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Best Home Screen Launcher

What is the best or most functional home screen launcher on the market for the Droid X? Not sure witch one to buy.
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I love launcher pro
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I woulnd't buy anything. I'd with one of the free ones like ADW or Launcher Pro.

Launcher Pro...
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I love Launcher Pro, which is free. But if you buy Launcher Pro Plus you get some AWESOME widgets, including the Facebook widget which is the best facebook app available IMHO. Also get messaging, twitter, calendar, and people widgets. They are some of the nicest widgets on the market and you get them all while supporting a great developer who is always improving his app.

+1 for LP. Use the free one first, then you will be UPgrading in no time.

picked up launcher pro not sure why many use adw. IMO LP works much better. gl with your choice.

Droid X 7 said:
What is the best or most functional home screen launcher on the market for the Droid X? Not sure witch one to buy.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
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I think it really depends on who you talk to. Some like ADW, others (like myself) love or prefer Launcher Pro (or Pro Plus, which is the paid version).
I like LP+ because of the very functional widgets that come with, along with the very nice widget resizer that works on ALL widgets. Both of these features come with the paid version of LP+. What really endeared me to LP+ over ADW was the memory settings. ADW when I tried it really ran my system down into stutter territory. LP+ in stock settings did this, but what it had over and above ADW was the ability to custom tweek its memory settings. I found a balance of settings in LP+ that really allowed it to run lightly on my system and aside from giving it time (say about 10 seconds or so) initially to build the caches on startup and after a long time out of the launcher, it really flies. That's b/c I have it set to load up all its relevant caches first and keep them unless heap memory is needed. That means valuable cpu clock time isn't spent building caches or spent refilling the cache for redrawing when I switch homescreens.
Also, the customizable dock and icons was a major selling point. I also like having the ability to have multiple docks (only running just one right now, but still, I can see future situations where it would be nice to have multiple docks) and have gestures enabled on top of the dock icons, giving each the possibility of an alternate function (doubling the amount of stuff one can launch from the dock.... including custom-programable activities).
I don't know about the responsiveness of the devs for ADW, so don't take this as any statement concerning them, but the developer for LP+ is quite active and listens to his users. His own forum is quite active and he's involved on there, as are his forum mods. Suggestions are listened to, and if viable and practical they are implemented, and we've seen this happen.
So, all in all, I really love LP+ and find it to really be a superior launcher program. The brief time I spent using ADW I felt it was neat but didn't really offer anything that made it shine above LP+, but it did have some flaws that while not deal-breakers collectively or in and of themselves, still essentially turned the balance of favor for me clearly over to LP+.

I prefer LauncherPro. Have used ADW briefly but always go back to LP. Even upgraded to the Plus version.

In the LauncherPro settings under General, I checked the Droid Hack and noticed some apps would hang when I would exit them. Unchecked this option and it improved performance, but there is still some lag sometimes.
Was wondering if anyone can post optimal settings here so we can try them out. I purchased the Pro lisence.
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+1 on LauncherPro Plus! Hard to beat, and the sense type widgets are awesome! I barely miss the sense ui on my incredible.

they are both fantastic. LP widgets (especially themed) and 3d drawer look awesome and another plus with the dock. ADW though i find to be nices scrolling through homescreens and the upswipe to bring up a new osx-like dock is appealing. That being said im running both with ADW as my hard button default home, 10 homescreens between the two of them, LP used for "large" widgets and ADW for shortcuts and smaller widgets. It switches launchers instantly thru dock shortcuts so i wont be getting rid of either one of them. Attempting to skin them 2 different colors isnt going so well tho...

How do you keep your phone from stuttering and lagging running two cpu-demanding launcher setups? With all those screens and the need for quick redraws, your heap memory has GOT to be ready to burst.

I was actually pretty surprised. Android does a pretty damn good job managing resources it seems. I do keep setcpu at 1k all the time unless the screen is off or im under 20%, which is never. That probably helped. I honestly didnt expect it to work this well though

add me up on the LP users...
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Launcher Pro....no contest. ADW launcher is ok but Cyanogen like to talk @#$%

Launcherpro ftw!!!! never use ADW it is pure crap compared to LP

I am surprised no one has mentioned Zeam. Pretty good. And there is a thread right here on XDA...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=664149
I like some of the settings (swipe up for app drawer, swipe down for taskbar, double tap for dialer etc).
I have LaincherPro+, but right now I am using Zeam.

I’ve been using launcher pro plus since I bought my DX at launch. It's been great and has lots of options to customize the hell out of the phone.

What launcher do YOU use?

Hey everyone, I just wanted to create a thread regarding launchers you all use. Sense is great, but I have to admit that I'm getting a bit bored of it, judging by how I've been using it for months now. I know that Nova Launcher is arguably the most popular one out there, but which launcher do YOU guys prefer and use?

MARIO SHARK said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to create a thread regarding launchers you all use. Sense is great, but I have to admit that I'm getting a bit bored of it, judging by how I've been using it for months now. I know that Nova Launcher is arguably the most popular one out there, but which launcher do YOU guys prefer and use?
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i use nova but basically just to adjust my home screen grid size. The added features are nice and i do use them, but if i could adjust my home screen grid size with sense i pry would stick to that.

camf3xu said:
i use nova but basically just to adjust my home screen grid size. The added features are nice and i do use them, but if i could adjust my home screen grid size with sense i pry would stick to that.
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gotcha. have you noticed an increase in speed/stability after switching to nova?

MARIO SHARK said:
gotcha. have you noticed an increase in speed/stability after switching to nova?
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It's fast and stable but so was sense to me
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app

MARIO SHARK said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to create a thread regarding launchers you all use. Sense is great, but I have to admit that I'm getting a bit bored of it, judging by how I've been using it for months now. I know that Nova Launcher is arguably the most popular one out there, but which launcher do YOU guys prefer and use?
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Nova Prime. I try others, and always wind up back on Nova. It just works well.

Have you tried out everythingme launcher, smart launcher 2, or themer? I like the idea of the smart folders, but unsure if they match the quality/features of Nova.

Nova is near perfect. Nothing else I've tried even comes close. My only gripes would be lack of a search function and folder management could be improved.

Nova is pretty much the best. Kevin (TeslaCoil—he's given his real name here) clearly knows his stuff. While I also like Android Does (dev team or pseudonym responsible for Apex), I tested the free versions of both two phones ago, and bought Nova Prime as a direct result.
Android Police did a poll asking if anyone had switched to Google Now Launcher since the Nexus/GPE exclusivity was removed, and one of their commenters told a nice story about how Google Now Launcher made his phone faster. Since I already run Xposed, I grabbed XGELS along with it. And I just might switch.
GNL feels a little more responsive than Nova did, though it's hard to tell. I don't give a damn about animations, so I turned them off in XGELS, and damn GNL moves when I tell it to.
One thing that bothers me a little is that XGELS costs 50¢ more than Nova Prime, and the money doesn't even go to the developer of the launcher. I know, the XGELS developer deserves all the respect he's getting for what he's done, and I know, Google gets a cut of all sales anyway, it still just feels wrong though. Also, getting unread counts requires purchase of a third-party app, which costs a buck and a half. So all told, it's six bucks, versus the four I paid for Nova. And being that I've already paid for Nova, and Nova does everything I want, it's a tough pill to swallow.
Unlike many people, though, I don't consider the cost to value ratio. Like Tim Cook, I don't give a damn about the ROI. Sorry for plugging the enemy, but that statement was awesome. No... I believe in Android as a platform, and when I buy an app, I try to support developers who genuinely care about Android and who are good developers that I want to stick around. And the XGELS developer is a wizard. Four and a half bones is a fair deal. And even the free version of XGELS exposes some interesting settings.
One that stands out to me is the gestures. Nova has them as well, but only a few interest me. Namely, swipe up, swipe down, and double tap. The others are all set to disable. Up is app drawer, down is quick settings, and double tap is voice search. XGELS dispenses with the stupid ones (who's going to remember what two fingers twisted clockwise does vs ccw?) and gives you three zones for up and down. In the free version, you can only set swipe down on the left and on the right. So for me, on the left is Android settings, on the right is Quick settings. Up (only up in the middle is enabled in free) is still app drawer.
GNL+XGELS has a long way to go to reach true feature parity with Nova Prime, but it's getting there, and it's got a few unique ideas of its own that I'm sure Kevin will address down the road, but it's nice to hold the future in your hand now. And it doesn't hurt to support more than one developer pushing the same product. They aren't really competing, per se. They're just trying to make your phone as nice as they can, and we should reward that where and when we can.

I have used a ton of launchers. Currently I am using GoLauncher EX. I quite like it. Second choice is Nova of course and last choice for me is Aviate.

Compare Nova and Apex
I've been using Apex for a while and I'm pretty happy with it. Can anybody suggest any advantages to Nova?

I like the simplicity of KK Launcher. I keep coming back to it. It's sort of like GNL with more options, like grid size.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kk.launcher

Using MIUI. So far used Google Now launcher, Windows, iLauncher, Nova, Aviate. Only windows launcher is not exactly the same as real windows. So far others are good.
Sent from my Moto XT1033

Anyone here on nova prime? Is it worth the purchase?

MARIO SHARK said:
Anyone here on nova prime? Is it worth the purchase?
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Yes. It's arguably the most popular launcher there is, and Prime makes it even better.

just lou said:
Yes. It's arguably the most popular launcher there is, and Prime makes it even better.
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Yeah I'm currently on nova, and it's been great so far, but what additional features does nova prime offer? I know it describes them in the google play store, but I'm interested in reading how you guys take advantage of Nova prime.

MARIO SHARK said:
Yeah I'm currently on nova, and it's been great so far, but what additional features does nova prime offer? I know it describes them in the google play store, but I'm interested in reading how you guys take advantage of Nova prime.
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The most important: tabs/folders in the app drawer; ability to hide apps. I find the launcher completely unusable without them. I feel almost as if the author excluded it from the free version so people would see how awesome Nova is, but be unable to use it unless they paid.
Others:
• Gestures, mostly for convenience — I swipe down for notifications and up for recent apps, double-tap for the app drawer, two finger swipe up for search (to type in an app name), two finger swipe down for quick settings (not often used as I have my own notification toggles widget).
• Unread Counts — work well. Not necessary, but nice to have.
• Icon Swipes — can cut the number of icons you need on your homescreen in half (e.g. swipe up on camera = gallery), or assign useful functions (swipe up on phone = call home).

MARIO SHARK said:
Anyone here on nova prime? Is it worth the purchase?
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Prime definitely worth the purchase!

I actually really like using the sense 6 launcher. i keep my screens super minimal so i don't need to resize widgets or anything for the most part. i usually use nova prime but only when i'm running a aosp rom like CM or slimkat but so for been running viper for the last few months and loving the sense launcher

Nova. Sense drawer is terrible. Other options are also nice.

if we could use the sense clock widget on nova, i would use nova launcher for every smartphone i ever purchase.

Comparison of Android Launchers

Myself and a lot of other Android enthusiasts have been writing a pro/con comparison of the most popular and useful Android Launchers available. It is coming together nicely but there is always room for improvement. The whole site is much like a wiki where in everything compiled is community created and to be used as a source of information, of course the site is advertisement free as well.
Being that this was created by an Android community I figured it only fair to share it with other Android communities.
Each launcher is broken down by pros and cons of it’s features and problems, making for an easy way to see where they excel and fail as well as an easy way to compare to one another.
You can see the summary view of all the launchers here.
You can also click on each one to read all pros/cons not just the ones in the summary page.
The launchers so far included are:
Nova Launcher Prime
Google Now Launcher
Yahoo Aviate Launcher
Smart Launcher Pro 3
Buzz Launcher-Smart&Free Theme
Action Launcher 3
Apex Launcher
Go Launcher EX
Z Launcher Beta
Yandex.Shell
Launcher 8
ADW.Launcher
APUS Launcher
Lightning Launcher eXtreme
SF Launcher
Themer: Launcher, HD Wallpaper
Next Launcher 3D Shell
Mi Launcher (MIUI)
CM Launcher
SF Launcher 2
Hola Launcher
Zeam Launcher
EverythingMe Launcher
Zero Launcher
Hope you guys like it and feel free to add to it to make it even better and more useful.

As expected, nothing much can really beat Nova. Expected Apex to be higher though.

thekodols said:
As expected, nothing much can really beat Nova. Expected Apex to be higher though.
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I still really like the simplicity of the Google Now Launcher.

petrochemicals said:
I still really like the simplicity of the Google Now Launcher.
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Eh, there's something to be said about stock experience, but, seriously, some of the things Google locks down or forces are odd.

I always find reviews that start with 'one of the cons is that the many options for customisation can be a bit daunting' (or the equivalebt thereof) to be utterly useless; particularly when the core feature of the very app is the massive amount of customisation. The many options are the reason people use launchers. How is that a negative?
Why on earth would someone who doesn't want all those options even consider using the app?
It's like saying one of the cons of android is all the different settings and options. That's not a negative, it's the main reason we bought the bloody thing in the first place!
"The only downside to this car is that you need to drive it to go somewhere".
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk

ShadowLea said:
The many options are the reason people use launchers.
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Not always. There are different reasons for why people use launchers (or OSs).

launchers

What launchers works for.you guys, i have nova and launcher 3 , i tried computer launcher but you cant re size it and thatt makes it useless to me, are there any side launchers around, i used to like those alot

Action launcher here is better than Launcher3.

After some crash issues with Launcher3...even though i used it for many years. I switched to the paid version of Nova launcher to allow for more customization and backups of the desktop.
Rick
BlackIce

I've been using Pixel 2 Launcher, MS Launcher and Lawnchair. The reason I flip between them is because I like them all.

I also went with Nova Prime and I'm pretty damn happy with it. I found it very customizable and easy to navigate through.

Lawnchair. I was a Nova user, but Lawnchair is now my favorite.

The pixel 2 launcher is my daily. The dark theme is the best to me. Makes everything look crisp. Especially the dark Google side page.

benlee337 said:
The pixel 2 launcher is my daily. The dark theme is the best to me. Makes everything look crisp. Especially the dark Google side page.
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I like the look of that launcher. Can you tell me where you got it?

I like lawnchair but it doesn't support full screen on the Essential. I'm now using Microsoft launcher.

Murbert said:
I like lawnchair but it doesn't support full screen on the Essential. I'm now using Microsoft launcher.
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Have you tried it recently? I was using it until last night, and it was full screen. I found the no root Pixel 2 launcher, so I'm trying that for now. I'm not sure how I feel about the new Google Now.

I am kinda digging the Pixel 2 launcher... Although to be honest it isn't much different than the stock launcher...

Another happy Nova user here, has been using it on various Android phones and seems to be the best so far...

Nova Prime on my PH-1

I'd like to see some screenshots from these various launchers running on a PH-1.
I know they're all very customizable, so maybe screenshots won't be so useful. Still, I'd like to get an idea of what they look like.
(I've bought a PH-1, but I want actually get my hands on it till Christmas, which is why I can't try these out myself -- yet.)

ive had the paid NOVA for years as its a go to , its very customizable, used use zeam when it was around , launcher 3 is ok , i may have to try lawn chair

I use the Pixel 2 launcher, I like the Microsoft launcher, but very frequently when I leave an app or hit the home button the launcher screen has no icons, no widgets, nothing, like it hung... I'd use it exclusively if I didn't have this problem. I'm wondering if it's cause of the Oreo beta... so I'm looking forward to beta 2 to see if that clears up.

varxx said:
I know they're all very customizable, so maybe screenshots won't be so useful. Still, I'd like to get an idea of what they look like.
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Screenshots won't help. It's things like gesture support, swipe for Google now page, custom icon packs that make a difference. And in the case of essential, support for the whole screen.
MS launcher has everything but Google now

Murbert said:
Screenshots won't help. It's things like gesture support, swipe for Google now page, custom icon packs that make a difference. And in the case of essential, support for the whole screen.
MS launcher has everything but Google now
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O.K., thanks. I see what you mean, i.e., the differences are much more than cosmetic.

benlee337 said:
The pixel 2 launcher is my daily. The dark theme is the best to me. Makes everything look crisp. Especially the dark Google side page.
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Does the weather work on this and also does the swipe left for Google cards etc work ,if so I would swap to this ,any download links please
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs

Remove date from Pixel 2 home screen?

Is it possible to remove the date and weather area on the pixel 2 home screen? It takes up a full row!

I also want this defeated.. maybe via substratum???

Nope, you will need to switch to another launcher, like Nova.

Nova has been sluggish for me. I'm not sure why.

Ives314 said:
Nova has been sluggish for me. I'm not sure why.
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Yeah that's odd. Nova has been perfect for me. @upperbladez There's also Lawn Chair Launcher on XDA that's a modified Pixel Launcher. You could try that. https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/lawnchair-customizable-pixel-launcher-t3627137

JRJ442 said:
Yeah that's odd. Nova has been perfect for me. @upperbladez There's also Lawn Chair Launcher on XDA that's a modified Pixel Launcher. You could try that. https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/lawnchair-customizable-pixel-launcher-t3627137
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I've heard other launchers are slow or buggy. Can you comment on the stability of it?

upperbladez said:
I've heard other launchers are slow or buggy. Can you comment on the stability of it?
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I haven't tried that one. Personally I use Nova and have been for years. It's always been stellar for me.

My main complaints with Pixel Launcher was that clock app as well as the inability to remove the Google bar at the bottom. I took people's recommendations here and tried Nova Launcher. No complaints...I even decided to pay for Nova Prime so I could enable the gestures and love the 2-tap screen off, using the home button to launch settings, and the swipe down to pull the quick settings. I haven't noticed any notable lag and it doesn't appear to use that much more memory than the Pixel launcher did.

Second Nova. I bought the full version years ago, and it's fantastic.

Well I've been using Nova for years with prime. It's my go to launcher. But lately for some reason. After a day or two. There's this Nast y stutter when I open apps. When I use pixel launcher, it's smooth like it's supposed to be. Even if I close the app and open it right after it still does it. Those things bug me..lol no oun intended. So I'm just waiting for the next update. I was gonna set it up right now without the beta. I'll report back.

Anyone know a launcher which will hide the navbar. I know lineage OS has the option to hide status and/or navbar.. I don't feel like using the adb hack to go immersive mode, would be nice if a launcher offered the option

I wonder if they'll allow you to remove it in Android P. Some things they do are so illogical I don't get it.

upperbladez said:
I wonder if they'll allow you to remove it in Android P. Some things they do are so illogical I don't get it.
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I have DP-3 and it is still there. Things will change with the final 9.0 release but it looks like this is here to stay.

Lol why do they do that? I don't understand

Is this still unale to be removed on android 9? I need to update but have to root it so I'm being lazy.

It's there permanently by default, though of course there are many apps that allow you to toggle immersive mode without root so if you want to hide it it's very simple to do so.