Maybe something for the Pixel phones? I’ve been using ADW for a long time now, and was wondering what some frequently used launchers are. (I used Cyanogen for a long time, too.)
There are lists all over the internet, but I’m interested in what the Lemmy crowd likes. Thanks!
Edit: Thanks guys - a few of these were on my radar, some I hadn’t heard of or seen in the Play/f-droid lists. Having the reasons why you like each of them helps me figure out what I want from a launcher (for instance, the purchase of Nova by a company known for its data collection is a big turn-off even though it seems loved) - since you guys laid out some pros and cons of a bunch of launchers, it gives me a better picture!
Edit 2: You guys, this is a great resource for figuring out which launchers look like something worth trying (for me), and which ones are in the stores but not what I’m looking for. Without just trying them all, that is… And considering that I hadn’t even heard of all of them…
This has been a huge help for me, and I hope some others out there got something out of the post! I should be replying to everyone, but I’m not … Sorry. But I did read everything and have already started compiling a list in my head, and started tagging and categorizing. And those who included screen shots and links and lists and opinions and FOSS alternatives/forks - they helped! This whole thing helped!
I use the Niagara Launcher, it serves favorite apps up in a vertical list, and other apps in an alphabetical list. It’s very quick and easy to navigate and quite customizable with some widget support. It works with music apps, has a dark mode, makes changing icon packs easy. You can swipe up to search, or add a search button. I just love how minimal, clean and functional it is.
Here is my home screen. Note there is no left or right screen to swipe to .
Here is the app list, under N.
Some settings
And the app store link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bitpit.launcher
I second Niagara. It’s just a great way to keep a simple home screen, but has plenty of power features if you want to dig deeper
I third it. The fact that you can customize something as fundamental as your home screen is what makes android superior to ios, at least for me. Niagara makes my interaction with the home screen so much more efficient.
Oh boy. I love Niagara. I’ve used it one every phone for quite a few years now.
Two of my favorite features are the ability to tuck widgets into folders. I use the system ui communications widget in my messaging folder to take me straight to my most used chats.
When you connect to bluetooth, it automatically pulls up a now playing widget (it’s hidden when bluetooth is disconnected) and pulls up links to my music/podcast apps. It’s so dynamic and highly customizable.
You can read about their pricing structure (both sub and one time purchase) and decisions regarding that here : https://help.niagaralauncher.app/article/104-price-of-niagara-pro
I locked in the lifetime price years ago, I have been with them through the beta. I know the lifetime price is higher now but I think they still offer it. I think it’s worth the price, subscription or lifetime.
Just in case people aren’t aware Nova was acquired by Branch. Putting it out there so people can decide whether that matters or not.
https://www.androidpolice.com/nova-launcher-acquired-by-branch/
That’s nice. Needing to know what version to stick with is additional information people will find handy if they choose to use Nova over a general “I use Nova” recommendation. And whether buying a premium license to stick with an older version is something they want to do for those who never bought Nova.
I use Nova. After seeing this, I have disabled internet access for the app (I use LineageOS, where this is an option). Is that enough to avoid any potential downsides, or is there anything else I should be aware of?
Been a while since I used Nova myself, but when I last checked the branch integration was only present on the beta version of the app.
The normal version hadn’t been updated since December 2021, so I think that version is fine with it being from before the branch acquistion.
Nova, Nova Nova.
The level of customization is well thought out, and the gesture controls were out of this world when it came out. I’ve been using Nova for about 5 or 6 years if I’m not mistaken. Don’t care to go back to anything else.
Pixel 6 pro. I use Nova launcher. It works great and is very customizable, especially with icon placement. I recommend it.
Sadly Nova was purchased by a Chinese company with a history of invasive data harvesting last year.
I had premium up until a year ago, but I can’t recommend it anymore after their purchase.
Choose open source, people.
I tried a whole bunch of launchers after they were bought, but none were nearly as good as Nova in my opinion. Either buggy or lacking features I have grown accustomed to. I ended up just installing TrackerControl and turning off Nova’s internet access entirely. It doesn’t require any networking for any of my needs, so just disabling its internet entirely was fine.
Niagara. Beautiful and efficient. Truly a step above other launchers.
I’ve tried it before, I think I just went back to Niagara after a few minutes, I’ll try it again.
