Yandex Launcher

Yandex Launcher
Developer(s) Yandex
Initial release October 6, 2015
Stable release
1.7.2[1] / February 10, 2017
Development status Active
Operating system Android 4.1+[2]
Available in Multiple languages
Type Operating system shell
License Freeware[3]
Website yandexlauncher.com

Yandex Launcher (Russian: Я́ндекс.Ло́нчер) is a free GUI for organizing the workspace on Android smartphones.[4]

Functionality

According to The Next Web, one of the main distinguishing features of Yandex Launcher is the built-in recommendation service.[5] Machine learning technology provides the basis of the recommendation service,[6] with which Launcher selects apps, games, videos and other forms of content that might interest the user.[7][8] The key elements of Launcher are the content feed of personal recommendations by Yandex Zen, as well as a system of recommended apps; both elements are built into Launcher and analyze the user’s favorite websites and other aspects of their behavior with the aim of creating a unique model of the user’s preferences.[9][10][11]

Other features of Launcher are: themes for the interface,[5] wallpaper collections,[12] fast search of contacts, apps and sites,[12][4][13] search by app icon color,[4][14] "smart" folders and widgets,[12] built-in notifications on icons, screen manager, a visual editor grid for icons, etc.

History

In 2009, SPB Software published the SPB Mobile Shell application. The application won several accolades.[15]

In 2011, SPB Software was purchased by Yandex.[16] Through this, Yandex acquired the rights to the company’s products, including SPB Shell 3D (a paid application).[17]

After the purchase by Yandex, the shell has become "Yandex.Shell".[18] The company’s services were built into it, and it was distributed for free for users from Russia and other countries.[19]

In 2014, Yandex released a modified Android firmware, which was given the name Yandex.Kit.[20][21] The firmware was tightly integrated with Yandex services.[21] One of the standard apps supplied with the firmware was the launcher that was based on Yandex.Shell.[21] Yandex.Kit was preinstalled, in particular, on Huawei smartphones.[21]

On October 6, 2015, the Yandex Launcher GUI was released.[5][22] Despite the fact that the developers of Yandex.Shell and Yandex.Kit[23] took part in the creation of Launcher, these projects have little in common. Unlike Launcher, Kit was focused on enterprise applications and was not distributed through Google Play.[21] Shell had a different monetization scheme and different geographical distribution.[24][25]

On October 8, 2015, Google Play accidentally blocked Yandex Launcher. A few hours later Launcher was unblocked.[26]

After its launch, the app was available only to users from Latin America,[2][4][27] later it was unlocked for users from the EU, United States, Russia and other countries.[5] On December 14, 2015, the app was made available without geographical limitations.[2][28]

In October 2016, Yandex offered the pre-installation of their apps (including Yandex Launcher) to retailers and manufacturers of Android smartphones.[29][30] Participating in this program was MTS (Russia), Multilaser (Brazil), ZTE (China), Wileyfox (United Kingdom), Posh Mobile and others.[31]

At the start of 2016, the service’s foreign audience was three times bigger than the Russian audience.[32]

Technology

To generate personal recommendations, Yandex Launcher uses artificial intelligence technology.[23][33] The system analyzes which of the recommended apps the user has installed or ignored. Based on this information, the system predicts what apps users might be interested in at a later time.[6] The more a user interacts with Launcher, the more accurate the recommendations become.[34] Recommendations also depend on the user’s place of residence, their interests and other factors.[34][35]

Launcher is one of the “Discovery” products of Yandex.[36][37] Yandex Zen, which is part of Launcher, belongs to the same product category.[38]

Several design elements of Launcher are generated algorithmically. In particular, the color of app information cards are selected automatically based on the color scale of app icons.[39][40]

The user can select one of the three search engines to use within the Launcher (Yandex, Google or Bing).[41]

Monetization

Monetization of Launcher is due to the built-in recommendation services. Native advertising is displayed inside the Yandex Zen content feed. Most recommendations in the app recommendation service are selected without taking into account the commercial component, but if a user installs one of the commercial recommendations, then the corresponding ad network pays a commissions to Yandex.[5][24]

According to data from Q2 2016, the experimental business activities of Yandex (which includes Yandex Launcher and Yandex Zen built into it, along with a number of other company products) brought in 153 million rubles in revenue.[42][43]

Management

The head of the service is Fyodor Yezhov.[44][45][46] Prior to this, Yezhov worked at SPB Software and SPB TV.[32][47]

Earlier, the project was headed by Dmitry Polishchuk.[32][48]

Criticism

Yandex Launcher has been criticized for the lack of options for fine-tuning the app. In particular, it is not possible to hide icon names.[5][49][50] Launcher has also been criticized for the small variety of wallpapers in the online collection.[12]

Competitors

Two other major search companies (Google and Yahoo) also have their own launchers for Android.[51]

References

  1. ↑ "Launcher - Android Apps on Google Play". play.google.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "В «Яндекс» запускают приложение Yandex Launcher для Android".
  3. ↑ "Яндекс выпустил Yandex Launcher для Android".
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Подборка: главные приложения октября / Статьи / Вести.Hi-tech".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Degeler, Andrii (6 October 2015). "Yandex continues its push onto Android with a Launcher for low-end smartphones".
  6. 1 2 "«Яндекс» выпустил собственную оболочку для Android-смартфонов - Yandex Launcher - ITC.ua". 7 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Геращенко, Екатерина; Рожков, Роман (10 July 2015). "«Яндекс»" – via Kommersant.
  8. ↑ "Stocks in the Spotlight: Endeavour Silver Corp. (EXK), Baker Hughes Incorporated (BHI), Yandex N.V. (YNDX) – istreetwire".
  9. ↑ "Personal recommendations Zen earned in Yandex.Browser on iPad - ActualApple.com". actualapple.com.
  10. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "Yandex woos smartphone makers with AI, browser and launcher partnership programs - TechCrunch".
  11. ↑ "Как включить Яндекс Дзен на компьютере в браузере". sdelaicomp.ru.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Выбираем оболочку для android-устройств: Google Start и Yandex Launcher".
  13. ↑ "Яндекс выпустил фирменный «лончер» для Android-смартфонов".
  14. ↑ "Yandex Launcher é aposta russa para lançador de apps no Android; conheça".
  15. ↑ http://www.spb.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/reviews.html
  16. ↑ https://yandex.ru/company/press_releases/2011/1128/index.xml
  17. ↑ ""Яндекс" выпустил бесплатную версию оболочки Shell".
  18. ↑ Smith, Chris (20 February 2014). "How one company is trying to push Google out of Android".
  19. ↑ "Приложения в Google Play – Яндекс.Shell". play.google.com.
  20. ↑ "«Яндекс» выпустил собственную Android-прошивку". 19 February 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "«Яндекс» выпустил прошивку для Android смартфонов «Yandex.Kit»".
  22. ↑ "Новый лаунчер от компании Яндекс — android.mobile-review.com". android.mobile-review.com.
  23. 1 2 "«Яндекс» выпустил оболочку для Android-смартфонов «Яндекс.Лончер» с новой системой монетизации". 14 December 2015.
  24. 1 2 "«Яндекс» выпустил оболочку для Android - IKSMEDIA.RU". IKSMEDIA.RU - деловой портал для бизнеса в телекоме, ИТ, медиа.
  25. ↑ "«Яндекс» выпустил оболочку для Android".
  26. ↑ "Google Play ошибочно заблокировал латиноамериканский Yandex Launcher → Roem.ru". 11 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "Yandex chega ao Brasil com launcher - Notícias - Baguete". www.baguete.com.br.
  28. ↑ "Яндекс представил собственную оболочку для Android". Российская газета.
  29. ↑ Ведомости (12 October 2016). "«Яндекс» предлагает операторам и производителям смартфонов заработать на рекламе".
  30. ↑ "Business geek. Продвижение «Яндекса», дроны для WeChat и кроссовки за 104 тысячи долларов".
  31. ↑ "«Яндекс» предложил партнерство производителям смартфонов на ОС Android".
  32. 1 2 3 "«Яндекс» признал удачным эксперимент с Yandex Launcher и назначил руководителя сервиса". 12 February 2016.
  33. ↑ "Launcher от Yandex доступен для Android-смартфонов в России". droider.ru.
  34. 1 2 "Попытка номер три: Yandex Launcher".
  35. ↑ "Компания Яндекс — Новости сервисов — Яндекс запускает лончер для смартфонов на Android".
  36. ↑ "Yandex Discovery Business Solutions for OEMs, telcos, software developers and integrators". yandex.com.
  37. ↑ ""Яндекс.Такси" за год утроил выручку до 984 миллионов рублей". 22 March 2016.
  38. ↑ "New discoveries every day". Zen.
  39. ↑ "«Экзоскелет для дизайнера»: что нового принесет в индустрию алгоритмический дизайн — Колонка Юрия Ветрова". 20 June 2016.
  40. ↑ "Автоматическое определение цвета — опыт команды «Яндекса»". 20 May 2016.
  41. ↑ Ведомости (6 October 2015). "«Яндекс» сделал приложение Латинской Америке".
  42. ↑ "«Яндекс» нарастил чистую прибыль почти на 400%".
  43. ↑ "«Яндекс» смотрит на 2016 год с оптимизмом". 28 July 2016 – via Kommersant.
  44. ↑ "Назначен руководитель Yandex Launcher - Android в России". googlephones.ru.
  45. ↑ Рожков, Роман (2 December 2016). "Вчера". p. 7 – via Kommersant.
  46. ↑ "Сотрудники «Яндекса» бесплатно проконсультируют дизайн-проекты". 5 April 2016.
  47. ↑ http://sankt-peterburg-grand-forum-2015.ciseventsgroup.com/presentations.html
  48. ↑ "«Яндекс» тестирует новый Yandex Launcher на новых рынках и с новой схемой монетизации → Roem.ru". 6 October 2015.
  49. ↑ "Попытка номер три: Yandex Launcher - Версия для печати - PVSM.RU". www.pvsm.ru.
  50. ↑ ""Яндекс" выпустила лончер для бюджетных Android-смартфонов / Статьи / Вести.Hi-tech".
  51. ↑ http://realnoevremya.ru/news/19862
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