Microsoft Launcher for Android sheds beta tag, launches in full

The rebranded Arrow Launcher, which recently graduated from Microsoft's Garage division to join the company's suite of Android apps, is moving on from its preview status. Announced by Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, Microsoft Launcher has started its rollout from beta, ensuring that everyone with Arrow Launcher will eventually be migrated.

Aside from its recent name change, Microsoft Launcher picked up an overhaul that brought some notable new features. Part of that involved Microsoft's push to more closely integrate Windows 10 with your mobile device with a "Continue on PC" feature. Though it requires your PC to be on the Fall Creators Update, Continue on PC will let you long press on documents, images, and other files to continue what you're working on your PC.

Here's a recap of the new features in Microsoft Launcher:

  • The Feed — Info at your Fingertips. With just a quick swipe-to-the-right, Microsoft Launcher offers a tailored feed of your important events, top news, recent activities, favorite people and most frequently used apps.
  • Beautiful and customizable — Launcher has wide-ranging ways to let you personalize your phone, it's easy to set colors of backgrounds, and new "gesture" support will let even hard-core customizers create the environment that makes them most productive.
  • Continue on PC — And of course, Microsoft Launcher has been designed to make it easy for you to continue what you're working on seamlessly — whether it's photos, documents and more — on your PC

Microsoft Launcher delivers a beautiful Android experience

Microsoft Launcher was already available for anyone to download, so the move from beta likely won't bring any noticeable changes for anyone who was already using the app. Still, it signals that Microsoft has managed to iron out any critical issues and that the launcher is ready for primetime. If you want to check Microsoft Launcher out, you can grab it for free on Google Play now. For more on Microsoft's Android efforts, check out our early hands-on look at Microsoft Launcher. And if you're looking to round out the Microsoft experience on your Android phone, the company just launched Edge for Android in preview on Google Play.

See at Google Play

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl

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