Action Launcher's custom
search bar widget can now be placed anywhere on the home screen, not just at the very top.
It also brings updated cards to your device, as well as the new 5.0 app drawer and
search bar widget.
First, we saw it update the Google app beta and give users more control over the look and feel of
the search bar widget.
At the moment, it is just
the Search bar widget with a microphone icon.
Additionally, version 7.15 contains more information about
the Search Bar Widget and the recently uncovered Quartz device that's possibly a Google Home with a display.
There is cross-over with the new Bixby Home, but if you like doing it Google style, then tapping the Google
search bar widget will open this page.
You generally can't remove the Google
search bar widget on most stock launchers, but if you can if you install a 3rd party launcher like Nova.
Action Launcher's custom
search bar widgets, created via the inbuilt Quickbar editor, can now be placed anywhere on your home screen.
Not exact matches
On the home screen is a clock - and - weather
widget next to a Google
search bar.
Your phone probably comes preloaded with a clock or with a weather
widget, but there are
widgets for just about anything you might need: battery life, a way to disable 4G or GPS, a Google
search bar, or anything in between.
On a top
bar, above the home screen, there's a Google
search bar, a voice - commands button, and buttons to add
widgets and open the «apps drawer.»
The reader created a Flash - based demo of sorts, called HiVE Launcher, that demos a clickable Google
Search, Voice
Search, Apps, Add, Notification
Bar and Scrollable
Widgets.
The main screen houses a large time and weather
widget that sits at the top of the screen, and just under that you'll find the Google Now
search bar.
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The new At a Glance
widget lives where the
search bar used to, and it's been handier than I expected.
Choose the type of
widget you want to activate (subreddit, user, comment chain, etc.) from the
search bar that pops up, and type in the content you wan to pin to the page.
This means you'll have now have a Google
Search bar below your dock, the At a Glance
widget at the top for weather and calendar info, light and dark themes that automatically turn on based on which wallpaper you're using, slightly transparent Quick Settings menu and — most importantly — a proper Oreo easter egg.
The team has also integrated a new
search bar into the bottom of the launcher, with multiple functions like finding apps or contacts, or performing calculations, and the ability resize
widgets without snapping them to the normal grid (something that should please enthusiasts).
The two main differences are that the
search bar is at the top rather than below the dock and there's no At a Glance
widget, but depending on who you are, you might prefer that over the Pixel 2's UI.
A permanent
search bar takes up more vertical space for
widgets, and any Android tablet can open a text or voice
search immediately by long - pressing the home button.
Google redesigned its calendar
widget to show upcoming events, and as a result it moved the
search bar down to the bottom of the screen under the dock where you can access it even faster.
If you want your
search bar to match that of the Pixel Launcher, then you need to use the Nova Google
widget instead of the persistent
search bar.
The new rounded
search bar minus the weather
widget will work just like the usual
search bar works on the Google Now Launcher.
The
search bar is now situated at the bottom and it sports a new weather and calendar
widget.
The Action
Bar has (by default, anyway) given way to a more traditional Google
Search widget.
This time around, Google is doing away with the «pill» and weather
widgets that took up the top section of the launcher, instead bringing back the
search bar and placing it in a much more sensible place — under the docked icons.
The
search bar makes a return and has been moved down below the docked icons, and the «pill» and weather
widgets are gone from the top of the screen.
You'll then see a Bing
search bar which you can tap and hold to put into position (a couple of Cortana
widgets can be added from the same screen).
When the feature was finally added to the stable version of Nova Launcher, the functionality extended to any
widget of the user's choosing — not just the
search bar.
(This also gives you more space for your own
widgets, since disabling the
search bar would previously just leave a section of dead space up top.)
Pretty Pill: While you can't customize the color of your Pixel
search widget in Action Launcher, Nova will let you customize the color of the
search bar to better match your wallpaper or theme colors.
The Nova 5.5 - beta7 app has just been released and it now lets you choose your own custom dock
widget instead of Google's
search bar.
The persistent Google
search bar has gone away, replaced with a standard
widget.
Android 8.1 Oreo is currently the most stable version of the Linux - based Android mobile OS, bringing several enhancements and new features like a slightly transparent Quick Settings menu, light and dark themes that turn on automatically based on home screen's wallpaper, a Google
Search bar under the dock, and a new «At a Glance»
widget on top of the Calendar and Weather info.
We can add
widgets; we can add
search bars and gestures; we can have blank space wherever we want, not just at the bottom of an unfilled page!
This will get you everything for the Pixel theme except the Google
search bar, which isn't available in Quickbar but instead as a standalone
widget at the top of the
widget drawer.
You can then replace it as long as you use a
widget takes up a 4 × 1 space: just tap and hold the
search bar and hit «Replace» in the box that pops up to open up your
widget carousel.
It did away with the traditional Google
search bar, and instead presented owners with a redesigned Google «pill»
widget on the left and a weather and date
widget on the right.
An upgraded Pixel Launcher (the app that powers the Pixel 2 and first - gen Pixels» home screens) moves the prominent Google
search bar to the bottom of the screen, where it's easier to reach, and adds an optional «daily briefing»
widget that shows the current weather, temperature, and upcoming calendar entries.
It forgoes the useful weather
widget, but we have already seen in previous A / B tests a full
search bar and no pill.
Features like the bottom - located
search bar, At a Glance
widget, and transparent app drawer from the Pixel 2 were added to the original Pixel and Pixel XL with Android 8.1.
So that means that although you don't get the full features of running Android on your iPhone, you get a lot of Android's most popular elements, such as the Google
search bar, the action
bar buttons, the notification center, lock screen notifications, Android's power menu, the music playback
widget and Android volume sliders.
The app drawer has a little bounce when swiping all the way to the top or bottom, the Google
search bar at the bottom follows the app drawer as you swipe up, and Google logo in the
search widget and app drawer background will change colors based on the wallpaper you have set.
Additionally, Android 8.1 «Oreo» adds a Google
Search bar under the dock, a new «At a Glance»
widget on top of the Calendar and Weather info, and a new developer option for Pixel 2 devices that lets users activate the hidden image processing chip for HDR + shots.
From a usability standpoint, a more overt
bar might be more familiar and inviting to Android users than the current «Pill»
widget to access
search.
What's more, you can now use the Quickbar (Google
Search bar) as a standalone
widget, meaning you can move it around to anywhere on your device's home screen.
We've seen a few early looks at possible Pixel launchers with the
search bar and various
widgets in different places, so it's tough to say if this will be exactly what we see on October 4.
Even after Oreo's public release, the Pixel 2 was the first phone to introduce the Google
Search bar below the app dock, the At A Glance
widget, the dark theme that appears based on the wallpaper you use, etc..
To replace the
search bar, users need to long - press it, tap the «Replace» option, and choose a different eligible
widget from the list.
The app drawer itself is arranged vertically, with a separate tab for
widgets and a
search bar at the top.