Overlay Launcher helps you quickly launch Apps and Shortcuts from anywhere

Something we love to be able to do is to open apps on our Android phone quickly via shortcuts on the homescreen, and thanks to the customization possibilities, we can make shortcuts to call or message contacts and more. There are a few apps that make multitasking between apps faster and quicker without needing you to access them from the homescreen or app drawer, and the latest to allow this is an app called Overlay Launcher.

As the name suggests, Overlay Launcher adds an overlay of shortcuts on your device that you can access from anywhere, by simply swiping from the edge of the screen to the center. You can configure the launcher to show up when dragging from any edge (called the hotspot) of the screen, and if you decide to have the hotspot on each corner of the screen, you can customize each of those hotspots to include a different set of shortcuts.

You can add any app, shortcut, or even widgets to these hotspots. Got a favourite contact that you call up regularly or a widget that you use for getting the latest news? Add them to one of the hotspots and access them no matter where you are, with widgets appearing right on top of your currently opened app and being resizable as well. If you don’t like the launcher appearing in the middle of the screen, you can instead set it to appear as a vertical list on the screen’s edge, after which you can swipe your finger up and down to select between different shortcuts.

There’s simply a lot of things you can do with Overlay Launcher – launch the first, second or third recently accessed app without opening the recent apps screen, show a list of all running apps, change the number or rows and columns of shortcuts in each hotspot, customize the width and height of hotspots, and a lot more to make multitasking and opening various apps a short and quick affair. If your device is rooted, you can even add shortcuts to the back, home and menu buttons, so you can see how the customization options are virtually endless.

Overlay Launcher is available as both a free and $2 paid version, with the paid version adding the option to have and customize multiple hotspots. Hit the links below to download it and start multitasking more efficiently right away.

Download: Free | Pro ($2)