What are Android Launchers? Which are the best?

Samsung phones have One UI Home, Xiaomi phones have MIUI or POCO, Huawei phones have Huawei Home and so on. Every manufacturer spices up their operating system with launchers that take care of functionality, gestures, widgets and more. Although the default launchers improve with each new release, they are still less feature-rich than third-party launchers.

This is where the open nature of the Android operating system comes into play. Whatever the Android user wants, he can do (to a greater extent). So far, we haven't encountered a scenario where we couldn't command Android to obey our wishes. There is always at least one, and in most cases significantly more solutions, thanks to the passionate Android community - both professional and amateur developers.

Even the best Android launchers are the fruit of some amateur developers who started the project out of pure passion for the possibility of personalizing a smartphone. And no, you don't need system access to your phone for the level of personalization that Android launchers offer. Simply put: no need to "root" the phone, unlock the "bootloader" or completely replace the firmware for a custom ROM (LineageOS, Havoc OS, Paranoid Android...). All the tools you need to change the launcher are already built into almost every phone. The exception is some non-European versions of phones and iPhones, where this kind of personalization is impossible, unless you are willing to jailbreak the phone. You will need to change the default launcher (in settings) and grant some permissions before using it.

So, if you are tired of the basic look and want to personalize your phone to your taste, then continue reading. We'll take a closer look at the Android launchers that we think are the best.

How to change default launcher?

Go to your phone's settings, find the section Applications > Default applications > Home screen application. Here, select the launcher you have installed. On some phones, you'll find this feature in the Home screen section.

If you are not satisfied with the launcher, you can easily remove it, just like any normal application. Switch back to the phone's default launcher in the settings.

Nova Launcher

We will start with the once most popular Android launcher, which was the first choice of many enthusiasts on mobile phone forums. We are talking in the past, because with just one move the developer lost the trust of a large part of the active users who loyally followed him from the very beginning. What happened? He sold the launcher to advertising company Branch, and data privacy concerns were understandably raised immediately. For some, this was the last straw and they opted for one of the many other launchers.

Then why are we even mentioning the Nova launcher if it has trust issues with collecting personal data? In fact, it's a great launcher that's highly customizable, allowing you to change almost everything on the desktop, in the app drawer, as well as widgets, wallpapers, and the like. At the same time, Nova Launcher is not greedy for hardware resources, which means that you will not experience system slowdowns even on older phones due to its operation. At the same time, the operation is very smooth, with zero delays and seamless transitions.

What about data privacy? A legitimate concern. However, if we ask ourselves what is the difference between Microsoft, Google and Branch? All these companies collect our data and we cannot avoid this if we want to use their services. In short, if you're online, your data, search patterns, preferences... are available to anyone who is able to find or pay for that data.

For now, there is a workaround for Nova Launcher to avoid data collection. Install an older version of the launcher (7.0.57 or older), block the application from accessing the Internet and turn off automatic updates. This is only a temporary solution, as the developer can decide at any time and integrate a forced update for further use.

Total Launcher

What others know, Total Launcher eventually knows. If you have the time, will and some ingenuity, you can equip Total Launcher with almost all the goodies that other Android launchers have. The learning curve is significantly steeper than others, but the payoff is so much greater. In the first place, we would recommend Total Launcher to "power-users" who are ready to play with the application. For users who want to change the selected element with just a few clicks, we would still recommend the other launchers on the list.

After the mass migration of Nova Launcher users, one of the new homes was Total Launcher. Their tagline is: “You can customize whatever you want”. You can change the size, shape, placement of icons, there are quite a few personalized gestures/gestures for faster use and control, and it also offers support for foldable phones. You can upgrade it with add-ons, and some more advanced features are only available in the Premium version.

As an example: you can create a drawer for more sensitive applications (bank) and documents, which the user can access only with a special gesture.

Square Home

Square Home is another launcher that comes from the developer behind Total Launcher. The difference between them is like night and day. Square Home turns your phone's screen into a display that's almost identical to the Windows Phones of yesteryear (remember those?). The main features of Square Home launcher are: vertical and horizontal scrolling, beautiful effects, smart app drawer, many options for different customization of desktop, apps, background...

Lynx Launcher

Lynx Launcher is a relatively young launcher, but no less advanced than other contenders. In just two years of development, the developers managed to add quite a few features. You can hide apps you don't use regularly (handy for annoying system apps you can't remove otherwise), fine-tune the desktop grid, text/icon size, advanced dark mode, and advanced search functionality. Those of you familiar with Linux will recognize some similarities with the Gnome Desktop Environment, which the developers used to help design the launcher.

Niagara Launcher

Niagara launcher is very popular among lovers of minimalism. It is the brainchild of members of the popular XDA forum. A special feature of Niagara Launcher is the vertical arrangement of applications. You manually select the apps you want to appear on the home screen, the rest remain hidden, and are accessed via a navigation menu that's easily accessible even in one-handed use. Some app notifications are integrated directly into the launcher, allowing you to respond instantly without even opening the app. Niagara is not known for in-depth customization. It supports widgets, gestures and basic appearance customization. Some features are paid: calendar, weather and the most advanced features.

Smart Launcher 6

Smart Launcher sorts apps into six main categories: Communication, Internet, Games, Media, Gadgets, and Settings. This division makes it easier to manage and search your phone. You will have quite a few options for customizing styles, fonts, themes, icon appearance, colors, and the like.

Other launchers that deserve your attentioni

• Hyperion Launcher: Takes inspiration from the default Pixel launcher. It is extremely flexible. In addition to wallpapers and widgets, you can customize themes, folders, transparency, animations, icons...
• Action Launcher: Another launcher that took its inspiration from Pixel phones. In terms of features and customization options, it can easily compete with Nova Launcher, Total Launcher and others.
• Wide Launcher: A launcher that offers three times the width of the standard desktop. You also get options to customize styles, icons, themes, decorative stickers and other mobile goodies.
• Lawnchair 12: Gesture support, custom colors, handy widgets, quick search...
• Neo Launcher: Android 13 support, ability to change the home screen grid…
• AllinOne Launcher (AIO): AIO Launcher does things differently than regular Android launchers. Instead of the standard home screen, it has a layout with information on a single screen. It includes various categories like common apps, notifications, mail and control panel which are easily accessible with one swipe.

These are the best Android launchers right now. There's a lot of fun to be had, as each Android launcher on the list offers something different from the competition. Try them out and trust us which one you liked best.