I ditched it for Lawnchair, and I have no regrets. Works just as well as Nova did.
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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I know, still use it. It's just never allowed to call home. Simple.
I had Nova prime and reluctantly moved to KISS when this was announced in 2022. The lack of features was quite the change, but I've been using it since and wouldn't go back. Searching and quick launching apps feels the fastest it can possibly be with KISS.
I switched to T-UI Launcher like 7 years ago and never looked back. The F-Droid version is the best version, the one on Google Play lacks SMS and some other features.
Command line launcher is unironically by far the best and most efficient thing I've ever used. I tried T-E-L but I found it was a real battery hog. I may give it another go though. Maybe it was just a problem with the phone I was using at the time.
Doesn't matter, as long as you restrict internet access for it.
Since there are no alternatives coming even close, I refuse to switch just because.
How are you restricting internet access for it?
Adguard can firewall it. Now I'll wait for somebody to reply to me saying how horrible adguard is for privacy haha
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I switched to Lawnchair a few years ago (IIRC 6 years ago) and it's been a solid experience, I'm very happy with it.
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Well damn. I've been on Nova launcher for years. Even bought prime and all that.
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what i use for annoying apps i kinda need: use karma FW. It basically routes all your phones traffic through itself and you can block apps to not use internet at all. Having it set up as always on works best.
Lawnchair is a fork of the original pixel launcher that gives some quality of life upgrades to an already good piece of software, like being able to remove the search bar, resizable / reshapable icons and fonts usw. Its also open source, so feel free to check out the github.
There is no app store release right now but they are working on it. I've used the alpha versions for two years now and it has worked fine so far.
I just made the switch after seeing this article.
Is there a way to get an icon to open the app drawer? Or am i forced to live with a gesture?
The choice gesture vs. nav button is usually part of android itself. In my case (pixel with therefor nearly stock android) its in settings -> system -> navigation mode (or something similar since its in german in my case). If you can't find it, search for "navigation button your phone model".
Edit: sorry, i just realized you meant the app drawer, not the overview of currently opened apps. I don't know the answer to that.
Edit edit: ok i found something in lawnchairs settings. The last setting is called gestures. If you have navigation buttons enabled instead of nav gestures (see above) you could bind the home button to open the app drawer.
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You can switch off Error & Usage option in advanced setting in Nova.
Are there comparable alternatives? I never found another launcher that I like as much.
For me Hyperion ended up giving me the closest out of the box experience to what I wanted.
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Maybe also check out Total Launcher.
Seconding Total, that's where I ended up after leaving Nova and trying a few. Very, very customisable, but a bit of a learning curve.
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Free - Lawnchair | Kvaesisto
Paid - Niagara Launcher
Shoutout for Niagara. High quality reliable launcher. Only switched away after 2+ years cuz I got a little bored of the interface
I got bored but then I noticed almost immediately how I spend so much extra time just navigating my phone on other launchers. So I switched back and then they released a wallpaper that has a fun cat in it and now he's my home screen homey and I'm good
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I switched to Lawnchair 2. It's free, open source and quite versatile. Probably not as much as Nova, though it's been a few years since I last used it.
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Switched back to action launcher when this happened
Main feature I love, which to my knowledge action did first anyway, is to have a folder of app icons where one is the most frequent. You tap on it to open the frequent option or swipe it to open the folder.
Basically means you almost never need the app deserter l drawer