HomeTiles

HomeTiles is a home screen made of large, plainly labelled tiles, with a phone dialler and a

messaging app in the same package. It is meant for small screens, unsteady hands and eyes

that would rather not squint.

Every tile can be anything you like: an app, a contact, a shortcut, a widget, a function

such as the torch or Wi-Fi, or a jump to another screen. Grid size, tile size, colours and

labels are all yours to set.

What you get:

* A home screen of big tiles, freely assigned, with an optional header showing time, date

and battery.

* A dialler with a keypad, speed dial on 2 to 9, a grouped call log and its own in-call

screen. Taking over the phone role is offered, never forced.

* Messages: thread list, conversation and composing.

* Contacts with search, sorting by first name or surname, and favourites.

* An SOS button with a countdown that calls several numbers in turn and can send an

emergency message with your location.

* Reading help: hold a tile to have it read out or shown large, and page through long

lists with buttons instead of swiping.

* Export your setup to a file and read it back on your next phone.

* If the launcher ever fails to start, a simple fallback screen appears with phone,

contacts and settings, rather than a black device.

No account, no advertising, no tracking, and no internet permission at all.

HomeTiles is a free replacement for BIG Launcher, whose features are now spread across three

paid apps.