I got my x829 about 3 weeks ago and, as I've always used iOS devices before, I was eager to explore what the Android OS can do and I also managed to get all my apps (200+) on it and carefully arranged them in folders on 4 screens. I didn't even think of changing the stock EUI those 3 weeks.
And here comes the tricky part: I read a lot about launchers and customization, because that's what you can't do in iOS, and now I want to start using and customizing Nova Launcher. My question is, and I've searched Google a lot about this and couldn't find anything, will Nova Launcher leave all my folders intact or will I have to arrange all the apps again?
10x
P.S.: Is that a stupid question?
Nothing would do to your apps or folders unless you factoty reset your phone or wipe your internel storage . just go ahead any try nova.. also try pixel launcher..
appsmarsterx said:
Nothing would do to your apps or folders unless you factoty reset your phone or wipe your internel storage . just go ahead any try nova.. also try pixel launcher..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt that you have understood my question. I know that my apps will not disappear. And I'm also not asking about the folders on the internal storage. My question was about the folders on my home-screen, the ones I created to organize my apps, like social media folder for fb, twitter, instagram, etc. and a folder with all my games. I have more than 200 apps installed and I don't want to go through the hassle of organizing them in folders again. That's why I asked if Nova will keep my homescreen setup, my folders? I know that it will not keep the widgets, but what about the folders?
10x anyway.
In Nova Launcher settings you have an option for import home screen layout and other things. So Nova will keep your settings you have created with another launcher like the stock one. If you have created folders and so inside the app drawer I'm not sure.
But you can always go back to your previous launcher without losing anything. Your layout and folders will be there all the time cause the stock launcher is running in the background without deleting anything unless you choose to delete your settings!
Just give it a shot and test Nova launcher, you can always go back to the layout that you are running right now.
I really doubt the fact that Nova's import function will support importing a setup from the stock EUI Launcher.
Come on, guys! Somebody must have done this before I can't be the first with homescreen folders, right?
Sent from my LeEco Le Max 2 using XDA Labs
EDIT: I was wrong. I managed to import my previous stock EUI launcher setup by using the import option in Nova's settings.
if the import functionality doesn't work, and if you're lazy to rearrange the icons you can always revert back to the eui launcher..
I have no idea if the import function will work, but i do know i use Nova on every device i have (4 phones (3 mine plus my wifes and 2 tablets)) and its awesome, its a must install for me as soon as i get a new device or restore an old one.
There's a nice new launcher called Evie that has a lot of the Nova functionality. That definitely gives you the option of retaining your set up from your previous launcher.
Related
GO Launcher EX is the extra version of GO Launcher, one of the most popular stock home replacement app in android market, provides beautiful themes, fast flip speed and tons of useful functions. Don't know how many of you use it. Its very fast has an inbuilt task killer also!!
Check out the website!!
http://www.goforandroid.com/
I've been using GO Launcher for a while now, it's by far the best out there. Only strange thing i noticed is that with GO Launcher EX you need to install a separate module in order to have missed call and message notifications down in the dock.
Can you organize apps into different categories?
Destroyer-XDA said:
Can you organize apps into different categories?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but u can put them into folders.
Awsme launcher thanx
I've tried other launchers and this is the only one moving smoothly on my Optimus. In addition to that it has icon personalization and you can make those annoying never-used apps disappear in your app menu.
it has enough customization options and the battery use is quite low. A must-have!
very good ...... n.n
Go Launcher EX in my opinion has to be the best one out there.
I am one of the people who actually enjoyed Touchwiz at first....well, until my app drawer reached over 10 pages (That's 160 apps and I even had the bloatware hidden with TiBackup)
Anyways. I have just this completely crazy and awesome thing going with Go Launcher on my phone. The best thing is, I've gone from 10 pages all the way down to 4. This launcher has so much customization and features, and on top of it all, it runs extremely fast.
I have posted several screens of what I have done on my phone using Go Launcher as well as just some screens so people can see it and understand it more.
The 1st is a preview of the ui swiping side to side, the 2nd is all my home screens, the 3rd is what the new app drawer looks like (notice the folders INSIDE the app drawer), the 4th is just all the options I have on my main home screen. The 5th and 6th Images are showing how you can switch the dock back and forth. The 7th is showing the modded facebook app available here on the XDA and my personal mod of the Picture Dial widget. And the last is the Screen Shortcut Screen (when you pinch the screen at home).
I hope you all enjoy.
NOTE: The "theme" I have is purely from the customization features I had available. I did not mod it at all (with the exception of one widget) nor did I actually create a theme for the Launcher like those which are available for ADW.
You can find almost all of what you see via internet. I had to photoshop a few icons (you'll notice them on the screen shots showing my different dockbars as those images are more recent).
gunna have to give this one a try adw launcher just isnt cuttin it for me any more
Using 2.3.2 Mur4ik ROM what I find is that Home Manager shows both Go Launcher EX and stock launcher are running at the same time, stock can take up to 40mb RAM, and second that for Go Launcher EX, so I've changed to stock because I want more mem and when I AutoKill stock then Go launcher Running tab says there's more ram.
How can I customize stock 2.3 launcher?
I need to change number of screens to 3 from 5, I don't need more.
Is there any way to create folders in menu instead in "desktop" only?
Screen transistions are not my priority, but Go Launcher is much user friendly anyway, and allows quick access to most commonly used options by me.
Yeah just hold one app and drag ontop of another to put them both in a folder
Sent from my GT540 using XDA Premium App
How much memory did you say Go Launcher used up? when I'm in it's app drawer tab and kill everything I can only get a max of about 150 out of a possible 303Mb
I will say that you can clear up some memory if you "Freeze" your default launcher using Titanium Backup.
Oh and one of the coolest things about Go Launcher is that since I made a Titanium Backup of it before changing Roms, when I got my phone back up and running again, all I had to do was go into Go Launcher's Preferences, scroll down and hit restore configuration (I had made a back up, can't forget that) and all my custom icons were restored. I had to add my widgets back manually, but that wasnt too big of a deal (I didn't make a titanium backup of that, but I think you can).
...hold on, actually Titanium Backup just restored all my apps, the Go Launcher's configuration is completely separate from titanium backup. GO Launcher creates it's own folder on your SD card for it's backups. It's pretty cool.
Soooo..... has anyone happened to have talked to the developer or anything to find out about making custom themes? I haven't had any experience making themes for other launchers, but I'd like to give a shot at making one for Go Launcher and I haven't seen anything on how to make one unfortunately.
nice but crashes too frequently
for my it is the best launcher for now, and in the oficial page says that it going to have customs themes
Is there any way to decrease the number of screens? I find it incredibly irritating to see have 5 screens, I only need and use 2.
I found GO Launcher to work best with stock 2.1. There are buch of themes for it, but only several of them are good for me.
revan17 said:
Is there any way to decrease the number of screens? I find it incredibly irritating to see have 5 screens, I only need and use 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just swipe up, and you'll get all screens.
i used SPB Shell 3D and its great no FCs icons can be modified you choose any interface like iphone, samsung galaxy and HTC style
This app jus got better!!! besides its all new awsome looks,its fast n smooth!!
I love this launcher as you can resize widgets and mess around with almost anything in it.
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App
Dear all,
I love the way LG stock rom devides apps in to default ones and Downloads. Moreover, it allows creating new categories to better organize apps. However, no custom rom (void, prime, lol,...) has this useful ability.
Do u know how to get this? Which app can help with the same need?
The LG Home app recognizes 2 categories by default, but additional categories may be added. And ones from the first category can be moved to the second and so on. The only thing special about the "APPLICATIONS" category in the stock launcher includes all apps from the /system/app/ directory.
With Zeam, GO, ADW, Panda, Better Home and LauncherPro (I don't know of other launchers...) it is possible to create categories and organise apps the same way as in the stock home app. But system apps are by default not seperate from the user applications in the app drawer.
If you want the stock launcher app, just copy it from your stock ROM - "/system/app/LGHome.apk". Then you are free to place it on any ROM of your choice (Simply install the package or copy it to the /system/app/ directory).
Ianis G. Vasilev said:
With Zeam, GO, ADW, Panda, Better Home and LauncherPro (I don't know of other launchers...) it is possible to create categories and organise apps the same way as in the stock home app. But system apps are by default not seperate from the user applications in the app drawer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you do this? I've been using LP Plus for 2 weeks and I've pretty much gone through all the possible settings from the preference page and I couldn't find anything about it there.
AzNxJoHnNy said:
How do you do this? I've been using LP Plus for 2 weeks and I've pretty much gone through all the possible settings from the preference page and I couldn't find anything about it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would like to know this too so i can create category for my downloaded apps and preinstalled apps
Many launchers come with this function. Just try them. If you have an Android phone and you haven't yet tried all the launchers, it's weird. I bet 99% people have tried all launchers.
Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk
AzNxJoHnNy said:
How do you do this? I've been using LP Plus for 2 weeks and I've pretty much gone through all the possible settings from the preference page and I couldn't find anything about it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I find no option to do this
Hi, I did a search but couldn't find any real answer other then "dont wipe data and homescreen should stay the same"
But when Flashing from ROM to ROM the Dev's require or recommend you to factory reset / wipe data. SO I want to know, what are some of you doing to restore your home screen layout? I know some of us spend quite sometime config. our homescreens and it sucks to re-do it. I use TB to back up my apps and data but have always practiced the "do not restore data from TB" as it has caused problems for me in the past, especially on my rooted xoom.
Thanks...
only restore green system data in titanium and you should be fine. theres a specific one that has homescreens. sometimes you cant though, if switching from froyo to gingerbread it wont work or vica versa. different versions of sense wont work either. a lot of times i found its easier to just take the five minutes and re set them up rather than deal with all the issues.
If you're using the same launcher on each ROM you can just backup that launcher's data and restore it to the new rom. If you have restored all the apps previously on your old homescreens, then everything will be as it was EXCEPT widgets. Widgets are the only thing that do not restore correctly. Just remove the broken ones and re-add them after restoring and you should be fine. I've done it this way for a long time and never had a problem. Having to manually fix the widgets is annoying but there's no way around that as far as I know and it doesn't really take that long (assuming you don't have a lot of them).
Thanks guys
Aight, thanks guys... I'll keep this tips in mind the next time.
Adw launcher lets you backup the layout and then restore it. I've found it to be hit our miss but its better than nothing.
Go Launcher can store setups, too. And check the widgets you use...some of them can store settings, and it might not be obvious. For example, SiMi clock, a very popular clock, allows you to do a ton of customizations with colors, etc. You can save your settings if you press menu while in the settings--took me a while to realize that. (I have gotten into the habit of pressing menu in the settings with various apps--not sure why they hide a settings menu within a settings menu, but they do.)
Ke1evraTi said:
Adw launcher lets you backup the layout and then restore it. I've found it to be hit our miss but its better than nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually find (personal experience) that ADW data backup/restore with TiBu does a better job than the one built into ADW. Same applies to other launchers as well since most include a backup/restore feature now. If it works better for you, glad to hear it. It just wasn't the case for me.
I checked the title suggestions and the S3 doesn't have a solution in them... The suggestions for other phones don't seem very good either, although I will take a look at LauncherPro.
Question:
Is there a way to restore widgets to their correct screens and locations? I like trying ROMs and I've got saving/restoring my data and apps down so I don't lose anything but widgets are a pain. I get the big red rectangles but not the widgets. Have no problems paying for an app that does it, so I'm not just looking for a freebie handout.
Ideally the app would also restore apps and data into a new ROM, but I'd be happy if it just looked after my widgets. I run 7 home screens and have my Launcher at 6 columns x 7 rows - I don't mind having to set that up prior to restore but again, ideally it would be nice if the app would restore those settings.
*grins* Not asking much... am I?
Journyman16 said:
I checked the title suggestions and the S3 doesn't have a solution in them... The suggestions for other phones don't seem very good either, although I will take a look at LauncherPro.
Question:
Is there a way to restore widgets to their correct screens and locations? I like trying ROMs and I've got saving/restoring my data and apps down so I don't lose anything but widgets are a pain. I get the big red rectangles but not the widgets. Have no problems paying for an app that does it, so I'm not just looking for a freebie handout.
Ideally the app would also restore apps and data into a new ROM, but I'd be happy if it just looked after my widgets. I run 7 home screens and have my Launcher at 6 columns x 7 rows - I don't mind having to set that up prior to restore but again, ideally it would be nice if the app would restore those settings.
*grins* Not asking much... am I?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my experience, which is limited to Apex Pro, I can tell you that restoring the home screens work for logos & folders of apps, whereas somehow my widgets (I got 1 widget, which is the calendar in agenda view) does not work somehow. Maybe other launchers can do it though.
Thanks chrismast - it seems to be an issue. I can't find anything on Playstore that specifically says it will restore widgets, even if you're on a stock layout. Maybe it is too hard given all the changes and layouts people have on their devices? le sigh...
Its very rare to restore Widgets as they were.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
@rootSU - do you mean it is rare that people put widgets back as they were or that it is rare to be able to restore them as they were? The 2nd one, yep! Having all kinds of problems trying to find a way to do it automatically. The 1st possibility - I like to try different ROMs and see what they are like to use - to do that I really need to have the same set up in each so I can compare. Restoring widgets to what they were before an upgrade seems a logical thing to do, so I am puzzled it hasn't been addressed before now.
Maybe I am just a bit odd?
Journyman16 said:
@rootSU - do you mean it is rare that people put widgets back as they were or that it is rare to be able to restore them as they were? The 2nd one, yep! Having all kinds of problems trying to find a way to do it automatically. The 1st possibility - I like to try different ROMs and see what they are like to use - to do that I really need to have the same set up in each so I can compare. Restoring widgets to what they were before an upgrade seems a logical thing to do, so I am puzzled it hasn't been addressed before now.
Maybe I am just a bit odd?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the latter. I ONCE managed to restore fully using titanium backup. I suppose it depends on the type of widgets. Go launcher and Nova have internal backup features, but all it does is put the widgets in their places. I still have to "tap to restore widget" which for some is great, they just pop back up but others that are configurable, i still have to go through all the config again.
nova launcher prime does a superb job of this
slaphead20 said:
nova launcher prime does a superb job of this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not for me. Once I restore widgets like:
Tasker tasks
Set CPU
Beautiful Widgets
Pure Calendar
Simi Clock
I have to go into each and set my preferred settings.
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]?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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