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Comment by fireflash38 | Hacker News Reader

Any good alternatives people are using? I've used Nova for absolutely ages

I switched to KISS Launcher several years back and had been loving it. I like the philosophy of search-based launcher. This way, if I don't actively search for an app, I won't be distracted into opening one

KISS launcher is excellent. I've been using it for years now and would never go back to any other style of launcher.

The only improvement I could imagine is supporting multiple screens of widgets (i.e. swiping left/right or scrolling up/down).

For folks interested in checking it out:

Website: https://kisslauncher.com/ Source: https://github.com/Neamar/KISS Store: https://f-droid.org/packages/fr.neamar.kiss/

I made the switch to KISS some time ago. Really like it! I haven't missed anything. Simple and does the job. No distractions.

I did this as well when the previous Nova launcher news came out. It took maybe a day to get used to, but I like it much more now - I have nothing to organize, I just access what I want to use instead. It feels natural.

KISS launcher user for about 5 years and never looking back. Search line for everything is actually faster then browsing list of icons.

I always find myself missing widgets with KISS.

But then when I use a launcher like lawnchair with widgets I rarely end up actually using them. Wish there was something like widget drawer that was FOSS tbh

KISS supports widgets though. Tap the right side of the input box in the launcher to open settings, and the third item down on the menu is "add widget".

Yep, I was doing a lot of launcher hopping back in the day, but ever since I moved to KISS, I haven't felt the need. It brings a level of intentionality by forcing you to search for the app you want to use. For my most commonly usef apps, binding them to swipe gestures makes using the phone very fast and easy.

I moved to Lawnchair when I recently-ish migrated to GrapheneOS. I can't remember why I didn't go with Nova Launcher again, might have been related to the permissions required.

Lawnchair has fewer options, ie. is simpler, but I haven't, in practice, noticed any memorable differences.

I just switched to Lawnchair thanks for the recommendation. Seems to do everything I wanted from Nova anyway.

I've been mostly happy with Action launcher. It has the few features I really liked from Nova that are missing from pixel launcher: I can make my home screens scroll in a circular/infinite manner, I can remove the search bar and the google news feed or whatever they call the left page, I can set more than one page in the dock.

Unfortunately, the app list page isn't quite as configurable. There are folders rather than tabs, and there's an extra click necessary to search by app name. Overall, it does the job.

I've been using Octopi Launcher

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otp.octopi...

Do you know if this, or any other launcher for that matter, works well on the latest Android for Pixels? Ever dang launcher I try (Nova included) has this horrible problem where at some point during the day the app launcher becomes a wasteland of blanked out apps with no names and no order. Only fix is to restart the phone. It got a little better with Android 16 but not much.

I use Octopi on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Works great, rock solid, zero issues.

Also using it on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, running GrapheneOS. It's also working perfectly for me!

That's exactly the phone I'm using it on.

It's working well here on a pixel 9 pro

Thank you! I had looked at several recommended launchers and none were real Nova Launcher replacements. I randomly saw your comment and was intrigued, especially since I hadn't seen a lot of sources mentioning Octopi Launcher as a suitable option.

It is the perfect Nova Launcher replacement. The UI and features feels like a more polished Nova and transitioning to Octopi is such an intuitive process.

I switched from Nova to Smart Launcher a couple years ago because it allowed me better customization of app groups - although I did need to work on the config a bit. I like it.

Lawnchair is not as fancy but it works

It doesn't support adding pages to the home,sadly

Did you mean tabs (to the drawer)? You totally can add new pages to the home – try moving an icon beyond the screen border.

No I mean that if in Brave I say "add this page to the home", the launcher gives an error

That's strange, that hasn't happened to me. Maybe a reinstall might fix the problem? I use it on a Pixel 8A

Uh interesting. I'm on Pixel 8A too. Could be! I'll give it another shot

Ah, pages like in webpages. Gotcha.

It’s interesting, Lawnchair works totally fine with these “app action” 1×1 widgets, and Firefox can add website shortcuts without any problem for me. I’ll try it in Brave a bit later.

I get the error if I try dragging the icon to the home screen. But it works if I click "add to home screen" so it auto-places, then move the icon afterward.

I've got a bunch of web pages on my Lawnchair home screen.

Lawnchair is good. I just really want app drawer tabs, the only reason I've stuck with Nova.

People are suggesting mostly search-based launchers here. Lawnchair is a launcher similar to Nova (icon-based) which should be safer from enshittification because it's FOSS. Actually derived from an old Google Launcher...

Yes, Lawnchair isn't packed with functionality, but it's also not packed with anti-functionality.

Background: I have just switched from Nova, for which I paid (Nova Prime), to Lawnchair, initially as a trial. But I'll probably stick with it.

Kvaesito is a great search-focused FOSS launcher

This is also what I migrated to a while back.

It's quite different compared to Nova and other launchers but after using it a while I've come to love it. Do yourself a favor and give it a few days before you dismiss it.

I use Niagra. So good once you get used to it.

3. Types of Data collected Among the types of Personal Data that this Application collects, by itself or through the listed Data Processors, there are:

Unique device identifiers Approximate geographic position (city level) IDs (package names) from installed apps Usage Data Cookies

Oh boy...

Yeah.. I used to use Niagra because it really is a great launcher but I don't like the data collection. A great FOSS alternative is Kvaesitso which doesn't have the exact same layout but it is search based. They also managed to implement a native search that in my opinion is better than Sesame.

I'm using Evie Launcher, but a really old version from just before the developer shut down the project and later removed it from the store. If you look today, you'll find a fairly convincing imposter that loves spamming you with ads, from a different developer.

The APK is at least 6 years old now.

As a relatively new convert back to Android, I've been using Niagra Launcher and enjoying it.

Its ok to just stay on v7 no? Thats what im doing.

Here's the most stripped down launcher in the world:

https://github.com/fandreuz/TUI-ConsoleLauncher

I don't need icons, swiping, widgets, or any of that nonsense. This one works great and you can ssh, use tmux right from the launcher

I am using "Minimo Launcher". I have an OLED display. So its using less battery. Also it's open source.

https://github.com/VaibhavLakhera/minimo-launcher

How much am I missing out by using the standard launcher my Pixel comes with? I haven't played with different launchers since the Nexus 4 and Android 2/3 (I think).

I don't like the stock launcher because I can't remove the search bar and I never use the search bar. Nova feels like a no nonsense launcher that does what I need. I think last time it came up, the recommended option was missing something for me so I stayed with Nova, but the writing is on the wall.

Checked again and I don't see a way to get a button to show the app drawer on Lawnchair, and I don't want to use a gesture, so that's going to be hard to use.

I switched to Nova for the same reason. I paid for it, too. I pay and donate for good software all the time, but this is another sober reminder to never pay for proprietary software.

Most of these other launchers seem to force a fucking search bar on you.

It's distracting and I don't want it

Is there a way to just pin an app to a version? Then Nova is fine

I just tried a few launchers and none of them forced a search bar (or do you mean not on the home screen?). In fact, in Lawnchair and Octopi, I had to manually add a search bar if I wanted one.

Yeah, I tried out a handful of launchers too and none of them forced a search bar on me. Most of the had a search bar widget by default, but it was easy to remove.

If you find an APK of an older version you can just install that directly, and it won't auto-update on you.

Octopi doesn't force a search bar, or even a dock. It's actually nice that you can just have icons, widgets, and gestures, I'm really enjoying it.

For me the advantage of nova is increasing the density of app icons able to be displayed on the home screen and app drawer.

I run with a 9x7 home screen grid and 8x6 app drawer.

This allows me to have a weather widget with a large clock and an excellent calendar widget called Todo Agenda displayed while still allowing me to have all my apps accessible on one screen.

I haven't used an android launcher over a decade, stock LineageOS launcher works well for me i.e. to open app drawer and to click on apps.

What do you folks use 3rd party launchers for?

I've been using Nova Launcher to mimic webOS for almost 10 years. I might be slightly too resistant to change!

For not using the default Samsung launcher, which sucks.

Nowadays, even the default Samsung launcher is very customizable and usable. Obviously it's no Nova, but it's not bad.

I've been using Nova Launcher since ~1year (after using it like 10 years ago) because Pixel Launcher didn't support double tap to sleep

Main reason I use it too.

I like to use non-default apps from F-Droid so it's easier to feel at home on any new device. I do try to only get phones with LineageOS support, but it's cool how much of my usual stuff I can throw on an Amazon tablet or Fire Stick also.

I'm still using Lightning launcher, will continue to use it as long as I'm able to

Don't update? Could run for ages I feel.

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