Android を Windows Phone のように見せる - 2019 テスト

E.T.家に電話？いいえ、Windows Phone ホームです。あはは！そうです、私たちは試みられないことを試みるためにここにいます。アプリはストアにあるので、そうではありませんが、実際には、私たちがここにいる理由は、Android フォンで Windows Phone のテーマを試してみたいからです。私の最も素晴らしい Lumia 950 を含む Microsoft スマートフォン ラインの必然的な終焉により、そのタイル化されたユーザー インターフェイスの最高の人間工学は、記憶に委ねられた 1 つの悲しい日になるでしょう。これにより、市場のリーダーである Android と iOS で使用されているカラー アイコン アプローチを、私と同じ考えを持つユーザーに残すことができます。

私は最近、いわば水域をテストするために Android 携帯を手に入れました。私が行った Moto G6 の選択に非常に満足しています。あらゆる面で非常に合理的であり、タイル化されたインターフェースがあれば、「素晴らしいだろう.たまたま、Play ストアにはこのような性質のアプリがあります。だから私はテストしていて、重要な質問への答えを見つけようとしています.AndroidでWPのようなレイアウトを使用できますか?ええと、私はこれを 4 年前に試しました。私に従ってください。

テスト 1:スクエア ホーム 3

これを行うことの大きな問題は、利用可能なオプションが豊富であり、さらに多くの意見があることです.次に、Google と友人たちは、Android エクスペリエンスを可能な限り合理化するために多額の投資を行います。賢明な代替手段、David vs. Goliath スタイルを提供しようとする、ランダムだが熱心な開発者をキューに入れます。実行可能ですか？はい。ありそう？おそらく。

どこでも肯定的なレビューがあったため、最初のオプションとしてSquare Homeを試しました.この小さなランチャーには 100 万人以上のユーザーがおり、スコアは 4.6/5.0、評価とコメントは約 55,000 です。それはかなりきれいに聞こえます。私はアプリをインストールし、タイルの管理方法の基本を説明する簡単な習熟ツアーを行いました。

Windows Phone と比べると、外観はそれほどミニマルではありません。タイルには色とラベルでいっぱいの抽象的ではないアイコンが付いており、別のタイルからアプリケーション メニューを呼び出します。透明度がやや気になるように感じました。もちろん、すべてを微調整できます。Square Home には当惑するほど多くのオプションが用意されていますが、それらは非常にオタクな感じがしており、すべてを整理するにはかなりの労力が必要です。一部の設定は 14 日間変更できますが、その後はプロ バージョンが必要になります。

テスト 2:ランチャー 10

これが私の次の試みでした。このアプリケーションには、ほぼ同じ数のインストール、立派な 4.2/5.0 マーク、約 8,000 以上のレビュー、さらにアプリ内購入と広告が付いています。インストールしたら、起動しました。透明なタイルを使用した、非常に Windows Phone のレイアウトが得られます。動作は、Lumias などから知っているものとよく似ています。長押しすると、タイルの選択、移動、サイズの変更、固定解除ができます。

短いカスタマイズセッションの後、物事ははるかに良く見えました.私が行った最も重要な変更は、黒の背景の使用でした。これにより、電話はすぐに非常に信頼できる WP の外観になりました。アプリ セクションはスワイプで呼び出され、私の Lumia のように感じます。

There are fewer settings, they are easier to navigate than Square Home, but some of the features require a pro (purchase) version, plus you get ads at the bottom of the screen, which really doesn't feel like my Lumia after all. Launcher 10 also comes with a detailed privacy policy that states the different vectors of data they collect, and I felt this isn't what I'm looking for. If I'm not mistaken, the Launcher 10 collects calendar events, and they've recently removed call log and SMS permissions to comply with the new Google Play policy. I do understand a home screen launcher needs access to different apps and notifications, but still.

Test 3:Microsoft Launcher

This sounds very interesting. After all, Windows Phone, tiles, Microsoft, duh! I also cannot escape the feeling that Microsoft is gently - or not so gently - positioning itself more and more into the Android app space. It failed to make a significant impact in the mobile operating system domain, but then, perhaps it's not necessary if people use your software.

Microsoft Launcher looks handy - 10M+ install, some 850K reviews at 4.6/5.0 rating, no ads. Well, I installed the program and learned a few interesting things. First, you go through a little wizard, which lets you customize a few options. Among other things you can optionally sign into a Microsoft account.

There's an intro tour, too. And then you have the option to make additional changes. There are quite a few of those, including the use of various accounts, including something called Wunderlist. You can set up Cortana, and download a whole bunch of Microsoft apps. Some of these are quite handy, but they are not in any way specific to Microsoft Launcher.

Oh, it doesn't look that different from Android - basically, it's a home screen with pretty much the same icons, and just an extra search box (with Bing as your default provider). Sure, you can make changes, but you won't get the nice, simple, minimalistic tiled interface, which is what I've been looking for in the first place. So I guess I need to exclude it from consideration. Ergo, we have Square Home and Launcher 10. All right.

So what did I decide?

Well ... it's a tough one. While I love and admire any attempt to create superior ergonomics, tiny details can really spoil everything. I linked to my Android like WP 2015 article in the beginning of this piece, and there's the similar Ubuntu Phone effort, and in both cases, you get 95% of the original. But not the full 100%. Somehow, it matters a lot.

It's not that these other projects and apps aren't good - far from it - but there's a big difference between an application with a specific theming and experience versus an entire operating system built from the ground up for a very particular mode of usage. Things come apart three or four levels deep. Tiny things. But my OCD demons can't get past that.

Then, I have become more averse to the whole mobile drama in the past few years. It's not that I'm more paranoid, but I'm sure less tolerant to the almost liberal misuse of system settings and permissions for the sake of some 1950s salesmanish foot-in-the-door model, where user data and ads have become the holy grail of everything. And so, having additional software at such a critical junction of usage as the home screen does create a sort of dilemma. The idea is to minimize one's digital footprint, not increase it, therefore new apps, even those that offer the amazing WP looks, create a tricky conflict of experience-driven ideology.

The real solution is, of course, native solutions from OEM, Google, or maybe Microsoft if they ever go back to making smartphones. Nokia could do it too, but I'm not sure who owns the brand Lumia and its associated art, and how it can resurface (see what I did there) as an ergonomically superior option for phone users.

Specifically, both Launcher 10 and Square Home 3 are very neat. But there are some technical problems that prevent me from using them. One, payment - I have nothing against paid software, and nothing against paying Google or other software companies if and when needed, I just don't want to do that on a phone, because I don't want to have my payment methods associated with any particular device, and that prevents me from enjoying the pro editions of these apps. Two, they work well, but we go back to the 95% thingie, and that's something that I can't really get past. Three, the required permissions to make these launchers work are rather permissive [sic], and turning everything off would render them useless. That approach works for standalone apps like a music player or a browser, but not for a launcher that's meant to be the gateway to your entire phone's ecosystem.

結論

I really wish there was a single-click - or a single-tap - option to turn your default Android looks into a tiled interface in a way that does not introduce any complications or expand on the existing set of permissions. Alas, that's not possible, for a variety of reasons, and the best one can have, if they want WP ergonomics on an Android, is a set of third-party apps. Square Home and Launcher 10 are nice, but full versions cost money, there's the implicit and explicit trust in their usage (like any software really but more so given their role), and you will never get a 100% WP experience, because Android works ever so slightly differently.

So the question is, can you live with 95%? Or can you live with Android looks? For me, a less-than-perfect alternative is no alternative, and I'd rather suffer the sub-optimal defaults than sub-optional optional choice of my own choosing. This is the reason why I almost never tweak anything in my production setup, be it Windows, Linux or phone. So perhaps I will be a tragic hero, straight out of Greek mythology, and continue using a phone with superb ergonomics but dead or dying ecosystem (Windows Phone) or use Android, which is rich and vibrant but not my cup of artistic tea. Maybe one day we will have both, but for now, this shall remain my unicorn.

乾杯。