Launcher suggestions

Bodestone · May 27, 2020

I have used Next Launcher for years (Go Launcher back on the Note 1 Days).
The Note 8 warned that it was designed for older Android but it still ran. Note 10+ No. The icons wont align on the homescreen along with a host of other issues.

I switched to Nova. The problem is it will not let me individually change the icon display.
I'm not so fussed about icons in the folder but in the dock I want consistancy.
I can change the icon pack to a clean white pack but there is no icon for everything so my SMS app is not clean.

Does anyone know a launcher that offers Nova like performance and settings plus individual (or at least per dock icon) mapping.

Oh, Cube screen transition is a must have.

kokiangel · May 27, 2020

Try ADW Launcher. It was redesigned a couple years ago and there is a bit of a learning curve to getting things tweaked but you can customize Icons as well as docks and clocks so your phone fits you.I love the analog clock I created and have added fun backgrounds to it such as a sun as part of the clock face itself.

ocnbrze · May 27, 2020

nova is my go to launcher.....much like adw there are tons of customization. i love nova's transitions and the different effects while scrolling thru the homescreens and app drawer. i tried adw many times, but i keep going back to nova. probably will not change in the near future.

edit: for me i have never messed with icons....cuz i like what it comes with.

Bodestone · May 27, 2020

I really, really want a consistant set of white dock icons

Go/Next Launcher was the best of the best if you ignored its attempts at a 3d launcher. Yes that led to a little confusion on its miriad of configuration options but I miss it.
You could long press any Icon (I just used it for the dock) and reselect, pick theme, pick icon) Job done.

OK. ADW, Well done. You have failthfully recreated my Nova screens on launch with the exception of row/columns. I'll give you that.

Out of the box though, ugly as hell so let's see what we can do.
Basically I am trying to recreate my Next Launcher home screen I have had since the Note 1:

OK so the folders are still a little ugly and the dock needs a shrink and removal of the grey background.
I think I need to pay for both and am erring because Nova folders look much better than anything I can find in ADW but the individual icon theig might swing it if I can find the right ADW folder setting ( and a decent generic internet icon:

OH, and ADW really needs to be made more compatible with Dark Mode.

Will be back with a more detailed comparison with Nova once I have played more. Initial analasis is that ADW is more donfigurable but not as pretty.

Hadron · May 27, 2020

Bodestone said:
I have used Next Launcher for years (Go Launcher back on the Note 1 Days).
The Note 8 warned that it was designed for older Android but it still ran. Note 10+ No. The icons wont align on the homescreen along with a host of other issues.

I switched to Nova. The problem is it will not let me individually change the icon display

You can change individual icons in Nova. Press on the icon, either in the dock/homescreen or in the app drawer, and select "edit" from the pop-up options (the little pencil icon). Then in the "edit contact" dialogue tap the icon and select the one you want to use.

If you do this for the icon in the dock it will only change that icon. If you do it for the one in the app drawer it will also change the icon in the dock/on the homescreen (i.e. everywhere within Nova, but of course not in the system settings - no launcher can do that).

Bodestone · May 27, 2020

Hadron said:
You can change individual icons in Nova. Press on the icon, either in the dock/homescreen or in the app drawer, and select "edit" from the pop-up options (the little pencil icon). Then in the "edit contact" dialogue tap the icon and select the one you want to use.

If you do this for the icon in the dock it will only change that icon. If you do it for the one in the app drawer it will also change the icon in the dock/on the homescreen (i.e. everywhere within Nova, but of course not in the system settings - no launcher can do that).

Is that a paid thing then? It's default in ADW. I sent the Nova team an email 4 days ago asking if I would get the option to edit icons if I paid and if so I would. No response. I can currently only change the text.

I'll be back for breakfast.

Nevermind. Found it. I missed the whole "click on the icon" bit.

MrJavi · May 27, 2020

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidcentral.com/best-android-launchers?amp

Bodestone · May 27, 2020

Got it sorted in Nova. Will still play about with AWD though as it seems to gave some extra resizing options.
Went for Lined as my initial trial so:

Bodestone · May 28, 2020

I wish I had just found out how to change the icons in Nova without this thread. There are now aspects I like about ADW that Nova doesn't have and Vice Versa. I guess I have to explore them both exhaustively and post results as I go.

The clincher as to even continue to try for ADW is if I can find the option to set a black background for the dock.
All searches are bringing up 9 year old posts and I am getting brain crazy cicling through the menus and sub menus to where I think it should be. It's all well and good once you know but different assumptions are made on interface clarity.
Like Nova not having the text 'Edit' under the icon so you knew you could click to edit.

If anyone knows how I can remove the grey background on my ADW dock bar let me know. Otherwise Nova it is and no comparison done.

Bodestone · May 29, 2020

OK. I ended up paying for both as some things were available free in one and not the other. Due to the time spent fiddling I passed the refund time but it was just a few quid each, and there could be so much more investigation.

I'll not detail the how and where here but ask if interested:
I found the option to set the dock background in ADW to black in ADW which would have been a show stopper.
I found how to reduce the dock icon size in Nova which removed ADWs advantage there.
ADW had gestures in the free version but they are paid in Nova.

I have gone for Nova for the following reasons:

On ADW I have a moon widget overlayed over an earth widget on a secondary screen. Every time ADW restarts the moon widget vanishes behind the earth. According to Flash Gordon (1980) unprecedented eclipses are no cause for alarm but it would need me to go through ADW support to fix.
ADW's folders were just not as pretty. Nova's Aren't as good as Go/Next for look on the homescreen but folder open options are better on both ADW and Nova for the open folder.
Nova has the neat app search that lets you throw the query out to the play store.
Nova's app drawer is a little better with recently used apps at the top.

I fully realise that I am coming at this from an angle of being a little unsatisfied when things don't look quite like they have for years and that things must change so have tried to be impartial in my reasons for choosing Nova.
The exception will be point 2 on look and feel of the folders. I can see the appeal of ADW's look and the square option gets close to how I like it but that's purely subjective.

As far as I can tell they are pretty comparable launchers and it is all going to come down to personal preference.

I haven't tried Apex yet but might give it a rest for a while and if I do try new launchers it will just to see what the folders and dock look like.
So, only a small change from last time on nova but:

puppykickr · Jun 25, 2020

Bodestone said:
OK. I ended up paying for both as some things were available free in one and not the other. Due to the time spent fiddling I passed the refund time but it was just a few quid each, and there could be so much more investigation.

I'll not detail the how and where here but ask if interested:
I found the option to set the dock background in ADW to black in ADW which would have been a show stopper.
I found how to reduce the dock icon size in Nova which removed ADWs advantage there.
ADW had gestures in the free version but they are paid in Nova.

I have gone for Nova for the following reasons:

On ADW I have a moon widget overlayed over an earth widget on a secondary screen. Every time ADW restarts the moon widget vanishes behind the earth. According to Flash Gordon (1980) unprecedented eclipses are no cause for alarm but it would need me to go through ADW support to fix.

ADW's folders were just not as pretty. Nova's Aren't as good as Go/Next for look on the homescreen but folder open options are better on both ADW and Nova for the open folder.

Nova has the neat app search that lets you throw the query out to the play store.

Nova's app drawer is a little better with recently used apps at the top.

I fully realise that I am coming at this from an angle of being a little unsatisfied when things don't look quite like they have for years and that things must change so have tried to be impartial in my reasons for choosing Nova.
The exception will be point 2 on look and feel of the folders. I can see the appeal of ADW's look and the square option gets close to how I like it but that's purely subjective.

As far as I can tell they are pretty comparable launchers and it is all going to come down to personal preference.

I haven't tried Apex yet but might give it a rest for a while and if I do try new launchers it will just to see what the folders and dock look like.
So, only a small change from last time on nova but:

Apex was my favorite for a long while.
I even used to recommend it and install it onto phones I was setting up for people.

Notice that that is all past tense?

Apex is a great launcher, and is very customizeable, and even able to replicate many stock browsers.

But it is heavily laden with analytics and other useless Google crap.

I am not kidding.
The app uses about 30MB of RAM, which is pretty typical for a launcher.
But the analytics...
well, I found that 200MB of RAM was often consumed by my launcher.

In my mind, that is ridiculous.

So I was once again on a lengthy search for a launcher.

I, too, am picky about launchers. I have a short but specific set if needs from a launcher, and Iam amazed at how hard it is to find one that I like.

I finally settled on KISS.
It is a drastic change from what I was used to, but it is so much more effecient that I soon grew to love it.

It is extremely fast, small, and it learns your useage.

I know that it is nothing like you mentioned, but you may enjoy checking it out.

KISS Launcher (A blazingly fast launcher focused on search) - https://f-droid.org/app/fr.neamar.kiss

Bodestone · Jun 25, 2020

puppykickr said:
Apex was my favorite for a long while.
I even used to recommend it and install it onto phones I was setting up for people.

Notice that that is all past tense?

Apex is a great launcher, and is very customizeable, and even able to replicate many stock browsers.

But it is heavily laden with analytics and other useless Google crap.

I am not kidding.
The app uses about 30MB of RAM, which is pretty typical for a launcher.
But the analytics...
well, I found that 200MB of RAM was often consumed by my launcher.

In my mind, that is ridiculous.

So I was once again on a lengthy search for a launcher.

I, too, am picky about launchers. I have a short but specific set if needs from a launcher, and Iam amazed at how hard it is to find one that I like.

I finally settled on KISS.
It is a drastic change from what I was used to, but it is so much more effecient that I soon grew to love it.

It is extremely fast, small, and it learns your useage.

I know that it is nothing like you mentioned, but you may enjoy checking it out.

KISS Launcher (A blazingly fast launcher focused on search) - https://f-droid.org/app/fr.neamar.kiss

Thanks for the additional information there. It's always good to have alternatives.
As I say, I opted for Nova in the end which is only using 90MB which is a fair bit down there on the usage list.

Steven58 · Jun 25, 2020

I purchased Nova and used it on everything UNTIL my Note 8. I got weird, so I used Samsung stock. The Note 4 was last phone I used Nova on or any launcher for that matter.

puppykickr · Jun 25, 2020

Bodestone said:
Thanks for the additional information there. It's always good to have alternatives.
As I say, I opted for Nova in the end which is only using 90MB which is a fair bit down there on the usage list.

I use very limited devices, and I know that I did try/test Nova before.
But I don't remember why I didn't stick with it.
On low powered devices, it is a good bet that at least part of the reason was that 90 MB useage.

On my devices, KISS uses 17-30 MB.

Bodestone · Jun 26, 2020

Steven58 said:
I purchased Nova and used it on everything UNTIL my Note 8. I got weird, so I used Samsung stock. The Note 4 was last phone I used Nova on or any launcher for that matter.

I just can't live without my cube screen transition. It's silly I know but flat slidejust feels wrong.

Hadron · Jun 26, 2020

I personally find Nova's ability to have multiple dock pages and folders in the dock works better for me than anything else (easy, categorised access to my main apps without the clutter of icons and folders on the desktop or the extra steps of opening an app drawer and scrolling).

I actually turned off paging animations almost a decade ago. Amusing for a while, but ultimately distracting and unnecessary. A simple slide is enough (less jarring than just jumping, consistent with the swipe gesture). People's tastes vary.

puppykickr · Jun 26, 2020

@Bodestone
@Hadron

And Apex has these features.
It really is an amazing launcher.

If only it was open source!

As it is, after a fairly uncomfortable 24 hour transition, I latched onto KISS.

It was very strange and uncommon in function, but once I began sing it, I was hooked.

If it was what I had started with, all other launchers would seem difficult and odd.

Nothing can beat it for speed and simplicity once it is set up.

Bodestone · Jun 26, 2020

puppykickr said:
@Bodestone
@Hadron

And Apex has these features.
It really is an amazing launcher.

If only it was open source!

As it is, after a fairly uncomfortable 24 hour transition, I latched onto KISS.

It was very strange and uncommon in function, but once I began sing it, I was hooked.

If it was what I had started with, all other launchers would seem difficult and odd.

Nothing can beat it for speed and simplicity once it is set up.

Spot the salesman (or bot) for KISS. Still referencing Apex when this thread has discarded that for Nova several posts ago.

OK, maybe just a big fan and that it's on f-droid is a definate bonus. I may give it a go down the line but have my phone 95% how I like it just now and if KISS doesn't have cube (or other rotational rather than slide) screen transitions It's a no-go for me.

Bodestone · Jun 26, 2020

OK I have watched a couple of review vids. KISS is not for me by a longshot. It is good to have a mention of totally alternate lanchers though. Some may well find this to their liking.
I do see the Keep It Simple appeal but also have my own simple approach with main home screen having folders for fun, media, tools, work etc and another screen with world view and weather and another with a full screen calendar list.
With KISS the launcher is just a list of recent search results or a list of all your apps. Nothing more, no widgets, little in te way of customisation aside from colours.
I can see how this would appeal to some so it is good to see such a different suggestion but for me? No. I need my lovely 3 home screens.

Maybe others visiting will give it a go and maybe we can get even more suggestions for alternate launchers that work well on the Note10. Certainly nothing in "Best Launchers 2020" type reports hav wowed me enough to try them yet over the Apex/Nova comparison.

puppykickr · Jun 27, 2020

Bodestone said:
OK I have watched a couple of review vids. KISS is not for me by a longshot. It is good to have a mention of totally alternate lanchers though. Some may well find this to their liking.
I do see the Keep It Simple appeal but also have my own simple approach with main home screen having folders for fun, media, tools, work etc and another screen with world view and weather and another with a full screen calendar list.
With KISS the launcher is just a list of recent search results or a list of all your apps. Nothing more, no widgets, little in te way of customisation aside from colours.
I can see how this would appeal to some so it is good to see such a different suggestion but for me? No. I need my lovely 3 home screens.

Maybe others visiting will give it a go and maybe we can get even more suggestions for alternate launchers that work well on the Note10. Certainly nothing in "Best Launchers 2020" type reports hav wowed me enough to try them yet over the Apex/Nova comparison.

Actually, there are widgets.

And you dont need the list.

You can (or not) have a row of favorites that appears (or stays on constantly) at a touch.

That allows your widget(s) to appear withouta mess of other icons.

Folders are not needed, as you begin searching for what you want,

After it learns your habits, the apps, contacts, and other things (all your choice) are what appear first.

I told you that the first 24 hours were not easy for me.

But once I saw the great efficiency gain over other launchers I was sold on it.

Bodestone · Jun 27, 2020

Fair enough. I still don't want to part with my screen transitions though:

Hadron · Jun 27, 2020

I've never been a big fan of search-based interfaces, but I've been using Nova for a long time so may give it a spin just to see.

Back in the days I used to use both Apex and Nova, alternating them when I wanted to experiment with layouts (developing on one while using the other). But I've not really changed my layout at all for a couple of years (icon packs or what is in the folders, but nothing more).

Edit: no, not for me. I've reduced to 3 home pages in recent years but that is the minimum to fit the widgets I use. And I'm not fond of systems which try to learn from my usage and suggest any part of the layout based on that. But I do feel it's time I played with alternative setups again - just the barrier gets higher when you have something that works well.

Bodestone · Jun 27, 2020

Bodestone said:
Fair enough. I still don't want to part with my screen transitions though:

Any idea why the image is not working? All I get is the text [IMG)

Hadron · Jun 27, 2020

How are you inserting it? Link or file upload?

Bodestone · Jun 27, 2020

Hadron said:
How are you inserting it? Link or file upload?

I only see an option to link to an inage URL. This is a dropbox link.

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