allow granular control as to which apps display Notification Dots/Unread Count.
- NEW: Android O style widget picker, which displays all relevant widgets for a given shortcut.
- NEW: Directly engage Action Launcher’s Quickedit panel via a shortcut’s long-press pop-up UI.
- NEW: Dedicated “Icons & App Shortcuts” settings page, which is home to all icon related settings.
- NEW: When Google Pill widget is on the left screen edge and Google Now integration is enabled, display a tinted edge background as per Pixel Launcher.
- NEW: Option to adjust the scale of icon indicators.
- NEW: Revamped interface for selecting the apps that are hidden from app drawers.
If you know how to enable the Google Feed in Nova Launcher, then the process is same for Action Launcher. You have to install an extra apk file which is just 0.14MB in size. Download and Install this and you will now get the Google Feed in Action launcher by swiping from left on the homescreen, just like on Google Now Launcher or the Pixel Launcher.
BUT HEY! ITS ALL NOT FREE…
Well, unfortunately, you have to upgrade to Plus version to get all the features like Notification Dots, Quicktheme (wallpaper mode), Unread Badges, Smartsize icons, etc. But other features are available in the free version.
DOWNLOAD ACTION LAUNCHER GOOGLE PLUGIN
So, what are your views on this Action Launcher’s new update? Do let us know via the comments section.