Xiaomi released the very impressive Pocophone F1 last year, and with it came the quirky POCO Launcher. Now you can make any Android feel like the Pocophone by downloading the UI to your own phone.
Xiaomi announced the POCO Launcher 2.0 on Twitter this week.
Read our review of the Xiaomi Pocophone F1
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Download POCO Launcher 2.0 at https://t.co/hSpAZSnSNp pic.twitter.com/2Kjv9JUMjo
— MIUI (@miuirom) June 14, 2019
Key features of the updated POCO Launcher include a beautiful minimalist design, smoother scrolling in the app drawer, apparently greater privacy with app hiding options and the launcher’s semi-transparent background.
In the video, Xiaomi showed off its customisable background settings, turning the percentage of the light background down so the wallpaper could faintly show through. The same was done with the dark background to give the layout a more muted look. With this update, you can get the benefits of dark mode without sacrificing the personalised look of your phone.
Xiaomi has also demonstrated the launcher’s flexible app management options. Now you can create your own custom groups and add and remove apps from them easily, to ensure you don’t have to waste any time finding what you need.
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POCO Launcher can also automatically group apps by category or colour so you don’t have to spend an hour cleaning up your app drawer yourself if you’re happy to let POCO take the reins.
Other new features for the launcher include Android’s dark mode, a double tap option to lock the device, the ability to switch between the Dots and Count style notification badges, more local results shown in the search tool, an option to lock home screen icons in place and full compatibility with Android Q.
The launcher is also able to support a higher number of Android phones outside of Xiaomi’s own range. This means that you can take advantage of the Pocophone’s highly customisable layout without having to splash out on a brand new phone.
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As far as the phone in the video goes, there is speculation on social media as to what the new phone could be. Some think it’s the Pocophone F2, while others believe it is the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. The POCO Launcher 2.0 beta is available to download on the Google Play Store now.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.