Also a relative android newbie, I've had a pixel 6 for about a year and a half.
I've played around with tasker, KWGT, KLWP, and all kinds of other power-user techie apps, so I'm reasonably confident in my ability to tinker with my phone.
I've been experimenting with my launcher, having gone with stock pixel launcher for my first half, and then using Lawnchair 12 for the second half, I wanted to try something new.
So, I open the floor up to you guys! What launcher are you using, what do you enjoy, and most importantly, why do you enjoy it? What sets your launcher apart?
Nova. I actually really like the One UI launcher anyway, but I'm just used to Nova. Mostly just the extra gestures and the bigger home grid. Not interested much in the cosmetic tweaks it's able to make.
But yeah, One UI is quite good too. I got used to it back when Android gesture nav didn't play nice with 3p launchers.
KISS operates on a totally different paradigm than most launchers. Instead of having a grid of rearrangeable app icons, your home screen is simply a list of your most recently used applications (icon, name, and keywords). You also have a search bar where you can type to search for your application. This keyboard-focused launcher is very similar to how I open programs on desktop, so it is very welcome on mobile as well.
I can't live without KISS launcher anymore. It has just the right number of options and allows me to find and launch the app I want very quickly.
Also, it resemble the way I am used to launch program on my desktop.
Thanks for the tip! I think I'll give KISS launcher a second try, because the first time I set it up, I found it annoying. Probably because I only used it for 5 minutes and then dropped it. :)
It really is. It's super clean and I love the gestures. I just wish I could put some widgets or shortcuts on the home screen, it feels kind of empty to me. Definitely at the top of my list.
Found it a couple of days ago, it's gorgeous indeed.
But I switched back to Niagara because the animations felt a bit luggy, especially when the keyboard was showing up. Can't wait to try it again in the future.
Thanks for posting this! It's super timely as I'm a long-time Nova Launcher Pro user but been experimenting with the Niagara Pro unlock. I think I like it, but I'm not sure I like it enough to spend $30 on it.
I have been using Smart Launcher 6 for quite a while. Some of its features that I really like are:
*categorized app drawer
*Smart widgets developed by the Smart Launcher team, such as the widget stack, music widget, notes, calendar events, icon group widgets…
*Smart Launcher has a fine positioning tool that allows you to move the widgets with very precise positioning so that you can put them exactly where you want them, it also allows you to resize them
*The news page, which you can either use Microsoft News or Google Feed
*Great search function, it will search for apps, web, contacts, calendar, settings, shortcuts, and Play store
If you really like customization, I haven't found any options that have as many useful settings as nova launcher. Frustratingly no option to change fonts though.
I'd love to switch to an open source option, but need options for overlapping widgets/app shortcuts, padding options for the home screen, widgets, dock, subgrid positioning, and the ability to use a custom widget for the search bar I keep at the bottom of my home screen, and probably some other settings I'm not remembering. I haven't found any open source launchers that would allow my current setup- maybe I'll switch to an FOSS option when I eventually blow it all away and make something new for my home screen
Wow, Nova can do all that?? I had no idea, that's super cool! I've been avoiding Nova since I learned that it'd been bought by some data company, classic internet rumour, but I might have to give that a shot!
It is true that nova and sesame search were acquired by a company whose businesses is related to android app analytics. If you're concerned about it, it might be worth going and reading the devs post about privacy and what the acquisition means. I think you can find it on the nova launcher twitter
Yea, it's really hard to beat Nova launcher. While I don't use Nova's features like you do, there's always one or two things missing from the other launchers that make me stay on Nova.
AIO Launcher. This launcher bucks the minimalist "less is more" trend, and brings back the old-skool, information-heavy paradigm, which is great for folks who want to see their news, mails, notifications, calender etc all on one screen, instead of having to opening a dozen different apps. I mean, sure you could use a regular launcher and a bunch of different widgets, but then they wouldn't look consistent and it'll make a mess of your home screen.
AIO is also foldable-friendly. This is how it looks like, on my Galaxy Fold 4.
I love Lawnchair! I've been using it for a while and if I don't find another alternative launcher, I'll probably just return to it. Or stock pixel launcher.
NeoLauncher needs a top level comment here! It's a lifesaver after Nova was sold off to a marketing company!
So many FOSS launchers are trying this search based or text oriented thing and sorry, I can't stand it. I just need to be able to unlock my phone and hit an app icon from a grid of selected apps and web shortcuts on my home screen.