Third-party apps have long been a staple of the Android ecosystem, but their appeal has waned in recent years. Yahoo, which exited the third-party launcher market in 2018 after discontinuing its popular Aviate launcher, has now made a surprising return to the Android launcher space—almost six years later.
Artem Russakovskii, the founder of Android Police, recently spotted a new Yahoo Launcher app on the Google Play Store. While the app appears to have been released earlier this month, it is currently unavailable for download in certain regions or on specific devices. However, the app bundle can still be downloaded and installed from APKMirror.
According to the Google Play Store description, Yahoo Launcher was made with “powerful search in mind.” It looks a lot like the Pixel Launcher, with a big search bar at the bottom for quick searches. Your contacts, settings, and the web can all be searched from this one convenient bar. It gets even more similar when you swipe right to get a weather and trending news page that takes inspiration from Google Discover.
Limited Features in Yahoo Launcher
Aside from that, it’s just a regular Android launcher; you can customize the home screen with widgets and arrange icons any way you like. The launcher has both light and dark themes, which is expected for a 2024 app, and it also has a first-party wallpaper selection, comparable to the Google Pixel launcher.
After installing the software on our Pixel 8a, we saw that the launcher is still in its early stages and has some rough edges. The launcher comes with a (very) extensive setup procedure when you download it. The first step is to select the icon size, grid size, and icon style (circle, square, squircle, or rounded square).
Next, the launcher will ask for permission to access your location, contacts, and photo library, specifically for the wallpaper. After the first setup, you’ll be able to add the apps you prefer to the home screen. At last, you see the minimalist launcher interface with Yahoo’s default background. Tapping and holding an empty spot allows you to customize the launcher by adding icons and widgets.
Unfortunately, the Yahoo Launcher seems to have a lot of bugs right now. The swipe-up gesture to return home is not supported on our Pixel devices, and during our testing, the app regularly failed. The lack of even the most fundamental features, such as animations when apps open, makes using the launcher feels like little more than a simple app switcher.
When compared to the top Android launchers on the market, Yahoo Launcher seems very lacking. Basic functions like making app folders are missing, and it doesn’t accept icon packs made by other parties. Many people will be disappointed that even the much-touted search tool doesn’t have voice search.
Yahoo is clearly still in the early stages of its comeback. It is evident that the software needs additional development, as the launch has not been officially announced by the corporation yet. Still, it’s good to see an old giant come back to a place that has been losing popularity lately.
