Will you keep it Stock or run a Launcher (Nova, etc.)?

[BCWARE]

gonna go pixel launcher...gonna be nice to have ONLY what I want on my phone, no bloat, updates....I can hardly wait. gonna be a long week to wait....lol

 

[njgill05]

I will give the stock launcher a shot, but most likely load Nova so I can make as many of the backgrounds on menus dark. I really dislike the white menus and backgrounds Android has gone to, I find them overly harsh to my eyes.

 

[Mike Dee]

It only makes sense to try stock for a while. If that works great for me, one less thing running on my phone.

Adding a replacement launcher does need mean you have an extra thing running.

 

[Mike Dee]

I'm sure the Pixel 2 Launcher is a fine piece of software. I use the BlackBerry Launcher because it's lightweight and offers the exact functionality and customization that I want. It's like the Pixel launcher minus the Now feed and persistent search bar, but it retains upward swipes on icons to launch their widgets and adds both icon size/grid and a dark theme for the app drawer. I'm sure Nova does the same but I'm already subscribed to BB apps. I also disable anything I'm not using so it's like the stock launcher isn't even there. The rest of the OS remains un-skinned and un-bloated.

Regarding your question about tweaks beyond AOSP, the Pixel and Nexus line have always had a few things that others didn't have with a truly pure AOSP build. The Pixel had Night Mode in Nougat yet the AOSP build didn't. AOD comes to mind as well since it was in some phones' Developer Mode (OP5 was one) but wasn't part of the OOB experience. I expect the Pixel 2 to be similar with small tweaks. My point wasn't about big stuff, just tweaks and random features.


It won't work. It'll break.

j/k

How will it break?

 

[modifier]

How will it break?

j/k = just kidding

 

[hal1]

Does the stock launcher on the pixel 2 have quick gestures (such as swipe and double finger swipe in different directions) to open apps like Nova Prime?

 

[Zendroid1]

Does the stock launcher on the pixel 2 have quick gestures (such as swipe and double finger swipe in different directions) to open apps like Nova Prime?

Doubtful.

 

[PowrDroid]

not having to have a search bar on the desktop if I don't want it, will almost certainly win out very quickly.

^^ THIS ^^

Is it impossible to remove the search bar in the stock Pixel launcher? I'd think with Google Assistant and voice commands they'd give you a way to get that ugly thing off your home screen.

 

[Aquila]

Does the stock launcher on the pixel 2 have quick gestures (such as swipe and double finger swipe in different directions) to open apps like Nova Prime?

No it does not.

 

[PowrDroid]

No it does not.

Another reason to stick with Nova Prime.

 

[kenorian]

I can't live without the ability to back up and restore that Nova offers. If I went with the stock launcher, I'd spend at least an hour moving icons into the positions and folders that it will take Nova a second to do.

I can make Nova look exactly like Pixel, and I get gestures and so many other customizable options.

 

[anon(8547461)]

I'll probably stick with Stock for now as one of the main selling points for me was being able to run pure Android out of the box. However, being fairly vested in the Microsoft ecosystem I may try the Microsoft Launcher at some point.

 

[bjrosen]

Nova.

 

[ottscay]

I normally only use launchers when I'm trying to overcome a third party skin, so stock for me.

 

[ctk4949]

I can't live without the ability to back up and restore that Nova offers. If I went with the stock launcher, I'd spend at least an hour moving icons into the positions and folders that it will take Nova a second to do.

I can make Nova look exactly like Pixel, and I get gestures and so many other customizable options.

I believe, if you use the backup/restore feature for Android. It keeps the position of all ur stuff.

 

[zwaaa]

When I was on carriers I usually rooted at the end of my contract and went with cyanogenmod (HTC Inspire, Samsung S4) . No carrier bloat on this phone and I like the vanilla android experience so I'll probably stay factory unrooted.

 

[davidnc]

Stock, just like I have my current Pixel. I have used Nova Prime on other phones in the past.

 

[worldspy99]

Stock.
Almost a year on the current Pixel.
Still running everything stock.

 

[xplod566]

Stock.I am in love with Google Now Launcher on my V20

 

[anon(10092459)]

Stock.. Everyday and all the time!!