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Long story short, about a year ago i got a Motorola Bravo (Android) phone for a few weeks but returned it because I couldn't really afford a data plan at the time. About a month ago I switched back to smartphones, this time for good, and now have a Samsung Galaxy SII.
The motorola phone had some AWESOME user-friendly features, such as resizing of widgets. Is this taken out because of Touchwiz or was that an older version of Android that's now obsolete? What all does Touchwiz take away functionality-wise? What does Gingerbread (2.3.6 to be specific) look like without Touchwiz?
I've yet to root my phone (the only reason I'd have right now is more battery life) but if I could reove Touchwiz and get some serious UI improvements, that'd definitely be a gamechanger for me
Motorola has Moto blur I think
HTC has sense
Samsung has TouchWiz
The clean Androind would be an AOSP based rom, like CM9/AOKP
I don't know if you understand me, I think I'm drunk or something right know can't remember
Oh
Galaxy Nexus is like what it looks witout the Touchwiz.
ScelestusAnimus said:
Long story short, about a year ago i got a Motorola Bravo (Android) phone for a few weeks but returned it because I couldn't really afford a data plan at the time. About a month ago I switched back to smartphones, this time for good, and now have a Samsung Galaxy SII.
The motorola phone had some AWESOME user-friendly features, such as resizing of widgets. Is this taken out because of Touchwiz or was that an older version of Android that's now obsolete? What all does Touchwiz take away functionality-wise? What does Gingerbread (2.3.6 to be specific) look like without Touchwiz?
I've yet to root my phone (the only reason I'd have right now is more battery life) but if I could reove Touchwiz and get some serious UI improvements, that'd definitely be a gamechanger for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure to go the MIUI route if you're on GB or go the AOKP route if you're on ICS. Those are good starting points if you want to see some nice UI improvements. If you decide to go AOKP make sure to mess around in ROM control.
AOSP stock apps on ICS (AOKP/CM9) are much nicer than touchwizz/samsung ics apps.
UI Ranking
#1 AOSP (AOKP,CM9) and MIUI [all ICS based]
#2 MIUI GB , Sensation ROM GB (Samsung based rom), AOSP GB (CM7) (LunarUI theme)
#3 Stock Samsung ROM or Stock CM7 [both GB based]
Recommend Choice is AOKP http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574718
Just make sure you know what you're doing when you flash
You just need a different launcher. Try go launcher.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
Biporch said:
Motorola has Moto blur I think
HTC has sense
Samsung has TouchWiz
The clean Androind would be an AOSP based rom, like CM9/AOKP
I don't know if you understand me, I think I'm drunk or something right know can't remember
Oh
Galaxy Nexus is like what it looks witout the Touchwiz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah! Now that you mention it, i remember reading about Motoblur.
Cryosx said:
Make sure to go the MIUI route if you're on GB or go the AOKP route if you're on ICS. Those are good starting points if you want to see some nice UI improvements. If you decide to go AOKP make sure to mess around in ROM control.
AOSP stock apps on ICS (AOKP/CM9) are much nicer than touchwizz/samsung ics apps.
UI Ranking
#1 AOSP (AOKP,CM9) and MIUI [all ICS based]
#2 MIUI GB , Sensation ROM GB (Samsung based rom), AOSP GB (CM7) (LunarUI theme)
#3 Stock Samsung ROM or Stock CM7 [both GB based]
Recommend Choice is AOKP http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574718
Just make sure you know what you're doing when you flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are these custom Roms or just the normal Android OS without the company's additions to it? I have gingerbread atm (I'd rather wait for ICS until the official release from AT&T)
hobbs said:
You just need a different launcher. Try go launcher.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Go launcher. I didn't like how it was basically an OS on top of the normal OS. They both were running at the same time and I had to rearrange my apps to make them the same as they were. I just want the Android OS without the stupid additions/subtractions from Samsung/Motorola/etc >.<
However I have to say, I do like how Go Launcher doesn't require rooting
ScelestusAnimus said:
I tried Go launcher. I didn't like how it was basically an OS on top of the normal OS. They both were running at the same time and I had to rearrange my apps to make them the same as they were. I just want the Android OS without the stupid additions/subtractions from Samsung/Motorola/etc >.<
However I have to say, I do like how Go Launcher doesn't require rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize, right, that Touchwiz is a launcher too? And even vanilla Android builds use a launcher? When you use Go Launcher, it's not running "on top of" what's already there; it's replacing Touchwiz.
I'm sorry, but you can't have vanilla Android OS without installing it in the form of a custom ROM. Samsung makes their own builds of Android, which is what you have. If you want something else, somebody else has to build it...meaning the developers on this forum.
mattdm said:
You do realize, right, that Touchwiz is a launcher too? And even vanilla Android builds use a launcher? When you use Go Launcher, it's not running "on top of" what's already there; it's replacing Touchwiz.
I'm sorry, but you can't have vanilla Android OS without installing it in the form of a custom ROM. Samsung makes their own builds of Android, which is what you have. If you want something else, somebody else has to build it...meaning the developers on this forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it just felt like that because I could cancel it at any time and go back and forth between normal touchwiz and Go launcher. I know this is a versatility feature, but I'd rather have that disabled, as crazy as it may sound.
But that's good to know. I didn't know a launcher was REQUIRED, just thought it was what most people did. I'll look into other launchers.
Is there still one where you can resize the UI elements and stuff like that?
ScelestusAnimus said:
Maybe it just felt like that because I could cancel it at any time and go back and forth between normal touchwiz and Go launcher. I know this is a versatility feature, but I'd rather have that disabled, as crazy as it may sound.
But that's good to know. I didn't know a launcher was REQUIRED, just thought it was what most people did. I'll look into other launchers.
Is there still one where you can resize the UI elements and stuff like that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mattdm said, all Android builds require a launcher. Otherwise you'd have no usable GUI. When you were switching back and forth between GO and TouchWiz were you using a home/launcher switcher, or were you just using the default ui to choose one each time you went to your home screen?
You can have several launchers installed and use a switcher to make one "stick" until you decide you want a different look/feel.
Some prefer GO or LauncherPro. I use ADW EX and TouchWiz. ADW and LauncherPro are very configurable. VERY. Both have their ardent fans. I've not used GO.
PS: You do NOT want the ability to change launchers disabled. ;-)
ScelestusAnimus said:
Maybe it just felt like that because I could cancel it at any time and go back and forth between normal touchwiz and Go launcher. I know this is a versatility feature, but I'd rather have that disabled, as crazy as it may sound.
But that's good to know. I didn't know a launcher was REQUIRED, just thought it was what most people did. I'll look into other launchers.
Is there still one where you can resize the UI elements and stuff like that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhh... touchwiz lets you resize certain widgets... (UI elements) pretty sure go launcher and adw ex do too...
Biporch said:
The clean Androind would be an AOSP based rom, like CM9/AOKP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM9 uses the Trebuchet launcher. as it has been hammered multiple times, all roms use some sort of launcher. I'm not sure what AOKP uses, but I'd wager its either Trebuchet, nova, or apex..
0p3nsrc said:
CM9 uses the Trebuchet launcher. as it has been hammered multiple times, all roms use some sort of launcher. I'm not sure what AOKP uses, but I'd wager its either Trebuchet, nova, or apex..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it comes with both apex and nova. They are fairly similar but each have a few unique features.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
0p3nsrc said:
CM9 uses the Trebuchet launcher. as it has been hammered multiple times, all roms use some sort of launcher. I'm not sure what AOKP uses, but I'd wager its either Trebuchet, nova, or apex..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tasks came with trebuchet. I switched to nova and I'm fairly sure that apex came on it too.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
ScelestusAnimus said:
Long story short, about a year ago i got a Motorola Bravo (Android) phone for a few weeks but returned it because I couldn't really afford a data plan at the time. About a month ago I switched back to smartphones, this time for good, and now have a Samsung Galaxy SII.
The motorola phone had some AWESOME user-friendly features, such as resizing of widgets. Is this taken out because of Touchwiz or was that an older version of Android that's now obsolete? What all does Touchwiz take away functionality-wise? What does Gingerbread (2.3.6 to be specific) look like without Touchwiz?
I've yet to root my phone (the only reason I'd have right now is more battery life) but if I could reove Touchwiz and get some serious UI improvements, that'd definitely be a gamechanger for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, Welcome to Samsung!
A little background.
AOSP = Android Open Source Program. Meaning, a open source of code editable by anyone.
Touchwiz/Motoblur/Sense = Not AOSP, they were written as a launcher/GUI for each phone by their developer (Motorola/Samsung/HTC). On top of that, these GUI/Overlays have their fingers into everything on a phone, this is why updates take so long. Google creates a new version of Android and passes it to the phone manufacturer, they in turn need to take that new version and paste their GUI/Overlay on top of it, this takes time and money. Further, once the phone manufacturer finishes updating, they need to give the software to the vendor (VZW/AT&T etc) who add more bloat/custom crap to the software.
Custom ROM's, are and are not AOSP, Some are pure AOSP like AOKP or CM (Cyanogenmod), they are written by groups of people, all of whom work in concert to bring you the ROM. Then there are custom ROM's that are not in the realm of AOSP. For example, I use Phone Bricker, written by LilChris here on XDA. This ROM is not really Open Source as it's written by one person, the author may give out the source, I don't know.
So what would your phone look like w/o Touchwiz? CM9/AOKP is as close as you'll get. Those ROMs use the closest to stock version of Android.
To confuse matters even more, there are Launchers, Go Launcher/Apex etc. They operate as yet another GUI on top of a GUI, inside a ROM. So you could have a stock, unrooted Galaxy S2, with Touchwiz and Go Launcher, and customize it to make it look like you want it too. Or, you could root your phone, Update to CM9 (running Ice Cream Sandwich btw), and use the launcher that they have there, or change that to Go Launcher.
The options are endless, read read read. I am new to Samsung, I came from Motorola where things are done quite a bit differently. I can tell you this though, you are infinitely better off with a Samsung phone than a Motorola Phone. Not only does Motoblur blow chunks, but Motorola is a terrible company as far as software updates go. Toss in locked bootloaders... anyway, I hope the above answered your question.
Wink
Hi all! now i understand that threads debating the 'Best' ROM, theme, app, mod or setting arent something XDA is fond of, but thats not the particular reason I'm here, I've looked through countless threads in the mod/theme section and I'm wondering if someone can help me find the best solution for me. I'm relatively technically minded and a half-decent IT worker but I will openly admit when it comes to development/flashing, I'm one to follow instructions to the letter to get what I need up and working, but never learn the deeper workings.
I've an unbranded i9300 which I've had flashed with CM 10/10.1 and have kept updating with nightlies, but now I seek to branch out and find a ROM that will allow me the super-stability, additional working features (Allshare Cast [in particular], NFC, multi-view) of the stock Samsung image. I've since flashed philz custom touch recovery, and then proceeded to flash Sotmax Jelly Bean Ultimate Stock V10 available here. Its provided all the features I want, working, a good kernel and some customizability but the cartoony, colourful Samsung visuals are the reason I flashed from stock in the first place.
Can anyone help me find anything I can add to my device to get me a stock 4.1.2 lock screen, dropdown/notifications, launcher and settings? Essentially as much of the UI from CM10.1 as possible. I flashed Domination 1.4.3 as it looked and seemed perfect - but didn't change the lockscreen, and i started noticing lots of lag when scrolling/opening apps instantly. Is it thoroughly incompatible with the ROM im looking to use, or have i done something wrong along the way?
If this is a noob thread i do apologize but these forums can be so cluttered and misorganized to someone unused to searching through them that it can be hard to find something - if you dont know exactly what it is you need.
richwn said:
Hi all! now i understand that threads debating the 'Best' ROM, theme, app, mod or setting arent something XDA is fond of, but thats not the particular reason I'm here, I've looked through countless threads in the mod/theme section and I'm wondering if someone can help me find the best solution for me. I'm relatively technically minded and a half-decent IT worker but I will openly admit when it comes to development/flashing, I'm one to follow instructions to the letter to get what I need up and working, but never learn the deeper workings.
I've an unbranded i9300 which I've had flashed with CM 10/10.1 and have kept updating with nightlies, but now I seek to branch out and find a ROM that will allow me the super-stability, additional working features (Allshare Cast [in particular], NFC, multi-view) of the stock Samsung image. I've since flashed philz custom touch recovery, and then proceeded to flash Sotmax Jelly Bean Ultimate Stock V10 available here. Its provided all the features I want, working, a good kernel and some customizability but the cartoony, colourful Samsung visuals are the reason I flashed from stock in the first place.
Can anyone help me find anything I can add to my device to get me a stock 4.1.2 lock screen, dropdown/notifications, launcher and settings? Essentially as much of the UI from CM10.1 as possible. I flashed Domination 1.4.3 as it looked and seemed perfect - but didn't change the lockscreen, and i started noticing lots of lag when scrolling/opening apps instantly. Is it thoroughly incompatible with the ROM im looking to use, or have i done something wrong along the way?
If this is a noob thread i do apologize but these forums can be so cluttered and misorganized to someone unused to searching through them that it can be hard to find something - if you dont know exactly what it is you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you want some features from Samsung stock rom (camera, NFC, default framework and drivers), but the look of original 4.1.2 (CM10)?
I want this too!
Use any Sammy rom and use holo locker and holo launcher HD from play store for the vanilla android look
Sent From My Omega'd Galaxy S3 ...
xmrenegade7 said:
Use any Sammy rom and use holo locker and holo launcher HD from play store for the vanilla android look
Sent From My Omega'd Galaxy S3 ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, i'll be checking those two out!
Ive since found the Null ROM here and it also seems to be exactly what we want/need from scratch, a mix of 4.1.2, Samsung Features, and a CM/AOKP look and feel. Still missing that lock screen though. Holo locker is the look that i desire - but it seems to lag when switching on, the normal homescreen displays for up to a second before it reverts to the lock. odd..
I use UltimaRom for same reason.
I wanted to use some of samsung apps but with look and feel of CM10.
And UltimaRom provides that. It also let me choose which samsung I want to keep and which I want to get rid of to keep my phone faster.
Ultima looks excellent! Thanks for the recommendation, nice boot loaders too and excellent file/mod support on his site
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
take a look at the null rom. Perfect for all your needs.
Hi guys,
As the title says, I'm looking for some custom Jelly Bean 4.3 Roms based on official Samsung Rom for my i9100, so it would have Touchwiz also.
Currently i keep switching between CM10.2 (4.3.1) and Wanamlite 14.7 (4.1.2).
I like Wanamlite just because it uses the Samsung Touchwiz interface i like so much. Other than that, any other stock Rom, rooted and debloated would do just about the same.
What i like about CM10.2 and cyanogenmod in general is the speed and stability the Rom feels like. Also, the latest 4.3 Roms gave me infinitely great battery lives compared to any other JB Rom i tried since. And judging from other posts and reviews on the internet, Google worked their magic on 4.3 to help small batteries run through the day (almost double the life of 4.1.2 or even worst 4.2.x).
So it seems the perfect combo for me would be a 4.3 custom with TW.
Is there such a Rom, because it seems i can't find it.
Thanks.
There is no such thing. TouchWiz is more than a launcher. It`s a full system framework integrated in pretty much everything. For example, TW ads the speed dial and video call in phone app, the swipe to quick call or message in contacts app, SNS integration, FM Radio. And of course all the other "smart" features, like smart display.
If however, you don't need any of the features mentioned above, you can find custom launchers with skins that look exactly like TW and use them on any custom rom.
Thank you for your reply.
I realize i can install some Launcher apps to get some of the TW "feel", as i already tried Apex and Nova launchers. But they don't come even close to the real TW experience. As you said, TW is more than an icon set or interface color set. It's also about built-in apps and features. I know nothing about coding and programming on Android, so i thought one could implement TW along all those apps into some custom ROM like CM10.2 (4.3).
So, i guess i was wrong.
If so, this thread can be closed.
Thank you.
Mine came with it now, so i was just wondering what would happen if i were to save those APK's (theres touchwiz itself, touchwiz launcher i think, maybe a couple others) to apply on top of a stock android OS??
Is that possible at all? It would be 4.0.4 style, but that doesnt bother me at all. if its possible that is.
Pawprints1986 said:
Mine came with it now, so i was just wondering what would happen if i were to save those APK's (theres touchwiz itself, touchwiz launcher i think, maybe a couple others) to apply on top of a stock android OS??
Is that possible at all? It would be 4.0.4 style, but that doesnt bother me at all. if its possible that is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, yes you can put your touchwiz.apk to other OS, what its going to do is its going to make you device look like samsung device. These are the launchers used to customize the look of the whole ecosystem and that's is the major reason why people drives away from iOS to the Android ecosystem try using the touchwiz launcher and see your device transform onto samsung.
promo87 said:
Well, yes you can put your touchwiz.apk to other OS, what its going to do is its going to make you device look like samsung device. These are the launchers used to customize the look of the whole ecosystem and that's is the major reason why people drives away from iOS to the Android ecosystem try using the touchwiz launcher and see your device transform onto samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please do your research before replying.
No it will not work as they need the base touchwiz framework to work properly which stock google doesn't have.
This is the price you pay for running a custom aosp based ROM.
zelendel said:
Please do your research before replying.
No it will not work as they need the base touchwiz framework to work properly which stock google doesn't have.
This is the price you pay for running a custom aosp based ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there some (fairly easy) way to transfer the framework as well?
Pawprints1986 said:
Is there some (fairly easy) way to transfer the framework as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No because the frameworks control the whole OS. They are not cross compatible
zelendel said:
No because the frameworks control the whole OS. They are not cross compatible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, in that case, are there mods available to make every part of the stock OS look like the touchwiz OS, including the notification area?? Thats gotta be my biggest thing that i hate about stock. I love the compact 1 page aspect of the touchwiz version.
I know theres a theme for touchwiz, i tried it on another device. but all it changed was the main screens. settings and notification areas stayed stock. That was a total bummer, i thought i found my solution right there...
Pawprints1986 said:
Hmm, in that case, are there mods available to make every part of the stock OS look like the touchwiz OS, including the notification area?? Thats gotta be my biggest thing that i hate about stock. I love the compact 1 page aspect of the touchwiz version.
I know theres a theme for touchwiz, i tried it on another device. but all it changed was the main screens. settings and notification areas stayed stock. That was a total bummer, i thought i found my solution right there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some have a notification setting for the compact tiles but not completely like touch Wiz. I would either get used to not having them or use a stock based ROM. To be honest I would get used to bot having them as with the next update the whole thing is changing again.
zelendel said:
Some have a notification setting for the compact tiles but not completely like touch Wiz. I would either get used to not having them or use a stock based ROM. To be honest I would get used to bot having them as with the next update the whole thing is changing again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the one i tried playing with the settings with is the moto G... but there are practically NO customization settings, at all. wallpaper and ringtones were all i was able to find. no notification bar settings, no compact, no nothing.
Im still using my ICS with no issues... im more thinking ahead for the future, will possibly set a couple of roms aside to try. Its gonna take alot to get used to the much uglier notification area though... maybe ill never have to!
Hello,
I've been holding off upgrading to Android 5 or newer and have been sticking to Android 4.3 because I plainly do not like how the icons and graphics for Android 4.4 and up looks like. Would it be possible to make Android 5.x look exactly like Android 4.3? Perhaps with a skin?
For example, the shape of the Back, Home and Switch Window icons at the bottom of the screen, the position of the Quick Settings in the Notification Panel, the shape and icon design of the Wi-Fi and Cellular signal strength and so on.
I have my Sony Stock Android 4.3 Rooted, which allows me to apply security fixes (ie. disabling Stagefright in build.prop) and installing permissions managers but I think as Android 4.3 ages more and more exploits would be possible against it. So I was wondering if it is possible to upgrade to Android 5x and then skin it to look and feel like 4.3.
Thank you!
AT328PRO said:
Hello,
I've been holding off upgrading to Android 5 or newer and have been sticking to Android 4.3 because I plainly do not like how the icons and graphics for Android 4.4 and up looks like. Would it be possible to make Android 5.x look exactly like Android 4.3? Perhaps with a skin?
For example, the shape of the Back, Home and Switch Window icons at the bottom of the screen, the position of the Quick Settings in the Notification Panel, the shape and icon design of the Wi-Fi and Cellular signal strength and so on.
I have my Sony Stock Android 4.3 Rooted, which allows me to apply security fixes (ie. disabling Stagefright in build.prop) and installing permissions managers but I think as Android 4.3 ages more and more exploits would be possible against it. So I was wondering if it is possible to upgrade to Android 5x and then skin it to look and feel like 4.3.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a very weird thing to do, but alright.
First of all, any reason why you're not on 4.4.4? That's the last KitKat version. Heck, 4.3 isn't even KitKat! It's Jelly Bean, so you're two versions behind. KitKat looks the same as Jelly Bean and runs much better than Jelly Bean.
Second, you can change the navigation buttons (the three buttons at the bottom) by either using an Xposed module or by installing an app (just google "change android navbar icons".
Third, you can also flash CM12.1 and use a theme. You won't find a theme that looks like the old Sony UI, because why would anyone make that, but you can theme it to look like anything else than stock Lollipop.
Fourth, you can stay on 4.4.4 and have a rather big issue at hand once you have to buy a new device It's not like Google will revert the design, so the best thing to do is to start liking it, or move to a different OS.
Cheers
Klaos3000 said:
Third, you can also flash CM12.1 and use a theme. You won't find a theme that looks like the old Sony UI, because why would anyone make that, but you can theme it to look like anything else than stock Lollipop.
Fourth, you can stay on 4.4.4 and have a rather big issue at hand once you have to buy a new device It's not like Google will revert the design, so the best thing to do is to start liking it, or move to a different OS.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I've been trying some builds here and there, such as Cyanogenmod and Blisspop, I just have to use 5.x for a few days I guess.
What ROMs would you recommend that doesn't have broken features? Right now I'm using Sony Stock 5.1.1 and rooted it using the Kingroot app and replaced that with SuperSU.
AT328PRO said:
Thanks for the reply. I've been trying some builds here and there, such as Cyanogenmod and Blisspop, I just have to use 5.x for a few days I guess.
What ROMs would you recommend that doesn't have broken features? Right now I'm using Sony Stock 5.1.1 and rooted it using the Kingroot app and replaced that with SuperSU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most stable ones are of course the official ones, so the one you're already running and the GPe port are the most stable ones. Also, I guess you can simply use a theme on the ROM you're running right now. Take a look here if you haven't already.
Bro just use lp with nova launcher