Some questions about launchers

[Resendetra]

I'd rather not root my phone and go the custom ROM route, been there, done that, but this phone is under contract, unlike the others I have lying around. So I was thinking about getting a launcher instead, but I had a few questions first. Can it be a big battery drain? I've seen that some people have said yes and some said no, so does it depend on the person and the phone? Also, I have always loved the look and feel of Sense over Touchwiz, but like Samsung over HTC (if that makes sense), is there a way with a launcher to mask Touchwiz and give it a somewhat Sense look?

Lastly, what is a good launcher for what I'm looking to do? I have seen a lot of people loving on Nova Launcher, can it give me that Sense look I've been longing for?

 

[Javier P]

Nova won't hurt your battery at all. You can get sense themes for Nova but only if you buy the prime version. I recommend you to use the free version first and if you like it (and you will!) then go prime.

It's a great launcher.

 

[larrykay]

Try Nova or Apex... (or both and see)

 

[AZgl1500]

I have never rooted a phone, but in my quest to find a way to clone my phone's complete configuration, was introduced to Nova.

So far, I am very pleased with how well it works and combined with Kies and Helium, will allow you to restore your phone back to the way you had it at a given time.

I made a post earlier today on just this topic.

* Nova Launcher steps to restore your phone

 

[Resendetra]

Thank you all so much. I played around with Nova for awhile and then I just had to have Prime, it was calling my name. lol I shed a bit of a tear when I got the Sense theme, it was like how I remembered it.

 

[Javier P]

Thank you all so much. I played around with Nova for awhile and then I just had to have Prime, it was calling my name. lol I shed a bit of a tear when I got the Sense theme, it was like how I remembered it.

Enjoy it!

 

[moogle301]

I've installed Apex launcher and I don't think it's working normally. The app drawer has no tab thing at the top like in screenshots and there's a blue section at the bottom, it almost looks like the screen has been moved up a row.

I was deciding between Apex and Nova and learning towards Apex when just reading about them but I think I'll have to go Nova.

I like Solo launcher but I don't think you can swipe the dock icons.

 

[cydewaze]

I like Solo launcher but I don't think you can swipe the dock icons.

I use Solo. There are swipe gestures, but none appear to apply to the dock icons.

 

[Jdroids]

I've installed Apex launcher and I don't think it's working normally. The app drawer has no tab thing at the top like in screenshots and there's a blue section at the bottom, it almost looks like the screen has been moved up a row.

I was deciding between Apex and Nova and learning towards Apex when just reading about them but I think I'll have to go Nova.

You can make the tab appear on top of app drawer from apex setting. Not sure why, but they made it hidden by default in the latest version. Also try setting scroll time to 10 or lower and you will see Apex is very fast on swiping screens.