The best Android launchers let you customize your home screen to your heart's content. You'll find an incredibly diverse array of options for putting your stamp on the best Android phones, with launchers ranging from minimalist skins to those that put an explosive array of color and features on your smartphone.
Apex Launcher Pro v3.10
These launchers can give your phone a total makeover, from changing the look and feel with different icons and themes, to adding new functionality such as smart folders and search assistants. The look of Android may be evolving every year, but there's more than one launcher for your phone.
You can't talk about the best Android launchers without a mention of Nova Launcher. Fast, sleek and highly customizable, Nova Launcher balances extensive appearance and utility customizations with a minimal performance impact, letting you set your home screen just right without slowing down performance.
Niagara is a lean Android launcher designed to place your apps and notifications front and center, while keeping other distractions to a minimum. Notifications are displayed right on your home screen, with spam and persistent notifications automatically filtered out. The app drawer automatically surfaces your favorite apps, while also providing handy alphabetical shortcuts.
That said, Niagara's extreme minimalism means that you shouldn't be expecting any unusual visual frills and options you might expect from most third-party launchers. it is updated frequently and it shows great promise.
Smart Launcher has long been a favorite for the best Android launcher, with its simple "flower" favorites grid and sorted app folder. The latest version, Smart Launcher 5, adds a ton of features and refinements.
Smart Launcher's flower grid is still available, but it's joined by a number of other well thought-out layouts designed to keep your favorite apps within easy reach of one hand, while smart search and an intelligently sorted and customizable app drawer makes it easy to find whatever you need, whether on your phone or out in the web. Adaptive icons and colors, fully resizable widgets, and more customizations round out the package, making for a great update to a classic launcher.
While AIO Launcher is free, in-app purchases unlock other features such as widget support, app icons, and Android notifications in the home screen stream. It's not the friendliest interface out there among the best Android launchers, it's still an interesting choice if information density isn't a turn-off for you.
Action Launcher Pixel Edition was among the first of the big third party launchers to give itself a Pixel-style makeover, combining its extreme customizability with new interface features and styles introduced with the Pixel Launcher.
Another excellent launcher stemming from the efforts to bring features of the Pixel Launcher to the Android masses is Customized Pixel Launcher (CPL), a free app building off the Rootless Launcher project.
On the surface, CPL hews closely to the look of the stock Pixel launcher, with rounded edges, notification dots and badges, while also throwing in support for theming, icon packs, adaptive icons, gesture controls and font customization.
The launcher offers a customizable screen layout, transition effects, icon pack support, and notification badges. It doesn't offer as many deep customizations as rival launchers, but it does look nice and is designed to be on the streamlined end of things. And recent additions include dark mode support and the ability to lock your phone by tapping the screen.
We went hands-on with every launcher on this list, which is how we drew the above conclusions on ranking. A launcher is a very personal thing, but we value the ones that give you a lot of functionality, even if the feature set itself is minimal.
In the end, we encourage you to try out different launchers to see which one you like best. You might find the more feature-packed options to be overwhelming, in which case you may want to look at one of the lighter ones.
According to the latest changelog, the new version's interface is "similar to that of V3." So, it should behave like the old launcher (see above). However, the developer also warns that it might be unstable. That doesn't seem particularly encouraging, nor a good idea after your users have complained for months that the app is a buggy mess.
Android is an incredibly versatile operating system, offering all kinds of customizability, from a selection of the best Android phones to an assortment of apps on the Play Store. One of the standout features is that you can easily change your app launcher. Choosing the right one can be challenging because this is the tool you'll use daily to launch your apps.
We at AP have hand-picked our favorite app launchers to help you find the homescreen that suits you best. So if you're tired of digging through the Play Store to find the best Android apps, this Android app launcher roundup should make quick work of what used to be a time-consuming endeavor.
Niagara is a minimalist launcher that offers quality ergonomics thanks to its app list that scrolls vertically, line by line. This makes it easy to control your device with one hand. The app list is also adaptive, which puts the apps you need at your fingertips. That's especially useful when it comes to messengers and email apps.
The launcher is free to use, and there are no ads. You'll plunk down some cash if you want to unlock Niagara Launcher's complete set of features. You can pay for a month's or year's worth of access, along with a full unlock for $14.99.
If you're big into theming, then check out Hyperion launcher. Sure, you get all the typical features you'd expect, like folders and icon pack support, but the customizability sets this one apart. You can change the colors of all folders, plus you get adaptive icon support, along with scrolling wallpapers and blur for the drawer and dock. So you can make things look as you like, with all kinds of cool effects that give this launcher a wow factor that's worthy of showing off to your friends and family.
The launcher is free to use with a 14-day trial. If you like what you see, unlock the full app and its pro features for $4.99. When you want a Microsoft-style app launcher, a minimal design that is straightforward to navigate, or something different, Square Home has been a mainstay for millions of users a year for a good reason. Give it a try.
If you have an Android TV, this app's for you, especially if you don't want to watch advertisements. FLauncher is an open source launcher for ATV devices, offering a familiar grid layout for your apps without ads. Seeing that Google shows ads on all ATV devices, replacing the homescreen is a way to work around this problem.
You won't be able to set this as your default launcher, which is a bummer that Google blocked our ability to customize ATV. However, you can remap a button on your remote to pull up this launcher, just as you would when pressing the home button, which is a convenient workaround.
Even though Google hobbled our ability to set third-party launchers as a default on ATV, that doesn't mean Android developers have given up on providing what users want. This is why FLauncher is a welcome addition to this launcher roundup. It's free, solves a problem, and looks great. What else could you want?
Even though we're discussing Android launchers, the Microsoft Launcher offers a quality experience. It packs all the expected features, including custom icons, custom wallpapers, and a dark theme. Since this launcher comes from Microsoft, it ties into many of the company's products. It includes the option to sign in with a Microsoft account to access tasks, calendar events, and other services.
Signing in with an account is optional. You don't need a Microsoft account to use the app. You can use the Microsoft Launcher as you would from any other third party, customizing it to your heart's content. Best of all, the launcher is free, so there's no harm in taking a look.
Check out Lawnchair 2 if you're looking for something that's close to stock Android but more customizable. It's based on Launcher3 from AOSP. While the Play Store listing hasn't been updated since 2019, the app runs fine, though gesture navigation support is missing. The developer is working on a new launcher based on Launcher3 from Android 12, Lawnchair 12, which is currently in alpha.
Before Launcher is an excellent choice if you're looking for a simple launcher that doesn't get in your way. It's a minimal launcher where each app shortcut is a word on the screen. Changing a wallpaper and a few shortcuts is about as deep as customization gets, keeping things simple, but leaving an opportunity for a few modifications, so things don't grow stale.
If Niagara Launcher didn't quite do it for you, but you're still looking for something that's easy to use or prefer no-muss, no-fuss app launchers, Before Launcher is worth a look. You can use the app for free. If you want extra features, like folders and hidden apps, unlock the full feature set for $5.99 through an in-app purchase.
If you're looking for something different from a typical app launcher, AIO should be your first stop. Instead of showing off flashy icons, this launcher displays your pertinent info, like how much RAM you're using and where your last calls came from. There's also a list of your most-used apps.
The launcher also offers other options, like a display of your recent text messages or what's in your mailbox. AIO does all this without collecting any personal info. The launcher may have been around since 2017, but it's gaining attention thanks to its unique and customizable layout.
Nova Launcher has been a mainstay on the Play Store since its release in 2012. It offers a standard Android launcher layout with a basic app drawer and several homescreens. It's customizable, which is why it's so popular. It's excellent for themers while offering enough tools to get more out of it than what comes with stock. 2ff7e9595c
Comments