I'm not a noob in regards to flashing, rooting and rom's. With that of the table i wiuld like to keep this thread open for ROMs that are android based but that look a bit different but not just roms, launchers and apps also.
MIUI ROM (not a fan but i like the look)
Action Launcher (my prefered launcher)
Swapps
LMT
Please feel free to add something you use to change the "boring" feel of stock android experience. Nova or apex is not on my list cuz they are very similar to stock.
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There's the xperia z ROM.
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iOS and iLauncher.
Paranoid Android tablet mode with LMT
Ubuntu Mobile
...?
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Paranoid Android of course!
Unity launcher for an Ubuntu phone look.
And Nova and Apex launchers look like stock when you first download but they allow so much customization with a bit of work they can look like anything you can imagine.
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I'm waiting for the dev to put 3.1 of the Xpert Z ROM up then i would have something to say.
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Ubuntu OS is one of the reasons i opened this thread. Although it's still very very alpha it is so promising.
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Related
I have heard that Go Launcher is frowned upon on the Nexus, saying its not an ICS launcher, should only use Apex...Nova...or CM9 launchers.
Is Go not optimized to work for ICS ?
I got pretty used to all the Go features on my last phone, would like to use again.
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then use it... no one's forcing you to use apex or nova.
apex or nova is preferred because it builds off of stock ICS launcher and improves on it for further customizations.
people just want to retain the "holo" look of ICS.
zephiK said:
then use it... no one's forcing you to use apex or nova.
apex or nova is preferred because it builds off of stock ICS launcher and improves on it for further customizations.
people just want to retain the "holo" look of ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1
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Launchers wont send your device to the depths of hell. Use GO launcher and if it doesn't work right, go with stock or find something new.
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Thanks for advice. Will Go be updated to be more of a ICS base ? Or is it stuck as a Gingerbread launcher mainly ?
This is for my Brother actually, who just got the Nexus and installed all the Go stuff. I freaked on him, like Dude WTF you can't use Go on a Nexus.
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Y not?
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Only time will.
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Zorachus said:
Thanks for advice. Will Go be updated to be more of a ICS base ? Or is it stuck as a Gingerbread launcher mainly ?
This is for my Brother actually, who just got the Nexus and installed all the Go stuff. I freaked on him, like Dude WTF you can't use Go on a Nexus.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They probably won't because I believe Apex/Nova requires Android 4.0+ and GO Launcher EX includes phones who are on pre-ICS.
If they were to do that, it'd be very similar to Apex / Nova so what's the point? ICS is only a small % of Android users for now. The vast community is on 2.3.X.
And yeah, he should just get Apex/Nova it should be FAR more superior than GO Launcher or LauncherPro or ADW EX. I won't go into the debate of Apex vs Nova because there's a whole thread for that. Both are similar, Apex is more popular and offers more features for FREE. Both paid versions for Nova & Apex cost $3.99 respectively.
I personally use Apex. But it's up to you.
And coincidentally after posting that, http://golauncher.goforandroid.com/2012/05/go-launcher-v3-00-beta/
GO Launcher 3.0 Beta
Thought I'd start an information post on launchers since there are several to choose from.
I am currently running Nova Launcher on a EuroSkank CM9 Kang. It is highly customizable.
What are you running and why?
Also feel free to post likes and dislikes on any Launcher so we can put alot of Info out there, maybe we'll help someone choose
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go launcher as it is ever so improving ..with new features and all...plus its free
running broodrom rc5
Zeam Launcher cause it's free and it consumes less memory.. plus it's fast!
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Nova Launcher is the best launcher out there for ICS! Hands down. Lots if customization options, and easy to use. Highly recommended!
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Apex cuz I say so
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Apex FTW, smoother than nova imo
but for me both have same customization capabilities
cheers
Is nova able to layer widgets on top of each other? I had to switch to Apex for that feature as I couldn't find that option.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1631195&highlight=launcher
Hi,
I'm using Apex Launcher. It seems that it's the same stock Launcher but a bit better.
I'm wondering if Apex author took source code and enchanced it or he made Apex from zero?
Thanks!
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Nova Launcher is better
Galaxy Nexus GSM
Hi there,
Yes, the stock launcher is open source. The source resides inside a folder in the AOSP repository. I remember looking at it when I built AOSP for the first time.
That said, it's highly likely the Apex dev started from stock as a base, in fact we're nearly sure he did that, since that's the best way to mimic stock yet add some nice tweaks.
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I would say most third party launchers are based on the stock launcher. Adw is also open source, so they could pull from that as well.
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nxt said:
Nova Launcher is better
Galaxy Nexus GSM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing but that's not what he asked. Try to answer questions and not **** up threads with this crap.
I would assume it's open since it's apart of stock and that's open source
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Yes the launcher is open, that's what nova and apex built off of. Same with the browser. Ics+ browser is the stock browser with enhancements.
This type of mods are my single favorite thing about android and nexus phones. Its open to build upon with whatever options you'd want to add, built just as if it came from Google like that (given the dev is good).
Hi,
We all know that stock launcher in JB is soo smooth and fast.
And we all know that popular launchers (Nova, Apex and others) are not yet updated to run on JB or to run as smooth as stock JB launcher.
What are your experiences with 3rd party launchers on JB?
Are you planning to use stock while those 3rd party launchers are updated?
Any other houghts?
Good luck!!!
For me, Nova Prime is smoother than the stock Jellybean launcher.
Stock is by far the smoothest.
Apex is laggy especially in the app/widget drawer.
Same experience with nova.
I'll stick with stock for now.
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Dameon87 said:
Stock is by far the smoothest.
Apex is laggy especially in the app/widget drawer.
Same experience with nova.
I'll stick with stock for now.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the guy above says Nova ir smoother. How come?!
I've noticed in other forums (outside XDA) people say the same about Nova (it's same smooth as stock JB).
I'm a heavy Apex user.. and I don't want to switch to other launcher. What are chances Apex dev will update his launcher with JB vSync (or whatever feature JB launcher uses)?
Stock.
I have 2 GNex both running 4.1.1 and one with Nova and the other with Apex.
I can definitely say for the moment, Nova is smoother. Especially with transition effects.
However I have been running Atom since last night and damn I'm impressed!
Now if it will only take icons from theme packs....
Sent from my GNex running Jelly Bean 4.1.1
bat0nas said:
But the guy above says Nova ir smoother. How come?!
I've noticed in other forums (outside XDA) people say the same about Nova (it's same smooth as stock JB).
I'm a heavy Apex user.. and I don't want to switch to other launcher. What are chances Apex dev will update his launcher with JB vSync (or whatever feature JB launcher uses)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you change Nova's animation speeds from Nova to Stock, you'd notice a major improvement in transition smoothness. Hence why I still use Nova.
I usually use ADW Launcher but I tried it on Jelly Bean and it is pretty slow in comparison to stock launcher so I will be using the stock launcher till updates happen to it (and others too).
I prefer stock for now, its super smooth
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Stock has some great benefits, like fling to remove apps and widgets, app reflow, etc, but I'm still sticking with Nova. Kevin is updating the launcher with all the JB features, so we'll have JB smoothness with customizations from Nova. Winning!
Galaxy Nexus - Slim Bean a4
Apex for me. I just like it.
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Lol still rocking adw ex
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apex hands down
GO Launcher.
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Nova Prime only because of Unread Count notification (on Gmail, MMS and Phone). Also the backup and restore function has proved very nice to me in a few ocasions
Amowagou said:
GO Launcher.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
China data stealing launcher? No thank you...
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MДЯCЦSДИT said:
China data stealing launcher? No thank you...
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe he doesn't have any china data to steal.
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I love apex and reinstalled it as soon as it was updated for JB but its not as smooth as the stock launcher so for now I'm running that and hoping for an apex update.
MДЯCЦSДИT said:
China data stealing launcher? No thank you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I wouldn't touch Go apps with a ten foot pole.
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I'll use stock until Apex makes a Jelly Bean version.
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Apex for sure.
What does everyone use for launchers? Any one have a good minimalistic theme? I'm running xylon11
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Only "stock" launcher I use on GNex
I really really like nova. I know some have mixed opinions about it but it serves Me well. Also I just started making custom wallpapers for xylon . I go pretty minimal. One screen and folders with circle click widget and Bob click and nice wallpaper. That's about all I can say on that topic.
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I use Nova Launcher Prime. the customization level is very high and I like a lot the gesture function toghether with the ROM actions ..
Maybe the negative thing is the ram occupation.
I'm using silky smooth Xperia launcher. But usually ADW Ex. It is amazing. He just updated maybe 2 months ago. Very tablety.
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