Nothing came up in the seach so thought I'd get some input on launchers. It would be nice to hear why you prefer certain launchers over others.
Feel free to add my rom and kernel are great, I dont bother with any extra launcher.
Ive been using Go Launcher for a while now, I really like it.
A quick thing I noticed was that they put a settings button back on the bottom with back and home where it belongs. Not sure why google took this out, theres room for it.
The abundance of customization is nice.
Lots of homescreen transitions (I love the cylinder one)
Lots of dock control, really like how clicking and swiping a dock icon can launch separate apps.
App drawer settings are good, I really dislike the iphone horizontal page turn set up of the standard app drawer so having a vertical scroll is a great option. Changing the grid size, easily hiding apps, having the all/recent/running tabs.
Gesture settings, already so many ways and apps to get to things quicker, having this built in is a bonus. I got used to it in dolphin browser so it was a welcomed addon. Also simple things like swiping down anywhere on the screen to pull down the notifications bar is something Im not sure I could go without now.
Nice theme selection, Although I dont bother with any.
Lots of other great GO apps and go widgets.
I used to really like the whole menu system they have when you long press on a homescreen to pull up widgets, wallpapers, themes etc until ICS added the widget previews right in the app drawer. Thats missing in Go Launcher and is one of the few things I wish it had.
I have liked Apex a lot. Seemed like I could setup a single 6x6 screen with smoothness better then I could with Nova. In both cases I used the betas with Jelly Bean patches in them.
Also, there is a whole thread here about launchers:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771170
whitedragonz83 said:
Also, there is a whole thread here about launchers:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771170
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, I guess since I put favorite in the seach it didn't come up.
My favorite is whatever comes stock on my current ROM. To me, the advantages of different launchers aren't that great to have to mess with one more thing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Nova Prime
i have nova prime but since jellybean i've taken a liking to the stock launcher.
nova prime
I use Apex. I would use stock but I need a scrolling dock
Related
Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's of both launchers.. I might give them a try sometime next week..
you can try yourselve both its better than reading. ADW Launcher users tell you adw is faster beter etc and LP userr tell you the same about LP just try it.
I use adw about 1 day and I change to LP becouse I dont use all options on adw he have a lot settings Lp is easyier for me.
or try zeam very quick and low memory usage
If a launcher doesn't have touch wiz like app drawer it's useless. Hundreds of apps aren't manageable in other ways.
I choose ADW because it's more smooth when swiping between homescreens. And there's a lot of themes for this launcher, too. I have tried LP but it's not that good. It has better widgets though.
I switched to ADW, launcher pro just isn't as snappy. The app bar is a nice feature too. Launcher pro does have some nice widgets though.
Launcher PRO PLUS for the widget and popup!!!
Bec07 said:
If a launcher doesn't have touch wiz like app drawer it's useless. Hundreds of apps aren't manageable in other ways.
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Click to collapse
Launcher pro is not able to arrange applications ?
EarlZ said:
Launcher pro is not able to arrange applications ?
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Click to collapse
Nope, at least not yet
frauhottelmann said:
Nope, at least not yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it does have the very cool scrolling 3D app drawer where everything is in alphabetical order. I find it much much easier.
Launcher Pro has really nice widgets. Also ADW hides the status bar on me every so often - not sure why... very annoying and makes it unusable.
Bec07 said:
If a launcher doesn't have touch wiz like app drawer it's useless. Hundreds of apps aren't manageable in other ways.
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Click to collapse
This is what makes touchwiz a great launcher.
I really hope LP follows suit, I need a customizable app drawer.
btw, ts I use launcherpro, /w donated version.
The widgets that come with lp are irreplaceable
I've tried both and love that lo is capable of hiding bloatware apps. Since I'm new and not into rooting, I like that I can get crap outta my face if I don't want it!
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
brendonsled said:
This is what makes touchwiz a great launcher.
I really hope LP follows suit, I need a customizable app drawer.
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Click to collapse
But the fact that you can't hide icons make it horrible for me. That's a major reason I use LauncherPro, apps that already have homescreen shortcuts or that I don't use wont clutter up my app drawer.
ADW has the same feature I believe, I might try it sometime.
The actual process of organising apps in touchwiz into some reasonable order is so slow and painful that I couldn't stand to do it anyway. Alphabetical order with all the crap hidden works just fine for me.
A nice feature that was added recently to LauncherPro is changing the grid size in the homescreens. You can use that to get more fine control of your widget positions and to fit more shortcuts and widgets. You can choose whether or not to re-size the widgets according to the new grid as well.
i personally like LauncherPRO better than the rest.
it works & feels very much alike ZLauncher from PalmOS
it has all the options i was exactly looking for.
well worth the $3 for the extra features, even though i don't even use them
I use LP plus.
I´ve used the option to hide stuff that I install, and insted have a folder for games and one for tools on my home screen. means that the app window wont get cluttered up.
Both are really good and I won't say one's better than the other.
I've always used ADW since I owned the Magic and the launch of the Galaxy, and in that time I've flirted with LP but alwys went back to ADW, however, last week I tried LP again and I've stuck with it this time.
Basically I can't choose between both but I'm extremely happy using either, try both and make your choice.
frauhottelmann said:
Nope, at least not yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi
what you can do is :
creat folders on the last home screen for exemple.
lets say a games folder : stick all your games in it, and go to LP settings, take the link for the game apps you put in that folder and hide them so they dont apear any where else.
i dont know about adw but LP has scrollable widget possibilities and combined to some market aps it really is neat.
as usual its allways a question of personal preference.
plemen said:
Launcher Pro has really nice widgets. Also ADW hides the status bar on me every so often - not sure why... very annoying and makes it unusable.
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Click to collapse
your disappearing dockbar is probably due to you pressing the app drawer and swiping upwards. Just go to ADW settings and disable the dockbar. This dockbar is a relatively new feature that enables you to have 2 dockbars (something similar to the scrolling LP dockbar).
ADW has a custom groups feature in its app drawer so you can select what apps you want to see. Unfortunately you can only view one group at a time, but its definitely a much better way of organising your apps than just in alphabetical order. And you can hide apps easily this way too. I really like ADW's swipe actions on home screens as well, last time I tried LP it didnt have this option.
Despite all the features of ADW, Launcher Pro feels just way snappier. Its customisation settings are well enough. The widgets are good too.
Too bad it's not open source like ADW. A may goto ADW when the animations are made smoother.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
What is the best LAUNCHER in ur comparison..and the best feature that makes it awesome...(eg. mine is goLauncherex coz it have swipe in the screen to do additional options like swipe down for notification or open helicopter view of all home screens).....REPLY PLZ
I use adw ex because its fast. But when Zeam has widget scrolling back i will use that mainly cause, adw ex is fast but it uses more memory and sacrifices graphics. You can check this by using a dark/black coloured widget and then scrolling, you will see it distort.
I use ADW Launcher Ex, it has the same swipe features and many themes available
Sent from my CM7.1 Desire using XDA Premium App
+1 for ADW Launcher Ex, it just seems to move smoother and more fluidly than others ive tried.
Tried several all they all have advantages, still, surprisingly, I am now quite used to TouchWiz on the Galaxy S2 2.3.3 and while it is not perfect, decided to stop bothering with other launchers for now. It does a fair, fast/fluid job and I complement it with a couple of widget-thingies like Elixir and a couple of apps like Tasker and ZDTools.
The good part is that it appears to be very stable. I'll probably keep using it until something amazing shows up.
LauncherPro, tried Zeam and Go Ex, both rather slowly working. But I like the feature on GoEx launcher to open the recent apps out of the appdrawer...
I like Go Launcher's ability to uninstall an app just by long-pressing on the app icon in the drawer of home screen, and that you could add up to 30 screens--something few launchers can do.
ALso the many themes and icons that it has for free download. Font packs though, are not its strength. You'd have to look elsewhere for fonts.
Borat38 said:
I like Go Launcher's ability to uninstall an app just by long-pressing on the app icon in the drawer of home screen, and that you could add up to 30 screens--something few launchers can do.
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Click to collapse
30 screens -> will be BAD SLOW! i have 3 screens and it is really enough...
launcher pro: tap long on an icon, drag it over the trash can and wait -> so you can uninstall it
I love adw launcher being able to hide app labels, looks much cleaner.
Quite like transparent app drawer too!
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
So, of all three which one are you using and why. Just want to get a general idea if your experience.
android4sunny said:
So, of all three which one are you using and why. Just want to get a general idea if your experience.
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Click to collapse
I'm using QQ Launcher with the iphone theme for obvious reasons
(check my sig)
When I'm not using QQ, I run go launcher...most free themes, add ons etc. Plus its easier for me to use
I use GO because of the multiple add apps to home screen. I know this is a little thing but it makes my life easier.
On a side note ADW ex is ten cents today on the Android market.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
I used go launcher for a long time but it isn't as snappy as ADW. So i'm back on adw for now.
Swyped from my iPhone eater
-BeastMOD
-Supercharged 1000HP
Go launcher is by far the best . Never had any issues.
Sent from my SGH-T989D using XDA App
I like go launcher because it's really smooth. Also because in the application screen you can show only the apps that are running, and close them if you want to. I also like it shows the icon dock at the bottom of the homescreen, on every screen, and it also has 5 icons (more if you scroll) so you can easily access useful apps.
android4sunny said:
So, of all three which one are you using and why. Just want to get a general idea if your experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you forgot to list stock ICS launcher, which is pretty decent finally! for an android stock launcher
but of all of the 4 choices i still like GO Launcher EX better, it has all the features of every launcher combined, but free!
I've used go launcher, adw, adw ex, ics(on my ics rom and as just the launcher), and launcher pro...
Until ics is official in some form, I'm going to keep using launcher pro. It has all the features I want(I'm very no-frills and minimalist), and it feels faster than all the others. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in a LONG time, so that's a bummer. But like I said, I'll use this until ICS comes out, then I'll just use that.
Favorite feature: sliding dock bar. I have it setup as (dialer - app drawer - web) on one, and (sms - app drawer - gmail) on the other. This works very well for me, as it allows me to keep stuff in my dock bar without looking too cluttered.
Go launcher is very heavy on memory. It also has the best looks, in my opinion. It just looks cool. Lags at lower clock speeds, too.
Adw is fast and has lots of options to play with. It does not look as cool, but it will do.
TW is very fast. Even at very low clock speeds, it does not lag! It looks ok, but is not as customizable as the other two. It looks bright and cheerful, though.
I chose to go with golauncher. I can play with it for hours. Not as many free themes, but some good free ones. It does everything the others do combined. I have the Honeycomb theme with sphere setting for drawer.
Just download and play with them. See what you think looks better.
trying to get 10 post!
After using all, I always find myself going back to launcher pro. It is the widgets that do it for me. They are a year old and they still are the best. The dock notifications kicked ass until gmail fubared it. Does need an update as sms dock notification does not work with Go SMS but does with regular messenger.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Adw ex + android pro Widgets. Nothing compares to the smoothness.
Go launcher for me. Has more features than any other launcher and its theme-able and free...Find it really fast to and the whole Go-Suite seems to have some really nice apps. I use Go SMS also..
I had been using the TouchWiz Launcher until I saw someone mention an update for adw ex, so I redownloaded and I really liked all the new dock settings. Maybe I missed it but I don't think we could use 4 icons on the dock, minimum was 5(?) It works great with my ICS theme.
Sent from my SGH-T989
Hey Guys,
I have been using Go launcher since its launch, but have been thinking about venturing outside of my comfort zone and trying something new. I've always liked randomizing transition effects, and being able to change the grid layout... as well as having folders in the app menu (which is a great thing I love about the stock touchwhiz experience)
I have heard a lot of mention about Nova launcher, and Apex Launcher, but no actual reasons as to why these are better than what I already use.
Can you tell me the differences between them, and why you use the launcher that you use?
Thanks all:silly:
I know Nova and Apex were built for ICS so they ran better at one time. I'm not sure since ADW and Go were updated if that is still the case. I have been using Apex but the last couple months its not running as smooth as it used to so I switched to Nova. I'm impressed with Nova so far. Lots of options and great performance. Best thing is just try the free versions and buy the one you like best.
i've stayed with stock tw because i like the extra screen that pops up when i use the s-pen
theraker007 said:
i've stayed with stock tw because i like the extra screen that pops up when i use the s-pen
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Click to collapse
Agreed... I installed Nova since that was my choice of launcher but with all the new feats on the TW, i quickly switched back.
Coming from my S2, I do miss the profile option I had on that rom
Stock so far!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Holo plus and holo hd. Runs great
sent from a galaxy note2 far far away
Been using GOOGLE for a long time..... Might be time to experiment
Nova.
ADW EX
I like making the icons smaller so they aren't so big and cartoonish on my Note II, as well as all the other various customizations.
Have yet to try my nova prime (run that on my atrix, OG note and touchpad). Leaving things stock atm...and its very hard to do.
Honestly...the only annoyance I have with the TW launcher is no option for 5x5 or 6x6. Thats why I will probably switch it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
I've used ADW, Go, and Nova... Nova has been the best experience for me performance and options-wise but so far I'm using the stock launcher.
Would rather replace the navigation indicator with an extra row of icons but other than that, I'm quite content!
The power to choose between power and/or simplicity is the beauty of Android.
erick161 said:
Honestly...the only annoyance I have with the TW launcher is no option for 5x5 or 6x6. Thats why I will probably switch it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my biggest gripe. I need to be able to have more icons on my home screen than TW allows, so much wasted space!
RojasTKD said:
That was my biggest gripe. I need to be able to have more icons on my home screen than TW allows, so much wasted space!
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Click to collapse
I can't deal with TW. Maybe it's improved but Nova and others have so many useful features. Extra dock icons, grid sizes, gestures, drawer folders, etc.
What TW features are you guys attached to? With Nova I can still double click the screen with the pen to pop up a note at any time.
Apex baby FTW
You can still always push your S pen and double tap for a note
Apex, but it's not as smooth as it could be, and you can't use the stock Weather widget with it.
I tried Apex launcher since I had it on my s2, but it's super choppy compared to the stock launcher so I switched back. Unless they optimize Apex launcher for jelly bean ill stock with stock.
Phytrax said:
I can't deal with TW. Maybe it's improved but Nova and others have so many useful features. Extra dock icons, grid sizes, gestures, drawer folders, etc.
What TW features are you guys attached to? With Nova I can still double click the screen with the pen to pop up a note at any time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. It feels the same as TW on GS2 with Gingerbread. I'm giving Go Launcher EX another shot (this time on GN2) because its features but I hate the toyish feel/icons and BS it loads as well.
Apex will be next.
Anyway to get the lock screen to look/act like AOSP? I dont mind the ripple effect but the look (TW) is
I'm using TW but have applied this MOD that allows you to have 5X5 rows and columns. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1990801
Nova largely because of it's backup of layouts which makes it much faster to setup new ROMs etc. Apex I know does the same thing and I don't really have a preference between the two. I had switched to Apex when they were the first to update to 4.1 source which made it smoother than Nova, but switched back after Nova updated.
I like ssLauncher (the original). It's in the play store. It has the most customizable home screen I've ever seen. No more restraining yourself to grids or default icons. It has a bit of a learning curve but so, so much you can do! Send me questions if you're curious & I'll try and answer them.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
I'm not going to ask which launcher or anything like that. I already have one in mind if I do decide to go that route.
What I want to know is if they are worth it or not? Do they slow the phone down at all? As it seems as an overlay to an overlay.
I see some, like nova, have a add-on for unread counts for messages and calls and things. Is this saying that without this add-on I won't have a count for missed messages or a notification at all?
Thanks you for the input
launchers
In comparison to the stock LG launcher you'll find you'll actually have a smother experience. Launchers like holo or nova are really light weight and have a smaller footprint in memory than the stock launcher. When you choose a new launcher as default the lg launcher is closed. Or at least resources are being prioritized to the default launcher. I'm a beginner when it comes to how android handles processes so maybe someone else can offer a better explanation. The addons for nova add unread counts to icons on homescreens, app drawer and folders. You'll still get all notifications through the status bar. Its just eye candy and extras you get for the paid version of the launcher.
BadFish79 said:
I'm not going to ask which launcher or anything like that. I already have one in mind if I do decide to go that route.
What I want to know is if they are worth it or not? Do they slow the phone down at all? As it seems as an overlay to an overlay.
I see some, like nova, have a add-on for unread counts for messages and calls and things. Is this saying that without this add-on I won't have a count for missed messages or a notification at all?
Thanks you for the input
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't hurt to check out other launchers. If you dont like them simply uninstall and your back to where you were
ADW is old school and basic, I prefer that. Holo is decent so is Apex, but my go to is always Nova. They're all fun to play with.
It's worth it. I use Nova and it's faster and has more organization and customization options than stock LG or AOSP. Just the speed and being able to hide apps from the app drawer is worth it for me. For reference, Nova runs way faster on my Nexus 7 than the JB launcher.
lots of good options. Nova is a great one, but I like Apex and Holo.
To answer your question, if you don't install extensions, then you won't have the message count on the app icon, but that's all it does. I personally don't like it, so I have never installed it.
Honestly though, if you aren't a "power user" who likes to tinker with all of the options in the launcher, Apex, Holo and Nova are all very similar.
Can someone explain the dock as overlay option? Isn't the dock always visible on the home screen?
Sent from my LG-LS970
BadFish79 said:
Can someone explain the dock as overlay option? Isn't the dock always visible on the home screen?
Sent from my LG-LS970
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Default, the dock is basically an extra row of icons ON the desktop, that carries over from screen to screen.
Dock as overlay changes your dock to being a row of icons that is on a layer separate from your desktop. As an example, you can turn this on and turn on a slide up gesture to toggle dock, which would give you a kind of mini app drawer on top of the desktop. If you did not turn this on, toggling dock would bump your desktop icons up and down, as it would then be a part of the desktop and not be a layer on top of it.