Gadgetory

one of the best features of Android is how easily you can customize it to your liking I'm Taylor Martin this is PocketNow and these are the best third-party launchers for Android customization is the name of the game when it comes to Android unlike its two largest competitors Windows Phone and iOS the appearance of the UI is at the hands of the user sure on iOS you can jailbreak and install various themes and icon packs through Cydia and on Windows Phone you can rearrange your home screen tiles and change their color but a virtually endless list of changes can be made to Android straight out of the box without voiding any warranties anyone can do it and it's as simple as installing an application or to one of the easiest ways to do just that is through using launcher or Home Replacement applications which are widely available in Google Play with so many options out there however it makes choosing just one rather difficult even worse not every launcher is the same and they target different types of users due to that here are the best launchers in different categories first up the utilitarian these launchers are for users who seek the utmost functionality in their home screen these specific launchers are highly customizable packed with a ton of features and can be tweaked to virtually no end if you prefer blazing speed over flashy animations fine you can make that change you can tweak everything from the grid size a number of home screens to how the app drawer looks and individual icons which can be customized one by one the cream of the crop in this category are nova launcher and apex launcher while apex isn't a bad option mobile launcher seems to be the fan favorite mainly because it provides more polished and more intricate settings toggles and tweaks for things you never thought you'd need seriously the developers Tesla coil software thought of everything that name goes a long way in our book - nova launcher is available for free but the fully featured premium version will set you back $4 a worthy price if your phone stock launcher is driving you nuts not everyone wants to spend 10 hours setting up their homescreen though and they don't want to spend a lot of time digging around through pages of applications or flipping through a carousel of home screens for people like that the pragmatic there is currently only one option action launcher it's a no-nonsense launcher which strictly adheres to the Android design guidelines unlike the typical Android launcher there is no application drawer instead applications are accessed through what is called the quick drawer hidden to the left of your home screen this can be accessed by the soft button in the upper left corner or a rightward swipe from the left edge of the display swiping left from the right edge will also reveal the quick page or a panel displaying a few of your chosen widgets as well as most recent applications enabling one swipe in the settings makes quick drawer and quick page available from within any application one of the most unique and helpful features is called covers a folder which acts as an application shortcut when tapped but reveals the entire contents of the folder when swiped upwards for the record there are several customization options in action launcher settings such as the ability to set the number of home screens the grid size dark size and tweak other aesthetic changes but the sole purpose of action launcher is efficiency and it succeeds if that with flying colors it's extremely quick with a small learning curve once you get accustomed to action launcher it's hard to settle for less until last week action launcher was a premium only application but the developer opened it up and made it free to use with a premium unlock which normally runs for $4 Britt is currently on sale for a dollar ninety-nine there is however one other pragmatic launcher which is a bit newer and still an invite-only private beta 88 it automatically adapts to your day to give you relevant information not unlike Google now except this is far more in-depth and all-encompassing it categorizes your applications delivers different spaces based on context whether you're driving just waking up or out to dinner again this one is still in private beta but it's a launcher for those who only care about seeing the relevant information at any given time send up the beta wait for your code and try it out others prefer far more customized Android experience one which is completely unique and well gorgeous for them there are a handful of great one-click themed launchers such as Budds launcher and femur when you first install these applications you are prompted to browse a list of ready-made themes pick the one which appeals to you the most let it download and enjoy your fresh clean beautiful new home screen this style of launcher is great for those who get tired of their phones UI quickly as completely renovating your home screen can be done in a matter of seconds find a new theme you like download and apply if you have the time to dedicate to it you can also heavily customize the appearance of pre-made themes to your liking though that can get quite involved and in depth femur is still in beta but both are free of charge finally the purest this is the user who is tired of all the muck and simply wants to get back to the basics KitKat launcher is a third-party remake of the google experience launcher found on the nexus 5 it's not a dead ringer and the Google now integration isn't quite as polished as the real deal but Kit Kat launcher is an excellent way to get that nexus field on all compatible devices with minimal effort so what kind of Android user are you of all the launches available which is your favorite personally I'm a no-nonsense kind of guy and for me it's definitely action launcher I've been an advocate of Chris Lacey's work since the beginning and the developer continues to raise the bar with each and every update it's a fantastic launcher I simply could not get enough of but a v8 is a very very close second that's going to do it for this video if you enjoyed it be sure to click the thumbs up button below and subscribe to the channel to see more videos like this one in the future you should leave a comment with your favorite launcher or if you have any questions or suggestions follow us in all the usual places twitter facebook and google+ at pocket now i'm taylor mart you can find me on twitter at casper tech and i will see you next time