What Is an App Drawer in Android and How to Use It Optimally
Do not worry! It is not necessary to install a third-party application to access the application drawer. Preinstalled on most Android phones, it is very useful for organizing installed applications. Only some launchers like Mi Launcher do not offer application drawer.
Let's see the features of the application drawer and how to use it on Android.
What is App Drawer?
In simple terms, an application drawer is a section of your phone that contains all the installed applications. Now, if you come from an iPhone, you would think it's the home screen. But no. On Android phones and tablets, things are different: you get a home screen and an application drawer.
Each time you install an application, it is placed in the application drawer and not on the home screen (some launchers allow you to place it on the screen simultaneously. 39, reception). You can open the application from the application tray or the home screen. Applications that you access frequently must be placed on the Home screen for faster access.
Drawer of applications vs home screen
The application drawer and the home screen are part of the same launcher. The main difference between the two lies in the fact that the home screen only contains some of the installed applications, especially those that interest you. On the contrary, if the application is not available on the home screen, you can access it from the application tray. And if it is not visible in the application drawer, it is not installed on your phone.
You can remove an application from the Home screen without uninstalling it, but this is not possible in the Applications pane. To remove an application from an application drawer, you must uninstall it or hide it. In addition, the application drawer does not support widgets.
How to access and open the application drawer
An application drawer is only accessible from the home screen. There are two ways to access it. Swipe up from the bottom of the home screen. Or you can tap the application drawer icon. The application drawer icon is present in the dock – the zone hosting default applications such as Phone, Messaging and Camera.
The application drawer icon usually looks like one of these icons.
On some phones, you will notice the little upward arrow down. It indicates that you must slide up to access the application drawer.
What does the application drawer look like?
The application drawer looks like your home screen, but contains neither widgets nor the dock. You will find all your applications tidy. You can customize the number of rows and columns in the application drawer in supported launchers, such as Nova and Action Launcher.
Sort applications in the application drawer
Typically, applications appear in the order that you install them on your phone. Thus, the recently installed application will be visible at the end of the list. Most default application drawers follow the alphabetical sort order. However, some application drawers allow you to customize the sort mode. You can choose between alphabetical order, most used, etc. To do this, tap the three-dot icon located in the upper right corner of the application drawer and choose your sorting mode.
How to scroll applications in the application drawer
In some application drawers, you can scroll all applications up and down (vertically). Others list applications in horizontal pages similar to the home screen. In other words, you must scroll horizontally to access the complete list. Some launchers allow you to choose the scroll style. Check the settings of your launcher for the application drawer style option.
Do you need an application drawer?
If you like to have a clean home screen with a minimum of icons, the application drawer will act as a gift from God. The application drawer helps to organize applications without cluttering the home screen. It also keeps applications safe because you have to remove them from the application drawer and not directly on the home screen.
However, the drawback of the application drawer is that we forget the installed applications. On the home screen, applications are directly visible, but once we have added our favorite applications to the home screen, we rarely use the application drawer . But if you do not want an application drawer, check these launcher apps without the application drawer.
Then: Are you a fan of dark mode? Check those launchers that support dark mode in Android.