Branch Metrics sucks. They fired almost of all people working for Nova.

  • Kokesh
    link
    fedilink
    English
    345 months ago

    What is the best replacement? I’ll hold on to Nova as long as possible, but if for some reason they screw it in some way…

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      375 months ago

      LawnChair is the best option I’ve tried that has a similar design to Nova.

      I’ve tried at least a couple dozen launchers since Nova got bought. Most of them are either half-baked or have a very different design (e.g. based on radial menus or text-only lists). If you’re into minimalism, there are a lot of good options. If you want a full-featured icon grid that behaves more or less like Nova, LawnChair is it.

      I’m running LawnChair 14 Beta now. You can get it off the GitHub. Last I checked, the version on Google Play was very old.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        65 months ago

        Does the new beta have the same features as the old one yet? Last time I tried it, I couldn’t get it to work quite the same way.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          35 months ago

          Do you remember which features specifically were missing? It might be something I haven’t used. For me it was a pretty straightforward upgrade from version 12.

          The only problem I ran into was that adding widgets was a little funky when changing the grid size. I think I had to add the widgets before changing the grid size (I use a 5x10 grid) or they didn’t align correctly. I encountered similar problems with many of the launchers I tried.

          • Blaze (he/him)
            link
            fedilink
            English
            65 months ago

            The folders in drawers are something I miss from the previous version. I can live without it, but that would be nice

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      195 months ago

      Kvaesitso has risen to the top as my favorite launcher after trying a ton of launchers.

      • Deconceptualist
        link
        fedilink
        English
        205 months ago

        I don’t understand why someone would want a “search-focused” launcher. You mean I have to bring up the on-screen keyboard and type out the name of an app instead of just scrolling & tapping an icon with 1-2 simple motions? Yuck. What am I missing?

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          75 months ago

          I too would be put off if it had to be used that way. But it can be used as a regular icon tapping launcher - it has a regular app drawer - which is how i use it. I don’t think it should market itself as a “search-focused” launcher.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          55 months ago

          I’ve never heard of Kvaesitso in particular, but I like simple, search focused launchers as they force you to specify what you want to do on your phone instead of letting you mindlessly open e.g. a distracting social media app.

        • Celediel
          link
          fedilink
          English
          35 months ago

          You mean I have to bring up the on-screen keyboard and type out the name of an app instead of just scrolling & tapping an icon with 1-2 simple motions?

          It just means you have the option to do both. Kvaesitsio has the app drawer one would expect, and a persistent search bar.

          • Deconceptualist
            link
            fedilink
            English
            25 months ago

            Oh ok, thanks. Does it do homescreen icons and widgets? Last I tried it there was something I didn’t like but I can’t remember what.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              35 months ago

              It’s very widget focused. You can have a few favourite apps ( either your own choice or most used)

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              35 months ago

              Can do homescreen icons. It has a widgets “pane”. You don’t place them on the home screen but put all widgets together than swipe to widgets. You can configure kvaesitso so it’s not too different from stock android experience.

              I have 5 “favorite” apps at bottom of screen, above the search bar, similar to stock android.

              I swipe left for my app drawer, which allows for more pinned favorites above full list.

              I swipe up for all my widgets.

              Swipe down for notifications, like stock.

              Swipe right for my camera app.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              14 months ago

              There’s also a shortcut option to use the search. I use Total launcher with a swipe up gesture shortcut to open kvaesito’s search and app drawer.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          If you have 100+ apps you’re going to need either a ton of organization or a search tool. Some people will meticulously organize their apps into folders, while others go for the search

    • DARbarian
      link
      fedilink
      115 months ago

      I’ve been using Neo Launcher for a while, no complaints

    • CubitOom
      link
      fedilink
      English
      8
      edit-2
      5 months ago

      I’m pretty happy with total launcher in combination with app search since I didn’t like totals app drawer.

      Edit: I just found OpenLauncher and I’m going to test that out.

      • mrddu3at2OP
        link
        fedilink
        English
        55 months ago

        I use total launcher also.

        It’s cumbersome. It’s pain in the ass. But it works great with my pixel fold. I love it.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          95 months ago

          +1 for total launcher, it’s customization is unmatched, paired with TREK: Total Interface (best 4 bucks I ever spent) and some tweaks you can end up with a slick Star Trek LCARS launcher

    • dinckel
      link
      fedilink
      English
      75 months ago

      I used Smart Launcher for a couple years. Functionally, it was on par, if not better, from my perspective

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      75 months ago

      commenting to watch for replies, because there’s about a million of them and i will probably never feel like doing research on launchers

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        15 months ago

        This,kvaesito and lawnchair are the only true alternwtives, but they are pretty different from nova and conventional launchers. lawnchair is the closest to those.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      35 months ago

      I loved Nova, but a couple of years ago, I found AIO, and it just blew nova out of the water for me. I look around to see if anything better comes along, but so far, I’ve not seen anything that gets close to AIO for me. It is so customizable, everything on one vertical scrollable screen, email, notifications, calendar, apps, weather. I absolutely love it!

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      25 months ago

      I’ve been using Microsoft launcher for about a year now. It’s surprisingly very customizable.

      • Kokesh
        link
        fedilink
        English
        15 months ago

        I like that one, but I hate everything going through Bing/MS services

    • fmstrat
      link
      fedilink
      English
      15 months ago

      Neo Launcher is the way. FOSS with all the same features as Nova.