Android 最受欢迎的功能之一，无疑也是其在智能手机市场(smartphone market)占据主导地位的主要原因之一是操作系统(operating system)(OS) 的无限定制(limitless customization)选项。个性化(Personalization)的可能性比比皆是，无论是在默认操作系统级别(OS level)还是通过安装数百个启动器之一（在我写这篇文章时， Google Play 商店中只有不到 300 个）。(Google Play Store)
您可以找到使您的手机模拟其他设备的启动器，例如 iOS (iPhone) 智能手机，或帮助将您的手机集成到您的家庭或商务办公生态系统，甚至使您的Android 设备(Android device)的行为更像另一个Android 设备(Android device). 例如，有一些启动器旨在让您的智能手机具有流行（但价格昂贵）的Google Pixel的(Google Pixel)外观和感觉(look and feel)。
所有Android智能手机都带有自己的或默认的启动器，这通常是(Android)手机制造商(phone manufacturer)和蜂窝服务提供商(service provider)共同努力的结果。正如您在设置菜单(Settings menus)中浏览时可能知道的那样，您的Android的默认启动器(default launcher)带有许多自己的自定义选项 - 如此之多以至于无数的选择可能令人生畏。
如果除了简单之外没有其他原因，通常让启动器为您进行大量修改比尝试自己定制手机更可取。
以下是可用的 10 个“最佳” Android启动器列表。同样(Again)，Google Play 商店(Google Play Store)列出了超过 275 个。有些是免费的；有些要几块钱；所有这些都很容易下载和安装，也很容易取消选择然后切换回以前的启动器或完全卸载。
尽管如此，为了确定这十大启动器，我并没有(did not)全部下载、安装和评估它们。相反，我通过选择具有最高用户评分和最多下载量的那些将它们缩小到前 20 名，然后我安装并评估了结果。
注意：下面列出的 10 个最佳 Android 启动器是用户受欢迎程度、产品流通和我对每个应用程序的体验的组合。另请注意，每个启动器附带的统计数据仅是 Google Play 商店数据，因此不反映来自所有各种下载渠道的所有可用信息；此外，安装数量反映的是应用程序的当前版本，而不是其整个历史。(Note: The following list of the 10 best Android launchers, then, is derivative of a combination of user popularity, product circulation, and my experience with each app. Note also that the stats accompanying each launcher is solely Google Play Store data and therefore does not reflect all available info from all the various download outlets; also, install numbers reflect the current version of the app, not its entire history.)
动作启动器 3(Action Launcher 3)
User Rating: 4.2
Installs: 93,230
Price: Free w/$3.99 Adaptive Pack upgrade
简单(Easy)、快速(quick)和自适应(adaptive)是恰当描述Action Launcher的三个词。它已经有一段时间了，并且已经看到了几次更新，包括去年年底的 v38。
这个启动器带有许多吸引人的主题和一些自己的小部件，包括天气、日期和日历约会。您可以根据自己的喜好创建文件夹并为其着色，甚至是圆形文件夹，智能尺寸图标功能会根据您的布局自动调整图标大小。
Action Launcher 的Quicks（Quicktheme、Quickbar和Quickedit）在大多数启动器应用程序中都不可用，提供了丰富的快速可定制功能。例如，Quicktheme将您的(Quicktheme)主屏幕(home screen)与壁纸中的颜色进行颜色协调，而Quickbar可让您将快捷方式和应用程序附加到Google 搜索(Google search)栏以便更快地访问。
Quickedit 会根据应用选择提供替代建议，而无需深入研究众多应用包。
最后，快门功能(Shutters feature)允许您放置小部件的快捷方式。轻扫快门时，小部件（例如，您的Facebook 提要(Facebook feed)）会显示出来，允许您预览提要、收件箱等，而无需实际打开应用程序。
还有很多，但我还有其他九个发射器要谈。
大发射器(Big Launcher)
User Rating: 4.3
Installs: 10,000+
Price: Free Demo w/$10.99 upgrade
当我看到这个应用程序的名称时，我的第一印象是它在加载功能和自定义选项的意义上很大。但这与 Big Launcher 的主要关注点相去甚远。
相反，它是为老人、儿童和其他任何可能难以导航和使用标准尺寸主屏幕和图标(home screen and icons)的人设计的。哦，这很好，但这意味着大的、易于查看和触摸的图标、菜单标签、页面(big)内容(page content)等等。
从上面的统计数据可以看出，它并没有像这里提到的其他几个应用程序那样被下载和安装数十万次。毫无疑问，这部分是由于其 11 美元的价格(price tag)有点高。还有一个Big Launcher Easy 演示(Big Launcher Easy demo)，或者下载了几千次的免费版本，但它有以下严格的限制：
- 您只能自定义右侧的按钮列
- 仅允许 5 个附加屏幕
- 通话记录(call log)中只有 5 个最近的项目可见
- 只有 5 个最近的消息线程可见
- 只能写和发送20条短信
- (Password protection)无法对配置和首选项进行密码保护
除了图标、字体、文本、应用程序等大件物品之外，您还可以获得一个SOS 按钮(SOS button)，该按钮可让您轻松寻求帮助和定位，从而挽救生命。它也有许多不同的语言。
如果您的高级（儿童或残障）智能手机用户(smartphone user)在导航(trouble navigating)和使用他或她的手机时遇到问题，Big Launcher是一种相对便宜的方式，可以让您和您所爱的人安心。
嗡嗡声启动器(Buzz Launcher)
User Rating: 4.4
Installs: 254,577
Price: Free
Buzz Launcher与大多数其他启动器的不同之处在于，它不是手动配置智能手机，而是从众多用户中选择一个（http://www.HomePackBuzz.com上超过 700,000 个，互联网上超过 1,000,000 个）用户- 定义的主屏幕和随附的功能。
而且，如果您创建了您引以为豪的Buzz Launcher 主题或壁纸(Buzz Launcher theme or wallpaper)（或两者），您可以通过Facebook、Twitter和Google+Buzz 社区(Buzz community)。
这并不是说Buzz Launcher 没有(Buzz Launcher doesn)自定义选项。例如，您可以创建多个过渡效果、编辑图标、壁纸和主屏幕，但此启动器背后的真正强大之处在于您可以快速轻松地(speed and ease)部署具有所有新颜色、主题、主屏幕的现成 Homepack ， 等等。
另一方面，如果您更喜欢创建和自定义自己的Android启动器和相应的界面，那么使用此列表中的其他九个启动器中的一个可能会更好。
伊维发射器(Evie Launcher)
User Rating: 4.4
Installs: 254,577
Price: Free
Evie Launcher与包的不同之处在于，虽然它提供了一系列复杂的自定义功能，但它并没有尝试为每个人提供一切，因此不会让您不知所措。Evie从一个流畅且简单的安装开始，它创建了一个仅包含四个图标的主屏幕，并且(home screen)图标停靠栏(icon dock)已关闭，为您留下一个干净的画布来工作。
轻巧(Light)快速，Evie 的一些功能包括可调网格(Grid)、通用搜索(Universal Search)、快速导航(Quick Navigation)和自定义快捷方式(Custom Shortcuts)。
- 可调整网格：(Adjustable Grid:)Android手机上的标准网格尺寸(grid size)是 4×4 已经有一段时间了。Evie Launcher 的默认桌面(default desktop)5×6 接受从 3×4 到 12×12 的网格大小。(grid size)今天的智能手机配备了更高、更大的屏幕，而调整布局大小的能力可以帮助您利用额外的空间。
- 通用搜索：(Universal Search:)无论您在手机的哪个位置或哪个应用程序中，都可以在任何地方搜索任何内容。
- 快速导航：(Quick Navigation: )向上滑动可显示应用程序的完整列表，无需导航回应用程序抽屉或停靠栏(app drawer or dock)。
- 自定义快捷方式：(Custom Shortcuts: )使(Make)任何任务成为具有自己图标的快捷方式。您是否经常给亲人或家人(family member)发短信？将任务变成快捷方式。
除了向上滑动显示应用抽屉外，您还可以从(app drawer)应用抽屉内部(inside app drawer)顶部向下滑动返回桌面或主屏幕(home screen)，还有一个双击锁定手势，方便锁定屏幕。
但大多数情况下，与此处讨论的其他启动器相比，这是一个轻量且快速的启动器。Evie最近经历了很多更新，因此它在整体上变得越来越有吸引力。
启动器 iOS 12(Launcher iOS 12)
User Rating: 4.8
Installs: 135,096
Price: Free
LuuTinh为(LuuTinh)Android、Launcher iOS 12 和Control iOS 12制作了几个 iOS 皮肤。从某种意义上说，两者都是典型的穷人 iPhone。任何一个都可以使您的手机看起来(phone look)像，并且在某种程度上，就像 iPhone。关于这一点，出版商说：
“ Launcher iOS 12 为 Android 移动操作系统树立了新标准。它使您的手机比以前更好。现在，它为您手机上的 [a] 启动器带来了惊人的可能性。借助 Launcher iOS 12，您的手机将成为有史以来最强大、最个性化和最智能的设备。(Launcher iOS 12 sets a new standard for the Android mobile operating system. It makes your phone better than before. And now it opens up to amazing possibilities for [a] launcher on your phone. With Launcher iOS 12, Your phone is the most powerful, personal, and intelligent devices they’ve ever been.)”
这是一项艰巨的任务，而且这些假设令人难以置信。这个启动器尽可能简单地让你的 Android 设备模仿 iOS 12。你的设置菜单被组织成一个类似 iOS 的控制中心(Control Center)，几个手势和其他功能的执行类似于 Apple 的Assistive Touch。它带有默认的 iOS 主题，并且与 iOS 一样，它允许您进行各种自定义。
你会得到圆角图标、动画而不是过渡等等。不过，除了财务方面的考虑之外，我不确定为什么要购买Android 设备(Android device)，然后安装软件以使其像Apple 设备(Apple device)一样运行；这就像在本田汽车上贴上(Honda)哈雷标志(Harley logo)。但是，嘿，用户喜欢它而且它是免费的。你还能要求什么呢？
微软启动器(Microsoft Launcher)
User Rating: 4.6
Installs: 789,785
Price: Free
如果您正在寻找一个启动器来帮助您的手机(phone operate)像Windows 10或Windows Phone一样运行，还有其他启动器，例如Win 10 Launcher，更适合。相反，Windows Launcher有助于将您的Android 手机(Android phone)集成到您的Windows 生态系统(Windows ecosystem)中。
它可与您的Microsoft 帐户和 Microsoft(Microsoft account and Microsoft)应用程序（例如Office 365、OneDrive、Skype等）配合使用，以帮助您的所有小工具和应用程序同步并协同工作。我们在此处撰写了对Microsoft Launcher的完整评论。
该启动器的功能非常广泛；这里有一些更重要的：
- 以人为本：(It’s All About People:)将您最喜欢的联系人固定到主屏幕(Home screen)、扩展坞、图标文件夹或几乎任何位置，以便无论您在手机中的哪个位置都可以轻松访问。
- 在 PC 上继续：(Continue on PC: )放下手机，在 PC 上从上次中断的地方开始。在家中使用Word 365编辑文档；继续在您的桌面上工作。用手机(phone and edit)拍照并在 PC 上即时编辑。你明白了。
- 同时搜索无处不在：(Search Everywhere Simultaneously:) 使用Microsoft Launcher 的通用搜索栏(search bar)搜索(Search)您的应用程序、照片、文档、消息和Web 结果——一切(web results—everything—with)。
- 个性化您的提要：(Personalize Your Feed: )将您的提要设置为您的默认主屏幕(Home screen)，并以您的方式填充您的日历事件、文档、联系人和指定的新闻主题。
- Gesture Your Way： 你(You)告诉Android如何对你的手势做出反应；双击打开Outlook；向上滑动以启动Skype等。
在Microsoft(Microsoft)主导的环境中，很少有应用程序能像Microsoft Launcher(Microsoft Launcher)一样出色。
新星发射器(Nova Launcher)
User Rating: 4.6
Installs: 1, 157,614
Price: Free/$4.99 for Prime version
作为迄今为止最古老和最受欢迎的启动器之一，Nova Launcher提供了如此多的功能和自定义选项，以至于很难知道从哪里开始。如果您正在调整以使一切都恰到好处，那么Nova是一个不错的起点。以下是免费版本功能的示例：
- 图标主题(Icon Themes)：在Play 商店中为(Play Store)Nova Launcher找到数千个图标主题
- 子网格定位：在(Subgrid positioning)桌面网格(desktop grid)单元的中途捕捉图标或小部件，允许对屏幕布局进行更有限的控制
- 颜色控件(Color controls)：使用颜色来定义标签、文件夹、未读通知、抽屉标签、背景等
- 可定制的应用程序抽屉(Customizable App Drawer)：创建自定义选项卡、垂直或(or)水平滚动、自定义过渡和其他效果
- 备份和恢复(Backup & Restore)：复杂的backup/restore system允许您备份桌面布局(desktop layout)和启动器设置
- 可滚动码头(Scrollable Dock)：创建多个码头并在它们之间滚动
- Dock 中的小部件(Widgets in Dock)：将任何小部件放置在您的 Dock 中，例如 2×10搜索小部件(search widget)
添加Nova Launcher Prime升级会添加手势、自定义抽屉(custom drawer)组、隐藏应用程序、图标滑动和更多滚动效果。Nova Launcher让您可以按照自己的方式做事，但要准备好花一点时间这样做，除非您使用 Nova 的导入功能(import feature)从另一个流行的启动器中引入布局。
一个启动器(One Launcher)
User Rating: 4.3
Installs: 27,420
Price: Free
根据出版商的说法，One Launcher是：
一个易于使用、简洁的 Android 启动器。我们相信简单就是美丽。我们的 Launcher 不会占用您宝贵的内存资源，也不会占用您的 CPU 周期。我们只是为您提供高度优化的、优于普通 Android 主屏幕的替代品，其界面干净优美。(An easy-to-use, no-frills launcher for Android. We believe Simple is Beautiful. Our Launcher does not hog your precious memory resources, nor do we use up your CPU cycles. We just give you a highly-optimized, better-than stock Android Home Screen replacement with a clean and polished interface. )
One Launcher在功能和行为上与Google Pixel上的启动器相似，并且支持Google Now。One Launcher确实很轻巧且相对优雅。
主屏幕更换(home screen replacement)可通过许多主题选项以及智能小部件和特殊效果进行自定义。如果您对手机的默认配置不满意，One Launcher是一种快速而干净的替代品。
智能启动器 5(Smart Launcher 5)
User Rating: 4.4
Installs: 519,518
Price: Free/$4.49 Pro
Smart Launcher是另一个已经存在的主题，最新的更新 v5 加载了新的生产力和便利功能(productivity and convenience features)。因此，让我们深入了解Smart Launcher 5 可以为您做什么，从Ambient Themes开始，它会自动更改您的主题颜色以匹配您的壁纸。
接下来，自适应图标(Adaptive Icons)，利用Android 8.0 ( Oreo )引入的图标格式(icon format)，允许您自定义图标的形状和大小，增加主屏幕和应用程序抽屉(home screen and app drawers)的吸引力。
Automatic App Sorting按类别对您的应用程序进行排序，如果您升级到专业版(Pro version)，您可以添加自己的类别，您使用最多的应用程序会自动移动到屏幕底部，以便在使用您的设备时轻松访问手。
Smart Launcher 搜索(Smart Launcher search)栏到处搜索和查找，快速查找联系人、应用程序、添加联系人、执行计算等操作。您可以获得可自定义的手势和热键。有数百个主题图标(theme icon)包可用，您可以隐藏应用程序并防止它们使用PIN 码(PINs)启动（想想银行业务，不一定是色情）。
专业版(Pro version)需要更少的资源，在主屏幕上添加通知，将(home screen)通知与锁定屏幕(lock screen)集成，提高安全性等等。Smart Launcher 5名副其实；它真的很聪明。
ZenUI 启动器(ZenUI Launcher)
User Rating: 4.7
Installs: 1,165,876
Price: Free
(Brought)由Asus (Asus) Computers的人员提供给您，曾经ZenUI Launcher(ZenUI Launcher)仅在Asus设备上可用，但现在它已在一段时间内适用于所有Android设备并且已经变得非常流行。(Android)
当然，功能包括更改壁纸和小部件、应用过渡和特殊效果、向上滑动以显示所有自定义选项，以及以分层模式组织应用程序和文件夹(apps and folders)，以便所有应用程序都可以从主屏幕(home screen)或单个图标访问。
名单还在继续；例如，您可以将效果（例如模糊(Blur)）应用到墙纸、更改图标大小、对齐和滚动效果以及字体和颜色。实时预览可让您在安装应用程序和小部件之前查看它们，而上下文应用程序发现(Contextual App Discovery)可帮助您根据应用程序的功能查找应用程序。您可以锁定应用程序、隐藏它们并使用PIN(PINs)保护它们。
在查看这个启动器列表时，我看到了许多漂亮的主屏幕、应用程序抽屉和 Dock，但很少有像ZenUI那样简单和时尚，这个启动器让委婉的说法是简单通常是最好的。对于某些用户来说可能过于简单，但ZenUI肯定有自己的风水(Feng Shui)感觉。
希望您喜欢这个最好的 Android 启动器列表！我相信有些读者会考虑使用不同的启动器作为他们的最佳选择，如果它更适合您的工作流程，这是有道理的。这些只是最受欢迎的，所以如果这些都不符合您的需求，请务必查看其他人。享受！
The 10 Best Android Launchers of 2019
One of Android’s most рopular features, and undoubtedly a primary reason for its dominance of the smartphone market, is the operating system’s (OS) limitless customization options. Personalization рossibilities abound, at both the default OS level or by installing one of the hundrеds of lаunchers (just under 300 at Google Plaу Store as I wrote this).
You can find launchers that cause your phone to emulate other devices, such as iOS (iPhone) smartphones, or to help integrate your phone into your home- or business-office ecosystem, or even to make your Android device behave more like another Android device. There are a few launchers, for example, designed to give your smartphone a look and feel of the popular (yet costly) Google Pixel.
All Android smartphones come with their own, or a default, launcher, which is usually the result of the joint effort between the phone manufacturer and the cellular service provider. As you probably know from cruising around in the Settings menus, your Android’s default launcher comes with a lot of its own customization options – so much so that the myriad of choices can be daunting.
If for no other reason than simplicity, often, letting a launcher do the bulk of modifications for you is preferable to trying to customize the phone yourself.
What follows is a list of the 10 “best” Android launchers available. Again, Google Play Store lists over 275 of them. Some are free; some cost a few bucks; all are easy to download and install and just as easy to either deselect and then switch back to your previous launcher or uninstall altogether.
Even so, to settle on these top ten launchers, I did not download, install, and evaluate them all. Instead, I narrowed them down to the top 20 by choosing those with the highest user ratings and the most downloads, then I installed and evaluated the results.
Note: The following list of the 10 best Android launchers, then, is derivative of a combination of user popularity, product circulation, and my experience with each app. Note also that the stats accompanying each launcher is solely Google Play Store data and therefore does not reflect all available info from all the various download outlets; also, install numbers reflect the current version of the app, not its entire history.
Action Launcher 3
User Rating: 4.2
Installs: 93,230
Price: Free w/$3.99 Adaptive Pack upgrade
Easy, quick, and adaptive are three words that aptly describe Action Launcher. It has been around a while and has seen several updates, including v38 at the end of last year.
This launcher comes with numerous attractive themes and a few of its own widgets, including weather, date, and calendar appointments. You can create and color folders, even circular-shaped ones, to your heart’s content, and a smart size icons feature automatically resizes icons to your layouts.
Action Launcher’s Quicks (Quicktheme, Quickbar, and Quickedit), unavailable in most launcher apps, provide a wealth of, well, quick customizable features. Quicktheme, for instance, color coordinates your home screen with the colors from your wallpaper, while Quickbar lets you attach shortcuts and apps to the Google search bar for quicker access.
Quickedit presents, based on an app selection, alternative suggestions, without your having to drill through numerous app packs.
Finally, a Shutters feature allows you to place shortcuts for widgets. When swiping a shutter, the widget (say, for example, your Facebook feed) is revealed, allowing you to preview feeds, your inbox, whatever, without actually opening the app.
There’s a lot more, but I’ve got nine other launchers to talk about.
Big Launcher
User Rating: 4.3
Installs: 10,000+
Price: Free Demo w/$10.99 upgrade
My first impression when I saw this app’s name was that it was, well, big in the loaded-with-features-and-customization-options sense. But that couldn’t be further from Big Launcher’s main focus.
Instead, it’s designed with the elderly, children, and anybody else who might have difficulty navigating and utilizing a standard-size home screen and icons. Oh, it’s big alright, but that means big, easy-to-see-and-touch icons, menu labels, page content, and more.
As you can see from the stats above, it hasn’t, like several of the other apps mentioned here, been downloaded and installed hundreds of thousands of times. Undoubtedly, that’s due in part to its somewhat steep $11 price tag. There’s also a Big Launcher Easy demo, or a free version that has been downloaded a few thousand times, but it has the following stringent limitations:
- You can customize only the right column of buttons
- Only 5 additional screens allowed
- Only 5 most recent items in call log are visible
- Only 5 most recent message threads are visible
- Only 20 SMS can be written and sent
- Password protection of the configuration and the preferences is not possible
In addition to big everything—icons, fonts, text, apps, and so on—you also get an SOS button that makes calling for help and getting located life-saving easy. It also comes in many different languages.
If your senior (child or impaired) smartphone user has trouble navigating and using his or her phone, Big Launcher is a relatively inexpensive way to bring both you and your loved one peace of mind.
Buzz Launcher
User Rating: 4.4
Installs: 254,577
Price: Free
Buzz Launcher is different from most other launchers in that it is less about configuring your smartphone manually and more about choosing from one of the many (over 700,000 at http://www.HomePackBuzz.com and over 1,000,000 on the internet at large) user-defined home screens and accompanying features.
And, if you create a Buzz Launcher theme or wallpaper (or both) you’re proud of, you can upload and share it to the Buzz community via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
All this is not to say that Buzz Launcher doesn’t come with customization options. You can, for example, create multiple transition effects, edit icons, wallpapers, and home screens, but the real power behind this launcher is the speed and ease with which you can deploy ready-made Homepacks with all new colors, themes, home screens, and so on.
If, on the other hand, you’re more into creating and customizing your own Android launchers and corresponding interfaces, you’ll probably have better luck with one of the other nine launchers in this list.
Evie Launcher
User Rating: 4.4
Installs: 254,577
Price: Free
Evie Launcher differs from the pack in that, while it offers a sophisticated array of customization features, it doesn’t try to be everything for everybody, and therefore doesn’t overwhelm you with options. Evie starts with a slick and easy install that creates a home screen consisting of only four icons, and the icon dock is turned off, leaving you a clean canvas to work from.
Light and fast, some of Evie’s features include an Adjustable Grid, Universal Search, Quick Navigation, and Custom Shortcuts.
- Adjustable Grid: The standard grid size on Android phones has been 4×4 for quite some time. Evie Launcher’s default desktop of 5×6 accepts grid sizes ranging from 3×4 to 12×12. Today’s smartphones come with taller, larger screens, and the ability to adjust layout sizes helps you take advantage of that extra space.
- Universal Search: Search for anything, anywhere, no matter where you are in your phone or which app.
- Quick Navigation: Swiping up displays a complete list of your apps, without having to navigate back to the app drawer or dock.
- Custom Shortcuts: Make any task a shortcut with its own icon. Do you text a loved one or family member frequently? Turn the task into a shortcut.
In addition to swiping up to display the app drawer, you can swipe down from the top inside app drawer to return to the desktop, or home screen, and there’s also a double-tap-to-lock gesture for handily locking the screen.
But mostly, compared to the others discussed here, this is a lite and fast launcher. Evie has undergone a lot of updates lately, and as a result it becomes increasingly more attractive overall.
Launcher iOS 12
User Rating: 4.8
Installs: 135,096
Price: Free
LuuTinh makes a couple iOS skins for Android, Launcher iOS 12 and Control iOS 12. Both are, in a sense, the quintessential poor man’s iPhone. Either one makes your phone look like, and to some degree, act like an iPhone. About that, the publisher says:
“Launcher iOS 12 sets a new standard for the Android mobile operating system. It makes your phone better than before. And now it opens up to amazing possibilities for [a] launcher on your phone. With Launcher iOS 12, Your phone is the most powerful, personal, and intelligent devices they’ve ever been.”
That’s a tall order, and the assumptions are mind-boggling. This launcher simply, wherever possible, makes your Android device mimic iOS 12. Your settings menus are organized into an iOS-like Control Center, and several gestures and other features perform similar to Apple’s Assistive Touch. It comes with the default iOS theme, and like iOS it lets you make various customizations.
You get the rounded-corner icons, animations instead of transitions, and so on. Other than financial considerations, though, I’m not sure why one would buy an Android device and then install software to make it run like an Apple device; that’s like putting a Harley logo on a Honda. But hey, users love it and it’s free. What more can you ask for?
Microsoft Launcher
User Rating: 4.6
Installs: 789,785
Price: Free
If you’re looking for a launcher to help make your phone operate like Windows 10, or Windows Phone, there are other launchers, such as Win 10 Launcher, more suited to that. Instead, Windows Launcher helps integrate your Android phone into your Windows ecosystem.
It works with your Microsoft account and Microsoft apps, such as Office 365, OneDrive, Skype, and so on, to help make all your gadgets and applications sync up and work together. We wrote a full review of Microsoft Launcher here.
This launcher’s features are extensive; here’s a smattering of the more important ones:
- It’s All About People: Pin your favorite contacts to your Home screen, your dock, icon folders, or just about anywhere for easy access no matter where you are in your phone.
- Continue on PC: Put your phone down, start where you left off on your PC. Edit a document in Word 365 at home; continue on your desktop at work. Take a picture with your phone and edit it instantly on your PC. You get the idea.
- Search Everywhere Simultaneously: Search your apps, photos, documents, messages, and web results—everything—with Microsoft Launcher’s universal search bar.
- Personalize Your Feed: Set your feed as your default Home screen and populate it your way, with your calendar events, your documents, your contacts, and your designated news topics.
- Gesture Your Way: You tell Android how to react to your gestures; double-tap to open Outlook; swipe up to launch Skype, and so on.
Few apps play as nice in an environment dominated by Microsoft than Microsoft Launcher.
Nova Launcher
User Rating: 4.6
Installs: 1, 157,614
Price: Free/$4.99 for Prime version
One of the oldest and most popular launchers to date, Nova Launcher offers so many features and customization options that it’s difficult to know where to start. If you’re into tweaking to get everything just right, Nova is a good place to start. Here’s a sampling of the free version’s features:
- Icon Themes: Find thousands of icon themes for Nova Launcher at Play Store
- Subgrid positioning: Snap icons or widgets half way through the desktop grid cells, allowing a more finite control over layouts of your screens
- Color controls: Use colors to define labels, folders, unread notifications, drawer tabs, backgrounds, and more
- Customizable App Drawer: Create custom tabs, vertical or horizontal scrolling, custom transitions and other effects
- Backup & Restore: A sophisticated backup/restore system allows you to backup your desktop layout and launcher settings
- Scrollable Dock: Create multiple docks and scroll between them
- Widgets in Dock: Place any widget in your dock, such as a 2×10 search widget
Adding the Nova Launcher Prime upgrade adds gestures, custom drawer groups, hide apps, icon swipes, and more scroll effects. Nova Launcher lets you do things your way but be prepared to spend a little time doing so, unless, that is you use Nova’s import feature to bring in a layout from another popular launcher.
One Launcher
User Rating: 4.3
Installs: 27,420
Price: Free
According to the publisher, One Launcher is:
An easy-to-use, no-frills launcher for Android. We believe Simple is Beautiful. Our Launcher does not hog your precious memory resources, nor do we use up your CPU cycles. We just give you a highly-optimized, better-than stock Android Home Screen replacement with a clean and polished interface.
One Launcher is similar in features and behavior to the launcher on the Google Pixel and it supports Google Now. One Launcher really is light and relatively elegant.
The home screen replacement is customizable with many theme options, as well as smart widgets, and special effects. If you’re not happy with your phone’s default configuration, One Launcher is a quick and clean replacement.
Smart Launcher 5
User Rating: 4.4
Installs: 519,518
Price: Free/$4.49 Pro
Smart Launcher is another of those themes that has been around for the duration, and this latest update, v5, is loaded with new productivity and convenience features. So, let’s dig right in to see what Smart Launcher 5 can do for you, starting with Ambient Themes, which automatically changes your theme colors to match your wallpaper.
Next up, Adaptive Icons, utilizes the icon format introduced with Android 8.0 (Oreo) that allows you to customize the shapes and sizes of your icons, increasing the attractiveness of your home screen and app drawers.
Automatic App Sorting sorts your apps by categories, and if you upgrade to the Pro version, you can add your own categories, and apps that you use the most are automatically moved to the bottom of the screen for easy access when using your device with one hand.
The Smart Launcher search bar searches and looks everywhere, quickly finding contacts, apps, actions like adding contacts, performing calculations and so much more. You get customizable gestures and hotkeys. Hundreds of theme icon packs are available, and you can hide apps and protect them against launching with PINs (think banking, not necessarily porn).
The Pro version requires fewer resources, adds notifications on your home screen, integrates notifications with the lock screen, increases security, and more. Smart Launcher 5 lives up to its name; it’s truly smart.
ZenUI Launcher
User Rating: 4.7
Installs: 1,165,876
Price: Free
Brought to you by the folks at Asus Computers, at one time ZenUI Launcher was available only on Asus devices, but it has been available for all Android devices for some time now and has become quite popular.
Features include, of course, changing wallpapers and widgets, applying transitions and special effects, swiping up to reveal all customization options, and organizing apps and folders in layer modes so that all apps are available from the home screen or from a single icon.
The list goes on and on; you can, for example, apply effects, such as Blur, to your wall papers, change icon size, alignment, and scrolling effects, as well as fonts and colors. Live previews allow you to see apps and widgets before you install them, and Contextual App Discovery helps you find apps by what they do. You can lock apps, hide them, and secure them with PINs.
While looking at this list of launchers, I saw many good-looking home screens, app drawers, and docks, but few were as simple and sleek-looking as ZenUI, the launcher that lends truth to the euphemism that simple is usually best. It may be too simple for some users, but ZenUI certainly has its own feel-good Feng Shui.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this list of the best Android launchers! I’m sure some readers will have a different launcher in mind as their best choice, which makes sense if it works better for your workflow. These are just the most popular ones, so be sure to check out others if none of these fit your needs. Enjoy!
