Best Home Launcher? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

What's your pick?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Nova Launcher Prime

Used Apex for a month, now i find Nova faster

MrCapcom said:
Nova Launcher Prime
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+1 as I can get rid of the dock icons and use soft buttons for app drawer and the thing I need.

Nova launcher prime!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

another vote for nova prime

Short Answer - Nova Launcher
Long answer -
I have tried the following launchers one by one while freshly installing new AOKP nighlties (every 5-6 days) in this order -
Nova Launcher (Free), Apex Launcher (Free), ADW (Paid), Go launcher Ex (Free),Launcher Pro (Free).
These are my ratings in descending order -
1. Nova Launcher worked the best for me. Smooth, small footprint, stock looks. I used free version. Paid version has gesture support, can hide apps, etc. I don't need those features.
2. GO Launcher was good but I had to apply theme to make it look like stock, so that was an extra step.
3. ADW was smooth but had to apply a theme and it hasnt been updated in some months
4. Apex lagged a bit while scrolling apps or recents window.
5. Launcher Pro was good, but the developer has moved on to other projects and its been more than a year since this app was last updated.

Apex.
Tried both it and Nova - no difference in stability or performance for me and Apex gave me things for free that Nova required payment for.
Then when they added the Pro version, it added even more features.

I would just like to throw my thought into here saying Apex.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Currently using apex pro, but nova is nice too.

Apex pro for me, from my experience its smoother than Nova, and saw that apex gets updated more often.
Via Galaxy Nexus [LTE]

Apex PRO #1

Nova Launcher Prime
and its not really a home launcher but I would have a hard time doing without Wave Launcher.

Apex
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Have tried : Trebuchet, Apex and have to say Nova Prime is by far the best imho. Used it on my Note and was the only one with zero lag on the ICS leak. Absolutely love it on the Gnex, got the prime beacuse I like to support the Dev's along with the perks it offers.

Nova Prime or Launcher7 (donate).

Apex Pro... It has notification badges for sms, mail, calls. I am addicted to that lol.

Nova launcher hands down. Love this setup with aokp
Long press back to kill app. Long press app drawer for search. Long press home for recents.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

Apex for me.

The best which I just switched to is Apex. I was using NOVA before and I must say that it caused a lot of lag.
Apex is awesome and most of the gestures which u have to pay for in NOVA are free on apex.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Related

What are the current views on Apex and Nova

I'm about to get my Galaxy Nexus, on intending to root, but will probably use a custom launcher, am happy to pay for pro version, how do you think they compare? Smoothness is secondary to features for me.
I use apex launcher. It is very customisable and I like the ability to use gestures. It is also very smooth. I highly recommand it!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I'm using Nova Prime on my phone and am quite happy with it. Has plenty of customisation, and runs smooth for me. I personally paid for the full version of Nova as that added the ability to hide apps in the app drawer, which is a feature I am a huge fan of.
You can get free versions of both though, so if you're not sure you can download the free versions of each, and then see what additional features the paid version provides, and determine if you feel you need them.
Was using nova prime until I tried apex and I've stick to it ever since. Both are really good but apex gave me a little more customizations; being able to change what holding down screen does and tapping on screen twice.
Give both a try and see which one you like. I would recommend you to push the apex apk yourself from the beta version found on this forum here.
Nova Launcher just dropped a nice little update
I'm using Apex currently only because of customization. It lags like a mother though. I emailed the devs and every time they release a new beta they just tell me to try it instead of telling me they've fixed the issue...which they haven't.
Nova launcher is smooth.
bow chicka wow wow.
Loving Apex. Smooth as butter and LOVE the customization options.
I've been using nova prime for about two months. The gestures are convenient for voice search and text search. I also like the backup feature, which is essential for saving time if you flash alot of roms.
Sprint GN, Tapatalk2
Nova, feels smoother than apex. Apex was buggy with its animations too
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Apex is a little more polished a little smoother (in the latest beta 1.1 update) especially the drawer fly in animation
Apex is smooth. Don't know what people are complaining about. It's awesome if you like the stock look with varying degrees of customization.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Personally, I bought Nova Prime and am loving it so far
I really like Apex, it's like stock with some good and useful customizations..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
I currently use Nova. I used Apex for a while but it occasionally caused extremely high battery drain. Nova seems a bit more responsive to me, but Apex was not slow.
I turn the animations off on my phone, so that may affect how things feel versus others who like the animations on.
I'm using Nova prime. I liked the stock launcher but missed some features like gestures. Nova with prime upgrade gave me those features and I'm happy now. Didn't test Apex though.
So basically both are good.
I love the double tap on anywhere on the screen to open options from Apex launcher. That’s my decision maker between Nova and Apex
I've been using Apex since I got my Gnex last week. I love it. Great customization options, really fast--never have any problems with it.
There's already a huge thread about this in the themes and apps forum.
Apex for me.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Best launcher

Hello! I bought this phone 2 days ago... Came from a Galaxy Gio. So what the best launcher for this BIG phone?
I use the Nova Launcher Prime. The best for me.
SkyBlue TapaTalk
+1 for Nova Launcher Prime.
+1 nova.
teach a man to fish, you feed him for life. teach a man to fastboot, and you create competency. and less threads on xda.
Nova and Apex are the best there is for now..
@rbiter said:
+1 nova.
teach a man to fish, you feed him for life. teach a man to fastboot, and you create competency. and less threads on xda.
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Awesome signature and I use apex btw I will give nova a try
for me,by me and I love you
Have the ssLauncher the Original. Very special and great looking launcher with endless possibilities of modifing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Nova is great but some of the good features are paid only.
Apex is my choice because its free and has it all.
yeah it depends wether you wanna pay or not, apex gives you more for free, while nova prime gives you more but you have to pay, which im not completely sure anymore cause theres a apex pro version now that i havent tried
I've found Apex Launcher to have a lot more options than Nova Launcher (both free versions)
Nemus is a promising launcher
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Nova for me too.
I like Apex.
Nova Prime looks promising but I can't see justifying $4.00 to simply gain a few features. The only thing I see that would be useful is hiding apps.
Eventually they just get too over complicated and bogged down.
On my tablet, I use ADW Launcher Ex. I hide the status bar, the dock bar, icon labels, and works awesome. Apex for my Nexus though.
I also tried the new Go Launcher HD, which is pretty cool. Free too I think.
Comparing the free versions. I run with Apex
Apex 1.1.0 pro all the way for me...
kompressorgpl said:
Hello! I bought this phone 2 days ago... Came from a Galaxy Gio. So what the best launcher for this BIG phone?
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Hell noo try these officail launchers also has sense 3.6 launcher enjoy.!!!!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=24568825#post24568825
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
I prefer Apex. Just purchased the Pro version. (Had a while also nova installed but at the end I always used apex)
From my experience, Apex free version provides more features than Nova but the only gripe I have against Apex is that the transition animations are not as smooth on it as compared to Nova.
Thank's everybody!!!!!
Apex Launcher for sure! a lot better than Nova in my opinion.

Nova vs Apex - which launcher reigns supreme?

I just recently got my GS3. On my old phone, Launcher Pro was the best for me. In fact, it was one of my few paid apps. Launcher Pro does not work very well anymore. I just don't think it has been updated to newer hardware / ICS / JB. In any event, I've come across two that I like fairly well. Apex and Nova. Both are fairly similar. In fact, I'm having a hard time finding many differences between the two.
What ARE the differences between the two?
Which is worth buying (for the premium version)?
I've been running Nova launcher over APEX purely because of the ability to backup and restore widgets to your homescreens. This saves some time when you flash ROM's. Also if you are coming from another launcher, Nova allows you to import (to some extent) most of the homescreen layouts from your previous launcher. This helped when I first made the transition from APEX to Nova. I can't really comment on the difference between the paid vs free because I've only used the paid version of Nova. In regards to fluidity, I'd say they are almost exactly the same.
^ agreed. both are essentially the same. i'm with Nova for the backup and restoring feature as well. ^_^
Been using both, for me, I like Apex, you can mix different themes.
Sent from my Samsung-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
I switch to Nova after using Apex for a really long time. Nova has more gestures and email notification counts. Both are really good.
vw671 said:
I switch to Nova after using Apex for a really long time. Nova has more gestures and email notification counts. Both are really good.
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Exactly the same here. Used Apex for probably a year and just made the switch to Nova a few weeks back. Glad I did. As mentioned above, more gestures and back-up/restore features.
I used to use Apex launcher but switched to Nova launcher because the color theme option.
I do prefer Apex launchers for their better screen lock and their UCCW widgets can fill the screen better.
Don't forget that there is a labs option for nova launcher which lets you have additional features. Hold down volume for like 2 seconds to get them.
If you flash a lot of ROM's and use lots of widgets, then Nova is the better option IMO.
The reason is because Nova restores Widgets (using backup/restore settings) soooo much easier.
Restoring backed up desktop widgets with Apex was a PITA compared to Nova.
Also, Nova has better drawer options, IMO.
I do wish both would offer more theme/transition effects though.
I purchased the pro/donate version for both and ran both for alternating periods of time.
My vote goes to Nova, however I have used Apex in the past and it is also very good. Nova for backup though.
Used Apex on my S2, but using Nova on my S3. Not sure why, but Nova seems to be smoother to me on the S3.
Nova all the way!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Nova
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Nova here as well
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Nova all the way!!
Sent from my LG-P700 using xda app-developers app
Abhinandh Ajay said:
Nova all the way!!
Sent from my LG-P700 using xda app-developers app
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Nova Prime.....apex who?
They seem to be the same. My only problem with both Apex and Nova is the swiping screens isn't fast enough.
tanda4 said:
They seem to be the same. My only problem with both Apex and Nova is the swiping screens isn't fast enough.
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Click to collapse
Have you tried adjusting the animation and transition speeds in Nova Settings? It has an option for increased speed performance. It may take away from the graphical fluidity, but should increase speed between page swipes.
Nova make wallpaper non scrollable?
I have used Apex but lots of people seem to prefer Nova. Does Nova have an option to make wallpaper screens non scrollable?
joseph473 said:
I have used Apex but lots of people seem to prefer Nova. Does Nova have an option to make wallpaper screens non scrollable?
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Click to collapse
Sure ... there's even an option to have it scroll in the opposite direction of the swipe if you will!
I always used Trebuchet because im a CM10 loyalist, but after reading this thread I took a dive on Nova Prime without previewing the free version. It was a great decision, everything seems smoother and the backup/restore features are awesome. Which is one of my gripes with trebuchet, I always had to set everything up after flashing.
Go Nova! :good:

Go Launcher Vs Nova Launcher.

I'm trying to work out which home launcher is better.
I paid for nova launcher prime. Also got Go Launcher. Also looking for good themes and icon packs.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
JknRich said:
I'm trying to work out which home launcher is better.
I paid for nova launcher prime. Also got Go Launcher. Also looking for good themes and icon packs.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Go launcher sucks. I would stick with Nova. Go launcher is bloated slow and ugly lol. Just my opinion though.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
No contest, Go is made for crappy 2.3 devices
It should be Apex or Nova not Go.
Go Launcher's pure of crap.
OK I'll use nova. Just looking for some good themes and icons.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
I love go launcher ex. Sure when you first load it you have to dump all the widgets, but so what? Works awesome once it's set up. And it's free, along with hundreds of free themes.
NOVA > all period ! and the go launcher themes works with nova ( lest the ones i tried )
One more for Nova I think is the best launcher for our Nexus phones I use it first time on my Galaxy Nexus and stick with him until now.Go is slow and eat many rams.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Adw ex
Sent from my Nexus 4
Is TSF or the 3D shell one any good.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
davwman said:
Adw ex
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That's oldschool!
JknRich said:
I'm trying to work out which home launcher is better.
I paid for nova launcher prime. Also got Go Launcher. Also looking for good themes and icon packs.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer nova because it is lean and uncluttered. Go launcher is made for Gingerbread or something and annoys me with all those other Go apps they advertise for (Locker, keyboard, wallpapers, task manager, widgets etc.). For me a launcher should be built upon the AOSP one, otherwise it destroys the experience.
However, there is one big difference: Nova only supports icon themes, whereas Go can be themed entirely. (drawer tabs, dock separator etc) But you can achieve such theming level in Nova by installing themes for the Tmobile theme chooser which is integrated in every decent custom ROM. If you do that, not only nova, but the whole framework and many apps are themed too.
AW: Go Launcher Vs Nova Launcher.
I don't like the icon order in Nova, I have Nova and Apex , Apex is my favourite .
Nexus 4 Tapatalk
amus76 said:
That's oldschool!
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It was updated a couple of months ago and is very good now
I have bouth nova pro and Apex Launcher Pro and i think nova is a little bit faster, because when i wake up my device and scrolling throw the windows, i have some micro lag (Nexus 4).
Nova is by far my favorite, I haven't use go launcher since I had my Nexus S. For fast and an AOSP like experience I'd suggest nova.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
No love for action launcher
Wish he had a free version for people to check out. I like it pretty smooth
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
I'm gonna have to say differently, I love Go Launcher, always been one of the best launchers on Android because it bring a unique and extreme customization to Android. Nova is a awesome launcher if you intend to run a pure android experience but with tons of customization. I have always gone back and forth from Nova and Go but since Go Launcher had an update to their UI last year I have been reporting a specific issue to them but they still have yet to fix this issue, so until they do I will not use it as my daily driver. I do have hopes that they will someday.
I find Nova less smooth than the stock Nexus launcher tbh
I tried them all and using Apex now. Never had any problems and its packed with features I use.

What's your Favorite Launcher

Looking for some opinions.. I've always used Go Launcher EX and recently went to Nova. I love all the different "scrolling effects" you get with GLEX. What's everyone's favorite? I will try them all out as FREE versions but if I was to go to a paid version which one do you like the best?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
TSF Shell
Hands down the best launcher till date. I was into Nova Prime before but TSF takes the launcher experience to a whole new level. Agreed that the price is a little steep, but it's totally worth every last penny.
dangertoon said:
Hands down the best launcher till date. I was into Nova Prime before but TSF takes the launcher experience to a whole new level. Agreed that the price is a little steep, but it's totally worth every last penny.
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You mean the TSF Shell? I saw it on the PlayStore.. Looks pretty cool!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Action launcher pro is my favorite
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 4
Mark me down for Nova Prime
Just switched from Nova Prime to Action Launcher Pro. Both are definitely worth checking out.
Nova for me
Nova Prime. It just works, customizable and super fast.
Beamed from my GS III via Tapatalk
Action launcher
Holo Launcher HD.
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'd have to say nova prime but Themer has been really nice as well so my opinion may change as it progresses and adds more features.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 4
Smart launcher. Very minimalistic.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
S4 Launcher or Nova.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 4
Next Launcher and Go Launcher Ex are the best launchers thus far, with tons of features and customizations...... My only other two choices if I can't use Next or Go Launcher would be TouchWiz or Nova Launcher....
Nova
My Favorit launcher is nova.
U can do a lot of Weeks an fiddle around with it
I really like go launcher's ability to set random transitions, but I;m not a fan of it in general. So now i just use nova prime. Any other launchers with randomized transitions?
I pretty much live by Nova I always use it... I've tried others and nothing matches up
Starting to look at Aviate..not too bad especially for a beta.
Even everything.me launcher is pretty good.
Holo Launcher HD
Galaxy S3 SGH-T999L
I'm not much for the launcher game so adw and adw.ex had been my launchers of choice all the way from my Samsung Moment days (spring 2010) to about a month ago. But then I found Apex.
I've used them all -- Helix, LauncherPro, 7, Go Launcher, Holo Launcher, Nova, ICS Launcher+, SL Launcher, Themer, a launcher that currently loses me on the name that had no actual home screen, Regina Launcher...you get the point. Right now, Apex is my launcher of choice. Themes I've used from day one of ADW still work, and I think it's speedy and well executed

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