alpha-6

metro-os alpha-6

Since: alpha-5
Tag: alpha-6 (8eaed62)

The shell gains WP8.1 toast banners and a volume HUD as standalone overlay apps, Music lands as an Xbox Music–style player, and Start tiles pick up charging/download progress plus live people mosaics.

Highlights

• Notifications (toasts) — New Tier 0 overlay: high-importance notifications raise a Metro toast banner instead of Android heads-up.
• Volume HUD — New Tier 0 overlay: hardware rockers show the charcoal WP8.1 volume strip (ringer / media / in-call).
• Music — New Tier 1 Xbox Music–style player: local MediaStore library plus YouTube Music connect/playback.
• Start tile progress — Pinned tiles show charging and download progress overlays, including custom RemoteViews (e.g. charging monitors).
• Settings applications — Root system | applications pivot with per-app detail, background/notification toggles, and uninstall.

Notifications

• New complete shell app: toast overlay only (tray / Action Center stay in statusbar)
• Accent banner with app logo + one line; tile-flip enter/exit; swipe right to dismiss; tap to open
• Setup from Settings → notifications (master toggle, timeout ListPicker, test toast)
• Suppresses AOSP heads-up while the overlay is running

Volume

• New complete shell app: collapsed charcoal strip + expanded dual sliders
• Accessibility key filter consumes Volume Up/Down so the stock HUD does not appear
• Setup from Settings → volume (master toggle)

Music

• New complete app: panorama hub, collection pivots, now playing, local + YouTube Music
• Background playback via Media3

Launcher / Start

• Progress-bar notifications overlay a rectangular bar on pinned tiles (charging remaining, downloads)
• Custom RemoteViews parsed when extras are empty (e.g. Bolt.Earth-style charging UIs)
• People photo-grid tiles rotate contact mosaics with live flip
• App list: letter-marker animations in search, haptic on long-press context menu

Settings / Keyboard / Photos

• Applications list of launchable user + system apps; in-Settings detail (open / uninstall)
• Keyboard key spacing unified (equal row/column gaps)
• Photos: shared loading/empty collection state

Downloads

Debug APKs for all complete apps in this release:

App	Artifact
Launcher	launcher-debug.apk
Status bar	statusbar-debug.apk
Notifications	notifications-debug.apk
Navigation bar	navbar-debug.apk
Volume	volume-debug.apk
Photos	photos-debug.apk
Calendar	calendar-debug.apk
Messaging	messaging-debug.apk
People	people-debug.apk
Phone (Dialer)	dialer-debug.apk
Settings	settings-debug.apk
Calculator	calculator-debug.apk
Files	files-debug.apk
Keyboard	keyboard-debug.apk
Music	music-debug.apk

Install shell first (launcher, statusbar, notifications, navbar, volume), then consumer apps. Enable Notifications (overlay + accessibility + notification access) and Volume (overlay + accessibility) after install.

For testers

1. Install shell + apps (include new Notifications, Volume, Music).
2. Notifications: grant overlay, accessibility, and notification access; Settings → notifications → turn on Show notifications; post a high-importance notification or use show test toast — Metro banner, not Android heads-up.
3. Volume: grant overlay + accessibility; Settings → volume → turn on Show volume controls; press rockers — charcoal HUD, not the stock Android panel.
4. Start: pin an app that shows charging/download progress; confirm the tile bar (and remaining-time peek) rather than an unread 1 badge.
5. Settings → applications → open an app’s detail; toggle notifications/background; uninstall a user app.
6. Music: scan local files; play from hub; optionally connect YouTube Music.

Stats

Commits since alpha-5	8
Complete apps built	15

Compare: alpha-5...alpha-6

alpha-5

metro-os alpha-5

Since: alpha-4
Tag: alpha-5 (fe4c3a3)

Keyboard joins the suite as a WP8.1-style system IME, Dialer gets proper incoming/ongoing call notifications with proximity-aware in-call UI, and the shell status tray / navigation overlay behavior is tightened for 3-button mode.

Highlights

• Keyboard (IME) — New Tier 0 Metro Keyboard (FlorisBoard fork) with WP8.1 themes and Metro settings; linked from system Settings.
• Dialer call UX — Incoming full-screen intent when locked/off, direct open when unlocked; ongoing call notifications; proximity sensor blanks the screen at the ear.
• Status tray polish — Tap / home reveal with staggered icon drop-in; 5s auto-collapse; nav overlay only in 3-button mode.
• Typography — Launcher tile text roles and fuller Noto Sans weight set across the UI toolkit.
• MetroListPicker — Shared WP8.1-style list picker used in Keyboard settings (replacing Material-ish dropdowns).

Keyboard

• New complete app: touch IME + Metro settings shell
• WP8.1 dark/light themes; branding as Metro Keyboard
• Settings entry from system Settings; list pickers via toolkit

Dialer

• Incoming / active call notifications and ringtone handling
• Full-screen intent when needed; skip heads-up when unlocked
• Proximity-driven screen-off during calls; in-call UI polish

Shell (statusbar / navbar)

• Status tray expand timing and icon stagger
• System navigation mode detection; overlay gated to 3-button nav

Launcher / Settings / Toolkits

• TileText / typography updates on Start
• Theme settings simplified (removed FOLLOW_TIME / sunrise–sunset prefs)
• metro-ui-android: MetroListPicker, MetroMessageDialog, toggle + font updates

Downloads

Debug APKs for all complete apps in this release:

App	Artifact
Launcher	launcher-debug.apk
Status bar	statusbar-debug.apk
Navigation bar	navbar-debug.apk
Photos	photos-debug.apk
Calendar	calendar-debug.apk
Messaging	messaging-debug.apk
People	people-debug.apk
Phone (Dialer)	dialer-debug.apk
Settings	settings-debug.apk
Calculator	calculator-debug.apk
Files	files-debug.apk
Keyboard	keyboard-debug.apk

Install shell first (launcher, statusbar, navbar), then consumer apps. Enable Keyboard as the system IME after install.

For testers

1. Install shell + apps (include new Keyboard); set Keyboard as default IME and type in a few apps.
2. Dialer: incoming call on lock screen → full-screen UI; unlocked → opens InCall directly; hold to ear → screen blanks.
3. Status tray: tap / go home → indicators drop in; wait ~5s → collapse; confirm nav overlay only with 3-button nav.
4. Settings → Keyboard opens Metro Keyboard settings; list pickers look Metro (not Material dropdowns).

Stats

Commits since alpha-4	12
Complete apps built	12

Compare: alpha-4...alpha-5

alpha-4

metro-os alpha-4

Since: alpha-3
Tag: alpha-4 (cdda6ff)

Files joins the suite as a WP8.1-style file browser, Start gets Xbox Music–style now-playing tiles plus custom branding and richer notification peeks for third-party apps, and Dialer can pin speed-dial contacts to Start.

Highlights

• Files app — Browse and open storage with Metro list chrome; new suite member in the APK set.
• Music now-playing tiles — Pinned music tiles show album art and transport controls from active media sessions (Xbox Music–style).
• Custom tile branding — Branded Start/app-list faces for select third-party apps (e.g. Google, YouTube Music, WhatsApp, Camera, Chrome).
• Richer tile peeks — Notification back-face subtitle support; Gmail-style mail peek (sender / subject / content).
• Speed dial → Start — Pin contacts / speed dials from Dialer onto the Start screen.

Files

• New complete app: browse, open, and manage files with Metro UI
• Permission gate and file-type pivots / icons

Launcher / Start

• Music now-playing live tiles (1×1, 2×2, 4×2) with play/pause
• Custom tile faces and branding for selected third-party apps
• Mail notification peek and notification merge improvements
• Tile grid / corner-button layout consistency in edit mode

Dialer

• Speed dial pin-to-Start via launcher receiver
• Context menus for adding / pinning speed dials

People / Shell / Toolkits

• People tile and pin-related wiring updates
• Navbar / status bar theme receiver polish
• metro-ui-android typography and list subtitle sizing; tile / theme tweaks
• metro-system-sdk intent / preferences updates for cross-app flows

Downloads

Debug APKs for all complete apps in this release:

App	Artifact
Launcher	launcher-debug.apk
Status bar	statusbar-debug.apk
Navigation bar	navbar-debug.apk
Photos	photos-debug.apk
Calendar	calendar-debug.apk
Messaging	messaging-debug.apk
People	people-debug.apk
Phone (Dialer)	dialer-debug.apk
Settings	settings-debug.apk
Calculator	calculator-debug.apk
Files	files-debug.apk

Install shell first (launcher, statusbar, navbar), then the consumer apps.

For testers

1. Install shell + apps (include new Files).
2. Files: grant storage permission; browse folders and open a few file types.
3. Start: pin a music app tile; play audio — confirm art + play/pause on the tile.
4. Start: pin Google / YouTube Music / WhatsApp / Camera / Chrome — check branded faces.
5. Enable notification listener; send a Gmail-style notification — confirm peek content.
6. Dialer: add/pin a speed dial to Start; confirm the tile launches correctly.

Stats

Commits since alpha-3	5
Files changed	~120
Complete apps built	11

Compare: alpha-3...alpha-4

alpha-3

metro-os alpha-3

Since: alpha-2
Tag: alpha-3 (4867bad)

Settings enters the suite as a real WP8.1 system app, Start tiles can be dragged to reorder, Dialer gains incoming-call and SMS reply flows, and shared typography/controls get closer to the Metro chrome.

Highlights

• Settings app — System theme, 20-color accent palette, ease-of-access / text size, and suite-wide theme broadcast so accent and theme changes apply across apps.
• Start tile drag-reorder — Drag pinned tiles with magnet reflow; order persists on drop.
• App-list shortcuts — Long-press an app to open launchable shortcuts from the context menu.
• Dialer incoming call + SMS — Incoming call UI (answer / ignore / reply with text); send SMS from Dialer.
• Metro chrome polish — App Title typography role, WP8.1-style slider thumb/track, Settings icon refresh, Dialer MetroAppTitle branding.

Settings

• WP8.1-style settings hierarchy
• Accent color picker (official 20-color palette)
• Ease of access / text size
• Theme changes broadcast across the suite

Launcher / Start

• Drag-to-reorder pinned tiles with magnet reflow
• Grid position persistence and compaction
• App-list long-press shortcuts (AppLauncherOptions)
• Settings launcher icon / branding updates

Dialer

• Incoming call screen (answer, ignore, text reply)
• Send message from Dialer
• MetroAppTitle branding on the shell

Toolkit (metro-ui-android)

• App Title typography role (Medium weight)
• MetroSlider rectangular thumb/track to match UX language
• Related UX / typography doc updates

Downloads

Debug APKs for all complete apps in this release:

App	Artifact
Launcher	launcher-debug.apk
Status bar	statusbar-debug.apk
Navigation bar	navbar-debug.apk
Photos	photos-debug.apk
Calendar	calendar-debug.apk
Messaging	messaging-debug.apk
People	people-debug.apk
Phone (Dialer)	dialer-debug.apk
Settings	settings-debug.apk
Calculator	calculator-debug.apk

Install shell first (launcher, statusbar, navbar), then the consumer apps.

For testers

1. Install shell + apps from the assets below (include new Settings).
2. Open Settings: change accent and theme; confirm other apps pick up the change.
3. Start: enter edit mode, drag tiles to reorder, drop and relaunch — order should stick.
4. App list: long-press an app that exposes shortcuts; confirm options appear and launch.
5. Dialer: simulate/receive an incoming call — answer, ignore, and reply-with-text paths.
6. Spot-check App Title chrome on Dialer and Settings icon on Start / app list.

Stats

Commits since alpha-2	7
Files changed	~122
Complete apps built	10

Compare: alpha-2...alpha-3

alpha-2

metro-os alpha-2

Since: alpha-1
Tag: alpha-2 (a4c85bd)

Start screen polish, messaging as a real SMS app, shared WP8.1 controls, and tighter visual fidelity across the shell and Tier 2 apps.

Highlights

• App list jump list & search — Tap a letter marker to open the WP8.1-style jump list (with staggered entrance animation); search highlights matches more clearly.
• Live tiles — Notification listener drives tile peeks; Messaging publishes unread counts/labels so the Messaging tile updates live.
• Photos Start tile — Photo grid tile uses a Ken Burns–style pan/crossfade between images.
• Messaging overhaul — Stronger SMS merging, conversation chrome, composer UX, and soft-keyboard handling so threads stay usable while typing.
• Photos viewer zoom — Pinch/pan zoom with thumbnail caching for smoother browsing.
• Calculator — Rotate to landscape for scientific mode; calculations persist across orientation changes.
• Permission loading — Calendar, Dialer, Messaging, People, and Photos show a Metro loading screen while permission state is resolved (no permission-UI flash).
• Shared UI toolkit — New MetroJumpList, MetroLoadingScreen, and MetroBorderButton, plus standardized 12dp content margins across apps.

Launcher / Start

• Find-by-letter jump list and refined app search
• Animated context menus on long-press
• Live-tile notification peeks (opt-in notification access prompt)
• Messaging unread live tile + updated system app icons (Phone, Photos, Calculator, People, Messaging)
• Wider tiles can wrap titles; notification peek text layout improved
• Pinned tiles filter uninstalled packages; legacy placeholders migrate to shipped metro apps
• Async loading of pinned tiles for snappier Start
• Tile grid interaction polish

Messaging

• Live tile provider with unread count/label refresh
• Better SMS provider merge (fewer duplicates; local overlays cleaned up after persist)
• Conversation bubbles, composer, and new-message flow polished
• Loading states while fetching threads/messages and while checking permissions
• Contact name lookup improvements
• Unread icon assets for app + tile

Photos

• Pinch-to-zoom / pan in the viewer
• Thumbnail cache to cut redundant decode work
• Collection panes and permission UI aligned to the new margin standard
• Loading screen during permission checks

Calculator

• Portrait = standard, landscape = scientific
• State retained across rotation

Calendar / Dialer / People

• Calendar view-type picker and shell polish
• Dialer / People / Calendar / Photos / Messaging permission screens updated with loading gate
• People uses shared jump list (local overlay removed)
• People launcher icon refreshed (bitmap asset)

Shell & branding

• Status bar / navbar icon and chrome tweaks
• Centralized app branding in metro-system-sdk (MetroAppBranding)
• Design docs: list content margin 24dp → 12dp

Toolkit (metro-ui-android)

• MetroJumpList + logic/tests (diagonal stagger, instant section jump)
• MetroLoadingScreen
• MetroBorderButton
• Shared dimens for screen/list margins
• Letter tile sizing and transition helpers

Downloads

Debug APKs for all complete apps in this release:

App	Artifact
Launcher	launcher-debug.apk
Status bar	statusbar-debug.apk
Navigation bar	navbar-debug.apk
Photos	photos-debug.apk
Calendar	calendar-debug.apk
Messaging	messaging-debug.apk
People	people-debug.apk
Phone (Dialer)	dialer-debug.apk
Calculator	calculator-debug.apk

Install shell first (launcher, statusbar, navbar), then the consumer apps.

For testers

1. Install shell + updated apps from the assets below.
2. Grant launcher notification access to see live-tile peeks.
3. Set Messaging as the default SMS app; send/receive and confirm the Start tile unread state.
4. App list: search, letter jump list, pin/unpin, edit-mode corners.
5. Photos: open a photo and pinch-zoom; confirm Start photo tile animates.
6. Calculator: rotate device and confirm mode switch + retained expression.
7. Cold-start Calendar / Dialer / Messaging / People / Photos and confirm a loading screen appears before permission UI (no flash).
8. Spot-check list screens for the tighter 12dp side margins.

Stats

Commits since alpha-1	10
Files changed	~180
Complete apps built	9

Compare: alpha-1...alpha-2

alpha-1

metro-os — Alpha 1

First installable slice of metro-os: a Windows Phone 8.1–style shell on Android, plus a first wave of consumer apps.

Goal: 1:1 WP8.1 Metro UX — not Material, not “inspired by.” Shared accent/theme via toolkits; portrait phone only.

Build: 2026-07-18 · 9/9 debug APKs passed · artifacts in deploy/apks/

---

What’s in Alpha 1

App	Package	Tier	Status	Artifact
Launcher	com.metro.launcher	0 — Shell	Core flows live	launcher-debug.apk
Status bar	com.metro.statusbar	0 — Shell	Implemented	statusbar-debug.apk
Navigation bar	com.metro.navbar	0 — Shell	Scaffolded / usable	navbar-debug.apk
Photos	com.metro.photos	2	Implemented	photos-debug.apk
Calendar	com.metro.calendar	2	Implemented	calendar-debug.apk
Messaging	com.metro.messaging	2	Implemented (SMS seam + demo)	messaging-debug.apk
People	com.metro.people	2	Hub v1	people-debug.apk
Phone	com.metro.dialer	2	Phone v1	dialer-debug.apk
Calculator	com.metro.calculator	2	Implemented	calculator-debug.apk

Each APK is ~8.6–8.9 MB (debug).

---

Install

# Shell (Tier 0)
./scripts/install-shell.sh

# Or sideload from the suite collection
adb install -r deploy/apks/launcher-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/statusbar-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/navbar-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/photos-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/calendar-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/messaging-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/people-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/dialer-debug.apk
adb install -r deploy/apks/calculator-debug.apk