I really enjoy Niagra, I installed it three times before it clicked with me. It is also telemetry that I moved away from. I had nova for years but it got slopped.

I think Olauncher is on my tablet and I likeit. Lightweight and foss.

Any specific suggestions for Nvidia Shield TV? The regular one is being progressively enshittified. I need something basic open source, but not too ugly looking.

Lawnchair because I can stack widgets on each other, and very fast

I use Kvaesito and its the best

Instead of the usual home launcher its based on a search bar for the apps as well as their internal shortcuts for stuff like Assistants and apps Cross-referencing others

So I can type in timer and instead of having to search for the clock, the timer, etc it just shows the timer section of the clock, make a new timer and a few ones I already have

I've been using Quick Search for a couple months now and it's amazing. Every other launcher feels useless without this. But it seems to be vibe coded so a head's up.

It has one search bar for everything. Appa, app shortcuts, browser bookmarks, searching online, contacts, files, etc. Lots of other useful features too.

I've been using MinimalSF for a while now and really love it 🥰

Dragon launcher after the big refactor is an easy recommend. I love not even having to look and being able to muscle memory all my apps.

I like having my homescreen completely blank (not including the wallpaper), so I use Discreet Launcher. It's not the only launcher that does this, I think KISS and Unlauncher can achieve the same result, but Discreet doesn't make you search for apps by typing and uses a regular app folder instead. Pairs well with Arcticons pack, too.

I primarily switched (to Kvaesitso) because I don't use Google search and it was impossible to remove the Google search bar from my home screen on a Pixel. I do enjoy the greater degree of customization as well.

Fossify Launcher. You can rename any app as you wish.

Lawnchair seems to be a better experience over stock, as it has a lot more customisation options. Though my experience with it is that it has rather slow updates and icon packs don't work saperate from the app drawer and home screen. It should, but it didn't work for me

I've been using the TUI Launcher for like a decade now. It's kinda been abandoned, but it still works perfectly fine.

I switched to KISS launcher a while ago (years ago?)and I absolutely love it. It is search based but you can have tags for apps which allow you to have something akin to folders. If an app fits two tags then so be it, it will show up in all the tag folders, so organisation can be much cleaner. It is also blazingly fast and keeps things clean.

I used Niagra for the longest. But there's no way to pay for pro outside GPS. Like a lot of apps I've paid for over a decade ago I can no longer use (shakes fist at SleepAsAndroid). That said, I'm trying a new one called Minimal SL from F Droid. I was immediately drawn to it because of the Minimal Phone 2 launcher, which I hope becomes available or ported soon. I may buy one soon as a primary phone and keep my now primary phone for bigger screen tasks/media.

So far I like the shortcut for apps. Start typing the app name and it immediately opens. A simple task list at the bottom.

Kvaesito: minimal UI with many unique customizations/features.

I wish Niagara was FOSS and actually let me costumize my home screen without AI bullshit. I just like my alphabetical list.

I use kvaesitso and love it, but it's certainly an opinionated approach. But while it is search focused, you can customize it to make it more traditional

Went from Nova via a few others and ended up with a minimalist beauty that demands nothing : Mako (f-droid) (I miss the double tap off but use the quick settings 'lock screen' button).

Niagara or Pro Launcher. I accidentally paid for the latter before realizing Niagara does the trick just fine.

The minimalist ones take a different approach, and are really great at encouraging less phone use: minimo launcher, fokus launcher, olauncher and its variants, etc. There's some theory around why grayscale and text are less addictive than colorful icon grids, widgets, and multiple pages, but I can't find it right now.

I'm currently on murine launcher because I have a tiny phone, but I use black and white icons with arcticons.

I can somewhat recommend Dragon Launcher. It's gesture based around "app circles". You arrange your apps in custom circles of arbitrary nesting and swipe to get there.

The main downside imo is the extreme pace of development; most releases fix this or the other issue while introducing new bugs. The config format also doesn't appear particularly stable through upgrades, it's probably time for a config reset for me.

For me is important what launcher (or any other app) doesn't have. No bloatware, no games, no ads nor trackers. And then number two - it should have enough features for simple use, after that it should look simple. Yagni launcher on F-droid.

Yantra launcher for weirdos who like the feeling of cli. I used to love tui-launcher but it was abandoned. I tried switching back to normal launchers but even minimal search-based ones feel clunky. It's the only kind I've tried that felt qualitatively different