I feel like I post this every few months, but: is there a launcher for #Android AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the latest #Pixel Launcher, but lets me use a different search engine?
I love the stock launcher:
• At a Glance
• Combined app/web search
• Very little customizability because good defaults
• Smooth animations/integration w/Recents
• Ability to turn off Google Discover feed
• Simple gestures (⬇️ notifications, ⬆️ all apps)
@patrickleavy yeah see that’s a negative in my book tbh. I would rather have an opinionated design than a ton of options. That’s probably why I swap between Niagara every once in a while, too. 😅
@cassidy I find it's best to be born in (the precursor to) the EU, then wait for 52% of your compatriots to make poor electoral choices in your late 20s.
@cassidy Oh, that's because you have to… factory reset your phone to change your choice… cool.
(Edit: actually https://www.android.com/choicescreen/ claims that you can customize it after the fact, but I have been searching for 10 minutes and can't do the things it it claims can be done, such as “move, remove or replace the home screen search box”.)
@wjt yeah this was about where my last investigation ended as well. A whole lot of posts claiming there is a choice, and yet nobody I've asked has ever seen it.
@jcrabapple my problem with Nova and every other popular launcher is that it feels like a “build your own launcher toolkit” instead of being the Pixel launcher but using my preferred search engine. 😜
I know I can go and customize everything to get it almost mostly exactly uncanny, but that’s a bunch of work and the fact it has so many fiddly settings means I spend way too much time wondering if I got it set up exactly perfectly instead of getting on with my life.
@jcrabapple using a widget is alright, but I do like the combined search you get on Pixel, where you start typing on the home screen and you get apps, content, and web suggestions. I just wish when actually performing that search it would open DDG or even just my default Firefox search engine.
@cassidy@jcrabapple We(Nova), allow you to use any search you want by entering your own search URL if you'd like. That decision is totally up to you and what you use.
We also allow you to have At A Glance on the home screen if you want and we're working on tons of new search related stuff with the current Nova 8 beta builds that you'll get to experience very soon.
We post release notes via the @novalauncher account here on Mastodon and I work for Nova as well.
@cassidy I certainly appreciate the support in the past or in the future. Means a lot to me!
We have a lot of new things coming very soon and more beyond what's coming "soon".
I hear you! I too used to be the same way. Now, I have a setup that works for me and I stick with that until new features/options come along. I've had the same basic setup for a few years now with a few exceptions here and there.
If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!
@cassidy@jcrabapple same, I tried Nova for a hot second on my Samsung and it was way too many configuration options with way too few opinionated defaults.
@jcrabapple <Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has entered the chat> whatever you think of it's thermals and power consumption it's preventing the Pixels from getting modern SoC's.
@alexhammy just because the snapdragon exists doesn't make the Tensor a bad SoC. It works great for what they're trying to do with the Pixel and gets better with every generation. Benchmarks can GTFO.
I’m trying the latest build of #Lawnchair which has been my go-to over the years, but even in its unfinished state it has too many settings, and the search integration is not great: it doesn’t combine the phone and web search like Pixel launcher, and when choosing an alternate search engine, it either requires installing that app, or just opens the search engine’s home page in the browser instead of letting me type a search and then opening the RESULT in the browser.
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