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!

  • Fisch@lemmy.ml
    3·
    2 years ago

    I use Kvæsitso. I like that it’s more search focused and has a clean homescreen with just the clock and a search bar. You can scroll up to see widgets arranged vertically or scroll up to show the app drawer. It also looks nice because it supports the new Android design (Material v3) and dynamic colors. It also supports dynamically colored app icons like lawnicons and has an option to color all other icons as well.

  • Funderpants @lemmy.ca
    1·
    2 years ago

    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

    • arcrust@lemmy.ml
      0·
      2 years ago

      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.

  • Vilian@lemmy.ca
    1·
    2 years ago

    Kvaesitso, it’s simple, beautiful but has a lot of functionality, customizable and open-source :)

    • Cynber@lemmy.ca
      1·
      2 years ago

      I’ve been using Nova Launcher for years now, but I explored other options a few months ago because of the ownership change. Lawnchair was the best one I found, but I didn’t switch to it because it looked like it was missing features I needed. Folders was an important one.

      Which version / source are you using for the app? I got a bit lost trying to find a recent version. The last release on the GitHub is from 2018, and the last prerelease is from a year ago. There’s also an issue for the folders which I was following, and it actually just went stale: https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair/issues/2471

      I also see Lawnchair2, but that looked like a fork or something

  • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    I’ve used Action Launcher for something like a decade now. I love it, because it allows you to use folders with a “default” up. If you click on the folder, it launches the default app for the folder, but if you slide up on it, then you can see all of the apps in the folder to access them.

    However, it doesn’t work well on my zfold, so I’ve had to retire it. I’m still looking for a good alternative

  • arthur@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    Niagara for my phone, just a simple short list of most used apps, the time and climate as front. I like the minimalism on the small screen.

    For my tablet, I use Action Launcher. It have some nice features like a easily accessable (by gesture) alphabetically ordered list of apps.

    • loutr@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      Niagara is awesome. It’s the best launcher by far if you want something to access your apps as quickly as possible, while still looking good and providing a couple of relevant info like the weather or media playing.

    • rishabh@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      2 years ago

      What I really like about Niagra is that the whole app drawer is on your finger tips. One just intuitively starts holding a certain point on screen which will roughly open the alphabet with which the app you are looking for starts.

    • Carter@feddit.ukEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      I forgot Action Launcher even existed. I used to use it years ago. Just downloaded it again and it’s certainly changed over the years.

  • ToNIX@lemm.ee
    0·
    2 years ago

    Another +1 for KISS, it’s such an amazing launcher. I’m actually surprised to see it mentionned so much in this thread.

    I have my 5 most used app on top of the search bar and my most used apps (that get automatically sorted by usage) readily accessible. The search feature + tags is so powerful, there’s no need to scroll through the apps anymore when looking for something.

    • CCatMan@lemmy.one
      01·
      2 years ago

      This launcher is what I loved about the search bar on windows 7. I would just type in the app I wanted and it would open…

  • N-E-N@lemmy.ca
    0·
    2 years ago

    I refuse to use Pixel Launcher until I can remove the Google search bar

    I’d also like to be able to change my icons. I use Nova atm

  • ReallyZen@lemmy.ml
    0·
    2 years ago

    I use KISS. it’s super minimalistic, allows fro hiding all the unremovable crap all phones come with today, and is basically a search bar with 5 icons on top. I have my Proton Calendar as the sole widget and that’s it. Single screen, no fuss.

  • bloopernova@infosec.pub
    0·
    2 years ago

    Pixel 6 pro. I use Nova launcher. It works great and is very customizable, especially with icon placement. I recommend it.