6 ms·

Guess it's time to find a new launcher then. Suggestions?

jayknight 1y ago
I've been using lawnchair, and I like it's simplicity. They're latest "real" released version is from 2018, but not long ago they jumped from Version 14-beta3 to 15-beta1. I can't say I understand their development philosophy, but the product is pretty decent with an occasional issue. I have had some intermittent problems with widgets on this latest beta. https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair
- spiffytech 1y ago
  I've been using Lawnchair 14 for a while now and it works well. I'm looking forward to some of the features in v15, but no complaints.
_DeadFred_ 1y ago
I like Niagra. I'm bummed Sesame got bought by these guys and stopped updating for no ultimate reason.
flax 1y ago
I looked at several yesterday. I landed on Action Launcher because it has a scrollable dock and infinite scrolling homepages. It lacks tabs in the app drawer, but it does let you create folders there. Hyperion seemed to have all necessary features, but the UI was unintuitive and the documentation non-existent. I also liked Lynx, but that would be a major change for me.
rpdillon 1y ago
Long time KISS user. Highly recommend, as it makes my app use far more intentional.
- branon 1y ago
  Seconded, KISS is great, haven't found anything better
- arcanemachiner 1y ago
  Same, I think I've been using it for like a decade now. I like that I have to consciously type in who j app I want to open. Prevents me from spacing out and opening reddit out of pure habit.
  - rpdillon 1y ago
    A million times this. Getting rid of the grid of icons changes everything! I can also find specific apps really fast.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
Scene_Cast2 1y ago
I like Lynx launcher, and would switch to Kvaesito if Lynx wasn't available.
- grepex 1y ago
  I had not heard of Lynx, but I am a big fan of Kvaesitso. Looks like I'll need to give Lynx a try! https://www.lynxlauncher.de/ https://www.lynxlauncher.de/
saltcured 1y ago
Everyone has different needs, so all these recommendations without any explanation are frustrating. My reason to use Nova before was: - REMOVE search bar from home screen, unlike the Pixel launcher - Have the usual, customizable row of quick launchers across the bottom - Have basic app drawer and background apps gestures pull up from bottom - Add a couple basic widgets like Calendar and clock to home screen, or other app shortcuts - Minimal permissions, no ads, no network-based features Based on this, I just started trying out Fossify Launcher Beta, installed from F-Droid. It seems OK so far. My only complaint is that there seem to be multiple gestures that open up a Launcher menu, and I wish this was limited to just long press on the home screen background.
- toast0 1y ago
  Fossify Launcher looks to fit my needs, maybe. I can't see how to make the app list a button instead of having to drag up (I am anti-gesture. The only gesture I want to make in connection with a computer is obscene) Also having some issues getting widgets on there... But Android is Android, so I'm sure it's not Fossify Launcher's fault, I had the widget I wanted and then I removed it cause I wanted a different size, and it won't add again. A restart will probably help. (Spoiler: it didn't) Would also be nice if I could make widgets 2.5 columns wide. I like a 5 wide screen, but I want two widgets to share the screen width.
  - saltcured 1y ago
    Yeah I resisted gestures but gave up when I found that enabling legacy nav buttons seemed to make things unreliable for me. Maybe when I first switched to Nova? I also noticed that the widget editing is a bit clumsy with resizing on Fossify Launcher. It seems like there is some hidden state where long-press doesn't quite work the same way after some interaction. But I was able make progress after going through several other interactions like opening the menu via back gesture from home screen, locking and unlocking the screen, etc. I don't know if it is Android or the launcher itself that makes the widget sizing so annoying. It seems to have a different bounding box for the resizing tool than what is actually rendered, so I end up with way more dead space around the widgets than I wanted.
- 1y ago
wonger_ 1y ago
I've been using the ultra-minimal pie menu launcher for ~1 year: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.markusfisch.android.pielauncher/ https://f-droid.org/packages/de.markusfisch.android.pielaunc... Makes opening go-to apps faster, but opening anything else slower. Worth it imo
- onli 1y ago
  I use that one as well and really like it. Exactly what pie menus are good at.
lillesvin 1y ago
I've been using the super minimalistic 0launcher (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&hl=en-US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&...) for about a year now. Besides being a good, very simple, minimalistic launcher, it's also Open Source (https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher), ad-free, and collects and shares no data.
- ignoramous 1y ago
  > collects and shares no data If the developer is building the code that's on GitHub, it is curious why AppGoblin flags the Play Store version for using Firebase: https://appgoblin.info/apps/app.olauncher/data-flows https://appgoblin.info/apps/app.olauncher/data-flows
  - tanujnotes 1y ago
    [Olauncher dev here] There's no Firebase integration in the Olauncher and never was. It literally collects no data. The releases on the Play Store, F-Droid and Github releases [APK] are all built from the same codebase, which is available on Github. Not sure why it's flagged.
    - lillesvin 1y ago
      Hey, man! Thanks for the awesome launcher. It's made my phone so much more useful to me. It finally feels like the tool it is. Is there any way to support the development — financially or otherwise?
      - tanujnotes 1y ago
        Thank you! You can get the pro version or by me a coffee. Pro Launcher: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7198807840081074933 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=719880784008107493... BMAC: https://buymeacoffee.com/tanujnotes https://buymeacoffee.com/tanujnotes
- wltr 1y ago
grepex 1y ago
Kvaesitso! I've been using it for about two years. It takes a little bit getting used to a search based launcher but once you've gotten used to it, everything is so quick. Speed up animation speeds to 0.5x in dev settings and man it's like doing kung fu with your finger tips. https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/ https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/
- lawn 1y ago
  I was initially dismissing Kvaesitso because it was so different but I've since come to appreciate and really enjoy it. I'd recommend you to at least try it for a while before you slam down the opinionated hammer.
jdmichal 1y ago
I use Square Home. Because I still miss my Lumia 920, and this makes me feel a little better about it.
- calgoo 1y ago
  Same here, Square Home. I really liked the tiled interface for mobile (was crap for Windows). Tiles just feel natural for touch input.
t0bia_s 1y ago
https://kisslauncher.com/ https://kisslauncher.com/ Once you get used to it, you'll never get back to classic launchers.
- qustrolabe 1y ago
  Probably good for people who use like 3-5 apps at most on their phone, but I prefer grids of icons with folders
  - wingmanjd 1y ago
    FWIW, I also use KISS and I have a lot installed, maybe close to 100. I really like the intentionality of what I launch, and I find the "search for app" faster than folders.
  - t0bia_s 1y ago
    You can do folders via tags as well.
calgoo 1y ago
I use Square Home which looks like the old Microsoft tiles in windows 8 phone. I always found the the MS tiles worked really well on a phone and actually had it installed on a old android phone.
fcpk 1y ago
Any recommendations for a launcher close to the original android one, but that supports grouping? I find it so much more useful to group my apps by category. I use search most of the time, but sometimes I can't remember a name but I do remember the category and it comes useful. Also means recently apps are unclassified and can easily be separated.
- ajot 1y ago
  I use NeoLauncher for this same reason: sometimes I don't remember the name of whatever app I use once in a while (eg WLANScanner or Ning). It's available on IzzyOnDroid, though I installed the GitHub release. It does have some bugs, every now and then it freezes and you need to go to the Apps submenu in Configuration to restart it. https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Launcher https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Launcher

I've been using lawnchair, and I like it's simplicity. They're latest "real" released version is from 2018, but not long ago they jumped from Version 14-beta3 to 15-beta1. I can't say I understand their development philosophy, but the product is pretty decent with an occasional issue. I have had some intermittent problems with widgets on this latest beta. https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair

spiffytech 1y ago
I've been using Lawnchair 14 for a while now and it works well. I'm looking forward to some of the features in v15, but no complaints.

_DeadFred_ 1y ago

I like Niagra. I'm bummed Sesame got bought by these guys and stopped updating for no ultimate reason.

flax 1y ago

I looked at several yesterday. I landed on Action Launcher because it has a scrollable dock and infinite scrolling homepages. It lacks tabs in the app drawer, but it does let you create folders there. Hyperion seemed to have all necessary features, but the UI was unintuitive and the documentation non-existent. I also liked Lynx, but that would be a major change for me.

rpdillon 1y ago

Long time KISS user. Highly recommend, as it makes my app use far more intentional.

branon 1y ago
Seconded, KISS is great, haven't found anything better
arcanemachiner 1y ago
Same, I think I've been using it for like a decade now. I like that I have to consciously type in who j app I want to open. Prevents me from spacing out and opening reddit out of pure habit.
- rpdillon 1y ago
  A million times this. Getting rid of the grid of icons changes everything! I can also find specific apps really fast.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

Scene_Cast2 1y ago

I like Lynx launcher, and would switch to Kvaesito if Lynx wasn't available.

grepex 1y ago
I had not heard of Lynx, but I am a big fan of Kvaesitso. Looks like I'll need to give Lynx a try! https://www.lynxlauncher.de/ https://www.lynxlauncher.de/

saltcured 1y ago

Everyone has different needs, so all these recommendations without any explanation are frustrating. My reason to use Nova before was: - REMOVE search bar from home screen, unlike the Pixel launcher - Have the usual, customizable row of quick launchers across the bottom - Have basic app drawer and background apps gestures pull up from bottom - Add a couple basic widgets like Calendar and clock to home screen, or other app shortcuts - Minimal permissions, no ads, no network-based features Based on this, I just started trying out Fossify Launcher Beta, installed from F-Droid. It seems OK so far. My only complaint is that there seem to be multiple gestures that open up a Launcher menu, and I wish this was limited to just long press on the home screen background.

toast0 1y ago
Fossify Launcher looks to fit my needs, maybe. I can't see how to make the app list a button instead of having to drag up (I am anti-gesture. The only gesture I want to make in connection with a computer is obscene) Also having some issues getting widgets on there... But Android is Android, so I'm sure it's not Fossify Launcher's fault, I had the widget I wanted and then I removed it cause I wanted a different size, and it won't add again. A restart will probably help. (Spoiler: it didn't) Would also be nice if I could make widgets 2.5 columns wide. I like a 5 wide screen, but I want two widgets to share the screen width.
- saltcured 1y ago
  Yeah I resisted gestures but gave up when I found that enabling legacy nav buttons seemed to make things unreliable for me. Maybe when I first switched to Nova? I also noticed that the widget editing is a bit clumsy with resizing on Fossify Launcher. It seems like there is some hidden state where long-press doesn't quite work the same way after some interaction. But I was able make progress after going through several other interactions like opening the menu via back gesture from home screen, locking and unlocking the screen, etc. I don't know if it is Android or the launcher itself that makes the widget sizing so annoying. It seems to have a different bounding box for the resizing tool than what is actually rendered, so I end up with way more dead space around the widgets than I wanted.
1y ago

wonger_ 1y ago

I've been using the ultra-minimal pie menu launcher for ~1 year: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.markusfisch.android.pielauncher/ https://f-droid.org/packages/de.markusfisch.android.pielaunc... Makes opening go-to apps faster, but opening anything else slower. Worth it imo

onli 1y ago
I use that one as well and really like it. Exactly what pie menus are good at.

lillesvin 1y ago

I've been using the super minimalistic 0launcher (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&hl=en-US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&...) for about a year now. Besides being a good, very simple, minimalistic launcher, it's also Open Source (https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher), ad-free, and collects and shares no data.

ignoramous 1y ago
> collects and shares no data If the developer is building the code that's on GitHub, it is curious why AppGoblin flags the Play Store version for using Firebase: https://appgoblin.info/apps/app.olauncher/data-flows https://appgoblin.info/apps/app.olauncher/data-flows
- tanujnotes 1y ago
  [Olauncher dev here] There's no Firebase integration in the Olauncher and never was. It literally collects no data. The releases on the Play Store, F-Droid and Github releases [APK] are all built from the same codebase, which is available on Github. Not sure why it's flagged.
  - lillesvin 1y ago
    Hey, man! Thanks for the awesome launcher. It's made my phone so much more useful to me. It finally feels like the tool it is. Is there any way to support the development — financially or otherwise?
    - tanujnotes 1y ago
      Thank you! You can get the pro version or by me a coffee. Pro Launcher: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7198807840081074933 https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=719880784008107493... BMAC: https://buymeacoffee.com/tanujnotes https://buymeacoffee.com/tanujnotes
wltr 1y ago

grepex 1y ago

Kvaesitso! I've been using it for about two years. It takes a little bit getting used to a search based launcher but once you've gotten used to it, everything is so quick. Speed up animation speeds to 0.5x in dev settings and man it's like doing kung fu with your finger tips. https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/ https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/

lawn 1y ago
I was initially dismissing Kvaesitso because it was so different but I've since come to appreciate and really enjoy it. I'd recommend you to at least try it for a while before you slam down the opinionated hammer.

jdmichal 1y ago

I use Square Home. Because I still miss my Lumia 920, and this makes me feel a little better about it.

calgoo 1y ago
Same here, Square Home. I really liked the tiled interface for mobile (was crap for Windows). Tiles just feel natural for touch input.

t0bia_s 1y ago

https://kisslauncher.com/ https://kisslauncher.com/ Once you get used to it, you'll never get back to classic launchers.

qustrolabe 1y ago
Probably good for people who use like 3-5 apps at most on their phone, but I prefer grids of icons with folders
- wingmanjd 1y ago
  FWIW, I also use KISS and I have a lot installed, maybe close to 100. I really like the intentionality of what I launch, and I find the "search for app" faster than folders.
- t0bia_s 1y ago
  You can do folders via tags as well.

calgoo 1y ago

I use Square Home which looks like the old Microsoft tiles in windows 8 phone. I always found the the MS tiles worked really well on a phone and actually had it installed on a old android phone.

fcpk 1y ago

Any recommendations for a launcher close to the original android one, but that supports grouping? I find it so much more useful to group my apps by category. I use search most of the time, but sometimes I can't remember a name but I do remember the category and it comes useful. Also means recently apps are unclassified and can easily be separated.

ajot 1y ago
I use NeoLauncher for this same reason: sometimes I don't remember the name of whatever app I use once in a while (eg WLANScanner or Ning). It's available on IzzyOnDroid, though I installed the GitHub release. It does have some bugs, every now and then it freezes and you need to go to the Apps submenu in Configuration to restart it. https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Launcher https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Launcher