The Big List of Home Launchers - June 8, 2013

[Scur]

Launchers are listed by minimum Android version needed. The list was getting rather populated and it needed a new way of being organised, as well as split into separate posts.

If you know of any new ones, bad links, incorrect info, etc. let me know and I'll edit the list and throw you a thanks! Any guides or mods are more than welcome to edit as needed.

The Big List of Home Launchers - Varied, Jelly Bean,
Ice Cream Sandwich, Honeycomb, Gingerbread, Froyo


Varies With Device

Free

• Bazooka Launcher varies with device
  
• Yandex.Shell (Launcher+Dialer) varies with device

Paid

• no paid launcher listed with a minimum requirement that varies by device

Jelly Bean

Free

• 4A Launcher off-market, 4.1 and up
• Galaxy S4 Launcher off-market, 4.1 and up
• LG ui 3 off-market, 4.2 and up
• SickSky Launcher (beta) 4.1 and up

Paid

• no paid launcher listed with Jelly Bean as a minimum requirement

Ice Cream Sandwich

Free

• 3D Home 4.0 and up
• Action Launcher Pro 4.0.3 and up
• Advanced Xperia Z Launcher off-market, 4.0.3 and up
• Android 4.1 Jellybean Launcher 4.0.3 and up
• Apex Launcher 4.0 and up
• Arikui Launcher 4.0.3 and up
• Atom Launcher 4.0 and up
• Buzz Launcher Beta 4.0.3 and up
• Dodol Launcher 4.0.3 to 4.1
• elementary Home (Beta) 4.0 and up
• Espier Launcher 4 4.0 and up
• Everything.me Launcher (Beta) 4.0 and up
• Facebook Home 4.0 and up
• Facebook Home "unlocked" + Messenger with *working* chat heads & SMS off-market, 4.0 and up
• Flade 4.0 and up
• GMDYO Launcher (Free) 4.0 and up
• GT Launcher Prime Free 4.0 and up
• Hax Launcher Beta 4.0.3 and up
• HD 3D Launcher 4.0 and up
• Holo Launcher HD 4.0 and up
• LG UI 3.0 off-market, 4.0.4 to 4.1.2
• MIUI v4 Launcher off-market, 4.0 and up
• Moto Droid Razr M Launcher with Clock off-market, 4.0.4 and up
• MoToBlUr LaUnChEr eXtreme off-market, 4.0 and up
• Nova Launcher 4.0 and up
• SF Launcher Beta 4.0 and up
• Solo Launcher - Swift & Smart 4.0 and up
• Splay Launcher 4.0 and up
• Tile Launcher 4.0 and up
• Trebuchet Launcher off-market, 4.0.1 and up
• Ubuntu Launcher (Beta) 4.0 and up
• Windows 8 Metro Launcher BETA 4.0 and up
• Xperia Launcher off-market, 4.0.3 and up
• XPERIA S Home Launcher 1.2.7 off-market, 4.0.3 and up
• Xperia Z Car Launcher off-market, 4.0 and up
• Xperia Z Launcher off-market, 4.0 and up

Paid

• Action Launcher Pro 4.0.3 and up
• Apex Launcher Pro 4.0 and up
• GO Make Dis Your Own Launcher 4.0 and up
• HD 3D Launcher PRO 4.0 and up
• Nova Launcher Prime 4.0 and up
• SF Launcher Plus Key key, 4.0 and up
• Tile Launcher Pro Key key, 4.0 and up
• Windows 8 Metro Launcher Pro 4.0 and up

Honeycomb

Free

• Androse Launcher off-market, tablet only, 3.0 and up
• Lenovo IdeaDesktop off-market, 3.0 to 4.1.2
• Linpus Launcher 3.0 and up
• Open Launcher for Google TV 3.2 and up

Paid

• Chameleon Launcher 3.2 and up
• Chameleon Launcher for Phones 3.2 and up

Gingerbread

Free

• ARM Launcher 2.3 and up
• Baidu Desktop 2.3 and up
• Crome Launcher off-market, alpha, 2.3 and up
• Final Launcher 2.3.3 and up
• FTL Launcher Lite 2.3 to 3.0
• Gaya3D Launcher off-market, 2.3 and up
• ghLauncher off-market, 2.3 to 2.3.7
• Gingerbread Launcher qHD Free 2.3.3 and up
• HeLauncher2 off-market, 2.3.4 and up
• Listener off-market, 2.3 and up
• MiHome Launcher 2.3 and up
• MIUI V5 Launcher 2.0.0 off-market, 2.3 and up
• Motorola ICS Launcher For Gingerbread off-market, 2.3 and up
• OdinHome 2.3 and up
• OdinHome Beta 2.3 and up
• Orange Launcher off-market, 2.3 and up
• Phoenix launcher Free 2.3 and up
• QiSS Home 2.3 to 4.1
• Venom

 

[tiredhiker]

So which one is the best or should I say NO LAG. I put CM6.1 on my G1 then went to Zeam launcher because its supposed to be the lightest BUT when in a heavy app it can take 8 seconds for my icons to come up when returning to home. I have tried all the performance settings and have only 8 icons in the dock and only 2 on the home screen but still the lag.

 

[Scur]

So which one is the best or should I say NO LAG. I put CM6.1 on my G1 then went to Zeam launcher because its supposed to be the lightest BUT when in a heavy app it can take 8 seconds for my icons to come up when returning to home. I have tried all the performance settings and have only 8 icons in the dock and only 2 on the home screen but still the lag.

Zeam does seem to be one of the lighter launchers for what it does. But if your having issues like that, a new launcher isn't going to be your solution. I'd explore other avenues, like a good cache cleaner, Auto Memory Manager, DT's a2sd, SD-Booster, cutting down on apps, etc.

 

[UrsusVIIILXXXVII]

This thread gave me flashbacks to when I first got my Droid X. I spent days back then looking for and trying out launchers.

Did manage to find one more for your list.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mo.android.livehome

It might not be a bad idea to add a market link to these launchers just to make it one step easier for others to find.

 

[ninja_reject]

Nice. This should be a sticky, maybe it would cut down on "What launcher should I get". I usually stick with all things Go, but I miss HTC's wide selection of widgets. Might switch back.

 

[Scur]

It might not be a bad idea to add a market link to these launchers just to make it one step easier for others to find.

I thought about that after the list was about done, and I was running out of time. I might yet. I definitely will if anyone mentions any launchers that are found somewhere other than the Android market.

 

[tcat007]

Just did a "Launcher" search in Appbrain and there are 2 more just on the 1st page (Wave and PlugIn)... I typically try to use apps with the highest rating (always above 4 stars), and lowest memory usage... GO has my vote on this list, but I've only tried GO and Zeam (and Car Dock, which I don't think qualifies as a "main" launcher).

 

[Scur]

Just did a "Launcher" search in Appbrain and there are 2 more just on the 1st page (Wave and PlugIn)... I typically try to use apps with the highest rating (always above 4 stars), and lowest memory usage... GO has my vote on this list, but I've only tried GO and Zeam (and Car Dock, which I don't think qualifies as a "main" launcher).

Saw those.

Wave Launcher is a bit of an overlay launcher that can launch a max of 5 shortcuts I believe. SwipePad is similar. They might be handy for starting apps when you don't want to exit your current one.

Plug In Launcher is an app that automatically launches certain apps when you connect bluetooth, WiFi, or various cables.

As far as Car Dock goes, I haven't tried it yet. I'm not convinced from reading the details
that it can't be used as a home launcher, but I'll re-categorize it, since it does seem that it isn't meant to be the main home launcher.

 

[acp]

Launcher 7 is my favorite right now

 

[thetomlin2]

If anyone is interested, dxTop Pro is free in the Amazon App Store today ... personally I am not a big fan, but worth checking out for free

 

[Scur]

Launcher 7 is my favorite right now

I was looking a bit at that one. I'll probably try it soon.

 

[Scur]

If anyone is interested, dxTop Pro is free in the Amazon App Store today ... personally I am not a big fan, but worth checking out for free

I grabbed it and just checked it out. The dock is cool enough to make me want to give it a real go.

 

[alostpacket]

This is a very helpful thread. I am going to add a link to this from the intro/guide sticky (with your permission of course

 

[Scur]

This is a very helpful thread. I am going to add a link to this from the intro/guide sticky (with your permission of course

Go ahead. I've spent some time on this, and it would be nice to know it helped others. It was originally a much shorter list in a notepad file, but when I decided to hunt deeper for more and found out how much time it was actually taking me, I realized how much I wished a list was in the forums.

 

[alostpacket]

done

 

[Scur]

Added more.

 

[atkjhi]

I've given ADW (free), Launcher Pro, Go Launcher EX, and Zeam, pretty thorough looks on my Dinc2 and I keep going back to Go Launcher. ADW and Launcher Pro lack developer support.

Zeam for what ever it is supposed to be (light on resources and very fast) has bad lag issues on my Dinc2. I really want to like Zeam, their dock is very nice, but I've tried all the recent updates, gone as far back as version 2.88 that was supposedly their best version before version 3, but I just don't have a good experience using it.

Go Launcher EX, which many don't like because they copied features from other launchers, works the best for me. It's the smoothest and is constantly being updated...literally once a week.

I tried Launcher 7 as well and it may be a nice alternative but it requires work to get it to what most would want. It's not the easiest to customize but it looks like a good launcher is you're willing to put in the time to get it to where you want it and like the Windows Phone look.

 

[claus1953]

Looking for different launchers, as most of them are the same style and just differ in small things (GO, LPP, zeam, ADW etc). So i played with MXHome, which i liked very much with its 3D effects, but it's not customizable at all. Now i am playing with Claystone, a nice launcher, different as it uses panels and stacks.

 

[Scur]

Looking for different launchers, as most of them are the same style and just differ in small things (GO, LPP, zeam, ADW etc). So i played with MXHome, which i liked very much with its 3D effects, but it's not customizable at all. Now i am playing with Claystone, a nice launcher, different as it uses panels and stacks.

Yeah, I noticed most of them look pretty much the same. There are a couple of bare bones launchers, and a few that play with 3D, but there are a few here and there that really are different, like Claystone Launcher or Honeycomb Launcher.
Myself, I like Zeam for the single scrolling dock, running full screen, with Apps Organizer shortcuts in the dock and wp clock wallpaper. ATM anyway.

 

[Scur]

More added. This list is getting long.

 

[Scur]

So I got my new Droid X2 and wanted a launcher that showed it off, so I bit the bullet and grabbed SPB Shell 3D. This thing is awesome looking. Just letting it sit at the 3D home screen is very cool to watch.

 

[Scur]

Edited yet again.

 

[anabolina]

This is a really great forum entry. It's good to know the alternatives and it's hard to look for launchers beyond the big ones. I've found Go to be the most stable and smooth and it's the one I keep coming back to. I just made it my default again after using Zeam for the past 2 weeks. It was okay, but didn't run any better then Go and has fewer bells and whistles. Launcher 7 was also nice, but lasted only a day on my phone as did LauncherPro. I think today's launcher will be Nemus Launcher.

 

[pockings]

Thanks Scur. This is very helpful. Could we please sticky this thread?

 

[Scur]

Sure. Sticky it, link it to another forum, even copy/paste it, it's all good. The whole point was for folks (including me) who want to change up their launcher to be able to find them.