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Making your S6 as "vanilla" android as possible....

Not getting my S6 until Monday, but two of the first things I plan on doing are installing the Google Now Launcher, and the Google Keyboard. As a long time Nexus user, hopefully this will get me as close to that vanilla android feel as possible.
So my question is...has anyone installed those apps? How is it running? Anything else you can do to make it as vanilla feeling as possible?

the problem with the google launcher is the samsung icons stay, you have to wait for a lollipop theme to be available on the gs6 theme store

I use nova launcher and a LP icon pack. i also set the animations in nova to be LP and the google now search as LP style

tlxxxsracer said:
I use nova launcher and a LP icon pack. i also set the animations in nova to be LP and the google now search as LP style
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That was my other thought. Haven't used Nova Launcher in a while...but might be using now just for the lollipop icons. Looks like lollipop icons comes baked into nova launcher now, awesome.
How about Google Now? Would be awesome to get it via swipe to the left in nova...but doesn't look like that's possible. Any suggestions for that?

nathan118 said:
That was my other thought. Haven't used Nova Launcher in a while...but might be using now just for the lollipop icons. Looks like lollipop icons comes baked into nova launcher now, awesome.
How about Google Now? Would be awesome to get it via swipe to the left in nova...but doesn't look like that's possible. Any suggestions for that?
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I actually use the stock LP icons in nova. Looks fine for me. I dont use google now because the lack of customization, the icons/drawer are too big.
Heres my homepage

tlxxxsracer said:
I actually use the stock LP icons in nova. Looks fine for me. I dont use google now because the lack of customization, the icons/drawer are too big.
Heres my homepage
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Looks good. Any good ways to mess with the pulldown and quick settings? Seems like the notification shade and settings pages are the only thing that will be "touchwiz" at that point.

nathan118 said:
Looks good. Any good ways to mess with the pulldown and quick settings? Seems like the notification shade and settings pages are the only thing that will be "touchwiz" at that point.
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No way to mess with the look of them, thatd be related to rooting/roms/mods
I did remove any quick setting toggles so there would only be 5 that i use regularly

tlxxxsracer said:
No way to mess with the look of them, thatd be related to rooting/roms/mods
I did remove any quick setting toggles so there would only be 5 that i use regularly
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I can live with that. Does the built in themes affect the look though? Can set a different theme to mess with the shade, and then use Nova.

nathan118 said:
I can live with that. Does the built in themes affect the look though? Can set a different theme to mess with the shade, and then use Nova.
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I'm waiting for other themes so i can find one I like. But I would imagine the system themes from samsung would affect the look of everything else, and then the launcher would be overtop and be the "visual" styling for stock android
One thing I'm missing is the priority setting for notifications. Stock android you could set volume profile to priority and get only calls/texts from starred/priority contacts. Then could also set an auto time interval

tlxxxsracer said:
I'm waiting for other themes so i can find one I like. But I would imagine the system themes from samsung would affect the look of everything else, and then the launcher would be overtop and be the "visual" styling for stock android
One thing I'm missing is the priority setting for notifications. Stock android you could set volume profile to priority and get only calls/texts from starred/priority contacts. Then could also set an auto time interval
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Hopefully the built-in themer will get a lot of support so we have a lot of choices.
Samsung has some built in do not disturb stuff though right? On my nexus 5 I use "Nights keeper" at night so I get phone calls, but everything else is silent. Can set whitelists and everything.

The google keyboard is a touch laggy at times on the GS6 for me, specifically when swipe/slide typing. So are third party launchers. It's very small though. Some won't notice it I bet

nathan118 said:
I can live with that. Does the built in themes affect the look though? Can set a different theme to mess with the shade, and then use Nova.
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The themes do change the shade, and practically every other aspect of the look, except the icons as mentioned, if you're using other than stock launcher.
I am using the latest nova launcher.
nathan118 said:
Hopefully the built-in themer will get a lot of support so we have a lot of choices.
Samsung has some built in do not disturb stuff though right? On my nexus 5 I use "Nights keeper" at night so I get phone calls, but everything else is silent. Can set whitelists and everything.
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I feel pretty confident that this will take off and be Hugh...Plus for the themers it probably will make their work easier since it will probably come with some sort of themer package. This is one of the best parts of the phone is the ability to make it look different!
Sent from my SM-G900T using AllianceR(●)m

launchers

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

Action launcher here is better than Launcher3.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nova Prime on my PH-1

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bug when using custom launchers

Is anyone else having issues using any custom launcher from the Google play store? For example, when Nova is installed and set as the launcher, when going home from an app the animation leads to a strange overlay with both the Nova and stock launcher on the display. I've attached a photo to illustrate the issue. It's worth mentioning that I'm on the latest stock China rom, nothing done to the phone at all.

I had the same issue. It was resolved after I did a reboot.

xreactx said:
I had the same issue. It was resolved after I did a reboot.
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Same here. Reboot fixes

Delete data/cache of miui launcher from app menù is better

You guys should try the pocophone launcher on play store. It works great

Pocophone launcher is nice... but it lacks the Google feed integration. Otherwise I would use it.

wbit said:
Pocophone launcher is nice... but it lacks the Google feed integration. Otherwise I would use it.
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Action launcher is good and has the Google feed, smooth and good customisation

Never had this issue on any Rom and I'm using nova launcher since I got the device.

xreactx said:
I had the same issue. It was resolved after I did a reboot.
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I have never had that issue. However, using a custom launcher and trying to change the lock screen background doesn't seem to work on custom launchers unless you are using a theme. If you change the lock screen background though on the default launcher and then switch launchers, it does stick.

*Request* For T-Mobile launcher

Hi all, as you can see I am a junior user so I'm not sure if this is in the correct place. I was hoping someone could share the Launcher from T-Mobile firmware. Primarily for the Google Now feed.

On the 6T the only way it was possible to get the TMobile launcher with the Google feed to work on a non TMobile 6T was with a magisk module. You may need to try that and see if it works

Are you opposed to using Nova? It's the go to for many

Action launcher has a Google now integration that works great. However, you must have premium.

Rootless launcher working perfect
Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping to remain on the stock launcher. NOVA isn't so bad, I might go back to this.

No problem
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/themes/oneplus-6-launcher-modded-to-add-google-t3845581
Install the magisk mod
Uninstall the OnePlus launcher through the play store and disabled auto update

Does the Nova launcher take advantage of the 90hz screen? Or does it reduce to 60hz? That's my only worry about swapping launchers.

steadly2004 said:
Does the Nova launcher take advantage of the 90hz screen? Or does it reduce to 60hz? That's my only worry about swapping launchers.
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I use nova launcher and it appears to use 90hz, it is very fluid and even with Google Feed back, compared to my OnePlus 6 i could see a huge difference and with QHD too

Exathi said:
No probl loem
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/themes/oneplus-6-launcher-modded-to-add-google-t3845581
Install the magisk mod
Uninstall the OnePlus launcher through the play store and disabled auto update
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Click to collapse
Thanks this working very good on my OP :good:

Best Launcher for 4a?

I love the pixel Launcher but i want to try something different ,always use Nova but ITS unestable .
Any recomendation?
I use evie Launcher,only 2 bugs already spotted.

feralt said:
I love the pixel Launcher but i want to try something different ,always use Nova but ITS unestable .
Any recomendation?
I use evie Launcher,only 2 bugs already spotted.
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Click to collapse
Unstable? Hardly. Been using Nova Prime since day 1 (late Aug) on this device with both A10 and A11. As have many others. Look closer to home for a fix to the (your device config) stability issue.

Nova here too, no issues other than maybe one in 10 days the Google Feed background changes to white. Restarting Nova fixes it for another week or two.
Sent from my Pixel 4a using XDA Labs

Nova here, too. I have never experienced instability.

Nova is king. I've had Nova on all of my phones going back to the Note 2 quite some time ago. I'm actually holding off on installing it this time around on my P4a and trying to get used to stock.

I used Nova for years but going back to the Pixel I been trying the native launcher.
I like it, but I can not resize or skin icons and for this reason may go back to Nova Launcher.

Lawnchair 2 is my recommendation. Very similar to Pixel Launcher, but customisable and free.
Although no update for nearly a year could be an issue for some.

Square Home if you like the look of windows mobile.

I have been using Microsoft Launcher. Love that the apps are grouped alphabetic by letter. If Nova could do that I'll switch to Nova though.

nobody for lawnchair ?

switcher said:
nobody for lawnchair ?
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Not well suited to Android 10+ navigation metaphor; increasing number of unresolved issues; not updated since late 2019. Launcher (like underlying device/os/rom) should not be a focal point.

I use the beta version of lawnchair2. No issues.
In the past was NOVA Prime. Not sure why I switched, but these are my top 2 go to's.

hello,
i use nova launcher and have an issue:
when i do the upswipe to leave an app and want to open another one after that then sometimes i have a stutter, as if the launcher did a little restart.
do you have this too?
kind regards

switcher said:
nobody for lawnchair ?
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I enjoy Lawnchair, but currently using Smart Launcher 5

Minicuxn said:
hello,
i use nova launcher and have an issue:
when i do the upswipe to leave an app and want to open another one after that then sometimes i have a stutter, as if the launcher did a little restart.
do you have this too?
kind regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't see that (yet). Might be app and/or device config specific.

I got Smart Launcher 5.5 on my Pixel 4a
No Problems so far.

Can someone do this setup and give steps here please...