Even though Windows Phone uses a Live Tiles system, it’s possible to combine apps on the home screen into folders. The function should be included in the next Windows Phone 8.1 update, allowing you to group your apps, but until then, there’s an easy fix: installing App Folder.
1. Check if you have the Windows 8.1 update
You may not know if you have the latest Windows Phone 8.1 update. The quickest way to test this is to try and group apps into a folder natively. Tap and hold an app, and then drag it on top of another one. If the two apps are automatically added to a folder, then you have the update.
If Windows Phone doesn’t create a folder, you can install App Folder.
2. Install App Folder
Install App Folder here.
3. Open App Folder after installation
When you first start the app, you will only have a blank view. Tap the + icon to create a folder.
4. Create a folder name
Type the name for the folder and confirm the name by tapping on the check mark at the bottom of the screen.
5. Select the apps you want
App Folder will display all the apps that you’ve installed. You can select as many apps as you want: simply tap the selection box and when you’re finished, click on the check mark.
You can sort apps with drag-and-drop so that the most important are at the top. For large collections, only the top apps are displayed in the folder icon.
6. Put App Folder on the Start Screen
Now that you’ve created your folders, you can pin the folders to the start screen.
Just like other Live Tiles, you can resize your folders to display a different number of apps. Depending on the size of the Live Tile, you can preview four, six, or twelve icons.
App Folder is really a workaround until the next update to Windows Phone 8.1. Android and iOS are ahead of Windows Phone in terms of home screen organization, but App Folder is a great intermediary solution.
Check out news about the rumored Windows 9 preview for PC.
