A few years ago, a launcher would be the first application that many people installed on a new Android phone. However, as the native phone software has improved, launchers have become less essential. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve a place on your phone yet.
The golden age of Android launchers is finished
For the first decade of Android, a launcher was a vital tool in the arsenal of all his enthusiasts. The launchers served two main objectives. They covered the software skins from the first part by seers that the manufacturers were so beloved, and they added vital (and sometimes basic) features that lacked on the phone.
I was a big fan of Nova Launcher. By reflecting on my own phone history, I had it on my Galaxy S3 to hide Samsung’s Touchwiz software as much as possible. After spending Nexus phones, I continued to use it because Google software had so few personalization options. The gestures, animations and the endless parameters of Nova were a dream for a handyman.
But I abandoned Nova there are at least three phones ago because the problems he was solving for me no longer exists.
Most manufacturers have considerably increased their software game. There are still strange gaps in taste, especially some of the Chinese manufacturers, but it is often more apple apple than doing something really bizarre. For everyone, the software is more refined. Samsung’s UI is in another league of the former Touchwiz abomination.
With these changes, it is more consistency. A launcher has once helped to facilitate the transition to a new device, but even a non -technical user can go from one phone manufacturer to another today without any problem putting himself at speed. And now that the basic features that needed a launcher are all integrated, the idea of needing to “repair” the interface of your phone has largely disappeared.
Like more advanced practices such as rooting and installation of personalized ROMs go out, the launchers are heading in the same way. The days when it would be the first software you install is finished.
But launchers still count
This does not mean that launchers have no room on Android phones in 2025. But their role could have changed.
For me, a modern Android launcher is not to add more things, but to remove it. No notification badges, no congested house screens, no news feed. I want to use my phone more and more just for things I want to do, and I don’t make my attention stolen by constant distractions.
As such, my favorite Android launchers are not the ones who want you to take the appearance of everything on the phone. There are a lot of people who always want this, of course, but I want a launcher with a more minimalist approach that offers real practical value.
Where they add features, I like the emphasis on improving the user interface rather than replacing it or adding a size. Now that the launchers in the first part are so smooth and refined, it is unlikely that third -party developers will improve the user interface as they did. But allowing you to change the number of applications you can install on your home screen or use icon packs allows you to customize your phone in a more subtle or useful way.
The less functionalities you get, the better for confidentiality and security too. A fully powerful launcher will require a wide range of authorizations that give it just about everything on your phone. A lighter and more minimalist launcher will require less authorizations, or maybe not even at all.
What minimalist launchers should you try?
My favorite launcher is OLAUNER. I installed it some time ago and it’s perfect for reducing my screen time. I don’t even use it all the time; I switch between this and the native software on my phones. Each time I feel that my screen time slips a little too high, I load it and the minimum layout based on the text returns me to one hour per day.
OLAUNCHER is free, open-source and requires no authorization. It is almost ideal.
In the similar sense, and perhaps a better option for many, it is Niagara launcher. He also takes a minimalist approach with a textual predominance look, but is not as austere as Olaucha.
It is designed to help use one hand and allow you to focus on the things you want to do. But it is a little more customizable and more pleasant. It shows your application icons, for example, and also supports a growing range of themes to help you customize its appearance. By showing that minimalism does not have to signify naked bones, it is a more accessible choice.
There are two others which are worth verified. Without is tiny and has practically no functionality. It is designed mainly for low-end phones but offers a remarkably ultra-minimalist experience. Kisses is even smaller and replaces the application icons with a search bar – simply type the first letters of the name of an application to open it. If you know Spotlight on Mac, it’s a bit like that.
The improvements that Samsung, OnePlus and Motorola have brought to their phone software over the years, as well as the varnish added to Android as a whole, mean that a third -party launcher is no longer the essential tool that it was in the past.
But if you always feel overwhelmed by the features of your phone or if you want to reduce distractions, minimalist launchers can always serve a vital lens. The best launchers no longer add features. They only get out of your way.
