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launchers

OnePlus brings its custom OnePlus Launcher to Google Play

9 Comments
Posted by Andrew Martonik on 24 Jul 2017 3:06 pm
OnePlus 5
OnePlus Launcher comes to the Play Store. The lightly customized and well-liked OnePlus Launcher, which received some nice visual changes with the OnePlus 5 release, has been brought over to Google Play. But the listing is there not to open it up to every phone, but to speed up the process of updating the app outside of a full system update on OnePlus phones. Along with the newly-public...

Best Android Launchers

107 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 30 May 2017 3:00 pm
Want to upgrade your Android experience? Try upgrading your launcher. Updated May 2017: Best Launchers has been overhauled and expanded into three categories. We have also removed Google Now Launcher ahead of its removal from the Google Play Store. The way we arrange, organize, and interact with our apps on Android is called the launcher. Launchers usually consist of a series of home screens...

Aviate Launcher review: Smart, but not better

23 Comments
Posted by Andrew Martonik on 26 May 2017 1:45 pm
How's Aviate Launcher these days? Let's take a look! Updated May 2017: Review updated to reflect the stability of the launcher and how it's aged over the last two years. Aviate Launcher has garnered hype since it first debuted on Android, and after being acquired by Yahoo has actually seen steady improvement through updates. It's been awhile since we last examined it, and now it's time to...

Using folders on your home screen and how to make the most of them

69 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 13 Jan 2017 12:50 pm
Folders are kinda like TARDISes. They're bigger on the inside, have a lot of cool toys hidden inside, and are easily disguised and overlooked. Folders are by no means a new concept for launchers, but they come with no small amount of stigma, especially when it comes to their looks. Thankfully, there are a few tricks for both using them and theming them that might help you learn to bite the...

Action Launcher's December update fixes Android 7.1's most annoying feature

5 Comments
Posted by Daniel Bader on 13 Dec 2016 12:40 pm
More great stuff from Action Launcher. Action Launcher, our favorite Android launcher replacement, has received its monthly update, and while December's isn't quite as noteworthy as some in the past, it's still got a bunch of great additions. Specifically, developer Chris Lacy has added, in alpha, badge counts for certain apps, allowing users to check how many unread texts, emails or missed...

How to use custom icon packs in your launcher

45 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 19 Jan 2016 5:42 pm
Every app has an icon, but thanks to icon packs you don't have to stick with the one it came with. There are plenty of reasons to use a custom icon pack. Maybe you want your icons to match your totally awesome theme. Maybe you want all your icons to look consistent. Maybe you just want the apps on your new phone to look like they did on your old phone. Maybe you want to disguise your apps so...

The best Android launchers for theming customizations

139 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 15 Jan 2016 3:30 pm
Android is all about choices, and nowhere is this more clear than your home screen. Not only can you choose what you do and do not want on your home screen, but you can choose which launcher app runs that home screen. There's no shortage of launchers trying their hardest to be the one that you call your home... screen. Some are simple inside and out, others offer a myriad of options and...

Android launchers

Posted by Staff on 3 Aug 2015 4:20 pm
Custom launchers — apps that replace the home screens, app drawers and (sometimes) widgets on our Android phones and tablets — have long been popular amongst the Android faithful. Chances are you can find a launcher with exactly the features you want to make your Android look and act just the way you want it to look and act. Google shares the code for a good, albeit basic, launcher with everyone...

Why Action Launcher is the only launcher I use ...

186 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 25 Jul 2015 1:02 pm
The launcher is the most important part of any smartphone user interface. And the best one comes from Australia. I don't recall exactly when I got fed up with every launcher that wasn't Action Launcher. But I do remember why. I'm not all that adventurous when it comes to my home screens. I know what apps I want out front, and I know where I want them. And what I don't want is for the spacing...

Nova Launcher may be the best thing that ever happened for Android

250 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 22 Jul 2015 5:15 pm
Nova Launcher
Android is built in a way that allows "core" portions of the operating system to be replaced with applications written by a third party. That is, someone not the manufacturer, or Google itself. Nowhere is this more evident than the various Launcher (or Home) apps you'll find in Google Play. The user-facing portion of the operating system — the home pages, the widgets, the application drawer and...

The Google Now Launcher, revisited

91 Comments
Posted by Alex Dobie on 21 Jul 2015 12:45 pm
Google Now Launcher
How does Google's predictive card-equipped launcher measure up in 2015? On June 28, 2012, we asked when Google Now would eventually become your home screen. On November 1 the following year, we got our answer. One of the big new features on Android 4.4 KitKat on the Nexus 5 was a re-vamped launcher that incorporated Google's predictive search and assistant app in its own panel off. The Google...

LauncherPro+ announced at introductory fee along with great enhancements

54 Comments
Posted by Jared DiPane on 19 Jul 2010 5:48 pm
LauncherPro beta has come out of the beta stages and has entered the world of paid applications. Born from the testing is LauncherPro+, which is being offered for an introductory price of $3. C'mon folks, its $3, just skip your cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee tomorrow -- your scrollable widgets will thank you. Yes, you read that correctly, one of the big features they have implemented into this...

ADW.Launcher gets a big update

22 Comments
Posted by Jared DiPane on 14 Jul 2010 7:57 pm
For those not familiar with ADW.Launcher, it is one of the most feature enriched launcher replacements available for Android at the current time. Lately it seems as though developers have really been pushing themselves to the next level and attempting to add things we never would have expected, and AnderWeb doesn't appear to be any different. In the latest release they have added theme support...

Android Quick App - ADW.Launcher

25 Comments
Posted by Jared DiPane on 1 Jun 2010 8:02 am
 Yes, you may be thinking oh look, yet another launcher, haven't we seen enough? Well, maybe you have, but if you look past the ADW.Launcher you will be rather sad once you realize all that it has to offer. While the initial look of it may look like your standard Froyo launcher that we have seen covered many times, the options go far beyond that. Well, let's take a look at it after the jump.