I assumed I would hate this Android launcher impressed by dumb telephones, however I used to be so flawed

If you happen to’re unsure what that’s, open your telephone’s dialer proper now. See these 10 numbers and accompanying letters? These had been initially printed on units with bodily buttons. You’ll nonetheless discover this structure used on fashionable dumb telephones, because it’s vastly environment friendly by way of house utilization and typing expertise. However past dialer apps, they now not have a spot on touchscreen keyboard smartphones.

After all, when you gave me a tool with solely a T9 structure right now, it might take me a number of hours to recollect the right way to use it. Nonetheless, its embrace of this structure is a core motive why I wished to strive the Android launcher dubbed Key Launcher. Whereas I anticipated the expertise to be an absolute slog, I’m shocked by how flawed my unfounded expectations had been.

Let’s begin proper on the prime.

Even earlier than we get to its gimmick, Key Launcher has the sleekest onboarding expertise of any launcher I’ve used since Niagara. As you may see from the screenshots above, it does an excellent job of explaining its core performance, and after a fast gloss by the six slides, I knew precisely what the launcher provided and the right way to maximize it to my profit.

You’ll want this little crash course — Key Launcher is in contrast to any launcher you’ll doubtless be aware of.

As its title suggests, its defining function is a multi-purpose T9 keypad, which sits beneath quick-access user-pinned icons. The set of 12 keys, together with numbers 1 by 0, the asterisk, and the hash keys, occupies slightly below half of the display screen’s actual property. Normally, I’d name this an entire waste of house, however Key Launcher will get loads of use out of this keypad and finds methods to make loads of house elsewhere.

So what can the keypad truly do?

For one, it’s a dialer. If you happen to’re ceaselessly typing in WhatsApp numbers or trying to find contacts, the keypad’s place makes this course of extremely accessible and fast. After getting into a quantity, the launcher gives an inventory of choices, together with texting it or including it to your contacts record. You may also simply, you recognize, use it to name folks… like a telephone.

The keypad additionally doubles as a search bar, which sounds weird however is surprisingly intuitive. Leveraging the predictive smarts of the T9 system, the place every quantity corresponds to a letter of the alphabet or a logo, you may simply discover shortcuts or apps by typing in a sequence of numbers.

Listed below are some examples: YouTube seems after I kind in 968; Pictures turns into the highest shortcut after I kind in 7; and all my climate apps seem even when I don’t kind 9 (for W) and as a substitute kind 328 (EAT). By the way, 328 additionally brings up Uber Eats, due to the launcher’s fuzzy search smarts.

Basically, I may simply discover nearly all of apps on my telephone by typing in not more than 3 numbers at any given time. This beats utilizing complete search strings and a full-sized keyboard to seek out extra obscure apps on my gadget. Because the keypad is ever-present on the show, search is all the time instantly obtainable.

The keypad additionally serves because the gateway to the Personal Vault, which lets customers cover apps and different content material on their gadget, locked away behind a passcode. The vault is unlocked by typing in # adopted by the code, virtually like these secret Android dialer codes. It’s quirky but surprisingly safe given the unconventional unlock methodology required. Trying on the launcher, there’s no indication that the vault even exists, no much less the right way to unlock it.

Lastly, and maybe my favourite use of the keypad, is Tremendous Shortcuts. These are primarily speed-dial slots triggered by long-pressing a quantity on the keypad. They are often programmed to dial vital contacts, run complete search queries, or open apps. Key Launcher permits shortcut slots for numbers 1 to 9, so there’s loads of potential right here.

The sheer density of options crammed into the keypad alone is relatively exceptional. However that’s not the place the Key Launcher expertise ends.

As I’ve come to find, Key Launcher’s complete design philosophy is constructed round maximizing effectivity.

To entry settings, I long-press an empty spot on the display screen — no annoying hops by numerous menu timber after tapping overflow buttons. If you happen to don’t wish to use the T9 search performance, swiping up opens a conventional vertically-scrolling app drawer with a built-in alphabetical bounce menu on the suitable and a search bar on the backside. It makes shortcuts obtainable the place potential and hides extra performance the place acceptable.

Notably, app icons with extra menu choices show a downward arrow subsequent to their titles. I can faucet on these to open these menus. Within the Settings app, this implies leaping on to the Battery web page or teleporting to the My Apps web page by way of the Play Retailer menu. This little function alone has saved me a lot time.

Regardless of slapping a big keypad on its major display screen, the launcher feels visually contemporary and fashionable. Proper on the prime of the house display screen, you’ll discover Fast Look, and sure, it does a a lot better job at displaying pertinent info than Pixel’s At A Look.

Granted, it doesn’t have the breadth of capabilities as Google’s function, but it surely reveals climate info, together with temperature, humidity, and air high quality; any upcoming occasions proper on the prime of the display screen, and a daring, enticing clock within the heart. That’s all I actually need. The clock packs loads of customization choices, together with measurement and font changes.

Swiping proper on the Fast Look field brings the music participant into focus, which additionally shows lyrics for the at the moment taking part in observe. Once more, the seamlessness of this function integration is beautiful. It simply works out of the field and comes with a minor but satisfying animation as the subsequent line flicks over.

As a widget fanatic, I admire Key Launcher’s devoted widget web page. It’s accessed by swiping left on the keypad and homes as many containers as you need, supplied you don’t thoughts scrolling vertically to see all of them. The Widget Middle, because the launcher calls it, has its personal grid system that makes it straightforward to increase or shrink a widget, place them side-by-side, or rearrange them. There’s a devoted but transient set of widget settings that adjusts the web page’s background and scrolling preferences.

Isolating these visible parts on a devoted web page permits the launcher’s house display screen to take care of its focus with out robbing widget customers of extra performance. This association works very well for Microsoft Launcher, too.

As if that wasn’t sufficient performance, Key Launcher additionally has its personal bedtime mode. Dubbed Focus Mode, it’s activated by long-pressing the 0 key. This converts the launcher structure right into a Pixel Display screen Saver clone, with the Fast Look field now occupying the left-hand aspect of the show.

The best aspect will be tweaked to showcase quite a few containers, together with a big calendar, the music participant controls (full with these lyrics), a pomodoro timer, and Chrome’s Dinosaur Sport.

I discovered myself triggering this mode throughout work hours, turning my Pixel 8 into a correct desk companion that counts me all the way down to well-earned breaks, relatively than a distraction.

I’m certain you may inform simply how impressed I’m with Key Launcher. It’s remarkably refined, thoughtfully thought of, and endlessly helpful. Nonetheless, it does have a number of shortcomings, one in every of which considerations value.

Key Launcher does have a free ad-supported model, but it surely’s relatively restricted. Some options are restricted in amount, whereas others have imposed utilization timers. The lyrics function that I like a lot, for example, is barely obtainable for 30 days after set up. To maintain it, you’ll need to fork out for the premium model. If you need greater than eight pinned icons on the house display screen, you’ll must pay up.

Another widespread options are locked behind a paywall, together with notification dots on house display screen icons, which I discover somewhat odd. Personal Vault, entry to greater than three Tremendous Shortcuts, and entry to Tremendous Focus mode past 30 days — all locked away.

As a saving grace, Key Launcher isn’t precisely costly. The developer affords customers two choices: a $5.99 month-to-month subscription or a $19.99 one-time price, each of that are cheap given the sheer variety of options crammed into the launcher. It’s additionally less expensive than rivals like Niagara and Nova Launcher. The app additionally offers customers loads of time to check options earlier than shopping for, so I’ve to offer props to the developer for that.

There are some minor bugs, although. I seen some Vietnamese scattered all through sure sections of the app, most notably within the Personal Vault dialog — this regardless of my telephone language being set to English. It’s not an issue, but it surely suggests some polish continues to be wanted.

However actually, I’m nitpicking.

Key Launcher is among the slickest Android launchers I’ve utilized in years

Key Launcher genuinely shocked me. Its distinctive design philosophy makes oodles of sense in follow, placing effectivity and minimalism on the floor whereas someway appeasing maximalists and customization lovers with a number of utilization paths and tweaking choices beneath. It’s a troublesome steadiness to strike, and this launcher nails it.

I didn’t fairly assume the T9 keypad may work as a helpful multitool, but it surely makes an excellent base for fast searches, shortcuts, or just dialing numbers. It’s actually not a gimmick.

Android launchers are a dime a dozen these days. Some simply make up the numbers, whereas others supply one thing strikingly divergent and surprisingly helpful. I assumed this Key Launcher would fall into the previous camp, however I couldn’t have been extra flawed.