If we want a launcher that eliminates all the distracting elements of the terminal and that we focus only on what is important, Ratio should be our choice. It meets all the conditions to convert the software of our device with a simple and very minimalist interface.
Ratio, a minimalist single-color launcher
What we must first understand about Ratio is the mission of its initiative. It is not another launcher that tries to impose its design or differentiate itself with some more or less interesting functions. On the contrary, its mission is to avoid one of the biggest problems we have (we include ourselves) when it comes to spending time with the mobile. That is none other than that of social networks, one of the factors that most influence the time to procrastinate, a term that is gaining strength.
Everything is focused on trying to solve this problem, including the interface colors themselves. We found a totally black and white launcher, no wallpaper and without any color that intervenes in the menus. We only have a few dialog boxes in a yellowish tone, but rather they belong to the start-up tutorial, so we don’t see them again. However, over time they have been added ‘Sun mode’, which leaves a completely white background with the rest of the letters and icons in a black tone. Either way, put the decorations aside and focus on what is truly important.
Once configured, the launcher takes a moment to scan all the apps that we have installed to categorize them. The idea is that they remain hidden on the main screen, so that we only access the application we are looking for at that moment, without going through another one. In our test it has become clear that it does a good crawl and correctly identifies which category, or drawer which is what the Ratio calls them, each app belongs. They are in English, one of Ratio’s weak points, but they are divided into creativity, entertainment, finance, games, social, messaging, among others.
Configure each drawer to your liking
Although Ratio does an automatic tracking of everything we have installed to classify it, the truth is that it allows some customization within its possibilities. In this way, setup or initial provision proposed by the app, we can change it to our liking. To do this, we have two options: either we press and hold one of the drawers to edit it, or we press and hold the circular button in the lower right corner.
If we choose that last way, let’s drag our finger to ‘Tiles Settings’, since we have other options such as creating a new drawer or choosing the visual mode. A complete menu will appear to configure that has to do with the visual layout of the panels or the choice of icons for each category or drawer, and that can also be customized. If we go to the first option of “Edit apps & drawers”, we can change the distribution of the apps, the name of each category, if an app should be hidden in the drawer or even if it can play sound.
And it is that you can customize almost everything in Ratio, since if we slide a little more up, we will have the section ‘General’. In this section, we can determine the time format, use Ratio’s own wizard or even download some fancy pictures Courtesy of the developer Blloc to use them as a background, as well as configure its transparency.
A launcher also accessible and with widgets
Just because Ratio is a minimalist third-party launcher doesn’t mean it’s reductionist. Leave room to dock certain widgets and elements that provide us with greater accessibility to applications. We have all this in the left panel, which brings together the widgets and shortcuts that we want, within what the app offers. The interface is very neat and it gives us information about news, weather, notes, and so on. Besides, it connects directly with our usual platform to play music from the launcher.
And we do not forget to mention the third of the three tabs into which this launcher is divided. Its name is “Trees”, and it is a service that aspires to unify all the conversations of our different messaging services in the same inbox, with the characteristic Ratio design.
Is it worth leaving our usual launcher?
Linking with what we say at the beginning of this article, everything will depend on what the user looks for in his terminal. Yes, for professional or personal issues, seek greater productivity with your device out of necessity or not to procrastinate, Ratio is the perfect choice. Detriment, we lose user experience and agility if we compare it with the layer that we have natively, with a greater degree of customization.
Of course, the amount of profits that Ratio offers us is undeniable. A launcher that leaves the interface totally clean and organized, giving priority to the apps that we use the most on a day-to-day basis. In addition, it has several gestures on the screen that make the experience more pleasant, and more fluid. It offers very curious functions such as data such as usage times or some options for configure the operation of each app, if we hold down the icon of it. It does not mean that we must be patient to get used to this launcher, since it has a learning curve quite prolonged.
