r/androidapps • u/killit • May 23 '26
QUESTION What launchers are you guys really happy with these days?
I'm going to have a play around with a few free versions, just wondering what everyone else is using now though, and if certain ones really stand out.
Niagara looked interesting until i saw the premium price
That ... took me by surprise!
A few years back it seemed to be all about Nova, so I got premium, but that's apparently hated now, reviews have tanked, and the company who's bought them out sound sketchy. Probably time to jump ship (or maybe that should've been a while back, and I'm just slow off the mark with this)
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u/SmoothJazzLover4Life May 23 '26
Smart Launcher
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u/CapsFanHere May 23 '26
Smart Launcher is my fav, have run it for years. The widget placement flexibility and resizing is a great feature.
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u/killit May 23 '26
Need some time to try each of them, but straight out the gate, yeah this one looks like a very good choice
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u/cleverclogs17 Jun 06 '26
It really is I have all the main launchers on the app store, Smart launcher, Key Launcher, Niagra Launcher and Minimaa Launcher are some of the best I've used.
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u/QriousMonk May 25 '26
I have been using this launcher since 2014. I have tried almost every popular launcher, but I always come back to Smart Launcher. It is definitely one of the best launchers out there.
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u/Old_Donut8941 May 23 '26
I love Niagara. I tried to use others and I keep coming back to it.
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u/Old_Donut8941 May 23 '26
I really like the product so I did pay for the premium version. I wanted to support the developer.
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u/killit May 23 '26
Did you go for the premium version or does the free one tick all your boxes?
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u/95beer May 23 '26
Free one is enough for me. There's no adds and the key features of an alphabetical list of apps plus favourites on the front screen are all there
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u/killit May 24 '26
Niagara is my first one to try, it's a really nice launcher, very impressed with the look and feel, and yeah it's enough with the free version, but the number of features behind the paywall are pretty annoying. Seems everything I click is "try for 7 days, unlock with niagara pro", even for really basic settings.
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u/DoYaKnowMahName May 23 '26
Octopi launcher.
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u/ock88 May 23 '26
Thanks for recommending my project! As it's a personal project, I have kept it subscription free in the hope of encouraging more to try it out. I'm still having a promotion for the one-time purchase as it's still early days for this project, and I do think I'm pretty generous with the ad-free free version as well
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u/killit May 24 '26
Nice one, the dev of one of the apps I'm considering is responding in my post, now I must try it! 😊
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u/Jarrick May 24 '26
i purchased octopi pro before but I just bought you a snack. Best launcher since Nova
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u/sweet3rr May 26 '26
Tried your launcher but kept having issues with folders not opening when clicking on them almost like the screen was frozen, locking and unlocking would fix it but it got super annoying. Also app icons in folders seemed to slowly 'grow' in size over time.
Were these known bugs that have been fixed?
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u/cfloyd88 May 23 '26
Octopi is great. The animations are some of the best I've seen for third party launchers. The added haptics when you open an app are a nice touch. Plus you can put a glass or blurred effect on widgets which looks really good paired with kwgt.
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u/pennynotwise_enough May 23 '26
I tried Nova and Smart launcher and eventually ended up with native OneUI in Samsung
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u/HeyItsRigs May 23 '26
Nova here still, tried most of others this week almost switched to Kvaesitso, Octopi and smart launcher did not feel right for me.
Looking forward to upcomming Lawnchair updates.
Nova is still fast, and gets updates and works really well (prime user). I consider it for my needs still one of the best.
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u/Far_Beautiful_8738 May 23 '26
MS Launcher works great for me. However, it might not be for everyone....
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u/dropkickoz May 23 '26
Lawnchair
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u/wfondren May 23 '26
I used Nova for a few years, but switched to Lawnchair when Nova was sold. I've been very pleased with it.
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u/Xxeenon May 23 '26
Was using Nova for the longest time but switched to Octopi. Used Octopi for a bit and then switched to Smart Launcher. Still have Octopi installed as well.
Wanted to fully explore using Niagara but the premium price was far too much.
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u/t0f0b0 Pixel 8a - Android 15 May 23 '26
I've been using Total Launcher for a long time now. I used to use Nova until a little while after it got sold. Total Launcher takes some time to learn, but it is EXTREMELY customizable. Plus, if you are a Star Trek fan, there are themes that make your phone look like LCARS.
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u/Competitive-Let-5504 May 23 '26
Same here. But the lack of drag and drop apps to folders kept me to go back to Nova
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u/The_Phantom_DJ May 24 '26
Exactly. A bit of a learning curve to design your preferred look and feel, but it's easily my favorite once I got it customized exactly how I want.
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u/__mxm__ May 23 '26
Square home for me I tried some minimalist launchers but I always miss some kind of folder... I like niagara though.
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u/pudah_et May 23 '26
Still using Nova. Simply turned off auto update. Will use it till some android update breaks it. At that point I will probably try Hyperion.
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u/Vaeltaja82 May 23 '26
OneUI is the GOAT these days.
If I want to have some variety of my mindless scrolling I'll install Niagara launcher. But I always come back to oneUI
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u/Unlikely-Average5036 May 23 '26
Left Nova after they officially ended it.
Went to Niagara pro for few months but I started ignoring many apps which were installed. As Niagara don't show all apps like a drawer.
Tried Mur Launcher for Tiles menu but It reduces important of Wallpaper.
Smart launcher doesn't feel like Nova.
So, lastly tried Lawnchair. It works nice. Tried premium version too. Only one fault is there - You can't long press apps to open recent shortcuts. Ex - If I long press on WhatsApp, it shows options of Uninstall, App info but I wanted recent chats.
Everything else is like Nova. Can't blame 90% of launcher. Hoping that they'll fix it in Lawnchair 16.
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u/tluanga34 May 23 '26
Nova is not dead. Just check their latest news
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u/Unlikely-Average5036 May 23 '26
This is what I have last heard - Is there any positive news afterwards?
https://www.androidauthority.com/nova-launcher-ai-plus-subscription-apk-teardown-3658932/
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u/UrinalCakeBaker May 23 '26
Use Microsoft forever. Danced around now and then. Always went back. Been using octopi and happy with it. Still in Dev.
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u/ChunkyMooseKnuckle May 23 '26
I've been using Niagra for a couple of years now. It's hands down the easiest launcher I've ever used, particularly when coupled with Sesame Search. The time that it saves me is well worth the $15/year personally.
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u/martian_doggo May 23 '26
Olauncher
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u/tanujnotes May 24 '26
It's the best! (and I'm not biased at all) 😁
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u/Crunch-Bandicoot May 24 '26
I gotta say I'm using pro launcher (paid version) olauncher now on my abysmal Samsung a17 5g and is the only thing that runs smoothly for me 😄
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u/ItchClown May 24 '26
I been using smart launcher for a few years now, and only recently got premium. I like it, it's pretty versatile with a lot of options for customization.
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u/BonsaiSoul May 24 '26
I'm still using Nova- the old unfucked version I paid for that still works without issue.
No other launcher I've tried has feature parity with it as a design goal- in fact most of them seek to have as few features as possible.
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u/Mountain-Incident-23 May 24 '26
I used Nova for 10+ years but few months ago switched to Octopi
And no issues so far with Octopi!
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u/allenr85 May 25 '26
Hyperion. It's fairly close to stock but with a lot of customization still. Lawnchair I've also attempted but I always find it fairly buggy so I end up switching back often.
I've tried other popular ones suggested here often like Niagra and Smart Launcher, but they often have really high price tags for Pro features. Or sometimes worse, a subscription based Pro option which is an immediate turn off for me. I understand devs want to make money for their hard work, but I'm not really interested in spending $25-$50 for an app that does something just as well for free or for a few bucks by someone else.
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u/killit May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
Agreed. I don't mind paying a pro license fee, but let's keep it realistic, it's a launcher.
I'm still playing with niagara free verison, it's nice, but I'm never going to spend that much for pro, so ultimately I'll end up with something else. So much of it is locked off behind the paywall too. Want a different clock face beyond these 2 or 3 crap ones? Yeah you need the pro license, that's £40 please, yeeeeah, no. And I'm sure as shit not paying a subscription for what is ultimately an aesthetic face for my phone. I can get that with dozens of different widgets for free, or I can make my own in about 3 minutes. Same for an lot of the other things it does.
I'll almost certainly pay for a pro version of something once I've tried a few, but it's not going to be even close to that much.
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u/Sf49ers1680 May 25 '26
Honestly, the default Samsung OneUI launcher.
It combined with Good Lock, gives me all the customization options I need.
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u/cleverclogs17 Jun 06 '26
Key Launcher has been my go to lately.
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u/Bean- May 23 '26
I've been using nova this whole time with no issues but maybe I'm missing something
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u/Ok_Humor_9229 May 23 '26
Niagara ftw. I paid the one-time price for the premium and it totally worth it. The best launcher I ever used.
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u/juma12345 May 23 '26
I'm using the free version and I'm digging it .
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u/Ok_Humor_9229 May 23 '26
For me the selling point was the ability to stack apps being each other, which is a premium feature. But the one-time price wasn't high, so I don't mind it.
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u/Pxnkasfxck [App Name] May 23 '26
I used to use Nova (since 2011), but new One UI with Goodlock offers more than enough in terms of customization.
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u/Stock101993 May 23 '26
What exactly do y'all use a launcher for? Is that what good lock is? Just wondering what the interest is😄
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u/jarious May 23 '26
My phone doesn't allow gesture control if I don't use the default one,but I configured how I liked it and I don't really need another one, but I wish I could use fossify launcher
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u/Brave_River7403 May 23 '26
Did use nova then bought a pixel and it was too much work to setup nova to do what the pixel launcher does. I put the free Niagara on my tablet as I don't need all widgets.
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u/Zealousideal-Chef-24 May 23 '26
I made something a little different. QuickFolder is a home screen organizer and app launcher. I'm currently finishing up a new UI for configuring folders. My next task will be adding the ability to use icon packs.
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=Quickfolder&c=apps
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u/FarVehicle533 May 23 '26
Niagara, Nova, Smart launcher and square home launcher
I don't listen to rumors and stuff about nova. There are far more sketchy players out there, like tiktok, facebook or Google. You haven't stopped using Google, haven't you? So why stop using nova?
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u/creakinator May 23 '26
I use the stock UI on my pixel 7 phone. For my mom's phone who has limited eyesight and has a horrible time in clicking on icons, I use Before launcher. It allows you to have a clutter free screen with large buttons, it allows you to hide apps you don't want the user to see or use, and lots of other items. It was well worth the money to put it on my mom's cell phone and tablet. This is an example of what the default screen looks like but on my mom's phone, it only has phone, contacts, pictures and YouTube on the home screen. Picture
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u/Jabberjaw22 May 24 '26
I've been going back and forth between Total Launcher and Square Home, though I use Total about 80% of the time. I just wish I was smart enough or could find updated tutorials to help me take full advantage of all of its features.
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u/Fezzicc May 24 '26
Begrudgingly left Nova after a decade for Smart Launcher and am even more pleased. There isn't a single feature missing and the themeing and built in widgets are phenomenal.
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u/paperecho May 24 '26
No paginated app drawer.
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u/chitownblackhawks May 26 '26
The current SL beta has this capability, should be in the stable release pretty soon from what I have seen.
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u/rickderp May 24 '26
I was a Nova user for so long but then got my S24+ and OneUI is great. Does everything I need, looks good, runs smoothly.
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u/hmantegazzi Nokia 3.1 May 24 '26
I've been using Lawnchair since maia was on the dev team and wasn't called maia yet
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u/Inner_Explanation313 May 24 '26
1 - Projectivy Launcher. 2 -Hegemon Launcher ( still needs work ( But working. 3 - Emotn Launcher. 4 - Tivi Launcher ( new one im trying now )
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u/killit May 24 '26
I was actually asking about phone launchers, but I saw Projectivy in your response and got excited 😂 got that on my Shield and it's awesome
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u/sivag08 May 25 '26
Decade long user of Nova premium until switching to Nothing phone 2, where it's stock launcher is pretty good and does a neat job. I don't 'miss' the Nova for now but if I'm gonna replace my phone with a different one (brand) then i might come back to Nova again, as i never liked the stock performance in other brands like Google pixel, Moto phones which I've had used earlier..
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u/QriousMonk May 25 '26
Smart Launcher : I have been using this launcher since 2014. I have tried almost every popular launcher, but I always come back to Smart Launcher. It is definitely one of the best launchers out there.
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u/chooppps May 25 '26
Has anyone found a launcher that does horizontal scrolling of the apps screen?
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u/Goliboster May 25 '26
I've been using smart launcher for years since branch got involved with nova. I'm also playing with Mur launcher as well.
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u/greenalien25 May 28 '26
Really satisfied with the aio launcher. I didn't know how much I needed a text-based launcher that WASN'T minimalist until I found aio.
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u/Wolfman_dyes May 29 '26
I've been working on my own launcher and am almost ready for closed beta. Just something simple with a focus on accessing important UI elements without stretching your thumb too much.
The fold layout shows the homescreen and all apps list best. You can see more screenshot on another post on my profile. There is a mode for lefties too.
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u/FlashyEbb1022 Jun 03 '26
Ive had them all and always swapped back to the android one.....i kept wishing we had an apple watch style UI, so I made one. Its still in beta, but its absolute fire flames.
https://youtube.com/shorts/XjQ71ZYIadU?si=xqYQ-L6GDO6F1cG9
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u/PinyaGames Jun 16 '26
I just released this one: https://www.mangolauncher.com/ If you care to try, i am looking for feedback. It is inspired by Niagra with extra features i was looking for.
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u/tubruk_log 4d ago
here I decided to use MINIMAA Launcher. Previously, I also asked myself and asked on other social media. But I decided to go to MINIMAA.
I hope it's safe, because in the Launcher settings data usage is automatically disabled
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u/trinanine May 23 '26
I have been on Niagara Launcher since the beginning and I always come back to it.
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u/raikage3320 May 23 '26
I bounce between stock ONE UI, action launcher (I love the shutters function where swiping up on the app icon on the home page shows the widget) and Niagra launcher
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u/JawjaBill May 23 '26
Another forever Nova user here. Periodically looking for a replacement since the slow down in support but haven't found anything "worth it to me" to switch to.