Microsoft Launcher for Android adds Timeline and new design
The update's WhatsApp integration offers real-time translation.
One of Microsoft's focal points at its Surface event Tuesday was on helping you move seamlessly between devices. As part of that effort, it's updating Microsoft Launcher on Android with some new features, including long-awaited Timeline support.
The updated user interface switches up the Your Feed page. It displays information at the top about the weather, calendar events and your Microsoft Rewards points. Your Feed is divided into three sections -- Glance, News and Timeline. Support for the latter, a relatively recent Windows 10 feature, was announced earlier this year, and it could help you keep your activity synced across your devices and continue where you left off.
You can customize the News tab to focus on your favorite topics and nix those you're not so interested in. Glance more or less supplants the old Feed page with a fresh look. It offers information from your calendar and recent activity, while you can add widgets and move items around as needed. Launcher can also integrate with WhatsApp and provide real-time translations on your conversations with SwiftKey. The update also includes some Family Safety features.
The 5.0 update will be available Tuesday for beta users, and should be publicly available over the next few weeks, Android Central reports. It's not completely clear if or when Timeline will arrive on iOS devices.
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