NOVA. Every single time I've tried an alternate launcher, I always return to NOVA within 24 hours.
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I've been using nova launcher prime since forever. Make a backup on my old phone when getting a new one, and import it on the new phone.
How do you feel about nova launcher being bought out by that data collection company?
I absolutely love Nova Launcher Pro. Easy to get to what I need. Also integrates with sesame and Delta icon pack.
Nova Launcher Prime. The only one I stuck too, and never managed to leave.
Since i bought Niagara Launcher my phone(s) feel very fluent and contemporary. I'd say the best piece of software I bought for Android.
Second this. Niagara Launcher allows me so much easier access to apps. Cleaner home page and all apps in an easy to navigate alphabetical list. Super easy
I've been using Nova for years and I have no complaints.
I use Niagara Launcher mostly for the minimalist look. But also because Nova was bought by an analytics company a bit ago.
I love Niagara Launcher. simple, yet very effective.
I used Niagara Launcher, but it's not free, so I moved to Lawnchair 12.1. I also really like Kvaesitso launcher
I love me some Nova
I'm going to piggy back on this comment for all the people who don't want to do the research on Nova and their recent acquisition by Branch. You can opt in or out of usage statistics and all permissions in the app. The new mods on their discord have a FAQ that expresses this also. I have no way to prove otherwise but if all we have is their word then you should take all apps usages disclosures with a grain of salt.
Edit: funny enough I just installed and read the first few paragraphs of Niagra's privacy policy which says it collects and shares user analytics. To each their own I guess.
Protip: If you are somewhat skeptical of the Branch integration, you can disable network permission in Android for the Nova Launcher. It doesn't need to connect to anything to work fine generally speaking. Without network permisson, the launcher can't send anything to the internet.
I loved using Nova, but they got bought by a data mining company. I'm using Active Launcher now.
Oh what? Damn I've been using only Nova for years and years. Who bought them?
According to this article, an analytical giant by the name of Branch last year?
https://www.makeuseof.com/nova-launcher-branch-is-it-still-safe-to-use/
KISS Launcher for me. Minimal UI so you can see your wallpaper, decent search and open source. I'm surprised there aren't more mentions of it here actually.
Niagra Launcher, by far. It has totally changed the way I used my phone in a speedy way.
Neo launcher for me. it's on fdroid.
it's not perfect and can get buggy, but once you set it up, and don't mess with the settings too much. it's acceptable replacement for Nova launcher.
Had nova prime, but switched after the buyout
Yeah... What buyout? I have it in Graphene, with no permissions granted and only as a secondary launcher while i was considering my options, since Neo sometimes doesn't update new installed apps for a while...
https://www.androidpolice.com/nova-launcher-acquired-by-branch/
It was bought by a data analytics company last summer, unfortunately.
Niagara Launcher. It's a very clean and simple launcher and perfect if you have around 8 top apps with the way it's designed, but still very easy to navigate all other apps. Definitely recommend you give it a go
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 :-)
I'm using nova but now I feel out of the loop. What sale do you mean, and why did it make you dump nova?
Not that guy, but last year they got acquired by Branch, an analytics company. Android Police article about it here. The same company also acquired Sesame of Sesame Universal Search.
To clarify, I'm unaware if they've done anything suspicious since the acquistion, but potentially giving an analytics company launcher level access raised eyebrows for more than a few people, myself included.
KISS
I have been using Niagara for a couple of years now, and I have absolutely fallen in love with it since.
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.
Smart launcher for me. The automatic app sorting along with its ambient theme is super awesome. Highly recommend it.
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.
I use the KISS launcher. It's on both Play Store and F-Droid.
Stupid simple and really nice looking imo
Lawnchair Launcher. But the version they have on GitHub.
I would use Pixel Launcher if it was possible to remove this silly, oversized, search box from the home screen.
lawnchair
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
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.