Earlier this year, Microsoft released Microsoft Launcher Preview, a brand-new version of its Android home screen replacement that"s expected to be in the Surface Duo. It"s built on a completely new codebase, so while it has some new capabilities, like landscape mode support, it"s missing a lot of what"s available in the current stable version of the launcher.
Today, Microsoft released a new update for those testing the Microsoft Launcher Preview, and it brings back some of the features in previous versions. Specifically, it"s once again possible to hide apps from the app drawer, and the ability to select multiple apps at once has also been reinstated, making it easier to pin or remove multiple apps. Additionally, it"s possible to pin specific widgets from the Feed to a new page, which lets you view that widget on the whole screen.
The Play Store changelog also mentions the addition of Bing daily wallpapers, but that feature isn"t actually new in this release. One thing that"s still missing is the ability to backup and restore your Microsoft Launcher settings, despite the fact that the feature was spotted last month.
It"s still unclear when the new version of Microsoft Launcher will make its way to the general public. It should at least be ready for the launch of the Surface Duo, which is slated for this holiday season, though reports have claimed it could come as soon as this summer.