v1.3.0

Ethereal v1.3.0

One grid. Multiple Spaces. No endless swiping.

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Big release. A new Update & Data Center, selective backups, and a serious performance pass on ESearch.

What's new

Update & Data Center

• New full-screen "Update & Data Center" — a single module for backups and updates
• Central "Updates & Data" button on the About tab, replacing the scattered buttons
• Tapping the update banner ("Available v...") now takes you straight to the Update Center
• Full Markdown renderer for changelogs, pulled directly from GitHub releases (release_template.md)
• Two ways to update:
  • In-app download — grabs Ethereal.apk inside the app with 0–100% progress and auto-launches the installer via FileProvider
  • Manual download — opens the GitHub release page

Backups

• Selective export/import in JSON — choose what to save: Settings, Spaces & tiles, Wallpapers & media
• Loading dialog with progress indicator ("Exporting data..." / "Importing data...")

UI

• Smooth open/close animation for the app context menu (About / Uninstall) in ESearch

Onboarding

• Final button renamed from "Start" / "Начать" to "Hold" / "Удерживать"
• Interactive hint "Press and hold" appears after 5 seconds of inactivity, or immediately on a plain tap

Fixes

Performance — ESearch (stable 120 FPS)

• Icon caching (ImageBitmap) — no more heavy drawable→bitmap conversion on the main thread during scroll
• Removed synchronous SharedPreferences reads on every keystroke (uses a preloaded launch-stats snapshot)
• Disabled item appear delays and animateItem() during scroll

Recents

• Fixed the launcher duplicating itself in Recents — added excludeFromRecents="true" and clearTaskOnLaunch="true"

Backups & data

• System widgets now survive import — widgetProvider is preserved and a new AppWidgetId is registered and bound on-device
• Custom tile images (APP_LAUNCHER / imageUri) now transfer correctly in JSON backups
• Backup size optimized, OutOfMemoryError crashes prevented — all images downscaled to max 1024px (JPEG 80%)
• Fixed unbounded file growth and wallpaper duplication — only the current active wallpaper is backed up, and SHA-256 dedup is applied on restore

Update flow

• Added <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES" /> to AndroidManifest.xml for the system installer on Android 8.0+
• "What's new" block is now hidden when there are no updates

Onboarding

• Battery optimization disable step removed entirely

Known issues

• Widget resizing depends on the widget provider — some widgets may not scale perfectly
• Weather widget uses IP-based location by default (manual city selection available in the tile editor)
• Equalizer tile is decorative and not tied to actual playback

Installation

1. Download the APK below
2. Allow installation from unknown sources if prompted
3. Press Home and select Ethereal as your default launcher

Feedback

Found a bug? Open an issue:
https://github.com/Neytron951/Ethereal/issues

Include your device model, Android version, and steps to reproduce.

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GNU General Public License v3.0.

v1.2.2

Ethereal v1.2.2

One grid. Multiple Spaces. No endless swiping.

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Maintenance release. One crash fix.

Fixes

• Fixed a crash when scrolling app lists, caused by duplicate entries of the same app

Installation

1. Download the APK below
2. Allow installation from unknown sources if prompted
3. Press Home and select Ethereal as your default launcher

Feedback

Found a bug? Open an issue:
https://github.com/Neytron951/Ethereal/issues

Include your device model, Android version, and steps to reproduce.

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GNU General Public License v3.0.

v1.2.1

Ethereal v1.2.1

One grid. Multiple Spaces. No endless swiping.

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Third public release. Backup v2, ESearch actions, icon packs, and an equalizer tile — plus the usual polish.

What's new

• Backup JSON v2 — now saves wallpapers and tile/Space images too. Import validates structure and checksums before applying; settings and layouts are written together. Old v1 format is still supported
• ESearch menu — long-press an app to open "About" and "Uninstall" actions. Uninstall is confirmed by Android; the app list refreshes on return
• Icon packs — pick from installed ADW / Nova / Apex / Holo compatible packs in theme settings. If the pack has no icon for an app, the system icon is kept
• Equalizer tile — 8-band tile styled with your theme color. A permission explanation is shown before adding; if the device doesn't expose the audio spectrum, the widget says so instead of drawing anything

Note: the equalizer is a visual placeholder only. It does not use real audio data — the bars are generated, not measured. Expect a genuine FFT-based version in a future release.

Known issues

• Widget resizing depends on the widget provider — some widgets may not scale perfectly
• Weather widget uses IP-based location by default (manual city selection available in the tile editor)
• Equalizer tile is decorative and not tied to actual playback

Installation

1. Download the APK below
2. Allow installation from unknown sources if prompted
3. Press Home and select Ethereal as your default launcher

Feedback

Found a bug? Open an issue:
https://github.com/Neytron951/Ethereal/issues

Include your device model, Android version, and steps to reproduce.

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GNU General Public License v3.0.

v1.1.0

Ethereal v1.1.0

One grid. Multiple Spaces. No endless swiping.

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Second public release. Settings backup, ESearch improvements, and a big stability pass — especially for foldables and custom ROMs.

What's new

• Settings export & import (JSON) — back up and restore theme, fonts, Dock, ESearch, tile grid, Spaces and their layouts
• "Auto-keyboard" toggle in ESearch settings — choose whether the keyboard opens automatically or on tap

Fixes & stability

• Fixed icon loading crashes on foldables and flagships — added try-catch around toImageBitmap and PackageManager queries
• Onboarding no longer gets stuck on step 3 — battery optimization disable is now a recommendation, not a requirement
• Onboarding step now survives switching the default launcher — remember replaced with rememberSaveable
• Fixed "Delete" button being squashed to 1px in the tile editor — panels now have verticalScroll and a fixed max height
• AppWidgetHost is now wrapped in safe Throwable handling — prevents crashes on ROMs with non-standard widget services
• Firebase Crashlytics integrated for automatic crash reporting

Known issues

• Widget resizing depends on the widget provider — some widgets may not scale perfectly
• Spaces currently support a single level of depth
• Weather widget uses IP-based location by default (manual city selection available in the tile editor)

Installation

1. Download the APK below
2. Allow installation from unknown sources if prompted
3. Press Home and select Ethereal as your default launcher

Feedback

Found a bug? Open an issue:
https://github.com/Neytron951/Ethereal/issues

Include your device model, Android version, and steps to reproduce.

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GNU General Public License v3.0.

v1.0.0 — Ethereal

Ethereal v1.0.0

One grid. Multiple Spaces. No endless swiping.

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First public release. Tested on a limited number of devices — some rough edges are expected.

What's new

• Tile-based home screen with drag and drop
• Spaces — folders reimagined as full screens
• System widget support (AppWidgetHost)
• Built-in clock, weather, and search widgets
• 29 color palettes and 16 font families
• Frosted glass panels with adjustable blur
• Custom icon shapes and themed icons
• Dock with up to 8 apps
• E-Search — swipe up to search
• Wallpaper manager with four scaling modes
• English and Russian localization
• In-app update notifications

Known issues

• Widget resizing depends on the widget provider — some widgets may not scale perfectly
• Weather widget uses IP-based location by default (manual city selection available in the tile editor)

Installation

1. Download the APK below
2. Allow installation from unknown sources if prompted
3. Press Home and select Ethereal as your default launcher

Feedback

Found a bug? Open an issue:
https://github.com/Neytron951/Ethereal/issues

Include your device model, Android version, and steps to reproduce.

---

GNU General Public License v3.0.