Article
by Andrew Martonik
May 08, 2013
Several new "Pro" features and even more tweaks now available in the settings
One of the most well-known names in third party launchers, Apex Launcher, has just made the jump up to ver...
Review
by Andrew Martonik
Mar 25, 2013
One of the great features of Android is the ability to change launchers, and within that category the ability to go completely off the rails with customization -- Lightning Launcher is one of those ...
Article
by Andrew Martonik
Mar 06, 2013
SO.HO (which stands for "the social homescreen") is a new launcher that puts your Facebook and Twitter feeds directly at the center of your device. Just released in beta, SO.HO takes the p...
Review
by Andrew Martonik
Feb 18, 2013
Canonical has laid out its plans to release Ubuntu phones at some point in 2014 -- but you don't have to wait that long to get a little bit of Ubuntu flair on your current Android device. Unity ...
Article
by Richard Devine
Jan 25, 2013
Back at Google I/O last year, our very own Phil Nickinson posed the question -- might Google Now become an Android home screen? Well, a new custom launcher in the Play Store brings a little tas...
Article
by Andrew Martonik
Dec 31, 2012
Popular homescreen replacement Nova Launcher has just hit version 2.0 with a whole bunch of notable feature adds and improvements. The free version gets most of the improvements including custom wal...
Article
by Andrew Martonik
Nov 30, 2012
ADW Launcher, once a staple in the Android community, mysteriously stopped being updated some time ago. While updates to Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean started to come out, ADW still looked like ...
Article
by Richard Devine
Nov 15, 2012
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Chameleon Launcher made public release into the Google Play Store priced at $10. It's predominantly widget based UI is a different take on how a tabl...
Article
by Andrew Martonik
Oct 30, 2012
Just in time for Halloween, ADW Launcher is back from the dead. One of the more popular launchers all the way back in the days of Android 2.3, ADW hasn't seen an update in quite a long time...
Review
by Simon Sage
Sep 24, 2012
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Chameleon released its widget-heavy launcher for Android tablets last week. The unified look and feel of the widgets make for a great show, and the conte...
Article
by Simon Sage
Sep 18, 2012
Chameleon, a slick widget-based home screen launcher that we spied earlier this year after a successful Kickstarter campaign, has just been released on Google Play for an even $10.
Chame...
Article
by Alex Dobie
Jul 05, 2012
Following its total re-vamp in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Google has spent the past six months fine-tuning the stock Android launcher in version 4.1, Jelly Bean. A couple of chan...
Review
by Richard Devine
Jun 19, 2012
The MIUI ROM's by Xiaomi are an interesting take on Android, offering up something pretty different to everyone else. It isn't to everyone's tastes, but it's bright and colorful, sim...
Review
by Joshua Munoz
Mar 13, 2012
YouTube link for mobile viewing
The first time we took a look at Nova Launcher, I could only pine away for the day I'd actually have a phone that could run it. Finally that time has come, so a...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Feb 24, 2012
One of the best things about Android is that the OS allows us to customize things that are built deep into the system. Things like keyboards, or the messaging application, or the home launcher. Usin...
Article
by Anndrew Vacca
Feb 13, 2012
BIG Launcher, the homescreen replacement app designed with the visually impaired and elderly in mind, has been updated to version 1.7, and is available now in the Android Market. The big change her...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Jan 24, 2012
What is an Android launcher? Probably the most powerful feature of Android is its ability to be customized. And that starts with what's typically called the "launcher." The launcher us...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Nov 17, 2011
Say, for some reason, you just got yourself a brand new Kindle Fire and for some reason don't want to run the custom launcher Amazon's whipped up. (And it's pretty darn good, actually.) ...
Review
by Jared DiPane
Sep 21, 2011
Launchers are a dime a dozen now-a-days, there are tons and tons of options in the market, some free, some paid, many doing similar things in the end. When I first caught wind of Rocket Launch...
Review
by Menno
Aug 25, 2011
If you're a long-time reader of Android Central, you might remember when Phil reviewed Wave Launcher back in March. Recently, the developer updated the application to version 1.8 which added a ...
Article
by Alex Dobie
May 17, 2011
Federico Carnales has announced the release of an update to LauncherPro, his popular homescreen replacement for Android. Version 0.8.6 adds new features including icon pack support, real home screen l...
Article
by Alex Dobie
May 09, 2011
UK-based retailer the Carphone Warehouse will be shipping certain Android phones with the SparkXL custom launcher as standard, according to a press release from developer HipLogic. The ad-supported h...
Article
by Alex Dobie
Apr 15, 2011
LauncherPro developer Federico Carnales has released a new beta version of his popular Android homescreen replacement, which brings skinnable widget support for the first time. The beta is inten...
Review
by Phil Nickinson
Apr 13, 2011
We're starting to see homescreen and launcher replacements settle into a groove. Nice UIs, smooth transitions, and the Regina launcher fits nicely in that space. It's the same basic principle: Y...
Review
by Phil Nickinson
Mar 30, 2011
Youtube link for mobile viewing It's been quite some time since we first saw what SPB Software was working on for Android, way back at Mobile World Congress in February 2010. But today, finally,...
Article
by Alex Dobie
Mar 28, 2011
App developer Federico Carnales has announced that LauncherPro, his popular homescreen replacement, has been updated to version 0.8.4. The new version includes performance optimizations and 3D a...
Review
by Phil Nickinson
Mar 02, 2011
Apparently some crazy fool went and shared this picture on Twitter and, no, we haven't jumped ship to Windows Phone 7. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun with it. What you see here is t...
Article
by Chris Parsons
Jan 24, 2011
Last week we were treated to a Launcher Pro update, this week ADWLauncher EX has rolled out their latest version as well. While most of the changelog is just some bug fixes and minor touch ups t...
Article
by Chris Parsons
Jan 21, 2011
If you're currently making use of the popular Launcher Pro, you'll want to hit up the Android Market and check for updates. Version 0.8.3 is now available for download and while it's not a huge ...
Review
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 24, 2010
On Android, your home screen and app drawer are collectively and commonly referred to as the "Launcher." And you're not stuck with the one that came with your phone. There are plenty o...
