After being acquired by Internet giants Yahoo while still in beta stage, Android launcher Aviate is back. Now called Yahoo Aviate, it is largely similar to what we’ve seen in the beta stage, but with further refinements to its contextual awareness, which was one of its key features that separated itself from other Android launchers.
How the old Aviate launcher looked like
Previously, Aviate learns from the user’s smartphone usage habits throughout the day, and pushes apps that are most frequently used to the home screen based on the time of day. If, for example, you check your calendar or Facebook first thing in the morning, Aviate will push these apps to the primary home screen. When you’re in the office, Aviate will show productivity-based apps like Gmail or Office Mobile instead. On top of that, Aviate also senses when you’re on the move, pushing apps like Waze or Google Maps.
Now, instead of pushing relevant apps, Yahoo Aviate will push information that you may be interested in at the best time of day. Instead of pushing the calendar app, you’ll now see upcoming calendar entries and easy access to act on it (location directions, contact numbers). This is made possible via an integration with Donna, an intelligent calendar app that Yahoo acquired in January this year.
Yahoo Aviate also introduces a new feature that lets you get easier access to the contacts you communicate with the most. A swipe up from the home screen will unveil a series of icons of people that you call or text the most. In addition, it will also push news snippets from the Yahoo News Digest app instead of pushing news apps as before.
Finally, the app is now available for Android devices running on version 4.0 and above. Best of all, this launcher is available for free at the Google Play Store.
