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Hello everybody,
I'd like you all to know that I would like to open-source ARM Launcher to continue active development. see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2326240
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I've just released version 0.99.16 to google play. This release contains the following improvements/features:
Allow custom icons in the main dock (a lot of requests for this).
Fix that an item drop preview will not be shown for the top left corner.
Google play compatibility with devices like nexus 7 (thanks to a dear college for letting me borrow his nexus 7).
Improved start-up time.
Support for quick restart after being killed by android when more resources are needed.
Due to the change of the way the dock works, long pressing the icons it contains now starts a drag. To access the quick popup, long press the drawer icon.
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Hello all,
I'd like to announce a new Launcher for android. ARM Launcher. The goal is to have a fast, user friendly and highly configurable launcher. All devices with android 2.3.3 and higher are supported.
Features:
Support for various theme formats.
Sidebar to quickly start your favorite applications, recent applications or search all applications
The launcher supports Launcher Pro+ themes and includes the same widgets (except for the gmail widget).
Not limited by a 4x4 grid. ARM Launcher has much more grid cells to allow you to layout your screens as you'd like.
All widgets can be re-sized.
Lots of integrated widgets
Long press the default icons (dialer, drawer, contacts) in the bar to easily access your recent messages, recent applications, bookmarks, contacts and recent calls.
And much more.
ARM Launcher is not based on the android 4 stock launcher like for example Nova and Apex Launcher are. Instead ARM Launcher has been built manually from scratch using the the android Stock Launcher only as a reference.
If you'd like to try ARM Launcher, please download it from google play. Search for "ARM Launcher" to find it. Any feedback or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Please not that this application is a launcher, you'll have to start it using your device's home button.
For screenshots please visit sites.google.com/site/armlauncher/screenshots
Thank you!
I love your launcher , No lag in animations , Light on RAM. Just wonderful . Widgets are beautiful especially the message conversations and calender. Thanks.
Re: Announcing ARM Launcher
I would like to call it the new (and definitely improved) LauncherPro. Nice animations, especially when you move icons around! Widget are almost identical to the ones from LauncherPro
I'm using this as launcher from now on.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Re: Announcing ARM Launcher
I just tried on my one x and it works great, worth trying...
Gonna test it on tf700t also and let you know...
Especially i like resizing the widgets as you wish pixel by pixel...
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
And the link
http://sites.google.com/site/armlauncher/screenshots
Re: Announcing ARM Launcher
You should change the title of the thread to:
[2.3+] [Launcher] ARM launcher [11 feb]
And highlight the main differences between Apex, Nova and ARM. Yours is a lot better when it comes to home page customization.
[Q] Would it be possible to integrate something like Unity launcher or Swapps as "recent apps"? I mean like a side toolbar. Swipe gestures are the hype of 2013
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
looks awesome,i test it. :good:
---------- Post added at 07:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 PM ----------
have installed and i must say its a realy cool launcher with many cool features, keep it up!!!!! :good:
Extremely nice launcher, some bugs here and there, but definitely worth. Could you add the "caroussel" swiping effect from LG if possible. And some customizations such as transparency support, local icon use and contol over the app drawer such as removing tabs to show icons only would be very nice. Let me thank you once again sir. Really hats off to u for this awesome launcher. I don't have words to describe the joy of using this launcher.
Thanks
Nic thanks
Eeuwe said:
You should change the title of the thread to:
[2.3+] [Launcher] ARM launcher [11 feb]
And highlight the main differences between Apex, Nova and ARM. Yours is a lot better when it comes to home page customization.
[Q] Would it be possible to integrate something like Unity launcher or Swapps as "recent apps"? I mean like a side toolbar. Swipe gestures are the hype of 2013
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your comments, what kind of gesture were you thinking about? Something like swiping up or down? You can long press the drawer icon and it will show you your recently opened applications.
I am a bit familiar with apex, but not so much with nova. They are a lot like the android stock launcher aren't they?
Odp: [2.3+] [Launcher] ARM launcher [11 feb]
Where is the link to apk?
Why can i not find on my tablet google play?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
nickmartens1980 said:
Thanks for your comments, what kind of gesture were you thinking about? Something like swiping up or down? You can long press the drawer icon and it will show you your recently opened applications.
I am a bit familiar with apex, but not so much with nova. They are a lot like the android stock launcher aren't they?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not talking about the up and down gestures which are less useful with scrolling widgets, imo. I mean the side toolbar which one can expand with a gesture from the side of the screen to the middle, the are a few and work reasonably well: unity launcher, Swapps. But if these Ubuntu phone inspired functions would be part of ARM launcher that would be excellent!
Nova and Apex are practically the same, the stock launcher with a lot of options. And that's exactly what I love about your launcher... This one is really different!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 10:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 PM ----------
ncc74656 said:
Where is the link to apk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.nickm.enlaunch.launcher
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Lpp feel. Pretty good. Let me play with it fr a bit.
Nice. This feels pretty solid. Plenty of options and features. Could give apex and nova some competition.
I has a sig
ayk33 said:
Why can i not find on my tablet google play?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that is pretty weird. It is activated for all devices on Google play.
Eeuwe said:
I'm not talking about the up and down gestures which are less useful with scrolling widgets, imo. I mean the side toolbar which one can expand with a gesture from the side of the screen to the middle, the are a few and work reasonably well: unity launcher, Swapps. But if these Ubuntu phone inspired functions would be part of ARM launcher that would be excellent!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely like the way Swapps looks. I will probably add something similar. Nice suggestion!
I'm running it on CM7 Atrix so I don't see why it lags? I think the first goal of any launcher before features, is making it smoother than launcher pro.
Keep it up though, it can be great.
Smooth
Working very smoothly on my galaxy prevail.
Fantastic launcher for beta. Really smooth and fast overall. But no gestures mean no go for me. I will keep an eye on this though. Hopefully see more features in the future.
I really like the look and feel of this launcher. Long-pressing the dock icons is a unique feature.
Transparent widgets would be great.
The app drawer acted up at first. Some icons were missing although the name of the app was visible, and I couldn't open any apps from the drawer. Once I changed the drawer direction and chose the recent apps view, it settled down and began to work properly.
jeffreygtab said:
I'm running it on CM7 Atrix so I don't see why it lags? I think the first goal of any launcher before features, is making it smoother than launcher pro.
Keep it up though, it can be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lag? Really? It works flawlessly here. I think old phones with singlecore processors would be laggy, I guess. But with multicore it should run lagfree.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Download Lean Launcher from the Google Play Store
If you prefer the debug version, no worries, you can download it from Github, here. Look for "LeanLauncher-1.0.0-5-play-debug.apk"!
Credit
Huge thanks for the excellent work of Amir, without his work, I don't think Lean Launcher would have been born.
Full feature list:
Notification dots
- on supported devices
App shortcuts
- static shortcuts from android 6.0
- dynamic shortcuts on support devices
- extra shortcut option to edit or uninstall apps
Dynamic icons on supported devices
- for Google Calendar
- for Google Clock
Quick actions
- swipe down for notifications with one finger
- swipe down for quick settings with two finger
At A Glance
- with a companion app
Google Now
- only for debug builds for now
Search UI
- hide bottom search bar
- change search provider
- colored G icon
- hide app search bar
- hide app suggestions
Look & Feel
- force light or dark theme, or just based on your wallpaper
- change Hotseat background
- change grid sizes
- change Hotseat icon count
- change icon sizes
Edit apps
- hide apps from your drawer
- change icon shapes
- support
Other
- allow home screen rotation
- disable spring animation
- toggle navigation bar transparency
- lock your desktop to prevent accidental changes
- double tap to lock
What has happened since 0.3.0?
First of all, I wanted to create two companion apps, one for At A Glance (this is ready), one for Google Now. Sadly, so far all of my implementations sucked for one reason or another, so I still need time for that. If you can't live without Google Now, I suggest you to use the debug build from Github. If you don't really care, use the Play Store version.
But than, Amir released version 3.2 of Rootless Pixel Launcher, so I changed my mind: rebase Lean to make use of 3.2, and implement a few more requested feature. Look at the changelog, I think it looks nice.
What's next?
I have my eyes on two things:
stabilization, this is the most important. I have now included crash reporting in the builds, so I can monitor if I need to act on something.
proper implementation of Google Now companion app.
TL;DR: Download Lean Launcher from the Google Play Store!
This launcher runs flawlessly on my Pixel 2XL! Just one question - is there a way to turn off at a glance? The option in Lean setting is grey so I cant turn it off. I'm using the debug version 1.0.0-5 from github (the google now page works perfectly btw)
Thanks! I like that icon size can be changed and also the double tap to lock!
*KiD CuDi* said:
This launcher runs flawlessly on my Pixel 2XL! Just one question - is there a way to turn off at a glance? The option in Lean setting is grey so I cant turn it off. I'm using the debug version 1.0.0-5 from github (the google now page works perfectly btw)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a mishap from my side, in the next version, you will be able to turn it off!
It seems at a glance weather is not working in the debug version even after installing and launching the companion app...
Running playstore version, everything ok till now. Thnx!
Cheers
Sent from my Google Pixel using XDA Labs
That's weird, it should pick up messages from the Google app sooner or later. Once it only started to work for me after I launched the Google app manually, than launching the companion app one more time. Does that maybe help?
Really loving the 0.3.0 version. I have a request. Is it possible to turn off the scroll bar in the app drawer? Scroll bar is really messing up the immersive experience for me. May an option to toggle in the settings.
Thank you for lean launcher
Awesome launcher smooth! My weather doesn't show, any work around?
Hi,
Your Pixel launcher runs really smooth on my Note 8 (and I've tried others Pixel launcher less smooth for me), great work!
I love the options already present, maybe an option to change per app icon, but maybe not a good idea to clutter your launcher with a ton of options and loose the performance...
I prefer stability and performance instead of having options slowing down the launcher.
keep up the good work and thanks again! :good::good::good:
@Anand durai: I will see about that, not yet sure.
@fullmetal509: For the weather to show, you need to install a companion app, which you can download here. After installing it, launch it once, and then it should start to receive and forward messages from the Google app to Lean Launcher!
@Manson79: actually, per app icon change is planned for the future
the Google Now page not changing dark mode
Google now page looks like old design compared to Rootless Pixel Launcher
I can't install the LeanGlance APK, it just keeps saying the package is corrupt. I am running the debug version and I've tried using older versions but nothing seems to work. I'm using an S8+, if that's significant.
mentalitarium said:
I can't install the LeanGlance APK, it just keeps saying the package is corrupt. I am running the debug version and I've tried using older versions but nothing seems to work. I'm using an S8+, if that's significant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any other Pixel Launcher variant installed? If yes, you will have to uninstall that first, since the companion app has to have the same package name in order for it to be able to receive and forward messages from the Google app!
Love the app
Would love the ability to change the app drawer to transparent an grid sizes
the playstore version is really smooth
Have you considered making a toggle to have a transparent dock, preferably rounded edges just liket the Android P launcher ?
Feature request: to be able to move the dock search bar up to the top of the home screen like in pic attached but obviously with the actual Google search bar, I'm just using a widget from playstore.
Thanks for this launcher I'm using it as my daily driver ?
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA Labs
A perfect compromise between the too simple stock Android launcher and the too "complicated" Nova launcher !
There are just the usefull settings in this launcher !
Thx a lot !
Been using this since yesterday and I must say it is damn well smooth added with flux white substratum theme it's looking sweet! hope you can add Android P like dock and other P launcher features in the future. Keep it up! good work and thank you
jabbeboy said:
the playstore version is really smooth
Have you considered making a toggle to have a transparent dock, preferably rounded edges just liket the Android P launcher ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can set the dock to transparent: Settings > Look & Feel > Hotseat background > Transparent. However, I think you mean translucent, like the P preview launcher is. That is planned, but for now, I'm waiting for Google dropping the latest launcher sources.
skiely666 said:
Feature request: to be able to move the dock search bar up to the top of the home screen like in pic attached but obviously with the actual Google search bar, I'm just using a widget from playstore.
Thanks for this launcher I'm using it as my daily driver
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if I want to do that, but I'll think about it!
bon122728 said:
Been using this since yesterday and I must say it is damn well smooth added with flux white substratum theme it's looking sweet! hope you can add Android P like dock and other P launcher features in the future. Keep it up! good work and thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
P features are planned for later, first Google will have to drop the latest sources for it. After that, I'll most likely rebase to it, and the launcher will have the latest look & feel.
Being a fan of Chromium OS and a passion for developing new and interesting things, I decided to build a launcher inspired by chromium os, based on Material Components.
GCA or GO Custom Android Launcher is a pixel design inspired launcher with core component features from chromium OS desktop. Its designed and built for Android Go but also offers new devices a fresh and new experience for your homescreen.
Supporting Android 5.x+, GCA offers a single screen launcher replacement app for android users who want a pixel lite experience. Alot of the offered features come from my other launcher, Sapphyx Launcher, and rebuilt to be faster, lighter and ultimately offer a better experience in a small package. It runs beautifully on Android Go, smooth on devices with Android 5 (Like the Kindle Fires) and offers a theme engine that's customizeable by the user.
GCA features are dependant on what Google Apps are installed that depend on an action, whether Google services is installed or not and specific apps that are installed (Action Dash for Dash System Shortcut)
Core Features
-A single screen setup (no grid, one widget).
-A customizeable App Drawer with multi-purpose search.
-The App Drawer features apps with system shortcuts and app shortcuts and allows users to blacklist apps.
-App Drawer supports a secondary "Work" tab to help organize apps in a better fassion.
-App Shortcuts generate a list of selectable app shortcuts in a vertical menu of the app popup.
-Recent Apps
-Easy to use launcher customization
-Pixel/Chromium desktop like Cosmetics
-Launcher uses my wallpaper app, Drywall, as default wallpaper provider. If its not installed, fallback on user selected.
-Notification Badges and Underlining. Clicking on the app will dismiss. Is not supported on Android Go unless activated by OEM.
-Adaptive Icons
-Icon Packs
Adaptive Icons
-GCA Launcher uses James Fenn's adaptive icon view library. The code itself was inspired by lawnchair's backport of adaptive icons for pre oreo devices. It pulls v26 icon assets for foregrounds and backgrounds and relayers them as an adaptive icon view which behave similar to pixel launchers adaptive icons. How you choose to use them will affect performance of the launcher and should be chosen dependant of how capable your device is. Users can select which shape of adaptive icon path they want to use. This will also apply itself to app actions, predictions and app drawer button.
There are 3 options of icons you may use for your drawer.
Pixel Adaptive - will try and generate adaptive icons based on the assets gathered by the icon and created by the system, this will slow down your app drawer depending on your hardware. (Not recommended for Android Go, Does not support icon packs)
Palette Adaptive - will disregard any assets available from the icon and simply scale the icon drawable as foreground and apply the dominant color of the icon for the background drawable (Faster than pixel adaptive, supports icon packs)
Normal Icons - normal default icon behavior and style
What's Not Working / WIP
-Icon Packs that generate their own icons like Icon Pack Studio may cause crashes, please don't use them. Icon Packs developed with BluePrint library are recommended.
-If external data usage permission is denied on first start, homescreen scrim will not be available or work correctly. Homescreen scrim will set to default white if using a live wallpaper.
-GCA is setup to change available features based on Android OS, if you notice something that may not be correct or crashes, let me know. This is your only paywall.
-Android 5.X support is limited but work in progress. Cosmetics and style need updated but it is functional. Please report back any inconveniences and crashes.
-Android 10 support has been added but we are monitoring performance and compatibility.
-Adaptive Shape Views and Adaptive Icon performance may vary on devices.
Changelog
-A detailed changelog can be found in the application settings. It is written in html so translation is your responsibility, html can be copied.
Donations
/ Pledges
-Yearly pledges have been implemented in the app. You are not obligated for any reason to purchase these but if you want regular updates, its recommended. Pledges keep the project alive and a few cups of coffee or a beer is sent my way (depending on time of day).
Downloads
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gocalsd.symphlyx
Xda Labs: https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.gocalsd.symphlyx
Telegram: Support channel can be found in the app settings
Bug Reports / Request
Please use the telegram channel or xda forums for bug reports and request. Do not use the Google Play ratings as a place for this stuff.
While making request, take into consideration how itl affect performance. We are keeping Android Go as our target OS. If itl consume memory or increase size massively , im not interested. We are aiming to keep customization minimal and the launcher simple but their could be different ways to approach currently implemented features, and id love to hear your ideas.
Android Go Nokia 1 performance demonstration
Nokia 1 and Essential Phone performance comparison
Quick Preview of Symphlyx (Latest build)
8/11/19
Il be uploading a new video soon comparing performance on a variety of devices using Symphlyx Official
Previously known as Symphlyx Launcher
Project Update Notice:
V2 is in development and I'm hoping for a beta release at the end of February 2020. The launcher has been rewritten from the ground up and includes a bunch of new features the community requested through pledges.
Sent from my HTC U Ultra using XDA Labs
I downloaded it and put it through the paces. I like how clean it is and I think you could be on to something. Will look forward to further development. Good job. ?
MadsMann said:
I downloaded it and put it through the paces. I like how clean it is and I think you could be on to something. Will look forward to further development. Good job. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear!
Sent from my HTC U Ultra using XDA Labs
Hoping to have a new update published tomorrow night. A preview of what's being worked on.
Sent from my HTC U Ultra using XDA Labs
New update today, now available on xda labs!
Changes
-Added experimental support for SDK 21 (Any devices with android 5.x are now able to install Symphlyx. Needs alot of work but its useable)
-Added Dismiss popup action for Android 5.x (Clicking outside of bounds on popup will not dismiss menu)
-Improved general performance and optimization for Android Go
-Added ability to dismiss notification underlining
-Added functional reminder widget
-Added semi function Heads Up widget (Previously known as generic At A Glance. Will behave differently on different OS's. Working on a weather provider atm but clicking on weather will ooen google weather. Heads up strings display differnet things on every quarter of the day.)
-Recent Apps now functional (Uses a position and click count logic. Recent apps hold 5 recent apps. The drawer monitors a click count up to 5. Every count is registered to a position and saves the action and icon on that click for the position in recent apps. If that action is already saved in a position, the click data is ignored but the count is consumed.)
-Added the ability to clear search results. Clicking the back button when the drawer is open will dismiss it but if search results are present, it will clear the search results focus first.
-Improved icon pack support and the chooser settings
-Increased homescreen scrim and All Apps button height position
-Fixed an issue where Sensey listener would be killed if the background process was killed by android os. This would make navigating to your apps or settings impossible.
And a few more chnages, check the changelog for a full list of changes.
Sent from my HTC U Ultra using XDA Labs
Currently working on a large update for Sapphyx Launcher atm so please leave some feedback on what could be improved, what you'd like to see, how the launcher performs on your device, etc while i take a break on this project to let it simmer.
Sent from my HTC U Ultra using XDA Labs
Currently finishing things up with Sapphyx Launcher development but a whole lot of changes are expected to be merged in with Symphlyx launcher in the coming future.
Sent from my HTC U Ultra using XDA Labs
It's been kinda quiet around here. I present a preview of the new popup menu we've been working on.
An update is expected to drop in June. Rebuilding alot of everything.
Let's talk about this new screenshot here giving some lite to Symphlyx Launcher's future.
Users will now have a dock. This dock will reflect recent app icons to the desktop from the drawer. These shortcuts have a popup menu similar to the drawer popup menu but limited to launcher actions. These do not have any sort of notification indicator.
Below the apps is a google searchbar. The searchbar also has 3 items. 2 predictive actions and am all apps button. The all apps button can be toggled while the predictive actions are only available to devices that support app shortcuts. Predictive actions behave very similar to Lawnchair 's logic behind predictive actions. When a user launches a shortcut class, its logged and saved to the prediction items. Only 2 at a time are logged.
Update Alpha 0.5 is now available on xda labs and pending on Google play.
Changes since march reveal
-Widget sliders are dead. The homescreen has been rebuilt to be cleaner, faster and better for gestures. Insteaf of Sliders, Symphkyx will rely on its stand alone heads up widget. Later on, users will be granted the ability to use their own widgets.
-Sensey gesture recognition has been removed due to click interferences we had during development. It has been replaced with our own gesture recognition system that will allow more control.
-The homescreen now offers a Shelf (dock) similar to Chromium. This shelf will later have some theme options available. Shelf will mirrow recwntly opened apps from the app drawer and add them in a 5 item dock. These shortcuts offer limited launcher actions and launcher shortcuts. Below these apps is a searchbar for google. It should open Google now depending on your os and firmware. On the end of the searchbar is an all apps button and a holder for recent actions. Recent actions can be enabled in the launcher settings and is only available to android 7.1+. Prediction actions will list 2 recenlty opened app shortcuts. These shortcuts will remain here untill a new app package is detected and/or replaced by the prediction system.
-The app drawer has had a few things done to it to improve performance and reliability. Colors are extracted in the data set instead of the adapter now and used for the popup menu and badge underlining. The drawer toolbar works the same way as before. Clicking on the google icons will open their respective activities but if something is in the searchbar, it will search that string in that environment. (ex: Google search news, Playstore search news)
-The popup menu still needs some tuning but now builds up on app shortcuts. If a shortcut is available, it will add it in a vertical list menu. This replaces the shortcut action we used to have to view shortcuts in a context menu. This menu is cleaner, faster and feels like a pixel popup. Actions are dependant of your os version and shortcuts are dependant on availability. Shortcuts and popups do not appear on recent apps in the app drawer.
-The settings menu has been cleaned up abit. This menu will only contain dynamic settings. (except icon packs) The menu now has an expansion activity. This menu will hold settings that rely on the launcher restarting or some system dependant.
-The about activity has been rebuilt with attribouter.
-The application is now built on AndroidX and Material Components. Very little 3rd party dependency is used now for a cleaner and reliable experience.
Recent Screenshots
Small update today. Tried correcting the positioning of popup menus on app item positions. We've noticed the popup menus would cut off on far right items and arrows not correctly inflating in the right sport or at all. I simply updated the popup library to correct these issues.
I might look into some sort of notification or alert count in the popup menu which would reset to 0 if cleared with the Clear Action.
A light n dark theme mode is being looked. This will be triggered by time or manually.
Nx Biotic said:
Small update today. Tried correcting the positioning of popup menus on app item positions. We've noticed the popup menus would cut off on far right items and arrows not correctly inflating in the right sport or at all. I simply updated the popup library to correct these issues.
I might look into some sort of notification or alert count in the popup menu which would reset to 0 if cleared with the Clear Action.
A light n dark theme mode is being looked. This will be triggered by time or manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be promising. Wouldn't let me get through the permissions set-up before crashing.
dpdsr65 said:
Could be promising. Wouldn't let me get through the permissions set-up before crashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What android version are you using?
Nx Biotic said:
What android version are you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
8. 10
dpdsr65 said:
8. 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, il see what would of caused this to happen.
Well I was searching for a new launcher and xda labs landed me here. Screenshots look dope, but for me launcher has bugs,
1: not able to set homescreen widget even when given all permissions
2: app drawer is cut maybe due to aspect ratio ( mine is 19.5:9)
Well if these screens help, here they are.
Shade has been updated to Android Q!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/f5zz38/shade_launcher_q_the_best_of_both_worlds/
New Screenshots
-
Having grown tired of only decompiling and porting Google’s Pixel Launcher code, I decided to turn my own vision for a launcher into reality.
It's based on the latest AOSP Launcher3 Pie version.
What can it do?
Mostly everything Rootless Pixel Launcher could do, but there are some additional features.
Themes: Make your launcher look like eye candy using one of the precreated themes.
Categories: Order your apps in the app drawer or hide them in the Hidden category.
Smart Unread: Show what’s most important at the top of your home screen.
Quickstep: The Magisk module QuickSwitch that lets other apps handle recents is supported.
Plugins: Have third party add-ons implement additional functionality in the launcher.
Here’s the full release thread on Reddit: Shade Launcher
You are free to use the code in any way you like, as long as you keep me in your credits.
Links
Screenshots
Play Store
APK Download
Source Code
Test Builds
Contact & Donate
Thank you for this new launcher Amir, will have a try soon !
Cheers
Awaiting a compatible version with Android Q beta, currently I can't test it cause the launcher keeps crashing
Currently mainlining a Nokia 6.1 (2018), Android 9.0, 00WW_3_51F_SP01 Build Number
Really slick launcher my dude, nice break away from the bottom search bar, and to have a proper swipe down to expand notification shade that Android One Launcher simply does not have. The only thing I could possibly ask for is maybe a few more icon shapes (rounded square being the priority). Other than an early bird with a few bugs which involve crashing after using the widgets picker, it's a good enough barebones option.
blankplains said:
The only thing I could possibly ask for is maybe a few more icon shapes (rounded square being the priority).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cylinder and Rounded Square are in the new Play Store build that is rolling out.
blankplains said:
Other than an early bird with a few bugs which involve crashing after using the widgets picker, it's a good enough barebones option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had others report it to me before but I cannot reproduce it and the crash trace only shows some weird native code going wrong. Furthermore, it also seems to happen with AOSP Launcher3. At the moment, I still have no idea what's happening...
very smooth launcher i like it, can i make a suggestion that allows users to configure which apps can use the smart notifications. I love the idea but i would like not to have messages from whats app displayed through that widget
notlek said:
very smooth launcher i like it, can i make a suggestion that allows users to configure which apps can use the smart notifications. I love the idea but i would like not to have messages from whats app displayed through that widget
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's set to use the same notifications as the ones that show notification dots. Disable the notification dot for WhatsApp if you want to hide it in Smart Unread.
Thank you for adding the dock override for search bar widget, I can properly replicate the Android One layout as I personally intended.
As an unpopular, tangential opinion, docking icons in Launcher3 never played as nicely as it should have given some aspect ratios on larger displays. So I don't mind having a search bar in lieu of icons.
Hello! Any chance this could see a release on F-Droid? I'm going to give it a try soon!
EDIT: I'd surely love being able to change and edit categories, as well as better controlling the dock. Looks great otherwise!
Is there an option to hide apps?
Nice launcher!
I'm using Smartlauncher at the moment and miss the following features in shade:
- gestures (swipe up/down/left/right to start apps)
- add/delete categories
- categories at side instead on top
Would be great to see this in the future.
---------- Post added at 20:17 ---------- Previous post was at 20:08 ----------
murali3127 said:
Is there an option to hide apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long press the app and select hidden category.
LazyT said:
- gestures (swipe up/down/left/right to start apps)
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Click to collapse
Swipe down is used for notifications, up to go to all apps, right to open the feed and left to go to the next page. Would you want to disable all of these just to quickly start apps?
LazyT said:
- add/delete categories
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would want to bring this at some point but it does require designing an interface for it, which is also the reason why giving per-app icon selection is taking so long. I want it to fit in with the AOSP aesthetic.
LazyT said:
- categories at side instead on top
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem, not sure how this would fit in with the AOSP UI, right now they are taking the place of app suggestions.
Swipe down is used for notifications, up to go to all apps, right to open the feed and left to go to the next page. Would you want to disable all of these just to quickly start apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it's possible to difference this from gestures: gestures only in the center area of the screen?
not sure how this would fit in with the AOSP UI
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Click to collapse
Ok, but on phones you get the doubled space vertically for icons as horizontally.
LazyT said:
Nice launcher!
I'm using Smartlauncher at the moment and miss the following features in shade:
- gestures (swipe up/down/left/right to start apps)
- add/delete categories
- categories at side instead on top
Would be great to see this in the future.
---------- Post added at 20:17 ---------- Previous post was at 20:08 ----------
Long press the app and select hidden category.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the use when the hidden app can be discovered by search?
murali3127 said:
What's the use when the hidden app can be discovered by search?
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Click to collapse
Is there any launcher that doesn't let you find apps again after hiding them? If anything, Shade's way to unhide makes it so you need to know which app was hidden to unhide it, while other launchers have a global "unhide" option where you can see all the apps you've hidden.
Maybe I'll find the time to test this launcher tomorrow, but I'd already like to know if there's an option to not show any categories in the app drawer?
edit: Ok, seems like I'll stick to your Rootless Launcher, because I can't remove categories. This version has to too many 'unnecessary' features, but that's only my personal taste.
New update based on Android Q: https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/f5zz38/shade_launcher_q_the_best_of_both_worlds/
Nokia 6.1 (2018), Android 10, 00WW_4_10C_SP01 Build
Love the further integration into the stock Quickstep aesthetic, as well as the adaptive search bar in app drawer, something the Android One launcher forgot to get on Android Q/10. This has basically succeeded the rootless pixel launcher in every way now, plus some variation while maintaining smooth performance without overwhelm. My only request is having the accent color with dark mode match the stock cornflower blue-like accent, or just make that an option while keeping the current accent.
https://i.redd.it/5g4ywmcddjk31.png
EDIT: the animated clock icon does not change shape, refer to build outlined in the header of this post.
blankplains said:
My only request is having the accent color with dark mode match the stock cornflower blue-like accent, or just make that an option while keeping the current accent.
https://i.redd.it/5g4ywmcddjk31.png
EDIT: the animated clock icon does not change shape, refer to build outlined in the header of this post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about the first point, I could look into using the system accent in the future.
Could you elaborate on the clock issue?
azaidi said:
Not sure about the first point, I could look into using the system accent in the future.
Could you elaborate on the clock issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the system accent extracted, assuming that won't cause any overt optimization issues? If not applicable, perhaps just add the Black/Gray, Space, Cinnamon, etc. from the developer options settings as manually selected options.
I fidgeted with icon shape, it sometimes fixes the problem when I restart the launcher, sometimes it doesn't and the shape is stuck.
I first introduced GCA Launcher 3 years ago as an inspirational project based on Chromium OS and over the years of development and continuous feedback from the userbase, GCA Launcher has evolved into a one of kind launcher experience that is now considered competitive against its own kind. GCA is not a traditional android grid homescreen launcher app but a single screen homescreen experience. We sacrifice the cluttered homescreen experience for a focused workspace where users can place apps that are apart of their daily routines while retaining the ability to access to important features like shortcuts, notifications, actions and personalization. The app drawer has been designed for a one handed experience while retaining the organization and filtering experience users need to search for apps that are important to them. Below, Il talk about sections of the launcher in more detail.
THE HOMESCREEN
The homescreen was designed for users who want the Pixel experience on their devices but also provide them with a simple tier experience that has no clutter, that is easy to understand, have full control and have access to some inhouse features that are unique to GCA. The Homescreen was designed for both the big screen and mobile scene. Users can pin as many apps to their Shelf as they want. You can do so by going into your app drawer, long pressing on an app to access its popup menu and select pin to shelf. This then creates a hotseat for that specific app sets a unique ID to that speicif hotseat so its protected against other possible replicas the user may create. This in turn opens a door in the future that will allow me to add Actions, Groups, and other possible actions I can allow users to add to the shelf. Users can choose between using GCA Launchers built in Quick Search Bar to bond to their shelf or choose a specific searchbar widget to bond to the shelf or hide it all together. To access the app drawer, users simply swipe up from the shelf to access the app list. Users are also able to use either GCA Launchers built in Widget that simply works as a search bar and displays the Google App and Chrome app shortcuts or use a specific widget of their choice. The homescreen also has a set of customizeable gestures the user can bond actions and shortcuts to.
LAUNCHER SHEETS
While developing GCA Launcher, I wanted something that spoke material design (Besides the Material You theming features baked in) that was unique to the launcher. The idea came about while browsing the Material Component website by google and Material Sheets caught my eye.
By default, GCA uses the Navigation Menu to display the launcher menu on the homescreen but I decided to take this a step further and tap into its full ability to display content. There are 2 types of sheets that function in GCA Launcher. App Sheets and Launcher Sheets. Launcher Sheets display content that can interact with the user while App Sheets display information regarding the target its referring to. For EX: After accessing the popup menu, selecting the hamburger menu in the quick action list in the popup will open te App Sheet of the selected application, this will display System Actions and Setting Information. Launchers Sheets display information like the Launcher Menu, Quick Search, Notifications and more to come. Launcher Sheets can be bonded to gestures to quickly access them and they dont interfere with your homescreen. Its very similar to the quick space in Action Launcher.
BADGES
GCA Launcher brings 4 different app badges to the table. Dots, Badge Counts, Underline and Dynamic.
Dots have been redesigned to behave abit differently than pixel launcher. As notification counts increase, the border of the Dot will get darker.
Underlines are just, well underlines...
Badge Counts will show the current count of active notifications for an app.
Dynamic Badges are something new. I wanted to create something similar to Nova Launcher but ofcourse from my own perspective. As notifications increase for an app, it monitors the notifications in the background and watches the notification icons used. The icon is than rendered as a badge and placed on the app.
ICON EDITING
I have not cut any corners when it comes to Icon Editing. From applying 2 different icon packs for your app drawer and your shelf, to editing labels and choosing specific icons from installed icons packs to crafting your own icon from an image in your gallery, their are all sorts of possibilities for Icon Management. GCA Launchers uses its own Adaptive Icon Rendering library to manipulate icons to any size, shape, dim and even creating material you themed icons on your Shelf.
LAUNCHER SETTTINGS
The launcher settings was the most interesting part about this project. I wanted a complete redesign. A complete do over. Something new and fresh. The Launcher settings was designed for both new users and existing users in mind. The Interface uses a Rail Navigation for the core categories most users are focused on while pressing on the navigation button will expand the Navigation Menu that allows the user to access even more settings for the launcher.
PRO FEATURES
GCA LAUNCHER IS NO LONGER AN ALL FREE LAUNCHER (As it used to be when it first launched). With the pandemic and everything else going on in my life, I had to make the choice to make GCA Launcher a profitable project. Unlike other premium launchers where the user buys a premium key and everything unlocks, GCA Launcher DOES NOT USE THIS APPROACH. Users can now buy individual pro features based on their needs and wants. I am working on ways to reward users with discounts and/or if you have purchased pledges in the past. Pledges are just donations and don't reward you with anything however I am working on getting pledged users discounts to reep benifits from. I am also working on discount days and special events to earn pro features. This is an entirely new direction for launchers, so yeah im a tad nervous about it but being the first launcher dev to approach this but im excited at the same time. Once you purchase a pro feature, it should unlock automatically from the launcher settings or just implement itself under the hood. If it doesnt seem to stick properly, reboot the launcher or make sure the pro feature has been purchased.
PRO FEATURES FOR NONE GOOGLE USERS
Some android devices around the world do not run off of google or just is not available and I understand this and am working very hard in the background to figure out a solution that will not be abused. I will have something for you in the future.
ANDROID GO VERSION
Coming soon!
Core Features
Launcher supports work profile apps and dual apps
Supports to indicate paused apps
Supports Action Dash system shortcut
Supoorts Sesame Searchbar in the Shelf
Launcher takes into consideration Full Screen Gestures and the Navigation Bar when needed to
Groups allow users to create organized folders of apps available in the Groups Sheet
Multi-tab search in the app drawer
While enabling Recent Apps and Groups in the app drawer, this will disable the section seeker view
Launcher Sheets are a new approach to menus and options for the launcher and apps.
The Shelf offers specific actions for apps that differ from the Drawer apps. One option in specific is the favorite action.
The Shelf and App Drawer apps will feature different system shortcuts and features in the app sheet. Long clicking on an app will make a popup menu appear, click the hamburger menu for a sheet menu
Apps can be edited in 2 options. The physical editing and the personal options. Personal options are in the launcher settings and allow options like icon sizes, label editing and shape shifting. Physical options can be found in the popup menu by clicking edit. This allows adaptive override, icon pack editing, scale and label editing.
The Shelf features a revised searchbar that can be toggled to the Top, Bottom or Removed completely. The searchbar features a shortcut to open the launcher menu, a global search feature, an assistant shortcut and has an option to store and track the usage of App Shortcuts to feature a recent actions holder.
Hide and Edit apps right from the popup menu
The App Drawer is built on a fastscroll functionality.
Recent Apps now uses Usage Stats Data. This gives Recent Apps a 100% reliable stat and not clutter up the app drawer when its not in use. The list will update on a regular basis.
The Shelf and App Drawer themes are based on a sheet style. They overlap each other creating some interesting twist to style.
App Shortcuts and Notifications for the current app appear in the popup menu
Active Notifications appear in app sheets showing users a preview of current notifications. Clicking on the notification will take you to that action. The notification sheet will display all your active notifications and snoozed notifications.
Users can manage a blacklist of notification badges
GCA Launcher does support Material Widgets in Android 12
Widgets can be resized by long clicking on them and a resize module will appear.
Material You theming powered by MonetCompat
Launcher settings features smart suggestions that appear on certain variables when available
Join the beta program to receive the newest build of GCA Launcher and to test new features before they officially release.
Links:
GCA Telegram Channel
GCA Telegram News Channel
Sign Up For Beta Program Web Android
GCA Launcher on Google Play
General Note:
This is a pre beta of which means parts of the launcher are not even functional yet. I did a pre beta to find errors i couldn't find myself and to get feedback on the progress we currently are at. If you see a page that is blank or something isn't functional, chances are it wasn't ready for the public yet. Please be patient with things.
Common Questions:
Why does GCA Launchers Adaptive icons behave so differently compared to the ones found in stock launchers?
-That is because the icons use a different mechanic and were made from scratch so everyone could enjoy adaptive icons and it not be exclusive to 7.1+ users. My icons can be modified from the icon to the shape override.
Can we get a launcher import option?
-No, not currently. Almost all launchers that exist use the base of Googles Launcher3 which adding an import option for them is easy. I would have to take the database, tear it apart, create a converter and place the data we need were it belongs. We are not there yet.
The System UI seems to behave differently from other apps.
-GCA Launcher has a theme engine similar to pixel launcher and trys to make the choice of a light or dark navbar or statusbar. Using Android10s dark mode may confuse things but eventually il have it all sorted out.
The launcher interface isn't what I expected. Shouldn't it behave like pixel launcher?
-No, it behaves like it should be. How it was designed.
Does it support quickswitch?
-It never will unless Google changes the api for the recents provider. I blame the lawnchair team of this common question as many users have assumed this is a premium feature now and should be supported by all launchers now which isn't the case.
Does this launcher support dark mode from android10?
-yes but we have some work todo yet
Why do things look weird in the launcher settings? Preference category is hard to read and matches the toolbar color.
-Try changing the color scheme in the style settings. This is the GCA theme engine at work.
Ratings:
If you post a rating for GCA Launcher coming from V1, more than likely i will dis regard it. V1 is being deprecated soon and all bugs and errors you will find in V1 on the playstore are being disregarded. V2 is a rewrite with new features and new bugs.
Bugs
Theming issues colliding with system
Some widgets dont' save initial setup data
Complex widgets are not currently supported
That's a ton of changes. Do you have any screenshots or screen recordings you can share?
MishaalRahman said:
That's a ton of changes. Do you have any screenshots or screen recordings you can share?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can most definitely do that
Screenshots of V2
I updated the build earlier to fix something for Android 8 users and ended up screwing something up for Android 9 users so il be keeping tabs on everything as much as possible but I will not be able to do anything if no one says anything. Please provide feedback as much as possible. Thank you in advanced.
Those of you keeping me informed of crashes, thank you, thank you, thank you
Newest build fixes problems with android 9 and 10 crashing in specific windows of the launcher
I just installed this and have only played with it for a few minutes. A couple things I have noticed.
The status bar icons and time take on the same color as the wallpaper. I installed and ran it with a white background. The status bar icons were white, when I changed to a black background they changed to black as well.
I can't get the size of the icons to save. When I go to settings>theme and style>launcher icon I change the size from small to normal but when you click ok and go back into the setting it says small again.
I also would get where the phone would default back to the stock launcher.
Maybe I didn't play around with it enough but how do you set apps on the dock?
I will mess with it some more tomorrow and let you know if I find anything else.
Also I am on a Pixel 4 XL on March update. Not rooted or unlocked
hatdrc said:
I just installed this and have only played with it for a few minutes. A couple things I have noticed.
The status bar icons and time take on the same color as the wallpaper. I installed and ran it with a white background. The status bar icons were white, when I changed to a black background they changed to black as well.
I can't get the size of the icons to save. When I go to settings>theme and style>launcher icon I change the size from small to normal but when you click ok and go back into the setting it says small again.
I also would get where the phone would default back to the stock launcher.
Maybe I didn't play around with it enough but how do you set apps on the dock?
I will mess with it some more tomorrow and let you know if I find anything else.
Also I am on a Pixel 4 XL on March update. Not rooted or unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shelf apps can be changed by long clicking on a Shelf favorite and their will be a Favorite option to select a different package. This option isn't available in the App Drawer apps so it might be easy to miss.
When changing the icon sizes, make sure your changing the icon size and bot just the text size. Both options are in one dialog.
Id your having a hard time switching out your default launcher, you can use my No'Me app i have listed above. It helps alot.
Nx Biotic said:
Newest build fixes problems with android 9 and 10 crashing in specific windows of the launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app in your GDrive is (always) updated ?
Going to test your launcher by curiosity.
Thx !
BreckZeBoulay said:
The app in your GDrive is (always) updated ?
Going to test your launcher by curiosity.
Thx !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I keep both Gdrive and Telegram beta channel updated. I will be publishing the beta build on Playstore when i feel its stable enough. Right now, we constantly keep running into something that prevents me from doing so.
Hi, I was wondering if you could add an import feature?
I take a lot of time to setup my whole homescreen and it would be amazing to have an import feature. Thanks
I want to import my nova launcher setup to this launcher.
surya467 said:
Hi, I was wondering if you could add an import feature?
I take a lot of time to setup my whole homescreen and it would be amazing to have an import feature. Thanks
I want to import my nova launcher setup to this launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That won't happen because this launcher uses a different style and approach to the launcher scene. The most customization you will do in this launcher is color scheme and icon theming
Hi,
I was more curious and installed it in my android 8.0 with custom system UI colours (non rooted).
when I set as launcher, the system UI get restarted again and again. Finally, it ended up with Factory reset.
beautiful launcher ? works great on my old Nokia 8, on my Nova 5T not so much (cause Huawei) I'll watch the progress of this launcher from now on, thank you for this, Pledge doesn't work on the pre- beta
vpguru said:
Hi,
I was more curious and installed it in my android 8.0 with custom system UI colours (non rooted).
when I set as launcher, the system UI get restarted again and again. Finally, it ended up with Factory reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im currently investigating a launcher theme issue. Its crashing devices randomly. Your not alone
PaulDnoOb said:
beautiful launcher ? works great on my old Nokia 8, on my Nova 5T not so much (cause Huawei) I'll watch the progress of this launcher from now on, thank you for this, Pledge doesn't work on the pre- beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pledges should work. May depend on the google services version installed on your device. Thank you for your support.
Great launcher
Great launcher but it's a bit buggy for me on One UI. The header text is dark in the settings and also in app options when using dark mode and adaptive icons don't work properly for Samsung apps. The status bar also is dark on home screen and blends in with the wallpaper so it's hard to read. Also when you open the app drawer the shelf doesn't completely hide the app icons (the top portion is still visible). I don't know if that's by design but it looks weird. Search doesn't work (probably because I don't have the Google app installed but if that's the case I wish there was an option to disable it). Creating a widget causes the launcher to freeze, and it only recovers when I clear data and force stop. When you press and hold an icon, even if the side menu shows up partially, if you leave pressing the app, the app will launch. You have to wait for the side menu to completely open. That's not much of an issue once you get used it's behavior. It's an early build so the bugs are expected but I thought I will report them anyways.
ununununun said:
Great launcher but it's a bit buggy for me on One UI. The header text is dark in the settings and also in app options when using dark mode and adaptive icons don't work properly for Samsung apps. The status bar also is dark on home screen and blends in with the wallpaper so it's hard to read. Also when you open the app drawer the shelf doesn't completely hide the app icons (the top portion is still visible). I don't know if that's by design but it looks weird. Search doesn't work (probably because I don't have the Google app installed but if that's the case I wish there was an option to disable it). Creating a widget causes the launcher to freeze, and it only recovers when I clear data and force stop. When you press and hold an icon, even if the side menu shows up partially, if you leave pressing the app, the app will launch. You have to wait for the side menu to completely open. That's not much of an issue once you get used it's behavior. It's an early build so the bugs are expected but I thought I will report them anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your feedback