Launchers, widgets and icons, settled
Android lets you replace almost everything you see on the home screen, and the trap is that you can keep doing it forever. The aim here is the opposite: choose each layer once, for a reason, and end up with a phone that opens what you need in one or two touches and asks nothing more of your evenings.
The four layers and what each one changes
| Layer | What it changes | Worth changing if |
|---|---|---|
| Launcher | The home screen, app drawer, gestures and search | The stock one has ads, clutter or a layout you fight daily |
| Widgets | Information on screen without opening an app | You open an app ten times a day to look at one number |
| Icon pack | How every app icon looks | Mismatched icons genuinely bother you |
| Wallpaper | The background, and on many phones the system colours | Almost always. It is the cheapest change with the biggest effect |
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The apps
Nova. For years the default answer for anyone customising a phone, with a deep settings menu and layout backups. It has changed owners, so read what each update actually changes.
Lawnchair. Open source and close to the Pixel home screen, for anyone who wants that clean look on a phone from another brand.
Niagara. A single list you reach with one thumb, with notifications shown next to the app they belong to. Excellent on large phones.
Smart Launcher. Sorts apps into categories by itself, ideal if you never want to organise a folder again.
A calendar, tasks and notes in a feed one swipe from the home screen. The best fit if your working day already runs on Microsoft.
Live tiles in the style of the old Windows phones. A distinct look that is also very practical for glancing at information.
Text only, open source and almost nothing else. The launcher for someone who wants to pick the phone up less often.
Another minimal launcher, with a notification filter that decides which apps are allowed to interrupt you at all.
Samsung only. Modules that customise the stock launcher, lock screen and quick settings without replacing them.
KWGT. Build a widget showing exactly what you want, laid out how you want it. Most of the presets people share need the paid key.
The same idea for the whole wallpaper, which can react to the time, the battery or the music playing. Watch the effect on battery.
Google's own wallpaper collections, including a daily rotation, so the phone feels new without you doing anything.
Changes the wallpaper to a famous painting every day and blurs it behind the icons so they stay readable. Open source.
Wallpapers from credited artists, a cut above the generic collections.
The enormous one, for wallpapers and ringtones. Heavy on advertising, so find what you want and leave.
Builds your own icon pack from shapes, colours and effects, so every icon matches, including the ones no pack covers.
White line icons that keep a busy wallpaper readable and make a home screen look deliberate.
Open source line icons, a very large set built with contributions from its users.
Makes a home screen shortcut to a specific setting, folder, contact or web page, which saves more taps than any launcher feature.
One evening, in this order
- Choose the launcher first Everything else is configured inside it, so switching launchers later means doing the rest again.
- Put four or five apps on the first screen and nothing else The ones you open every day. Everything else is a swipe away in the drawer, and search is faster than any folder.
- Add at most two widgets Every widget refreshes in the background. A clock and a calendar earn their place; a news feed on the home screen mostly earns you distraction.
- Apply the icon pack from the launcher settings Icon packs are applied by the launcher, not the system, which is why the same pack can look different in different launchers.
- Back up the layout Most third party launchers export their layout to a file. Save one to cloud storage, or a new phone means repeating the evening.
- Your own grid, gestures and folders
- No manufacturer feed or suggested apps
- The same layout when you change phone brand
- Icon packs and hidden apps
- Gesture navigation animations can glitch on some phones
- A launcher stopped by battery saving reloads slowly
- Some manufacturer features only work in their own launcher
- One more app with notification access, if you grant it
The minimalist option
A text only launcher sounds like a gimmick and turns out to be one of the more effective ways to use a phone less. Without colourful icons there is less pull to open things on reflex, and every app is still one letter away in a list. Try one for a week; the old launcher is still there if it does not suit you.
One launcher, a handful of apps on the first screen, two widgets and a backup of the layout. Then leave it alone.
Frequently asked questions
Does a launcher slow the phone down?
A well made one does not, and some are lighter than the manufacturer's. The exceptions are a heavy live wallpaper or a screen full of widgets, which cost battery whichever launcher draws them.
Can a launcher see my data?
A launcher sees which apps you have and when you open them. Features such as notification badges or inline notifications ask for notification access, which lets the app read notification content. Grant it only to a launcher you trust.
How do I go back to the original home screen?
Settings, Apps, Default apps, Home app, then pick the one that came with the phone. Its layout is usually still as you left it.
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