You could try Niagara Launcher. I'm using it and it's got that decluttered home screen but it's fairly minimal. It's worth mentioning you do get most relevant features in the free version.
this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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I went from Nova to Niagara and I love it!
Is Nova Launcher stealing data?
Ever since Nova Launcher was acquired by Branch, many users have had privacy concerns.
I just blocked it's Internet access
Haven't investigated what data they may or may not be taking but they were acquired by Branch (https://novalauncher.com/branch) and with that being said, use your judgement to decide if a company like branch is one you'd want to have data of yours.
Branch is an analytics company, so I would argue that yes, yes they are obtaining your data.
I'm still running Nova on Graphene. I revoked the network permission. That should mean I'm safe from spying, right?
Reasonably safe I would imagine since it can't phone home. Similar approach I took, but I'm using LineageOS and AFWall+ to explicitly block internet connectivity.
OK cool. I've played around with blocking net permission for other apps on Graphene and confirmed it really kills Internet access. I've been on Nova since I started on Android many years ago. Old habits are hard to give up. I'm in the same boat and haven't found a replacement launcher either.
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Neo Launcher, available in the IzzyOnDroid F-Droid Repo, has been my solid go-to for replacing Nova.
https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Launcher
I prefer a ton of icons/folders/widgets on my home screen, and it supports that dense layout.
I used it for a while, but it wasn't get as many frequent updates as I would have hoped. I get it straight from the GitHub with Obtainium
This was the closest for me, but the project has been slow for some time as the devs are busy with other things
Project has been slow is an understatement. Lawn chair was definitely a contender but with complete lack of updates over SEVERAL years - it's abandonware and should be treated as such.
I don't think devs or users really care about launchers in 2024. I still use Nova but only because there is nothing better.
One of the devs releases current builds of Lawnchair 14. Apart from a few bugs here and there, they work great
Thanks, I'll check it out.
The problem for me was that I got tired of tracking the team's organizational changes and busy periods.
The fact that this is not even official but a fork for builds is just frustrating.
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I too wanted to ditch Nova, but couldn't find something that was a suitable replacement for me. Now I use older version of Nova (version 7) before it was acquired by Branch and I don't intend on updating it.
Neo-Launcher is still being worked on, they are expecting to push version 1.0 later this year to GitHub, but progress has been steady from what I know. You can get the latest beta version of Neo-Launcher from their Telegram to try out. Don't let the "beta" part turn you off, it's basically production ready, I've been using it now as my launcher for well over a year, possibly even 2 at this point.
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I use the paid version of Niagara. It's going well for me but I get that paying 30$ lifetime for a launcher isn't for everyone. The free version is ok but it lacks several very nice features like your music app automatically being hoisted when you connect earphones.
I used it in the past. I really did like the idea of it, but I can't see myself going back. And 30$ is steep, I'd rather donate to an open source project anyways.
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I always go back to Kiss Launcher after trying other launchers. With a huge amount of apps, there is no point trying to organise the icons. Nothing beats typing the first letter and launch.
I like Kiss a lot too.
Very different than Nova but simple and powerful.
I really like Lawnchair! It's the only launcher that I've found to support gesture navigation
NeoLauncher is close to the feel of Nova but its a bit buggier
Niagara Launcher is so unique and difficult to switch from once you get used to it's simplicity.
I'm currently using Action Launcher. It's a pretty good replacement for Nova.
Same + AFAIK Nova nicked all the good stuff from action anyway
It's great! Specifically, the feature I'm thinking of was the swipe on an icon functionality (not sure if that's what OP means). I have my most used apps set to the tap, and then the lesser used ones in the swipe action, and I love it
The dev versions of Lawnchair have been pretty decent to me. You can grab them straight from the CI build jobs in the repo. You might need a GitHub login.
Are they recent builds, as in the project isn't dead?
Yes, look at the commit history.
Awesome, thank you
I've been using Olauncher which is on F-Droid / Play Store.
It is truly minimal AF. Up to 8 apps on the home screen. Assign a swipe left/right app (calendar and weather for me). Swipe up opens a search for the rest of the apps. A clock if you want it that can be configured to open another app.
No icons. No widgets (other than a built-in clock). Reminds me more of a terminal than a traditional launcher. Really happy with it after all the time configuring Nova. Been using it for 3 years now.
That link is a Minecraft launcher, not sure that's the correct project? Or am I missing something? :)
Fuck me. Fixed.
At least by me a drink before although I appreciate the direct approach ;)
On a serious note, thank you! Looks a bit too text heavy for me (I prefer symbols) but still looks like an awesome project!
🍺
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Smart Launcher. Worth the premium version. It has the alternate task feature you mentioned, it's just on double tap instead of swipe.
Not open source, but they're independent and respectful of privacy
I tried a number of them but never found one that felt right. I went back to the stock Pixel launcher. It's far from perfect but I'm getting too old to tinker on features I'm not using anymore. I use the same 4 or 5 apps every day so it wasn't worth the time investment.
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Niagara.
Cool disclosure: I haven't tried any others. I was really impressed by Niagara and just paid the asking price.
I went from Nova > Lawnchair Beta > Smart Launcher and its been amazing. Subscription based but I bought the lifetime version for $20 cause its that good. Lawnchair is basically MIA and Nova sold out to advertising/tracking.
Not sure if Smart Launcher is okay in that aspect but it is packed with features and still being updated. All the options outside of these three arent good imo and I would rather use stock.
I still use Nova, but I block Internet to it completely. Lawnchair I didn't try because of lack of updates. And I'm trying to lean towards open source. Thanks for the suggestion
I selfishly hope someone comes through for you, OP, because that feature is the exact reason I'm still on Nova. I love having only 8 icons on my home screen.
I also really like the same feature for folders (tap to open first app, swipe up to open folder) when I had a bunch of work stuff on my phone
I actually just started to learn kotlin, but maybe if I become proficient enough I'll make the damn app myself.
Not seen Lynx Launcher mentioned, free version is OK but the majority of features are for premium version.
When Nova sold out I moved too. Hyperion https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=projekt.launcher Well as far as I know its not open source. But I did find it to be a decent Nova replacement.
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