1: APUS Launcher
Price: FreeAPUS Launcher is a fun app if you like a ton of customization. It boasts a collection of over 50,000 wallpapers along with a ton of extra themes. Some other features include a news feed, the ability to hide apps from the app drawer, a built-in app lock function, and a few other goodies. It’s not quite as light or efficient as Pixel Launcher style launchers like Nova Launcher, Hyperion, Lawnchair, etc. However, it’s a lot more colorful and flamboyant. Some people prefer it that way. The launcher is free with ad support. Our only real complaint is that you can’t purchase the app to remove ads.
2: Evie Launcher
Price: Free
Evie Launcher was one of our picks for the best Android apps of 2016. It’s still an excellent launcher to this day. The launcher features a fairly typical home screen layout along with a universal search, custom shortcuts, and plenty of personalization options. The dock is a little more customizable than most stock launchers on most phones. You can also change things like icon sizes, the app drawer, and some other stuff as well. Of course, the launcher manages to stay clean, light, and stock-ish for people who care about that. It may be the best totally free Android launcher on the market right now.
3: Hyperion Launcher
Price: Free / $2.99 Hyperion Launcher is the new kid on the Android launcher block. It slots in nicely between heavier launchers like Action and Nova and the stock Android experience of Lawnchair. The UI is decidedly stock looking without a ton of bloat or flair. There are plenty of customization features, though. They include third party icon support, an icon shape changer, theming elements, and some other neat stuff. It supports Google Feed, but it requires a separate download just like most other launchers. It’s new, but it’s already slots in favorably among the best launchers on Android.
4: Lawnchair Launcher
Price: Free
Lawnchair Launcher is one of the newer Android launcher apps. It’s an open source project that mimics much of the look and feel from the Pixel Launcher. It features many similar features to the Pixel Launcher along with a few others. Those features include icon pack support, Android Oreo shortcuts and notification dots, Google Now integration (with optional and free plugin), adaptive icons, and various other customizations. It’s still new and also in beta. However, it already works better than most launchers. It’s also free with no ads or in-app purchases.
5: Lightning Launcher
Price: $4.99 + $1.99
Lightning Launcher used to be a fairly decent, minimal Android launcher. It has since grown into one of the most customizable Android launchers ever made. It’s still super lightweight too. It gives you the ability to change virtually anything on the home screen. You can even have multiple sets of home screens for multiple occasions. Perhaps its most unique feature is its scripting support. You can use JavaScript to make Lightning do all kinds of stuff. There are also additional plugins, language packs, and more available for download. The feature list isn’t all that long comparatively, but it seems to tick all the right boxes. The app also has a learning curve, but it’s worth learning.
6: Microsoft Launcher
Price: Free
Microsoft Launcher isn’t a new launcher. The app used to be Arrow Launcher. Microsoft re-branded the app in mid-2017. The app features integration with many Microsoft services, including their calendar, email, to-do list app, and direct integration with Microsoft PCs. It also has customization features and gesture controls. This one returned to beta after the rebrand. Thus, there are likely some bugs for now. However, it’s something different and especially useful for those who want better integration with their Windows PC.
7: Nova Launcher
Price: Free / $4.99
It doesn’t get too much better than Nova Launcher. Like Apex Launcher, Nova has been around since the good old days. It remains not only relevant, but one of the best Android launcher app options available. It has a laundry list of customization features that include gesture support, the ability to customize the look and feel of the app, icon pack support, themes, and much, much more. The app also gets updated at a breakneck pace which means bugs generally get squished quickly and new features are added consistently. It also comes with the ability to backup and restore your home screen layouts for when you eventually switch to a new phone. It’s the one we’d recommend you try first.
Price: Free
Poco Launcher is the stock launcher for the popular (and cheap) Pocophone. It’s actually available for most Android devices and that’s kind of surprising considering Google won’t even release theirs. This is a fairly basic launcher. It has your basic stock Android-ish layout with icons on a home screen and a swipe-to-access app drawer. You can customize stuff like the home screen grid and the app drawer background. It also has a privacy option that hides icons from the app drawer if you want. Otherwise, it runs light and smooth. It’s an easy recommendation for people with lower end devices and those with higher end devices who want something really simple.
9: Rootless Launcher
Price: Free
Rootless Launcher is a decent, stock Android style launcher from 2018. It’s actually a fairly basic experience. You get a stock Android look and feel with some additional customization elements to complete the look. Some of the features include icon pack support, adaptive icon pack support, an icon shape selector, themes based on your wallpaper, and you can change the location of the search bar. You can also get Google Feed working on this launcher, but like most it requires an extra plug-in download and installation. The website with the instructions for that are in the Google Play description. This is right up there with Hyperion and Lawnchair as a great option for stock Android fans.
10: Smart Launcher 5
Price: Free / Up to $6.99
Smart Launcher 5 is a vast difference from Smart Launcher 3. Thankfully, it’s in a positive direction. It features a modern UI, ambient theming features, modern features like adaptive icons, and more. It even has a weather and clock widget and gesture controls. It’s not quite as powerful as Nova Launcher or similar launchers. However, it has enough features to be quite enjoyable. It feels like it competes directly with Action Launcher and similar apps when it comes to customization and usability.
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