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!

  • Funderpants @lemmy.ca
    0·
    1 year 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·
      1 year 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.

  • bloopernova@infosec.pub
    0·
    1 year ago

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

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
      0·
      1 year ago

      Sadly Nova was purchased by a Chinese company with a history of invasive data harvesting last year.

      • manned_meatball@lemmy.ml
        0·
        1 year ago

        I had premium up until a year ago, but I can’t recommend it anymore after their purchase.

        Choose open source, people.

          • virtueless@sh.itjust.works
            0·
            1 year ago

            FYI, you can download a version from before the acquisition. I’m running the 7.0.25 release and restricting network access on both the base app and the premium license. Not sure if it’s foolproof, but hopefully I find a launcher that does app drawer tabs at least as well.

            • dangrousperson@feddit.de
              0·
              1 year ago

              Can you give any more detail on this? I really like Nova and was really sad when it was purchased. I’ve tried a couple different launchers, but I don’t like any of them as much as I liked nova. How did you get the old app? Just off some APK website? And then just install the license from Playstore? Or is there someway to download old versions from the play store? How are you restricting it’s internet access? Would live to try this and get back my Nova launcher .

  • Noah Jorgensen@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    1 year ago

    I’m loving my paid version of Nova. there’s a great free version if you wanna try it out too and there’s a crazy amount of customization. I’m on a Pixel 5a right now and with the Pix Material You Light/Dark icons it’s quite nice. I do think the default Pixel Launcher is more polished, but Nova just has so many options that I’ve gotten used to enjoying.

    • Cynber@lemmy.ca
      0·
      1 year 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

  • philpo@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    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 (7€ here) is absolutely reasonable. `

      • philpo@feddit.de
        0·
        1 year ago

        Mainly the stance towards customers that inquired about data hoarding after the sell out.

      • philpo@feddit.de
        0·
        1 year ago

        Nova has been absolutely aggressive towards customers asking about data transfer after they sold out towards a company that is heavily into data hoarding.

        • Laticauda@lemmy.ca
          0·
          1 year ago

          How have they been aggressive? I keep hearing this but haven’t been given any examples. When I look the issue up it says that Nova has said they won’t force any data gathering and anything that gets added to the launcher will be optional.

  • theshatterstone54@feddit.uk
    0·
    1 year ago

    I use Niagara Launcher, because it’s minimal and quite comfy.

    EDIT: The latest update (that I just applied) has put a lot of the features I use (custom font, battery percentage) behind a paywall. I will be looking for alternatives.

      • MaggiWuerze@feddit.de
        0·
        1 year ago

        10€ per year or 30€ for a one time payment seems a bit steep for a launcher, especially when it is more on the slim side feature wise

  • Mr_Vortex@lemmy.sdf.org
    0·
    1 year ago

    I use Niagara with a live wallpaper called Wallow. It just creates a beautiful and simplified experience for me that has all the features I need and gets out of my way when I don’t.