Currently using and have used the Niagra launcher for years. To me, ease of use and getting to the apps I need quickly and efficiently is the most important thing about a launcher. I've tried many of the "minimalistic" launchers over time, and this is the only one that truly felt useful. I'd highly recommend it to people who just use their phone as an app launcher, as opposed to having a bunch of widgets on the homescreen or something.
this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2023
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Okay, so I really really like KISS launcher. KISS stands for keep it simple stupid and that should tell you all there is to know about the launcher. It is a search based launcher, you can do quick calculations, one click call/text your contacts, configure additional search engines (eg: you can search directly on YouTube, Maps, Google or just open an url directly). No matter what I try it never satisfies as much as KISS, I find it an hassle to go through the icons searching fot your app. It is available on F-Droid
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AIO launcher.
Looks nothing like a regular launcher, but works great for me, can have calendar, news, tasks etc all in one convenient scrolling home screen
I've never tried an alternate launcher, do you need to root your phone to do it? And can you easily go back if you change your mind?
No need to root and you can always switch back to your previous launcher / uninstall the launcher. It's pretty much an alternative homepage and app drawer.
Then just customize it the way you like it and grab some icon packs, most of them are free or at a symbolic price
You could try Niagara Launcher or Nova, my current one and see how you like it
Niagara launcher is the one. Once you get used to it it's a game changer.
The one-hand navigation is just....cheff kiss
I use ADW because when I switched phones my new version of Android didn't have the carousel home screen and it was the first one I found 😅
I use Kvaesitso, and have used it for a while now. I like it! https://kvaesitso.mm20.de/
I don't think it gets bonus points though
I second Kvaesitso! It takes a while to get used to since it is not home screen based, but it is super quick plus the major advantage over KISS launcher, you can add widgets 👍
Neo Launcher, it's the closest think to Nova, but there is still a lot of bugs.
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Despite the privacy issues after the buyout, I'm still using Nova Launcher.
On the work phone I'm using the Microsoft one and it's surprisingly good too. It's not quite as customisable as Nova but it does a fair amount as well. I like the configurable leftmost screen, it's like a powered up widget viewer.
Two bits of info I wasn't aware of! Going to check out MS!
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Using Nova Prime since many years now. Very satisfied, never felt the need to use anything else
I use the Windows launcher, it's really smooth.
After many years with Nova, I dumped it after the sale, and tried a few. MS Launcher was pretty good, but I settled on Total Launcher.
Very, very customisable, although a bit of a learning curve. I have a feeling I'm only scratching the surface of what it can do, but that's enough for me :-)
Let's see that home page!
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I really enjoyed Lawnchair for some time. Been trying Niagara for a few months as well. Lawnchair is my favorite for it's simplicity.
Kiss launcher all the way! It basically works like the windows start menu. Type the first few letters of the app name, press enter and it starts.
You can also add keywords to apps and those will get searched as well.
It's purely awesome. And it combines really nicely with my Fairberry physical keyboard attachment.
I use the KISS launcher. It's on both Play Store and F-Droid.
Stupid simple and really nice looking imo
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I loved using Nova, but they got bought by a data mining company. I'm using Active Launcher now.
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Even for its non-standard layout, I've really fallen in love with Kvaesito. Maybe it's because I now don't have to work out which widgets I want to have on my main screen and how to lay them out.
Niagara, Lawnchair, Kvaesitso, Olauncher
I'm using CalyxOS's default launcher, but on regular Android I pretty much always use Nova launcher.