Been trying out Lawnchair - seems a little buggy. For my P6P on GOS - I'll stick to the OOTB launcher - for my wife's S23 - still looking (for a free launcher - but likely she'll just stay OOTB also )
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Unsure if people are still looking for launcher recommendations, but some free/libre & open-source options which have received at least one update in 2023 are (with the caveats this list is not exhaustive and its categories rough) the ultraminimalist (text list-only, reminiscent of old Niagara) OLauncher and its slightly more feature-rich fork mLauncher, the minimalist (text-based but more developed ui) Focus Launcher and the feed-based Lunar Launcher, the mediumist (slightly more feature rich than minimalists or Graphene Launcher, still focused on 'clean' home screen over customizability) Discreet Launcher and slightly more developed Tiny-Bit Launcher, the maximalist (intended to be feature-rich foss alternatives of popular proprietary launchers with rough parity in customizability) previously mentioned Lawnchair originally based on the Pixel Launcher which is behind on updates but supposedly getting their shit together and Neo-Launcher originally based on Nova Launcher, and finally the search & scroll (searchbar-based with option for infinite scrolling widgets as well) minimalist KISS & feature-rich Kvaesito.
I personally bounce between Kvaesito & Neo-Launcher once or twice a year, and really like KISS as well, and feel all three are quality projects. I know of some other neat options which are unfortunately no longer maintained, but am happy to share those as well.
lz-numn-rnn Thanks so much for this - very helpful...
I used Neo for a while but after 0.9.1 it started getting really unbearably slow and stuttery. Same with their F-Droid client, which is why I use Droid-ify now. I currently just use KISS.
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I used built-in launcher but found 5x5 homescreen too stiff and downside not being able to hide apps other than disabling them. Tried mLauncher off F-Droid but missed my widgets. Now I'm on Neo and I find it very refreshing, much like Nova with some functionality missing, nevertheless does the job best of all launchers available on F-Droid. I use it without network permission.
[deleted] Trying out KISS launcher - its interesting but not great for 1-handed app selection - I can make a bunch of favorites but that sort of seems to defeat its overall intent.
I was trying out neolauncher - but there seemed to be some issues I couldn't work around... mostly though I couldn't group more than 3 apps together (could be me?)...
Will keep trying out launchers but at the end of the day the native GOS launcher works fine... just have to live with a very cluttered home page - but that's on me.
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lcalamar I have been through that phase. My solution is I display any important live info in form of widgets on homescreen (like time, date, memory, data usage, calendar, weather, tasks and keep it on one page). I arrange them in most aesthetically pleasing and functional way. I don't bundle any folders with apps on homescreen, I keep apps in the drawer on one page (hence the app hiding requirement) and rely on status bar for notifications, mostly silent. Neo works in this respect great so far. Hope it helps.
Olauncher (I use clutter free version as it removes network access and well clutter) is great. I love it and use it 100% of the time. I wish there was a way it could get folded into the default launcher as like a toggle option "minimalist theme" or something like that so it was built in and better integrated (I understand that isnt in GOS scope and wont happen )
goslife I like OLauncher also - but there are times when all I want to do is select an icon on my home screen, or press a widget.
I came from a minimalist device (LP2) to my P6P because of those reasons. OLauncher fills a nice minimalist purpose but if you want minimalism just best to get a device built for that.
[deleted] I did really like Neo - just the limited grouping was my issue. (I do like grouping apps like bank/finance, travel, etc... ) Maybe Neo has a setting to make the groups > 3? (I couldn't find it).
I like KISS - neat UI and it's great it is a little 'different'. But once again I found my home screen to be how I use my P6P. I just want the things I use the most easy to access by pressing an icon/widget.
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lcalamar are you talking about folders here? I have been just now able to create more that just 3 groups of folders of more than 3 apps so please check the way you perform it.
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lcalamar the folder should open when you tap and drag the app while holding, so drag it over it, wait until it opens and let go. Try placing the app on the homescreen first before moving it in. Other than that, sorry I can't help you. It works for me on 6a without fail.
[deleted] Yes - was able to add more than 3 apps to a folder.
Placing the app on the homescreen first seemed to be what solved the issue. Also - I grouped my apps in folders first... so my homescreen had a lot of empty space - and they may also have helped.
Thanks for the help! (sticking on Neo-Launcher for now as it is working for me now)
andrewteg I'll second lawnchair as it's very similar out of the box and has some nice customizations. It's in the Play and Aurora stores as well and who doesn't like a good pun?
People should be aware that the version of Lawnchair in Play/Aurora is very old (version 2), has not been updated since 2019, and is unsupported, although curiously it is still considered the stable version. The version on F-Droid is even older and definitely should not be used. The most recent version, 12.1, is available only on Lawnchair's website, https://lawnchair.app/, or on github, https://github.com/LawnchairLauncher/lawnchair, but is considered alpha software.
The faq on Lawnchair's website, to explain all this, states:
V2 is the latest stable version of Lawnchair. It has many more features and is more stable, but is now outdated and unsupported. On the other hand, 11-12.1 is a complete redesign from scratch. Not all features have been re-implemented yet, but it does have Material You and all the new Android 11-12.1 features.
cb474 Thanks - I've installed 12.1 of Lawnchair - testing it out now. So far - so good. It does seem very similar to Neo Launcher. What are some of the main differences between the two?
Since I don't really use many 'features' in a launcher (never use a launcher's "at a glance" or built-in widgets (just use app widgets). It may just be that GOS launcher does 100% of what I need?? All of the launchers I'm trying out seem to work well (GOS, NEO, Lawnchair) - so I just keep swapping one for the other to see what differences I find!
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lcalamar I haven't tried Neo Launcher so I don't know anything about it. But thanks for pointing out the connection to Lawnchair. I have installed Lawnchair 12.1 and it seems stable so far, even though it's labeled alpha software. But I've only been fiddling with it for a day now.
Really, I'm fine with the GOS launcher, except I hate the black and white, high contrast, icons on the stock GOS apps. To me, they are glaring and kind of hard to look at. Enabling themed icons make them less harsh on my eyes, but then it themes some of the non-stock apps' icons, which I don't want (I like the icons all being different and colorful--I don't want them to all look the same). I was hoping a different launcher could resolve this, but so far not really.
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lcalamar
Neo-Launcher is buggy and it has been a long time since its last update. I am still using it begrudgingly, to be honest, all of these projects seem rather half-assed or unmaintained. I would use the GOS built-in launcher, but the damned icons can't be resized to anything larger than a pea bean! So this is the only reason why I bother with other launchers - I need icons at least as big as the iOS ones.
lz-numn-rnn any app which is updated regularly and have the lawnchair's feature of swiping on an app/shortcut to open another app/shortcut?