Microsoft quietly acquires Double Labs

Microsoft's Garage research division unleashed the Next lockscreen for Android, the first app of this kind to enter the portfolio of the Redmond giant. This lockscreen replacement app is pretty popular, but Microsoft decided to take over a small startup behind a similar product, namely Double Labs and Echo Notification Lockscreen. 

Double Labs' product has over 51,000 user reviews on Google Play Store and a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. Its store page claims this app is loved by users in more than 50 countries. It has a minimal design and features automatic grouping, instant notifications, snooze, and various personalization options. It has been updated in late July to version 0.9.82, has support for Android 5.1 Lollipop, and over 1,000,000 users installed it so far.

According to Microsoft Chief Experience Officer Julie Larson-Green, the default lockscreens currently offered by the major mobile platforms is that they cannot provide the information their users really need. "It's a list of what apps want you to know, not necessarily what's important to you," she said.

The terms of the deal between Microsoft and Double Labs have not been disclosed, as usual. The purchase has not been officially announced by any of the two parts involved, either.