The new home of /r/Android on Lemmy and the Fediverse!
Android news, reviews, tips, and discussions about rooting, tutorials, and apps.
πUniversal Link: !android@lemdro.id
π‘Content Philosophy:
Content which benefits the community (news, rumours, and discussions) is generally allowed and is valued over content which benefits only the individual (technical questions, help buying/selling, rants, self-promotion, etc.) which will be removed if it's in violation of the rules.
Support, technical, or app related questions belong in: !askandroid@lemdro.id
For fresh communities, lemmy apps, and instance updates: !lemdroid@lemdro.id
π¬Matrix Chat
π°Our communities below
Stay on topic: All posts should be related to the Android OS or ecosystem.
No support questions, recommendation requests, rants, or bug reports: Posts must benefit the community rather than the individual. Please post to !askandroid@lemdro.id.
Describe images/videos, no memes: Please include a text description when sharing images or videos. Post memes to !androidmemes@lemdro.id.
No self-promotion spam: Active community members can post their apps if they answer any questions in the comments. Please do not post links to your own website, YouTube, blog content, or communities.
No reposts or rehosted content: Share only the original source of an article, unless it's not available in English or requires logging in (like Twitter). Avoid reposting the same topic from other sources.
No editorializing titles: You can add the author or website's name if helpful, but keep article titles unchanged.
No piracy or unverified APKs: Do not share links or direct people to pirated content or unverified APKs, which may contain malicious code.
No unauthorized polls, bots, or giveaways: Do not create polls, use bots, or organize giveaways without first contacting mods for approval.
No offensive or low-effort content: Don't post offensive or unhelpful content. Keep it civil and friendly!
No affiliate links: Posting affiliate links is not allowed.
Our Communities
Lemmy App List
Chat and More
Lawnchair (FOSS) just released an update to allow imports of Nova Launcher backups.
yagni, after many name changes, is getting as good as lawnchair β https://f-droid.org/packages/com.eblan.launcher/
it's only 2.5mb!
Ive been keeping my eye on this project! I am a fan but its not quite there yet for me. Adding widgets/apps to the home screen is kinda funky still, theres no support for app drawer groups/folders and a want but not a need is neofeed integration.
theres no support for app drawer groups/folders
indeed. I can move from lawnchair to yagni ~~eblan einstein~~ the day they add drawer tabs
According to the degooglers over on reddit this was one of the rare good proprietary apps
It was until it was bought by an analytics firm
It was until a few years ago. When Branch acquired it everyone sane enough jumped ship to something else.
No proprietary apps are good, I bought Niagara like 9 years ago and I still have my finger on the trigger ready for this one to fuck itself. This happens 100% of the time if the app jyst doesnt straight up die. At this point its brain dead to not use FOSS and just invest your time in learning those programs.
I think its more accurate to say proprietary apps can be good but they inherently carry a risk of turning to shit and there's nothing you can do about it. Whereas the worst that could happen to you with FOSS is it stops getting updated and eventually stops being interoperable with the rest of the world, depending on what it is
Idk, I never trust a proprietary app. I assume they are always phoning everything home and setup my pihole accordingly. Windows is a great example. Blocked network traffic went down ~20% or so when I moved to linux.
The post title already says it all. Proactive AI in a launcher context means it watches your usage patterns constantly, and sucking up all your data is not hyperbole when you consider what a launcher can access on your device. Nova Launcher built its reputation on being lightweight and respectful of privacy, which makes this a stark departure from that identity. How long before this assistant starts suggesting apps based on your SMS messages or call logs?
Nova got sold to an ad firm years ago and so only the older versions are ok but people have switched to alternatives like lawnchair and Niagara. I'm still using an old version of Nova but I'm going to switch when I get a new phone
I ditched it when it changed hands recently, just using Octopi launcher it mostly ticks the same boxes for me. But yeah anyone still using Nova should really uninstall that thing.
More shit no one asked for
My recommendation:
https://f-droid.org/packages/de.mm20.launcher2.release/
Nothing like Nova but the best I've found.
Have been using it for some time as well. It's search is not quite as nice as Sesame was, but that one hasn't been updated in forever and was bought by the same analytics company Nova was.
Seconding that, pinning a few favourites and having a command pallette style search for everything else works really well for me and matches how I use my PC
The only thing I miss is being able to have a page of "new apps I am trying". Otherwise I love this launcher.
Give Niagara a try. It's a bit different but I have been using it for a good while now and really like it.
Man, I just wanna be able to set my own icons for folders, and for them to have the same functionality. Haven't run across one that works close enough to satisfy my day to day preferences in that regard.
See, the real killer feature of nova in that regard is turning a folder (or any icon really) into multi function switch with swipe directions. Most of the launchers out there, even if they offer similar functionality, you're stuck with whatever folders look like, which is usually just a stack of icons in various orders. And fuck me for Canyon wanting my shit to be pretty as well as smooth and functional.
There's a few that do "covers", which is nice for what it is, but afaik (and I semi regularly retry launchers) they locks your options for using the folder to a single tap and single swipe, with one opening the folder and the other opening the first app in the folder. With Nova, I can even select an app that isn't in the folder to be opened with a swipe.
Hyperion gets closest of the ones I've test driven, and it's likely what I'll end up using once I can no longer use the older apk of nova from before it was sold. Assuming it lasts long enough lol
I've been pretty happy with Octopi in that respect
I was just checking it out. It really is nice, thank you!
There is no need to mindlessly update this application, it's been stable and full of enough actual features for some time now.
Get the 8.1.6 apk from uptodown.com. it's the last update before enshittification occurred.
And then find the app in your installed app list in Google Play and untick "install updates automatically" in the three dot menu.
I am on an older version and I so not looking forward to moving to another launcher.
Nova just so many small useful things that all just work (folder/icon gestures, icon pack support is exemplary).
I'm not leaving Nova. So I'll install newest safe version and block updates. Fuck ai.
This is a good reminder to finally uninstall it completely after I switched to a different one. I should have done that long ago.
There are two launchers I am currently using, one more testing.
The tried and true Lawnchair, and Yagni Launcher.