Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
2,732
1,251
I'm looking to change up my S4 and make it a bit more customized without flashing a custom rom to it. What are the best launchers out there? I just downloaded apex launcher and am curious as to what the diffrrence between the free and paid version is.
 
Back when I was choosing between custom launchers (after Launcher Pro was abandoned) I chose Nova launcher over Apex.

The developer is just really good about coming out with updates and I feel like at this point all the features work well, unlike some launchers were more specialized features are not as stable.

That said I haven't tried anything but Nova in ~1 year so things may have changed by now. But if you are looking at custom launchers that give you a stock like experience with a couple additional features I would definitely check it out.
 
I use Nova and the developer will respond to emails, that is very cool. Not sure about the others but Nova is good
 
Last edited:
Nova is probably the most widely used launcher out there. It is a preferred one with many developers who add it into their ROM's.
 
another vote for Nova. Very smooth and replaces the ugly touchwiz interface nicely.
 
Nova and Apex is what I use. I paid versions add more transitions and some extra features. It's in the description of the play store for each of the launchers.
 
This touchwiz is afraid of me.

I have seen its true face. The homescreens are extended gutters and the gutters are full of bloat, and when the drains finally scab over, all the apps will drown.

The accumulated filth will foam up about their waists and all the launchers will look up and shout, "Save us!"

... And I'll look down and whisper... Nova.


Watchmen45.jpg
 
smartlauncher.
launcher 8.

very fast and something different from usual row of icons. not that it's bad or anything. give these two a try. as others have mentioned already, NOva and Apex are also excellent choices.
 
I just discovered Next 3D launcher. Very cool and very smooth. There's a lite version that you can try for 84 hours (yeah weird number) before buying it. Normally I don't like gimmicky stuff but this one is very cool.
 
This touchwiz is afraid of me.

I have seen its true face. The homescreens are extended gutters and the gutters are full of bloat, and when the drains finally scab over, all the apps will drown.

The accumulated filth will foam up about their waists and all the launchers will look up and shout, "Save us!"

... And I'll look down and whisper... Nova.


Image

This may be one of the greatest posts I have seen on these forums.
 
Holo Launcher is also an excellent option. Think of it as Nova launcher without the bells and whistles.
 
Can someone explain to a silly old iPhone user what a Launcher is?

Thanks...

The general user interface.

The home screen, layout, animations etc..

A launcher can transform these elements entirely. Different launchers have different feature sets and layouts / abilities.

Basically using a launcher could make your Samsung device with its variation of android called Touchwiz, turn into a user interface that looks and operates like iOS does in many ways.
 
The general user interface.

The home screen, layout, animations etc..

A launcher can transform these elements entirely. Different launchers have different feature sets and layouts / abilities.

Basically using a launcher could make your Samsung device with its variation of android called Touchwiz, turn into a user interface that looks and operates like iOS does in many ways.
Ahhh, I see. Thank you!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.