Microsoft right this moment launched a new app for Android users that spices up lock screens.
Born out of the Microsoft Garage hacker house, Picturesque Lock Screen offers up to date wallpaper pictures, information, climate, notifications, a Bing search bar, and extra to the Android lock screen.
I simply spent a jiffy testing the app on my Samsung Notice 4, and I’m impressed for essentially the most half. In a nutshell, the app acts as a second residence screen and allows you to entry sure instruments and data with out having to unlock your cellphone.
The Notice 4 doesn’t can help you set app shortcuts on the lock screen, however Picturesque Lock Screen does, so I’m thrilled about that. There’s additionally a bar with buttons to regulate WiFi, Bluetooth, ringer quantity, screen brightness, and a flashlight. As well as, there’s a button to shortly launch the digital camera, which can also be good.
One other cool characteristic is the flexibility to shake your cellphone to see a new lock screen background picture, which Microsoft pulls from Bing Homepage pictures. I additionally just like the embedded Bing search bar — this may doubtlessly pull Android users away from utilizing the Google search bar. The information stream, which is accessed by swiping proper, can also be a good contact and offers an straightforward strategy to scroll by way of tales with out unlocking your cellphone.
The app already crashed on me as soon as, so that’s a bit regarding. Additionally, those who use their lock screen for safety causes might not find yourself liking Microsoft’s new software. Up to now, the app has a 3.8-star ranking from 338 opinions on the Google Play Retailer.
The discharge of Picturesque Lock Screen for Android users comes simply a week after Microsoft launched a new Outlook email app for iOS and Android.
