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@god-s-perfect-idiot god-s-perfect-idiot released this 19 Jul 17:30
· 58 commits to main since this release
alpha-2
a4c85bd

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

Assets 11
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