this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2023
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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 hadnโ€™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!

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[โ€“] CaptainHowdy@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I've been using Nova for a really long time. When I get a new device, I'll check out whatever isinstalledg for a while, but I always end up going back to Nova. Easy to use, hides apps, enough customization without being overly technical.

Olauncher, Foss and actually minimal

[โ€“] philpo@feddit.de 4 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Apex Launcher. Left Nova a while back and it offers basically the same features without the aggressive bullshit. And while the pro version is somewhat subscription based the lifetime price (7โ‚ฌ here) is absolutely reasonable. `

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[โ€“] CitizenStile@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Pixel 6 Pro here, had been using Nova Launcher for ages and purchased a license for it. Once it changed owners I swapped to Hyperion launcher, while it is decent and has similar functionality to Nova is just not quite the same. I suppose it depends on how picky you are about privacy...

[โ€“] slyme@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Currently using Lawnchair 12.1 and their icon set, and I'm quite happy with it!

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[โ€“] wtvr@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Olauncher. Super minimalist. Love it. The best part imo is the app drawer. Instead of cycling through endless pages of icons that are always being changed so that I can never remember what I am actually looking for, it uses a text list of all apps. Just start typing the name and it will automatically complete and open the app. It's literally changed my life ๐Ÿ˜‚

Maybe not life changing but it is sooooo much nicer for my flow

[โ€“] grabyourmotherskeys@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You might like this: https://kisslauncher.com/

It's minimal but you get text search for apps out of the box save a bunch of shortcuts as you like.

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I like Lawnchair, it's FOSS, runs very beautifully and supports gestures (though that requires root and Quickswitch module)

[โ€“] indigomirage@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

I like Nova Launcher. Compact. Flexible. Consistent interface regardless of what craziness Samsung tries to impose. Good gesture customization. Don't need to learn anything new.

[โ€“] Adi2121@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Lawnchair. It mimicks the Pixel launcher quite well, which is my favorite stock Android launcher, and is much better than default OneUI. To be honest, I dont care for phone customization as much as I used to, but Lawnchair just works. Not to mention its FOSS and has a great themed icon pack that covers every app I use daily except for the Lemmy app Liftoff.

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Action Launcher

[โ€“] citizenserious@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Neo launcher, it is foss and can use Neo Feed (which is also foss) it is stable, has cool features and a backup function. Also it is under active development.

[โ€“] MinusPi@pawb.social 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm on Pixel 5 and my vote is Niagra! It's utterly unique among launchers, most of which are more or less the same but with different customizations. It's difficult to say what makes Niagra better for me, but now that I've gotten used to it (not easy but worth it) all the samey launchers just feel so much worse.

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[โ€“] Thanks4Nothing@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I have used many over the years. Lots of great ones, but it came down to taste for me. A few faves were Niagara, Nova, Lawnchair and the stock Pixel launcher. But for the last few months, I have gone back to Square Home. I was a huge Windows Phone enthusiast, so I just really wanted to go back to that vibe. It took a decent amount of time to get it set up and exactly how I wanted. Worth a try if you want something different.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ss.squarehome2

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[โ€“] Pyroglyph@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I technically use the stock launcher... from my first ever Android, the OnePlus One. It used to ship with CyanogenMod preinstalled, which had the Trebuchet launcher. I got used to that, so when CM died I found Evie on the Play Store which is a port of Trebuchet. I still use it to this day!

[โ€“] Graphine@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I'm pretty much forced to use the Samsung launcher as I can't live without the gestures. I've tried multiple launchers and the gestures are always broken in some form or fashion.

But...using Goodlock has made it bearable.

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