Android 10 Pixel launcher vs. 3rd Party Launcher - Is one slower than another?

[PaulQ]

Ok. I searched Google and, no surpise, people have asked "Does a launcher slow down your phone?" a lot. Numerous discussions going back years. I can't find one related to Android 10 so I thought I would come to my usual source of good advice, here.

I have been using Action Launcher for years. With the Android 10 update, you can't use gestures if you have a launcher (at least, for now). I'm contemplating going back to the stock Pixel launcher for that reason but it really isn't that big a deal. Now, if there were other benefits, I think I might lean harder toward going stock.

Is there any other performance benefit or loss using the stock Pixel launcher over 3rd party launchers? (as of Android 10)

Thanks guys, your feedback is always helpful.

 

[B. Diddy]

I just switched between Nova and Pixel, and found no real difference. I'm using Pixel for now just to get used to the gestures, but I think pretty soon I'll go back to Nova. I like having the wraparound homescreen swiping (as opposed to the finite ends on the Pixel Launcher), and I also like having discrete pages in my App Drawer as opposed to one long vertically scrolling list.

 

[PaulQ]

I just switched between Nova and Pixel, and found no real difference. I'm using Pixel for now just to get used to the gestures, but I think pretty soon I'll go back to Nova. I like having the wraparound homescreen swiping (as opposed to the finite ends on the Pixel Launcher), and I also like having discrete pages in my App Drawer as opposed to one long vertically scrolling list.

OK. I've spent 24 hours with gestures and I am finding them - mostly the BACK one - to be totally annoying. I know Google added sensitivity settings to deal with conflicts with apps but it's still problematic at times. I know there is a lot of "gesture debate" so I won't start one here. I'm going back to buttons. The small sacrifice in "pretty" is well worth the consistent and reliable functionality of the buttons.

So... gestures are off the table. I guess I'll go back to Action Launcher, especially with what you said here in this comment.

Thanks!

 

[LaxRef93]

I just switched between Nova and Pixel, and found no real difference. I'm using Pixel for now just to get used to the gestures, but I think pretty soon I'll go back to Nova. I like having the wraparound homescreen swiping (as opposed to the finite ends on the Pixel Launcher), and I also like having discrete pages in my App Drawer as opposed to one long vertically scrolling list.

I have been using Nova for a long time but wanted to try gestures, but could only do so by switching to Pixel launcher. The gestures were OK, but Pixel launcher has minimal formatting controls for your home screen and app drawer, so for me, formatting > gestures and I'll be sticking with Nova.

 

[B. Diddy]

formatting > gestures and I'll be sticking with Nova.

Yep, I'm with you on this.

 

[Davidoo]

I'm sticking with Nova as well.

 

[ptkelly]

I can't say I'm enamored with Gestures or the Pixel launcher. So, I'm back with Nova and two-button navigation.

 

[YankInDaSouth]

One thing that I find myself coming back to the Pixel Launcher for is the access to the app draw from within any app ... Love everything else Nova has to offer, but oddly enough I miss that app draw access from anywhere and keep coming back to the Pixel Launcher.

 

[odin09]

I am using square home and haven't noticed any performance issues at all. I was actually a fan of the Pixel launchers simplicity but after taking the time to get this set up I can't see going back.

 

[TraderGary]

I purchased Nova Prime several years ago and with Nova I can do things that are far beyond what the Pixel launcher can do. I work much faster with Nova than I can with the stock launcher. There's no way I could ever degrade back to the stock launcher.

 

[Davidoo]

I purchased Nova Prime several years ago and with Nova I can do things that are far beyond what the Pixel launcher can do. I work much faster with Nova than I can with the stock launcher. There's no way I could ever degrade back to the stock launcher.

Yes.. . This exactly!

 

[Boogr]

Maybe it's some sort of coincidence, but yesterday (with Nova Launcher) I seemed to have lost the "swipe up to see recent apps" capability. I went to the settings for Nova and it had a note that it was currently the "free" version. If you had purchased the "Prime" version (I had a looong time ago) it said to reinstall from the Play Store.

When I did - I swear it's much more responsive in all things and actions than I remember. Looking at the download page there wasn't an update, so I guess it's just my imagination - but still odd to get the pop up screen to reinstall.

Either way - it's zoomy and quick and I'm a happy camper.

 

[PaulQ]

Just as a follow-up... I've been using Action Launcher again for about a week and notice no difference between using it on Android 9, the brief period I used only the Pixel launcher on Android 10, and now back to using Action Launcher with 10 again. No difference to me. There are a few things in Action that I love so it's nice to know I can use it with no real slowdown.

 

[Theot]

Just went back to the buttons myself today. It's been refreshing how much easier it's been to navigate again. The two button pill thing just never worked well for me (hated it so much I sold my pixel 2 last fall and didn't get a pixel 3 till the end of July this year) nor did the new gestures.

The three buttons just work, they work well and I'll be sticking with them for awhile.

Nova also just works to well being able to customize the gestures. The big one for me is the swipe down for notifications, if the pixel launcher had that I might use it. Also being able to double tap to lock (something I picked up from LG devices). I like to have the dock and another row of icons, some are folders then I hide the apps in the drawer that are on the home screen creating a drawer with the least used apps.

Nova is just better, I don't care for the pixel launcher nor the gestures.

 

[PaulQ]

Just went back to the buttons myself today. It's been refreshing how much easier it's been to navigate again.

Well said. You realize how easy and efficient buttons are when you step away from them.

 

[Theot]

Well said. You realize how easy and efficient buttons are when you step away from them.

Yep, they just work. Neither of the two gesture systems are fluid and intuitive to me, I know others like them but they just aren't for me and I've really tried to use them and embrace the gestures but it just makes me loathe my phone because it doesn't behave how I want it to.

 

[Rukbat]

Ok. I searched Google and, no surpise, people have asked "Does a launcher slow down your phone?" a lot. Numerous discussions going back years. I can't find one related to Android 10 so I thought I would come to my usual source of good advice, here.

ALL Android phones run launchers, whether it's the one that came with the phone (the old Samsung TouchWiz, OneUI, Nova, Microsoft, Evie, Apex ...) If it's not running a launcher, all you'd see on the screen is a black screen.

The launcher generates the home pages, the app drawer, the ability to get to the widgets, it displays the icons for the widgets, it creates shortcuts when you drag an app from the app drawer to the home screen - without a launcher, you have none of that.

Does the Pixel launcher (the Google Launcher, actually) run slower or faster than others? Yes - both. There are some very minimal, very fast and snappy, launchers, and there are some very slow launchers. The Google launcher is around in the middle. But it has no features. I need more than 5 icons in my dock, I want a better badging system and quite a few other things, so I use Nova Launcher. (Just set all the animations to off [you have to enable the debug screen in Settings] to speed the screen up - in any launcher.)

 

[Gray Area]

I just got a pixel 3 and am just using the stock pixel launcher for now, want to see what the pure Android 10 experience is about. I love action launcher but only use it on my Samsung devices for now. Ive never know it to slow down devices. However sometimes it pops up as a high battery use app on my note 9 device monitor.

OK. I've spent 24 hours with gestures and I am finding them - mostly the BACK one - to be totally annoying. I know Google added sensitivity settings to deal with conflicts with apps but it's still problematic at times. I know there is a lot of "gesture debate" so I won't start one here. I'm going back to buttons. The small sacrifice in "pretty" is well worth the consistent and reliable functionality of the buttons.

So... gestures are off the table. I guess I'll go back to Action Launcher, especially with what you said here in this comment.

Thanks!