Microsoft Garage Launches Clip Layer For Android

Microsoft Garage, the experimental projects department of Microsoft has unveiled its latest App for Android devices, dubbed as  Clip Layer.

Across different apps, screens, and context on a smartphone, there are snippets of information that we want to make use of.  But there are many apps where you cannot select or copy anything because it has been blocked by the app. Even in the apps where you can, pressing and holding an area then to drag two ends of the grabbers require much precision.

Clip Layer, a Microsoft Garage Project, can be launched over any screen or application so you can select, copy, and act on snippets you care about in simple series of taps.

“Like a lot of people, my phone is the center of my life,” says Steve Won, a senior designer with Microsoft’s Office team and creator of Clip Layer. “I like to share what I’ve seen and I noticed a couple of problems unique to consuming on a smartphone.”

For instance, he found it hard on some apps to select anything, and even if there was a way to do that, it was oftentimes cumbersome to press and hold on content and then to drag two grabbers, which was required in order to select. He noticed it was a common problem across apps, and it became the starting point for this project.