23 Best Android Launchers For Your Smartphone: For Complete Customization [Updated List – 2022]

Android is one of the more customizable mobile operating systems, especially considering all the limitations imposed on its Apple counterpart, iOS.

You don’t need to root your Android device or flash a custom recovery and ROM to spice up your homescreen.

Mobile launchers are one of the most customizable parts of Android.

So What is Launcher?

The way we arrange, organize, and interact with our apps on Android is called the launcher. Launchers usually consist of a series of home screens, where we can arrange app shortcuts and widgets and an app drawer.

Every phone comes with a launcher, but when they drop the ball, there are endless third-party launchers that not only pick it up again but knock it clear out of the park.

The best Android launchers offer you full control of your phone’s home screen. You’ll find an incredibly diverse array of options for putting your stamp on the best Android phones, with launchers ranging from minimalist skins to those that put an explosive array of color on your smartphone.

Here are the best 23 Android launchers we’ve found on the Google Play store and elsewhere.

1. Nova Launcher

You can’t talk about the best Android launchers without a mention of Nova Launcher.

Fast, sleek and highly customizable, Nova Launcher balances extensive appearance and utility customizations with a minimal performance impact, letting you set your home screen just right without slowing down performance.

There are a lot of options to work through, from color themes to icon packs, scrollable docks to app drawer customizations, to folder settings and infinite scrolling.

The Nova team is never content to rest on its laurels, continuously adding new features, such as Sesame Shortcuts, animations, and other improvements.

If you want the most powerful features, turn to Nova Launcher Prime, a $4.99 version that offers more than the free download.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.5
  • Downloads – 50 Million+
  • Price – Free

2. POCO Launcher

Poco Launcher from Xiaomi includes a slightly customizable homescreen. The launcher thrives for its effortless yet familiar UI.

It consists of an app drawer that’s just a swipe away, and you can easily find apps by swiping through the different categories.

Poco Launcher allows you to customize the background, app transparency, icon size, app drawer, and manage app categories.

It does support icon packs, so you can use custom icons if you prefer those over Xiaomi’s icon style. Poco Launcher is free to download and is ad-free.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.4
  • Downloads – 10 Million+
  • Price – Free

3. Square Home

If you have ever used a Windows 10 phone, then you would love Square Home. The launcher app features Windows 10-like tiles on the home screen.

You can change their size, color, transparency level, and a lot more. If you own a tablet, it is undoubtedly one of the best free launchers for Android.

It is also pretty useful for people with weak eyesight. You can resize the icons, or even choose an icon pack from the Play Store. It also has an option to add a quick contact page.

Apart from that, you can see the notification count on the tiles. Also, you can sort the app drawer with the most used apps coming in at the top. Overall, Square Home is one of the unique launcher apps that you should try out.

Note: The app has not been updated since October 2020, which means app issues and feature requests might go unheard.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.6
  • Downloads – 5 Million+
  • Price – Free

4. Action Launcher

Action Launcher has long been a favorite Android launcher of our readers. It comes with a stock Android feel. However, there are some extra features over top that add some uniqueness.

Quicktheme lets you customize the colors of your UI based on your wallpaper. Shutters lets you check out an app’s widget without actually setting one on the home screen.

It even has theming and customization elements to make your phone feel more like Android Oreo. There is also icon pack support, frequent updates, and a lot more. There’s a lot to like about this one. Even the app drawer is configurable.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 3.8
  • Downloads – 5 Million+
  • Price – Free

5. Lynx Launcher

Lynx Launcher is a relatively new launcher in the Android world. With over 50,000 downloads, it may be still finding its feet but that hasn’t stopped it from already gaining a fan following.

The Lynx Launcher offers a clean-looking homescreen with easy-to-remember gestures to navigate around it. According to its developers, the launcher has been inspired by Gnome Desktop Environment, which is quite clear from the dock on the homescreen.

It comes with lots of customization options, including the ability to download new themes from the launcher’s website, although I only found four themes to be currently available.

Additionally, you can get custom icon packs from the Google Play store, change the location of the dock, select dark mode, and more. Gesture-based navigation is quite quick and smooth and can be tweaked as per your liking.

Lynx Launcher is free to download and use; however, there’s a Pro version that gives you access to screen transitions, more desktop pages, advanced theming options, and a lot more.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.4
  • Downloads – 50K+
  • Price – Free

6. Microsoft Launcher

You’d think that if Microsoft was going to bring a launcher to Android, it’d match Windows 10 or maybe the old Windows Phone look — and you’d be wrong.

Not only is Microsoft Launcher a completely Android-native experience, but it’s a top-quality, ever-updating launcher. It’s one of few outside Nova Launcher to offer edge-to-edge widgets and subgrid positioning.

Microsoft Launcher’s experience centers around a clean home screen and a smart page to the left fed by your Microsoft account, your daily phone use, and any Android widgets you wish to add.

Even if you’re not immersed in the Microsoft ecosystem, having a scrolling page of widgets beats having to space them out over 3-4 pages. While this launcher’s settings are somewhat clunky, it has all the launcher options you’d want and then some.

While Microsoft Launcher is definitely not as simplistic as Smart Launcher 5 or Niagara Launcher, it is still a fairly lightweight launcher that’s well-worth considering, especially if you have any sort of reliance on Microsoft’s ecosystem for work, school, or personal use.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.7
  • Downloads – 10 Million+
  • Price – Free

7. Launcher 10

If you miss the cool Metro interface from the dead Windows Phone, you have a launcher to relive that experience called Launcher 10 by nfwebdev.

This one brings back the experience of Windows Phone 10 on your Android device.

The tile-based layout is functional and you can even choose from the multiple accent colours, just how Microsoft let you do half a decade ago.

There’s a paid version that allows notification on the tiles.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.1
  • Downloads – 1 Million+
  • Price – Free

8. ASAP Launcher

ASAP Launcher is another app that focuses on providing a clean, no-nonsense interface so you can get back to whatever you really should be doing as soon as possible.

ASAP sticks to a clean Material Design aesthetic, while using slide up app drawers and settings drawers to quickly bring your favored apps and device settings within easy reach.

Unlike other best Android launchers, ASAP isn’t aiming for personalization, but the launcher does feature a number of themes, as well as support for icon packs.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.2
  • Downloads – 500K+
  • Price – Free

9. Ratio

If your home screen is too messy and you get distracted easily, then Ratio is best launcher app for Android that you should be using.

The Android app has three home screens and each one has a particular feature.

For instance, the Tree page keeps all your messages under one place, while the Root page features custom cards of weather, Notes, YouTube etc.

Lastly, you have Tiles page which automatically segregates apps under different categories.

The only problem with Ratio is that there are no colorful theme options. That said, the monochromatic looks good as well.

Note that Ratio needs to access almost all your data to function properly. While it says the data is stays on the phone and is encrypted, not everyone will be comfortable with sharing too much of personal information.

All in all, Ratio has one of the best launcher for Android in 2022.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.4
  • Downloads – 100K+
  • Price – Free

10. AIO Launcher

AIO Launcher does it differently than many Android launcher apps. It does away with the standard home screen in favor of an information-packed list of stuff.

It shows things like your latest SMS and missed calls, your media player, your system info (RAM, battery, storage, etc), and even stuff like news, Bitcoin price, Twitter, and more.

The paid version also includes integration for Telegram and your regular widgets from other apps. Not everything has to look like stock Android and AIO Launcher certainly shows that it can be done effectively. It’s free for most features.

The full version is a very reasonable $1.99.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.5
  • Downloads – 500K+
  • Price – Free

11. Niagara Launcher

Niagara is still a shiny new launcher that has just left Early Access, but it’s already got quite the following for being a lightning-fast launcher that’s great for low-memory devices.

It’s also ridiculously simple to build themes around since it only has one layout. You can stick one or more widgets at the top, you have a quicklist of your favorite apps, and then you access the rest of your apps from the A-Z alphabet on the right side of the screen.

The feature set here is still pretty small, but if you just want to find your apps quickly and get on with your day, Niagara Launcher is a pretty great answer.

t reminds me a bit of the old Z Launcher from several years ago, if you remember Nokia’s experimental launcher, but I think this one is going to be around for a while.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.4
  • Downloads – 1 Million+
  • Price – Free

12. Wide Launcher

The Wide Launcher is another interesting home-screen replacement app.

It’s attempting to be different from other launchers by offering a 3-times wider homescreen, so you’re not limited to your typical homescreen size and grid.

You also get lots of customization options, including the ability to select icon styles, themes, decor stickers, and more. Moreover, the Decorate mode allows your creativity to run wild.

It also comes with its own mini-apps called Applets that provide a variety of functions and can be added to the homescreen.

Overall, if you’re really planning to try something different, you should give it a spin. The Wide Launcher is free to download and use.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.6
  • Downloads – 500K+
  • Price – Free

13. Hyperion Launcher

A Pixel-like launcher from the team behind the popular Substratum theming engine, Hyperion Launcher is an extremely customizable Android launcher app that lets you tweak a vast array of settings.

Besides the standard wallpapers and widgets, users can configure a gamut of settings for themes, folders, transparencies, animations, icon packs and adaptive icons.

Hyperion provides a ton of its features for free, but others — like launcher-level font changes and custom gestures — are unlocked with an in-app purchase for the Pro version.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.1
  • Downloads – 1M+
  • Price – Free

14. Launcher iOS 15

As the name indicates, the launcher app for Android brings the iPhone experience on the Android phone.

Not only do you get proprietary icons, you will also see improvements in performance during navigation.

It’s unbelievable how close the launcher is to the real iPhone experience. Long pressing an app icon brings up an iOS-like menu of options to rearrange and remove the app.

The launcher also provides the iPhone’s home screen-like widget section.

Users can also get the iOS control panel and assistive touch, upon downloading the respective apps from the developer.

The only problem is that the iOS 15 launcher app throws obtrusive ads while trying to tweak the launcher settings.

Overall, this is the best launcher for Android in 2022 for people who would like to get the iOS 15 look on their Android device.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.8
  • Downloads – 10M+
  • Price – Free

15. Lawnchair Launcher 2

Lawnchair Launcher is an excellent Android launcher for fans of minimalism. It’s an open source project that mimics much of the look and feel from the Pixel Launcher.

It features many similar features to the Pixel Launcher along with a few others. Those features include icon pack support, Google Now integration (with optional and free plugin), adaptive icons, and various other customizations.

The original was highly touted for its stock-like appearance plus its customization features.

The developers now list the app as Lawnchair 2 and it’s still in beta, but includes some more modern Android features. The app is also entirely free.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.3
  • Downloads – 1M+
  • Price – Free

16. Smart Launcher 5

Smart Launcher has been around for years and years, but it really kicked things up a notch with Smart Launcher 5. The home screen features a grid-less widget placement system and modular page system, but the real star of the show here is still the app drawer.

Smart Launcher 5 automatically sorts your apps into several categories, and if you pay for Smart Launcher Pro, you can add your own custom categories and sort your various drawer tabs in a variety of ways, from most-used to install time to icon color.

From a responsive and comprehensive categorical app drawer to some of the most precise widget placement on Android to the most diverse icon options on the market, Smart Launcher 5 has a lot to love.

Its gestures are top-notch, too, especially the double-tap shortcuts for dock apps, which work worlds better than the swipe app shortcuts Nova and Action use.

Smart Launcher is also part of the holy trinity of quick home screen theming I’ve used for the last three years, and it’s been used in our dead awesome Deadpool theme, NBA Finals themes, revamped MrMobile theme, and more themes coming soon.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.4
  • Downloads – 10M+
  • Price – Free

17. Big Launcher

BIG Launcher is a simple to use android launcher for seniors. Icons are large and have distinctive colors that ensure it’s easier to differentiate between a handful of apps featured on the grid-style homescreen.

It also prioritizes essential apps for seniors, including the dialer app, messages, gallery, camera, and an SOS button. There’s a button that takes you to the app drawer as well.

The heavily contrasty homescreen is also ideal for users with eyesight issues. BIG Launcher offers a handful of customization options, including text size, full-screen display, navigation bar, safe borders size, and others.

It keeps it simple, so it doesn’t get overwhelming for the elderly. A one-time fee unlocks additional ways to customize the launcher.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 3.9
  • Downloads – 1M+
  • Price – Free

18. ADW Launcher 2

The original ADW Launcher was a ridiculously good and versatile launcher back in the day, though it eventually fell by the wayside as it languished without updates.

Enter ADW Launcher 2, which brings one of the best Android launchers back to the fore as a modern app.

ADW Launcher 2 offers a wealth of features and customization options, such as a dynamically colored interface based on your wallpaper, an indexed app drawer, transitions, icon badges, app categorization and more.

It also supports newer Android features, including app shortcuts.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.2
  • Downloads – 10M+
  • Price – Free

19. BaldPhone

BaldPhone is an open-source launcher that is specifically made for elderly people, people with motoric problems, and people who need a visual aid.

The launcher has bigger icons and the necessary functions right on the home screen. However, users can customize the home screen based on their personal preferences.

Since the Android launcher is open-source, there are no ads and developers claim, “it is purely a goodwill product.”

While the app asks for a lot of permissions, one can assume that there will be no harm to their data, given the open-source nature.

Unlike other Android apps here, this launcher app is only available on the F-Droid store. BaldPhone is one of the best Android launchers of 2022 for people who have difficulty using the normal interface.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.4
  • Downloads – 10K+
  • Price – Free

20. Apex Launcher

Apex Launcher has been around for a very long time and remains one of the most iconic Android launcher apps ever.

Like Action Launcher, it aims to give a stock Android look and feel with a few extra features thrown in for good measure. Among those include the ability to alter things like transition animations, scrolling habits, and there is even a scrolling dock where you can lay plenty of icons.

Apex Launcher also includes a theme engine. The app underwent some big changes in 2018. It looks much more modern now.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.3
  • Downloads – 10M+
  • Price – Free

21. Customized Pixel Launcher (CPL)

The Customised Pixel Launcher, or CPL, does exactly what it says – offer the same experience as a Pixel device.

The interface harks back to the era of Pixel 2 and Pixel 3, with a clean interface overall. However, CPL lets you fine-tune the launcher to get it right as per your needs.

You can apply extreme visual changes but can choose for unique gestures and dock rearrangement to get your style right. We find CPL to be the most pleasant launcher on this list.

22. Lean Launcher

As the name suggests is a lightweight Android launcher that brings Google Pixel interface to your device.

The best thing about this launcher is its open source, there are no in-app purchases to unlock features.

Compared to other launchers this one isn’t bloated and using it doesn’t make your device sluggish.

Lean Launcher provides the stock Android like interface which is sophisticated, Smart and customizable, with notification dots, Google Now and dynamic shortcuts on supported devices.

Installing this launcher you can change the entire look and feel of your device.

Key Features of Lean Launcher:

  • Force light or dark theme, or just based on your wallpaper
  • Notification dots
  • Static and dynamic shortcuts
  • Dynamic icons for Google Calendar & Clock
  • Google Now feed (only for debug builds)
  • Quick actions: swipe down for notifications & quick settings
  • Double tap to lock
  • Hide apps from your drawer & change icon shapes
  • Hide bottom search bar
  • Toggle navigation bar transparency
  • Disable spring animation
  • Allow home screen rotation
  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.2
  • Downloads – 500K+
  • Price – Free

23. Lightning Launcher

More than a simple launcher, Lightning is a fast, light and extremely customizable tool to build the perfect home screen. To build your home screen.

No other launcher can compete with Lightning when it comes to customizability. Have a look at the full list of features and you will be convinced.

And if an extreme customizability were not enough, Lightning is also very light on memory and a blazing fast launcher.

It works like a charm on all phones and tablets, from Android 4.0 up to newest Android versions.

  • Google Play Store Rating – 4.1
  • Downloads – 50K+
  • Price – Paid

Conclusion

That’s pretty much it! So, there are Best Android Launchers For Your Smartphone for Complete Customization.

If you have any other favorite Android Launchers For Your Smartphone then don’t forget to share them with us in the comment below. Also, if you liked this article, Share on your favorite Social media platform.

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