Htc launched a Beta program recently for testing HTC SENSE 8 launcher for NON HTC Devices.
Someone from the beta program uploaded the apk file on apkmirror and luckily it works with our Moto G 2015 (it should work with all non HTC devices above kitkat)
Although it is in beta, it is really smooth and pretty stable.
Bugs(That I found) : Google Now on Tap Force Closes Htc Sense Launcher. Google now on tap can be used from any other app.
Status: Working on Stock optimised and Stock ROM. (Should work with other custom ROMS as well)
If it shows any error in installation:
==> check if unknown sources option is on in settings > security
==> go to Apps > All Apps > select Google Play Services > Clear Cache (And make sure you are on the latest
Google Play Services)
==> go to Apps > All Apps > select Google Play Store > Clear Cache and Force Stop
==> Make sure no other HTC application(HTC Sense 7 apps and widgets) is installed prior to this installation.
Icon Packs from playstore work perfectly. (REQUIRES ROOT)
Go to Themes app and then sign in to your htc account. If not made an account then sign up for a new account
apply any icon pack from the htc theme store.
then select the Icons.apk of your desired icon pack (Links Below) and copy it to : /data/data/com.htc.launcher/files/.htc_theme/
Replace existing Icons.apk if asked.
Go to settings > Apps > Htc Sense > force stop.
the icon packs will be applied.
I am providing icon packs(free) from playstore which are modified to work with htc sense launcher.
If you want to convert any other icon pack to make it compatible with sense launcher then below is the icon pack converter made by @BBs19 all credit goes to him/her.
Iconpack to Sense 7 Converter
How to use:
1. Download the .apk file of your iconpack. (You can use http://apk-dl.com/ if the iconpack is free)
2. Run IconPackConverter.exe
3. Select your .apk file.
4. Wait for the process to complete. You can see the current status on the top left corner of your screen.
After successfully converting your icon pack, you can follow the displayed instructions to apply the iconpack.
Requirements:
- Java 7 (JRE 1.7)
- Root (for applying the iconpack on your phone)
#How to Apply iconpacks [Root Required]#
1. Copy the converted Icons.apk to: /data/data/com.htc.launcher/files/.htc_theme/
Replace existing Icons.apk if asked.
2. Restart Sense Launcher process or reboot phone.
Download(Sourcecode included):
http://uploaded.net/file/6947tavm
DOWNLOADS
Sense 8 Launcher
Icon Packs:
CandyCons
Moonshine
Polycon
Credits:
HTC for the Launcher
Respective developers/designers for the Icon Packs
@BBs19 for the Icon Pack converter script
Me
Hit the Thanks Button if this thread helped you
Hmm, I tried it also (it's on APKMirror). IMHO nothing special.
And BTW most of the themes in the HTC theme store are stolen. Since HTC does nothing against it, I wouldn't support that anyway.
edisso10018 said:
Hmm, I tried it also (it's on APKMirror). IMHO nothing special.
And BTW most of the themes in the HTC theme store are stolen. Since HTC does nothing against it, I wouldn't support that anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well I'm not saying to apply the themes from htc store, one can create his/her own theme. the icon packs provided are also freely available on playstore. And liking the launcher or not is just personal preference. For me this is miles better than nova, apex, touchwiz, google now etc. there are people like me who like it a lot so I posted this for them. The freestyle theming capabilities are amazing and the launcher itself is rock solid.
And I posted the APKmirror link with mentioning them
I am all for options, but the strength of Sense on an HTC device was how well integrated it was with other apps and widgets from HTC, since those are not part of this, this is just another generic launcher that falls well behind Nova, Apex, Smart, etc.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
acejavelin said:
I am all for options, but the strength of Sense on an HTC device was how well integrated it was with other apps and widgets from HTC, since those are not part of this, this is just another generic launcher that falls well behind Nova, Apex, Smart, etc.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blinkfeed and weather widget is inbuilt, and well implemented.
I personally like pixel sharp images/display output, unfortunately moto G 2015 does not have such great pixel density, the other launchers render the icons very badly, Nova is the worst even GNL is mediocre .... HTC sense launcher has the best, sharp pixel rendering of the icons at least on the 720p displays... added bonus is the playstore icon packs with little modification and root. Launch animations are quick and overall the launcher is pretty stable.
Chandresh204 said:
Blinkfeed and weather widget is inbuilt, and well implemented.
I personally like pixel sharp images/display output, unfortunately moto G 2015 does not have such great pixel density, the other launchers render the icons very badly, Nova is the worst even GNL is mediocre .... HTC sense launcher has the best, sharp pixel rendering of the icons at least on the 720p displays... added bonus is the playstore icon packs with little modification and root. Launch animations are quick and overall the launcher is pretty stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not going to argue with you as this is all opinion based... I was an HTC fanboy for a long time, and a fan of Sense, but I will leave it with HTC products. Nova is arguably the best launcher out there, and that isn't just my opinion, 10 million plus downloads and over 1 million paid (Prime) users would probably argue with you as well.
Again, Android's strength is in options and customizations, so I welcome it just probably won't use it.
acejavelin said:
I'm not going to argue with you as this is all opinion based... I was an HTC fanboy for a long time, and a fan of Sense, but I will leave it with HTC products. Nova is arguably the best launcher out there, and that isn't just my opinion, 10 million plus downloads and over 1 million paid (Prime) users would probably argue with you as well.
Again, Android's strength is in options and customizations, so I welcome it just probably won't use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are getting me all wrong here, I'm not intending to start an argument with anyone, nor am I arguing. I was just expressing my opinion that is why I started my post with "I" . I said "I" don't like how icons are rendered in NOVA, that being the only reason I hate Nova and it is "My" opinion. Never did I mention that everyone likes HTC or everyone should like HTC ..... maybe I posted the thread in wrong forum title, maybe non of the moto G 2015 users likes Htc and maybe I should have posted this under general android as I didn't find any thread on this topic. But what I can say is people like sense home as well and the proof of this is the development thread by xpirt who ported htc sense 6 & 7 and is in the process of porting sense 8. I got excited and thought it might be useful to someone
What I don't understand is I just shared a launcher apk file, and the process on how to install and if any error occurs how to solve that. Why am I getting "slightly" negative feedback and opinions that this launcher is "meh" and others are better? I acknowledge there are better launchers and this is a personal preference. I did not create the launcher, I just liked it and thought it might be useful to someone. That's it. So much for my first thread other than Q&A..........
Pretty sure your thread is safe...
More options is good, period, because everyone has different taste, wants, and needs... And although I hope people value my opinion, I hope they don't take it as gospel and they try it themselves and make their own decisions.
More people should branch out and try things and share them with the community, I commend you for that. Thanks for sharing.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Join our Motorola Moto G3 group here:
Motorola Moto G 2015 (3rd Generation)
Working on cm14.0 unofficial rom....loved this work
Phone and messaging icons are not getting themed on CM14 and RR... But works perfectly on DU
nitty202 said:
Phone and messaging icons are not getting themed on CM14 and RR... But works perfectly on DU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same right here. I'm using stock Kitkat on my Lenovo A5000. Anyway, the launcher works perfectly, although my phone only has 1 GB RAM.
Thanks op
Sent from my MotoG3 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Icons do not get applied
Icons do not get applied . Followed all the steps mentioned to apply polycon icons but not working on cm14.1 Resurrection Remix ROM.
Related
hi all i am new and was wondering if i can install the fresh rom and replace the sense launcher with the nexus one launcher and lock screen while keeping the htc widgets
but i have fresh rom and some sort of nexus like launcher and a white notification bar with the htc widgets
thx for help i have one last question wat do i need to edit the sense icons like browser and sms to the stock android icons
Those are not sense icons. You are using an application called LauncherPro. The nexus launcher was removed due to instability and replaced by LauncherPro. Unfortunately the current version does not allow for customization of the bar at the bottom like Helix does, but the dev said that he has a plan to do so and it will be out in the next release, which is expected in a week or 2. There are alternatives to the sense widgets and the performance increase you get from not using sense is so great I will never go back. Check out the pure widgets. If you have the newest version of Fresh that was released this morning, LauncherPro is already linked to the market and you should see any updates, but if you are running any other version, you will need to download the update from the market to establish the link.
no i am not using laucherpro
and wat i meant by edit sms broswer icons i meant from the actual apps not the icons on the bottom bar but the actuak icon of the app
I believe application icons are packaged as part of the APK so you would have to edit those manually. I don't have much experience with that, but you might have issues because I am pretty sure the signing process for an APK includes a hash, so modifying the internals would probably invalidate the signature therefore cause android to puke, but you could give it a try.
Hello, I am quite new on the Xoom and Android, and I just discovered that we can easily change the ICS Launcher ... I thought we could only do this by adding a piece of software on top of ICS and I didn't want to do that for performances reasons ...
But yesterday I discovered I was totally wrong about the launchers, I tried "Nova Launcher" which is free on the market, and I was absolutly amazed about this launcher fluidity : using the stock ICS launcher, I couldn't add a widget without slowing down everything, going from icones pages to icones pages became then laggy ...
Now with Nova Launcher, no more lags !!! (well, as always, except if you use animated backgrounds but I don't).
I was feeling like having a Quad Core Xoom ! Plus the sliding effects are beautiful (3D cube effect), you can also have a dock on the bottom of the screen, chose how many columns and lines of icones you want, etc ...
Any Xoom user should install this, you will feel like having a new device with perfect fluidity !
Great info! Thanks!
Sent from my Xoom
Had to try it Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running ICS after reading about it here and WOW the speed is amazing. Stock ICS was pretty good but this is just another level. Highly recommendable!
Nice. I like this.
Thanks I'll Install That
A little trick : to have the best fluidity possible, I disabled the option which let the background image move when you change of icones page (sorry, I don't remember the exact name of this feature in the options menu).
APEX is the other high quality ICS launcher. I ended up going with Apex on both phone and tablet. Try the free one on market.
Mandelbrot.Benoit said:
APEX is the other high quality ICS launcher. I ended up going with Apex on both phone and tablet. Try the free one on market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree! I have Apex on my phone and tablet as well. Best launcher I've ever tried (out of many) and the developer is very open to suggestions and bug reports. Bought the pro version to support this great app.
I also feel Apex Launcher is the best. Plus, Apex Launcher integrates directly into the Cyanogenmod Launcher Settings. It's a neat feature if you're into that. (I am not sure if Nova Launcher does this...)
With the intention of supporting the developer and unlocking the pro features, i also bought Apex Launcher, and I am having no regrets.
I was on Apex, but switched to Nova. I like its dock better on tablets than Apex's; it's a bit bigger and spaced more normally. I also noticed Nova's search bar in both phone and tablet mode is correctly proportioned to the stock launcher's search bars and the Apex one is a bit bigger and stretched. It's picky, but I'm CDO (OCD in alphabetical order) by nature. Also, I like Nova's organization and the fact by integrating Nova Prime with TeslaUnread, I don't have to install another app for unread counts on my widget locker. There's also the issue Apex has with themes on tablets where the themed icons are tiny and look minuscule compared to the ones without a themed icon which are but normal size. I've brought this up MANY times and each time I get a "oh, we just found the bug and fixed it" every time, so Idk if they just found the wrong bug and fized something else by accident or the bug is more pesky than it appears, but I'd much prefer Nova's correct theme scaling regardless of if I have to apply it myself. Currently, however, I've switched from Lustre back to stock ICS cuz I like the rounded better. Does Apex Pro have the platform folder style? That's another thing in Nova I couldn't live without. Plus the overscroll effect on tablets in Nova has correct margines but goes way too far off the screen in Apex.
Nova isn't THAT good - ok, it's fast, but it has some bugs, like dock isn't docked - there can be icons UNDER dock, which is quite stupid (and I haven't seen option to alter that), then, placing icons into dock is frustratingly inaccurate (hovering over the icon place will place icon to RIGHT (not correct, but as direction -> left, right) place).
Not good for me. I prefer stock. Will try Apex now...
I didn't like NOVA.
I am using Go Launcher EX (not the tablet/HD version, but the regular version).
Loving NOVA!
Don't need the dock. With EOS rom, I can add quick launch items to the status bar. Who needs a dock?
Anyhow, very stable and fast.
Also the gestures are a good feature as well. Just remembered that I can also change icons easily.
ravenhr said:
Nova isn't THAT good - ok, it's fast, but it has some bugs, like dock isn't docked - there can be icons UNDER dock, which is quite stupid (and I haven't seen option to alter that), then, placing icons into dock is frustratingly inaccurate (hovering over the icon place will place icon to RIGHT (not correct, but as direction -> left, right) place).
Not good for me. I prefer stock. Will try Apex now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have absolutly no problem with the dock, all is OK for me, I didn't find a single bug yet.
ADW Launcher EX (the paid version) is still the smoothest launcher. Maybe it doesn't have that ICS look that you may love, but it is the best launcher for tablets.
It is smooth even with live wallpapers (only the lightest, but it behaves far better than stock/nova/apex launcher)
Im using Nova a week now and it's awsome! And the bar ahhh it's epic
using Nova after i saw recommendation here!! im satisfied but i have one problem...when i receive sms on ics xoom they dont appear on the screen like it was in honeycombdoes anyone have this problem?
I've been using Nova since its inception, but its just not what I desire for my Xoom. Both Apex and Nova lack the small features I really want for my tablet, but I'm really leaning towards purchasing Apex. It just has a little bit more.
Nova is fantastic for my GNex, but the Xoom is a totally different experience. I can't wait for Chameleon launcher in the fall.
I went back to ADW. Too many force closes with Nova. I too am waiting for Chameleon.
RampageDeluxe said:
I've been using Nova since its inception, but its just not what I desire for my Xoom. Both Apex and Nova lack the small features I really want for my tablet, but I'm really leaning towards purchasing Apex. It just has a little bit more.
Nova is fantastic for my GNex, but the Xoom is a totally different experience. I can't wait for Chameleon launcher in the fall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love them both (Apex has better themes SO FAR but Nova's are coming close already, and the tablet layout of Nova is 10X better on Nova since the overscroll effect actually works best on it and grid sizes are more correct). I prefer Nova's aesthetics (like Holo design for TeslaUnread + the option for changing the Color Theme in the latest beta that makes all of the blues whichever colour you pick). I've got Nova Prime and regular Apex since regular Apex has 9/10 the paid features of Nova anyways. I'm excited for Chameleon as well, though, so we'll see what happens!
Just wondering if any of you switched over to Nova or if your sticking to the stock launcher.
Ive noticed some lag with stock but I enjoy the widgets touch wiz offers.
Stock or aftermarket launcher?
I'm currently using aviate by yahoo and I like it a lot especially with the transparent setting
I pretty much switched to Nova Launcher right away. Didn't even bother playing around with the Touchwiz launcher
Nova, latest beta. Looking good.
I'm using TW with no issues at all.
nova all the time.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
As soon as I got all my apps installed, switched to Google Experience.
This is clearly a question - it belongs in Q&A, moved. Please post in the correct sections.
Thanks.
DutchDogg54 said:
This is clearly a question - it belongs in Q&A, moved. Please post in the correct sections.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like your work is cut out for ya today lol.
devynbf said:
As soon as I got all my apps installed, switched to Google Experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the Google Now Launcher? I use a lot of different lauchers in my Note2 but Go Launcher is the one I have the most setup due to the extensive customizability-gestures-3D effects but it wasn't as impressive when I quickly installed in on a Note4 in Best Buy perhaps because I hadn't customized it yet but I also like the Google Now Launcher & Nova & Themer.
I generally immediately get rid of TW but it wasn't as bad in the Note4 but still not ultra smooth or interesting as the other lauchers. I really like the ability to change launchers which is another reason Android is & the next time I play with a Note4 I'll go through more launchers as it could definitely look cooler & be more functional.:good:
I switched to Nova Launcher beta instantly. TouchWiz isn't bad, but I can't stand the grid spacing as I like to keep a few widgets and apps on my main home screen.
I've already switched to Nova, phone should be here Friday. ??
DruHill said:
I switched to Nova Launcher beta instantly. TouchWiz isn't bad, but I can't stand the grid spacing as I like to keep a few widgets and apps on my main home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree grid of icons gets old fast like lame iOS & I also try to keep icons to a minimum (Go Launcher lets you program 5 base hideable icons to launch additional apps with gestures like swipe up as well as scroll swipe across to another 5 icons & another 5 icons (5x3=15 x 2 including the programmable gestures upon a long press menu = 30 apps-shortcuts-functions) & I use a lot of widgets so I don't even have to click icons to access some data. I don't think non-Prime Nova lets you customize as much as Go Launcher but there are more & more cool launchers being developed & still setting up other launchers I previously mentioned.
Switched to Nova pretty much immediately. As mentioned above I can't stand the spacing between icons. Also I need gesture support, especially with such a large phone. Why that still hasn't been built into the touchwiz launcher I'll never know.
First thing I did was install the ADW launcher. I've been a fan for a long time.
Last year I was able to change the icons on stock touchwiz launcher on my S10 ( which I already sold ) using icon packs from playstore.
I've actually forgotten where the tutorial for that process is and have used google to search but not having any luck. If I'm not mistaken, it was from a xda thread.
If somebody knows or any other way of installing icon packs without using 3rd party launcher, your help is much appreciated.
Thanks
wat?! One UI can change icon without 3rd party launcher
There are icon packs in the Galaxy Store. You enter the Galaxy store, on the bottom menu bar select My Galaxy and there you have all the icon packs. Like hundreds of icon packs.
counotott said:
wat?! One UI can change icon without 3rd party launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Are you a first time samsung user?
Found what I was looking for, but unfortunately it looks like support is only up to Android 9 which the S10 came with.
Update: Still works with Android 10 and as far as I can tell will support the upcoming Android 11 according to the devs. But can't make it work on mine because I'm enrolled with Google's Advance Protection.
Try searching hex installer in the play store. It lets you customize icon shapes and what not and existing themes as well from the Galaxy store - all while using the stock launcher. I'm using hex with the pixelize theme and it's working great! Hope this helps!
hey_joe said:
Yep. Are you a first time samsung user?
Found what I was looking for, but unfortunately it looks like support is only up to Android 9 which the S10 came with.
Update: Still works with Android 10 and as far as I can tell will support the upcoming Android 11 according to the devs. But can't make it work on mine because I'm enrolled with Google's Advance Protection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a long time Samsung user, and I didn't know we could do this
Deonix said:
There are icon packs in the Galaxy Store. You enter the Galaxy store, on the bottom menu bar select My Galaxy and there you have all the icon packs. Like hundreds of icon packs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all you need.
Choose theme (the native high contrast ones work well)>choose Galaxy store icon pack>pick a wallpaper you like.
Use the Galaxy store Goodlock family of apps including One handed Operation plus for even more customization options.
No 3rd party launcher needed... or even desirable. One UI is an excellent launcher.
I have been trying out different launchers on my S8. Let me know of any you are familiar with or recommend.
Microsoft Launcher: I am currently using this and pleasantly surprised. I don't login to Microsoft because I don't use those services but see how it could be a good thing for those that do. MS has made a very nice tablet launcher experience. Even the MS Start news app works well enough as a Google Now replacement. I love to hide junk news sources I don't want to read, and can request fewer articles on topics of interest. There are ads in the feed but at least they are subtle and have an indicator so you don't have to click. Loading news is sometimes slow but it could be my connection.
Smart Launcher: looks great but it is a subscription service to reap the full functionality. I saw that they also use MS Smart but it doesn't seem to work well in that launcher. I can't get my head around the launcher subscription service revenue model, who would pay monthly, or the value add to do so.
Nova Launcher: my go-to on phones. However, the tablet experience isn't great. I couldn't figure out how to move the dock to the bottom in landscape.
Apex Launcher: seems nice but also has a subscription model. I didn't spend much time with it.
Action Launcher: another I used for years on phones before switching to Nova. I also couldn't figure out how to move the dock to the bottom in landscape.
If I'm gonna be completely honest, I'm super fond of the OneUI launcher and have been using that instead of Nova for a couple of weeks now. Samsung has made OneUI even better in the coming updates, so I just don't even change it now.
@SavXL I am in total agreement. OneUI 4.1 has evolved very well. I had a Samsung Note 9 with the earlier OUI versions which I didn't prefer over Nova.
As a launcher hopper, I will use the OneUI launcher again. Icon pack support would be a nice addition.
johninsf said:
@SavXL I am in total agreement. OneUI 4.1 has evolved very well. I had a Samsung Note 9 with the earlier OUI versions which I didn't prefer over Nova.
As a launcher hopper, I will use the OneUI launcher again. Icon pack support would be a nice addition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install custom icons for oneUI through galaxy Theme store.
Jake.S said:
You can install custom icons for oneUI through galaxy Theme store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed! I used Theme Store in the past.
From within OUI launcher icon preferences vs. theme store is my wish for installing icon packs. To be fair, Google's pixel launcher doesn't allow this either.
If you are really advanced, use total launcher and you won't regret it.. Basically you can re create any launcher with it. But 1st time you use it, it's look awful.. By far the most advanced launcher right now if you give it time to understand what you can do with it. But i still use nova when i want something simple to use it in 5 minutes.
Here an example of my theme i created in total launcher. I inspired from htc. (I could create exactly the same launcher htc had if i wanted):
johninsf said:
I have been trying out different launchers on my S8. Let me know of any you are familiar with or recommend.
Microsoft Launcher: I am currently using this and pleasantly surprised. I don't login to Microsoft because I don't use those services but see how it could be a good thing for those that do. MS has made a very nice tablet launcher experience. Even the MS Start news app works well enough as a Google Now replacement. I love to hide junk news sources I don't want to read, and can request fewer articles on topics of interest. There are ads in the feed but at least they are subtle and have an indicator so you don't have to click. Loading news is sometimes slow but it could be my connection.
Smart Launcher: looks great but it is a subscription service to reap the full functionality. I saw that they also use MS Smart but it doesn't seem to work well in that launcher. I can't get my head around the launcher subscription service revenue model, who would pay monthly, or the value add to do so.
Nova Launcher: my go-to on phones. However, the tablet experience isn't great. I couldn't figure out how to move the dock to the bottom in landscape.
Apex Launcher: seems nice but also has a subscription model. I didn't spend much time with it.
Action Launcher: another I used for years on phones before switching to Nova. I also couldn't figure out how to move the dock to the bottom in landscape.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using nova and the dock moves to the bottom. However, I am facing a weird issue where the status bar icons remain black on dark background.
lenana said:
I'm using nova and the dock moves to the bottom. However, I am facing a weird issue where the status bar icons remain black on dark background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably issue with nova launcher. Try using oneui and see if issue remains. If not, then issue is due to nova launcher
Jake.S said:
Probably issue with nova launcher. Try using oneui and see if issue remains. If not, then issue is due to nova launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem persists even with one UI launcher. In fact I uninstalled nova.
lenana said:
The problem persists even with one UI launcher. In fact I uninstalled nova.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird so far I have not gotten this issue on mine
Square Home Launcher by "ChYK the dev" works really well on larger devices. It's like a Windows 10 start menu look, but with lots of options. Takes a bit to get it customized just right, but well worth the time.
Jake.S said:
Weird so far I have not gotten this issue on mine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I changed system font to roboto sans and the issue went away, back to nova launcher. Weird!
lenana said:
I changed system font to roboto sans and the issue went away, back to nova launcher. Weird!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What method did you use to change to a non-default font? Did you just download it from Samsung's store?
This one: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...v2-1-for-samsung-oneui-1-2-3-no-root.4195613/ ?
I've used Nova Launcher on all four of my tablets. going back to 2014. Just last month I upgraded from a Tab S4 to a Tab S8+.
Transferring was a breeze. The backup function worked like a charm -- all the settings were transferred from my old to the new tablet. And it copied the icons for all the apps -- even those not yet installed. Icon locations and grouped icons were all in the same place they were on the old tablet. Those icons for not installed apps were gray, and clicking them brings a message asking if you want to install them. If you say yes, it opens the app in the Play Store. Then after they install, it goes to full color. For sideloaded apps, just install and the icons turn active. This made it easy to install all the apps I had before. No missing aps.
As far as the launcher goes, all the settings, layouts and defaults are the same. I think the only thing I had to manually install widgets that were on apps that weren't yet installed when I restored the backup on the new tablet.
Joe
Niagara Launcher.
For me it's the best Launcher after testing so many alternatives.
Switched from Nova to Niagara and never looked back.