I’ve seen quite a few launchers on F-Droid, but I really fail to see what their advantages over the stock one are. I mean, what can be meaningfully different about arranging apps in a grid? But I guess the existence of so many options goes to show I just don’t get the gist of it.
So what launchers actually provide some interesting features that make it worth switching to them?
I use Kvaesito and its the best
Instead of the usual home launcher its based on a search bar for the apps as well as their internal shortcuts for stuff like Assistants and apps Cross-referencing others
So I can type in timer and instead of having to search for the clock, the timer, etc it just shows the timer section of the clock, make a new timer and a few ones I already have
I compared about 8 launchers, Kvaesitso was and still is the best.
Solid.
I switched to KISS launcher a while ago (years ago?)and I absolutely love it. It is search based but you can have tags for apps which allow you to have something akin to folders. If an app fits two tags then so be it, it will show up in all the tag folders, so organisation can be much cleaner. It is also blazingly fast and keeps things clean.
Kvaesito: minimal UI with many unique customizations/features.
I primarily switched (to Kvaesitso) because I don’t use Google search and it was impossible to remove the Google search bar from my home screen on a Pixel. I do enjoy the greater degree of customization as well.
Lawnchair because I can stack widgets on each other, and very fast
I really enjoy Niagra, I installed it three times before it clicked with me. It is also telemetry that I moved away from. I had nova for years but it got slopped.
I think Olauncher is on my tablet and I likeit. Lightweight and foss.
What happened to Nova? I use it and seems to work fine?
I use kvaesitso and love it, but it’s certainly an opinionated approach. But while it is search focused, you can customize it to make it more traditional
The minimalist ones take a different approach, and are really great at encouraging less phone use: minimo launcher, fokus launcher, olauncher and its variants, etc. There’s some theory around why grayscale and text are less addictive than colorful icon grids, widgets, and multiple pages, but I can’t find it right now.
I’m currently on murine launcher because I have a tiny phone, but I use black and white icons with arcticons.
Niagara or Pro Launcher. I accidentally paid for the latter before realizing Niagara does the trick just fine.
For me is important what launcher (or any other app) doesn’t have. No bloatware, no games, no ads nor trackers. And then number two - it should have enough features for simple use, after that it should look simple. Yagni launcher on F-droid.
I like InkOS, minimalist, in an epaper kinda way. Just dont like the notification module but I disable it. And I use Snowbell as the font, love it.
I’ve been using MinimalSF for a while now and really love it 🥰
I like having my homescreen completely blank (not including the wallpaper), so I use Discreet Launcher. It’s not the only launcher that does this, I think KISS and Unlauncher can achieve the same result, but Discreet doesn’t make you search for apps by typing and uses a regular app folder instead. Pairs well with Arcticons pack, too.
Fossify Launcher. You can rename any app as you wish.
I’ve been using the TUI Launcher for like a decade now. It’s kinda been abandoned, but it still works perfectly fine.
