Nov 23, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT

Android Launcher version 5.8 Updates: Auto-Rotate Added, Normalization Gone

Jan 14, 2016 05:16 PM EST

Most of the reports earlier indicate an inclusion of normalized icon sizes based on Google icon design guidelines. As many developers do not follow the guidelines, users see Android's app drawer and home screen filled with an inconsistent mess as a result. The recent launcher update fixes this problem by automatically normalizing all the icon sizes, resulting to any non-conformed icons shrunken down as set in Google’s design guideline. A few hours later, users read feeds indicating that the recent change has already been disregarded. So the sizes of the google icons are as they were prior to the version 5.8 update.

Perhaps it was not meant to go live yet. Maybe there are still some problems. We are still not sure. Hopefully this would be considered in the next update.

The new features that are now noticeable in the 5.8.45.19 update for the Google app (or the search app, which is also found in the home screen). The Google Now Launcher is the default home screen on Nexus devices. On the other hand, users of other Android devices will need the Google app and the "Google Now Launcher" enabler app.

To enable auto rotation, open Settings (tap the hamburger menu on the Google Now stream), then look for auto rotation at the bottom of the list. Once enabled, the Google Now Launcher will allow the screen to change in the direction that the device is currently held—landscape or portrait. Items in the dock rotate individually to stack along the right side of the screen while apps and widgets located on individual pages should retain the same organization.

The APK is signed by Google and also upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is secure to install and has not been tampered in any way. Rather than wait for the app to be rolled over to your device, you can download and install it just like any other APK. You can visit APK Mirror for all existing versions. To view the most recent updates, scroll down the page.

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