What free Android launcher do you use (if it's not the stock launcher)?

[Ragnusen Ultred]

What free Android launcher do you use (if it's not the stock launcher)?
What do you like about that app launcher (over other app launchers)?

I read that the "Google Now" launcher was finally laid to rest today.
<https://www.techradar.com/news/google-now-becomes-google-then-as-the-popular-android-launcher-is-laid-to-rest>

So I deleted "Google Now" off my Samsung Galaxy S3 (where I mostly use the
Nova free launcher anyway) - when it occurred to me I haven't researched
app launcher capabilities in a while (since Nova free works great for me).

Hence, the probing two-part question of the user base of...

a. What free app launcher do you use (if it's not the stock launcher)?
b. What's the one thing you really like in that free app launcher?

[Joe Beanfish]

On Thu, 03 May 2018 13:55:23 +0000, Ragnusen Ultred wrote:

> What free Android launcher do you use (if it's not the stock launcher)?
> What do you like about that app launcher (over other app launchers)?

I've used Nova for my last couple of phones. I think the main reason
for using it instead of the stock launcher is the ability to lock
the desktop from modification. Otherwise just holding your phone
while the screen is unlocked can cause icons to move around or vanish.
There's probably one other feature I use that's not present in stock
but idk what that is right now.

I would also recommend if setting up a phone for someone else that
tends to think they need to press hard to activate things. They end up
long pressing which starts a move/edit/delete action which they're
liable to mess up half time.

[Ragnusen Ultred]

Am Thu, 3 May 2018 15:08:27 -0000 (UTC), schrieb Joe Beanfish:

> What free Android launcher do you use (if it's not the stock launcher)?
>> What do you like about that app launcher (over other app launchers)?
>
> I've used Nova for my last couple of phones.

Thank you for adding value to the vote of confidence for Nova launcher.

I agree. Nova free is the best launcher I've ever seen, where there is only
one flaw that I can remember offhand, which is that you can't create empty
folders with Nova (of all things). Otherwise, it's nearly perfect.

> I think the main reason
> for using it instead of the stock launcher is the ability to lock
> the desktop from modification.

I have my dekstop very highly organized, where I too love that the deskop
is locked from accidental modifications. I spent hours optimizing the
desktop so that my left hand, alone, can operate everything, and that
everything is in logical order, so I hate that messed with since it never
changes over the years and over the phones.

> Otherwise just holding your phone
> while the screen is unlocked can cause icons to move around or vanish.

Yup. Especially since Nova free allows ANY grid and any icon size and any
number of items on a line or any number of rows and any dock you want or
none at all, etc.

There's a lot that you "can" set up with Nova free, so that's a lot that
you can lose if you accidentally mess it up.

> There's probably one other feature I use that's not present in stock
> but idk what that is right now.

I love the feature of organizing icons any way you like on the screen.

And I love that you can uninstall an app just by long pressing it on the
desktop home screen.

I also like that you can back up the settings, since I generally factory
reset about once a month or so, since I'm always changing things and
running experiments, I need to start with a standard baseline.

> I would also recommend if setting up a phone for someone else that
> tends to think they need to press hard to activate things. They end up
> long pressing which starts a move/edit/delete action which they're
> liable to mess up half time.

The beauty of setting up an Android phone is two fold:
1. You can bring APKs over from almost any other Android phone, and,
2. You can load in the previous Nova settings from any other phone.

In summary, we both agree that Nova is a great app launcher.
I wonder what other people use over the stock launcher?

[Eli the Bearded]

In comp.mobile.android, Ragnusen Ultred <rrag...@ultred.com> wrote:
> What free Android launcher do you use (if it's not the stock launcher)?
> What do you like about that app launcher (over other app launchers)?

I use Launcher<3. One of my biggest concerns is privacy, I don't want to
give apps more permissions than I think they require. Nova, mentioned in
follow-ups, requires "full network access", which means it can phone
home with whatever and whenever. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. No one
can say with an audit. I'm very wary of "full network access" on some
program that doesn't need to interact with the network.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jasonkung.launcher3

This app has access to:
Phone

directly call phone numbers

Photos/Media/Files

read the contents of your USB storage

Storage

read the contents of your USB storage

Other

choose widgets
adjust your wallpaper size
read Home settings and shortcuts
write Home settings and shortcuts
send sticky broadcast
run at startup
set wallpaper
control vibration
Google Play license check

That seems a reasonable list for a launcher.

Compare that to Nova Launcher's list:

This app has access to:
Location

approximate location (network-based)
precise location (GPS and network-based)

Phone

directly call phone numbers

Photos/Media/Files

read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Storage

read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage

Wi-Fi connection information

view Wi-Fi connections

Device & app history

retrieve running apps

Other

choose widgets
adjust your wallpaper size
disable or modify status bar
read Home settings and shortcuts
receive data from Internet
view network connections
expand/collapse status bar
full network access
set wallpaper
control vibration
prevent device from sleeping
modify system settings
view network connections
expand/collapse status bar
full network access
set wallpaper
control vibration

That's exactly the sort of permissions needed to build a profile of a
user: GPS location, running apps, network connections (for wifi based
geolocation), and full network access to transmit it all back home.
No thank you.

Elijah
------
likes opensource apps, but isn't religious about it

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Ragnusen Ultred:

>Thank you for adding value to the vote of confidence for Nova launcher.

+1 for Nova.

I use it on all my Android devices.

For one with limited gray matter like Yours Truly, a significant advantage of
Nova is that portion of the furniture doesn't get moved around with every new
fork/release of Android.
--
Pete Cresswell

[Archer]

On Thu, 3 May 2018 13:55:23 +0000 (UTC), Ragnusen Ultred
<rrag...@ultred.com> wrote:

>What free Android launcher do you use

Smart Launcher seems to be good in that it groups the apps in six
catgories so you can easily access the app instead of searching over
several screens.

--
Archer

[Ragnusen Ultred]

In article <news:cco0fdh60rdal3n80...@4ax.com>, Archer wrote:

>>What free Android launcher do you use
>
> Smart Launcher seems to be good in that it groups the apps in six
> catgories so you can easily access the app instead of searching over
> several screens.

Thank you for that suggestion of "Smart Launcher".

Unfortunately, there are a bunch of "smart launcher" hits.
- Smart Launcher Google+
https://plus.google.com/+SmartlauncherNet

- Smart Launcher 5
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ginlemon.flowerfree

- Smart Launcher 3
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ginlemon.flowerpro
etc.

Is it one of those that you were talking about?

Looking at the free smart launcher 5, what it says seems nice.
What's in Smart Launcher?

Ambient theme

Smart Launcher automatically changes the theme colors to match your
wallpaper.

Adaptive icons

The icon format introduced with Android 8.0 Oreo is fully supported and
available for any Android device! Adaptive icons means not only
customizable shapes but also beautiful and bigger icons!

Automatic app sorting

Apps are automatically sorted in categories, you won't need to waste time
organizing your icons anymore!

Designed to be used with one hand

We moved the items you need to interact the most in the bottom part of the
screen where they are easier to reach.

Ultra immersive mode

You can now hide the navigation bar in the launcher to maximize the screen
space

Smart search

The Smart Launcher search bar allows to quickly find contacts and apps or
to perform actions like searching on the web, adding a contact or
performing a calculation.

Built-in clock widget with weather

The built-in widget has been redesigned to show info like alarm, next event
and weather.

On screen notifications

Smart Launcher will now show you which apps have active notifications
without requiring to download an external plugin. This makes the feature
more stable and reliable.

Gestures and hotkeys

Both gestures and hotkeys are supported and configurable. You can turn off
the screen with a double tap or show the notification panel with a swipe.

Customization

Smart Launcher is completely customizable thanks to many options. Hundreds
of themes are available to downloads and icon packs are fully supported

Protect your apps

You can hide the apps you want and if you want to keep them secret, you can
protect them with a PIN.

[Archer]

On Mon, 7 May 2018 15:24:51 +0000 (UTC), Ragnusen Ultred
<ragn...@ultred.com> wrote:

>Is it one of those that you were talking about?

Yes
--
Archer