Hi guys, new here but I notice that most developers use Apex as their default launcher when they post AOSP ROMS. My question is why? What's the difference between Apex and other launchers like Go Launcher?
Thanks1
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Apex is optimized specifically for ICS and integrates a lot of ICS's features. However I prefer Nova way more. I always immediately install Nova because I like the interface a lot more.
Shaddy-Z. said:
Apex is optimized specifically for ICS and integrates a lot of ICS's features. However I prefer Nova way more. I always immediately install Nova because I like the interface a lot more.
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+1 for Nova. I don't use it on my One X but I've got it on my Nexus 7 and I love it.
Yea, I've never understood using Apex over Nova. Every phone I've had with every Rom I've run, Nova always runs smoother with less issues.
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I haven't used Nova in months after finding Apex to be more feature rich. Might have to try Nova again to see if they caught up.
Atom is a new promising launcher, I was using apex pro before, but the change is nice.
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they are both good..if you want to have full utilization of Nova then you got to buy Nova Prime
Apex Free is as good as Nova Prime a little lag may be noticeable in the drawer
Anyways they are both Good..a little bit off topic..anyone tried the GS3 Launcher Port..??
very very smooth..buttery...but lack the customization/..
Nova prime on my one x and SGSIII, I like apex as well though but to cheap to buy both pro.
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powerwagon said:
Yea, I've never understood using Apex over Nova. Every phone I've had with every Rom I've run, Nova always runs smoother with less issues.
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I'd disagree based on my experience. Both has been problematic for me but, Nova has been more annoying than Apex.
I've tried both Apex (pro) and Nova Prime and i prefer Apex a bit more. It seems noticeably smoother than Nova on my device, particularly on my widget heavy homescreens.
Thanks guys,
So it seems that it's just a matter of preference. So then, if you opt to use a different launcher, how would you get rid of the default one embedded in the ROM? Or would you?
I'm on clean rom de 4.1 and using nova launcher. It comes with apex but I find nova runs more smoothly,with no lag. So I used root explorer and went in to system/apps and deleted apex launcher(after I installed nova of course) . I have not had any issue doing that.
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I have Nova and Apex on my phone. Wanted to try them both out. I find that with the same home screen setup on both devices, Nova is a bit slower. Going back to the homescreen in Apex is instantaneous. Sometimes Nova does a full redraw and it takes a second or two.
Other than that the launchers seem identical to me.
Chalk another one up for Apex.
It's always been smoother for me, no matter what rom I'm running. Even on ICS roms on my T-Mobile G2 before the One X.
Scrolling through homescreens or app drawer pages in Nova is too fast and/or choppy, even if you set the speeds to "stock" in settings (I like to "enjoy" the animation). I also like more of the features Apex offers, like customizing what shows up when you hit menu, disabling haptic feedback (long pressing icons/wallpaper) and the way it handles locking the desktop compared to Nova.
Btw, I'm using Apex Free on the phone, and Nova Prime on my Transformer Prime.
gunnyman said:
I have Nova and Apex on my phone. Wanted to try them both out. I find that with the same home screen setup on both devices, Nova is a bit slower. Going back to the homescreen in Apex is instantaneous. Sometimes Nova does a full redraw and it takes a second or two.
Other than that the launchers seem identical to me.
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I've found just the opposite. I was using Apex when I first picked up my HOX but I felt it was sluggish at times and found Nova. Maybe the Apex devs pushed out some updates to improve things? I'll have to check it out again.
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Im using nova and its been great for me. Tried apex briefly a while back on a gummy rom but nova does the job. I do miss my adw ex sadly it hasn't been updated for almost a year now
Adw and launcher pro were both awesome.
gunnyman said:
Adw and launcher pro were both awesome.
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Ah, the good ol' Froyo days. Brings back memories.
I have tried a bunch of launchers including apex and nova ( unpaid versions) apex def wins for more Asop look and integration of ics features and feel, but I have to say all in all...
go launcher ftw. Sooooo.... many themes and lock screens to choose from .
I think apex is compatible with some of the go themes. But again free and **** tons of themes....I love go launcher.
Tons of features customizations.
User friendly. Love the 3d worm lock screen.
Its all about preference.
Have to admit I have been eyeing apex and nova again. Maybe I'll switch .
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Apex is the best!
New to Android and consequently have tried all of the following launchers to varying degrees in the past few weeks: ADW, Apex, Nova, Regina, Go Launcher, ssLauncher, and stock HTC Sense. I used ADW the first week or so and then it has been Apex since. Never crashes and super quick. Absolutely love it!
Related
I've used everything from adw to pro. Is there a end all winner when it comes to speed ?
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electronicmaji said:
I've used everything from adw to pro. Is there a end all winner when it comes to speed ?
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I love zeam launcher pretty fast and lightweight.
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I've tried most of them and I always keep on going back to LauncherPro. The application drawer is the smoothest of the bunch.
Adw ex is by far the best launcher if you get the settings right its as smooth and fast as ios on the iphone4.
I've bought, and had Launcher Pro. I liked it, but once I tried out GO Launcher, I haven't been back since.
I always go back to Launcher pro its great. I like adw ex but I wish they had the names of the transition effects. it'll make it easier to pick which one you want to use. I would use Go Launcher it smooth and its FREE, but I'm not crazy about the resizing icons or my dock when I pick a dock or an icon for the dock. It'll come out blurry and fuzzy out of focus.
But Go Launcher is great and its always improving did I mentioned its FREE. Its a tough decision but for a home replacement with all the features I would pick Go Launcher.
Pinak.ahuja said:
I love zeam launcher pretty fast and lightweight.
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THIS.
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i have a low end device (about 400 mhz cpu) and launcher pro had the smoothest transitions than all the other launchers
Zeam is the fastest for me, then comes GO Launcher. I use ADW EX tho, it has more customization than the others, but its much faster than Launcher Pro. (For me that is)
I've also tried HeLauncher, its pretty snappy. It also has a feature that has a lot of docks. From Sense, to Gingerbread, to some of the custom Sense docks on XDA.
for me, tag home is light weight and fast, but there's little you can do to its drawer or windows.
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I was using launcher pro but after running ADW EX on my wifes Eris I have switched to that for about the last week. I don't see any drop in performance and the customization is amazing compared to LP. From themes to gestures and animations, the icon resizing is great as well. If you want something no frills you can always try Launcher 7 as well. It emulates the launcher from windows phone 7. It all comes down to preference really,i actually have 4 or 5 launchers on my phone that I keep just to show people differences first hand when they are choosing for their phones.
Samsung Fascinate
Frankenclean 2.9
EB16-ish Voodoo Kernel
Tyler's Transblue Honeycomb v11
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ADW EX.. I bought it and never looked back. it is very customizable and easy to work with plus it is blazing fast!
Omnichron said:
ADW EX.. I bought it and never looked back. it is very customizable and easy to work with plus it is blazing fast!
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I used Adw ex for quite a while, but came back to launcher people in the end
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate Using XDA Premium App - Running Superclean 2.9.1 - 2.2 Froyo
We could all sit here and tell you what our fav launcher is and why but it would not do much good. The speed will very depending on many things. Rom, Background apps, Device, Available mem, the list goes on and on. Best bet is to try them each out and find the fastest one for you on your device
Go launcher for me... Used all 3 for sometime and Go launcher have best of both awd and launcher pro world...
As nobody can ever agree which is faster i'm going to go out on a limb and say they're all about the same!
I tried ADW ex, GO ex and some others. I don't know why, but the only launcher with real fluid animations is LauncherPro.
I also like it's widgets.
Waiting for the completely rewritten LP....
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In terms of the "feel" of the launcher, LP has been for me, hands down the smoothest and best feeling launcher (I've tried everything there is to try I think). In terms of plain speed, probably Zeam.
Go Launcher
Go Launcher will be my preference
I just switched to using Go Launcher EX from using Launcher Pro Plus and I think Go is much faster and responsive. However, that's all subject to change after the LPP rewrite is completed.
Hi all.
I just wanted to ask you all what launcher you would recommend and why.
I'm using go launcher ex atm, but always open to try others
Cheers
Ps: sorry if It's been asked before.
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I'm currently using Go Launcher EX but LauncherPro is really good. I'm a LP user, but using Go Launcher for a little while now, since LP gets kind of boring after a while.
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Launcher
I use LauncherPro. I've tried Go Launcher, ADW, and others, but I always go back to LauncherPro. It just seems to agree more with my phone (HTC Eris).
stellar313 said:
I use LauncherPro. I've tried Go Launcher, ADW, and others, but I always go back to LauncherPro. It just seems to agree more with my phone (HTC Eris).
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i agree with you .... always go back to LauncherPro
In my opinion Go launcher is the more stable launcher, less laggy then LauncherPro or ADW. However ADW and Go Launcher are very similar as to the level of customization. Hope this helps.
Launcher Pro imo.
ADW EX when I'm not using Sense. I've tried several others and they just don't have the 'polished' look that I prefer. Not to mention, the Themes (specifically the icons) by Sean York are my favorite.
I'm back using LP now
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i use adw launcher ex which is my fav, i say use the one that you like the most they all have their pro and con
Exactly. I suggest trying them all for a day or two. After all, everyone has different needs and preferences. Just because one launcher is more 'popular' than the others doesn't mean that you'll prefer it.
Ok. Ty all for you're input. I will try Launcher Pro as well as ADW, and see what fits me the best
Cheers
I've seen on a post that ADW can sometimes drain fast the battery.
I use Go Launcher Pro, with Go SMS and Contacts. So I have a unified set of apps.
LP is good but to have similar functions to Go you have to buy it so....
i'm using launcher pro, and i still haven't got any problems, maybe is a little bit slower than go launcher. Give it a try.
I love using ADW. It's has just the style I like. The battery drain issue might be true. Ever since I changed to ADW, my battery drains very fast. I just have to check if that has to do with the launcher or with my overclocked kernel.
I prefer ADW Launcher EX, mainly because I have become used to the ADW launcher from Cyanogenmod. It works well for me on my thunderbolt.
"SPB Shell 3D" hands down if your processor can handle it. Its kinda pricey for a launcher but its seriously worth at least checking out. Watch some of the videos and I'm sure you'll fall in love. Good luck!
After trying many I've settled with Go Launcher EX it's so fluid..
Zeam Launcher is the best so far. Try it
GO launcher is the best. Period. Beats all others easily, including the over priced spbshell 3d.. do yourself a favor and install it.. you're welcome..
Sent @ 04:20
Hey guys, just wanted to get yalls opinion as to what launcher is the best for ICS. I currently have four comparing them: stock, Nova Prime, Apex Pro and Holo Pro. There is not much difference in the three non-stock launchers, however, it seems by just testing each of them Apex may have just a little more and is a little bit smoother than the others.
What are your thoughts?
Infuser86 said:
Hey guys, just wanted to get yalls opinion as to what launcher is the best for ICS. I currently have four comparing them: stock, Nova Prime, Apex Pro and Holo Pro. There is not much difference in the three non-stock launchers, however, it seems by just testing each of them Apex may have just a little more and is a little bit smoother than the others.
What are your thoughts?
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I'm using Apex Launcher Pro (paid) and Laminated F Themes (free) and it was really good combo..try it.
I like ADW Launcher.
I'm planning my escape from the digital world!
I'm using Apex! I'm addicted to it, smooth, fast, and looks perfect to me.
-U.S Army-
Nova launcher pretty quick and good features
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I'm not sure why but I use Apex. I've tried Nova but there's something about Apex that brings me back. Go Launcher is for Froyo and GB and the same goes for ADW IMO.
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I use Holo Launcher from now on after discovering how good it is.:good::victory:
I use ADW EX I like a lot of things about it but I'm not going to lie there are some things missing from the stock Trebuchet from CM9 that I miss.
I need to know which is the best launcher for my atrix 2 ? I want the phone to be smooth so i need a launcher with performance
Please help in my choise
Mario
marius1985 said:
I need to know which is the best launcher for my atrix 2 ? I want the phone to be smooth so i need a launcher with performance
Please help in my choise
Mario
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Holo launcher hd if you are on ics..fast lightweight and smooth
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I personally LOVE Trebuchet Launcher, but it is a part of CyanogenMod. I have not found any others that I really like, so I am using CM10, because it is the BEST hands down.
Now, you MIGHT be able to find the apk and put it on the stock ICS, but that might defeat the whole purpose of Trebuchet, but just to get back on the subject at hand, and that is that apex launcher is EXACTLY like Trebuchet, and it is not too bad, and worth a look.
Oh and here is flashable zip for Trebuchet, not sure how well it will work on this phone without CM on it, but it might also be worth a look.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1355296&d=1348631180
performance wise, Nova launcher is the best by far.. though i have used Apex a lot.. the transitions in Nova launcher seem much faster.. the full version lets you make folders in app drawer and use gestures too
Personally, I like Go Launcher. It has a screenshot option which is kind of handy since the one in CM10 doesn't crop them properly at the moment.
Go keeps me going! Best to suit ma requirements!
I've tried adw, nova and apex. Apex in my opinion is the smoothest. Nova would lag at times. I bought Apex pro yesterday and it has a lot of extra features. Basically it will come down to what you like but i would recommend Apex.
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Apex or ADW for sure. Nova always had 'twitches' here n there while scrolling. ADW is the most customizable launcher I've ever used n just as smooth as apex. Mind you, gotta be on ICS and up for Apex and Nova. ADW works on all, but to use all features it has, you'll have to be on JB.
Sent from an Atrix 2 during a smurf invasion!
Nova and Apex, I use Apex because it can set vertical wallpaper and icons in dock can swipe both up and down
But another launcher maybe the launcher of the future is Next Launcher (GoEx), supppper smooth
PhoenixNghi said:
Nova and Apex, I use Apex because it can set vertical wallpaper and icons in dock can swipe both up and down
But another launcher maybe the launcher of the future is Next Launcher (GoEx), supppper smooth
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yeah setting up nonscrollable wallpapers is a pain in nova..
Go with Primo launcher it works great and is free on xda.
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Apex
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ok so i just switched back to android a few weeks ago i got tired of my iphone but anyways
before i would always use launcher pro plus i loved how you could resize widgets an stuff
i also used to use a few other apps to resize icons an stuff but it was so long ago i cant remember
just trying to see what launcher people are going with (besides htc sense)
ive got launcher pro plus installed now but i think its kinda out dated
when i need another launcher i use nova launcher
I'm usually on sense but like cheezy I like nova as an alternative and a nice stock feeling
alright nova seems like what everyone is going with ill give that a try thanks for the reply's
Nova is pretty slick and has active development. You can even get beta downloads through the app once you install a beta version from xda.
Adw ex.
I loved the trebuchet launcher that was available on bpear's older CNA builds I believe, and it was all I used until development was put on hold for a bit. Then when I switched to Nocturnal Dirty I stuck to using Holo Launcher HD.
I use Apex Pro, smooth and customisable.
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Whoops.
the latest adw launcher Ex and next launcher ...
Launcher from 4.2 gapps
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Sense 4.1 or the cm one if I'm using aosp builds
Holo launcher HD plus. Or nova prime IMO take the cake
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Nova launcher prime, smooooooth! And can resize widgets as well.
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timmaaa said:
I use Apex Pro, smooth and customisable.
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I agree best launcher I have used.
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I was a big sense fan and then I tried Apex a while back and enjoyed the smoother usage. I have been using Nova for a bit now, it's almost identical to Apex, I like the method Nova uses to sort widgets better than Apex. It groups things by program, and unless Apex changed something, it would just give you a list of every widget available
FusionTechFTS said:
I was a big sense fan and then I tried Apex a while back and enjoyed the smoother usage. I have been using Nova for a bit now, it's almost identical to Apex, I like the method Nova uses to sort widgets better than Apex. It groups things by program, and unless Apex changed something, it would just give you a list of every widget available
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Still gives you a list in alphabetical order.
Actually using the TouchWiz launcher bundled with JellyBam. It's not nearly as customizable as Nova/Apex/Trebuchet, but it looks good and is very fluid. Quite enjoy the app drawer transition and pinch zoom.
I use Apex Launcher. I find it to be smoother and more responsive than Nova, at least on CM10. Great launcher. Highly recommended.
Apex
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