16 Best Android Launchers 2024 – Lesser Known Launchers
Custom Android launchers play a crucial role in Android customization shaping the user experience. They are an easy way to change your phone’s appearance completely and how you use it. The launcher apps allow us to personalize our home screens, change the look and feel of our devices, and enhance functionality beyond what the default launcher offers. With plenty of options available, finding the best Android launchers for your needs can be overwhelming. That is why, in this post, I bring you some of the top Android launchers that offer customization, minimalism, performance, and unique features.
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Best Android Launchers 2024
1. Flow productivity launcher
If you are looking for the best Android launcher for productivity, give this one a try. It’s a super clean and minimal Android launcher that prioritizes your productivity and helps you boost it by displaying not only your screen time right on the home screen but also the daily usage time of every app, So you may stop wasting time on those apps. You can have up to 5 of your most frequently used apps on the home screen, So no more distracting apps to kill your time right after you unlock your phone. And the launcher offers a built-in Pomodoro timer to help you focus on one task at a time.
You get even more built-in productivity widgets on swiping right from the home screen, and also you are allowed to add a few more widgets as you wish as the launcher has widget support. Even the app drawer is clean and organized with all the apps being categorized automatically for easy access. In addition, you can unlock a few more customization options with the pro version. Overall, it’s a nice productivity launcher for Android that’s try-worthy.
2. Stario launcher
This minimal launcher is aimed at keeping functionality and productivity at their peak in a simple and clean format. The home screen comes with minimal time, date, and battery widgets, with the search bar placed at the bottom of the screen. Swiping left on the screen gives you access to the built-in note taker, and swipe right to set the news feed manually.
The home screen’s search bar can not only be used to search for your apps but also search for anything on your browser directly from here. The app drawer is easily accessible by swiping up on the screen. As you can see, besides the regular app list, the launcher automatically categorizes all your apps for easy access and also allows you to create new app categories if you want.
By tapping on the button on the search bar, you can access the launcher’s settings where you can make all icons monochrome, enable the media controller, change the search engine, change the icon pack, change accent color, hide apps, etc. You can also add 4 of your favorite apps to be shown right above the search bar on the home screen. Having mentioned that, It is minimal and clean overall, so try it if minimalism is your thing.
3. Zenit launcher
This Android launcher has a pretty straightforward concept of a home screen that displays all your apps on the screen right after you unlock the phone. To access the launcher settings, you need to long press on any icon. It has a great set of customization features, ranging from creating your own Home Screen design, customizing the dock layout, and widget support to animations along with the ability to even change the icon shapes.
Would have been better if it had icon pack support in the free version. Still, you can pretty much customize the free version, the way you like it, and it’s impressive how the launcher allows us to modify even small details. In addition, you get gesture support, notification dots, app hider, etc. All in all, It’s a decent launcher to try.
4. Discreet Launcher
Discreet launcher is a minimalistic open-source launcher designed to optimize productivity and conserve battery power in comparison to other launchers mentioned in the post. The distraction-free home screen promotes efficiency, allowing you to swipe down for your favorite apps and swipe up to access the full list of applications. Long-pressing on an app provides access to its system settings and its page on the Play Store.
While lacking elaborate animations and effects found in popular launchers, it compensates with numerous practical features and customization options, maintaining a sleek appearance. Noteworthy attributes of the launcher include its open-source nature, lack of unnecessary permissions, offline functionality, and an ad-free experience. Give it a try for a streamlined and efficient launcher experience.
5. Lunar launcher
Lunar launcher, embracing open-source ethos, offers a minimalist and efficient interface. The clutter-free home screen encourages focus, allowing you to enhance productivity by adding your to-do list with a long press. The default time and date widget, complemented by a circular animated battery charging indicator occupies the top part of the home screen keeping it clean and informative.
A swipe right on the home screen reveals crucial phone stats such as memory details, processor information, and battery statistics. Swiping down unveils the notification panel while swiping up provides quick control over volumes and brightness. The launcher allows you to add up to 6 contacts or URLs to the quick access panel for rapid access, enabling swift calls and instant URL opening. A left swipe on the home screen opens up the app drawer, featuring a unique and less distracting design displaying only app titles and total counts.
Long-pressing on apps lets you add them to the list of your favorite apps, showcased at the bottom of the quick access panel. The launcher supports launching apps in free-form or split-screen mode, facilitating comfortable multitasking. Despite some limitations and bugs, it presents a worthwhile option to explore.
6. Kvaesitso Launcher
Differing from the previously mentioned launchers, this Android launcher stands out as a search-focused open-source launcher that strikes a balance between minimalism and rich features. Its global search functionality not only helps you find on-device apps, contacts, messages, and calendar events but also helps to search local files and search on Google, YouTube, and the Play Store directly from the home screen, including previews for Wikipedia and websites.
Accessing the search bar and app drawer is convenient by swiping down on the screen. The launcher maintains a clutter-free home screen, featuring only the time and date at the bottom. A swipe up on the home screen reveals additional widgets, with the option to add more widgets if you want. You have the flexibility to personalize the launcher by adjusting the app grid layout, changing con shapes and sizes, incorporating external icon packs, setting gesture-based controls, and more. A notable feature includes a visually appealing, minimal charging animation when the device is plugged in. Overall, the launcher boasts a clean design and performs effectively.
7. Cool R Launcher
Cool R launcher is known for its flexibility and a great set of features. You can customize the home screen in every possible way. Be it the home screen grid size, icon size, widgets, etc. The launcher smartly scans your phone and extracts every font that you have. So you can manually download any font from the internet, and use it on your phone. One more cool feature of the launcher is its icon shapes. It comes with 32 icon shapes to choose from, and it also supports 3rd party icon packs.
If you swipe right on the home screen, you can see some more information about your phone, such as frequently used apps or favorites, RAM usage, storage information, network speed, etc., and RAM can be cleared by just tapping on the RAM clean bar. Overall, it has some cool features with some more useful features in in-app purchases. So, try it, especially if you wanna make your old phone look cool.
8. Lessphone Launcher
There are several productivity launchers available on the Play Store, but only a handful of them are good. The Less Phone launcher is surely from that handful of the best productivity launchers for Android. The launcher intends to reduce your daily smartphone usage by limiting app access to just 4 in the free version and 8 in the premium one. You can replace those 4 apps anytime in the launcher settings. On the home screen, every text you see is responsive.
You’ll be redirected to their respective apps when you touch any of them. Since it’s a productivity launcher, you also get an inbuilt to-do list or task manager with in-app purchases to unlock 3 more color themes and stuff. So, go ahead with it if you think you are spending far too much time on your smartphone.
9. Interactive Launcher
This is one of the smartest launchers I have ever used. It’s not just smart, but also offers many features that can change the way you interact with your phone. You can perform any basic function with this launcher by simply giving small voice commands since it’s a voice assistant-powered Android launcher. You can just tap the mic button, and say your commands such as play music, call someone, play videos, open apps, etc. So, if your old phone lacks an assistant, you can use this assistant-embedded launcher.
The home screen can have any of the 3 available layouts, and the app drawer displays apps as icons and also in text format, for easy access. And yes, the launcher supports almost all third-party icon packs. In addition, you get an inbuilt note-taker and a task reminder as well. Although the UI looks old, It’s a cool launcher to try, and it’s small in size too.
10. Elegant Launcher
Elegant launcher is easily one of the cleanest and most stylish launchers out there. It comes with only one stylish design that can be colored with any color you like and makes it even cooler with various available backgrounds. Everything you see on the screen is functional. The time widget, weather, and calendar widgets take you to their respective apps when you tap them. The apps are automatically categorized by default, you can also manually do that, by long pressing on the icon. In the app drawer, the apps are sorted and grouped alphabetically.
The launcher tries to match anything and everything on your phone including the keyboard. It offers various keyboard themes that are free to use. The launcher also supports third-party icon packs, and it offers 6 different fonts, for you to choose from. in addition, you get a memory booster, app locker, hider, etc. Overall, it’s a stylish and organized launcher but the ads could be annoying.
11. Big Launcher
Big Launcher is one of the best Android launchers for seniors and those with eyesight issues. It increases the size of different UI elements on your home screen to make the content visible. The UI is easy to navigate and also customizable to some extent. The color scheme also goes in favor of easy readability. In addition, you get a handy SOS button in case of emergency.
Since it’s designed for seniors, you need to install its companion dialer and messaging apps so it can automatically enlarge the contents of messages, call history, and other details. The large icons blink when you have unread messages and missed calls which comes in very handy for seniors. Overall, it’s one of the best launchers for elderly non-tech-savvy people.
12. Hexa Launcher
Hexa launcher is one polished launcher and it is one of the best Android launchers that has a great set of customization features ranging from creating your own Home Screen design, customizing the dock layout, 3 types of Android styles, to animations, along with the ability to even change icon shapes and sizes. Would have been better if it had icon pack support. Still, you can customize and modify it the way you like. In addition, you get gesture support, notification dots, an app hider, an app locker, etc. All in all, It’s a decent launcher if you can go past the lack of icon pack support.
13. World Launcher
This unique Android launcher offers a handful of different home screen modes so you don’t get bored of your boring home screen. You just long press on the screen, go to Settings, and choose any one of the available modes. With just a click, you can give your home screen a completely new look, and even customize it further with available options. The app bar can be placed on either side of the screen according to your preference, and also you can add your favorite apps to the app grid, by long pressing on the apps.
The launcher also offers a few themes but none of them are good. The feature I like is this one called icon effects which lets you give your icons different effects such as this 3D Sphere effect, which is unique. Barring that, the launcher feels a little slow and there’s nothing more special to talk about.
14. Nokia Launcher
This unique Android launcher makes your phone look like the classic black and white Nokia phone which was proven to be as strong as a brick. It looks and works like an old Nokia phone. You can either use the buttons on the display or the corresponding buttons on the keypad to navigate and access the app menu. Long pressing on any app would give the option to hide and uninstall it.
Furthermore, you get to change your phone’s name, access hidden apps, change the default launcher, and wallpaper and you can also add any app to any specific number which can be launched quickly by long pressing that particular number on the keyboard. And if you tap on the goto button, you’ll be able to access your connectivity options, alter the brightness, etc. Overall, It may not be the most user-friendly launcher but it’s one way to experience the classic Nokia phone’s look on your smartphone.
15. Neo Launcher
Neo Launcher is also an open-source Android launcher that doesn’t look unique but offers some unique features. The first one to begin with is the home screen dash using which you can access some system settings faster. You can choose the options you want to appear on the home screen dash from the available options. Also, you can select the gesture to launch the home dash quickly. Swiping up on the home screen launches the app drawer with a search bar at the top that can be used to search not only for the apps but also anything on the internet directly from here. You can categorize your apps and add them as tabs like this for better app organization.
All the customization options are easy to figure out in the launcher settings which can be accessed by long pressing on the home screen. All in all, the launcher is pretty good with some unique features and a lot of customization options. So give it a shot.
16. Minimum Launcher
Minimum Launcher is another open-source Android launcher that lives up to its name. It’s so minimal that it doesn’t even have a separate home screen. Instead, you see the app drawer on the screen with a search button at the top while the phone and the camera buttons are placed at the top right corner of the screen. You can change the app drawer style from list to grid in the launcher settings. Also, you can pin your favorite apps to the top of the list and group them for easy access. That’s all you get with this minimal launcher.
Conclusion
Selecting the best Android launchers largely depends on your preferences and needs. Whether you’re looking for a minimal launcher, deep customization, performance optimization, seamless integration with external services, or a clean and simple interface, there’s an Android launcher out there that suits your style. Flow Productivity Launcher, Discreet Launcher, Kvaesisto Launcher, Big Launcher, Hexa Launcher, and Lunar Launcher are just a few of the many options available. With these launchers, you can take your Android experience to the next level by tailoring your device to your liking.
