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First of all, I should say, if this topic has already been discussed, then I apologise, and pelase just point me to the right direction. If not, let's get the discussion going!
I started this thread really for 2 reasons. One is to find out for myself (and hopefully for others) which launcher app is more suitable for my needs. And the second one is to have a discussion on the pro's and con's of the different launchers available.
For the GNote as a standard there is the TW launcher of course. I haven't seen any real shortcomings with it. I quite like it. it's clean, smooth and it works.
I am aware of three others: ADW, GO launcher, and launcher pro. I think ADW has a free and a pay version, and I assume the pay version has more features.
I haven't used any of the others on the GNote, and I never used the GO launcher. However, I did use ADW and LauncherPro both on my viewsonic Gtab. On that particular device I found launcher pro more suitable for my needs. Again, it was clean, simple and smooth.
I've never attempted using addons for either, and I am now becoming aware of the different ways to change icons, themes, etc. It'd be interesting to know what can be done with which launchers...
SS launcher
Why: cause it doesn't suck
Sorry, all I can write for now
From the Beast : Galaxy Note
If I'm not mistaken, only the stock TW Launcher has true hardware acceleration thanks to Samsung's work on it. Every other launcher should be software driven (i.e., CPU taxing).
Go Launcher Ex. I tried almost all popular ones and Go is just the best IMO. I can resize widgets, easily create folders and it's highly customizable.
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QQLauncher is the beat imho
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ssLauncher
ssLauncher because:
It's truly different
It is completely configurable, down to the pixel
All widgets can be resized (although some get funny)
shortcuts can be of any style whatsoever (individually) making for a unique layout
It does not lag at all on my set-up (although transitions are a bit tricky to set up right)
You can have page names (the main thing I wanted)
It's truly different!
Nova Launcher!
Otherwise ADW, I like it's customizability. Never tried SS Launcher though.
If you use gb i think go launchr is optimal choice, but for ics nova is the fastest one
Sent from my GT-I9220 using XDA App
sprintuser1977 said:
SS launcher
Why: cause it doesn't suck
Sorry, all I can write for now
From the Beast : Galaxy Note
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow you are damn right. This app makes so much sense. very unique indeed.
I personally use now Go Launcher Ex-highly customizable etc...but I recommend you to have a look at the "Post your homescreen" threads where you'll see different types of homescreens and launchers by the users.
Another site which is quite good for this is mycolorscreen.com/ where you'll see different homescreens and normally the Widgets in use with the market link. So you'll be able to learn how to customize your screen on your own
tap*talked via GT-N7000 (GB.XXLA4)
Am I the only one who dislike multi pages launchers? On the Gnote this artifice is not necessary anymore, I just have ADW with only one screen and with some tuning I have enough room for my often used apps, two folders and a off off my kid. I even disabled auto rotate. On such a big screen landscape makes no sense for home screen and most apps but pictures and video.
guibog said:
Am I the only one who dislike multi pages launchers? On the Gnote this artifice is not necessary anymore, I just have ADW with only one screen and with some tuning I have enough room for my often used apps, two folders and a off off my kid. I even disabled auto rotate. On such a big screen landscape makes no sense for home screen and most apps but pictures and video.
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Click to collapse
One word: Widgets!
I used to use ADW but it ha gotten too buggy, and it looks like it's not being developed anymore .
These days it's go launcher, but really it's just a place holder until I can load ICS, and the stock launcher
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Am I the only one who thinks the none of the launchers are doing it right?
For all I know, TW launcher is the only launcher that uses hardware acceleration. It NEVER lags. Compared to other launchers, I'd stick with it. (I'm on RR v22, ICS for RR v1.6)
TW launcher on ICS for RR looks so much better than stock TW. It makes it bearable. Plus it doesn't lag.
VTL launcher 1.7.0 with left and right docks active, absolutly the more versatile one!
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AA1973 said:
I personally use now Go Launcher Ex-highly customizable etc...but I recommend you to have a look at the "Post your homescreen" threads where you'll see different types of homescreens and launchers by the users.
Another site which is quite good for this is mycolorscreen.com where you'll see different homescreens and normally the Widgets in use with the market link. So you'll be able to learn how to customize your screen on your own
tap*talked via GT-N7000 (GB.XXLA4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great site, thanks! Just opened it and found a great homescreen containing several widgets I've been literaly looking for and didn't know they exist. Can't post links yet unfortunately, but you can go have a look and see if it also catches your attention Its on a Note too!
guibog said:
Am I the only one who dislike multi pages launchers? On the Gnote this artifice is not necessary anymore, I just have ADW with only one screen and with some tuning I have enough room for my often used apps, two folders and a off off my kid. I even disabled auto rotate. On such a big screen landscape makes no sense for home screen and most apps but pictures and video.
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Click to collapse
Not that I dislike them, but I'm sure gonna go for as few as I can. Thinking about 2 or so, depends on how many widgets I'm actually gonna need. I don't like to keep scrolling to find what I want.
I installed several launchers and launcher modifiers. Most modifiers sucked. I think they put adware on my phone because once a day or so I get an advert pop up that is not from my provider (I recognise some new type of icons in the notification bar). I uninstalled the launcher modifiers very quickly so I forgot their names. I tried ADW, and so far decided to stick with launcher pro, as it gave me what I needed (customised icons for apps and dock). Anything else wasn't really of interest for me from a functional perspective.
Im using launcher pro on the chinese leak ICS and its so smooth its insane. It looks to be rendering in 60p while using a live wallpaper with absolutely no lag at all. I like the animations and options in it but it is getting a little dated and could do with an upgrade to add some more widgets and functionality.
This was fairly smooth on GB roms pretty much the same as TW launcher but on the ICS leak this flies
You can shrink and zoom all widgets in the paid version from 1x1 to full screen and this works well with nearly every widget I have tried. This is very useful when reducing DPI even though atm I am using the stock 320 incase it breaks something reducing this.
The TW launcher is so low for me when scrolling left and right even though its smooth it just moves across pretty slow, I like to get to where I want quick and launcher pro does this. I havent tried many other launchers lately but tried them all before and keep going back to launcher pro even though it hasnt been updated in a while.
@martcerv: So how is that ICS leak working out for you? Many seem to have problems of all sorts with it...
I have been using spb shell 3d in tablet mode with resizable widgets and for me its the best.
It displays 8 rows x 6 columns and is really suited to the Note. The labels maybe small for some, but not really needed.
For me its the best experience, its compatible with the ICS chainfire release and is very smooth and responsive.
I have adjusted dpi to 213 for better views in gmail etc, but this does not effect shell 3d. At 213 dpi you loose the top bar for some reason, but have put info onto homescreen, see pic
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I love the that homescreens are added, removed and moved in touchwiz but wish that we could add a few more of them. Anyone know of a mod or something to change the limit?
Have you tried any of the launchers, like Go Launcher or Nova? Not only can you add more screens, you can increase your grid to like 5x5 (and other choices) so that you might not need as many screens.
jejb said:
Have you tried any of the launchers, like Go Launcher or Nova? Not only can you add more screens, you can increase your grid to like 5x5 (and other choices) so that you might not need as many screens.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion.
I have tried both of those, and a couple of others, on my tablet, but they are not really appealing to my tastes. I know lots of people love them though.
I know there are mods to increase the # homescreens from 7 to 9 in the S3, as well as changed the # icons per screen :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2155862
And someone has increased already changed the #icons in the S4 on one carrier (not sure if carrier makes a difference):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2272582
So, I am hopeful we can see this on a Sprint S4 soon
intron1 said:
Thanks for the suggestion.
I have tried both of those, and a couple of others, on my tablet, but they are not really appealing to my tastes. I know lots of people love them though.
I know there are mods to increase the # homescreens from 7 to 9 in the S3, as well as changed the # icons per screen :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2155862
And someone has increased already changed the #icons in the S4 on one carrier (not sure if carrier makes a difference):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2272582
So, I am hopeful we can see this on a Sprint S4 soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like that mod has issues in that it does not play well with TW widgets.
Sounds like you've not tried any of the launchers on your S4 yet. Might want to give one of them a shot. I have used both on my S4. Currently using Nova, but may go back to Go. Go has some nice features, like the home screens rotate. But both work well.
What is it about the launchers you don't like? I've read this in other places and don't understand it, so am curious. I have not been able to see a downside to them so far.
jejb said:
Looks like that mod has issues in that it does not play well with TW widgets.
Sounds like you've not tried any of the launchers on your S4 yet. Might want to give one of them a shot. I have used both on my S4. Currently using Nova, but may go back to Go. Go has some nice features, like the home screens rotate. But both work well.
What is it about the launchers you don't like? I've read this in other places and don't understand it, so am curious. I have not been able to see a downside to them so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, that mod on the S3 didn't play well with some of the TW widgets. Which is not a big deal for me, but more icons and homescreens is.
What don't I like about Go etc? Well, its sort of like asking me why I like fat, heavy pens while you like skinny, light pens, for example. It just doesn't 'feel' as good to me. I tried using GO for quite a while on my CM10 tablet, and there were definitely some things that I liked. But honestly, its been months since I used it and I can't remember the specifics. I do remember thinking that there were a lot of features but it just didn't feel as good to me as Trebuchet on CM10. Sorry I can't offer a more helpful reply.
Im sorry if this question has been asked and answered for several time. I did google but it seems i cannot find the answer. I just wanna ask what is the coolest and latest launcher for our Note 3 that not drain my Note 3 battery too much? I've been using TSF Shell and all it's apps and widget for a while now, looking cool tho but i think i want to try another launcher. Any recommendation? Thank you.
Personally I use Apex, as it's clean and fast. Nova is pretty much the same.
Next is also a very, very awesome one. Full 3D.
personally....
I still love TW launcher.
ShadowLea said:
Personally I use Apex, as it's clean and fast. Nova is pretty much the same.
Next is also a very, very awesome one. Full 3D.
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antique_sonic said:
personally....
I still love TW launcher.
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Click to collapse
Yup its true i like tw launcher the most. But you know, sometime we might want to change the feeling of the screen. I loved to theme my note 3 to impress my friend I recently downloaded nova. It look cool tho with kitkat experience theme, but then, when i try to restore my tw layout, it only restore the page layout not the apps drawer. But im gonna hit Apex and Next and see how it goes. Thanks guys.
Sent from Hacker OS
I would probably use TW more if it allowed some scaling of the grid size. My Timely clock widget is so massive it covers a third of my screen and on a screen over 5,5 inches that is just too much. I've waited for Samsung to add scaling since the Note 1 and now I just don't use TW anymore.
I use Nova launcher and I'm very happy with it.
GEL with the xposed module xposed GEL settings
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It's been getting a lot of hate, and I can't figure out why. I'm coming from Sense (which I liked a lot, and this one doesn't really compare to), but I'm not seeing anything too terrible about the stock launcher here. It's just kind of meh.
Are you guys just seeing a ton of lag? Because I don't think I am.
I would agree with you. It's less wow than Sense, but I like it better than TW. It's smooth enough for my liking. I don't have any lag. I'm still learning it, as I've been with Sense or TW for last 2 years...
I just wish I could theme it the way I would like to. It's nice they have themes available for download, but they all look like they were designed for teenage girls in mind for the most part....too pastel and too bright. I'm more of a fan of darks and rather violent looking...
Th3Bill said:
I would agree with you. It's less wow than Sense, but I like it better than TW. It's smooth enough for my liking. I don't have any lag. I'm still learning it, as I've been with Sense or TW for last 2 years...
I just wish I could theme it the way I would like to. It's nice they have themes available for download, but they all look like they were designed for teenage girls in mind for the most part....too pastel and too bright. I'm more of a fan of darks and rather violent looking...
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Click to collapse
Yeah - me too. I've been on sense since the evo 4g, and never used any other smartphone ui, so this one is taking some getting used to for me also. I'm starting to get used to the brightness and how colorful everything is, and some of it's even starting to grow on me. I'm not seeing much lag - and I tried nova, but it broke stock messaging, and smart notice (which I didn't think I would like at all, but I've really been digging it).
and the less said about tw, the better
fachadick said:
Yeah - me too. I've been on sense since the evo 4g, and never used any other smartphone ui, so this one is taking some getting used to for me also. I'm starting to get used to the brightness and how colorful everything is, and some of it's even starting to grow on me. I'm not seeing much lag - and I tried nova, but it broke stock messaging, and smart notice (which I didn't think I would like at all, but I've really been digging it).
and the less said about tw, the better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have an Evo 4G. My 6 year old uses it to play games with...she still loves the thing. Runs great, except the usb port broke straight out of it, so charging requires battery removal until I fix it...LOL
I was thinking of doing the "Blinkfeed for all" install on the G4, but really like how UX works, though Accuweather's predictions have been terrible so far. Keeps telling me to bring an umbrella for rain and it hasn't rained here in over a week LOL.
I honestly didn't actually like anything about the stock launcher and went to Google now launcher.
JedixJarf said:
I honestly didn't actually like anything about the stock launcher and went to Google now launcher.
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Same. Why do I want these stupid smart cards when Google already forced their Google now cards down my throat
Because it's not Nova.
Seriously though, I'm too attached to the gesture controls that came with Nova Prime to use any other launcher. When combined with Five Wallpaper, I get a mostly buttery smooth experience with numerous customization options. I don't mind some of the LG background items like menu theme.
fachadick said:
It's been getting a lot of hate, and I can't figure out why. I'm coming from Sense (which I liked a lot, and this one doesn't really compare to), but I'm not seeing anything too terrible about the stock launcher here. It's just kind of meh.
Are you guys just seeing a ton of lag? Because I don't think I am.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't figure out why all the hate either. I'm coming from TouchWiz and this is so fresh and new to me. I love my G4
Major0CEL0T said:
I can't figure out why all the hate either. I'm coming from TouchWiz and this is so fresh and new to me. I love my G4
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Click to collapse
Well I can understand hating TouchWiz, what a pile of @#$%.
I spent a full week with the stock LG launcher and while it's fine, functional, works well, etc... I just prefer Sense and BlinkFeed better (too bad they can't build a decent device) so as of today I have sense and blinkfeed on my G4 and it's sweet!!!
ThePhoneGeek said:
Well I can understand hating TouchWiz, what a pile of @#$%.
I spent a full week with the stock LG launcher and while it's fine, functional, works well, etc... I just prefer Sense and BlinkFeed better (too bad they can't build a decent device) so as of today I have sense and blinkfeed on my G4 and it's sweet!!!
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Click to collapse
I have a feeling there will be a decent number of us on the G4 that were HTC users who just couldn't see upgrading to the m9 and will be missing Sense.
TW is just so heavy...coming from Sense, it was like going from driving a Lotus to driving a Dumptruck.
I don't hate the stock launcher, but I do prefer Nova. Mostly because I can resize the grid. I like to use 6x5. Plus I can resize widgets any way i want. And of course it's faster, plus gestures.
I used it all of 1 minute while the google experience launcher downloaded. But then again I came from an 3 years of nexus use.
Stock launcher is actually really cool. I love love love the domino transition effect. My only complaint was the lack of icon packs and the icon background (to make them uniform). The theme packs were ok but contained limited icons.
Nothing I didnt like but what it lacked aka what Nova could do more.
player911 said:
Stock launcher is actually really cool. I love love love the domino transition effect. My only complaint was the lack of icon packs and the icon background (to make them uniform). The theme packs were ok but contained limited icons.
Nothing I didnt like but what it lacked aka what Nova could do more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this guys! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jbrtechies.LGlollipop
Stock OEM launchers are terrible. Had to switch to Nova after a day. It's clunky and barely customizable. And it has terrible, terrible themes.
What's good about it and the only thing good about it is the Smart Bulletin and Smart Notice widget. Also, LG calendar widget is good, too.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
I was really hung on the Google Launcher on my Nexus. So I downloaded on my LG4 as well.. But it only gives 4 apps per row. That's way too little on a 5.5 inch phone..
The stock launcher isn't bad.. Only think I would like to see is that a swipe to the right would give me Google Now instead of LG thingie..
I dont hate the stock launcher im coming from the note 4 with tw so this is a step up but i prefer nova on all phones
Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk
I think I remember the Stock launcher being somewhat customizable as far as number of apps in the bottom row (I like 7) and it allows widgets to resize. The Themes do kinda suck but still pretty cool to have an option. They are just icon packs basically.
The App Grid doesn't really bother me any more. I have 3 homescreens. Full Page Twitter Widget, Blank Home, Full Page Facebook Widget (currently broke).
If they released a huge LG Home MIUI theme with tons of icons, then I could use it. Otherwise, I like my icons to be uniform (similar background / style). Plus for some reason Verizon pulled out the themes support on their G4
Th3Bill said:
I would agree with you. It's less wow than Sense, but I like it better than TW. It's smooth enough for my liking. I don't have any lag. I'm still learning it, as I've been with Sense or TW for last 2 years...
I just wish I could theme it the way I would like to. It's nice they have themes available for download, but they all look like they were designed for teenage girls in mind for the most part....too pastel and too bright. I'm more of a fan of darks and rather violent looking...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using this theme and I love it. It themes everything across the board: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jbrtechies.LGlollipop
---------- Post added at 12:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:59 AM ----------
Xcore66 said:
I used it all of 1 minute while the google experience launcher downloaded. But then again I came from an 3 years of nexus use.
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Click to collapse
I guess the only thing you are not able to double tap to sleep your device, correct? I love Google Launcher I used to have it on my G3 , but with xposed and GEL Settings so I have all the functionalities.
I played with it for a couple of hours then went to my go-to Nova!! Especially don't like that the launcher doesn't rotate.
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I've been using Nova since it came out basically and have moved around a little trying some of the new ones but I don't think I've had a fully set up experience on a different launcher since the Launcher Pro and ADW days.
I was wondering if there is a favorite launcher that people like especially if it makes the huge amount of screen space on the Note a little more usable. Currently with Nova I leave the top half of both screens mostly unfilled as it can be hard to reach.
Nova launcher pro version is neat, I got it 99 cents when there was a promotion.
The best thing is it allows you to back up your setting, so when you transfer data to a new phone, you can just use one click to have the exactly screen setting!!!
preston66002425 said:
Nova launcher pro version is neat, I got it 99 cents when there was a promotion.
The best thing is it allows you to back up your setting, so when you transfer data to a new phone, you can just use one click to have the exactly screen setting!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea that's I'm currently using. It's nice and all but I see a lot of launchers that do cool stuff like automatically figure out your most used apps and all that.
Another best launcher for me is Smart Launcher
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I've used so many launchers. Best so far for me are a couple,
1. Microsoft launcher. Hands down the best, just needs more options.
2. Squarehome launcher. Because I'm a big fan of windows phones. This one is very very elegant and very well made. A little on the expensive side (I believe it was $7), but well worth the money. Only gripe is that its settings are all over the place and you have to get used to it to master its customizations.
3. CPL and hyperion if you want stock android launchers. Very nice launchers. Clean and fast. Hyperion has more customizations, but CPL is free.
4. Nova launcher. Have had it for over 4 years now. It has been mostly the same and getting a little too outdated. Dev needs to bring some new features around. Otherwise, competition will destroy them very soon.
5. Samsung One UI house launcher is phenomenal itself.
I've tried next launcher 3D and it was overwhelming then left it in about a month or so.
Using nova launcher. Fast and smooth. But downside when using samsung weather widget, resizing quite wacky.
Gil Smash said:
I've been using Nova since it came out basically and have moved around a little trying some of the new ones but I don't think I've had a fully set up experience on a different launcher since the Launcher Pro and ADW days.
I was wondering if there is a favorite launcher that people like especially if it makes the huge amount of screen space on the Note a little more usable. Currently with Nova I leave the top half of both screens mostly unfilled as it can be hard to reach.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you can try Niagara Launcher. Been using it since I got my note 9 and when I had the previous models of Samsung eg s9+ and s8+. Its clean fast and everything is ready for your reach.
K-alz said:
I've used so many launchers. Best so far for me are a couple,
1. Microsoft launcher. Hands down the best, just needs more options.
2. Squarehome launcher. Because I'm a big fan of windows phones. This one is very very elegant and very well made. A little on the expensive side (I believe it was $7), but well worth the money. Only gripe is that its settings are all over the place and you have to get used to it to master its customizations.
3. CPL and hyperion if you want stock android launchers. Very nice launchers. Clean and fast. Hyperion has more customizations, but CPL is free.
4. Nova launcher. Have had it for over 4 years now. It has been mostly the same and getting a little too outdated. Dev needs to bring some new features around. Otherwise, competition will destroy them very soon.
5. Samsung One UI house launcher is phenomenal itself.
I've tried next launcher 3D and it was overwhelming then left it in about a month or so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome thanks! I'm giving Microsoft Launcher another shot as I used it a while ago but stopped. So far so good!
Gil Smash said:
Awesome thanks! I'm giving Microsoft Launcher another shot as I used it a while ago but stopped. So far so good!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. Let me know what you like and what you don't.
K-alz said:
4. Nova launcher. Have had it for over 4 years now. It has been mostly the same and getting a little too outdated. Dev needs to bring some new features around. Otherwise, competition will destroy them very soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nah, i rather have an rock solid launcher instead of some bloated one.
but besides. there isn't much missing on Samsung stock launcher nowadays. they now allow the swipe down from anywhere on the screen to bring up notifications.
i am only missing indefinite scrolling between homescreens and some advanced gesture options like double tap. once Samsung stock launcher can do this, i don't need nova no more.
Always been nova for me, but will try some of the others listed here.
Thinking about spicing up my screen a bit.
Another onecthstcwas light weight and free is Evie. It needs some work. The best thing I liked about it was I could get nadge icons on apps with out installing a helper application. Not as stated it needs a lite work.
I've been using Nova for years now and I have a hard time using something else, but I think Lawnchair is very promising
Nova launcher
Used nova for about 5 years on all my devices... I've found Evie last year... Never come back to nova!
I use Evie on my S8+, Note 9, Nexus 6 and Note 4 (yeah yeah...) and love it.
I am using total launcher. those who need customization should try this once.
Been using Nova for years, but the last few months I've been using Lawnchair V2. Really nice and simple, and they've implemented App Actions in the app drawer recently. Pretty handy.
Used Total Launcher for a long time. Very customizable but somewhat complex.
Recently switched to Nova Launcher along with Kustom Live Wallpaper (KLWP). This makes a great team, but like Total Launcher, lots of under the hood to get the right look for the power user.
Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk
preston66002425 said:
Nova launcher pro version is neat, I got it 99 cents when there was a promotion.
The best thing is it allows you to back up your setting, so when you transfer data to a new phone, you can just use one click to have the exactly screen setting!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, all this.
I have briefly tried other launchers, but they quickly fail to live upto what I know of Nova.
I guess a lot of it comes down to me kind of wanting a launcher to give me a way of automatically improving efficiency not because I don't want to put the work in to figure out how to set up something complex but because I don't know what I want!
So far I'm digging the Microsoft Launcher but it doesn't do a whole lot that Nova doesn't. I've tried things like Niagara too but those tend to be a little overly simplified.