Pixel Launcher - impossible to remove date from homescreen?

[wordfool]

Can someone confirm that it's impossible to remove the date from the top right corner of the Pixel Launcher homescreen? I don't have the weather widget enabled (prefer to look out of the window for local weather) so instead there's just the date. Not even the date/time... just the date, which is kinda useless to me. I updated the launcher app and the date disappeared for a while, but then it eventually came back.

Looks like I'll have to go back to Nova, which is a shame since I like everything else about Pixel Launcher.

 

[radgatt]

Can someone confirm that it's impossible to remove the date from the top right corner of the Pixel Launcher homescreen? I don't have the weather widget enabled (prefer to look out of the window for local weather) so instead there's just the date. Not even the date/time... just the date, which is kinda useless to me. I updated the launcher app and the date disappeared for a while, but then it eventually came back.

Looks like I'll have to go back to Nova, which is a shame since I like everything else about Pixel Launcher.

The only other way to get rid of the date is to make sure the Pixel Launcher is updated in the Play Store. Once you do that make sure you refresh your Google Now feed. Afterwards instead of seeing the date you should see the weather. That's the only other thing that can be showing besides the date.

 

[wordfool]

The only other way to get rid of the date is to make sure the Pixel Launcher is updated in the Play Store. Once you do that make sure you refresh your Google Now feed. Afterwards instead of seeing the date you should see the weather. That's the only other thing that can be showing besides the date.

Right, so there's no option to have nothing there. It has to be weather or date, correct?

If so it seems like a huge oversight to have such a prominent part of the screen un-customizeable

 

[cbreze]

Unfortunately thats part of the "pure" android experience. Some things just can't be changed. a different launcher can change anything or everything but then it's not pure android. In a way, pure android is kind of Googles idea of what you should want in a pure experience.
You might want to look into another launcher for greater flexibility. You can still have the look of that "pure' experience with certain flexibility or lots of flexibility. Be your choice.
I like the idea of pure android but don't like being forced to have certain restrictions kind of like an iPhone as far as being defaulted to a certain format, not changeable. Thank god for android launcher developers is all I can say.

 

[wordfool]

ended up switching to Nova, which is a shame because that persistent weather/date widget was the only thing wrong with Pixel Launcher as far as I'm concerned and Nova is not quite as fast/smooth.

 

[recDNA]

Unfortunately thats part of the "pure" android experience. Some things just can't be changed. a different launcher can change anything or everything but then it's not pure android. In a way, pure android is kind of Googles idea of what you should want in a pure experience.
You might want to look into another launcher for greater flexibility. You can still have the look of that "pure' experience with certain flexibility or lots of flexibility. Be your choice.
I like the idea of pure android but don't like being forced to have certain restrictions kind of like an iPhone as far as being defaulted to a certain format, not changeable. Thank god for android launcher developers is all I can say.

You just described in iphone.

 

[Aquila]

Right, so there's no option to have nothing there. It has to be weather or date, correct?

If so it seems like a huge oversight to have such a prominent part of the screen un-customizeable

Correct, one or the other.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Right, so there's no option to have nothing there. It has to be weather or date, correct?

If so it seems like a huge oversight to have such a prominent part of the screen un-customizeable

And a huge oversight to have it so that a 'stock' phone, with no changes made whatsoever, will display the date twice on the main area of the display (there and, by default, on the clock widget).

 

[Almeuit]

You just described in iphone.

Except with iPhone -- you can't change the launder in two taps on the screen to get whatever you want .

 

[LeoRex]

Unfortunately thats part of the "pure" android experience. Some things just can't be changed. a different launcher can change anything or everything but then it's not pure android. In a way, pure android is kind of Googles idea of what you should want in a pure experience.

That's not 'pure' Android... there's only one launcher that's 'pure' Android and that's the Launcher3 launcher that is part of the AOSP base code and what you see built into some custom AOSP based ROMs.... The Pixel Launcher, like most every launcher, is based on the Launcher3 code. It has just been curated a bit so Google can control the experience. Don't like it? Download a new one... use the Google Now Launcher if you want to stick to something less loaded down with features. Or go with Action Launcher or Nova for a ton of adjustments

But other than this, the Launcher is not Android. It's a malleable interface that can be changed easily.

 

[cbreze]

That's not 'pure' Android... there's only one launcher that's 'pure' Android and that's the Launcher3 launcher that is part of the AOSP base code and what you see built into some custom AOSP based ROMs.... The Pixel Launcher, like most every launcher, is based on the Launcher3 code. It has just been curated a bit so Google can control the experience. Don't like it? Download a new one... use the Google Now Launcher if you want to stick to something less loaded down with features. Or go with Action Launcher or Nova for a ton of adjustments

But other than this, the Launcher is not Android. It's a malleable interface that can be changed easily.

Always thought Nexus and now Pixel was all about the "pure" experience.
Google should let the user move/remove tho for a better end user experience. This is why for me I get bored fast with google launchers. To many nice options available. Android has always been about customization IMO.

 

[DJM626]

Always thought Nexus and now Pixel was all about the "pure" experience.
Google should let the user move/remove tho for a better end user experience. This is why for me I get bored fast with google launchers. To many nice options available. Android has always been about customization IMO.

I agree with you on this. At the same time I don't think one should have to have a device with an unlocked boot loader to permanently remove some of the google apps that I as well as sure as some others will never use. I know you can force stop them, but we should be given a choice to if we want them all and have the option to only keep what we need

 

[gone down south]

Always thought Nexus and now Pixel was all about the "pure" experience.

Nexus was, Pixel isn't.

Google should let the user move/remove tho for a better end user experience. This is why for me I get bored fast with google launchers. To many nice options available. Android has always been about customization IMO.

They do, and it is. Just install (or build your own!) another launcher, takes two seconds

 

[LeoRex]

Always thought Nexus and now Pixel was all about the "pure" experience.
Google should let the user move/remove tho for a better end user experience. This is why for me I get bored fast with google launchers. To many nice options available. Android has always been about customization IMO.

Don't confuse the launcher with Android. It's like when people saw a shot of the G5 and its launcher dropped the app drawer everyone was all 'OMG is Android getting rid of the app drawer????" When, in fact, the app drawer was not actually IN Android to start with, it's a function of whatever launcher is calling the shots. Launchers can be changed... people can load the Google Now Launcher on their S7 Edges or their Huawei Mate 8's and get the same launcher experience as the Nexus. Or not... it's their choice.

It's all the other stuff that makes for the 'stock' experience. The clean notification shade, no bizarre formatting in the settings UI and system pop ups, an app chooser that doesn't get cut at the knees (like Samsung had for quite a while)... it is all those other functions that are the real difference between a clean build of Android without a ton of modifications (which both the Nexus and Pixel are in any case) and a heavily modified one.

 

[anon(847090)]

Nexus was, Pixel isn't.

what makes you think pixel isnt a pure experience? whatever u see on nexus wasn't a pure experience either but everyone thought it as pure experience.
pure experience is what google want android to look like...
pixel is still pure besides the bottom bar... everything else mostly is an app feature.

if u r talking about pixel launcher then google nuw launcher was exclusive to some devices for a while.

 

[Aquila]

what makes you think pixel isnt a pure experience? whatever u see on nexus wasn't a pure experience either but everyone thought it as pure experience.
pure experience is what google want android to look like...
pixel is still pure besides the bottom bar... everything else mostly is an app feature.

if u r talking about pixel launcher then google nuw launcher was exclusive to some devices for a while.

Pure Android is AOSP, normal Android that's on most devices is AOSP + everything required to run Google Play Services, the Play Store, etc. Nexus devices typically ran that form of Android, with a few minor modifications. Pixel devices run that, + a bunch of heavy customizations that aren't a part of Android for any other devices. Some of these are cosmetic, while others are user facing features or functional.

 

[anon(847090)]

Pure Android is AOSP, normal Android that's on most devices is AOSP + everything required to run Google Play Services, the Play Store, etc. Nexus devices typically ran that form of Android, with a few minor modifications. Pixel devices run that, + a bunch of heavy customizations that aren't a part of Android for any other devices. Some of these are cosmetic, while others are user facing features or functional.

exactly what i am saying. nexus was not pure either but people call nexus pure but pixel not pure.
thats a contradiction

 

[vpblaze]

One thing that really bothers me about this widget is that it's never consistent for myself.
Sometimes it's showing just the date, and others it's showing the weather, which I am able to select and go into the forecasts.
It's really unfortunate that it can't make up its mind on what it wants to be....

 

[Aquila]

One thing that really bothers me about this widget is that it's never consistent for myself.
Sometimes it's showing just the date, and others it's showing the weather, which I am able to select and go into the forecasts.
It's really unfortunate that it can't make up its mind on what it wants to be....

Has to do with location setting on the Google app and the last time the weather was fetched.

 

[vpblaze]

I consider it a terrible glitch. Doesn't it make it reliable at all.
Do I need a third party weather app or not? So far whenever I have wanted to check the weather, it is unavailable. I think I might as well install them weather network again. But then I am going to be back at having two weather widgets on my home screen...