6mo ago

Android Launchers

I've always used custom launchers on Android. The stock launchers like One UI Home and Launcher3 just don't cut it for me.

Despite that, I'm hard pressed to find any open-source launcher that meets my expectations like Smart Launcher does.

Any suggestions?

34 comments

I've been using KISS launcher for ages. I just can't go back to a "normal" launcher again. No more swiping through pages to find and open an app. Just type a letter or two of the app name and voila.
10/10 - Would FOSS again.
- Same. And I was a Nova pro user years ago.
  
  LOL! Me too, I started using a lot the search function and I ended up moving to a FOSS alternative that is search-focused (and a lot lighter)
- Same. Been using it for ages : nice background pic & just a calendar widget, the six shortcuts at the bottom - it's so fast, simple, unobtrusive.
- pie launcher is similar but with a quickdraw action for the commonly used apps.
  once I got used to it I could never think about going back
  been having some issues with it lately though and it's tough!
There is Lawnchair, which is a stock-experience while still being extremely customizable, and Kvaesitso, which is search based and might be worth checking out if you want to try something different. Can you share which features you are interested in, so we can give more relevant recommendations ?
- I want gesture support so badly like in Nova Launcher.
  Swipe up for one app, swipe down for another app, etc.
  smart launcher does exactly one gesture (double tap) and is woefully inadequate for me.
  Does lawn chair offer that?
  
  I'm seeing a "Gestures" section in Lawnchair which has the following:
  Double tap
  Swipe up
  Swipe down
  Home button
  Back button
  Each one of them has the following options:
  Do nothing
  Rest mode
  Open notifications panel
  Open app drawer
  Open app finder
  Open search
  Open app (this one seems to be the one you are asking for)
  Not sure if this are the exact names they show up in english, though
- Seconding Lawnchair. Great FOSS launcher.
- Second Lawnchair. AFAIK it's the only FOSS launcher that supports Graphene OS' Private Space.
  
  Notably in the release from GitHub, not from Play
- I'm mostly fine with any launcher, as long as you can put apps in folders in the app launcher, as well as hiding some apps altogether. Lawnchair looks interesting and I'll check it out
I've tried pretty much any FOSS launcher out there, and I always return to Kvaesitso.
It feels very natural and smooth, while being minimalistic and extremely functional.
Especially the search is the best there is. The built in calculator ("1+1"; "3 inch in cm"; etc.) is so fucking useful and finding stuff is blazing fast.
- Kvaesitso user here too, can confirm. It took two tries for me to really appreciate it and set it up as I wanted, but now I don't look back anymore.
- I really love Kvaesitso but I wish I could adjust the unit conversions. Im so used to entering a query lkke "15c to f" which works in search engines and Apple's spotlight search buy Kvaesitso doesn't work with that.
  
  Agreed. I love kvaesitso and I use it. But these conversions is something I simply dont use, because entering the units the way it expects is too cumbersome for me most of the time.
  Same thing for timers. I hate having to type "15 min" instead of "15min" which feels much more natural to me.
- Yeah, +1.
  I've been an avid fan of applocation launchers like rofi and dmenu on the desktop forever, and the "swipe down and immediately search" feels as close as it can get to the mobile equivalent of those.
I've been really liking the KISS Launcher, it's power is in it's simplicity. It also looks relatively comparable with Smart Launcher. What's super impressive about the KISS Launcher is that 93% of users that try it for a week are still active users after 3 years! So definitely worth a gander for sure.
- agreed! I've been using KISS since Nova got bought out and have been loving it. i tried a bunch of different ones but KISS had the best combo of features and simplicity to me. will take a lot for me to switch away now.
  
  me too
Maybe Kvaesitso
- I have been really happy with Kvaesito. It's beautiful and functional
A good minimalist text based launcher that's open source is Olauncher. Maybe not what you're after (comparing it to Smart Launcher) but thought I'd suggest it just in case.
- I jump around the OSS launchers a lot, but always come back to Olauncher.
Not popular opinion I know but if smart launcher is good for your needs keep using it. If you have privacy concerns just cut off it's internet access
- this is what I do currently (GrapheneOS Network Permission), but I'm just curious if there are any other alternatives out there. it's slightly easier to have trust the software I use from the get-go, not hinder it so it can be trusted, if that makes sense
  
  I also use a proprietary launcher (Niagara) with network permission off. I tried kvaesito, kiss and lawnchair before but none of them are in my experience as polished as Niagara and smart launcher.
Octopi Launcher (Early Access) it's still in Early Access but I am using it as my daily driver and I love it. it creates a separate home screen for each orientation and or aspect ratio. I use this on a pixel 9 fold to have separate home screens on the standard phone screen versus the tablet screen.
Lawnchair

34 comments