How to bring the KitKat interface to any Android with Apex Launcher 2.2, transparency included
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First off, you have to sign in to take it for a spin, and you can do it by joining the Apex beta program in Google Groups from the source link below, or follow the rest of the instructions here.
- The Apex beta Google Group has to be joined using the same Gmail account you are using on your Android phone or tablet to peruse the Play Store.
- Once joining the Apex Group, use the Apex Beta program link to officially become a tester with the account you used to log into the Google Group.
- The last step is to go to the Play Store and download the stable Apex Launcher, and beta updates will be automatically pushed to you since you have logged into the tester program with the same Google account.
- The Apex crew lists several warnings that you should keep in mind if there are any issues - if you get a 404 error message, that means you haven't successfully joined the Apex Google Group for some reason, or you haven't signed in with the same account you use for the Play Store. Also, if it seems that you are still sporting the previous Apex Launcher version, reboot your phone in order to get the beta 2.2 update. Finally, if you want to return to the stable Apex that is official in the Play Store, you have to leave the beta testing program by clicking on the "Leave the test" link here. Afterwards just uninstall Apex 2.2 Beta and install the latest Play Store version, and you are good to go.
Thus, the exclusive for Nexus 5 transparent status bar is not so exclusive anymore, as it is present in Apex 2.2, but the whole Google Experience Launcher, that is basically a front for the Google Search app now, isn't available with 3rd party launchers, of course.
However, you can sideload Google's new launcher going to our "how-to" article, then update Google Now to the latest version, and use the Apex 2.2 beta for the rest, and you'll pretty much have most of what KitKat will offer, except the changes under the hood, which are mainly geared towards low-end devices anyway.
source: Apex (Google Groups)
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