3 free Android launchers to simplify the interface of your smartphone

Simplify the use of an Android smartphone by installing a simplified interface more accessible to non-seasoned users.

Not everyone is born with a smartphone or tablet in their hands. What you think is easy to use may not be easy for an uninitiated audience.

Faced with the complexity of the interfaces of the different operating systems on smartphones or tablets, an uninformed public can quickly lose footing and give up. However, in this time of pandemic, being able to keep in touch with loved ones when one has to limit their outings and social interactions has become essential, especially for seniors. Being able to easily send and receive messages, photos and videos to keep in touch with your family if you don’t visit them is essential.

To avoid seeing the brand new smartphone that you gave your grandparents for Christmas end up at the bottom of a drawer, because it is too complex to use, it is better to prepare the device in advance before offering it to try to simplify its interface as much as possible. Some manufacturers, like Xiaomi, offer a Lite mode in their interface settings, offering the possibility of using a lighter interface that is easier to understand.

But it is also possible on all Android devices to install launchers, application launchers, to simplify the interface of the device by removing superfluous options (or at least hiding them) and modifying the display to put big icons. There is a plethora of them on the Play store to facilitate smartphone use for less tech-savvy people. Based on this observation, we decided to test several to keep only three of the most convincing.

1. Simple Launcher

Simple Launcher is without doubt the most modern and pleasant interface to use. The home screen displays by default a widget on which we find the local weather forecast, the current date and a clock (only in international format). Underneath, large icons of your favorite apps can be pinned for easy access, without ever having to open the app drawer, accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

To add new applications to the home screen, the user only has to press the Edit button displayed on the home page, and press one of the + Add buttons on the screen. Simple Launcher does not embed a simplified app for texting or calling and will therefore let you use the apps configured by default on the device.

On the left of the home pane, Simple Launcher displays two folders (Family and Friends) in which you can configure favorite contacts. While this option is welcome, it can still be improved. Because rather than launching a call directly on the number associated with the contact, it will display the contact card, and will thus ask the user for an additional action to launch a call.

Overall Simple Launcher is very efficient. If you are worried about seeing certain settings accidentally modified by the end user, it is possible, from the “Control Center” of the launcher, to activate a security lock to prevent modification of the home screen or to block the volume setting of the ringtone and notifications. On the positive side, an SOS button (which can be disabled) is also available on the screen located just to the left of the home screen to configure a contact to call in an emergency when the user presses it.

• Download Simple Launcher for Android (Free)

2. Simplified app launcher

Installing an application launcher for seniors should not be synonymous with an interface with an outdated design. The Simplified App Launcher is as simple as it is effective. Natively, it revolves around four screens. On the main screen, we find the time display as well as four large application icons.

The screen on the right, which houses the application “drawer” and the launcher settings, can be extended as much as necessary to accommodate other applications that you consider essential on a daily basis.

To the left of the main screen, you will find two screens. The first allows you to configure shortcuts to launch quick calls to six contacts, while the second offers quick access to certain parameters such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, or even the flashlight. However, the latter could be even more simplified since, apart from the flashlight, it returns directly to the Android settings which could complicate things for a senior. Note that to change the brightness or access the quick settings of Android, the native notifications panel is still accessible by deploying it from the top of the screen.

• Download Easy App Launcher for Android (Free)

3. Senior Homescreen

Offering all the advantages of a smartphone while offering an ultra minimalist interface, this is what Senior Homescreen offers. This Android launcher, clearly intended for seniors, only offers the bare minimum. If this will leave some unsatisfied, we must admit that the free version of this application launcher is very easy to use and leaves no room for the superfluous.

The home page, which still displays a clock and the current date, offers by default only six locations, corresponding to six shortcuts to favorite applications. The application integrates two natively (the phone as well as the photo gallery) and will therefore allow you to add four more. To add more, you will have to go to the checkout and opt for the Premium version, sold € 1.99, to display one or two pages of additional applications. Note that if Senior Homescreen remains free for the first thirty days, it will display an advertising banner after this period. Here again it will be possible to remove this advertisement by opting for the premium version, via an in-app purchase.

Despite an English configuration interface, Senior Homescreen is very easy to configure. To avoid accidentally accessing the parameters, the application requires a long press on the dedicated button, as well as the entry of a code (5156, displayed on an alert bubble when you press it). There is therefore no risk for a beginner user to access a menu or an application other than those pinned to the main screen.

• Download Senior Homescreen for Android (Free)