How to make my Note 8 like my Pixel 2 XL?

[quietlybrilliant]

I got a Note 8 again today after my Pixel 2 XL got stuck during boot and my only option appears to be a factory reset, which will erase all my photos and videos. This is unacceptable to me.

My issue with the Note 8 is all the bloatware and Samsung forcing me into their ecosystem. One thing I noticed right at setup is that I can’t install from my Pixel setup. It literally won’t give me that option. So I have to start from a blank Android setup and install every app one after another. This is extremely frustrating. Is there a way to force it to remember the apps I had installed on my Pixel, and the arrangement on the screen?

Also, does it make sense to go with Google’s instead of Samsung’s home screen? I don’t like Samsung’s, but maybe it will become hard to use cool things like the S-pen with the Google launcher.

Anyway, any advice for how to make this phone more “Vanilla Android” would be much appreciated.

 

[chanchan05]

You can't restore your Pixel homescreen to the Note 8 because the app doesn't exist. The Pixel launcher is not on the phone. You can install Pixel launcher and it would cause no problems apart from some Samsung widgets being inaccessible.

Not sure what your problem about installing though. Every Samsung phone I've used allows me to restore from Google backups.