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Mink Launcher is a keyboard-first Android home-screen launcher. It replaces the screen you see after pressing Home, then gives you direct ways to open apps, contact people, create to-dos and calendar drafts, search local files, use widgets, and reach other tools.

It is still an Android launcher, not a replacement operating system. Your apps, notifications, lock screen, quick settings, accounts, and Android settings continue to belong to Android and your phone manufacturer.

No. Mink Launcher works on normal touchscreen Android phones, foldables, and tablets. On a device without usable physical keys, the Magic Box uses Mink's built-in launcher keyboard.

A physical keyboard makes the direct-input design especially fast because you can begin typing from Home without first tapping the search field, but it is an advantage rather than a requirement.

The launcher requires Android 8.0 Oreo or newer. Individual Android features can have higher requirements. App Bubbles need Android 11 or newer, per-app language selection uses Android 13 or newer, Android Private Space integration needs Android 15, and MinkPad needs Android 9 or newer plus Bluetooth HID Device support from the manufacturer.

No. Installing a launcher is a normal Android feature. Mink becomes your Home app, while the rest of Android stays in place. It does not root the phone, unlock the bootloader, flash firmware, or modify the operating system.

You can return to your previous launcher at any time from Android's Default apps or Home app settings.

Open Mink Launcher and follow onboarding. Android should show its default Home-app chooser. Select Mink Launcher and choose the option that keeps it as your default.

If you dismissed that prompt, open Mink Settings, More, Permissions, Default home app. You can also use Android Settings, Apps, Default apps, Home app. Exact Android menu names vary by manufacturer.

No. The open-source app has no account system. Your launcher layout, searches, to-dos, settings, and other supported data are stored on your device.

Most launcher features work locally without an internet connection, including app search, to-dos, the calculator, local settings, widgets supplied by installed apps, and locally indexed filenames.

A web search, a website, an AI provider, online weather, cloud messaging, provider media, or another internet-based app still needs whatever connection that destination normally requires. The optional GitHub update check also needs internet access.

The open-source edition is available from the project's GitHub releases and F-Droid. Those two channels use different signing keys, so Android cannot install one directly over the other.

The free Google Play edition is available through beta testing. It includes MinkPad Lite, while MinkPad Pro is offered separately for people who want the controller without the launcher or want managed switching between multiple saved hosts. Back up your launcher data before switching distribution channels because uninstalling clears local app data.

Usually yes if the device runs Android 8.0 or newer and lets you choose a third-party Home app. That covers physical-keyboard phones, normal touchscreen phones, many foldables, and Android tablets.

Manufacturers can change launcher APIs, gestures, background rules, widgets, private spaces, and Bluetooth behavior. The main launcher should still work, but a manufacturer-specific feature can behave differently.

Yes. Mink Launcher is designed around phones with real keys and has been developed and tested extensively on the Titan 2. The responsive layout, instant physical-key typing, keyboard navigation, Magic Box, MinkSpace, and MinkPad are all especially relevant on this kind of device.

The Titan 2 Elite should follow the same Android compatibility rule, but firmware and keymap differences can affect individual shortcuts until that exact device is tested.

They meet Mink's basic Android-version requirement on their supported firmware and are natural fits for a keyboard-first launcher. Screen shape, keyboard firmware, OEM gestures, and performance differ across the Titan family, so an individual key combination may not behave exactly like it does on a Titan 2.

If typing does not open the Magic Box immediately, tap the Magic Box once and check the phone's keyboard-shortcut or convenience-key settings for conflicts.

It should if the shipping software exposes Android's normal third-party Home-app selection. Its Android version is comfortably above Mink's Android 8.0 minimum, and its physical keyboard matches Mink's keyboard-first design.

A new phone can still have device-specific key handling or launcher restrictions, so this is a compatibility expectation rather than a promise about every firmware build.

It should work if the final device runs a supported Android version and allows another app to become the default Home app. Mink can use a built-in hardware keyboard without requiring Clicks-specific software.

Because pre-release and newly released devices can change before shipping, exact key combinations and layout behavior need testing on production firmware.

Yes when the conversion runs Android 8.0 or newer and supports changing the Home app. Mink includes keyboard-first navigation behavior intended to reduce friction from devices whose touch-sensitive keyboard or trackpad reports directional-pad events.

Conversion hardware and community firmware vary. A Q25, another Zinwa conversion, and an original BlackBerry running its stock operating system are not the same compatibility target.

Possibly. Compatible models and firmware must be on Android 8.0 or newer and must still allow a third-party default launcher. These phones are old enough that security updates, available Android versions, and OEM services differ by region and carrier.

Mink cannot install on BlackBerry 10 or the original BlackBerry OS because those are not Android launcher environments.

Yes. Modern Pixel phones support third-party launchers and are far above Mink's minimum Android version. Touchscreen users can tap the Magic Box and type with Mink's built-in launcher keyboard.

Android gesture navigation can animate differently with third-party launchers than with Pixel Launcher. That behavior belongs to Android's launcher integration and can change between Pixel updates.

Yes on supported Android versions. Mink works as a replacement Home app on modern Galaxy phones, including large slab devices such as the Galaxy S Ultra line. The Align Pill to Bottom option can keep the main controls easier to reach on tall screens.

Samsung Notes receives a dedicated note handoff when available. Samsung-specific areas such as Secure Folder remain controlled by Samsung rather than Mink.

Yes on supported Android versions. Mink responds to display-size changes and offers optional two-panel layouts on large or unfolded displays. It preserves the active page and Magic Box draft while the layout changes.

The cover screen, inner screen, app continuity, and gesture animations are still managed by Samsung and Android, so test the arrangement you prefer in both folded and unfolded states.

They follow the same foldable rule: Android 8.0 or newer, third-party Home-app support, and enough display information for Android to report the current window size. Mink adapts between compact and larger layouts rather than assuming one fixed phone shape.

Manufacturer multitasking, cover-screen access, and transition animations remain outside Mink's control.

Yes when the tablet allows third-party launchers. Mink has large-screen layouts, including a two-panel Home arrangement and a two-panel Settings layout. The widget page can hold up to 64 Android widgets.

A tablet used in desktop mode, as a managed kiosk, or with manufacturer restrictions may not expose every normal Home-app option.

Yes if the phone meets the Android-version requirement and allows a third-party launcher. You do not lose Magic Box actions; tap the field and type with Mink's built-in launcher keyboard instead of starting from hardware keys.

Aggressive battery management is less important for a Home app than for a background service, but it can still affect widgets, media-session updates, and MinkPad on some manufacturers.

It may install if the device meets the Android and default-launcher requirements. Mink is designed for color screens and uses animation, gradients, artwork, and video or image previews, so an e-ink display may refresh slowly or show reduced contrast.

Choose a simple wallpaper, restrained colors, and fewer animated elements. E-ink suitability depends heavily on the device's refresh modes and firmware.

The app can run on Android 8.0 or newer, but available memory, graphics performance, widget providers, and manufacturer restrictions matter. A basic Home layout can be lighter than using every optional page, widget, media preview, and animation at once.

MinkPad is a separate question because the phone must also expose Android's Bluetooth HID Device profile.

No. iOS and iPadOS do not support Android launcher apps. Mink Launcher must run on Android.

MinkPad is different: an Android phone running MinkPad may be able to pair as a standard Bluetooth keyboard and pointer with an Apple device that accepts those inputs. Apple controls the final shortcuts, pointer behavior, and compatibility.

Mink Launcher is a phone-and-tablet Home app, not a replacement television launcher, ChromeOS shelf, Windows desktop, or macOS desktop.

MinkPad can use the Android phone as an input accessory for many computers, phones, tablets, and televisions that accept standard Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, or media reports. Host behavior varies.

No launcher can honestly promise that. Core Home, app launching, and local organization have broad support. Features tied to a particular Android version, permission, widget provider, messaging app, private-space implementation, Bluetooth stack, or manufacturer service can vary.

Mink explains optional access when a feature needs it and tries to fall back safely rather than pretending an unsupported action succeeded.

Home centers on a raised panel with MinkSpace and shortcuts, a date and status header, the Magic Box, and access to adjacent pages such as widgets, Conversations, and Mink's Day when those features are enabled.

You choose how much is visible. Mink is not trying to force every feature onto one screen.

Mink lays out the Home header around the display cutout reported by Android instead of moving the entire launcher below it. The logo, battery, date and time, Conversations, and Settings remain separate pieces, so a center camera can move only the item that needs room into the open side.

If a header item crosses to the other side, its alignment changes with it to keep the row visually balanced. Left- and right-side cutouts use the same available-space calculation, but the final result still depends on the geometry and status-bar information the phone manufacturer reports to Android.

Yes. Seven Home slots can use their built-in actions, launch one installed app or app-published shortcut, or become a folder when you select more than one item. The eighth tile always opens Quick Drawer.

Open Settings, Launcher, App Grid to assign or reorder the 4 × 2 grid, name and color folders, choose their indicator and animation, and configure Quick Drawer.

Quick Drawer is the fixed eighth App Grid tile. It opens a focused navigation surface for MinkPad Lite, All Apps, Private Space, and Work Space when those destinations are enabled and available on the device.

Choose Manage Quick Apps to open the editor directly from Quick Drawer. You can select and drag to reorder up to eight installed apps or app-published shortcuts without navigating through Settings.

Quick Apps do not fill the drawer itself. They appear in the otherwise-empty Magic Box when Mink Assistant opens over another app, replacing the Home hot-key legend with the apps you chose.

Quick Apps appear when you invoke Mink Assistant and its Magic Box is empty. Tap one to launch it without returning to Home.

The Magic Box on Home continues to show Mink's hot-key legend. To change the Assistant list, open Quick Drawer and choose Manage Quick Apps, or open the Quick Drawer page from the fixed eighth App Grid tile in Settings.

Swipe up from Home to open See All. Mink uses a focused three-app carousel and a draggable A to Z jump rail rather than a dense wall of icons. Swipe down or use Back to close it.

You can also type ? followed by an app name in the Magic Box and launch the result directly. App search ranks exact names first, but it also understands word prefixes, initials, abbreviations, and small spelling mistakes.

Yes. The dedicated widget page supports up to 64 widgets from installed apps. You can add, configure, drag to reorder, resize, replace, and remove them. The widget's provider decides what content and controls it supplies.

MinkSpace can separately host one widget inside the Home panel, with an expanded interaction mode for controls and scrolling content.

Yes. Choose a photo, crop it for the current display, and apply it from Appearance. Mink stores the finished crop privately and applies it to Android's Home wallpaper so related system surfaces can match.

Mink also includes built-in wallpaper choices, solid presets, and a custom color. It does not change the lock-screen wallpaper.

Yes. Choose Mink-themed icons, original app icons, or an installed icon pack that exposes common Nova or ADW theme mappings. If a pack has no mapping for an app, Mink falls back to the original icon.

Legacy browser shortcuts and unusual app shortcuts may keep their supplied icon because an icon pack cannot always identify the destination safely.

Yes. Mink uses Geist by default and includes serif and monospace choices. You can import a valid .ttf or .otf font, adjust launcher text size at fixed steps, and choose automatic or custom text colors.

Google Fonts and other sites may download a ZIP file. Extract it first, then choose the actual font file from the extracted folder. Check the font's license before redistributing it.

Yes. Mink Theme is the default and keeps Mink's brown-and-green identity consistent across Home, the launcher keyboard, Settings, and feature colors. Brightness can follow the system or stay light or dark. On Android 12 or newer, you can explicitly choose the system color palette when you want Material You colors.

Each Home theme pairs a wallpaper with background and panel colors. When changing themes, you can use the theme wallpaper or keep the personal photo or device wallpaper Mink saved. Automatic text and system-bar colors are recalculated from the active background so a light theme does not leave white text behind and a dark photo does not leave dark header text behind.

The interface currently includes 15 language variants: English US, English UK, Simplified Chinese, Cantonese for Hong Kong, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Spanish, French, Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, Indonesian, and Arabic.

On Android 13 or newer you can choose Mink's language separately from the phone. Older versions follow Android's normal app-language behavior. Calendar phrase parsing currently supports US English, UK English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Arabic and is still marked beta.

The Magic Box is Mink's direct-input field. Type normal words to search, or begin with a symbol to tell Mink what kind of action you want before you leave Home.

It is not a command line you must memorize. The available actions remain visible until you start typing, and onboarding can be replayed from Settings.

On a physical-keyboard phone, press a printable key from Home. Mink opens the already-focused Magic Box and preserves the first character. On a touchscreen phone, tap the Magic Box and use Mink's built-in launcher keyboard.

You can also set Mink as the Android assistant to open the same interface over another app.

It brings the six Magic Box action keys, a number row, symbols, Shift, sentence capitalization, repeating Backspace, text selection, and clipboard actions to touchscreen phones, foldables, and tablets. A wide, large, or landscape display uses a split layout by default, with invisible repeated center-key targets that keep common letters within thumb reach.

Open Settings, Magic Box, Keyboard to choose QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak, Pinyin, Cangjie, Hangul, or Devanagari key maps; Flat, Raised, or Outlined keys; theme or custom colors; key color, height, haptics, and split behavior. Flat runs edge to edge without individual letter or utility key tiles while keeping the six Magic action keys color-coded. Long-press Sym to return to those settings.

The Pinyin, Cangjie, Hangul, and Devanagari options are direct key maps. They do not currently provide dictionaries, suggestions, autocorrect, composed-language candidates, or handwriting conversion.

No. It is a launcher-local input surface built for Mink's Magic Box, not an Android system input method and not a replacement for Gboard, Samsung Keyboard, SwiftKey, or another full IME.

Your normal Android keyboard remains available in other apps. Physical keyboards also keep using Android's normal hardware-keyboard path, while Mink adds its Home-screen shortcuts and Magic Box behavior.

Use @ for messages and recent conversations, # for calls, - for a Mink to-do, / for a multiline note, + for a calendar draft, and ? for an installed app. An additional * action hands a multiline prompt to your selected AI provider.

Plain text can search local filenames, open a valid web address, search the web, or go to another text-capable app you choose.

Mink shows compatible recent conversations published by installed messaging apps and contacts from Android Contacts when you grant contact access. You can choose a person, write a message, and review how it will leave Mink.

A receiving app may accept both the recipient and draft, accept only the text, or require you to choose the recipient again. Mink labels unverified routes as beta instead of hiding that uncertainty.

Mink searches contacts and can also try an unsaved phone number or username. Phone-like values keep the confirmed carrier-call option. A username goes to Android's compatible calling-app chooser because it is not a telephone number.

Calls are never placed just because you typed a name. You select the destination and confirm the action.

The text becomes a local Mink to-do. You can later check it, edit it, delete it, reorder it, send the list to a notes app, or save it as a PDF through Android's document picker.

If the To-do mini-app is hidden from MinkSpace, Mink offers to open the full To-dos page instead of requiring a fake Home shortcut.

Yes. The note action supports multiline text. Mink prefers Android's dedicated create-note action, can use a chosen compatible notes app, and has a Samsung Notes handoff on Samsung devices.

The destination app owns the final note and may show a review screen before saving.

Mink parses the phrase locally into a calendar draft, shows what it understood, and then hands the draft to your calendar app for review. It does not silently create an event from ambiguous text.

Supported phrases depend on the selected language. The beta parser currently covers US and UK English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Arabic, with common relative dates, weekdays, times, and durations.

Mink searches installed launchable apps. Tap a result to open it. On Android 11 or newer, long-pressing a regular personal-app result can try that app in Android's bubble system when App Bubbles is enabled.

Mink opens a multiline prompt flow for your selected AI provider. The text stays in Mink until you choose the AI action, then Android hands it to the provider app or fallback route you selected.

Mink does not call an AI API, run a hidden model, submit the prompt silently, or display the provider's answer inside the launcher.

Mink can search locally accessible filenames, recognize a valid web address, search the web with your selected browser, or hand the text to another installed app that accepts shared text.

You choose the destination. Mink does not send every word you type to a search engine.

No. Mink searches filenames exposed by Android MediaStore and folders you explicitly approve through Android's folder picker. It does not request broad All files access and does not upload filenames.

Results are grouped as Photos, Videos, Documents, and Audio. Android supplies thumbnails when available. The app receives access only through the system routes you approve.

Mink recognizes a catalog that includes Google Messages, WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business, Telegram, LINE, Beeper, Nextcloud Talk, Molly, Signal, KakaoTalk, WeChat, Viber, Messenger, Slack, Teams, Discord, Snapchat, GroupMe, Zalo, TextNow, and TextFree.

Support is not identical. Android and each installed app decide whether Mink can carry the recipient, the draft text, both, or neither. Unsupported or changed routes fall back to the provider or Android share flow when possible.

Only when you explicitly enable automatic behavior and the chosen route supports it. System Messages can send carrier SMS directly after you choose a recipient and submit the message, and that direct route requires Mink to hold the Android assistant role.

Other providers usually receive a draft through their supported Android route. The provider remains responsible for its account, recipient handling, delivery method, and final send behavior.

No. Mink does not change your messaging app's RCS settings. Direct System Messages uses carrier SMS when you intentionally choose that route. App handoffs open the selected messaging provider, which decides whether it uses RCS, an internet account, SMS, or another transport.

Conversations is an active-only view built from Android-standard message and email notifications. It groups compatible updates into timelines, shows the source apps, and can open the provider's full conversation.

Inline reply appears only when the source app supplies a compatible Android reply action. Mink can acknowledge that the reply was handed off, but it does not claim the message was delivered or read.

No separate conversation history is stored. The page reflects active notifications held in memory. When Android or the provider removes those notifications, Mink does not keep an independent archive of their content.

To keep an old Favorite notification from restarting the attention light after Mink restarts, the app saves only a one-way hashed conversation identifier and the last time that conversation was acknowledged. That marker does not contain the message text or sender name.

The acknowledgement marker stays in Mink's private app storage, is not included in a portable backup, and is removed when you clear Mink's app data or uninstall it.

Favorites puts the people you reach most in a reorderable grid. It can show contacts you starred in Android Contacts and Mink-created integrated contacts for messaging or calling providers that do not map cleanly to an Android contact.

Each person can inherit your launcher messaging and calling defaults or use a per-person route. Android Contacts stay in Android's Contacts provider. Mink-created integrated Favorites are encrypted locally and are included in readable portable backups.

The Conversations icon can act as a software attention light for Favorites. It pulses only when a Favorite has newer active message or email activity. Other active conversations can still increase the number badge without making the icon pulse.

Choose a person in Favorites, open Quick Settings, and select an Attention color. If several Favorites need attention, Mink rotates their colors in Favorites-grid order. Opening the Conversations page alone does not clear them; opening a specific conversation acknowledges only that conversation.

Dismissing a notification through Android removes it when Android reports it gone. A bubble or provider can remain counted while Android still reports its notification as active. Mink will not guess by display name, so a provider that exposes no stable contact or conversation identity may appear in Conversations without being matched to a Favorite.

Phone permission is used only when you choose and confirm a direct carrier call. Emergency numbers and failed direct-call attempts fall back to Android's dialer. If you choose another calling app, Mink uses Android's dial route so compatible apps can appear.

Mink Assistant lets Android's assistant gesture open the keyboard-first Magic Box over the app you are currently using. It is the same direct-action interface, not a voice assistant and not a chatbot.

Choosing Mink replaces the current default digital assistant until you select another one in Android Settings.

No. Mink does not request microphone input, read assist context, inspect the app beneath it, capture the screen, or use screen content to build a prompt. It opens its own input interface over the current app.

Mink's reviewed catalog includes ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek, Meta AI, Google Gemini, and Lumo. It can also show other installed apps that accept shared text.

Most providers receive text through Android's standard sharing contract. Lumo builds that do not expose that contract use a clearly labeled copy-and-paste route instead.

No. Mink does not run a model, call a remote model API, or receive the provider's answer. It prepares your text for the app you choose. Any account, price, limits, privacy terms, and response belong to that provider.

MinkSpace is the mini-app area inside the Home panel. Swipe vertically to switch between enabled mini-apps. Swipe horizontally when the current mini-app has more than one internal page.

You choose the order and visibility in Settings. The available set includes To-dos, Calculator, Memories, Music, Quick Widget, and the Virtual Contact Card. Mini-apps can also declare an expanded view, while supported mini-apps can offer a separate full-screen shortcut.

No. To-dos are enabled in a new setup, but they are not required to remain visible. If you hide that mini-app, the - action can offer to open the full To-dos page after saving a task.

Add, complete, edit, delete, and reorder tasks. Home previews up to five tasks with unfinished items first. The full manager can send the list to a notes app or save a PDF with Android's document picker.

Deletion asks for confirmation to reduce accidental loss from taps or back gestures.

It accepts touch or physical-keyboard number entry, supports implicit multiplication, and keeps a small clearable history locally. Invalid expressions are rejected rather than sent to an online service.

No. You select specific images, animated GIFs, or videos through Android's picker. Mink saves a reference and read grant, not a second copy of the original file. Tapping an item opens the original through an installed app.

Removing an item from Memories removes Mink's reference when Android permits. It does not delete the original media.

Adrift is Mink's ambient full-screen view. It places a centered clock over an OLED-black background while four photos or animated GIFs from Memories independently fade in and out at changing positions. Frames keep their aspect ratios, cycle through the selected library before repeating when possible, and stay behind the clock. Videos are not used in Adrift.

Choose Adrift under Mini Apps, Full-screen shortcut, then long-press the keyboard icon on the collapsed Home Magic Box. The screen stays awake while Adrift is open. Back or the close control exits; touching the top edge brings its auto-hiding toolbar back.

The Conversations icon appears only when a Favorite has newer activity that needs attention. Opening Conversations from Adrift returns to Adrift with Back, while starting a reply or another compose action closes the ambient view.

With optional Notification access, Mink asks Android for the currently active media session. It can show artwork, metadata, position, playback state, provider identity, and only the controls that provider advertises.

Mink does not record audio or keep listening history. A provider may omit seeking, shuffle, previous, next, artwork, or other capabilities.

Yes, one widget from an installed app. Mink estimates whether it should fit normally, fit when expanded, feel cramped, or require setup, but the widget provider controls the real layout and actions.

Tap the widget to enter interaction mode so its buttons, lists, and gestures stay inside it. Use Back or close interaction mode to return to MinkSpace navigation.

The MinkSpace widget is one compact mini-app inside Home. The separate widget page is a larger adjacent space that can hold up to 64 Android widgets with individual sizing and drag ordering.

Android widgets are remote views supplied by another app. That app chooses the sizes, content, refresh schedule, configuration screen, and supported interactions. Mink hosts the widget but cannot rewrite a provider's layout or force it to update.

Use interaction mode for nested scrolling. If a newly configured widget looks stale, leave and return to the page or replace it after its provider finishes setup.

The order and enabled state of mini-apps, the selected full-screen shortcut, and portable to-dos are included. Widget restore recipes can preserve each provider and layout position without copying Android widget IDs, live contents, or provider-specific configuration. Calculator history, selected Memories references and permissions, active media sessions, and the Virtual Contact Card photo remain device-bound.

MinkPad turns a compatible Android phone into a native Bluetooth keyboard, relative mouse trackpad, media controller, or TV-style remote for one connected host at a time. It uses Android's public Bluetooth HID Device profile.

It is not screen mirroring, remote desktop software, Wi-Fi casting, or a cloud service.

MinkPad Lite is included with the free Google Play edition of Mink Launcher. It keeps the complete keyboard, trackpad, media-control, and remote experience, has no usage timer, and manages one saved host for reconnection and quick access.

MinkPad Pro is the separate standalone app. It does not require Mink Launcher and is designed for multiple managed saved hosts, quick host switching, its own app lifecycle and shortcuts, and future per-host or hardware-focused features. Both editions control only one active host at a time.

The open-source Mink Launcher project remains the all-in-one build and is not being reduced to the commercial Lite product boundary.

No. Mink Launcher and its included MinkPad Lite experience are planned to remain free, with no session timer or subscription. The one-managed-host boundary is the product difference, not a trial countdown.

MinkPad Pro is planned as a separate one-time paid app rather than a recurring subscription. Final store availability and pricing will be shown on its real listing when it is ready.

The controller phone needs Android 9 or newer and a manufacturer Bluetooth stack that exposes Android's HID Device profile. Android 12 or newer also asks for Nearby devices access when you start the feature.

A phone can run the launcher while still lacking the required HID profile. That is a hardware or firmware compatibility limit, not a permission Mink can work around.

No. It uses the phone's ordinary Bluetooth controller and registers one native keyboard-and-mouse profile. It does not create a second custom BLE identity.

That is why pairing records, discoverability, and some device-name behavior are visible in Android's normal Bluetooth settings.

That temporary compatibility identity helps receiving devices treat the Android HID connection responsively. Mink includes the phone's device name so multiple MinkPad phones are easier to distinguish.

The original Bluetooth name is restored when the session stops. Because this is the phone's ordinary Bluetooth identity, some headphones, speakers, cars, or other paired accessories may disconnect or reconnect while MinkPad starts or stops.

It can pair with many hosts that accept standard Bluetooth keyboard, relative mouse, media, or navigation reports, including macOS, Windows, Linux, Android phones and tablets, some iPads, Google TV, Android TV, and other smart-TV or streaming devices.

The host decides which report types, shortcuts, cursors, buttons, gestures, and media commands it honors. A device can accept typing but ignore a pointer, or accept navigation but not app-specific clicks.

Start MinkPad, choose Start 2-minute pairing, approve Android's discoverability prompt, then open Bluetooth settings on the receiving device and select the Pro Controller - MinkPad entry for your phone. Confirm matching codes when both devices ask.

If in-app discovery is available on Android 12 or newer, it can help initiate a normal Android pairing. System Bluetooth settings remain the source of truth.

MinkPad Pro and the open-source all-in-one edition can manage multiple saved hosts and switch the one active HID connection between them. This is saved-host switching, not simultaneous multi-device input broadcasting.

MinkPad Lite manages one saved host. Choosing another host starts an explicit replacement flow: the new host becomes Lite's managed device only after you confirm it. Android may still retain other Bluetooth bonds, but those bonds are not extra Lite host slots.

Mink can forget its own managed-host record and operating-system preset, but Android owns the secure Bluetooth pairing. In MinkPad Lite, forgetting the managed host also frees its one app-managed slot; it does not promise to erase Android's bond.

Remove the device from Android Bluetooth settings on the phone and, when necessary, forget MinkPad on the receiving device too if you want the underlying pairing removed.

The current trackpad supports pointer movement, tap and double-tap clicks, two-finger scrolling, two-finger right-click, stationary hold-to-drag, and double-tap-and-hold dragging. Scrolling direction and pointer sensitivity are configurable.

Pinch sends discrete application zoom shortcuts rather than pretending to be a native precision trackpad. Advanced three- and four-finger actions send operating-system shortcut mappings only when enabled.

Hardware-keyboard phones send physical keys, modifiers, arrows, and supported punctuation through a visually hidden editor that preserves the phone keyboard's Alt or Sym behavior. Touchscreen phones can reveal a software input field with Type.

Software text targets a US host layout and rejects unsupported characters instead of substituting the wrong character. Host keyboard layout and shortcut handling still matter.

Remote mode provides a directional dial with OK, Back, Home, playback, volume, and channel-style controls where the receiving device supports them. The same Bluetooth connection remains active when switching between Trackpad and Remote.

A television app can ignore mouse clicks while still accepting arrows and Enter. That is host-app behavior rather than a failed Bluetooth connection.

Bluetooth scheduling, input polling, power management, HID compatibility rules, pointer acceleration, and rendering are controlled partly by both devices. Mink uses Android's native HID profile and a low-latency descriptor, but it cannot force every host to process reports identically.

Adjust pointer sensitivity and the host's mouse settings. A responsive keyboard with a slower pointer can still be a host-side cursor or acceleration behavior.

No. Typed text, key reports, and pointer movement are not saved or uploaded by Mink. In-progress keyboard composition and queued input exist only in memory for the active session.

The receiving device can see every key you send, including passwords, and your chosen Android keyboard processes software-keyboard input under its own privacy settings. Always confirm the connected host before typing sensitive information.

Mink's Day is an optional local wellbeing page. Six illustrated Mink states reflect the time of day and, with optional Usage Access, can summarize foreground time and launch counts for only the apps you choose.

Without Usage Access it still works as a time-of-day companion.

It can hide or pause selected personal apps inside Mink Launcher all the time or after a collective daily limit. Assigned shortcut tiles remain visible with an explanation instead of silently disappearing.

This is a launcher barrier, not an Android system suspension. The app can still be opened through Settings, a link, another launcher, or another authorized route. Mink's Day is not parental-control software.

No. Selected-app observations are calculated on the device while Mink is visible. Mink stores your choices and limits but does not create a separate cloud account or usage-history database.

Accessible work-profile apps appear in a separate Work Apps drawer with Android's work badge. They can remain searchable and pinnable when the profile is available. Android and the organization manage the profile, its pause state, policy, accounts, and data.

Mink's Day measurements and pause barriers apply only to personal-profile apps.

On Android 15, Mink can present Android Private Space in a separate container while Mink is the active Home app. Private apps stay out of regular Magic Box search, Home shortcuts, Quick Drawer, and See All.

Android owns authentication and stops exposing contained apps while the space is locked. Mink does not create or weaken that security boundary.

Mink can save and open an optional manufacturer-owned app or shortcut as a gateway when the device exposes one. It stores only that launch target and cannot inspect the apps or data inside the manufacturer's private area.

It is an optional on-device profile card with identity fields, selected social or payment links, an optional processed photo, and a standards-based vCard QR. It is a shareable contact card, not a Mink account.

The QR contains only the fields and links you select. It does not embed the contact photo or fallback Mink icon. Anyone who receives or photographs the QR can keep the information you chose to include.

The open-source app has no Mink account, advertising SDK, analytics SDK, tracker, or Katoa Apps application server. Launcher settings, to-dos, recent supported queries, widget configuration, and other local feature data stay on the device.

When you deliberately hand content to a browser, messaging app, AI provider, calendar, notes app, carrier, or another destination, that recipient handles the copy under its own terms.

Optional features need the matching Android capability. Contacts power @ and # search, Phone can place a confirmed carrier call, Notification access powers transient Conversations and active media sessions, Usage Access powers selected Mink's Day insights, and Nearby devices powers MinkPad on newer Android versions.

You can use the core launcher without enabling every optional feature. Mink explains each request near the feature that uses it.

The optional accessibility service exists only for Double-tap screen lock. It performs Android's Lock screen global action after you double-tap empty Home space.

The service does not subscribe to accessibility events, read windows, retrieve screen content, perform arbitrary gestures, or collect data. You do not need to enable it unless you want that shortcut.

The portable JSON can include supported launcher settings and layout, App Grid folders and ordering, Quick Drawer choices, icon and launcher-keyboard preferences, MinkSpace order, visibility, and full-screen shortcut, Mink's Day configuration, to-dos, Virtual Contact Card fields and links, Mink-created integrated Favorites and their ordering, and widget restore recipes.

The export is deliberately readable so it can move between supported app distributions. Protect it like any file that may contain names, phone numbers, usernames, provider routes, vCard details, or personal preferences.

It excludes Android permissions and roles, accessibility and notification access, Android widget IDs and live widget state, Android Contacts and contact photos, approved folder grants, wallpaper images, recent-query history, calculator history, selected Memories references and grants, active media sessions, Work and Private Space state, manufacturer private-area gateways, active bubble notifications, Bluetooth host addresses, the active MinkPad session, and the Virtual Contact Card photo.

Widget restore recipes can reserve positions and ask Android to bind replacements, but provider-specific configuration may still need to be completed again. Other excluded items are device-bound, sensitive, temporary, or controlled by Android.

Android only installs an update over an app signed by the same trusted key. The distribution channels use different signing keys, so Android treats them as incompatible update paths even when the package name is familiar.

Export a Mink backup, uninstall the current channel, install the new channel, complete required Android permissions again, and restore the portable backup.

The importer is designed to migrate supported earlier backup versions and to use safe defaults when newer optional fields are missing. Keep the original export until you have confirmed the restored layout and settings on the new installation.

A backup cannot restore files or Android-owned bindings that were never included in it.

The open-source app can optionally check GitHub's public latest-release metadata at most twice a day and show that a newer version exists. It does not silently download or install an APK.

F-Droid can publish later than GitHub. Google Play builds will use Google Play's normal update system when available.

Local app data is removed, including settings and data you did not export. Files you deliberately saved elsewhere, original files selected in Memories, other apps' data, and Android-owned Bluetooth pairings remain outside Mink's storage.

Export a portable backup first if you plan to reinstall or switch channels.

Yes. The OpenMink source and bundled open-source artwork are published under the Apache License 2.0. The license does not grant unrestricted use of the Mink Launcher name or branding.

You can inspect, build, and sideload the open-source all-in-one project yourself, including its full embedded MinkPad host management. The free Google Play launcher will use the one-managed-host MinkPad Lite product boundary, while the standalone MinkPad Pro app will be a separate commercial product.

Probably not. Android has not made Mink the default Home app yet. Open Mink Settings, More, Permissions, Default home app, or open Android Settings, Apps, Default apps, Home app and select Mink Launcher.

Some phones ask whether you want Just once or Always. Choose the persistent option if you want Home to keep opening Mink.

First tap the Magic Box and confirm the keyboard can type there. If that works, an OEM shortcut, keyboard utility, accessibility service, or special Alt or Sym mapping may be intercepting keys before the launcher sees them.

Mink handles printable keys from Home, but Android firmware decides which events reach the app. Check manufacturer keyboard-shortcut settings and update the device firmware when available.

Some hardware keyboards and input methods apply autocorrect, smart punctuation, or Alt-layer composition before Android delivers text. Mink tries to preserve the first symbol and remove unwanted automatic spacing, but device firmware can still replace an in-progress character.

Tap the Magic Box first, try the same key with the phone's stock keyboard settings, and disable punctuation autocorrection for a comparison. Report the exact phone, keyboard app, Android version, and key sequence if it continues.

Android 13 and newer can restrict sensitive settings for sideloaded apps. Open Android Settings, Apps, Mink Launcher, open the top-right menu, choose Allow restricted settings, confirm your device lock, then return to Mink Settings and enable Conversations or Music access.

Only allow restricted settings when you trust the APK source. Menu wording can differ by device.

Mink can show only active notifications Android classifies as message or email content. The provider must publish enough identity data to group it and must include a compatible RemoteInput action for inline reply.

Muted, dismissed, bundled, private, work-profile, or provider-specific notifications may not expose those pieces. Open the source app when Mink cannot safely offer a reply.

App Bubbles is beta and Android plus the target app decide whether the selected activity can live in a bubble. An incompatible app may open normally, close, display incorrectly, or refuse the route.

Mink does not use accessibility or draw-over-other-apps to force unsupported software into a floating window.

Confirm that you completed the crop and tapped the final apply action, then return to Appearance and select Your photo rather than a color or bundled wallpaper. A color selection is a separate background choice and can replace the active photo without deleting the saved photo.

Manufacturer wallpaper services can also reject or delay a Home-wallpaper update. Restart Home and try a smaller local image if the crop cannot be read.

The widget's app chooses the layout it returns for the size Mink offers. Some providers have only a few fixed arrangements or do not handle compact and wide spaces well.

Resize it on the full widget page, try expanded MinkSpace interaction, or choose another provider layout. A blank widget may also need its app opened, signed in, or allowed to finish configuration.

Start a MinkPad session, choose Start 2-minute pairing, approve Android's discoverability prompt, and keep the receiving device's Bluetooth pairing screen open. Look for the temporary Pro Controller - MinkPad name that includes your phone name.

If the option never appears, stop and restart the session, remove stale pairings on both devices, and confirm that the Android controller phone supports the HID Device profile. Mink cannot add that profile to unsupported firmware.

MinkPad shares the phone's Bluetooth controller with every other app and accessory. A companion app for glasses, headphones, watches, controllers, cars, or another Bluetooth device can repeatedly scan or try to reconnect in the background. Those attempts can compete with the active HID connection even when MinkPad stays connected.

As a diagnostic test, temporarily force stop a suspected companion app or turn off its automatic device connection, then use MinkPad again without changing its pairing. In one captured case, an unrelated companion app made two failed Classic Bluetooth connection attempts, waited about 30 seconds, and repeated the cycle. Removing that contention did not fix every hitch, so a persistent pause can still come from the controller phone, receiving device, radio environment, or operating-system scheduling.

Force stopping another app is a troubleshooting test, not a normal MinkPad requirement. If the hitch remains, restart the controller phone before resetting MinkPad or forgetting any pairings. A full reboot can clear stale Bluetooth HID service or controller state that stopping MinkPad and toggling Bluetooth do not. If it still continues, report the controller phone, receiving device, approximate interval, and whether keyboard input pauses too.

Yes. Settings includes replayable onboarding and focused controls for shortcuts, permissions, appearance, MinkSpace, widgets, messaging, Assistant, MinkPad, and other features. Many selections include their own reset or remove action.

Use a full reinstall only when you intentionally want to clear local app data, and export a backup first when that data matters.

Mink is especially comfortable for people who want to type before they hunt, keep a few useful tools close, and spend less time moving through app grids. Physical-keyboard phones get the fastest version of that idea, but touchscreen phones, foldables, and tablets use the same Home and Magic Box.

It is a strong fit when direct actions, flexible Home layouts, local tools, privacy, and MinkPad matter more than recreating a conventional launcher screen.

Mink does not make the app list the center of Home. It puts direct typing, symbol-based actions, MinkSpace, a small set of chosen shortcuts, and nearby pages for widgets or conversations at the center instead.

The full app list is still one swipe away, but Mink's main question is what you want to do, not which icon you want to scroll toward.

Mink does not begin with an empty grid and ask you to build a desktop. Its Home panel already has roles for the Magic Box, MinkSpace, selected shortcuts, status information, and optional adjacent pages.

You can personalize its wallpaper, colors, fonts, icons, shortcuts, widgets, and visible mini-apps. The structure remains recognizably Mink instead of becoming a free-form grid, dock, and folder system. Many Nova-compatible icon packs still work because they use a common Android icon-pack format.

No. Mink borrows useful habits people remember from keyboard phones, such as typing immediately, searching people and apps, and using physical keys as shortcuts. It does not imitate BlackBerry OS or another discontinued interface screen for screen.

Mink is built for current Android features, including widgets, foldable layouts, notification conversations, work profiles, Private Space, modern icon packs, and Bluetooth controller mode.

You can keep a restrained Home with only the mini-apps and shortcuts you care about. Optional pages and features such as widgets, Conversations, Mink's Day, the contact card, App Bubbles, and MinkPad do not all need to stay visible.

Mink's idea of minimal is fewer steps and less hunting. It is not a rule that your screen must be empty or that useful tools have to disappear.

There is no Mink account, subscription, ad system, analytics SDK, tracker, or Katoa Apps application server in the open-source edition. Home, app search, to-dos, the calculator, appearance settings, and most launcher organization work locally.

Internet-based destinations still need the internet. A web search, weather provider, messaging service, AI app, calendar account, or other service handles what you deliberately send to it under its own terms.

Mink treats the phone as a tool you already carry, not only as a place to launch apps. MinkPad lets a compatible Android phone become a standard Bluetooth keyboard, pointer, or remote for another device without requiring a Mink companion app on that host.

It belongs beside the launcher because both features are about direct input and fewer detours. Compatibility and pointer feel still depend on the Bluetooth stacks and operating system at both ends.