Windows Phone is one of the biggest “what ifs” in technology. While they weren’t universally loved, they were a unique proposition at a time when the smartphone market was still developing and innovating, and their tile-based interface achieved cult status.
While it’s not practical for most people to use a Windows Phone in 2025, you can still revisit the iconic Windows 8-inspired tiled interface using an Android launcher, bringing you neatly back to 2014 but with all the convenience of a modern smartphone.
Bring back the squares
Which Windows Phone Launcher Should You Use?
There are some good options available for recreating Windows Phone on your Android smartphone.
For the most faithful recreation of Windows Phone, you’ll want to use Launcher10. It’s super customizable and very responsive, and I loved how easy it was to move apps around, change the size, and create a take on Windows Phone.
However, I found that Launcher10 would crash without warning and sometimes my apps would disappear, changing my layout or simply being unavailable, which was frustrating.
In this I ended up moving on to Square housewhich doesn’t quite offer the same experience as Launcher10, but I didn’t encounter any stability issues while using it. Considering how much time I spend using my phone each day, stability is more important than overall appearance.
Bring Windows Phone back to life with this app
Customize to your liking
Switching to a Windows Phone-style launcher is actually a very different experience than how I normally organize my home screen. I usually go for a completely clean aesthetic, using only the bottom icons, as well as Change quickly for easy access to my most used apps (Slack, Spotify, Wallet, Maps, etc.).
Besides stability, Square Home is so easy to use. I found it incredibly easy to move tiles, customize sizes, adjust colors and get stuck in the launcher’s many customization options without any help. One of the best features of Windows Phone was easy adjustment of app thumbnail sizes, and Square Home offers it. It’s not quite the same as Windows Phone, but I like its simplicity.
The visual customizations are also excellent. I love that you can switch between colors, transparency, and more, but we’ll talk a little more about that in a moment.
You have to make some decisions, mind you. Placing and adjusting your tiles becomes a delicate balance between information and ease of access and overload and bloat. It’s a fine line. What helps is that Square Home actually has one of Windows Phone’s best features: Live Tiles.
With Live Tiles enabled on specific apps, you can see information at a glance, the same way Windows Phone worked. So if you enable it for Gmail, you will receive excerpts from your emails.
Turns out I still wanted something different
Colorful tiles are great, but how about something better?
Color customization made Windows Phone stand out. Assigning different colors to each tile is a fun process and opens up true customization, but it’s not for everyone. It turns out that over the years since I started using a Windows Phone and got used to a cleaner home page, the colorful tiles weren’t one hundred percent what I wanted.
But Square Home takes care of that too. Setting a background, then making the tiles transparent, creates a blurred effect that is a mix of the two, dare I say, a bit in the style of Liquid Glass. So if you want a mix of Windows Phone and iOS 26, Square Home is the Android launcher you’ve been looking for.
It’s ad-free and easy to use
Pay a premium, but only if you want to
Now let’s talk about the cost: there is none. Square Home is free for everyone. But what makes it great is that despite this, it doesn’t bombard you with ads to pay for the privilege.
Its premium features are available for free for 14 days after installation, but after that time it only costs a few dollars per year. Or, you can spend six dollars to pay for a lifetime license that unlocks all the premium features. Even on the About page, Square Home is relaxed and doesn’t throw a “Buy me now” notification. In a world where many apps are determined to make you better, this is refreshing.
Live Tiles extra features, media overlay, detailed customization options, and gestures are part of the premium package. As noted, you have 14 days to try this, but in reality, a few dollars for a year of all these features is fantastic value.
This is my new favorite Android launcher
I spent a few days using Square Home as an Android launcher on my Nothing Phone 3 and I’m quite impressed. I’ve only used Windows Phone for about six months, so I’m not a die-hard Live Tiles fan like some. But the ability to customize Square Home and make it look like you’ve been using it for years in about half an hour is fantastic and really what all review launchers should be.
It also looks great on a foldable. I installed Square Home on my Honor Fold V5 and it looks great. This is actually one of the best solutions for homepage apps I’ve found for a larger screen, because the thumbnails fill the space, and the almost infinite customization is perfect for making the most of the space.
