Google’s brand new Nexus 5 smartphone will now be available in the US from Sprint and soon from T-Mobile, not to mention, now that it’s reaching consumers around the world, many of you new owners may have a few questions.
For those of you who just got their shiny new LG Nexus 5 running Android 4.4 KitKat and want to know how to add an additional home screen beyond the standard Google Assistant and the first one out of the box, we have a quick how-to video below. While extremely similar, it’s not exactly the same as other Nexus devices on Android 4.4 KitKat, but it’s close. Here’s how to add more screens.
With the Nexus 5 and KitKat, Google has introduced a custom experience with what many call the Google Assistant (or Google experience) launcher. Google Assistant is more deeply integrated than ever before and is actually added to the launcher with a quick swipe to the far left of the home screen. Out of the box, the Nexus 5 has a second home screen (home) on the far left that displays the Google Assistant followed by the Google Search bar and a few apps like the Play Store.
Add and Remove Screens
Many users will need to redesign their home screen approach, especially if you’ve used this left-side home screen for certain apps in the past. Everyone’s way of setting up their smartphones is different, but for those who want more screens, here’s how to add and remove them from the Nexus 5.
Extremely simple and something that most experienced Android users should be familiar with by now. Unlike other forked versions of Android or iOS, you can add or remove as many screens as you want. With the Nexus 5, a simple swipe of an icon is away. Grab any icon from your home screen or app tray, long tap and swipe to the right edge of the device. You will notice that the main launcher instantly creates a 3rd screen. Then you can do the same tap-and-drag to populate it with as many apps and widgets as you want.
The image above is a visual indicator of how many home screens you have on your Nexus 5 at any given time and which screen the user is currently on. You’ll find it at the bottom of the screen, just above the app dock. As you add or remove more home screens, you’ll notice more dots appear and disappear. That’s all, you’re done.
Rearrange Screens
After you’ve added several different screens to your Nexus 5, you may want to rearrange them at any time. Instead of deleting an entire page of icons and starting over, we can easily edit them as expected. Strangely enough, Google didn’t add a way to trash the entire home screen, but at least we can rearrange them.
Tap and hold an empty area of the home screen and you will find the option shown above. This is another way we add widgets, change wallpaper or access settings. From here, you will see your home screens with a frosted white box around them. Tap and hold again to move a particular home screen to where you want it. Again, we can’t delete it from here, but you can change the order.
It’s all that easy. Enjoy!
