Related
Just wanted to spread the word about this new launcher.It's called Go Launcher. Has some pretty nice features. I would say it's about on the same level as LP and ADW.
http://androidspin.com/2010/12/16/go-launcher-another-home-launcher-replacement/
Thanks bud, looks promising!
Looks very good for customization and whatnot
This seems kinda interesting. I think I may give it a shot.
i am a big big fan of touchwiz. i tried the other launchers and i always went back to touchwiz.
except this time. kinda.
literally, the only thing that is keeping me from using this launcher as my main launcher is that the weather channel wide widget is not generating every time i try. i like this thing that much. it is so much snappier on obsidian 4.2 (yes i know there are other versions out there, but i feel safer using the version on their website as i figure its the finished version) than the modded tw launcher in use there. like noticably faster and more responsive. i will definitely be keeping my eye on its development.
I have tried the Go Launcher for a while. It's pretty good and it's faster than ADW.
In addition, it uses less memory than the ADW and LP. One thing I'd like to see
is the capability to hide the Dock as in ADW. And apparently, ADW has so many
themes which is really attractive.
But overall, Go launcher is a good choice.
zeam launcher
Go launcher is aight, takes up a lot of memory and causes phone to lag after a while. Honestly, try the zeam launcher. Way way better. The app drawer can hold a lot of apps. you'll love it!
domtru said:
Go launcher is aight, takes up a lot of memory and causes phone to lag after a while. Honestly, try the zeam launcher. Way way better. The app drawer can hold a lot of apps. you'll love it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree i use zeam and love it
Speaking of go, the sms app is the best I've used thus far. Maybe I'll give the launcher a try.
I'd pass on go launcher if I were you. I tried it for 2 days last week and ended up hating it.
If I spent too much time in an app or just away from the home screen, the launcher would have to reload all of the apps onto the home and app screens. Screen orientation was always buggy as well. Half the time I flipped the screen, the dock bar wouldn't turn with it. I'd have to move to another screen or flip and flip back to get the dock to move. The dock bar email/messaging unread count wouldn't clear after reading either. The app menu scrolling was very choppy, regardless of how long I let it sit to load.
It's a decent looking launcher, but has a ton of bugs still.
Sent from my <tw> powered vibrant.
it's amazons free app of the day. pretty neat function, im using it to replace the long press for multitasking. runs smoothly
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I thought about posting this too when I downloaded it earlier today. But then I tried it out and found that its really not for me.
Agreed, I looks like a great idea, but doesnt function as good as it could. Not for me either.
I downloaded Wave Launcher and I'm attempting to make use of it. My current setup is ADW.Launcher EX, Folder Organizer, and Beautiful widgets. I really liked this setup, but I'm looking for a new look for my phone. Having five Folder Organizer widgets on the desktop is pretty sweet. I can get to the 20ish programs I use all on one home screen via the folder organize widgets.
I was hoping to use Wave Launcher to re-do my setup so make the home screen more "empty" and clean.
The app is very easy to setup, but its use seems a bit limited. I was hoping to be able to have multiple Wave Launchers so that if I swiped from the left side of the screen it would like X apps, if I swiped from the right side of the screen it would display a different set of Y apps, and if I swiped from the bottom it would bring up a different set of Z apps. Unfortunitally, the app only allows for one swipe location and one set of apps to launch.
I am going to keep it installed, and I am going to try to make it work for me. I can free up some screen real estate via Wave Launcher, though I'm not sure what to launch with it. Should I put in my most used apps? It does make them a bit harder to launch versus having links on the screen or a Folder Organizer widget on the scren. So should I put some apps I don't use often into the wave launcher so that they don't use screen real estate as either links or a folder organizer widget.
Long story short... this launcher seems to be a great idea. A swipe motion brings up a "waved bar" with links on it. However, those links are harder to "choose" since you have to slide your thumb / finger into the right place, so folders might work better. However folders take up screen real estate. So... its a good idea, and it might work out for me. I wish that there were more options like the ones lacking that I listed above.
We'll see what I come up with over the next few days.
DK
SwipePad is A LOT better!
https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android
I too got this from amazon but while I was playing angry birds it kept popping up alot and pissed me off so... I uninstalled it for now!
I just keep forgetting it's there. until it comes up at the worst possible moments.
facetubespam said:
SwipePad is A LOT better!
https://market.android.com/details?id=mobi.conduction.swipepad.android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 it was slow to start but they keep making it better with the add-ons and speed increases
Sent from my GreyBlurred Bell Atrix
+1 for swipe pad, nothing comparable so far.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Swipepad drove my cpu usage up to 100%, ive been using wave launcher and it has been working fine. I really like how it looks like the palm os wave which is what i came from. Pretty nifty.
this app was making Contacts appear when I clicked PowerAMP. Had to uninstall Wave Launcher then reboot phone so PowerAMP operates properly.
Sent from my Motorola Atrix 4G using Tapatalk
Wave Launcher
mario925 said:
this app was making Contacts appear when I clicked PowerAMP. Had to uninstall Wave Launcher then reboot phone so PowerAMP operates properly.
Sent from my Motorola Atrix 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can customize the size and location of Wave Launcher's gesture-area, try "Bottom Left - 20%" in the "Gesture-area presets" setting.
Upcoming version of Wave Launcher will allow 3rd party apps to disable / enable Wave Launcher. (Currently supported by the upcoming version of WidgetLocker) It will also include a quick disable/enable option via the notification bar.
DeathKoil said:
I downloaded Wave Launcher and I'm attempting to make use of it. My current setup is ADW.Launcher EX, Folder Organizer, and Beautiful widgets. I really liked this setup, but I'm looking for a new look for my phone. Having five Folder Organizer widgets on the desktop is pretty sweet. I can get to the 20ish programs I use all on one home screen via the folder organize widgets.
I was hoping to use Wave Launcher to re-do my setup so make the home screen more "empty" and clean.
The app is very easy to setup, but its use seems a bit limited. I was hoping to be able to have multiple Wave Launchers so that if I swiped from the left side of the screen it would like X apps, if I swiped from the right side of the screen it would display a different set of Y apps, and if I swiped from the bottom it would bring up a different set of Z apps. Unfortunitally, the app only allows for one swipe location and one set of apps to launch.
I am going to keep it installed, and I am going to try to make it work for me. I can free up some screen real estate via Wave Launcher, though I'm not sure what to launch with it. Should I put in my most used apps? It does make them a bit harder to launch versus having links on the screen or a Folder Organizer widget on the scren. So should I put some apps I don't use often into the wave launcher so that they don't use screen real estate as either links or a folder organizer widget.
Long story short... this launcher seems to be a great idea. A swipe motion brings up a "waved bar" with links on it. However, those links are harder to "choose" since you have to slide your thumb / finger into the right place, so folders might work better. However folders take up screen real estate. So... its a good idea, and it might work out for me. I wish that there were more options like the ones lacking that I listed above.
We'll see what I come up with over the next few days.
DK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also use it for:
direct-dial contacts.
Any Android shortcut, not just apps.
Show recently-used apps
Show its built-in app-drawer (by swiping or by long-pressing the gesture-area
I'm response to LoirG I use the wave launcher to open folders from folder organizer which helps open space on NY homescreen. Wave launcher is one of my more valuable apps. It has a learning curve but the limits are almost endless
Sent from my rooted 1.8.3 Honeyglow themed Gingerblur Atrix
Hi,
I wanted to get a sense of what others are using for their launcher interface for their TS.
I have tried a handful but nothing really seems to fit the bill all that well.
I have tried
Google Now Launcher
Launcher 8
Smart Launcher
Various "Big" and "Senior Phone" launchers
Nova Launcher
among others....
I seem to be constantly going back to the stock launcher (not OUI 2.0 as that is just crap)
What are you guys using or recommend trying?
One thing I seem to really hate about going to alternative launchers is the loss of the "real" status bar..... I have tried Swipe Status Bar, but that just introduces issues with having to swipe down when you need to access touch points that are near the top of the screen. (Plus the last version that was released completely made icons no longer clickable)
D.
Stock launcher for me seems fine.
I switch between stock Android launcher and GEL. I never use OUI2.
"OK Google ! Find me a smart watch like the TrueSmart was promoted to be during Kickstarter..."
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
trent999 said:
I switch between stock Android launcher and GEL. I never use OUI2.
"OK Google ! Find me a smart watch like the TrueSmart was promoted to be during Kickstarter..."
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart Launcher for me, Operative style.
I'm pretty happy with lucid launcher across all my devices.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I have used ADW EX on my other devices for a few years, so I installed it. After tweaking the icon/text sizes and a few Gravity box tweaks, seems to work quite ok.
I think pretty much any launcher will do, as long as you can customize it around the limited screen space.
Lightening launcher with x3 UI layout.
Just tried smart launcher 2 as mentioned on here. It's really good! all the elements fit perfectly on the screen almost like it's made for the TS.
I really use the OUI... But I only tried stock and OUI, didn't try any others yet, so this might change
nova for me just with the icons set very big like my status bar to much and not a fan of the status bar app that will give you access to it never worked quite like the stock status bar should.
I've been using Mini Launcher... although only for a few days and haven't tried many other options yet, so i might change if there's anything better
+Lokifish Marz. Can you please elaborate a little on your set up.
Thanks in advance.
Right now it based on Lightning but really needs to be a standalone.
Thank You Sir?
---------- Post added at 01:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:28 PM ----------
Would love to have this for my Watch!
Personally, I really liked the WP8 launcher. Could fit lots of useful info and apps on the watch screen.
jd
I keep falling back to the stock launcher. I've tried a few (nova, apex, and similar), but the status bar is the biggest issue. I'm really fond of the bar for easy overview of new notifications, and can't really live without one. Swipestatusbar solution works ok:ish, but not having the bar there after exiting apps and having the bar interfere with touch event at the top makes it a dealbreaker.
OUI is almost there - it has widgets, app drawer and screen sorting, and the status bar. It does however lack in other ways, like missing an indicator for which screen you are on, and everything looks very blurred, together with almost no customization. Some widgets looks as if they are rendered at like 50x50 pixels and zoomed to fit the screen. Also seems unstable, it has crashed a ton of times.
If the stock launcher could just get widget support, an app drawer and preferably a way to add/remove/sort your screens, I'd be happy with it. For now it works though, and seems fast and stable with status bar working..
EDIT: After playing around a few hours with different launchers today, I finally went back to Nova. It takes some getting used to, but the status bar issue now feels like an acceptable loss compared to all the gains. It works very well, and renders on small screens better than most other launchers (some have too much paddin in the grid, some render icons very pixelated or blurry, and so on). Nova does a good job, my only peeve is that icons are aligned to the top of their grid position, and widgets are aligned to the center. This means that if you place an icon next to a widget, they will not align, and also the icons come a bit too close to the top. However, it's still better than the alternatives I've tried, so sticking with Nova for now.
When?
Lokifish Marz said:
Lightening launcher with x3 UI layout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When will you be releasing it??? :highfive:
I am using launcher 8.
The tiles uses most of the screen at any given time, as opposed to a more regular android launcher.
Android launchers in general wastes a lot of screen real estate. This is because of the way the icons are organized, with lots of empty space between them.
The tiles you get in launcher 8 is quite tight, like in a proper windows phone.
I like this.
The tiles are also customizable in size, so stuff that is often used will have big tiles, while the lesser used programs get smaller tiles.
Launcher 8 also runs smoothly.
jdommer said:
Personally, I really liked the WP8 launcher. Could fit lots of useful info and apps on the watch screen.
jd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
am using this too
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
i use tsf shell for many years on all my phones and tablets.
now i use it on the truesmart and it really works great.
its smooth, it looks cool, you reach everything you want in short time.
shure i have to use swype status bar, but that is not really a problem.
ok it is not really cheap, but you only pay one time and can use it on all devices, so i think the price is fair if you have more devices
I'm new to Huawei as I recently switched from an iPhone to the Huawei mate 20 pro and I'd like to know why some icons are circles and the others are rounded squares and if there's a solution to it. personally would like my icons to be rounded squares as I'm used to have in the iPhone but in this new phone, circles and squares get mixed and creates this ugly homescreen that I have to see everyday.
I've looked into some icon packs and they usually involve installing a launcher, which I do not want, because I've heard they decrease performance, and then most of them have some bugged icons or are too different from the original ones and are ugly.
So, I am no phone expert but I don't see a solution to keep the Huawei home launcher and have uniform icons. If you have any, id be grateful if you could please let me know.
Some icons are huawei system icons, others are developer icons like Google messages or 3rd party apps
The best way install icon pack, best using Nova launcher or another 3rd party launcher with icon customisation.
Sent from my HUAWEI LYA-L09 using XDA Labs
to EloctPT:
Hi, I had a same problem with the different shape of icons and I tried some themes from Play Store and I can recommended you themes from Aurel. Every theme has a same shape (circles or rounded squares).
Themes can be a good way around it.
Don't be too quick to dismiss using launchers and icon packs though. Later firmware versions have fixed a lot of the issues people were having with third party launchers and gestures for example. Performance isn't really affected by a good launcher.
Grondah said:
Themes can be a good way around it.
Don't be too quick to dismiss using launchers and icon packs though. Later firmware versions have fixed a lot of the issues people were having with third party launchers and gestures for example. Performance isn't really affected by a good launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This! I've never ever used launchers on my Android phones for the past 5 years or so however I'm in love with Nova prime on the mate! Do your self a favor and buy the Nova prime and customize it your way. I love how my screen looks now, everything is uniform and organized. Also the mate is a powerful beast. If ****ty phones can run Nova, don't you think the mate, having one of the most powerful processors out there, can handle Nova with breeze. Also I've not seen any battery impact whatsoever. In 24 hours of use, with 8 hours of screen on time, Nova only used about 20 minutes worth of CPU, which is nothing.
Nova launcher used to be (arguably) the best free Android launcher - until now - so what's better?
Unfortunately, the day after Branch Analytics acquired Nova launcher, it grew in size by 150% (8MB to 12MB) without anyone noticing that "something" huge (but as yet unknown) is going on inside of the previously venerable Nova launcher.
So now, I, like anyone else who is logical, is in the market for a new "best Android launcher" app APK.
But which Android app launcher replaces the venerable Nova free APK?
Mostly what I loved about Nova was that the homescreen could be organized by any grid - or no grid (see screenshot example below).
What best launcher do you recommend to replace Nova [now that Nova was sold out and as such, it has (apparently) gone over to the dark side]?
I take you're on a Samsung device?
One UI shreds Nova on my N10+; faster and uses less battery even has some features Nova lacks. It's missing a trick or two that Nova can do. One UI is rock solid stable on my device, no issues.
After a 3rd party launcher boot looped me twice, back to back over 2 years ago I stopped sampling them One UI won.
blackhawk said:
I take you're on a Samsung device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. But I've been using Nova free launchers since the dawn of time on Motorola, LG, and other phones - simply because Nova did what nobody else could do - which was allow me to place any icon on any grid or no grid at all.
But now that Nova went over to the dark side - it's time for a new "best launcher" that works for more than just one brand of phones.
blackhawk said:
One UI shreds Nova on my N10+; faster and uses less battery even has some features Nova lacks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With batteries being five amps and more nowadays, I don't have any problem going days without a charge, but it's interesting you say that you found that one launcher uses more battery than another.
I've never tested how much battery power two different launchers use. But I've done a lot of battery power testing over the years.
The fact is that you can only use one launcher at a time - so it would be hard to test two of them side by side given only one can work at any given time frame on any one phone.
Sure you can test two launchers with two exact same phones side by side, but did you really run a test that detailed to conclude what you did?
Given that practical problem set, how could I tell if one launcher used more battery than another?
blackhawk said:
It's missing a trick or two that Nova can do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Besides putting icons on any grid (or no grid at all), what I next like best about Nova is I set up EVERY phone in the house, for years, with the same well-managed set of apps and icons.
Motorola
LG
Nexus
Samsung
They ALL have the same homescreen.
For years and years and years.
Note that what you do on a computer never changes so the organization of the homescreen never changes.
Does the Samsung OneUI launcher save a backup file to be used on any brand of phone?
Nova launcher easily saves a backup file which is imported into the new phone. It's TRIVIAL to re-install all the apps in the EXACT same place from the old phone to the new phone, even when you move from an LG phone to a Samsung phone.
There's no way any Samsung launcher could possibly do that, right?
blackhawk said:
One UI is rock solid stable on my device, no issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My only experience with One UI is that I originally saw it when I got a handful of Samsung Galaxy A32-5G phones from T-Mobile for free.
I didn't like it at all but maybe it does the two most important things that Nova free does?
1. Put any icon on any grid (or no grid at all), and,
2. Save a backup file of the homescreen to load onto any other device
Note that this backup file includes all installed apps in the location that they are installed in - which - for me - is important since EVERY app icon is placed in an EXACT location for a reason.
There's a third thing I love about Nova free launcher but I don't know if it's part of the launcher or part of Android 12, which is:
3. Place a widget INSIDE any folder on the homescreen
Is THAT last feature of being able to resize a widget and then place it INSIDE a folder on the homescreen part of Android 12 or Nova launcher? (If it's part of Nova, then can One UI do that too?)
blackhawk said:
After a 3rd party launcher boot looped me twice, back to back over 2 years ago I stopped sampling them. One UI won.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have nothing against One UI because my only experience with it was that it was the first launcher I saw when I received my free Samsung phones from T-Mobile and the last Samsung I had was about ten years or so ago (the S3) but what I asked on the Samsung groups what apps from Samsung were worth getting just about a month ago.
Is there any app in the Samsung Galaxy Store worth the login requirements?Note the screenshots show you can resize widgets and then place those resized widgets INSIDE folders on the homescreen.
That homepage is way too busy and not AMOLED friendly at all.
In 24 hours this is what One UI used...
One UI supports folders which are a lot better than burning up pixels. Over time this will happen. I rotate my icons, folders and widgets to spread out the wear. The icon packs are red for a reason, red pixels have the longest lifespan, blue the shortest. No wear if a pixel isn't light and it's easier on your eyes.
I'm not too concerned with backup. I want a clean load if I have to factory reset to avoid doing another one. The current load on this phone is over 2yo and running strong. I keep a screenshot to help with setup. SmartSwitch will preserve some homepage settings but it can also cause issues.
Apex Launcher Classic, get the PRO and Apex Notifier.
You can use ancient Launcher and Icon packs, I've kept many old Apex Themes from 2013 and on, and they all still work with the latest Apex Classic.
Offers the same features as Nova.
Its clean.
I understand you are looking for a FREE launcher, but with the launcher being so integral to your device experience, maybe thats the one app you should be prepared to pay for.
I have been using what I think is the most powerful and customizable launcher. Not only does it do the few things you mentioned:
Put any icon on any grid (or no grid at all), and,
Save a backup file of the homescreen to load onto any other device
Note that this backup file includes all installed apps in the location that they are installed in - which - for me - is important since EVERY app icon is placed in an EXACT location for a reason.
Place a widget INSIDE any folder on the homescreen (yes thats launcher specific)
So it does ALL what you listed (i know its a quick list), but also (among many MANY other things..)
Folders inside folders, inside folders.... and widgets n deep in the folder structure
Any widget can be Resized, Scaled (Different to resize which I think is more on the widget to resize itself), Rotated, transparency, Skewed (think parallelogram), positioned to a decimal pixel position
All visible (or even hidden transparent hot-spots) have complete control of the event (eg start ab app, start a script etc) or I *thinik* even multiple actions (I dont use that feature)
All items covered by 3 above also have short AND long press events (Tap, Long Tap, Swipe Left, Swipe Right, Swipe up, Swipe down) I personally have transparent hot-spots (on top of other widgets that respond to their default tap), that I swipe uy[p on to turn on AUID and down to turn off AOD. I also have a long press on my navigation, which turns on GPS, Bluetooth (to connect and call handsfree), starts my music player, starts playing the music and finally starts the Navigation app ready to navigate.
Lots of visual effects such as shadow of the text
Control of the Font, Size, position/offset
"Reflections" on the icons, as if they are hovering above a crystal clear pool/puddle of water
You can have/add code to make your own things. There is an example out there how to add a analogue clock simply with code. Well beyond any of my needs.
and on and on and on...
My personal experience is, if you can imagine it, then there is a way to do it. I have been using it since gingerbread, and as I upgrade device and/or ROMs, I use the backup / restore to get the launcher config started. NB: The private widget data/config doesn't come across in the launcher backup, but a "fallback" image/placeholder is show, reminding you of how you previously had it set up. So although there is a steep learning curve, and with ALL the different options/function can take some time to set up how you want, a lot will transfer onto your next device or ROM. But since its a paid app, you can only run it on one device at a time.
Now, the thing to REALLY take note of, the default set-up on first install is utter TOTAL rubbish ,and so are the preview/demo images on the PlayStore. It really is a case of "if you can imagine it, you can do it"
Oh, and the launcher is called "Lightening Launcher Extreme"
The following are some screen shots I qui8ckly snapped, but the actual config is of course very personal. And because its so customizable, I can do things others will hate I just quickly flashed through the screens I personally use the most in set-up, but didn't scroll through anything or ensured I got everything that is beyond the screen and there are many more options/features I dont use; or even know about.
Part of the problems Nova is having maybe the same that ones Samsung is having dealing with scoped storage and other changes starting with Android 10. I have 2 N10+'s, one still running on Pie, the newer one on 10. The look and behave almost identically except the Android 10 has a 100 or more small Samsung system apks.
I prefer Pie because it's easier to troubleshoot and provides better functionality for trusted apps. I don't even want to see what 11, and especially 12/beta 13 look like. Maybe it's not so much Nova but rather Android that has turned to the dark Apple side...
imonxda said:
Apex Launcher Classic...
Offers the same features as Nova.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that suggestion of the Apex Launcher to replace the functionality of the Nova free launcher, specifically:
a. Place homescreen folders on any grid, or no grid at allb. Export homescreen and import into ANY brand of phonec. Resize widgets and place widgets INSIDE folders
Assuming the free version of the Apex Launcher is this one...
Apex Launcher by Android DOES teamFree, contains ads, contains in-app purchases, requires GSF,rated 4.2 out of 354K reviews with 10M+ Downloads
That sucks in terms of requiring GSF (Nova free doesn't spy on us with GSF, and no app should ever need to use GSF calls) and requiring ads (again, Nova free doesn't have any ads and no launcher should, IMHO); but unfortunately, the description on the Google Play Store doesn't say whether Apex Launcher can do the three most important things that I feel ANY "best" launcher should do (see above).
Bear in mind there are a billion app launchers, where there's a good REASON Nova free was almost universally hailed as the best out there.
If Branch Analytics didn't take over TeslaCoil software, I wouldn't even be LOOKING for a better app launcher... (sigh)... but no free app launcher with ads and lack of privacy can possibly be on the list of the "best" there is.
That's just impossible (IMHO of course).
No app can be the "best" if it has ads and if it sucks out your privacy.
BTW, I know full well what I'm asking is NOT an easy question to answer... otherwise I'd have found the answer already, but I do appreciate the suggestions.
In order to be "better" than Nova free, it can't be worse.
GalaxyA325G said:
Thanks for that suggestion of the Apex Launcher to replace the functionality of the Nova free launcher, specifically:
a. Place homescreen folders on any grid, or no grid at allb. Export homescreen and import into ANY brand of phonec. Resize widgets and place widgets INSIDE folders
Assuming the free version of the Apex Launcher is this one...
Apex Launcher by Android DOES teamFree, contains ads, contains in-app purchases, requires GSF,rated 4.2 out of 354K reviews with 10M+ Downloads
That sucks in terms of requiring GSF (Nova free doesn't spy on us with GSF, and no app should ever need to use GSF calls) and requiring ads (again, Nova free doesn't have any ads and no launcher should, IMHO); but unfortunately, the description on the Google Play Store doesn't say whether Apex Launcher can do the three most important things that I feel ANY "best" launcher should do (see above).
Bear in mind there are a billion app launchers, where there's a good REASON Nova free was almost universally hailed as the best out there.
If Branch Analytics didn't take over TeslaCoil software, I wouldn't even be LOOKING for a better app launcher... (sigh)... but no free app launcher with ads and lack of privacy can possibly be on the list of the "best" there is.
That's just impossible (IMHO of course).
No app can be the "best" if it has ads and if it sucks out your privacy.
BTW, I know full well what I'm asking is NOT an easy question to answer... otherwise I'd have found the answer already, but I do appreciate the suggestions.
In order to be "better" than Nova free, it can't be worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, absolutely correct, Apex Launcher DOES NOT have all the features your looking for, but AndroidDOES has brought back the Classic launcher (I'm assuming because of popular demand) it is called Apex Launcher Classic - this is FAR superior to the new-ish Apex Launcher. BTW, some of the best features of Apex Classic are unavailable without the paid Pro but most features work with free version.
As for privacy concerns, you can use something like My Android Tools Pro, it will tell you exactly what an app like Apex is doing behind the scenes and it gives you control over all hidden activities. https://www.myandroidtools.com/ it has been kicked out of Google play store, I don't know the reason, but I've been using this app for years, I have never seen any evidence of malware in it, and it has revealed the spying, reporting activities, and ad activities of all other apps I use and I can actually STOP these activities, I trust it.
It takes a bit of getting-used-to, but it works great once you do (get used to it). Some advice, check the About in settings for automatic detection of newly installed or updated apps feature, and check the Apps tab at the bottom, then select any app and then tap "see all component info", this is really helpful and easily overlooked feature.
@DiamondJohn That's a cool Launcher I've never heard of, I will certainly check it out
GalaxyA325G said:
Nova launcher used to be (arguably) the best free Android launcher - until now - so what's better?
Unfortunately, the day after Branch Analytics acquired Nova launcher, it grew in size by 150% (8MB to 12MB) without anyone noticing that "something" huge (but as yet unknown) is going on inside of the previously venerable Nova launcher.
So now, I, like anyone else who is logical, is in the market for a new "best Android launcher" app APK.
But which Android app launcher replaces the venerable Nova free APK?
Mostly what I loved about Nova was that the homescreen could be organized by any grid - or no grid (see screenshot example below).
What best launcher do you recommend to replace Nova [now that Nova was sold out and as such, it has (apparently) gone over to the dark side]?
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Love Niagara launcher
Pear Launcher - Apps on Google Play
Download Pear launcher — a launcher designed for performance and customization.
play.google.com
Just started using this app and it's pretty good so far