Other Launchers and S Pen - Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II

I'm thinking about getting the Note 2 but have one quick question, if you installed a 3rd party Launcher, how much of the special S Pen functionality are you losing? I'm assuming some of the stuff such as video previews, gallery previews and calendar event previews that I've seen in many reviews are a function of the app rather than the Launcher. The only thing I can see missing would be going to that special S Pen homepage when you remove it but I wanted to verify that. I don't know of any other really cool S Pen features other than what I've seen in reviews (every store I've gone to hasn't had it in stock so I haven't played with it yet).

Yep. So far from what I can tell you only lose the special S Pen homescreen since that's part of the touchwiz launcher. Everything else is still there and still works.

This is my experience, too.
Note that there are four Page Buddy pages - S-Pen, Earphones, Docking and Roaming.
l3thalsab3r said:
Yep. So far from what I can tell you only lose the special S Pen homescreen since that's part of the touchwiz launcher. Everything else is still there and still works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Right, I forgot about those other pages.
I also just remembered that you also lose the recommended shortcuts in the notification pulldown also.
Which is odd since that should be part of the system not the launcher.

l3thalsab3r said:
Right, I forgot about those other pages.
I also just remembered that you also lose the recommended shortcuts in the notification pulldown also.
Which is odd since that should be part of the system not the launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, no functionality is lost other than the instant S-Pen page thats part of the touchwiz launcher. Battery life also has improved for me by about an hour reliably since removing touchwiz as my default launcher and using Nova Prime. I'd say its win/win since those silly widgets can be added to any launcher page if you really want them.

Related

Adding more home pages

I would post this in the ROM thread but since this is my first post I can't, but I'm using the LiquidSmooth 4.0.4 Rom and was wondering if there was any way to keep the stock look without changing anything but add more pages to my home screens.
Thanks,
Matt
download "nova launcher or apex launcher"
So installing those launchers won't affect the way my home screens look or make my phone look less "stock"? I like how clean the ROM I currently have looks and want to keep everything the same more or less, just add more pages.
LampeMW said:
So installing those launchers won't affect the way my home screens look or make my phone look less "stock"? I like how clean the ROM I currently have looks and want to keep everything the same more or less, just add more pages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both Nova and Apex are based off the stock launcher, and so don't change the look/feel of your phone greatly, but also both have plenty of customisation options so that you can make your home screen march to the beat of your tune.
I've got Nova Prime with one homescreen, dock turned off, additional page in the app drawer for most used apps (as well as hiding apps that I don't use), and have swipe gestures to open the drawer/access other features.
Apex and Nova have free versions in the Play Store that you can try, and if you don't like them, just un-install. The beauty of Android.
P.S. Some of the customisations I've made are only available in the paid version of Nova.
Nova launcher is just the stock launcher with enhancements, one being the ability to add more home screens. Highly recommended.
delete home pages
hi i'm marley, i know that this is the wrong thread but, i couldn't find any solution to my "problem", well i just did a pre-order on the nexus 7 because i'm switching from my iPhone, and unlikely iOS we don't have the home page, just the menu instead, and all i wanted to know is if it's possible to disable all the pages in the jelly bean, leaving the home screen alone, by that i mean disable like from the code, so nobody can turn them on again.

Icon Grid To 5x5

For the last two years I have been using ADW Launcher. When it came out at the end of 2010 I paid for ADW_EX. It has been great for me. I have tried to use the TouchWiz on the S3 but there have been two main things that kept me from using it regularly. One was fixed (by an answer in another forum).
The one that was fixed was the ability to have shortcuts to individual files on my home screen. In ADW I was able to create a shortcut with Astro File Manager. For some reason Astro does not have a way to do this with TouchWiz. Then someone pointed out that a long press on a file in ES File Manager would create a shortcut. I use a lot of individual files and that feature was great.
Now the last deal breaker for me is the lack of a 5x5 icon grid. Again, in ADW you can have a choice of icon numbers both horizontally and vertically. While 6 or 7 is too much, I like the choice. 4x4 with that gigantic screen indicator is useless. I use a couple of big widgets on my main screen and there is no room left for the important icons.
Now for the question. Is there any way to create a 5x5 icon grid on stock unrooted touchwiz?
From my point of view, Samsung is copying Apple by limiting the choices and configurability. If we could choose our icons and how they act, it would be a lot less like Apple. Personally, when I try an Apple device, I get frustrated because of the lack of control I have. I don't like someone else making my choices. One last part of my rant: I recently tried Windows 8 on a laptop. It looks like everyone is trying to copy Apple.
All this is because the motion scrolling features and eyeball sensor are TouchWiz only. I would like to move my phone to move icons around. I would like to keep the screen on time short to save battery but still be able to have it stay on when I am reading a long web page.
I'm pretty sure all the TW features stick around even if you use a different launcher. I know smart stay and tap to top work on Nova and those are the only ones I use.
Edit: all the motion features still work on other launchers. I just went through them all. Liberate yourself. I use Nova.
Alternatively, if you are rooted you can find a modded stock launcher. Or even flash a more heavily modded rom. This is where Android shines anyway. Not because of what the manufacturers allow, but what open source allows!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
dkmdlb said:
I'm pretty sure all the TW features stick around even if you use a different launcher. I know smart stay and tap to top work on Nova and those are the only ones I use.
Edit: all the motion features still work on other launchers. I just went through them all. Liberate yourself. I use Nova.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use nova also with the motion featres
Sent from my SGH-T999 or GT-P3113 using xda premium

[Q] Camera lock screen widget

Hey everyone, I have been here a while but I dont have my ten posts to post in the dev section :/ so I am posting my question here! I am on the Toro+ Gnex running Atom 422 I believe, but my question isnt specific to that ROM. In many ROMs my lock screen music widget would freeze up and stop playing and when I turned the phone on it looked like the music widget was overlaping the camera widget ( lockscreen widgets) and then disapear. I have tried using Apollo, Zplayer, and Play Music. I uninstalled all but one to test individually and I got the same results. I don't have this issue with ROMs that have the option to disable the camera lockscreen widget and I was wondering if this is a known problem with the camera or what. I am using a custom lockscreen shortcut for the camera right now so it is not a big deal I was just curious If anyone else has had this problem. This persists through dirty, clean flashes of new ROMs and kernels except for ROMs that can disable the camera lockscreen widget. thanks for the feedback!
First and foremost the Dev section is reserved for developers who wish to introduce their ROMS and kernels, not for questions such as this. So in a way, thank you for not posting here even though it was your intention to do so
As far as the lock screen...are you using stock launcher or a third party launcher such as apex or nova? Lock screen apps are just that, app that overlay the original lock screen. What I mean is that the culprit is probably your launcher. I use PA 3.94 and have no issues. Admittedly though, my lock screen security is disabled so I can use Locket. Locket has no widgets so that may be a option for you. I do kiss the music widget however, but I just unlock the screen to access the controls and in doing so I get paid for doing so.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
iLeopard said:
First and foremost the Dev section is reserved for developers who wish to introduce their ROMS and kernels, not for questions such as this. So in a way, thank you for not posting there even though it was your intention to do so
As far as the lock screen...are you using stock launcher or a third party launcher such as apex or nova? Lock screen apps are just that, app that overlay the original lock screen. What I mean is that the culprit is probably your launcher. I use PA 3.94 and have no issues. Admittedly though, my lock screen security is disabled so I can use Locket. Locket has no widgets so that may be a option for you. I do kiss the music widget however, but I just unlock the screen to access the controls and in doing so I get paid for doing so.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, interesting I didnt think to change the launcher I was on Atom launcher at the time and now I am just using the launcher included in the Atom-422 Rom. After work I will re-install Atom launcher and see if I can replicate the issue. So, the lockscreen widgets are extensions of the launcher? I guess I don't understand how the launcher would cause that issue, something I am going to have to look up I guess ha Yeah I thought about removing the lockscreen but the shortcuts are just too convinient and Dash clock is awesome too. How is Locket working for you? I havent tried it but I imagined it to be laggy just because I associate Ads with lag.
P.S. I wasn't going to start a tread in the dev section, I was just going to post in the ROM thread asking if anyone else had the same issue ;]
The_Big_Guy said:
Hmm, interesting I didnt think to change the launcher I was on Atom launcher at the time and now I am just using the launcher included in the Atom-422 Rom. After work I will re-install Atom launcher and see if I can replicate the issue. So, the lockscreen widgets are extensions of the launcher? I guess I don't understand how the launcher would cause that issue, something I am going to have to look up I guess ha Yeah I thought about removing the lockscreen but the shortcuts are just too convinient and Dash clock is awesome too. How is Locket working for you? I havent tried it but I imagined it to be laggy just because I associate Ads with lag.
P.S. I wasn't going to start a tread in the dev section, I was just going to post in the ROM thread asking if anyone else had the same issue ;]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't used Atom launcher so I can't say for sure. Since you've used stock and the Atom launcher I guess you can try a third party one such as Apex or Nova and see if the issue persists. Its weird how its happening to you though, I've never heard of such bug. To my understanding, lockscreen and the associated widgets are part of the launcher, hence the reason why not all launchers support widgets. I understand your desire to keep your widgets, they do come in handy but personally I usually don't find myself wishing I had more than the standard clock since I instinctively unlock my phone anyways.
I thought the same as you with regards to Locket, but I must admit that the ads are incredibly lightweight and well designed. Most of the time I don't see them as ads but a dynamic wallpaper add-on since the ads cycle every time you turn on your display. Give it a shot, you can access the notification bar even with Locket installed, which houses playback controls as well. Link is in my siggy
iLeopard said:
I haven't used Atom launcher so I can't say for sure. Since you've used stock and the Atom launcher I guess you can try a third party one such as Apex or Nova and see if the issue persists. Its weird how its happening to you though, I've never heard of such bug. To my understanding, lockscreen and the associated widgets are part of the launcher, hence the reason why not all launchers support widgets. I understand your desire to keep your widgets, they do come in handy but personally I usually don't find myself wishing I had more than the standard clock since I instinctively unlock my phone anyways.
I thought the same as you with regards to Locket, but I must admit that the ads are incredibly lightweight and well designed. Most of the time I don't see them as ads but a dynamic wallpaper add-on since the ads cycle every time you turn on your display. Give it a shot, you can access the notification bar even with Locket installed, which houses playback controls as well. Link is in my siggy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool, thanks man I'll check it out

[Q] Fire Phone & Launchers

Hi all,
I have jumped on the Amazon Fire Phone. I'm already a prime member, using an old LG P930 with Cyanogenmod, but as you can imagine the hardware is a bit old. For $100.00 (since I'm already a prime member the extra year of Prime would have been purchased anyways) this phone was a no brainier for me. My question is, what launcher are you guys running? The Nova launcher works well, but gives an error when installing widgets. Trebuchet fails to launch unfortunately. So far my favorite launcher is Cheetah Launcher by CC Launcher. Everything works, it's clean, and allows the use of my widgets. (Pandora and 1 weather is a must for me). Swiping up to go back works just fine. The only thing I don't like is you don't get notifications of emails or messages in the dock. Also, the default AOS status bar seems a bit weak. It notifies you and the notification goes away. I have been seeing something, wanting to grab it later, and then forget. :|
Anyone else got any launcher or good apps that go well with them to make it more user friendly? I'm very impressed what a simple launcher and side loading apps will give you with this device with out downgrading it or rooting it.
- Jeremy
I've tried nova launcher and Doodol launcher. They both seem to work with the exception of wallpapers
Anyone have any idea of what needs done to get wallpapers working?
On 3.5.0 wallpapers only work with root (xposed tweak)
Yahoo Aviate works well with sll of their built in wallpapers (no widgets work, and you can't select a picture from your gallery though)
Buzz Launcher works with wallpaper support (including your own images). No widgets work though.
I tried a bunch of launchers today and those two are the best so far
So annoying that widgets didn't work on Nova, which has always been our preference, so I set up GEL on wife's new phone. So far she's ok with it, except for being confused how to get out of the Google Now panel (she thought it was an app and was trying to swipe up to get "back" not realizing it was just the left most panel of the launcher).
One thing I did try to set up also that isn't working is Pie Control. It worked for a little bit when first loaded, but subsequent attempts to activate it haven't been successful. I suspect the swipe-in capabilities are hi-jacked by the Fire OS.
Another annoyance is the inability to make direct-dial shortcuts.
I installed, or attempted to install the GNL and wasn't successful. I'll give it a go again. I think I remember the install took, but it wouldn't open the launcher. Still, if looking around, check out that Cheetah Launcher. It just doesn't give notifications in the dock.
Speaking of notifications, does anyone know of a good notification bar? The stock bar on this phone doesn't show an icon that there is a pending kik message, voicemail, text, etc.
rEVOLVE said:
So annoying that widgets didn't work on Nova, which has always been our preference, so I set up GEL on wife's new phone. So far she's ok with it, except for being confused how to get out of the Google Now panel (she thought it was an app and was trying to swipe up to get "back" not realizing it was just the left most panel of the launcher).
One thing I did try to set up also that isn't working is Pie Control. It worked for a little bit when first loaded, but subsequent attempts to activate it haven't been successful. I suspect the swipe-in capabilities are hi-jacked by the Fire OS.
Another annoyance is the inability to make direct-dial shortcuts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I installed the Google Now Launcher .apk again. It then stated I needed google search. Downloaded that .apk. It told me to clear my launcher defaults, I did, but Google Now Launcher isn't an option in the launcher selection. Any idea?
Never mind. I restarted the phone and is good to go. I seem to like the Cheetah Launcher much better so far!
I use Vire Launcher. Its built in wallpapers work perfectly and all widgets work and can be resized. It also has some cool effects.
tried vire launcher and dodol launcher. neither launcher seems to update my missed call count or text messages count properly. ie always showing missed calls.
anybody having this issue as well, or know of a fix?
alrgeez said:
tried vire launcher and dodol launcher. neither launcher seems to update my missed call count or text messages count properly. ie always showing missed calls.
anybody having this issue as well, or know of a fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed a few launchers, okay - a lot of launchers. Below are the ones that I found that give the count of SMS, missed calls, etc.
- Nine Launcher (not a huge fan)
- C Launcher Lite (not bad - not very customizable)
- Solo Launcher (pretty slick - but outside widget support doesn't work)
I'm currently on the hunt for a good status bar or notifier.
The Google Now Launcher seems to work very well without any lag. Its very light weight although not very customizable. So far it seems to be a good place to start until other launchers become more compatible. I added the dashclock widget to the homescreen, with better weather addon, plus the other alerts I need and this seems a complete setup right now that matches my Nexus 4 setup.
Xyth said:
The Google Now Launcher seems to work very well without any lag. Its very light weight although not very customizable. So far it seems to be a good place to start until other launchers become more compatible. I added the dashclock widget to the homescreen, with better weather addon, plus the other alerts I need and this seems a complete setup right now that matches my Nexus 4 setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anybody know, how can i create folders in goole now launcher. I tried holding 1 app icon and pasting it over another, but straight away it takes to the main screen.
Thanks
ankitaroramba said:
Does anybody know, how can i create folders in goole now launcher. I tried holding 1 app icon and pasting it over another, but straight away it takes to the main screen.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drag one icon and drop onto another icon. This creates a folder that you can then name.
GoLauncher Ex
GoLauncher Ex seems to work well, all widgets worked for me
Xyth said:
Drag one icon and drop onto another icon. This creates a folder that you can then name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but this is only working at the home screen, not in the apps menu.
Is it working for you in Apps menu as well? Let me know i have tried 100 times, and soon as i try to drag 1 icon it takes me to the home screen,.
ankitaroramba said:
Thanks, but this is only working at the home screen, not in the apps menu.
Is it working for you in Apps menu as well? Let me know i have tried 100 times, and soon as i try to drag 1 icon it takes me to the home screen,.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can make folders on the apps menu. I don't seem to be able to on my Nexus 4 with its stock launcher, so its no surprise you cant do it in the Google launcher we are loading.
Thanks for this question though. I thought the launcher was limited to 3 pages but I found that you can create more empty pages by long pressing the home screen and moving the existing side pages to one side of the home page, then dragging icons to the side that now has no page to create a new page. I tried simply dragging icons earlier but it would not form a new page until I moved the old page first. Strange process but it works.
Fire Phone Lauchers - Wallpaper and Widgets
Hi All -
I've gone through just about every launcher I can find to find one that both wallpaper and Widgets work on... With no luck.
Buzz Launcher has wallpaper working, a number of launchers have widgets working, but none with both...
Has anyone else had any luck with both? Do we know what makes one or the other not work? Would rolling back to older versions of some of these launchers (pre-lollipop and kitkat) work?
Thoughts? Help? Suggestions?
Thanks!!!
Has anyone tried Action Launcher Pro? I wonder if it gets along with Fire Phone (no root).
I've tried at least 20 different launchers today. The only one that has wallpaper and widgets working is still Vire Launcher.

Nova Launcher

As much as I want to use Nova Launcher, it's just not as smooth and quick as the stock Pixel Launcher. Anyone else feel this way? At the same time, I have a love/hate relationship with Pixel Launcher because I love having the icon unread notification numbers on Nova as well as being able to change the home screen grid size. In the end, though, Nova is just not as quick loading apps and the app drawer.
I agree Google isn't making it easy to use another launcher on Pixel phones. It's a shame.
Nova is definitely not as smooth as the Pixel launcher. But Nova has so many advantages for me that I'll take its options over overall smoothness any day.
Ghisy said:
I agree Google isn't making it easy to use another launcher on Pixel phones. It's a shame.
Nova is definitely not as smooth as the Pixel launcher. But Nova has so many advantages for me that I'll take its options over overall smoothness any day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.
U guys can use one plus launcher, one UI launcher and a custom pixel launcher as well with More customizations. There's a thread on telegram.
Action Launcher does pretty much everything Nova can do and it does everything stock pixel launcher does too. Including copying from recents screen and using Android 10 gestures.
Launchers can add the ability to work correctly on Pixels, Google opened up the ability for 3rd party launchers in December, Action Launcher is only one I know of that can do it without using quickstep or magisk.
smartymcfly said:
Action Launcher does pretty much everything Nova can do and it does everything stock pixel launcher does too. Including copying from recents screen and using Android 10 gestures.
Launchers can add the ability to work correctly on Pixels, Google opened up the ability for 3rd party launchers in December, Action Launcher is only one I know of that can do it without using quickstep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ones I'm referring to don't require quickstep either, just flash in magisk
shooterlgk said:
The ones I'm referring to don't require quickstep either, just flash in magisk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Action Launcher doesn't require magisk.
smartymcfly said:
Action Launcher doesn't require magisk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fully aware, just providing more options
I keep seeing these threads where at least one person claims Nova doesn't work correctly. Last year, I would have agreed... but I've been using Nova for months and I have forgotten about any drawbacks if there are any. The only differences I remember are a couple animations and the recents menu doesn't have suggestion icons? (which never suggested apps I wanted to use, so I don't miss it)
What's the smoothness that people are complaining about? The animations run as fast as my finger pushes things around... Is it just the quality and type of animations? If so, I want functionality far over such things. Having to use substratum/magisk to customize the Pixel Launcher was way worse than recreating my layout in Nova. If only things like TeslaUnread were still officially supported... but Google likes killing off useful things.
Feel free to help me understand what I'm missing.
jljtgr said:
I keep seeing these threads where at least one person claims Nova doesn't work correctly. Last year, I would have agreed... but I've been using Nova for months and I have forgotten about any drawbacks if there are any. The only differences I remember are a couple animations and the recents menu doesn't have suggestion icons? (which never suggested apps I wanted to use, so I don't miss it)
What's the smoothness that people are complaining about? The animations run as fast as my finger pushes things around... Is it just the quality and type of animations? If so, I want functionality far over such things. Having to use substratum/magisk to customize the Pixel Launcher was way worse than recreating my layout in Nova. If only things like TeslaUnread were still officially supported... but Google likes killing off useful things.
Feel free to help me understand what I'm missing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova says in the settings that Google has not made it possible for Nova to use Android 10 gestures correctly. Google has made it work, but Nova hasn't been updated to allow it yet.
smartymcfly said:
Nova says in the settings that Google has not made it possible for Nova to use Android 10 gestures correctly. Google has made it work, but Nova hasn't been updated to allow it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion, the warning is wrong. Back when I first got my phone, like half of the gestures didn't quite work. Now everything works for me.
At Nova's homescreen...
Swipe from side: Isn't triggered because you can't go back from home. Just flips pages.
Swipe from bottom: Opens app search. I'm not sure if the gesture is doing this or Nova is.
Swipe from bottom & hold: Opens recents.
Swipe from corner: Shows assistant overlay.
Everything basic works. I don't have palm swipe screenshots enabled.
My issue with Nova is the delay going back to the home screen. I can't immediately open another app. I always have to wait an extra second or click on app twice before it opens. I want the full pixel experience and it seems that Nova doesn't always deliver on it. I do occasionally go back to it until I get annoyed with my first statement.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Honestly, I've never noticed this. I guess I go home before I know what I want to click on and so I'm never quick enough to see it.
The way it's acting, it reminds me of a paused activity that needs to refresh when the app gets restored. I tried to disable battery optimization for Nova, but it didn't help. I'm not sure how to solve that.
I tried the same test on my old phone and pressing the home button actually does nothing for a split second, then Nova shows and responds immediately. But when you gesture, you want it to happen immediately... not a split second later. So in that way, Android 10 and Nova do the sensible thing and shows the paused activity.
shooterlgk said:
U guys can use one plus launcher, one UI launcher and a custom pixel launcher as well with More customizations. There's a thread on telegram.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you provide a link please?
I was using Nova Launche a lot of time ago! let's going to check how does it works now!
I have no reason to use any other launcher than pixel launcher. It works just as I need.
not sure what the hoo-blah is. I have been using Nova prime beta with no issues. No problems returning home... No speed issues. The warning that is in there is talking about the gesture navigation system wide not inside the launcher. So this means you have to use the classic 3 button method to navigate (back, home, recent). IMHO this does not affect the experience at all. Definitely prefer Nova and the customization over the stock launcher. :good:
Edit:Actually just changed the nav settings and Nova is working with new gestures.
ksmullins88 said:
not sure what the hoo-blah is. I have been using Nova prime beta with no issues. No problems returning home... No speed issues. The warning that is in there is talking about the gesture navigation system wide not inside the launcher. So this means you have to use the classic 3 button method to navigate (back, home, recent). IMHO this does not affect the experience at all. Definitely prefer Nova and the customization over the stock launcher. :good:
Edit:Actually just changed the nav settings and Nova is working with new gestures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just switched back to Nova from Lawnchair on both my S20+ and Pixel 4XL. Nova works beautiful now and Nova Google Companion works with dark mode.
I'm on Android 11 Beta and am running Nova with no problems with gestures at all. For some reason on 10 they were not working as smooth and I would get some lag going back to the home screen. On 11, those problems have seemed to disappear.
While that's true, the closing app animation is not there and feels weird. ( Using gesture navigation )

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