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!
Nova, Nova Nova.
The level of customization is well thought out, and the gesture controls were out of this world when it came out. I’ve been using Nova for about 5 or 6 years if I’m not mistaken. Don’t care to go back to anything else.
Same.
I know the controversy about the company that acquired them, and I did try alternatives to see what would stick. Nothing really worked for me, so I just turned Nova back on, with updates disabled since the day the news broke about the change in management.
Same here, I’ve tried plenty of them and landed on Nova Launcher. Even put it on my dad’s phone because I couldn’t get things to be simple for him with the default launcher.
Do you use the Android buttons?
I do keep those at the bottom. Mainly to back out and close out apps.but with Nova, you can customize the look of them.
Niagara. Beautiful and efficient. Truly a step above other launchers.
I use Niagara now and absolutely love it, although it took some getting used to. It’s very much minimalistic compared to Nova (I used Nova for many years before Niagara, but switched when they were bought).
+1 for Niagara.
Used Nova for years. But after the sale, I quickly said goodbye to it. Niagara is so strong that I don’t even miss Nova.
Niagara users unite! I was on Nova for years until the ‘troubles’. Niagara is a solid replacement, if very different.
The simplicity is lovely.
But it is not only simplicity it is beauty and usability.
Is there a FOSS alternative to Niagara?
Kiss launcher is kinda like it
I’ve tried it before, I think I just went back to Niagara after a few minutes, I’ll try it again.
Also try Kvaesitso
Kiss takes a while to get used to, but once the apps in your history start getting sorted correctly (mine is by “accessed frequently”), you barely need to search for apps anymore. All your most used apps accessible in 2 clicks.
Unfortunately not. I looked thoroughly for one.
I agree with this completely.
Nova Launcher. It’s AOSP-like but upgraded and that works best for me.
Despite the controversy since the sale, I’m still a hardcore Nova user. Nothing better imo.
Been using it since my OG Droid A855
If it’s not on F-Droid, it’s probably out to get you.
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Nova Launcher. I tried other launchers recently but they either have some unacceptable jank or are currently awaiting a major update. Nova Launcher remains the most stable with great customization.
Just in case people aren’t aware Nova was acquired by Branch. Putting it out there so people can decide whether that matters or not.
https://www.androidpolice.com/nova-launcher-acquired-by-branch/
I use Nova. After seeing this, I have disabled internet access for the app (I use LineageOS, where this is an option). Is that enough to avoid any potential downsides, or is there anything else I should be aware of?
Been a while since I used Nova myself, but when I last checked the branch integration was only present on the beta version of the app.
The normal version hadn’t been updated since December 2021, so I think that version is fine with it being from before the branch acquistion.
I also did it but via Adguard. I think there’s no option to block internet access for an app in Samsung One UI. Only found option to disable background use of internet for apps
Nova launcher. It is the only one I manage to configure so the app drawer is opened via macrodroid (almost) only.
Nova for so many years. One time purchase and endless possibilities across countless android devices.
I know it’s now trendy to hate on Nove since they sold to another company, but frankly, it’s still the best out there in regards to customization, stability and support.
Agreed. I’m still on Nova and probably won’t change unless they do a u/spez on it.
I use the Niagara Launcher, it serves favorite apps up in a vertical list, and other apps in an alphabetical list. It’s very quick and easy to navigate and quite customizable with some widget support. It works with music apps, has a dark mode, makes changing icon packs easy. You can swipe up to search, or add a search button. I just love how minimal, clean and functional it is.
Here is my home screen. Note there is no left or right screen to swipe to .
Here is the app list, under N.
Some settings
And the app store link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bitpit.launcher
I second Niagara. It’s just a great way to keep a simple home screen, but has plenty of power features if you want to dig deeper
I third it. The fact that you can customize something as fundamental as your home screen is what makes android superior to ios, at least for me. Niagara makes my interaction with the home screen so much more efficient.
This is probably the only expensive android app i’d recommend people buy
I bought the lifetime pro for $12.99 CAD way back in Jan 2020. Worth every penny. I’d pay double to be honest, now that I’ve had a chance to use it for years and years. The dev really works at it too.
Subscription 🤢
You can read about their pricing structure (both sub and one time purchase) and decisions regarding that here : https://help.niagaralauncher.app/article/104-price-of-niagara-pro
I locked in the lifetime price years ago, I have been with them through the beta. I know the lifetime price is higher now but I think they still offer it. I think it’s worth the price, subscription or lifetime.
$30 for lifetime is pretty reasonable. There were some things missing when I first tried a year or two ago. Maybe I’ll try again.
Oh boy. I love Niagara. I’ve used it one every phone for quite a few years now.
Two of my favorite features are the ability to tuck widgets into folders. I use the system ui communications widget in my messaging folder to take me straight to my most used chats.
When you connect to bluetooth, it automatically pulls up a now playing widget (it’s hidden when bluetooth is disconnected) and pulls up links to my music/podcast apps. It’s so dynamic and highly customizable.
Checkin it out, how can i find Web Apps i installed via my Browser?
when you install a web app, it should show up in the favorite apps list. if you want to be able to search it, tap and hold it, then tap “Show in app list”.
Nova. I keep trying new launchers but I don’t like the text-only minimalist or the others that look more like Samsung’s default. I’ve been a user for a long time and I still love it.
Another +1 for KISS, it’s such an amazing launcher. I’m actually surprised to see it mentionned so much in this thread.
I have my 5 most used app on top of the search bar and my most used apps (that get automatically sorted by usage) readily accessible. The search feature + tags is so powerful, there’s no need to scroll through the apps anymore when looking for something.
This launcher is what I loved about the search bar on windows 7. I would just type in the app I wanted and it would open…
As someone thinking of switching to KISS, what is the “tag” feature?
You can add multiple tag to apps (all my games are tagged “game”, all my Lemmy apps are tagged “lemmy”). You can then search by tags, just like regular searches.
Very cool!
Only issue I have with KISS is I can’t for some reason clear whatever it is that is setting an icon for my PWA for voyager. It shows the updated icon in recents, pixel launcher doesn’t have it updated though either which makes it harder to tell if it’s the launcher or fennec (Firefox) at fault.
Edit looks like it was kiss. Regenerating icons doesn’t work. Clearing data does. I exported settings, cleared data, added pwa, icon changed, imported settings. Only downside is I lost my history.
Nova.
Works well and really clean.
Been using it since my OG Droid A855
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.
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.
Really? That sucks. I’ve been using nova for like 10 years
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).
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.
Nova. Clean customizable UI that stays out of the way while looking good.
Another vote for KISS (https://kisslauncher.com/) and Kvaesitso (https://github.com/MM2-0/Kvaesitso/).
Both FOSS, both search based. Depending on your taste you might find KISS perfectly simple and Kvaesitso a bit bloated; or KISS too basic and Kvaesitso more feature packed and complete.
I’d recommend trying both and deciding for yourself.
I’m a pixel user. I switched to Niagara. I didn’t like it at first, but now I love it. It’s just very different from what you think a launcher should be. It’s not my forever launcher but I enjoy it for now. It’s been a year or so
(I used to love Cyanogen. RIP)
Niagara is amazing, its also reduced my brainless scrolling quite a bit. I’m still here though, scrolling.
(I used to love Cyanogen. RIP)
Cyanogen is not dead, it got forked and rebranded, currently releases as LineageOS
Thanks for this!
