No Facebook Ads or Google Ads on that launcher, but there’s the same Branch analytics stuff that made people leave when Nova was sold for the first time:
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.qqlabs.minimalistlauncher/latest/
What’s the version to use? The latest pre-release?
I installed it to test. Went to change the fonts, some apps had the old font, some had the new one (even after restarting the app). Couldn’t organize apps inside folders by name. It doesn’t seem to handle icon adaptation for old apps as well as Nova did.
I feel bad for saying this as it’s free and open, but it doesn’t seem to be as polished as Nova.
Man, I’d love to adapt to some of these launchers, but day to day, having a few icons and folders in easy to reach places works better for me than having to type, scroll, use gestures, etc. I always go back to traditional launchers.
At this point, I don’t mind paying something every year to keep development going (there’s always something that needs to be fixed on new Android versions) and so the author doesn’t feel the need to sell it, but monthly subscriptions… I don’t know.
I think I paid the equivalent to $4 a few years ago for Nova. I’ve been using it for 10 or so years. I wouldn’t mind paying $4 per year just to avoid this sad outcome.
I’ve tried Lawnchair. It’s better than it used to be last time I tested it. With this said, I don’t seem to be able to order folders by name, changed fonts (something more compressed) and half of the icons had the old font, and others had the new one (even after restarting the app)…
I think I could make it work, but like all open source launchers I try, there’s always something half-backed or not polished enough.
They’ve released 14 today: https://lineageos.org/Changelog-28/
This is the launcher that everyone installs. I don’t think the paid app, which only unlocks some features, has been updated (at least I haven’t received an update yet).