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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.

To Those That Hate The Sense Launcher

Download NovaLauncher. It's the best launcher app I have ever used. It builds upon the regular Ice Cream Sandwich launcher and is just about perfect to me.

If you dont like it can you just un-install it and everything will go back to the way it was before?

equlizer said:
If you dont like it can you just un-install it and everything will go back to the way it was before?
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The launcher cannot be uninstalled. You're just using a 3rd party one. The 3rd part one can be uninstalled and it will revert back to the Sense launcher

I have found apex to be much better on my gs2. I am content with Rosie for now.
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I'm using Apex

This is the first time Ive used Sense... well I used the first generation of it back when it was TouchFlo3D. I actually like it. Much better than TouchWiz.

The only downside is no sense widgets.
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i tried all 3
i think i like Go launcher the best

I find Go Launcher to be so ugly. I prefer Apex a lot more and I'll be putting it on my One X as soon as it arrives.

I prefer Nova over all because it's a ICS themed launcher. That's the deal breaker to me.

x3phyr said:
I prefer Nova over all because it's a ICS themed launcher. That's the deal breaker to me.
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what do you think apex is?
and it doesnt require you to buy an upgrade to get full use out of it....

hasneverusedapex.jpg
lol, I will check it out though for sure. I apologize for my ignorance.
EDIT: Nova and Apex both have you pay to get basically the same features, at the same price. lol.

Pirateghost said:
what do you think apex is?
and it doesnt require you to buy an upgrade to get full use out of it....
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This! APEX is better overall than Nova... AND ITS COMPLETELY FREE.

*Nova Launcher Prime Features (Paid version)*
Drawer Groups:
Folders in App Drawer
Unlimited custom tabs
Gestures
Quickly start Nova Actions or Apps from gestures on the desktop, such as pinching, swiping or two-finger swiping.
Hide Apps
Keep a clutter free drawer by hidding never used apps.
Dock Swipes
Get more use out of your dock apps by setting swipe-actions
Apex Launcher Pro (Paid Version) Features:
- Multiple configurable drawer tabs
- Unread count notifications
- Dock swipe gestures
- Two finger gestures
- More transition effects
- Batch add option for folders
- Option to merge folder contents
- Widgets in dock (1x1 only)
- Overlapping widgets
- More features on the way!
They share some features only available in the pro version, but I think I am indeed going to try Apex as it seems the general consensus is that it's better xD

x3phyr said:
hasneverusedapex.jpg
lol, I will check it out though for sure. I apologize for my ignorance.
EDIT: Nova and Apex both have you pay to get basically the same features, at the same price. lol.
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except, its an OUT OF THE WAY upgrade. if i try to add something to my homescreen or make changes, it doesnt tell me 'sorry, you have to pay money to get that feature'
the 'pro' features arent teased in the launcher like nova
thats why i prefer apex over nova. its not in my face to buy it.....(not that i dont support devs, but i have no use for those features)

That's a very reasonable opinion. lol. I'm getting Apex all set up right now just to see. I understand what yo mean with the in yo face kinda deal.

I've used both Apex and Nova on previous ICS phones. I'll be sticking with the Sense launcher until we have an AOSP based build

x3phyr said:
That's a very reasonable opinion. lol. I'm getting Apex all set up right now just to see. I understand what yo mean with the in yo face kinda deal.
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LOL.
to be completely honest, i didnt even know APEX had a pro version until you said something....i definitely like that fact. LMAO

I basically just love this phone to death completely. No matter what launcher. but I will love it more when i have AOSP, AOKP, or MIUI on it.

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
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General [Q] Which Home do you use?

Hi Guys
just for try some home/launcher, which Launcher do you use it, alternatively to samsung Home?
now i try PocoLauncher, its fast and light, but don't have, on the left of display, the google page!
thanks

I use Nova Launcher have done so on every phone I have had since I can remember!

I've used the stock one that comes with the phone for a few weeks and now on Nova. Tbh Samsungs one UI is actually ntb. I would recommend trying theirs before you get Nova and dedicate a bunch of time to customizing.

I use Niagara launcher because it's simple and for a tall phone it makes it easier to navigate through my apps

Smart Launcher 5. I used TSF Shell until it cost too much battery to justify the aesthetics. Nova and friends always felt clunky and sloppy.

TSF launcher even though development stopped 4 years ago, everything still works fine for me and love the smoothest of swiping screens.

Nova 7. Simply great.

Nova since S2 as far as I remember

Nova.
I use it on all Android phones since a few years ago.

now i try Lawnchair2, its very good, but yes Nova its the best for me too.

I use Ruthless Launcher it´s free, works well with gestures, has a google feed plugin and double tap to lock works well oh and Icon pack support as well

Microsoft Launcher for about five years now.

lowrider_05 said:
I use Ruthless Launcher it´s free, works well with gestures, has a google feed plugin and double tap to lock works well oh and Icon pack support as well
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I am also using Ruthless but with navigation buttons. How do you get it to work properly with gestures? Both Nova and Ruthless give me redraws of the homescreen when I come home via gesture and try to interact fast with another app.

One UI as the others don't work well with gestures...as above Nova gives me redraws.

I am using Blackberry launcher in the meantime to allow myself some buffer to move on to a Samsung from Blackberry Key2 (and lots of BB devices previously)

kennix127 said:
I am using Blackberry launcher in the meantime to allow myself some buffer to move on to a Samsung from Blackberry Key2 (and lots of BB devices previously)
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Welcome to 2021. I'm glad you could join us.

I use "Square Launcher" on every Android Device i had the last few years. Best!

Also been using Nova Launcher Prime since it was released. Never had a problem with it.

I use Nova or Lawnchair 2 .... are similar and very good... I prefer Lawnchair for the dock bar with 2 rows that i like much. Both can use Google Feed on left page.

I'm also a nova user for so long now.