Samsung’s got a number of unique apps that it loads onto its smartphones, including S Health and S Note. Today the company announced another new app that it’s bringing to Android, but this time around everyone will be able to give the new software a go.
Samsung is launching a new home screen replacement app known as “Terrain.” The app comes from Samsung’s start-up accelerator known as Samsung Accelerator.
Once installed, Terrain shows a list of Google Now-style cards that act as shortcuts to various apps and functions. For example, there’s a “Toolbox” power control center with switches for things like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a Calendar card, a Favorite Contacts card and a Weather card that shows the 5-day forecast. As of this writing, cards are available for services like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, CNN, BBC and more.
Users perform swipes to get around the Terrain. Swiping right will bring up a sidebar, swiping left will display a list of all of your apps and swiping up will present a search function that’ll hunt through your phone’s content, settings and everything else, but won’t search the Internet. The feature set given on Terrain’s app page is as follows:
- A Bird's Eye View with Smart Sidebar — curate all your favorite content (apps, tools, contacts, news, social) to view at a glance or dive in for a deeper look. The sidebar is easy to personalize; just pick the content you want from our free cards library and arrange your cards however you like.
- Find Things Fast with Local Phone Search — quickly find any contact or app on your phone with just a swipe
- Stay Organized with Apps Drawer — we’ve cleaned up the Apps screen so it’s easier to find the app you’re looking for
- Navigate Quickly with Swipe Gestures — swipe right for Sidebar, up for Search, and left for Apps
- No Battery Impact — unlike other smart launchers, Terrain is optimized for efficiency and will not kill your battery
- Change Homescreen Icon Size — adjust how many icons can fit on your homescreen
Terrain is launching today in beta form and is available from the Google Play Store to all phones running Android 4.2 and higher. There are other home screen replacement apps already available on Android, but few have the backing of a major company like Samsung. While Terrain doesn’t look like it will appeal to the customization-crazed Android users, it could serve as an ultra-functional app for folks that just want quick access to their phone’s functions and core apps.
Via Re/code, The Next Web, Google Play: Terrain Home
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