Customize your Android phone so it feels like new
Renovate and redecorate. MICHAEL SIMON reports
Just because you aren’t buying a new phone this year doesn’t mean the one you’re using has to look as old as the day you bought it. We’re not talking about a new case or even a deep cleaning – we’re talking about a digital makeover that makes your old phone look and feel like a brand-new one.
FOR AN EXTREME MAKEOVER
1. Download a new launcher
Your Android phone comes with a launcher installed – Pixel, One UI Home, OnePlus, and so on – but the beauty of Android is you don’t have to keep it. You’ll find numerous launchers in the Play Store that open up your
Android phone to nearly limitless opportunities with themes, icons, features and optimizations that you won’t get out of the box.
There are lots to choose from, but our favourite is Nova Launcher (fave.co/2DUIB9s), which offers both paid and free versions. Other excellent options are Evie (fave. co/31Kv7p6) and Smart Launcher 5 (fave. co/33Nnnp2). You can even download launchers that mimic a Windows 10 PC (fave.co/2Y6uxkP) or an iPhone 11 Pro (fave.co/30K26us) if you’re into that.
Once you download a new launcher, you can try it out by setting it as your new default in the Home app tab inside Apps & notifications in the Settings app. You’ll instantly see a change to your home screen, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Inside the app you’ll find oodles of options for tweaking the home screen, app drawer, folders, badges, and just about anything else you’d like to change. And if you ever tire of it, you can always go back to the way things were.
TO JUST REDECORATE
2. Change your wallpaper
Even if you don’t want to commit to a full makeover of your Android phone, you can still change things up in small