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.

Fixes crashes on Android 8 and 9 in the SOS alarm, the call screen and the message notice on
the lock screen. A tile whose app has been removed now says so. Labels get smaller instead of
breaking a word. An incoming call shows a phone in the status bar instead of an envelope.