Key Takeaways Yahoo re-enters the Android launcher space after a six-year hiatus. The Yahoo Launcher offers a unified search bar, trending news page, and basic customization options. The app feels buggy and underdeveloped compared to other Android launchers. ✕ Remove Ads

Third-party launchers have always been an integral part of Android -- though the experience hasn't been great lately. Yahoo exited the third-party launcher space in 2018 when it ended support for its then-famous Aviate launcher. And now, nearly six years later, Yahoo is surprisingly back in the Android launcher game.

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Android Police's founder, Artem Russakovskii, recently spotted a new Yahoo Launcher app on the Google Play Store. The app appears to have been published earlier this month, though it's not available for download on our devices or in our location just yet. Thankfully, you can still download and install the app bundle from APKMirror.

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The Google Play Store description says Yahoo Launcher is designed with "powerful search in mind." At first glance, it features a prominent search bar at the bottom for one-click searches, similar to the Pixel Launcher. This unified bar allows searches across your contacts, settings, and the web. The similarity extends further, as swiping right opens a Google Discover-inspired trending news and weather page.

The Yahoo Launcher feels unpolished and quite limited Close

But apart from that, it's a pretty minimal launcher -- you can add widgets to the home screen and place icons wherever you want, but that's expected from any basic launcher on Android. There's also a first-party wallpaper collection, similar to Google Pixel launcher and, as expected for a 2024 app, the launcher supports light and dark themes.

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We installed the app on our Pixel 8a, and the launcher, in its current state, feels rough around the edges. Upon downloading the launcher, you're greeted with a (sort of) lengthy setup process. You are first required to choose your preferred icon style (circle, square, squircle, rounded square), icon size, and grid size.

The launcher then requests permissions like location, contacts, and photo library access (for wallpaper). You can then select your favorite apps, which are added to the home screen post-setup. Finally, you're greeted by the minimal launcher interface with the default Yahoo wallpaper applied. Similar to any other launcher, you can add icons and widgets as you like and customize by tapping and holding an empty area.

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Unfortunately, the Yahoo Launcher feels quite buggy in its current state. On our Pixel devices, the swipe-up gesture to return home is unsupported, and the app frequently crashed during our testing. Even basic features like app-opening animations are missing, making it feel like you're simply switching between apps instead of interacting with a launcher.

On the whole, compared to the best Android launchers currently available, Yahoo Launcher feels very limited. It lacks support for third-party icon packs and doesn't offer basic features like creating app folders. Even the much-touted search feature lacks voice search, which will disappoint many.

It's clear that Yahoo is still in the early stages in its comeback. Since the company hasn't officially announced the launch yet, it's clear the app needs further development. That said, it's encouraging to see an old giant returning to a space that has been in decline in the recent years.

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