Stock launcher or....? - Nexus 7 Themes and Apps

Had my Nexus for a few weeks now and love it. On my phone I use Nova launcher since the AOSP launcher doesn't allow for more than 5 screens by default. However the nexus allows up to 7. So what launcher are you using and why? Customization? Lack of options? Layout preferences? Do you see any lag from stock launcher versus app launcher? Let's hear it!
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Go

Nova for my gnex, nova for my n7
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apex on gnex, stock on n7

Nova on Nexus 7.
Nova on Samsung Galaxy S II
Nova Launcher | Nova Launcher Prime

Stock for me. I love the way stuff moves around!
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I'm running paradigm with its stock launcher and Motleys kernel and its soooooo smooth and fast and responsive.
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I am using ilauncher right now, just to troll people with an iPad look and mini iPad thing.
It's actually quite nice and mimics iOS quite closely.
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Go on all 3 of my devices. Just can't change much on stock.
Have grid set at 10x7 for great icon placement
Multi-picture Live WP works well
Custom WP for app drawer
Lots of Font options
Hide notification bar
Great transitions

Pr20 said:
I am using ilauncher right now, just to troll people with an iPad look and mini iPad thing.
It's actually quite nice and mimics iOS quite closely.
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Click to collapse
Just watched a video on iLauncher. Pretty slick launcher. Too bad I don't like clutter but it would be fun screwing with all the iHeads.
I use Apex on my Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7. I run my N7 in tablet mode and I like how Apex works. It is very simple and elegant. On my N7 I up the grid to 5x8 or more. This allows more icon and widget placements on the screen at once. Apex and Nova are pretty similar with each having their own strengths and weaknesses.

Nova Launcher Prime on my N7 &and my Galaxy Nexus.
Depuis ma Nexus 7.

Defo Apex Launcher 1.3 beta
Based on JB source so you get all the new JB stuff (butter, auto moving icons, auto resizing widgets) plus all the apex customization.
Not yet 100% stable, but probs like 95%, hardly ever crashes and even when it does it just starts up again in a few seconds..

Nova Launcher
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+1 for Nova Launcher

I've been playing with Apex again and things I just can't seem to tweak that I like in GO:
1. Dock size (too tall). Screen icon grid has a row along bottom "under" the dock. Can accidentally "lose" an app down there. Puts first row of shortcuts much higher.
2. No settings button (lower right), you have to have a separate screen button.
3. No font options (that I could find)
4. No auto close/kill apps in app drawer
5. Not nearly the number of transition options
6. Can't seem to find the "unread" count mentioned in their description (for Gmail or K9), GO works great.
After creating one screen as "identical" as possible, I really see nothing any smoother in Apex. I find you can just do more with GO and make it look better (which is all in the eye of the beholder).

So far it seems apex and stock are the winners....going to try apex and see if it is as fluid as stock. Any screen lag, though minimal, ruins tablet usage (not as big a deal on a phone since screen is smaller).
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go hd or go, which is better?
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One more vote for Apex, didn't notice any lag, crashed maybe 3-4 times in over a month. One feature that hasn't been mentioned yet, but I consider very important: HIding apps from the drawer is available in the free version, wouldn't want to use a launcher without that.

I run Apex on all my devices.
There's really not a lot in it between Nova and Apex. Go just feels bloated and it's always trying to sell you other Go apps (I'd only use it to get the LCARS theme ) Lightning Launcher is an interesting idea but just a bit too different to be comfortable.
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Nova on all my devices
viewsonic g-tab running jelly bean
transformer prime running jelly bean
evo lte running viper rom
and the nexus7 running stock with tablet ui.
It always seems to be smoother then apex for me. And I typically only like to use 3 screens. Thats the main reason, and the second is that it looks stock just provides all the added functionality.

Related

What is the best launcher?

I was looking around and I found nova and go launcher, I want to know if there are any other good ones
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Avery246813579 said:
I was looking around and I found nova and go launcher, I want to know if there are any other good ones
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personally i like go launcher ex,launcher pro, and adw launcher. just try it
i use apex launcher. based off jelly bean. really light weight. tons of customization. nova launcher is similar and works great as well.
Apex to the top
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It really depends on your preferences, I find stock the smoothest but Nova the most customisable.
Are there any launcher similar to go launcher's folder option within the drawer? That's something that I really like and have only found on go launcher.
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Nova launcher with Nova prime has something similar.
CJHolderUK said:
Nova launcher with Nova prime has something similar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try it
-----------
I looked at it, the prime version has it. Thanks
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what about Chameloen?
Personally I don't like Chameleon, you can't add app short cuts on the home screen, widgets are limited and you can't create folders. Granted you can create your own widgets using HTML 5, however this doesn't solve the problem to people who don't know HTML 5. Neither can you use normal widgets as you would on a normal launcher. I suspect there will be more widgets in the future, but for 10usd it isn't worth it.
So Launcher 8 when it come.
Smexi-Nexi
I tried apex but it was way to complicated.
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Well I started out using Nova, then I went to Apex and now I am using Holo Launcher + which is much faster that the two previous launchers.
Holo was to dull to me
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I'm very satisfied with the holo launcher hd!
Dull? There are several options to personalize it..
Spb shell. Great launcher. Nova my second choice.,
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charlie-zulu said:
I'm very satisfied with the holo launcher hd!
Dull? There are several options to personalize it..
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Click to collapse
Holo is a bit dull but Holo HD is on par with Apex/Nova but is much faster with less scrolling glitches. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobint.hololauncher.hd
The HD version is made for JellyBean whereas the regular version is for ICS and lower.
I've been using nova prime and I'm pretty happy with it. I'm bummed that go launcher doesn't work well on the nexus 7. Hopefully they'll figure it out.
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Mysticdroid said:
I've been using nova prime and I'm pretty happy with it. I'm bummed that go launcher doesn't work well on the nexus 7. Hopefully they'll figure it out.
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Click to collapse
because its phone based. go launcher hd, if you search itll say for tablet.
I tried go launcher HD and didn't dig the setup. I really like the phablet desktop, if I was using a larger tablet I think it would be perfect.
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What launcher are you guys using?

What's going on guys? Seeing as to how this phone is super fast and snappy, I thought I'd create the first "Themes and Apps" thread for the Razr M
Almost as soon as I got the phone, I downloaded and installed Go Launcher, Go sms, go calendar, go task, go note, and go switch because thats what I'm used to and those apps/widgets kick ass...
but I know that the "circles widget" is supposedly really cool and the stock launcher wasn't too bad...so I was wondering, what launchers are you guys having success/fun with? Go launcher runs super fast with all the animations and whatnot, so I can definitely imagine the other launchers probably run great too
Stock Moto Blur Jelly Bean launcher!!!
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A lot of people are either running with apex or nova these days. IMO they're pretty similar except the fact that apex has gestures included for free (which is one of the main reasons people use it) while as nova does not have gestures included. IMO I thought Nova was a little snappier but that's just one guys opinion. I recently switched back to the stock launcher because I missed the circles widget. Plus I might upgrade to jellybean soon but I'm waiting because there was a couple articles online that said the official version might be released this week! Prolly not... but better to have hope than none at all lol.
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Was using Nova for a while but am now using the stock launcher.
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I'm on Nova, the paid version. Smoother and snapper, and gives me the freedom I need to do what I need.
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Stock blur on jb fast.
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Stock launcher till now.
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Nova
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I'm just addicted to themed icons, I think that's why I'm stuck on go launcher
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Go launcher because of the themes also, but then went back to the stock because I also miss the circles widget.
I'm using Go Launcher also. Not really in love with the circle widgets, so that's no loss for me.
Personally, I'm not into themed icons at all. Or any theming for that matter. Prefer a stock (or close to) look. Using Nova Prime and the JB icon pack.
techfellow said:
Go launcher because of the themes also, but then went back to the stock because I also miss the circles widget.
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Click to collapse
i know!! its so lame we cant use circles widget on 3rd party launchers.....itd be awesome if someone could create a hacked APK that if we sideloaded could let the widget be accessed by any app
+1 on hacked circle widget not a big fan of it personally, but good too have options
And I'm rooted on JB leak, debloated running blank all black lightning launcher with swipepad
Saves RAM saves battery works great no lock screen either
Nova Prime with JB leak. Pretty much installed that right away when I got the phone but I'm kind of curious to use the stock launcher, however I got Prime on sale and I love the gestures to add another 5 app launches from the dock.
I am using the razr m launcher in my inspire...
Launchers
scottjb said:
Was using Nova for a while but am now using the stock launcher.
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Click to collapse
Hi,
I've just gone though the ROMS-CM 10 and Eclipse, but found that CM 10 has really bad speaker problems for incoming calls, which I could not, nor others users could not, work around. Although its the most interesting ROM and quite smooth, and allows for themes from Market. The Eclipse is very smooth and I think built better, but frankly boring. Neither of these allow for the Moto 3 rings, which I noticed nearly everyone in this string has missed or gone back to. Also, I'd hoped to be able to allow for the larger screen in a ROM, where the soft device tools at the bottom are eliminated (using changes in Build.Prop and the app: "Button Savior" as replacement-which is a fabulous app), and while CM 10 allows for their elimination, except for "menu" still the black area remains. Eclipse doesn't allow for this at all. Making the changes in Build.Prop works in CM 10 re: the screen but the speaker issue turned me away after awhile along with losing all notification alerts and signal strength meter.So back to stock moto and found that Nova launcher, with root, allows for, what seems, at least a %60 transparency on the bottom of the screen as well as the elimination of the top notification bar, but the alerts occur and incoming emails can be seen in the Lock screen-works well. So, I'm now back to stock w Nova, although the Moto 3 ring app cannot work on Nova.
Using Action Launcher. I love it.
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Stock most of the time but occasionally Nova prime. If it weren't for the ugly Motorola icons I could probably live with the stock launcher all the time. One more clock widget free is certainly close enough to the circle widget to live with (except the text messages not showing up in it) on Nova and I enjoy the options of Nova but the stock launcher performs as good as any and is pretty close to stock android save the left most quick settings I could take or leave.
Apex
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Launcher for GN2!

Well I just came from rooted mytouch 4g and loved the endless possibilities of being rooted! But I don't want to root this GN2 yet because of warranty but enough said I want to change my dpi or just change the size of things and love a good launcher with lots of themes but not any launcher IV tried has abilities to change icon size or dpi...
Any one found a good launcher besides nova prime, or go launcher
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adw launcher was updated today and its completely new
haldi15 said:
adw launcher was updated today and its completely new
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 adw ex has resizeable icons
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Awesome going to check adw out tonight I Un installed nova prime and put go launcher on last night but being a battery hoe that it is kinda sucks because I'm not always able to charge my phablet
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I hate Go Launcher. It used to be great. Then they switched over to GetJar to download themes, and they have Free to download but pay to use themes. It's a huge mess. I personally like Nova or Apex. Although now that ADW has updated their app, I've been using that. I have to say it works pretty well, though each time I reboot I have to reset it as the default launcher.
I love the stock launcher with a few exceptions; I don't understand why they made the pages a 4x4 grid. The Note fully justifies a 5x5 grid. I wish that the other launchers gave you the ability to quick-scroll between pages in the homescreen and in the dock like the stock touchwiz launcher does.
I changed my DPI to 280 and use Go Launcher with a 6x6 grid and works very well. Now the stock Samsung keyboard and dialer did not scale correctly, but I use Swipe and the Go Dialer.
Adw has gotten as lot better and after a haitus from it I'm back and it's better than it had ever been
geekempire said:
I changed my DPI to 280 and use Go Launcher with a 6x6 grid and works very well. Now the stock Samsung keyboard and dialer did not scale correctly, but I use Swipe and the Go Dialer.
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Click to collapse
I kinda switch back and forth now but think I'm liking mine set up just like this its almost perfect haha
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Lovin this LauncherWP8. Very neat and customizable. This phone is otherworldly.
Not finding that on the play store. Are you referring to a theme or an actual launcher?
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Still stuck on Nova launcher. Fast, stable and the backup feature is in the free version. $4 for the pro, gives you message and email counts on the icons, just like TW.
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You could simply use one of the toolkits. And if something happens you can use it revert back to complete stock.
sent via note 2 in boss mode @ quad core 1.8ghz
Well, I finally invested the time in learning enough about Lightning Launcher. It's really COMPLETELY different than other launchers I've tried, which is what I like about it. I've tried Apex, ADW, Nova and briefly touched GO -- they're all pretty much the same -- all pretty good. Lightning is kind of a big pain to figure out and it doesn't give the option for a scrollable dock, but you can pin, resize, rotate and arrange all icons, widgets and folder labels in whatever way you want, all on a zoomable, scrollable page. You can't really apply themes, but you can make up whatever you want. Your screen is really like a window onto an infinite desktop that you have full control over. It doesn't have the fancy animation options that the others do, so there's not a lot of "Wow" factor for others to see, but I have everything accessible from a single screen that doesn't feel too cluttered with icons. Lightning is free from Play and doesn't require root.
FWIW, here's a screen shot of my home page -- The two rows of icons at the bottom are pinned as well as the Google search widget at the top. Everything else moves and zooms in or out behind the pinned stuff. If I want, I can place other items above, below, or to the sides and just scroll to them. Lightning does support other pages that you can switch to with a two-finger swipe, and I use them as sort of a sandbox for trying things out, but everything I want is on my main home page.
I've been using atom launcher for a while first on my s2 and now on my note2. It will let you create folders which is nothing new but you can scroll with your finger or with the S Pen. Also you can vary the opacity of the icons on the home screen if you want to keep some what of a clean look. I'll post pics to better explain.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dlto.atom.launcher
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I use nova AND circle launcher.
I am using Apex. Great launcher. Fast scrolling and screen transitions. You can install some nice themes and change the icon packs.
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I'm pretty sure I've tried them all, and seem to always revert back to Nova Pro. Its fast, stable, has nice features without be gimmicky like Go and some of the others. Bottom line I want something that works that isn't at burden on system resource, Nova fits that bill.
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Still sticking with my Go note 2 go launcher locker and animated weather wallpaper as well as go sms and it's great but.....
Question: can I root and not void warranty?
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YourCancer01 said:
Still sticking with my Go note 2 go launcher locker and animated weather wallpaper as well as go sms and it's great but.....
Question: can I root and not void warranty?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root modifies your devices's firmware, so...no :/

Which launcher do you use?

i know, i know, this has probably been asked a million times, but i'm directing this to S3 users here in our little corner of the world, please don't hate
i've been using the holo launcher hd pro now for some time and i truly love the way it works. its smooth, elegant, doesnt get in the way, and best off all, gives me an AOSP look and feel when running a non-AOSP rom. i also use the holo locker as well. i use this launcher on both my S3 and my Xoom tablet
it seems to me that the holo launcher doesnt get enough respect. i see many a custom rom that includes nova or apex, but not holo (or even adw or go launchers for that matter).
when i search for "launcher" on the play store the first five results are in order GO, ADW, Nova, Apex, and Launcher 7, with Nova Prime and Apex Pro 6th and 7th.
Holo is on the first page of results, but is second from the bottom. hardly respectable if you ask me. there are themes that show up higher in that search
anyway, so lets keep it civil and not bash on each others choice of launcher. i just want to get a feel for how popular these launchers are on the S3 or do you prefer the stock TouchWiz interface?
let your voice be heard and vote above!
Wrong section
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serio22 said:
Wrong section
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Click to collapse
why do you think that? launchers are apps.
My favorite one is the one that gets launched when i press the home button
I use nova prime because of the folders in the app drawer. Go launcher is too heavy.
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Apex is very light, smoth and dont use alot resource therefor batt last longer.
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I'm debating on nova, next, or atom launcher.. I'm using nova atm and i love it but i love the visual features of next and atom is pretty sleek too
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RedJack117 said:
I'm debating on nova, next, or atom launcher.. I'm using nova atm and i love it but i love the visual features of next and atom is pretty sleek too
Sent from my morphed WICKED fast GSIII
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i tried Nova prime, alot of features but sometime is lagging for me, Next use too much power, Apex dont have alot of features like all the other once beside that very good
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HiT tHaNk If i BeEn HeLpFuL.
Ive become a huge fan of action launcher. Best new launcher I have used in a while.
jajaja ive tried them all..use to like golauncher but takes up to much ram.. nova lags to much when i add widgets on screen...next seems ok but you cant change icons on the ones that bring look awfull... atom is smooth but its not letting me add widgets only the one launcher brings...smart launcher is kinda boring...and action launchers is slow xD spb is to heavy to.... im using apex now... until i find another one to try out...lol
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Primo
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Nova prime is the best one I've found so far imo.
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I use the stock TouchWiz one, but when I root it I use LGUI3.0 It's so much better, and gives you alot more customization options than TouchWiz. I think TouchWiz is so bland...
I was surprised to see that the default launcher with CM10 doesn't have a back-up function. I switched back to ADW because I was familiar with it from CM7. I also missed the infinite scroll feature that's available in ADW (and some of the others).
Jose0726 said:
jajaja ive tried them all..use to like golauncher but takes up to much ram.. nova lags to much when i add widgets on screen...next seems ok but you cant change icons on the ones that bring look awfull... atom is smooth but its not letting me add widgets only the one launcher brings...smart launcher is kinda boring...and action launchers is slow xD spb is to heavy to.... im using apex now... until i find another one to try out...lol
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Click to collapse
have you tried holo launcher at all? i just did a test and it does use about 59mg of ram where as apex shows as cached and ready when you need it, so from that, it seems that apex is much lighter on resources, but i still really love holo, you should try it
zeekx4 said:
I was surprised to see that the default launcher with CM10 doesn't have a back-up function. I switched back to ADW because I was familiar with it from CM7. I also missed the infinite scroll feature that's available in ADW (and some of the others).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i should have added trebuchet to the list. it has a lot more than it used to
I used touchwiz for a while it was ok, then I tried atom launcher it was good and smooth except app drawer laggs little bit now using the latest sony home launcher from the xperia Z really smooth and packed whit good widgets..
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Moving to General, as I think that it will garner more votes/views/opinions as opposed to staying in the Themes/Apps section.
Touchwiz ... I purchased apex pro and nova prime and holo plus .. but I love touchwiz launcher
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Apex pro. Tis great
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Next launcher is the best....!!!!
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Go Launcher Vs Nova Launcher.

I'm trying to work out which home launcher is better.
I paid for nova launcher prime. Also got Go Launcher. Also looking for good themes and icon packs.
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JknRich said:
I'm trying to work out which home launcher is better.
I paid for nova launcher prime. Also got Go Launcher. Also looking for good themes and icon packs.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go launcher sucks. I would stick with Nova. Go launcher is bloated slow and ugly lol. Just my opinion though.
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No contest, Go is made for crappy 2.3 devices
It should be Apex or Nova not Go.
Go Launcher's pure of crap.
OK I'll use nova. Just looking for some good themes and icons.
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I love go launcher ex. Sure when you first load it you have to dump all the widgets, but so what? Works awesome once it's set up. And it's free, along with hundreds of free themes.
NOVA > all period ! and the go launcher themes works with nova ( lest the ones i tried )
One more for Nova I think is the best launcher for our Nexus phones I use it first time on my Galaxy Nexus and stick with him until now.Go is slow and eat many rams.
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Adw ex
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Is TSF or the 3D shell one any good.
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davwman said:
Adw ex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's oldschool!
JknRich said:
I'm trying to work out which home launcher is better.
I paid for nova launcher prime. Also got Go Launcher. Also looking for good themes and icon packs.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer nova because it is lean and uncluttered. Go launcher is made for Gingerbread or something and annoys me with all those other Go apps they advertise for (Locker, keyboard, wallpapers, task manager, widgets etc.). For me a launcher should be built upon the AOSP one, otherwise it destroys the experience.
However, there is one big difference: Nova only supports icon themes, whereas Go can be themed entirely. (drawer tabs, dock separator etc) But you can achieve such theming level in Nova by installing themes for the Tmobile theme chooser which is integrated in every decent custom ROM. If you do that, not only nova, but the whole framework and many apps are themed too.
AW: Go Launcher Vs Nova Launcher.
I don't like the icon order in Nova, I have Nova and Apex , Apex is my favourite .
Nexus 4 Tapatalk
amus76 said:
That's oldschool!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was updated a couple of months ago and is very good now
I have bouth nova pro and Apex Launcher Pro and i think nova is a little bit faster, because when i wake up my device and scrolling throw the windows, i have some micro lag (Nexus 4).
Nova is by far my favorite, I haven't use go launcher since I had my Nexus S. For fast and an AOSP like experience I'd suggest nova.
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No love for action launcher
Wish he had a free version for people to check out. I like it pretty smooth
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I'm gonna have to say differently, I love Go Launcher, always been one of the best launchers on Android because it bring a unique and extreme customization to Android. Nova is a awesome launcher if you intend to run a pure android experience but with tons of customization. I have always gone back and forth from Nova and Go but since Go Launcher had an update to their UI last year I have been reporting a specific issue to them but they still have yet to fix this issue, so until they do I will not use it as my daily driver. I do have hopes that they will someday.
I find Nova less smooth than the stock Nexus launcher tbh
I tried them all and using Apex now. Never had any problems and its packed with features I use.

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