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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.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

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.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

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.

What launcher do YOU use?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comparison of Android Launchers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remove date from Pixel 2 home screen?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.