14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has released a new beta version of its Android launcher, and this time, there are two important changes in addition to the typical bug fixes and performance improvements.
Microsoft Launcher 5.11 beta for Android introduces refinements to the folder and app drawer. As Microsoft explains in the rather short changelog, these two “are more consistent with Launcher theme,” which should basically contribute to increased consistency after installing Microsoft Launcher on an Android device.
But the more important addition is an option to hide new apps in app drawer. In other words, when you install new apps on an Android device, the shortcut is no longer placed in the app drawer if this option is enabled.
If you want to do enable this behavior, you need to fire up Microsoft Launcher and then follow this path:
Microsoft Launcher > Settings > App drawer settings > Show new apps
As said earlier, the update also brings general bug fixes and performance improvements, so overall, Microsoft Launcher should be a bit more reliable on specific Android devices.
Minor update
Other than that, Microsoft Launcher 5.11 is shaping up to be a rather minor update, which perfectly aligns with the latest releases of the Android app. Microsoft appears to be focusing more on polishing the launcher rather than introducing new features, and this more or less makes sense given that the userbase has grown significantly lately.
Keep in mind that this first build of Microsoft Launcher 5.11 is still a beta build, meaning that it’s not supposed to be installed on production devices given that some features may not work exactly as expect. I installed this update on my test Android device and everything seems to be working correctly, however you better not use it on your daily driver.
You can download Microsoft Launcher for Android from Softpedia using this link.