Poll: Which Android Launcher are You Using?
  • Posted byby Kellen

Poll: Which Android Launcher are You Using?

A reader asked us earlier today if we could run a poll or question on which Android launchers you are all using these days, so let’s do that. After looking back, this is a more-than-overdue topic that hasn’t been asked since 2014 or something. Yikes!

Things have changed some since then, but for the most part we still have many of the same players. Nova Launcher is probably the king, Action Launcher is regularly updated with new features, and you have other major players like GO and Evie Launcher with big install numbers. But you also have sideloadable launchers that mimic the Pixel Launcher experience, plus a general overall improvement of many stock launchers.

So tell us, which Android launcher are you using today? Feel free to tell us which one and why in the comments too.

Which Android Launcher are You Using?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
Written by

Kellen

It’s not often that you get to merge personal passions into a professional life, but that’s what Kellen did when he launched Droid Life in 2009. After working years of unsatisfying jobs in the medical and property management fields, he took a risk to try and create an online community while playing with the coolest gadgets on the planet each day, a risk that has turned out to be incredibly rewarding. Outside of Droid Life, Kellen is your typical Portlander who drinks way too much good beer, complains often about the Trail Blazers, and can be found out on the streets for a run, rain or shine.

Post navigation

173 Comments

  • Speaking of Launchers, when’s the next show off your home screen day? It’s been years

  • I just can’t live without the app search feature on Nova launcher. It is just so fast and easy to use.

  • I liked the launcher that came on my 2 XL so I sideloaded it onto my 5T so at this time Pixel launcher is my choice but over the years I’ve tried them all Nova would be my launcher but by the time I tweak to the way I want, it uses to much ram

  • I actually use Smart Launcher on my regular phone, I got really hooked into it and every time I’ve tried to go back to Nova it takes too much effort to replicate the parts of SL that I like. (the categorization and such– I know I can do it, but why replicate what works fine?)

    On other Android-ish devices, like my Fire tablet, I use Nova, although I’ve tried Microsoft Launcher and I REALLY liked it, which I didn’t expect at all. It’s VERY fast and works really well. Haven’t quite switched over to it yet but am closer than I would’ve ever thought.

  • I was using Nova but it hasn’t been updated since January and has thus fallen behind in terms of customisation features I’m looking for. And so I’m trying Action Launcher and Lawnchair Launcher out currently.

  • Samsung’s launcher is fine, love just swiping up or down to get to app drawer, and you can change the grid size, that’s all I really care about. Much improved.

  • Not related to the post at all, but is that a red thin case on the pixel? If so, anyone know where i can find it?

  • Used Nova for years, until i came across Evie Launcher So clean and minimalistic yet useful.

  • Have both Nova and Action Launcher, sometimes use the Pixel Launcher. But I always go back to Nova. Nothing will ever beat stock Google though so I always try to get closer to that as possible. I’m in South Africa so cant get the Pixel phones this side.

  • I was using action launcher for like 2 years, and idk what happened the last few months it was glitchy. I have been using nova launcher again and found some ways to make it set up in a really nice way also. They are pretty dang similar. I like both, anyone else experience glitchiness with action launcher lately?

  • Samsung stock launcher. They’ve been good at keeping it fast and fluid. Much better than how it used to be.

  • Whatever came on my phone (Pixel Launcher on Pixel XL). Used to use Nova on my Samsung phones but since switching to the Pixel XL, I’ve been happy with the stock launcher.

  • I go with Ruthless Launcher that cimes with the Magisk Module Pixel 2 Experience. Used Nova for a long long while but I just like the At A Glance and new Google Searchbar so much. I prefer Nova’s Google Now instead of Pixel’s though.

  • I used Nova since my OD. I finally switched to Google Launcher, which I had tried for a short time around my Nexus 6 ownership. It’s pretty customizable, and I love the right swipe for Google Now. I don’t even notice it’s not Nova anymore. I do miss hiding bloatware icons, but that’s about it.

  • Nova is great and it’s the best for customization, but I prefer pixel launcher apk

  • Lawnchair has been my favorite for a while. The speed and simplicity of the Pixel launcher, with enough customization to correct all of Google’s annoyances.

  • After using Nova for the past 4 years I’ve been enjoying Samsung’s S9+ launcher even better overall. The only thing missing is being able to apply the more complete icon packs from the play store rather than being limited to the ones in the theme store.

  • Microsoft launcher deserve a listing as an option in the poll. It is super fast on my pixel 2. Especially I like the app opening animatons

  • I just want a customizable Pixel launcher, but ironically the only one I’m aware of can’t be installed on Pixel (without root), so I just use the stock launcher. All third party options, no matter how much you tweak them feel off next to Pixel launcher in ways that’d drive me mad in minutes.

  • The Microsoft Launcher for me. If you are in the O365 space and want to tie your Microsoft products together…. It’s great.

  • The best one is the pixel 2 launcher, yet I can’t choose it… Bad poll is bad.

  • Used the stock Pixel launcher for a while after getting my 2 XL. But grew tired of the lack of customization options, so I went back to Nova Prime.

  • Nova baby! Holo launcher wasn’t bad but it hasn’t been updated since 2013 & it drained my battery bad.

  • Is there a launcher that has the double-tap the screen to turn off the screen? All the launchers I’ve tried locks the screen and doesn’t show my scree-off display.

  • Lawnchair, because blur is life! Blur in the dock, blur in the folders, blur in the search “pill”, blur in the drawer… it’s looks awesome with my wallpapers. And all features are FREE.

  • Team Nova since way back when, but now I’m on a Pixel and I’m using Google’s now. As bare bones google as possible.

  • I have the Note 8 and have just stuck with the native launcher. Having invested a few dollars and more than a bit of time installing new themes from the Samsung store has kept me satisfied. Mostly. I do – like others on here – miss the variety and quality of icon packs I could install using Nova Launcher. Otherwise, everything is fine with the native Samsung Experience.

  • Honestly the “Samsung experience” launcher on my S9+. I use to use Nova but this is too good to change. I do miss good icon packs tho

  • I tried others but keep coming back to nova launcher, the gestures and everything just keeps me drawn in. I took the phone shortcut off my screen due to the swipe up gesture I use for it, had to go to t-mobile to have my phone checked, the rep was looking for the phone key and couldn’t find it. I swiped up on the phone and the guy just looked at me puzzled lol.

  • I used to use Nova but I actually like the Samsung launcher on my Note 8.

    I couldn’t choose “whatever came on my phone” because that sounds like I don’t care. I actually choose to continue using the Samsung launcher.

    I also prefer the Samsung browser.

    • +1 for all that. I’ve tried going back and forth with Nova and the stock launcher on my S8+, but Samsung has really kept it nice and clean lately. It’s performed much better over the years too, so there’s really no need to use a launcher. And yes, the Samsung Internet Browser is among the best. Very easy to use and plenty fast.

  • Wow me and three of my best friends still use the Go launcher. I’ll have to give the ones that got all the votes a try.

  • I wish I could use Nova Launcher, but I have an LG G6 and if I switch then I lose the knock-knock feature which I am not willing to do without. 🙁

    • I use Nova Launcher on my LG G6 too. Regarding knock-knock, what am i missing out on? (Double taps on the screen wakes my phone/locks it while i’m using Nova Launcher).

    • I’ve been using Nova since my G2 (then on my G4, now on my V20) and found a workaround for that problem – to doubletap the screen off when you’re using any 3rd party launcher, just make sure your notification bar is up and double tap there. Little bit annoying to have to reach all the way to the top, IMO it’s worth it to be able to use Nova instead of LG’s launchers.

    • there are apps that mimic this… I put it on my old G5 because I liked the feature as well.

  • Nova launcher on every device I’ve owned since the Galaxy Nexus. Great customization, easy to backup & restore, very fast & responsive, and tons of features. I love making my icons small with a grid size of 7 x 12 (or something like that) with sub-grid positioning.

  • I’m a loyal Nova fan but lately been trying AIO Launcher since I prefer the 1 page set up with groups of items (similar to what Aviate was when it first launched)

  • I’ve always preferred something closer to Google’s default though there are some redundancies that I never cared much for so on my Nexus 5X I’m using Nova made to look like the Pixel Launcher. My main thing was removing the search bar since I have the Nova Google Companion adding the search/feed page.

  • For those who picked Action launcher- care to expand on why it’s better/as good as Nova? Change my mind!

    • Easily one of the quickest launchers I have ever used. Been my go to launcher for the better part of 5 years now — I love the customization abilities like being able to use a slide out drawer, an Oreo or Android P style dock and/or app drawer, and the best adaptive icon support out there. Not to mention the Quickdrawer slide-out widget page that can be pulled up from anywhere, and great gesture support. Chris Lacy pushes out regular updates and always stays on top of the latest in Android/Pixel feature sets. Edit: Also, Shutters and Covers I have not seen anywhere else as of yet. Covers being one of my favorite features where I can make the first app in a drawer act as a literal ‘Cover’ for the folder itself. A simple swipe or double tap on that cover then reveals the folder. It makes the dock/desktop look SUPER clean. Shutters reveal the widget for the app by swiping up on its icon, and is fully customizable.

    • I have both installed on my Pixel 2 XL, but I use Nova on a daily basis. I switch over to Action Launcher every few weeks to see if there’s anything new that will pull me away from Nova, but I typically switch back to Nova within a few minutes. Nova just has so many customizations that I like that Action Launcher doesn’t have (e.g., ability to change font size, folders in the app drawer, replace search bar in dock with a widget, etc.).

      • Exact same situation here. Nova and Action Launcher are very similar, but differences in Nova keep me coming back. Like being able to adjust font sizing for Desktop, Folders and Drawer independently or setting folder icons (not covers). Speed and battery usage seems about the same for both Launchers.

    • I switched to AL cuz they seem to update for the newest features a good bit faster than Nova does. Got the “new” swipe up to open app drawer a month or more before Nova added it.

  • Long time Nova Launcher but I recently switched to Pear Launcher. I’m liking the blur effects and other small Pixel Launcher stuff Nova hasn’t added yet

  • I recently rediscovered Zeam and installed it on my Shield K1 – it’s helped immensely with the speed and responsiveness on that old tablet.

    • Zeam…wow. Haven’t heard of that one in a while. Still waiting on my LauncherPro redesign, here. :p

  • I’ve been using ADW 2.0 lately, which is a nice upgrade from ADW EX that I was using for years, even carried over my homescreen layouts which made the transition easier.

  • I tinker with my launcher a lot and think, “Oh, this looks so cool!” Then I realize, I’m literally the only person who ever sees it.

  • Nova. Been using it for years, but open to finally switching it up if something better has come along.

  • I use Nova. I’m easily bored with the same setup so being able to mess around with a bunch of settings to change the look helps and Nova has the customization I need.

  • I just use the Pixel launcher on my Pixel 2. Tinkering with 3rd party launchers doesn’t do much for me anymore. If I get a Non-Pixel device I’ll just use one of those Rootless Pixel Launchers

  • I use Lean Launcher. Rootless Pixel Launcher doesn’t work on the Pixel 2, ironically, but Lean Launcher is just as good. It’s just the Pixel launcher with some additional customization and the ability to use icon packs, so I can forget that Google decided everything needs to be on a white badge for some mysterious reason.

Comments are closed.

back to top