Design your way

It’s quite impressive that we have Android launcher apps, so we can change the interface.

But, why change the old Android launcher? You’ve probably seen this before happening, the old launcher gets boring and slow.

At this point, you’ll want to download one of the Android launcher apps that are on the Google Play Store.

There are lots of Android launcher apps on the Google Play Store, each one of these having a unique style. I’ve compiled a list of the best Android launcher apps. Check them out below.

The best Android launcher apps

Action Launcher 3

The Action Launcher is the preferred launcher of many people, numbering among the best launchers for Android by anyone’s measure. It looks right for Android, fitting in with the UI’s normal aesthetic, but has a few features unique to itself. Quickpage is a hidden homescreen you can access from just about anywhere.

You can use the Quicktheme option to pick out theme accents. The Covers option offers a different take on folders. Action Launcher 3 is updated regularly and frequently. It has a well-earned reputation or stability, as well.

ADW Launcher 2

ADW Launcher is one of the older ones on this list, though ADW Launcher 2 is a recent update to this old top launcher for Android. It has been modernized and is entirely up-to-date with modern features and conveniences. The ADW Launcher offers a lot of customization options and allows for many adjustments to themes, so it can be personalized easily.

It now has launcher shortcuts from Android 1.7 Nougat. There is a unique and impressive make-your-own-widget feature. This updated version of the ADW Launcher app is very original, with a lot of ideas you won’t find among other Android launcher apps. The free version can be downloaded off the Google Play Store, but you can also upgrade it from within the app to the pro version for #3.49.

Apex Launcher

The Apex Launcher is among the most iconic, oldest, and best Android launchers out there. Its appearance looks to fit in with the traditional Android UI, though it adds in a few extra things. You can alter a lot of features at will, including scrolling habits and transition animations.

There is a scrolling dock with room for a lot of icons. It supports icon packs and many of the themes found on the Google Play Store. As old as the Apex Launcher is, it has been updated regularly and is among the more stable launcher applications, working well for almost every Android device.

APUS

APUs does a bit to change the normal Android UI. It removes the app drawer and moves all your apps to the desktop in a manner similar to iOS or MIUI. If you’re going to use this app, try to download the APUS Notifier.

The APUS Notifier is a popular plugin for the launcher that offers notifications on the apps, SMS/MMS, and emails, among other services. APUS is particularly unique in that it doesn’t use as much power as Google Now, resulting in the much coveted goal of longer battery life.

Atom Launcher

The Atom Launcher tries to bring your device back to the old school— the very, very old school. The Atom Launcher turns your wallpaper totally black. Your icons are converted into white images that may only slightly resemble their original icons.

It replicates the feel of black-and-white photos and movies, making it an oddball standout in a genre of apps that tend to do more or less the same thing.

BlackBerry Launcher

Remember when BlackBerry was the wave if the future? BlackBerry’s hardware heyday has come and gone, but they are still gaining ground by making Android software. This launcher app was developed around the BlackBerry Hub+.

The BlackBerry Hub+ consolidates all notifications, emails, and text messages into one location for ease of access and reply. The launcher and hub should be downloaded together, as they work very, very well together and integration is seamless.

Buzz Launcher

Buzz Launcher looks to latch onto people’s affinity for social media communities and harness the creativity you can find there. It is what could be called a “participatory” alternative application launcher.

Community users are connected via a dedicated portal. On this portal, they can create and share themes with one another. This is a rare and unique option among Android Launcher applications and is worth a close look.

C Launcher

C Launcher is one of the more simplistic Android Launcher apps you can find. It has been designed to offer fast searches and a clean look. It offers universal search to quickly search through your apps. In a lot of respects, its interface works more like the iOS UI, with a similar lock screen and an unread app notification count.

There are many different themes available, as well. C Launcher is a nice option for anyone who recently started using Android after using iOS devices and misses that interface.

Catapult

Catapult is essentially a renamed version the Trebuchet launcher. Trebuchet was introduced with CyanogenMod (open source) and CyanogenOS(commercial). So the Catapult launcher has some history. It is a stable launcher and is updated regularly to keep it that way, which works out very well for its multiple customization features.

Catapult is all about customization. It offers a lot of features that aren’t found among other launcher apps. It looks very like the Google Now launcher app, but it definitely isn’t a copy. It’s far more interesting than that. Hold your finger on the empty space on the homescreen and whole new options will unfold.

You’ll be offered a choice to modify the screen background, settings, and widgets. Tap any of these and then slide your finger upwards to access all the things this app has to offer. It has a great many of those options for you to explore. Catapult is definitely worth trying out if you’re looking for a more customizable experience with your Android device.

Everything Me

As you can tell from the name, Everything Me strives to offer up the best customization options available for Android devices. Compared to most of the other launcher apps, there are a maddening number of options available to modify with this app.

Everything Me offers all the tools possible to make your device’s launcher perfect for you. It is continually being updated, with new features like Quick contact and a prediction bar on the way.

Evie Launcher

The Evie Launcher is more minimalist than most. It looks and feels very similar to the regular Android launcher. It offers a slide-out bar on the left part of the screen for quick access to your apps.

A nice universal search also makes your apps even more accessible, allowing you to just start typing the name you’re looking for to begin a search. This is a nice, simple launcher designed for easy app accessibility and it is a nice choice for anyone wanting to change things up just a touch.

Go Launcher EX

Go Launcher EX adds a lot of free themes for your Android device. You can change contextual menus with gestures, such as pinching the welcome screen. The same thing can be done to modify widgets.

It does, however, have a potentially annoying limitation. Go Launcher installs applications after its first use, in a rather “freemium” move. If you can deal with that, it is an interesting launcher app to try out.

Google Now Launcher

This is the Android Launcher Google intended. It offers a simple, clean Google designed and tested interface. This is the launcher that is already installed on Nexus phones. It’s meant to give you easy access to your widgets and apps for a quick but basic experience.

It does not offer a lot of choices for customization, with no advanced options for themes or gestures. A lot of people just want a functional interface for their devices with no complications, which this launcher provides in spades.

It is probably the most stable launcher application there is for Android and Google updates it regularly. It’s not clear if Google Now is the way of the future for official Android launchers, as Pixel phones are shipping with their own launcher, but as of this writing it is the official launcher of Google.

Hexy Launcher

The Hexy Launcher was developed by the team behind the Swiftkey keyboard app, as a part of an event organized by the Swiftkey editor. It advertises itself as simple but revolutionarily efficient. The Swiftkey keyboard, which allows for typing by sliding your finger between characters, is included with it.

It also places all your apps on a single screen. Hexy generally just un-complicates your device’s layout for better efficiency. Apps are grouped by genre and are color coordinated. Groups are based on functions, like Messages, Calls, or Games. You can add, resize, and reposition whatever widgets you would like.

Hexy is not very customizable, offering no themes or special settings. This is a launcher designed for efficiency, not personalization.

Hola Launcher

Hola is a very lightweight launcher. It does everything it can to minimize its impact on your phone’s systems. The whole launcher application is only 3 MB. It includes a memory boost feature to keep your phone running right along.

This launcher app works great for older or slow phones. Switching to Hola won’t kill and older phone and it opens up some customization options not available on older launchers.

KK Launcher

KK Launcher is a repackaged version of the Android v5.0 UI, with a different set of icons, colors, and transition effects. It’s very easy to customize, with all the changes only taking a few simple clicks.

It offers a lot of different themes, including a few Android familiars like Lollipop and KitKat. There is a free version available.

Launcher 8

Launcher 8 is essentially the Windows Phone launcher for Android. It arranges everything in the tile menus used by Windows devices. The homescreen, icon sizes, icon styles, and transition effects are all changed to resemble their Windows version.

If you’re looking to try out the Windows Phone interface, or if you’re coming to Android from a Windows device, it might be worth a try.

Lens Launcher

The Lens Launcher does things differently. The launcher will put every last app on your device onto the homescreen. If you have a lot of apps installed, they’ll get very small.

You can, however, zoom in and out to find the app you are looking for. This is a very different take on managing an Android interface and worth a try if you’re sick of the same old UI or anything like it.

Lightning Launcher

The Lightning Launcher is an app focused on precise customization. You can make very detailed changes and tweaks to the interface, perfecting it according to your needs and preferences. You can create custom swipe commands, add in new icon packs, and change the grid lines.

Line

This app was formerly known as Dodol. Line is related to the messenger apps Whataspp. This is the company’s first Android launcher app.

It has some nice features, but it is very graphically intensive. However, using it is a far from slow experience. It is known as the fastest Android launcher as of the time of this writing.

Lollipop Launcher

The Lollipop Launcher is the Android v5.0 UI experience. It is a very standard launcher app and does not break from convention in any particular way. As an official Android UI, it offers the same look and customization features as any other official UI.

Mostly it’s just a way for Android users to get the newer version for older phones. It’s a good option for those who have not yet received an official announcement for an upgrade.

Next Launcher

Next Launcher offers a very original way to navigate your device’s functions: via a 3d interface! It is fully customizable. There are a lot of available themes, apps and widgets that come with it for a coherent interface design. It’s worth a try just for its originality.

People tend to either love it or hate it, with nothing in between. You can download a trial version that allowed for you to use Next Launcher for a limited time. If you like it, consider paying for the permanent version.

Nova Launcher

Nova Launcher is regarded by many to be the best Android launchers application, with over 50 million download and an average Google Play Store user rating of 4.6. It runs incredibly smoothly on just about any device. There is a full range of customization options, allowing for you to use any icon pack you can find.

The initial style is the AOSP launcher with a range of modifications available. It uses approximately 15 MB of RAM. Worth a look if you want to try the top alternative launcher for Android. A lot of people out there swear by the Nova Launcher.

Smart Launcher Pro 3

Smart Launcher Pro 3 is very unique. It starts out with a setup procedure, asking for your preferred photo app, music app, and dialer app from among any you already have installed.

Once you select those, hit the start button, and you’ll find yourself at a homescreen with six apps, including those you just selected. Swiping left will bring up your app drawer, organized and locked in that organization (seriously, you can’t change it), while a right swipe brings up a few screens for any widgets you might want.

You can’t add on more homescreens, though you can modify the apps on the one you do have, wither adding, taking away, or altering their function. This is exceedingly minimalist. It creates one single manageable space and reduces overall clutter. If you’re looking to simplify your device’s interface, this might be the launcher app for you.

Themer

Themer offers a wide selection of pre-made themes with a click. It offers a wide array of skins of all kinds, simple, serene, bold, colorful, anything you can imagine.

The ease of swapping these looks out means you can try different ones with ease and change your device themes as often as you like, for whatever reason you’d like.

Turbo Launcher

Turbo Launcher’s interface is clean and sleek. You can change your phone’s homescreen around in a few different ways, altering the look of folders and icons. The dock can be customized as well, and scroll effects are easily altered according to your preferences.

Turbo Launcher claims it lives up to its name by helping improve up your device’s performance, but reviews are mixed on that front. You might need to try it for yourself on your device and see if it helps with the speed.

Yahoo Aviate Launcher

The Yahoo Aviate Launcher starts off with a simplistic home screen and automatically organizes your app drawer. As you use your device throughout your day, it adjusts the display to give you want you need when you need it.

It’s easy to check the weather, get driving directions, check the traffic, and learn the news on the go with this launcher. You can have it set to automatically pull up music apps and artist details when you plug in your headphones. Very different than most apps, Aviate offers an entirely new kind of customization.

Z Launcher

Z Launcher offers a different kind of app search. All you have to do is draw letters on your homescreen. Want to watch a video? Draw a Y to search your apps for Youtube.

T can pull up Twitter, and U can bring up your Uber app. This launcher has very slick modern design, with backgrounds that change depending on time of day. An interesting app for people on the go.

Zeam

Zeam is a speed demon. It doesn’t have any other features, no customization options or themes. It just runs smoothly and fast with very striped-down code base. It’s the Formula One car of Android Launcher applications, with absolutely no bells and whistles to get in the way of its speed.

Because of that, even the oldest phones run it really well. It’s free and can work great for even the oldest Android devices.

Zen UI

The last of these Android launcher apps is ZenU. Developed by ASUS, looks to offer the features of both the ad-heavy amateurish launchers and sleeker, more professional launchers used by enthusiasts. It offers a lot of themes, both high quality ones and less quality ones, but it also offers more detailed personalization features.

There is an awkward search menu created by default with tending search suggestions and accessed by an upward swipe. It can be easily removed as a part of customization. You can adjust the home screen grid size, transition animations, and add themes to the folders.

ZenUI also includes a security tool, CM Applock for ASUS (provided by Cheetah Mobile, the makers of Clean Master. This prevents unwanted users from accessing certain content.

Ending thoughts on Android launcher apps

The best launcher for Android can be hard to pick out. It really depends on what you want, and as you can see from the list above, there are a lot of different kinds of launcher applications available.

Take a look at them on the Google Play Store, read the reviews, and download a couple. Interact with the UIs and see what feels right.

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