Niagara Launcher • Hacker News Board

Re: Niagara Launcher

#21

Post by satvikpendem » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:15 PM UTC

whycome wrote: post #17

senkora wrote: post #11

I really appreciate how Android made the “graphical shell” a user-replaceable component of the OS. Back in the day, I used Nova Launcher and an icon pack to completely re-theme my home screen. I felt so cool. I encourage anyone curious to take a look at the following subreddit for some neat themes that users have created for themselves over the years using custom launchers: https://www.reddit.com/r/androidthemes/top/…

On iOS, the thing I miss most is Nova. Replacing icons with images of your choice. Changing the swipe transition. Icon organization. Removing text.

You can still replace icons with custom images on iOS, it is much more of a hassle however: https://www.theverge.com/22529978/apple-iphone-ios-apps-icon...

Re: Niagara Launcher

#22

Post by imperialdrive » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:23 PM UTC

I gave it a quick test drive but almost immediately uninstalled it because it wouldn't let me dismiss the cluttering messages on top of the app list :/ Looks promising though. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Niagara Launcher

#23

Post by niederman » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:24 PM UTC

As a long time Niagara user, it is probably the biggest thing that keeps me on Android over iOS.

Re: Niagara Launcher

#24

Post by karmakaze » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:25 PM UTC

anilakar wrote: post #12

karmakaze wrote: post #6

I've been using the Microsoft Launcher for years. I have all my apps on one 6x5 grid (with the top row showing time/date/weather) in addition to the 5 bottom tray apps. The infrequently used apps are in group folders, so every app is at most two taps away. The frequently used apps are on the bottom 60% of the screen.

I tried the Microsoft Launcher and loved its functionality but hated the way they pushed Bing and other MS services and Android apps. Just like Outlook for Android is one of the best mail clients but the only way to get rid of ads is to subscribe to Office 365. I long for the days when apps were one-off purchases. Edit: I'm a happy Niagara user, bought the forever license two years ago.

That's weird, I don't recall getting those Bing/services ads and certainly haven't been getting them for a long time.

Re: Niagara Launcher

#25

Post by r0ckarong » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:29 PM UTC

That's a bit too streamlined for me. I don't group apps by their first letter, I group them by purpose of convenience. I need a lot more than maybe ten favorites on screen and having to scroll or go into a menu to find anything beyond that is just a waste of time. Yes, there are folders but other than with Nova Launcher you can't see which apps are in there unless you open one. I like being able to see a notification bubble on an app within a folder. The concept is slick but it doesn't match my usage pattern at all.

Re: Niagara Launcher

#26

Post by maxammann » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:30 PM UTC

Just sent this threat to Peter :)

Re: Niagara Launcher

#27

Post by Sytten » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:33 PM UTC

I have used this launcher for several year and I love it, I would never go back to the stock one. But it is not for everybody

Re: Niagara Launcher

#28

Post by Sytten » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:34 PM UTC

chasil wrote: post #19

Unfortunately, this is not on F-Droid, and it does not appear to be open source.

Not everything needs to be OSS, it is OK for people to charge for software and make a living...

Re: Niagara Launcher

#29

Post by buster » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:34 PM UTC

I really like the minimalistic and focused launchers. I use https://beforelabs.com Let's you silence notifications for unimportant apps and such.

Re: Niagara Launcher

#30

Post by Scene_Cast2 » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 6:36 PM UTC

I love Lynx Launcher - best one I found after Evie was discontinued.

Like many others in the thread, I really like how I have freedom of choice w.r.t. launchers (I personally dislike the iOS home screen and the stock Google launcher, fwiw).