It's not everyday that you come across something that changes how you use your phone.

But that's how I've been feeling about Action Launcher, an alternative home screen for Android that's all about efficiency. I've been spending some quality time with Android lately while evaluating Samsung's new foldable phones and Google's new Pixel 6a, and Action Launcher is the one thing I'll surely miss whenever I wind up back on iOS.

Action Launcher's smartest feature is called "Covers," and it essentially lets you hide an entire folder behind an app icon. That means you can quickly launch an app by tapping on its icon, or view a list of similar apps by swiping over the icon instead.

Here's an example of how that comes in handy: I do most of my music listening in Plexamp, but I occasionally use other apps such as Pandora, Tidal, and Nightwave Plaza. With Covers, I can put all those apps in a folder, but can still get to Plexamp with a single tap. The result is a streamlined home screen that fits all my essential apps on a single page.

Action Launcher used to hide most of its features behind a paywall, but recently overhauled its freemium tier so that almost everything is free. The main catch is that the home screen's search bar defaults to Bing, with the privacy-centric Brave Search as an alternative. This doesn't affect voice search or your browser's search engine, though, and a $7 flat in-app purchase unlocks more search options along with a handful of advanced features.

Still on board? Download Action Launcher and set it as your default home screen when prompted. Note that this will replace your current home screen layout, so you'll have to rearrange your apps all over again. You can always return to your old layout by uninstalling Action Launcher or heading to Settings > Apps > Default Apps. Home App, then choosing your previous launcher.

Once you've added some apps to the home screen, you can start creating Covers:

Now, whichever app appears first in the folder will become the Cover, letting you open it with a tap. To view the other apps, just swipe on the icon in any direction.

Covers work best when you have a folder full of apps, but with one app that you use much more often than the others. In addition to the Plexamp example, I have Covers for reading (led by Kindle), work (led by Slack), information (led by Google Maps), and Social (led by Blue Bubbles).

Action Launcher offers a bunch of other efficiency-boosting features beyond Covers:

Most of these features can also be disabled if you'd rather keep Action Launcher's swipe gestures to a minimum. Just open Action Launcher Settings from your app list, then search for the name of whichever feature you want to turn off.

Android pros know that Action Launcher is one of many alternative home screens you can use instead of the one that ships with your phone. If you're new to the concept, here are some others I suggest checking out:

Got a different launcher I should be trying instead? Make your case by sending me an email.

Apple event reminder: Depending on when you read this, Apple is either about to announce or has just announced new iPhones, and probably some other new gadgets as well. If you're around at 1 p.m. Eastern today (September 6), you can watch it live and also talk with me about it in the Advisorator chat room on Slack.

I'll of course have more to say about the news next week, which is why I feel little remorse about leaning heavily into Android advice today.

An old iPhone update: While new iPhones may get all the attention this week, it's equally notable to me that Apple's still delivering security patches for the eight-year-old iPhone 6. This phone hasn't received a major iOS upgrade since 2018—it's still running iOS 12—and some apps don't even work on it anymore, yet it's still getting fixes for major security vulnerabilities. That's an impressive commitment on Apple's part, even if it has the side benefit of hindering jailbreakers.

T-Mobile's new test drive: A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that T-Mobile allows anyone with an unlocked iPhone (XS or newer) to evaluate its network for a month at no charge. Now, T-Mobile is extending the trial period to three months and adding support for some Android phones, including Google Pixels and Samsung Galaxy flagships from the past few years.

To get started, you'll need to download the T-Mobile app for iPhone or Android, then select "Try T-Mobile." If your phone is unlocked and using a physical SIM card, you'll be able to activate an eSIM on T-Mobile's network. The trial only covers mobile data, so you'll still keep your regular number for phone calls and text messages. T-Mobile's network didn't used to have a great reputation, so this is a smart way for the carrier to prove that it's gotten better.

Debloat your PC: After getting fed up with the inefficient "Add or remove programs" menu in Windows 10, I decided to investigate ways to uninstall Windows apps in bulk. That led me to a useful and delightfully-named program called Bulk Crap Uninstaller, which does a much better job than Microsoft's own uninstall utility.

BCU itself doesn't require installation. Just download the portable version, extract the zip file anywhere on your computer, and run included program file. After walking through the setup wizard—in which I suggest leaving every setting as-is—you'll land on a master list of all your installed programs. In the left sidebar, click "Select using checkboxes," check off all the programs you wish to remove, then hit "Uninstall Quietly" in the top menu bar.

At this point, BCU will start removing all the programs you selected. While you may have to deal with some uninstall prompts, the app will try not to bother you when possible and will process the removals in an orderly fashion, so you're never inundated with pop-ups. At the end, you'll have the option to remove associated registry files as well.

BCU isn't the only program of this kind, but I appreciate that it's free, open source, and doesn't come with any of its own bloatware. While some software removal tools can do more harm than good, this one actually lives up to its name.

(If you're a Mac user, here's where you get to point and laugh at how easy bulk software removal is on MacOS by comparison: From Finder, just Cmd-click individual apps in the Applications folder, then drag them all into the trash.)

Discover new music: Every Noise at Once is a fascinating attempt to map out every musical genre based on data from Spotify, from Experimental Big Band to Throat Singing. Click on any the nearly 6,000 genres on display to hear a brief sample, or click the >> button to see associated artists and related categories. And don't tell me your musical tastes are eclectic until you've digested Flesh Juicer's take on Chinese Metalcore.

Another newsletter recommendation: Over the past several months, I've discovered some great apps and tools via Louis Lazaris' Tech Productivity newsletter. It's a quick, weekly read full of new things to try and ideas on how to work smarter. Check it out if you enjoy my occasional productivity app recommendations and want even more of them.

If you've been patiently waiting for a price drop on Apple's latest MacBook Air, you can now get it from Amazon for $1,099, which is $100 off the regular price. This is the redesigned model with an M2 processor, a brighter display, and a 1080p webcam.

Meanwhile, you can save $400 on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBooks Pro, bringing the starting prices to $1,599 and $2,099, respectively. Choose an open-box model in the "Buying Options" section of Best Buy's website, and you may be able to save even more.

Other notable deals:

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself on the geekiness front after this long weekend, having successfully performed a screen repair on my beloved Chromebook Duet and found an excellent new use for a 10-year-old tablet. (More on the latter venture in a future issue.) That's a couple devices saved from the scrap heap, at least for the foreseeable future.

Got any tech projects you're working on or problems I can help solve? I'd love to hear about them. Get in touch by replying to this email.

Until next week,

Jared