Yandex Launcher

Yandex Launcher (Russian: Я́ндекс.Ло́нчер) is a free GUI for organizing the workspace on Android smartphones.[4][5]

For other uses, see Launcher (disambiguation).
Yandex Launcher
Developer(s)Yandex
Initial releaseOctober 6, 2015 (2015-10-06)
Stable release
1.7.2[1] / February 10, 2017 (2017-02-10)
Operating systemAndroid 4.1+[2]
Available inMultiple languages
TypeOperating system shell
LicenseFreeware[3]
Websiteyandexlauncher.com

Functionality

According to The Next Web, one of the main distinguishing features of Yandex Launcher is the built-in recommendation service.[6] Machine learning technology provides the basis of the recommendation service,[7] with which Launcher selects apps, games, videos and other forms of content that might interest the user.[8][9] 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.[10][11][12]

Other features of Launcher are: themes for the interface,[6] wallpaper collections,[13] fast search of contacts, apps and sites,[13][4][14] search by app icon color,[4][15] "smart" folders and widgets,[13] 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.[16]

In 2011, SPB Software was purchased by Yandex.[17] Through this, Yandex acquired the rights to the company's products, including SPB Shell 3D (a paid application).[18]

After the purchase by Yandex, the shell has become "Yandex.Shell".[19] The company's services were built into it, and it was distributed for free for users from Russia and other countries.[20]

In 2014, Yandex released a modified Android firmware, which was given the name Yandex.Kit.[21][22] The firmware was tightly integrated with Yandex services.[22] One of the standard apps supplied with the firmware was the launcher that was based on Yandex.Shell.[22] Yandex.Kit was preinstalled, in particular, on Huawei smartphones.[22]

On October 6, 2015, the Yandex Launcher GUI was released.[6][23] Despite the fact that the developers of Yandex.Shell and Yandex.Kit[24] 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.[22] Shell had a different monetization scheme and different geographical distribution.[25][26]

On October 8, 2015, Google Play accidentally blocked Yandex Launcher. A few hours later Launcher was unblocked.[27]

After its launch, the app was available only to users from Latin America,[2][4][28] later it was unlocked for users from the EU, United States, Russia and other countries.[6] On December 14, 2015, the app was made available without geographical limitations.[2][29]

In October 2016, Yandex offered the pre-installation of their apps (including Yandex Launcher) to retailers and manufacturers of Android smartphones.[30][31] Participating in this program was MTS (Russia), Multilaser (Brazil), ZTE (China), Wileyfox (United Kingdom), Posh Mobile and others.[32]

At the start of 2016, the service's foreign audience was three times bigger than the Russian audience.[33]

Technology

To generate personal recommendations, Yandex Launcher uses artificial intelligence technology.[24][34] 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.[7] The more a user interacts with Launcher, the more accurate the recommendations become.[35] Recommendations also depend on the user's place of residence, their interests and other factors.[35][36]

Launcher is one of the “Discovery” products of Yandex.[37][38] Yandex Zen, which is part of Launcher, belongs to the same product category.[39]

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.[40][41]

The user can select one of the three search engines to use within the Launcher (Yandex, Google or Bing).[42]

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.[6][25]

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.[43][44]

Management

The head of the service is Fyodor Yezhov.[45][46][47] Prior to this, Yezhov worked at SPB Software and SPB TV.[33][48]

Earlier, the project was headed by Dmitry Polishchuk.[33][49]

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.[6][50][51] Launcher has also been criticized for the small variety of wallpapers in the online collection.[13]

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