[kwlug-disc] OT: Android launcher app ?

[Gary Walsh]

I was using Octopi Launcher for a while when I thought that Nova Launcher Prime was going to be dead, but I am back on Nova for a while. There isn't any launcher as good as Nova that I have found.
--
Gary Walsh
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20 Feb 2026, 13:59 by kb at 2bits.com:

> Thanks for the feedback.
>
> My use of the phone is atypical. 
> It is not my primary device by any means. 
> I absolutely hate both the small screen and the touch keyboard.
>
> At home, it sits next to me, and I check it only when a notification, calendar or alarm goes off.
> I don't have any social media on the phone, except for some chat applications for relatives and friends 1:1 (no groups, ...etc)
> Neither do I have the news feed enabled.
>
> I did try some of the mentioned launchers previously, before posting.
> Smart Launcher was promising.
> I did Niagara too, but the rolodex interface is too big a jump for me. 
>
> One launcher that I did like, but could not continue to use, is > Microsoft Launcher <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.launcher&hl=en_CA>> . 
> It is highly rated, but it does collect app usage and other telemetrics. 
>
> Later, I decided to give precedence to launchers from F-Droid, because being there means it has much less chance of anti-features. 
> I did try several others from F-Droid, but they are all either a) extremely minimalist, b) use very different UI/UX paradigms, c) require typing (did I say I despise touch keyboards?), and so on ... 
>
> I will stick with Fast Draw for now. 
> On the tablet, the icons are squished into a small area (no configurable number of columns/rows), but I can get used to that.
>
> The main annoying aspect is when adding an icon to one of the screens, it shifts all other icons.
> That is because of the forced alphabetical sorting.
> So mind/muscle memory of where Gmail or Calendar or whatever no longer works. 
>
> I emailed the author about custom sorting, but no reply so far. 
>

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