TL;DR
- Niagara Launcher is receiving a new visual update, featuring a range of new themes and wallpapers.
- Unlike traditional minimalist wallpapers, Niagara is bringing several new intricately designed illustrations for wallpapers.
- The update also improves backup features and adds Bing as a search engine option.
Niagara Launcher is one of the most distinct Android launchers, and its impact extends beyond its visual characteristics. Having used it for over two years, I can confirm that it alters — in a good way — how you approach the app drawer. I now install it on all the phones I review and strongly recommend it too. However, there’s one aspect that keeps me from feeling completely satisfied, which is the limitation of using wallpapers of my choice. The launcher’s peculiar design for the app list makes it difficult to use visually rich wallpapers, but this issue may be getting addressed with a new update.
In July, the developers of the launcher introduced a new theme playground, enabling users to experiment with various clock styles, wallpapers, and colors. Now, Niagara Launcher is getting another visual upgrade with a host of new themes, icon packs, wallpapers, and more. It circumvents the challenges of wallpaper choices by introducing several new wallpapers explicitly designed for Niagara Launcher, without compromising the level of detail.
Along with these new wallpapers, Niagara Launcher will receive a host of new clock styles, adding to those introduced with the previous visual update from July. Additionally, there’s a new icon pack designed for dark backgrounds.
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While these elements can also be used individually, the developer combines them into 10 new Niagara Launcher themes. Meanwhile, some existing themes are also getting updated with some new elements we discussed above, such as the new clock.
In addition to these changes, there are more changes in the backdrop. First, the launcher now allows you to choose Bing as the default search engine for results that appear when you use the magnifying glass icon at the bottom right. If you’d like to use it, head over to Niagara Settings > Features > Search > Web Search Suggestions and enable the feature, then select the default engine.
Niagara Launcher now features improved headset detection, and it will also display your selected music or media-related apps at the top when Bluetooth Low Energy headsets and hearing aids are connected to the phone. Lastly, if you back up and restore the launcher layout, during instances of resetting or device or moving to a new one, it will also retain widget placement, eliminating the need to add them manually.
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