Death of the App Drawer

[JaySoul]

There are plenty of rumours that Android N could well drop the App Drawer...

And LG appear to have just done it with the G5, and Samsung have an option to remove it on the S7.

What are your thoughts on the App Drawer: do you rely on it or are you not bothered?

 

[MRU]

There are plenty of rumours that Android N could well drop the App Drawer...

And LG appear to have just done it with the G5, and Samsung have an option to remove it on the S7.

What are your thoughts on the App Drawer: do you rely on it or are you not bothered?

I'm not hugely bothered, I do think both iOS and Android are moving to a very convergent place - where the similarities are going to be greater than the differences. They are both approaching a similar end destination albeit from two different routes. Perhaps this is just inevitable progress as both refine to offer the best user experience and thereby the end goal is the same - so shouldn't be seen as a surprise. iOS slowly adding more user customisation and android slowly refining stricter foundations across its platform & oem partners.

At the end of the day - as long as the mobile OS is stable, and does what I want it to do - I don't mind how it gets there.

 

[GadgetSN]

App drawer is the foundation of Android. Its removal will mean we may as well use iPhones.

This will be a step back for Android.

 

[JaySoul]

I actually use the App Drawer less and less as time goes by. Personally won't be affected by it.

 

[Blaze4G]

I would hate if it got removed. However I would continue using Nova so it would not affect me. I like to keep my homescreens minimal.

 

[GadgetSN]

But that is the whole point of the app drawer. To use it infrequently. If it is gone all your apps will be on the home screen getting in your way like in ios.

 

[Zaft]

For me personally it was annoying when I had android. At the same time they should of made an option to turn it back on.

 

[JaySoul]

Personally I really don't use THAT many apps anymore.

But I can imagine someone with hundreds of apps might get annoyed, or would need to organise their folders VERY well!

 

[Channan]

I really hope Google doesn't move in this direction. I keep my most used apps on one homescreen and access the rest of my apps from the app drawer. It keeps my homescreen looking cleaner. I don't want pages and pages of apps all sorted by install date. I like alphabetical order.

 

[tbayrgs]

I wish iOS had an app drawer, purely to help keep home screens clean and minimal. I don't actually navigate to most of my actual app locations but rather use the spotlight search or simply ask Siri to open it. Removing the app drawer is literally taking a giant step closer to iOS' methodology.

 

[jamezr]

I wish iOS had an app drawer, purely to help keep home screens clean and minimal. I don't actually navigate to most of my actual app locations but rather use the spotlight search or simply ask Siri to open it. Removing the app drawer is literally taking a giant step closer to iOS' methodology.

Agreed...but I think that is only if you use the stock launcher correct? If I am not mistaken you can use a launcher like Nova and still have an app drawer. I am pretty sure there will be apps released that will mimic an app drawer on Android phones.

 

[Zaft]

I think one of the issues is that the same app is on the main screen and the app drawer. Is there a way to have an app only on the home screen and not in the app drawer?

 

[nj-morris]

If anything they should have the option for just the app drawer, to make it more simple for people moving from the iPhone.

 

[spinedoc77]

A large part of the reason I don't use iOS is the lack of an app drawer, or any decent way to organize your apps. With Android you can at least have tabs and/or folders inside the app drawer to allow you to further organize apps. I use Nova launcher and the options are awesome. I just can't imagine Android going backwards so badly that they would subject us to a wall of icons like in iOS.

Plus another reason for the app drawer is I like to keep my desktop clear so I can have widgets on there, which are VASTLY more useful than an icon. I'd hate to give up desktop real estate for just icons.

 

[JackieInCo]

App drawer is the foundation of Android. Its removal will mean we may as well use iPhones.

This will be a step back for Android.

And that is the reason that I have read that the app drawer may be going away, to make the change from an iPhone to Android more easy.

 

[mi7chy]

I'm hoping this is an optional toggle to win over iOS users. As one who uses both Android and iOS I actually like the app drawer vs having apps clutter my home screen.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I would hate it. Some app icons I like to put in multiple folders cause the app fits multipe categories. This makes my apps very easy to locate, and I have a decent amount of apps. Not being able to do that is one of the things I dislike about iOS.

Unless it saves ram, cpu, or battery usage, I don't see any benifit getting rid of the app drawer.

 

[MRU]

Remember for millions and millions of Android users in the east, no app drawer is standard.

 

[spinedoc77]

Makes no sense to me, it's like having folders at work, but no desk or drawers. Folders are a good first step in organization, but you need more levels/differentiation. I'd hate to go to work every day and just have a huge pile of folders laid out across the floor.

 

[C DM]

Makes no sense to me, it's like having folders at work, but no desk or drawers. Folders are a good first step in organization, but you need more levels/differentiation. I'd hate to go to work every day and just have a huge pile of folders laid out across the floor.

Well, just to play with the analogy, if the folders are laid out in another room that you don't really visit unless you essentially specifically mean to go there, it's not that much different than them being laid out out of the way in that room vs. them being out of the way in a drawer.

 

[spinedoc77]

Well, just to play with the analogy, if the folders are laid out in another room that you don't really visit unless you essentially specifically mean to go there, it's not that much different than them being laid out out of the way in that room vs. them being out of the way in a drawer.

Except you can also use things like Tabs to further organize. So that to me would be like having a desk with drawers. The drawers aren't to get the folders out of the way, it's to organize the folders. Lol, but can you imagine having a room empty just so you could put a grid of folders into it?!??

If they take away the app drawer I wonder if a 3rd party can add them back in?

 

[jamezr]

Makes no sense to me, it's like having folders at work, but no desk or drawers. Folders are a good first step in organization, but you need more levels/differentiation. I'd hate to go to work every day and just have a huge pile of folders laid out across the floor.

and the added functionality of one button on your home screen that provides access to ALL of your apps...regardless of where they are on the various screens you may have setup.

 

[spinedoc77]

and the added functionality of one button on your home screen that provides access to ALL of your apps...regardless of where they are on the various screens you may have setup.

True. For me I only have a couple of apps on my screens because I use widgets to cover up everything. I find the instant, at a glance info widgets provides me is indispensable and have setup my phone to instantly tell me everything I need to know. Not having an app drawer would seriously hinder the use of widgets IMO.

 

[jamezr]

True. For me I only have a couple of apps on my screens because I use widgets to cover up everything. I find the instant, at a glance info widgets provides me is indispensable and have setup my phone to instantly tell me everything I need to know. Not having an app drawer would seriously hinder the use of widgets IMO.

I am pretty certain that using an alternative launcher will bring back some kind of app drawer functionality. We should consider customizations that Android apps offer and the amount of devs that would no doubt write apps to take over those functions. I would think launchers like Nova would offer than in their paid versions to sell more product.

 

[C DM]

Except you can also use things like Tabs to further organize. So that to me would be like having a desk with drawers. The drawers aren't to get the folders out of the way, it's to organize the folders. Lol, but can you imagine having a room empty just so you could put a grid of folders into it?!??

If they take away the app drawer I wonder if a 3rd party can add them back in?

The organization aspect is one that would play a role, although even with folders things can be organized, it would just take more work on the user's part for it. As for an empty room for folders, well, it doesn't make that much sense in the physical world as far as just not using a room in the best way, but in the virtual world that's not as big of a concern really. I'm not saying things are better off without an app drawer or anything like that, just having some fun with the analogy essentially.