Muzei v2.3 Adds Runtime Permissions, Direct Boot Support, “Next Artwork” Quick Settings Tile and More

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Ian Lake and Roman Nurik have just rolled out a big update for Muzei fans out there. The project was started back in 2014 by Mr. Nurik, and then Mr. Lake joined him to help out with the application. Their goal was to produce an application that offered new artwork wallpapers each and every day. But the application took it a step further and used things like blurring and dimming in order to keep things like icons and text on your home screens very readable.

The last update we saw Muzei receive was back in November of 2015. This was shortly after Marshmallow was released and when we say the introduction of runtime permissions, Doze, and App Standby. So the goal for Mr. Nurik and Mr. Lake was to modernize the code base of Muzei with its next update and it has been a lot of work in the making. This update is now available via the Play Store, it brings your application up to version 2.3, and it comes with a number of important changes to the platform.

The big new feature here is the addition of runtime permissions. It’s not like Muzei requested any suspicious permissions in the first place, but allowing the end user to accept or deny this request is an important way to build trust. With Nougat, Google introduced Direct Boot as a way for certain applications to run even if the user hadn’t entered their PIN, pattern or password yet. With this update, you aren’t forced to see some default wallpaper since Muzei now supports Direct Boot and will display the custom wallpaper immediately after a reboot.

For those who enjoy custom Quick Settings tiles, this new Muzei update now adds a “Next artwork” tile that you can use without having to open up the application. This update also adds support for Nougat’s App Shortcuts so you can learn about the artwork more quickly than before. These features are just the tip of the iceberg too. Mr. Nurik and Mr. Lake have added ‘my photos’ as a source, support for Android Wear 2.0 and its Complications, and much more.