There are plenty of Android launchers out there with a lot of promise, but some aren’t quite ready for prime time. But a few are worth mentioning for their unique features, which might be of great value to some.
Lynx Launcher is a new launcher based on Gnome Shell, and it could be great for anyone particularly dedicated to Linux. There are themes available for Lynx that emulate other distributions, such as Mint. Ratio has mediocre reviews, but it’s worth mentioning for its three home pages that emphasize messages, cards, and apps. The BIG Launcher is not the only one built for seniors, but it is the best received among the few launchers that focus on visibility and readability. Wide Launcher has a unique and wide interface. It is also known for its applets. The launcher has pretty good reviews at 4.3 stars. Apex Launcher has good reviews (4.1 stars) and 10 million downloads. It’s known for its focus on customization and performance, but it can be visually underwhelming, and came under fire a few years ago for its app recommendation ads.
Some launchers have great reviews, but we think they just need another version or two to fully mature. POCO Launcher is a well-regarded launcher designed for Xiaomi phones, but it works on most Android devices. It’s also fast, light, and neat, and it has 4.5 stars. Before Launcher is a highly regarded minimalist launcher (4.6 stars), but it still has relatively few downloads. Olauncher’s tagline is “Minimal AF Launcher”, and it is. This open source launcher focuses on removing distractions, possibly to the point of annoying some users. The developers of ARC Launcher say that it’s not just sci-fi movie looks, and the launcher features advanced applets and widgets, and you can (for example) boost your phone’s RAM using the Ram Clean icon on the home page. . But it could mainly be about the sci-fi movie aspect of the launcher, which is great.
