Introducing Launchy: an alternative app launcher for Glass

Mike DiGiovanni has been busy working on native apps for Glass, a task complicated by the lack of a native app launcher in the device, which is designed to primarily consume web services as opposed to running third-party software. He’s solved this problem with the creation of Launchy, an app which provides an alternative home function which includes app selection.

The app takes advantage of the method by which settings are launched in Glass; by intercepting the “com.google.glass.action.ACTION_GO_TO_SETTINGS” action, the app prompts a dialog allowing selection of applications to complete the call. Once Launchy has been sideloaded on to the device, selecting settings will trigger the selection dialog, allowing Launchy to be configured as the default launching app.

Once it’s installed and selected, a new “Launch” option appears in the settings menu which allow you to scroll through available APK’s on the device.

Mike is a long time Android developer, and the Emerging Technology Lead at Roundarch Isobar, a position uniquely suited to helping create the future of Glass. We’re excited to add him to our list of technical advisors at LivingThruGlass, and look forward to seeing his future Glassware development.