Dextera is a custom home screen for Android: one-handed navigation, unified search, pages for apps and more, and deep customization — without getting in your way. It’s on Google Play and updated often with shipping polish.
Dextera 4.0 is on Google Play — ready for everyday use and updated often.
New in Dextera 4.0
Folders
- Tap a folder to fan out its first apps right beside your thumb, then tap the one you want. Tap the folder again to open all of it. Holding and sliding still works too.
- In an open folder, hold an app and drag it to change the order. The apps at the top are the ones that fan out.
- Drag the folder row sideways to bring a far folder to your thumb. You feel a light tick as each one passes.
- Tap All apps to tuck your folders inside it, and tap again to bring them back.
- The All apps tile has a small bar under it. Drag the tile up or down to move everything below it.
- Setup can make your first folders: pick up to 4 things you use your phone for.
Home screen
- Scroll down a list, like the app list, Notifications or Contacts, and the date and folders slide away so more fits. They come back at the top, with Back, or after a few seconds.
- Double-tap any bare part of the wallpaper to run your double-tap action.
- Tap anywhere in the corner around the search button to search.
- Notifications only move for a straight sideways swipe, so scrolling doesn’t swipe cards away. Hold a notification’s picture to pin it.
- New switches in Settings → Touch and gestures turn off individual swipes.
Looks
- Frosted glass (Pro) for the search circle, folders, music player, Quick Settings and Scratch Board, each with its own strength. Text stays readable over light and dark wallpaper without flickering.
- Blush Bloom gives icons a flower shape and tints notification cards to match.
- Many more apps have their own built-in icon instead of letters or a plain box.
- While charging, the battery ring around the search button burns like a lit fuse.
Music and Quick Settings
- Music shows the time played around the record. The mini player shows progress; drag its bar to move through the song.
- Pull down on Quick Settings and the page slides down to your thumb.
Foldables and tablets
- Unfolded or on a tablet, the page overview shows three pages side by side. In Settings → Pages, tap the chain between two pages to link them.
- On a tablet, choose how wide pages are: Thumb, Wider, or Half the screen.
- Appearance keeps Styles, Font, Effects and Colors in one floating bar on every screen.
Setup
- Setup asks one thing per screen, skips anything you already allowed, and comes back on its own after you allow something in your phone’s Settings.
- Small tips show up the first time you reach something new, as a short note beside the search button.
Feature map
| Area | What it is |
|---|---|
| Home & App List | Clock, weather, folders, apps, letter rail, search button |
| Moving your page | Drag the All apps tile (or the line) to move a page up or down |
| Foldables & linked pages | Two pages side by side on an opened fold |
| Contacts | Call or message people from a home page |
| Recents | Apps you used recently |
| Music | Now playing on a dedicated page |
| Notifications | Full notification center on a page |
| Scratch Board | Notes, pins, clipboard, attachments |
| Quick Settings | Fast toggles on a home page |
| Backup | Google Drive, daily backups, or a zip you save and share |
| Page overview | Reorder pages, wallpapers, widgets |
| Wallpapers | Catalog, photos, day/night packs, blur/dim, per-page |
| Styles | One-tap looks (wallpaper + theme + fonts + icons) |
| Icon packs & clock | DuoTone, Wireframe, Frosted Glass, and more |
| Settings | Appearance, Home, Gestures, Search, Pages, more |
| Search | Apps, contacts, files, calculator, web, OTP chip |
| Security | Uninstall protection, app lock / hide |
| Wellbeing | Zen / declutter, adaptive dimming |
Home & App List
What you see
- Clock, date, weather at the top (tap weather for forecast when set up)
- Optional weather overlay and Pro vignettes for a richer look
- Frequently used apps when usage access is on
- Alphabetical app list with optional letter rail on the side
- Folder row under the date, with All apps first
- Search button: a circle in the bottom corner on your thumb’s side. Tap anywhere in that corner to search
- Page icons (or dots) beside the search button show which page you’re on — tap one to jump there
- Hold the search button for Pages & wallpaper, Dextera settings, and Android settings
- Optional frosted glass surfaces for cards and panels
How to
- Swipe the search button left or right to change page.
- Hold the search button and slide sideways to move through all your pages. Lift to stay on a page.
- Slide along the letter rail to jump the list. A big, faint letter shows where you are.
- Press and hold an app for pin, hide, folder, lock (Pro), uninstall. If an app lights up under your finger, keep holding to open its menu.
- Hold the letter rail, slide into your apps, and rest on the app that lights up to open its menu — or lift without pausing to open the app.
Folders
- Long-press an app → Folder to file it (Social, Media, Productivity, Utilities, …).
- Folders show as buttons above your apps. With Show folders as icons (Settings → App List), each folder is an icon in a row under the date: tap it to fan out its first apps right beside your thumb, then tap one. Tap the folder again to open all of it. You can also press and hold, slide to an app, and let go.
- Drag the folder row sideways to bring a far folder to your thumb. Tap All apps to tuck your folders inside it; tap again to bring them back.
- In an open folder, hold an app and drag it to change the order. The apps at the top are the ones that fan out. “Empty folder” sits after the apps, away from your thumb.
- An open folder shows only its own apps, as a grid or a list (Settings → App List → Inside a folder, show apps as).
- Hide apps in folders keeps filed apps out of the A–Z list; search still finds them.
Weather forecast
Tap the weather on home for a forecast card (needs location when enabled). Adjust units under Settings → Home.
Moving your page up and down
With folders shown as icons, the All apps tile has a small bar under it: drag the tile up or down to move everything below it, and tap it to tuck your folders away. Otherwise a thin line sits between the clock and your page. Either one lets you choose how much of the screen the page uses.
| What you do | What happens |
|---|---|
| Press and hold the line, then drag up or down | The page moves with your finger; each page remembers its own spot |
| Drag up past the time and weather | They shrink like a spring, and bounce back when you let go |
| Drag all the way up | The page stays up for a few seconds; your phone rumbles just before the time and weather spring back |
| Hold, drag, then slide sideways toward the edge until you feel a double bump | Locks the line where you left it, even over the time and weather |
| Swipe the other way | Hides the long line and keeps only a small pill |
| Leave it alone | It folds into a small dash at the side. Tap the dash to bring the line back, or swipe left or right on it to change pages |
If you hide the time and weather on a page, you can drag the line up into that space and it stays there.
Foldables & linked pages
Dextera is built for book-style foldables such as the Galaxy Z Fold.
- Two pages side by side. In page overview, turn on Chain with … on a page to link it with the page next to it. Linked pages open together, one on each half, when the phone is open. Folded, each page fills the cover screen on its own.
- Swap a linked pair. Swipe up on the search button and tap Switch positions. In Settings → Pages, tap the chain between two pages to link or unlink them. The page you were on keeps the date, time and weather.
- A divider on each half. Each linked page has its own line for moving it up or down, so the two halves move independently. The line never goes under the status bar.
- Search button stays put. Swiping sideways low on the screen moves only the search button to the other half. Single pages remember which half they sit on.
- Turn the open phone to portrait to get one full-width page; turn it back for two side by side.
- Fold and unfold keeps the same pages, widgets, and wallpaper on both screens.
- Fold close animation (Pro): as you close the phone, falling code in your theme color fills the screen (Appearance → Effects → Code rain).
Contacts
A full Contacts page on home — not only search results.
- Rows with call and message
- Optional letter rail
- Grant Contacts permission once (Quick setup or Settings)
How to
- Enable the Contacts page under Settings → Pages if it is hidden.
- Grant Contacts access when asked.
- Tap the phone or message button, or long-press a row to pin.
Recents
Recently used apps on their own page — quick return without opening the system recents UI.
How to
- Swipe the search button to the Recents page (enable it under Settings → Pages if missing).
- Tap an app to open it.
- Swipe to dismiss; long-press for the app menu.
Music
When audio is playing (or a media session is active):
- Artwork, track title and artist (long titles scroll while you look at them)
- A spinning record with the time played on either side — minutes on the left, seconds on the right
- Seek bar and volume for the active output
- Seek bar styles: Classic, Wave, Segmented, Minimal, and Glow (soft glowing waves over the part you’ve played)
- Optional frosted player and button-mode layout in the Music page settings
- Works with music casting to your phone from other devices (for example KDE Connect)
How to
- Start music or a podcast in any app.
- Go to the Music page (it appears while something is playing).
- On the record or artwork: swipe down to play or pause, swipe left or right to change songs, tap to open the player app.
- On small screens the mini player has taps instead: left, middle, or right for previous, play/pause, next; slide sideways to move through the song; slide up or down for volume.
The Music page only animates while music plays and you can see it, so it doesn’t use battery in the background.
Notifications
A full Notification Center as a home page (not only the system shade).
- Cards by app; expand, reply, dismiss when the app allows
- Swipe right to save a notification to Scratch Board, swipe left to delete it
- A notification that arrives while the page is open scrolls into view with a short wiggle and glow
- Pin apps so they stay high in the list
- Lock pinned (Page settings) so pinned apps can’t be swiped away or cleared with Clear All
- Optional pin toward Scratch Board when that page is available
How to
- Grant notification access for Dextera (prompt or system Settings).
- Open the Notifications page.
- Long-press an app icon on a card (or use the pin control) to pin.
- In overview → Settings on that page → Lock pinned notifications if you want pins locked.
Scratch Board
A place for notes, checklists, drawings, pinned notifications (with photos when available), clipboard, and attachments.
- Checklists — tap the checklist button, press Enter for the next item, tap a box to tick it off
- Bold, italic, strikethrough from the edit window; misspelled words are underlined with suggestions
- Star a note to keep it at the front; search the whole board from the ⋮ menu
- Copy a note with its formatting and checkboxes; share any note, photo, or file from its ⋮ menu
- Link previews show a picture and title, like in a text message
- Trash keeps deleted items for 30 days so you can bring them back
- Tap the Scratch Board title to open it full screen
How to
- Open the Scratch Board page (or swipe a notification right to save it here).
- Type in Write a note… and send.
- Use the picture, drawing, checklist, attach, and clipboard buttons. Changed your mind about a list or drawing? Tap Close to go back to your note.
- Share files into Scratch Board when Android’s share sheet offers Dextera.
Quick Settings
A dedicated Quick Settings page for fast toggles without diving into the system shade: Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight, airplane, DND, brightness, and shortcuts into system settings.
How to
- Enable Quick Settings under Settings → Pages (Pro may apply to add).
- Swipe the search button to the page.
- Pull down on the page and it slides down to your thumb. Tap tiles to toggle; hold a tile for the system details screen.
- Brightness needs the Modify system settings grant the first time.
Page overview
Mission control for your pages — including foldable-friendly spreads when your device supports a wider canvas.
How to open
- Hold the search button and choose Pages & wallpaper
- Pinch in on home
- Long-press empty space
What you can do
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Long-press drag a card | Reorder pages |
| + Widget (n/3) on built-in pages | Add stacked overlay widgets (up to 3 per page) |
| + Add widgets on custom pages | Free-form widget canvas |
| Settings on a card | That page’s settings (Back returns to overview) |
| Date, time & weather | Show or hide the clock area on that page |
| Chain with … | Link a page with its neighbor so they open side by side on a foldable |
| Sync wallpaper across pages | One wallpaper everywhere, or per-page wallpapers |
| Wallpaper / Settings at bottom | Appearance or full settings |
Wallpapers
Open from overview → Wallpaper, or Settings → Appearance → Custom.
Effects & icons
- Apply to Home & Lock, Home only, or Lock only
- Icon pack and themed icons (recolor to theme accent)
- Shapes: System, Circle, Squircle, Square
- Blur and Dim so icons stay readable
- Adaptive dimming — dims more after sunset and less after sunrise
- Bottom shade — a dark fade up from the bottom of the screen, behind everything, so the search button and page icons stand out on bright wallpapers (strength slider)
- OLED mode — pure black with high contrast, on a schedule if you like
- Unlock animation — wallpaper zoom and the clock, apps and search button blooming in on unlock
Dynamic & your photos
- Dynamic (day / night) — import GNOME timed packs, or use built-in Horizon
- Local images — add up to 7 photos from gallery/files; tap to apply, long-press to remove
Built-in catalog
Categories such as Nature, Abstract, Minimal, Space, Dark, Urban, and more (drawn and photo sets). Each wallpaper sits in one category, so they don’t repeat. Heart items to mark favorites.
Bing — free for everyone: today’s Bing photo (changes daily) plus the last week’s photos, each credited to the photographer.
How to set a wallpaper
- Overview → Wallpaper, or Appearance → Custom.
- Pick system/black/Bing, a catalog image, a photo, or a dynamic pack.
- Adjust dim/blur and Apply to as needed.
- For a different look per page: turn Sync wallpaper off in overview, center that page, then set wallpaper.
Styles
Styles apply a full look at once: wallpaper + colors + font + icon style, with a short reveal animation.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Save current as style | Store your current look for later |
| Match my wardrobe | Seed a style from a camera / photo shot |
| Built-in (Calm, Cyberpunk Noir, …) | Curated one-tap presets |
How to
- Open the wallpaper picker → Styles tab.
- Tap a built-in style, or save your own.
- Wait for the apply / reveal to finish (don’t spam Back mid-transition).
Icon packs & clock styles
Built-in icon packs include looks such as:
- DuoTone
- Wireframe
- Frosted Glass
- Dot Matrix
- Neon Glow
- Silhouette
Pick a pack from wallpaper / Appearance icon options, then optionally enable themed icons.
Clock styles under Settings → Home include Dextera, Minimal, Bold, Analog, and more (some Pro). Pair with weather overlay and optional network-speed next to the clock.
Settings overview
| Category | Covers |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Wallpaper, theme, icons, fonts, live preview, frosted glass |
| Home | Clock styles, weather, status bar, Tasks quote, overlays |
| App List | Sidebar, folders, organization |
| Touch & Gestures | Left-handed rail, Home, double-tap, hold-back |
| Search | Engine, history, sources, file folders, OTP, calculator |
| Pages | Panels, order, linking, transitions |
| Digital Wellbeing | Zen / declutter, adaptive dimming |
| Security & Privacy | Uninstall protection, app lock / hide |
| Extensions | Optional add-ons (for example Walkie-Talkie) |
| Backup & Restore | Export / import (when shown) |
| About | Version, Pro, Save / Share / Import backup, legal, wiki |
| Help | Default home app / switch launcher |
Hold the search button for Pages & wallpaper, Dextera settings, or Android settings.
More detail: Settings.
Appearance (detail)
- Live preview of wallpaper + dim as you adjust
- Quick picks: Custom, Pitch Black, Bing Daily
- Theme color swatches (including Auto from your wallpaper)
- Themed icons toggle and icon packs
- Optional frosted glass treatment for UI surfaces
- Icon shapes
- Google Fonts picker (free fonts with live preview)
- Font scale and icon size sliders
Home settings
- Tasks quote on home — optional line from Google Tasks / Gemini-related reminders
- Connect Google Tasks, fade after 5s / 10s / 15s / Never
- Clock styles: Dextera, Minimal, Bold, Analog, and more (some Pro)
- Hide status bar (fullscreen home)
- Network speed next to the clock
- Clock background / invert text
- 24-hour time, Fahrenheit
- Weather overlay + Pro vignettes where available
Touch & Gestures
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Left-handed mode | Letter rail on the left edge |
| Home screen gestures | Double-tap, swipe shortcuts |
| Long-hold back | Jump to a page instead of system back |
| Double-tap header | Action (e.g. toggle left-handed) |
| Hold back gesture | Target page (e.g. Notifications) |
| Home button & gesture | Default, First page, jump to page, … |
Full gesture list: Gestures.
Search
From the home bar
Tap Search… for apps, contacts, settings, files (in folders you add), calculator math, and web suggestions. Filter chips: All · Contacts · Apps · Web · Settings.
- The best match appears right above the search button, exact names first.
- Contacts that match show next to the search button, within thumb reach: tap the photo or name to open the contact; Call and Message sit on your thumb side.
- On an opened fold, extra results fill the other half; tap that half to close search.
Calculator
Type a number followed by + − × ÷ or %, or start with a bracket, and a calculator slides up above the search field. Your sum shows in large numbers with the answer underneath, updating as you type. Buttons for ( ) ÷ × − + % and = sit just above the bar, so you don’t have to switch keyboards. Tap = or press Enter to swap the sum for its answer, or tap Copy.
Search settings
- Colorized search button
- Web search engine
- Previous search results + history limit
- Verification codes — OTP from message notifications as a home chip (no SMS permission; Dextera does not read the SMS inbox)
- Toggle sources: Apps, Contacts, Files, Web, Settings
- Type an expression (e.g.
12×8) to open the calculator above the search field - File search → Add folder — only folders you pick are indexed (Android may block phone root / Downloads)
Pages (layout & panels)
- Page transition: Slide, Cube, Depth, Flip, Fade
- Page indicator: Dots, Icons, or Off, with a Background slider from clear to solid
- Linked pages: two pages shown side by side on a foldable; tap the chain between two pages to link them
Built-in panels you can enable/reorder:
- App List (always home)
- Recents
- Contacts
- Music
- Notifications
- Scratch Board
- Quick Settings
Plus custom widget pages (extra pages may need Pro). Long-press a row and drag to reorder.
Widgets
| Kind | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Custom page | Free-form grid; drag/resize; Dextera widget picker with previews |
| Built-in page | Up to 3 stacked overlay widgets (e.g. on App List) via overview + Widget |
On foldables, linked pages show side by side — see Foldables & linked pages.
Digital Wellbeing
- Zen mode (declutter) — hide labels and extra visual overlays for a calmer home
- Hide on rest — when your phone is at rest, fade the time, date, weather, search button, or app list. Bring them back with a touch or a reveal gesture (you choose), on every page
- Related options: frequently used limits, hidden apps, notification filters (elsewhere in settings / Pro where noted)
- Adaptive dimming / OLED-friendly options to reduce eye strain and keep deep blacks
Security
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Uninstallation protection | Device admin so Dextera can’t be removed casually — turn admin off before uninstalling |
| App locking (Pro) | Long-press app → Lock; open from Dextera asks for biometrics. Does not use Accessibility or intercept apps only from system Recents |
| Hide apps | Keep selected apps off the visible list until you choose to show them again |
Also: optional OTP from notifications (Search settings) without reading SMS — no SMS permission.
Backup & restore
Keep a copy of your pages, settings, and Scratch Board, and restore it on this phone or a new one.
Google Drive
Settings → About → Back up to Google Drive — sign in once, then back up now or turn on Back up to Drive every day (runs on Wi-Fi). Backups go to a hidden Dextera folder in your own Google Drive that only Dextera can open; the newest 5 are kept and count toward your Drive storage. Restore them on a new phone.
Daily backups to a folder
Choose a folder on your device or in Google Drive and Dextera saves a backup every day, keeping the latest 7.
A zip you save yourself
Settings → About:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Save backup | System Save As picker — Downloads, Drive, SD card |
| Share backup | Share sheet (Files, email, Drive, …) |
| Import backup | Pick a zip, preview it, then restore and restart |
Play, Dev, and sideload builds write different file names so you can tell them apart:
dextera_play_backup_….zipdextera_dev_backup_….zipdextera_sideload_backup_….zip
What is in the zip
Pages, folders, wallpapers and style presets, app shortcuts, Scratch Board, search history and ranking, pinned and hidden apps, notification settings, and coach-mark “already seen” flags.
What is not
- Android permissions (Contacts, notifications, usage, default home, file folders) — you grant those again
- App lock PIN and locked apps
- Dextera Pro (comes back from Play, or the Dev unlock)
- Google Tasks login
- Live notification shade
- System widgets (device-bound IDs)
First-run restore
After Quick setup, Dextera offers Restore from backup or Start without a backup. A successful restore marks setup done and restarts into the restored home — without replaying the first-run tour.
Dextera Pro
One-time unlock on Google Play (Settings → About). Pro adds extras such as app lock, hide apps, uninstall protection, Zen mode, search history and verification codes, file search, the wallpaper catalog, wallpaper blur, frosted glass, OLED mode, adaptive dimming, icon packs, extra clock styles and fonts, weather animations, the Quick Settings page, widget pages, page transitions, the hold-back gesture, and the fold close animation. Bing wallpapers are free for everyone. Restore purchases if you reinstall. A backup does not copy Pro — Play does.
Support Dextera (Settings → About) lets you give a little more if you’d like; supporters’ feature requests go first. Send feedback emails us a problem or idea.
Updates outside Google Play
If you installed Dextera from the download page, it can update itself:
- In Settings → About, tap the version number 5 times to turn on experimental features.
- Turn on APK updates.
- Pick an Update channel — Beta for test versions or Stable — and Dextera only offers updates from that channel.
Every update, from Play or the download page, shows What’s new once, in plain language.
More help
- Getting started — install and first setup
- Gestures — search button, folders, Home, moving your page
- Pages — each page in more detail
- Settings — where every toggle lives
- Permissions · Privacy
- Contact — features@ for ideas, bugs@ if something is broken