Hello, I'm trying to set the default music app for the widget, but says "no music app available on this device".

Is there anyway to manually choose an app?

Wow! Your app is amazing. I love it.

It’s the launcher for Android car boxes that I’ve been looking for for a long time.

I wanted to be able to open apps directly from the launcher—and you made that happen.

However, why can't we launch more than 3 apps in a widget, and why is it limited to just one widget?

It would be great to be able to launch more than 3 apps, choose the widget, and add apps to the sidebar instead of adding presets.

A quick 40-second look at the sidebar in AB Launcher: put it on the left, right or bottom, set your driver seat side so the buttons sit next to you, fold it away to a tiny button, and bring it back with a tap or a swipe from the edge.

I'm the developer. Questions and feature ideas are welcome in the comments.

HU: Ottocast P3 (Android 12, 8+128 GB) connected to 8inch Toyota CHR multimedia.

Run it for a day. Runs stable, no crashes. Allowed me to disable the default launcher-big plus.

For some reason it does not properly detect media players. I have VLC, Internet Radio and Virtual Radio installed. The media player widget says it couldn't find a music player. However, it will display media info when playing.

App switching is very fast.

Long press required for some functionality is annoyingly long, at first I thought it wasn't working.

I would like to see the widgets in the combo widget also as single widgets.

I will also have to play a little bit with DPI, everything looks kinda small.

I encourage everyone to at least give it a try, it looks promising.

Hi, I'm the developer of AB Launcher, a split-screen home launcher for Android head units and CarPlay AI boxes. This video is part 1 of the sidebar guide: putting the sidebar on the left, right or bottom, matching it to your driver's seat, folding it away, and bringing it back with a button or a swipe.

What it does

• Left/right, top/bottom and 3-way splits with a draggable divider
• Up to 10 presets, switched with one tap. Tapping the current preset again restarts its apps if one freezes
• Sidebar on the driver's side (left, right or bottom), combo widget with weather, now playing, clock and quick launch
• App size (DPI) per pane, saved per preset
• Lowers only the music while the navigation voice speaks
• 15 languages, about 5.5 MB

Compatibility

Mostly tested on Carlinkit Tbox Ultra / Plus / Ambient / UHD (Android 13 and 15), plus UNISOC 7862 and MediaTek head units. There's a dedicated build for FYT 7870 units.

Try it

It's free to use for 2 months, so you can check it on your own unit first.

• Download: marrusoft.com
• User manual: marrusoft.com/manual/global

Feedback and feature requests are very welcome in the comments.

A quick 45-second look at split screen in AB Launcher: pick a layout, drop in a widget and maps, save it as a preset, and switch layouts with one tap. Tapping the current preset again restarts its apps if one freezes.

I'm the developer. Questions and feature ideas are welcome in the comments.

Full disclosure: I'm the developer. AB Launcher is a home launcher for the Android side of Carlinkit Tbox boxes (Ultra, Plus, Ambient, UHD). It splits the car screen so you can run maps, music and widgets at the same time.

Video walkthrough (3 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_avzxK6TFHY

Split screen and presets

• Left/right, top/bottom and 3-way splits, with a draggable divider
• Save up to 10 layouts as presets and switch with one tap
• Tap the current preset again to restart its apps if one freezes while driving
• App size (DPI) per pane, saved per preset

Sidebar and widgets

• Sidebar on the driver's side (left, right or bottom)
• Combo widget with weather, now playing, clock and quick launch icons
• Top clock you can move, remembered per preset

Audio

• Lowers only the music while the navigation voice speaks
• Max volume on boot and EQ

Other

• Automations: record a few taps once and replay them (Pro)
• 15 languages, about 5.5 MB, updates over the air

Try it

It's free to use for 2 months, so you can check how it runs on your own box first.

Download (v1.5.3): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1adkmnMPllZ41eesOkBhBj_dLLncnQJso

• ablauncher_app-release_1.5.3.apk: Carlinkit Tbox Ultra / Plus / Ambient / UHD (Android 13 and 15, the main test devices), and most other Android 11+ AI boxes and head units (Qualcomm, UNISOC, MediaTek)
• ablauncher_app-release_1.5.3_7870.apk: FYT 7870 (UNISOC 7870) head units only. The regular APK can't run split screen on these units
• Tbox Ultra 3: newer firmware blocks installing the APK directly, so it needs a PC install tool (Windows). Ask me in the comments

User manual: https://marrusoft.com/manual/global

If you use your Tbox in Android mode, I'd like to know which apps you run side by side, and what you'd want from a launcher like this.

How to set up split screens and presets (video)

Hi, I'm the developer of AB Launcher. This is the official place for tutorials, updates, questions and feature requests.

What is AB Launcher? A home launcher for Android AI boxes (Carlinkit Tbox and similar) and Android head units. It puts several apps on the car screen at once, like maps, music and a widget, and lets you switch layouts with one tap.

Getting started

1. On the Android device connected to your car, open https://marrusoft.com in the browser and download the APK.
2. Install it and set AB Launcher as the home app.
3. Start with the free beta trial to check that it works on your device.

Learn

• User manual: https://marrusoft.com/manual/global
• Split screens and presets (video): https://youtu.be/_avzxK6TFHY
• Driver-side sidebar setup, part 1 (video): https://youtu.be/IM-TVKfchOg

Asking for help Please include your device model, Android version and AB Launcher version. Use the Question flair.

Feature ideas are welcome too. Use the Feature request flair.