- So one of the things I love about Android
is the sheer level of customization.
I mean just like any other mobile operating system,
you can download apps from the App Store
and use that to do a whole bunch of stuff,
but Android actually allows you
to download apps from the app store
and then use them to replace your stock apps.
The app to replace that will probably
make the most difference in your day to day experience
on the phone is the Launcher App.
And just like any app, if you go to the Play Store
and search for it, you will find a lot of them.
There are a crap-ton of them in the Play Store.
So I figured I would quickly do a video
to showcase the six best Android launchers that I've used,
so you guys can at least have somewhere to start
when you wanna dabble in the whole world
of customizing your home screen.
(electronic music)
The only real difference between it
and any other app is two things.
One, it is launched instead of with an icon,
but by pushing your home button.
So every time you push your home button,
the app just kind of opens,
making it seem like it is this magical home base.
The other thing that makes it seem like that
is the fact that from within this app,
you can launch all of your other apps.
And also, have widgets and other things like that.
So first up, we have Google Now Launcher.
This is essentially the launcher
for anyone that is an Android purist.
It comes on all of the Nexus devices,
and kind of is the default launcher for Android nowadays.
It's super clean.
It's based on Android's own material design, obviously,
so it's kinda sharp looking.
It's pretty snappy, although some of the launchers on here
are a little bit snappier, in my opinion.
But it also has the added benefit
of Google's voice recognition,
and swiping all the way to the left screen
will actually give you your Google Now cards,
which are handy as well.
Next up is actually two different launchers,
but I'm gonna include them as one.
They're Apex and Nova.
Now, the reason I include them as one
is 'cause they are very similar.
In fact, you'd be hard pressed to kinda
tell the difference between the two.
They're also both very popular.
They're both super snappy, although Nova fans,
if you start looking on the internet,
will clearly tell you that Nova is faster than Apex.
I'll let you guys be the judge.
But they both have a ton of customization options.
So you can do things like change the icon grids.
You can have 10 by 10, or even 12 by 12 in Nova.
And then, also the same thing
for the dock for the app drawer.
Change the animations, change the transitions.
It goes on and on and on.
There are so many customization options,
it can be a little intimidating at first.
But once you start to play with the things,
you can pretty much change the device
to any way that you possibly could imagine.
Next up, we have Action Launcher,
which is kinda the newcomer to the Android world,
but it is gaining popularity really fast.
With its unique approach to widgets,
which you can swipe on the icon of any app
to launch its widget, and then tap that icon
just to launch the app like normal,
its quick drawer that slides out from the side of the screen
to show all of your apps,
instead of the standard icon that you just tap
to open your app drawer like normal,
and its unique approach to folders,
it's a pretty innovative and at least unique approach
to a launcher, compared to the previously mentioned ones.
One of the major downsides to this launcher
is the fact that all of those features that I just mentioned
that are making it so unique
and what everybody's kinda raving about, costs money.
It is four 99 to actually buy those features.
And without those features,
it kind of is just a normal launcher.
The only real benefit of the ones that I just mentioned
that is free is the sliding out app drawer,
and that's pretty much it.
Go Launcher is probably one of the oldest
launchers in the Play Store.
And I imagine because of that it is the reason
why it has probably the most themes
of any of the launchers in the Play Store.
With between 100 to 500 million installs,
it is probably also one of the most popular.
Because of that, the theming ecosystem around this launcher
is pretty extensive.
If you just type Go Launcher Theme into the Play store
you'll see what I mean.
While the extensive theme library
is probably the biggest draw for this launcher,
it's also not too shabby in the performance department.
It's not that sluggish, although probably not as quick
as, say, Apex and Nova.
But my biggest gripe about this launcher
is the fact that it kinda just feels like
it's trying to spam me all the time.
But if you don't mind that, and the kind of cheesy way,
in my opinion, that the icons and everything are all set up,
then it is the launcher to have if you just love themes.
Aero Launcher is developed by somebody
that you wouldn't really think would have
one of the most popular Android launchers in the Play Store,
and that is Microsoft.
A product of Microsoft Garage,
Microsoft's in house kind of experimentation team,
Aero Launcher actually adjusts its UI based on your usage.
Apps are arranged by your usage, so are contacts.
And it'll even do things like, if there's a dropped call,
make sure to put that option
to call that person back front and center,
because it kinda thinks you probably wanna
talk to them again, now that the call dropped.
It is a clever little launcher,
but it does lack a little bit in the theming
and the customization options.
But for somebody that just wants
a very simple intuitive launcher,
it's definitely one to take a look at.
With the highest rating of any launcher in the Play Store,
the ZenUI Launcher is probably worth
at least taking a look at.
While some of its features are clearly borrowed from iOS,
like swiping down to search,
which I personally miss from iOS
when I'm using Android device by the way,
and swipe up to get to some quick settings.
It is a pretty intuitive little launcher.
There aren't a ton of themes, if that's your thing,
but it has a decent amount.
Overall though, it is a pretty simple
and quick little launcher,
and it's probably best for people that just wanna get in
and out of their phone as quickly as possible.
It's not quite my cup of tea necessarily.
It feels a little cartoonish to me,
but that could just be me.
There you go, quick overview of the best Android launchers,
or at least a decent list of launchers
that you should take a look
when you're starting out with Android launchers.
Now, I'm sure I missed a lot that you guys like,
so please let me know in the comments below
which launchers you think are the best,
so that other people can check them out,
and I can check them out myself.
Always happy to hear from you guys.
If you like this video, please thumbs up it or share it.
It is greatly appreciated.
If you want more videos like this,
please subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Also, you can find me at the Unlockr
on any number of social networks.
Follow me there, and we can chat.
As always, thanks for watching.