The only damage the whole Nova Launcher thing does is mostly sentimental. Nowadays, there are plenty of launchers to choose from, all with some great degrees of customizability. Here are my top picks:
Kvaesitso - my current pick. It’s not the most flexible on this list, but I generally find more and more ways I could integrate it in my personal life. And the font pick is just great.
Lucid Launcher - another top pick of mine that is not relied on AOSP. Goes more like a vertical scroll than a horizontal one. Used it on my tablet for as long as it lived, almost.
KISS Launcher - If you want to Keep It Simple, Stupid. It’s all just a search bar. That’s it. Search for everything you need and when you’re done, you’re done.
Niagara Launcher - also minimalist, but more functional. Didn’t really get the hang of it just yet, not sure if I will. Kvaesitso is quite cool.
AIO Launcher - let’s just call it the best strike between minimalist and functional, ok?
Lens launcher - for when you want to be so minimalist you put all your apps on the home screen
ap15 launcher - same as Lens but there are only labels instead of icons
Total launcher - goes the opposite way. Probably the most customizable on this list. Really great once you get the hang of it.
Square home - if you used a Windows phone, you know what this is about. If you did not, you will know (alternative implementation, Mur)
Microsoft Launcher - as the name implies, it’s Microsoft’s current attempt at a phone launcher. Really useful, especially if you are invested in Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Plus there are plenty more others that I didn’t get to test really much, such as Smart launcher, Action launcher, hyperion etc. However, the most hyped in this thread seems to be Lawnchair. Looks like it follows Nova the closest among the open source picks.
Really, there’s no point in worrying about this. I’m also sad to see Nova go, especially since it was that popular. But there’s that. The launcher landscape is the one I worry the less in Android.
I’ve been using android since 2007. Nova allowed me to stick with the old school UI paradigm of dock and app drawer… nova was so good, that i set up my homescreen in 2013 and basically never touched the settings again until i migrated a new phone…
All these new launchers break my 20 yr old workflow… i dont like the “everything is a search bar” thing
Same here. Been using Android since 2010. Currently running KISS for the last few months, but it doesn’t quite work with my muscle memory. I don’t want to type things to find them when I can just open the app drawer, or drop a shortcut on the desktop.
I feel the same. I like having my desktop with easy to reach commonly used apps, and a few widgets, such at a Google calendar widget and my keep notes. And I want all the things in the exact spot I put them, so I can build muscle memory to go where I want. The dock is not so necessary as long as I can have enough icons on the desktop. And then I want an app drawer, where I can divide it into tabs, one for regular apps and one for games.
The closest I could find are either:
Lawnchair launcher, but it’s missing the drawer tabs (it has folders though)
Pear Launcher, it has everything, but unfortunately it doesn’t remove the games from the main apps tab when I add them to a games tab…
Pear Launcher has them but calls them “App Groups”. But as I said, the missing piece is to hide them from the main tab when they have been added to another tab
@9488fcea02a9 hmm, didn’t lawnchair also have an app drawer and a dock? Or other similar launchers like Microsoft, action, hyperion etc.? There are plenty more AOSP based launchers in the Play Store.
I use Smart Launcher! I picked it up a few years ago, after Nova was sold. Nowadays I’d probably focus on a FOSS launcher, but at the time I didn’t care about such things. That said, the app sorting into categories within the app drawer is super nice, and I love it a lot. Everything else about the app is pretty fine, though I am disappointed at how it can lag when I’m trying to switch between apps or the home screen. I’m pretty cozy with it so I’m reluctant to change but I probably will on my next phone.
Hard disagree!
The only damage the whole Nova Launcher thing does is mostly sentimental. Nowadays, there are plenty of launchers to choose from, all with some great degrees of customizability. Here are my top picks:
Really, there’s no point in worrying about this. I’m also sad to see Nova go, especially since it was that popular. But there’s that. The launcher landscape is the one I worry the less in Android.
None of these are a good replacement for nova.
I’ve been using android since 2007. Nova allowed me to stick with the old school UI paradigm of dock and app drawer… nova was so good, that i set up my homescreen in 2013 and basically never touched the settings again until i migrated a new phone…
All these new launchers break my 20 yr old workflow… i dont like the “everything is a search bar” thing
Same here. Been using Android since 2010. Currently running KISS for the last few months, but it doesn’t quite work with my muscle memory. I don’t want to type things to find them when I can just open the app drawer, or drop a shortcut on the desktop.
Huh lawn chair can remove all the search bars.
Lawnchair is great in many aspects, but it doesn’t play nice with PWAs.
I feel the same. I like having my desktop with easy to reach commonly used apps, and a few widgets, such at a Google calendar widget and my keep notes. And I want all the things in the exact spot I put them, so I can build muscle memory to go where I want. The dock is not so necessary as long as I can have enough icons on the desktop. And then I want an app drawer, where I can divide it into tabs, one for regular apps and one for games.
The closest I could find are either:
Lawnchair launcher, but it’s missing the drawer tabs (it has folders though)
Pear Launcher, it has everything, but unfortunately it doesn’t remove the games from the main apps tab when I add them to a games tab…
Drawer tabs is really what i want
Cant find any modern launcher with tabs
Pear Launcher has them but calls them “App Groups”. But as I said, the missing piece is to hide them from the main tab when they have been added to another tab
@9488fcea02a9 hmm, didn’t lawnchair also have an app drawer and a dock? Or other similar launchers like Microsoft, action, hyperion etc.? There are plenty more AOSP based launchers in the Play Store.
No tabs in the app drawer… just all your apps on one page and have to scroll all the way down to find wikipedia, for example
@9488fcea02a9 bummer. I was hoping one had an implementation like this.
I personally recommend Multi Launcher, which is KISS with just a few more features that stay out of your way if you don’t want them
I use Smart Launcher! I picked it up a few years ago, after Nova was sold. Nowadays I’d probably focus on a FOSS launcher, but at the time I didn’t care about such things. That said, the app sorting into categories within the app drawer is super nice, and I love it a lot. Everything else about the app is pretty fine, though I am disappointed at how it can lag when I’m trying to switch between apps or the home screen. I’m pretty cozy with it so I’m reluctant to change but I probably will on my next phone.
Hey thanks for the list!