There are countless reasons why I love theAndroid mobile operating system, not least of which being its diverse selection of launcher applications. Launchers are a type of third-party software that function as total home screen replacements, with broad compatibility across much of the Android phone and tablet ecosystem.
In the past, I’ve written aboutsome of my favorite Android launchersof all time – classicslike Niagara, Nova, and Lawnchair continue to offer advanced functionalities, customization features, and other niceties often not found on default out-of-box launchers from hardware makers.
However, there is a separate selection of more experimental, novel, and unique Android launchers out there that are less mainstream, but equally (if not more) enticing. Here are five such third-party launchers that offer a creative and wholly unconventional approach to the Android home screen experience.
5 ways Olauncher elevates my Android experience
I’ve tested a great many Android launchers throughout the years, and Olauncher remains one of my all-time favorites.
1Pie Launcher
Ditch the grid layout and embrace radial design
Pie Launcher
Pie Launcher is a third-party home screen replacement for Android that employs a unique radial interface for launching apps.
Pie Launcher kicks the tried-and-true grid of icons paradigm to the curb in favor of something more radial. By default, the home screen is clean and empty of any and all interface clutter. By tapping and holding on any portion of the screen, a circular pie-style menu of app icons will appear, which can be scrolled around in a sweeping gesture motion.
To access the app drawer – which houses the rest of your installed apps – simply tap anywhere on screen without holding down. This setup is slick and incredibly intuitive in my experience, and I appreciate its one-handed friendliness intoday’s world of comically large smartphones. Best of all, Pie Launcher is a free download over on the Google Play Store.
Why these 9 Android launchers hold a permanent spot on my phone
Making my app drawer and screen more customizable and organized, these launchers continue to be a real screen saver.
2Yantra Launcher
A dream come true for command line lovers
Yantra Minimal CLI Launcher
Yantra is a novel Android launcher app that replaces the typical home screen experience with a command line interface, complete with actionable commands.
Yantra is one of several Android launcher apps that aim to bring the traditional PC terminal or command line interface to mobile. In my experience, Yantra is the slickest and most well-thought-out option on the market, with an attractive design and access to a large set of commands with pre-configured prompts.
For a command line launcher, the app is surprisingly approachable, placing commands near the bottom of the display in a reachable manner. Of course, if you dig under the surface a bit, you’ll find a wide range of customization options and power-user features on offer. Yantra is an entirely free app, and it can be found on the Google Play Store.
I switched to the Niagara Android launcher and haven’t looked back
There are tons of awesome Android launchers out on the Play Store, but I find Niagara to be far and away the best of them all.
3ReZ Launcher
The Nokia Z Launcher, reborn for the modern age
ReZ Launcher
ReZ is a third-party Android launcher that takes inspiration from the classic Nokia Z launcher, while also adding in features like scribble to search.
For a time, Z Launcher wasthe default home screen experienceon Android-based Nokia phones in the mid 2010s. Now defunct, the launcher featured an adaptive user interface with a charming scribble feature, letting you draw out a letter to launch any of your installed applications. While the original Z Launcher may be long gone, a third-party developerhas gone ahead and createda spiritual successor in the form of ReZ Launcher.
ReZ embraces Nokia’s scribble to search feature, with support for a variety of languages and in a number of written scripts. App suggestions, widgets, media controls, and other standard Android home screen options are all implemented, making this a solid option overall. ReZ is free to download and install from the Google Play Store.
How I turned my Android phone into a mini Wii
With a little help from the Revo Launcher app, my Android home screen resembles the iconic Nintendo Wii Menu from 2006.
4Revo Launcher
Who needs icons when you can have channels?
Revo Launcher
Revo Launcher is a third-party Android launcher that transforms your home screen into an approximation of the iconic Nintendo Wii Menu.
Revo Launcher offers a home screen interface directly inspired by Nintendo’s 2006-era Wii Menu. Using original code to recreate the look and feel of the Wii’s interface, Revo manages to feel authentic while also being optimized for portrait display orientations. Rather than applications being represented on screen by icons, each piece of software is contained within its own ‘channel’ – analogous to real-world TV stations.
The real-world practicality of Revo is questionable when compared to some of the other launchers on this list, butit’s an excellent nostalgia scratcher(and it works great as a dedicated emulation app launcher). Revo is entirely free and can be readily downloaded from the Google Play Store, and so it’s worth checking out if only for novelty’s sake.
You won’t find these 9 excellent apps anywhere on the Google Play Store
F-Droid is a free and open-source alternative app store for Android - here are my favorite apps that are exclusively available on the storefront.
5Kvaesitso
Free and open-source, with an emphasis on search
Kvaesitso is a free and open-source Android launcher app that emphasizes a global search interface above all else, alongside a dedicated widgets page.
Kvaesitso is a free and open-source Android launcher that bucks the home screen icon trend by instead prioritizing its universal search function above all else. This particular search tool is rather powerful, working globally to locate apps, contacts, calendar events, unit conversions, calculations, and web results. In a sense, it functions a lot like Apple’s Spotlight Search, and that’s no bad thing.
Kvaesitso can be downloaded from theF-Droid app marketplace, with source codeavailable on GitHub. Aside from its search prowess, the launcher offers a dedicated pane for widgets, an app drawer with the ability to pin apps to the top of the list, a minimalistic home screen, and a set of configurable gestures.
It’s time for Android launcher-like customization to make its way to iOS and Windows
Android launchers offer a powerful way to change the layout of your home screen, and competing operating systems should embrace similar functionality.
