Hello everbody, how are you?
I would like to ask for help from a experienced user/developer regarding a issue with Orange Pi Zero 2 Android 10 OS.
Well, people who knows this kind of board, knows that differently from Raspberry, the support and the community have been pretty much a ghost town, and that makes things a bit more complicated.
Anyway, straight to the point, I installed Android 10 from official website drive, it works, but any user got to download parallel App store to install apps which makes the device 'usable' and one of the first things we got to do is to change the launcher, which own some bugs, not sure why.
I tried many launchers, and only 3 worked as I expected, though with some issues:
-2 of the launchers makes impossible to enter android settings without changing it back to the stock launcher, as they also lack of stock shortcuts for the menu
-limits of icon customization, such as freely moving the icons to wherever you want(that's not a major issue, but kinda annoying)
-heavy animations in some menus, it draws too much ram and unfortunately I'm not using a high end device
-lack of bluetooth connection\devices shortcut(but adding device settings would solve the problem as well)
Is there any way to add those shortcuts aside from downloading any app from those App Stores? I mean like a certain file I may download that will those tools available for me(I know developers are not wizards or something but, maybe somebody could help me)?
Is there any solution to this?
Thank you in advance.
Device: Orange Pi Zero 2
OS: Orange Pi Zero 2's official Android 10
Apps used(Launchers): Orange Pi Android 10 Stock Launcher, Mini Desktop Launcher, Microsoft Launcher, Smart Launcher 3 Classic, Kitkat Launcher, Nova Launcher
Apps with lack of settings: Mini Desktop Launcher, Smart Launcher 3 Classic, Kitkat Launcher, Nova Launcher
Apps with a bit of performance issues: Stock Launcher, Smart Launcher 3 and Microsoft Launcher(slowdown in certain settings tweak and in the ML the icons are too small)
App with the best performance overall: Smart Launcher 3(lightweight, organized)
Honorable mention: Mini Desktop Launcher(very lightweight)
Related
As said in the title. Do you find TouchWiz :
- convenient
- just different from stock Android
- un-convenient
?
Thanks for advance.
Thank you everybody for all your answers (just kidding) !
Let me add mine as I now have a Galaxy Note :
I find TouchWiz very nice. It is ergonomic, it does not slow the phone, and it greatly improves the look of vanilla Android (version 2.3.6 & 4.0.3).
I found touchwiz 4.0 a bit nice but im using ADW Launcher EX.
I very much like touchwiz over any 3rd party launcher because of all the features it has. I especially like the folders: I just wish Samsung would let us make a backup of folders . When I was flashing my SGS2 a lot, I HATED having to put my icons back into their folders. Not keeping folders I find to be a big mess.
I like touchwiz, go launcher is good too, but I much prefer Touchwiz
i am happy with touchwiz and no plan on changing it.
Used to dislike touchwiz very much, but I understand the Note has an improved version, e.g. resizable widgets, two way directions when scrolling through available widgets etc.
Now on the Note, it's my default launcher, though I also have Zeam--used to be my favourite--and LauncherPro Plus installed.
If nothing else, it's because I can create folders in TouchWiz whereas I can't do that in Zeam, and also the app drawer opens more smoothly.
I do like having 6 dock icons on Zeam though!
zkyevolved said:
I very much like touchwiz over any 3rd party launcher because of all the features it has. I especially like the folders: I just wish Samsung would let us make a backup of folders . When I was flashing my SGS2 a lot, I HATED having to put my icons back into their folders. Not keeping folders I find to be a big mess.
I like touchwiz, go launcher is good too, but I much prefer Touchwiz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the GO Launcher mention, it's my new free favorite launcher making my EVO 4G feel new+cool again with all those customizable effects (faster than sense too).
Go Launcher should now also help make it easier for me to hold out for CES news before deciding on my SGNote move..
I had to factory reset my EVO on Christmas after it was stuck in an infinite bootup loop for the first time but at least it fixed issues I was having with it.
- How is TouchWiz better than Go Launcher? TouchWiz looks like my dad's cookie cutter iPhone?
as a former iPhone user. I like TouchWiz; it also adds more features and shortcuts to Pure Google Android.
Got nothing against TouchWiz, it works well but it uses A LOT of resources.
Don't use any TouchWiz specific things really (Unless S-Pen features like S-Memo, S-Memo lite and screenshot annotation count)
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.
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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.
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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!
I've got an XPERIA x8 which I've recently re-rooted and upgraded from Froyo to Gingerbread (read more about this nightmare here). One of the first things I installed (just because I noticed it in Play Store and it was very well reviewed) was "Go Launcher Ex" and it's blowing my mind. Everything is nice and is the way an android phone should already come! However, it's not too good for performance on such an old device. At the moment I'm coping with it anyway. It's awesome-ness outweighs it's bloated-ness a fair bit (though the Next Browser has crashed my phone a few times so back to Opera Mini for now). So I just wondered what other people who use this phone use and think about the available Home Launchers out there.
Personally, I got a bit bored of LauncherPro on Froyo as it was pretty buggy and not very good at space management compared to Go Launcher. The things about Go Launcher I'm liking are how easy it is to customise, the fact shortcuts can be grouped in the app drawer (automatically as well!), dock and home screens (LauncherPro was buggy at this, opening a folder and going into an app would sometimes cause the folder to stay open but invisible and nothing to be selectable on the home), how you can order the app drawer in numerous ways, how many home screens can be added (I try not to overdo widgets, but I like to have the simple time/date/weather combo one as it's useful and stylish and one or two for power/performance management which I usually combine on one home screen to keep the others speedier) and it's stylish and to be honest, quite quick in itself. The only problem is that while it runs smoothly, I know that it's keeping it's pretty large share of memory while I'm trying to use other things, so if there's anything similar but with only the stuff I like about Go Launcher, I'd like to try it out. So, lemme hear what's your favourite and why
zeam launcher all the way for the smooth, minimalistic graphic and obviously for the personalization.
Atom Launcher mate, easily configurable and minimalist, try it
There you go, mate:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2001604
This was already discussed somewhere recently
xperia launcher is the best
Deji666 said:
I've got an XPERIA x8 which I've recently re-rooted and upgraded from Froyo to Gingerbread (read more about this nightmare here). One of the first things I installed (just because I noticed it in Play Store and it was very well reviewed) was "Go Launcher Ex" and it's blowing my mind. Everything is nice and is the way an android phone should already come! However, it's not too good for performance on such an old device. At the moment I'm coping with it anyway. It's awesome-ness outweighs it's bloated-ness a fair bit (though the Next Browser has crashed my phone a few times so back to Opera Mini for now). So I just wondered what other people who use this phone use and think about the available Home Launchers out there.
Personally, I got a bit bored of LauncherPro on Froyo as it was pretty buggy and not very good at space management compared to Go Launcher. The things about Go Launcher I'm liking are how easy it is to customise, the fact shortcuts can be grouped in the app drawer (automatically as well!), dock and home screens (LauncherPro was buggy at this, opening a folder and going into an app would sometimes cause the folder to stay open but invisible and nothing to be selectable on the home), how you can order the app drawer in numerous ways, how many home screens can be added (I try not to overdo widgets, but I like to have the simple time/date/weather combo one as it's useful and stylish and one or two for power/performance management which I usually combine on one home screen to keep the others speedier) and it's stylish and to be honest, quite quick in itself. The only problem is that while it runs smoothly, I know that it's keeping it's pretty large share of memory while I'm trying to use other things, so if there's anything similar but with only the stuff I like about Go Launcher, I'd like to try it out. So, lemme hear what's your favourite and why
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2264917
Recommend the above launcher since its xperia styled and more customizable
very good and smooth.
For me the best launcher is launcher pro. It's fast, smooth, lightweight and has a lot of options. This launcher can look as you want, as arc launcher, as s launcher, as 4.0 launcher, just change background and icons.
Holo launcher is light simple and fast
Sent from my E15i using xda app-developers app
Stock Launcher 2.1:thumbup:
Sent from my ST23i using xda premium
i personaly use Sony Ericsson home launcher and Xperia S launcher
Sent from my X8 using xda premium
If u wanna very light launcher try Smart Launcher or use Xperia S launcher
Since upgrading to the alternate ROMs available now for my MTC unit, I was becoming frustrated with the layout and lack of customisation available with it.
I started to look around for custom launchers.
I would like it if other members could post their recommendations or opinions on other 3rd party launchers out there and give other members a bit more choice.
1. Nova launcher.
As a full customisable home screen, ability to change icons and fonts. This was a brilliant app that gave me full control over what I wanted on my home screen.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher
Pro version has more customised options available.
2. Car Launcher AG.
Straight out of the box this is an absolute winner.
The layout and detail is exactly what I was what I was looking for in a home launcher for my car radio.
Simple touch controls and GPS widgets on screen made everything simple.
I just really love the complete layout and simplicity of it. fantastic
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=altergames.carlauncher
Free trial for 30 days. Purchase and upgrade to the full version.
Fyi, I'm not affiliated with any I'm posting. Just a frustrated driver looking for the right look.
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
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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.