Maybe something for the Pixel phones? I’ve been using ADW for a long time now, and was wondering what some frequently used launchers are. (I used Cyanogen for a long time, too.)
There are lists all over the internet, but I’m interested in what the Lemmy crowd likes. Thanks!
Edit: Thanks guys - a few of these were on my radar, some I hadn’t heard of or seen in the Play/f-droid lists. Having the reasons why you like each of them helps me figure out what I want from a launcher (for instance, the purchase of Nova by a company known for its data collection is a big turn-off even though it seems loved) - since you guys laid out some pros and cons of a bunch of launchers, it gives me a better picture!
Edit 2: You guys, this is a great resource for figuring out which launchers look like something worth trying (for me), and which ones are in the stores but not what I’m looking for. Without just trying them all, that is… And considering that I hadn’t even heard of all of them…
This has been a huge help for me, and I hope some others out there got something out of the post! I should be replying to everyone, but I’m not … Sorry. But I did read everything and have already started compiling a list in my head, and started tagging and categorizing. And those who included screen shots and links and lists and opinions and FOSS alternatives/forks - they helped! This whole thing helped!
I have used many over the years. Lots of great ones, but it came down to taste for me. A few faves were Niagara, Nova, Lawnchair and the stock Pixel launcher. But for the last few months, I have gone back to Square Home. I was a huge Windows Phone enthusiast, so I just really wanted to go back to that vibe. It took a decent amount of time to get it set up and exactly how I wanted. Worth a try if you want something different.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ss.squarehome2
Do any of these can change the swipe down notification menu and controls ?
I don’t believe they do… But that’s not a setting I have looked for. I like the stock pixel notification and quick settings pull down menus.
Thanks Too bad, I’m stuck on android 9 forever and the white notification panel and white setting app really grates me when the rest of my phone is dark mode. I was really hoping to change just those settings.
I am currently using LineageOS and I just prefer the design and feel of the “Olauncher clutter free”. It just werks and does not offer any distractions.
I’ve been using Apex launcher for years
Indistract launcher Haven’t found a better minimalistic/clean launcher even though it has some bugs. My home screen:
I’ve been using Nova forever. Any new phone doesn’t feel right until I install it. I like the customization options and the scroll for all apps.
I’ve had the same exported Nova settings through the last ten years since Samsung Galaxy Note 3 across five phones, as well as a tablet
Nova 6 gang?
I especially like hiding the apps the system won’t let me delete. Now that bootloaders are pretty much impossible, the next best thing is to hide and disable those stupid apps. My last phone came with Facebook Twitter Yahoo! NFL and Draft Kings as permanent space sucking native apps, so I hid them all and revoked all permissions
Smart Launcher. The app drawer is set up like my Palm Pilot (tabbed categories). Over the years it has added more features but the only gesture I really use is double tap to turn off the screen.
Nova was my first third party launcher but SL has an easier set up for the same effect (for my case).
I’m loving my paid version of Nova. there’s a great free version if you wanna try it out too and there’s a crazy amount of customization. I’m on a Pixel 5a right now and with the Pix Material You Light/Dark icons it’s quite nice. I do think the default Pixel Launcher is more polished, but Nova just has so many options that I’ve gotten used to enjoying.
agree also bought nova, what i like is configuration import/export im on my third phone with the same homescreen layout and settings and I only had to recreate widgets
Nova was bought by an Ad company a while ago and is now out for your data btw.
Maybe blocking Nova from the internet can be a solution?
It’s sad that they were bought by an ad company and it’s something I didn’t know about. However, my data has been everywhere for years. I generally accept privacy policies knowing full well companies sell my data. It’s something I think people should definitely be aware of, but when it comes to me personally I’m generally okay being a product to ad companies especially since I’d rather see ads that are interesting to me than random crap. It really is just my personal opinion though and I genuinely think people should be educated about their online privacy.
Do you have a source about the data collection?
https://novalauncher.com/privacy/
Relevant collection:
- Personal data
- Tracker, Usage Data
- Any personal data tracked in 3rd party integration Bugsnag’s privacy policy, which includes at least breadcrumbs, crashlogs, diagnostics, other app performance data, user ID and device ID, but can be configured to capture a lot more
Basically, they collect a lot more data than they need to for “just providing a launcher”. They’re identifying you as a user, tracking what you do, and they’re absolutely selling it to data brokers/etc.
Source: My company sells data too
Thank you! That is indeed concerningly more info than they need. I will see if I can find an open source alternative that fits my needs.
- Personal data
Nova, but the devs sold out and are VERY aggressive towards the community if they question the motives of the new owner, so if I wasnt so ingrained in it, I probably wouldnt recommend it.
Oh man, I had no idea about that.
I’ve been using Nova for something close to a decade now I think. I just toss it on my new devices and move on, it’s done what I wanted for ages (mostly for the adjustable grid, but I’m sure there’s some features it has that I’ve stuck with that I just feel are default at this point, stock launcher just feels weird).
Really? That sucks. I’ve been using nova for like 10 years
I still use NOVA but it is the version before they merged in the buyout stuff. One day it might break but it’s the best option for me right now.
One feature I haven’t found on any other launcher is the ability to use both folders and tabs in my app drawer. In Nova I have my app drawer in 3 tabs. Apps (ones I use daily), games, and everything else. On top of that I like to use a few folders in the main app page to collect things like all my home automation apps, food apps, work apps, etc.
Lawnchair came closest a couple years ago but could only do tabs or folders but not both.
It was that aggressiveness that persuaded me to finally dump Nova - I saw people (including myself) asking perfectly reasonable questions a d the responses were not at all encouraging.
I tried a few other launchers, and eventually settled on Total. It’s a bit fiddly, and takes a while to set up but it’s VERY customizable. I really like it.
I used Nova for years, but it felt increasingly outdated so I switched to Action Launcher. Then it too started to feel outdated after a few years so I switched to Smart Launcher, which I’ve been loving. I miss AL’s side drawer but SL has a lot to offer if you want something slick and simple, with custom widgets and layouts. I recommend you check it out!
Nova.
Works well and really clean.
Been using it since my OG Droid A855
Nova and Niagara seen to be the overwhelming favorites, but I like Smart Launcher. My brain doesn’t cooperate with lists of apps in alphabetical or whatever, I lose apps or forget the name. Smart is great because it categorizes the apps into six default categories automagically, and you can edit/add/delete the categories or which category each app gets sorted into. So my Internet apps are on one space, games, media, etc. Makes the list of apps much easier to deal with. Not that it’s perfect. Sometimes apps go weird places, but that’s easy to fix. There’s a bunch of other stuff, but that’s my primary reason for using it.
Pixel 6 Pro here, had been using Nova Launcher for ages and purchased a license for it. Once it changed owners I swapped to Hyperion launcher, while it is decent and has similar functionality to Nova is just not quite the same. I suppose it depends on how picky you are about privacy…
I like Lawnchair, it’s FOSS, runs very beautifully and supports gestures (though that requires root and Quickswitch module)
Olauncher. Super minimalist. Love it. The best part imo is the app drawer. Instead of cycling through endless pages of icons that are always being changed so that I can never remember what I am actually looking for, it uses a text list of all apps. Just start typing the name and it will automatically complete and open the app. It’s literally changed my life 😂
Maybe not life changing but it is sooooo much nicer for my flow
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You might like this: https://kisslauncher.com/
It’s minimal but you get text search for apps out of the box save a bunch of shortcuts as you like.
It looks great I’ll check it out thx
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Yaaaass olauncher is my jam. Just spent a paragraph describing how amazing the app drawer is and I definitely did not do it justice
