Sony Xperia Z3 Home Launcher and Widgets Ported Android 4.2+ Devices

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When the Sony Xperia Z3 was announced a couple of days ago at IFA 2014, many folks were expectedly excited about what new or improved experiences the device would offer. And just yesterday, the system dump of this new device was made available opening the floodgates for ports to be made to other devices. Now, users of other devices, be it Sony or not, can try out a big part of the new Xperia Z3 with the port of its home launcher and widgets.

This comes thanks to the efforts of XDA Recognized Contributor and Themer Sahaab who has managed to get the new home launcher and accompanying widgets of the Xperia Z3 working on Xperia and non-Xperia devices running Android 4.2 and newer. The port will work with both rooted and non-rooted devices, and it can be installed by either pushing the app to your device’s system/app directory, or installed like a normal APK. Sahaab plans to backport this to Android 4.1, and if possible, Android 4.0.

One of the most noticeable changes introduced by the new home launcher is the persistent Google search bar at the top of the screen, much like Google’s stock launcher. App icons are also bigger, and some aspects of the interface have a much more ‘Material’ Design.

If you want to check out the port, head over to the Xperia Z3 home launcher port thread to get started.