Aviate Launcher Review

Tired of using the same stock-like launcher? Try Aviate Launcher.

Aviate Launcher is a context aware launcher that provides you with the right apps and information at the right time. It aims to be time and location aware thus adapting  your homescreen according to the time and the place. Sounds a bit like Google Now doesn't it?? May be it's because it was created by some of the Ex-Googlers. It  tries to emulate Google Now's predictability and supports the idea that your phone should be smart enough to do things for you,make recommendations for you and show the right information to you exactly when you need it.  It was making quite the noise in the Android world and that's when Yahoo decided to acquire developer Thumbsup Labs for $80 million.

It's not like your usual launcher, it has whole new concept for an Android Launcher. You can't customize the icons, can't add more homescreens and  while you can use widgets  but dont expect to use as many as you'd want.  So not a lot of customizations but it makes up for it by introducing several new features for an Android launcher.

 


Your primary homescreen or default homescreen page consists of mostly used apps and widgets. This homepage constantly changes to offer you relevant content when you might need it according to your usage patterns.



Spaces

If you swipe in from the left when you are on the default homescreen theres a section called Spaces.  It contains various spaces like Home, Work, Going Somewhere, Listening and other spaces according to your location which contain a collection of apps and quick actions specific to that Space. There's also a time profile that switches from "Morning Routine"  to normal daytime profile to "Night Time"  as the day progresses.

 


Tapping on the top bar brings out a drop down menu with few settings and  a collection of apps and widgets specific to the space you are in.  When you are in your home Aviate switches to Home space. In the drop-down menu of Home Space you can set an alarm, activate or deactivate do not disturb (silent) mode, see the weather information and your agenda.

When you are travelling Aviate switches to "Going Somewhere" space. It contains a collection of travel and traffic information apps (like maps, Google Earth). It can also show directions to your workplace or your home.

 


When you are at your workplace the drop down menu will show work related apps (like calculator, QuickOffice) and few quick actions to send emails and add new events to your calendar.


New update to the app brought up a new space called Listening. It is triggered by by plugging in your headphones. Here you can get information about the artist, recent tweets, upcoming tours and bios when you listen to a song. (You need to allow notification  access to Aviate to use this feature. You can find it inside the security under settings)

 


In the settings space you can choose between Light and Dark Theme, change your home and work addresses, add a settings widget and few settings apps.


Near-By Places

Aviate has this feature where it shows, nearby places (obviously).  It lets you create custom space according to your location. It is powered by Foursquare and it shows nearby places and restaurants, their ratings and reviews as in the Foursquare. It shows three quick actions for Camera, to share a Post and check-in.

 


Collections

Swiping in from the right in the default homescreen brings up the collections in which similar apps are grouped in folders for quick access. It keeps the clutter away and shows the collections of apps according to their functionality. Few such groups are Work, Social, Music, News, Settings, Sports and Games.
If you don't have any apps to fill up a collection then Aviate  will recommend you few apps when you press the plus sign in that collection. Tap add and it will place an app icon and clicking that icon will take you to the playstore page of that app. You can tap the settings button on the top right to choose which collections to show up in this screen.
Unfortunately you can't create your own collection.

 



App Drawer

Swiping in from the right again will take you to the app drawer where the apps for sorted by name. You can drag and drop the apps from here into spaces or collections. You can tap the letters on the right side of this screen to jump to the apps whose names begin from those letters.

Some Tips

- To change the temperature unit you need to long press on the temperature and select the between °F or °C.

  

- To add widgets or change the wallpaper on the default homescreen you need to long press that section and    add widget or photo according to your needs. You can either change the photo or replace it with widgets    or delete it.

- To change theme, swipe in from the left from default homescreen, go to settings and select between Light or Dark theme.

The only drawback to Aviate launcher is a biggie; customization. But if you can get over it then it might be the perfect launcher for you.  I also found that Aviate Launcher uses a lot of ram (107 mb) on my phone while Nova Launcher only used 34 MB but this wouldn't be a problem for devices having RAM 1GB or more.

Currently Aviate is in invite-only beta. Use "MUSIC" as the reservation code to use the new Aviate launcher. This code might work for only few days so grab this opportunity quick.

PlayStore Link:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tul.aviate


Let me know your thoughts on Aviate Launcher in the comments below.


Stay High on Android. Peace!!!