Sorry if this topic has already been discussed, but I read so many reviews of android smartphones which complain about bad overlays & bloatware. I understand the individual brands are trying to differentiate but it seems it largely backfires - in terms of user experience and late/non-existent OS updates. If that's the case, I really don't understand why there aren't more brands that sell stock Android phones or keep their software additions to a bare minimum such as Motorola/Moto. Having said that, which is your favorite Android skin and why?
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which skin do you prefer (or none at all)?
- Thread starter wadia13
- Start date
I've got a Moto and I've had Nexus. First thing added is Nova Launcher to clean off the screen. The second thing is to get into my photo album and get a picture I like and use that as wallpaper. Nova lets you change fonts and styles but leaves your wallpaper alone!
I have plenty of photos that mean something to me. Nothing that any company puts out can do that.
The less stuff on the phone, the easier it is to clean it off the desktop.
I have plenty of photos that mean something to me. Nothing that any company puts out can do that.
The less stuff on the phone, the easier it is to clean it off the desktop.
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None (or minimal) for me. I have a Moto X Pure and it's perfect as far as that goes, almost pure vanilla Android and that's what I like. I don't need someone else's idea of what I need, I'll add my own apps/functions 
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That is a highly personal thing:
I use Nova Prime launcher and a solid Black Wallpaper....
no designs, no gestures, no waving hands, nada....
KISS is my theme, and it never changes.... no matter what phone I pick up, that is why I like Nova Launcher.
A single backup of the homescreens will load up onto any Android phone, and they all work for me identically.
I use Nova Prime launcher and a solid Black Wallpaper....
no designs, no gestures, no waving hands, nada....
KISS is my theme, and it never changes.... no matter what phone I pick up, that is why I like Nova Launcher.
A single backup of the homescreens will load up onto any Android phone, and they all work for me identically.
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Yup. While I do like some stuff Samsung puts in their phones (multiwindow, smart stay, the edge panels), I prefer my customized Nova on top of it.
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K
KOLIO
Guest
I like the mfgs added features vs Nexus phones,but,no matter which device,I find the U/I is Android's Achilles Heel.
If Google would just buy Apex or Nova Launcher & be done w/it,I think most would be quite pleased & the mfgs would just stick to adding features instead of gagging us with their weak & featureless U/I's.
If Google would just buy Apex or Nova Launcher & be done w/it,I think most would be quite pleased & the mfgs would just stick to adding features instead of gagging us with their weak & featureless U/I's.
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Another vote for Nova Prime. I also prefer a more minimalist home screen.
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Nova Prime user here but frankly they (The OEMs) are getting much better with their own skin systems. Heck I liked the original Touchwiz but Nova could just do more.
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Yes, I used Touchwiz completely for several years, and I got along with it, although with a lot of frustration because I could not modify its' features as much as I liked.
Then I joined this forum somewhere down the road, and learned "about launchers", which at first, was something scary that "might break" my Android
Once I got over that little hangup, I have never looked back, and tried several launchers back and forth to see how I liked their interface....
When the learning curve was behind me with launchers, I settled on Nova Prime and for the last 2 or 3 years just simply have not even bothered to look at a different launcher... why break what works for me?
Then I joined this forum somewhere down the road, and learned "about launchers", which at first, was something scary that "might break" my Android
Once I got over that little hangup, I have never looked back, and tried several launchers back and forth to see how I liked their interface....
When the learning curve was behind me with launchers, I settled on Nova Prime and for the last 2 or 3 years just simply have not even bothered to look at a different launcher... why break what works for me?
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I used to go pure AOSP at the first opportunity. The last few years though HTC's Sense skin has been light enough that I've not felt the need (and the HTC dialer is definitely better than the Google one in my opinion).
I do however use 3rd party launchers, email, messages, calendar, browser, music, gallery etc rather than the built-in ones. But I also don't use the Google versions of any of those things, so would be doing this on a Nexus just as much as on a manufacturer-skinned device. Hence the skin isn't such a bit deal to me either way: to me the advantage of a Nexus would be the development community and the software support rather than the "purity" of the OS.
I am not impressed by Samsung's Touchwiz software on my tablet (app reloads are much more common than on my phone despite the tablet having 1.5 times as much RAM), but as the S-Pen support in AOSP ROMs is weak, and that feature is the main reason I own it, I put up with this.
I do however use 3rd party launchers, email, messages, calendar, browser, music, gallery etc rather than the built-in ones. But I also don't use the Google versions of any of those things, so would be doing this on a Nexus just as much as on a manufacturer-skinned device. Hence the skin isn't such a bit deal to me either way: to me the advantage of a Nexus would be the development community and the software support rather than the "purity" of the OS.
I am not impressed by Samsung's Touchwiz software on my tablet (app reloads are much more common than on my phone despite the tablet having 1.5 times as much RAM), but as the S-Pen support in AOSP ROMs is weak, and that feature is the main reason I own it, I put up with this.
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Every device I use has Nova installed, even when I'm running an AOSP ROM.
I've not used a handset running Sense in a while, but they've done a lot of good things with their UI of late (apparently) and from screenshots and reviews etc, I like what they have done.
Straight out of the box, my favourite skin would probably be Sonys. Pretty close to stock Android, but with enough additions to be useful without calling it bloat.
The only Samsung I've used is an SGS3 Mini for work and it's terrible, but Touchwiz has come a long way since SGS3 Mini was released but I still don't really like what I see.
The UI on my G4 was pretty much the main reason I rooted and installed Xposed, it's utterly hideous. Whoever decided bright, flourescent blue was a good design choice needs to go back to design school. You can "theme" their stock launcher, but the "themes" are nothing more than rudimentary icon packs and a couple of widgets. The Neon disco remains throughout the rest of the settings menu, notification pull down etc. Terrible.
I've not used a handset running Sense in a while, but they've done a lot of good things with their UI of late (apparently) and from screenshots and reviews etc, I like what they have done.
Straight out of the box, my favourite skin would probably be Sonys. Pretty close to stock Android, but with enough additions to be useful without calling it bloat.
The only Samsung I've used is an SGS3 Mini for work and it's terrible, but Touchwiz has come a long way since SGS3 Mini was released but I still don't really like what I see.
The UI on my G4 was pretty much the main reason I rooted and installed Xposed, it's utterly hideous. Whoever decided bright, flourescent blue was a good design choice needs to go back to design school. You can "theme" their stock launcher, but the "themes" are nothing more than rudimentary icon packs and a couple of widgets. The Neon disco remains throughout the rest of the settings menu, notification pull down etc. Terrible.
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I've used Sense on the HTC Desire Z, TouchWiz on the GS3 and now pure Android on my 6P. There are things in each that I like.
Sense had some great widgets. The substitutes I use now are not as good. Sense also merges contacts much better than the other phones I used. It does it in the background and asks you which to merge, so I don't have to manually do it.
TW has great voice actions. I miss being able to turn off or snooze my alarm by speaking instead of fumbling with the phone.
Pure Android has that nice simplicity feel. I don't need a lot of sophistication for many things.
Sense had some great widgets. The substitutes I use now are not as good. Sense also merges contacts much better than the other phones I used. It does it in the background and asks you which to merge, so I don't have to manually do it.
TW has great voice actions. I miss being able to turn off or snooze my alarm by speaking instead of fumbling with the phone.
Pure Android has that nice simplicity feel. I don't need a lot of sophistication for many things.
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