A custom Android launcher built around quick actions. The tools I use most are available as widgets, so I can check a note, add a to-do, control music, or view my calendar without opening another app.
AI Summary
The Brief
I built Atrium because I was tired of opening a separate app for every common task. Notes affect my to-do list, my calendar affects what I need to work on, and music stays with me while I move between all three. I wanted those tools to work together from the home screen instead of living in separate places. I managed the build as a phased roadmap—core launcher, widgets, integrations, then polish—with milestones that kept the scope realistic.
Atrium's app screen, anchored controls, and productivity widgets
Context
My most common phone tasks are small: write down an idea, add a to-do, check my next event, find a recent file, or change the music. Android makes each one a trip into a different app. The individual actions are quick, but getting to them is not.
These tools also affect one another. A note can become a task, and a calendar event can change what belongs on today's list. Standard launchers treat apps as separate destinations, even when the work inside them is connected. I wanted the launcher to become the working layer between those apps.
Product Design
Atrium divides the launcher into three swipeable pages. The middle page holds apps. The left page brings together notifications, recent files, and screen time. The right page contains calendar, notes, and to-do widgets, so I can use those tools without leaving the launcher.
Search and music controls stay anchored at the bottom, with small metric pills above them for information I want to glance at throughout the day. I connected the notes and to-do widgets to Notion databases, which lets the same information appear in desktop widgets I built for my computer.
Step 01
I started by logging the repeat tasks that pulled me into other apps, then ranked them by frequency and effort. That turned a broad launcher idea into a focused first release built around notes, to-dos, calendar events, search, music, and device activity.
Step 02
I mapped the shortest path to each action and prototyped a three-page architecture: awareness on the left, apps in the middle, and productivity on the right. Search, music, and metric pills stay anchored so frequent tools remain available in every context.
Step 03
I designed the interaction patterns and reusable Compose components, then built the launcher in Kotlin against live device data. The working product includes notifications, recent files, screen-time metrics, app and contact search, and media-session controls.
Step 04
I used the launcher daily to find friction, tune gestures, and reprioritize the backlog. I connected notes and to-dos to Notion, added desktop companion widgets, and shipped improvements in small milestones instead of waiting for one large release.
Atrium is running on my Pixel 9 XL as a working launcher. The three-page structure, quick-action widgets, search, music controls, and Notion-connected notes and to-dos are all functional. I am continuing to refine it through daily use, focusing on the small interactions that make common tasks faster.
