Why is Evie my new favorite Android launcher?

There are a lot of launchers for Android, and that is something that sets the OS apart from the competition, among other things. You can completely change the look with just one application, and even more manually. However, there are only a few really good Launchers, and these are mostly the ones that most users have installed. Among them is the Nova Launcher which I have used for quite some time.

The new one is a really good Launcher and I even bought the Premium version because it's worth supporting the developers. But, recently, I decided to switch to another, and I switched and stayed. I've tested various alternatives before and I've never stayed longer than a month, I always come back to Nova. The reasons were mostly the lack of those essential minor features that I use constantly every day.

Some of these little things that matter to me: double tap on the lock screen (but with Delay option, not Administrator permission, so I can unlock the phone later with a fingerprint - Android limit), Swipe up to view all apps (Smooth transition), Swipe down to search (phone, internet, phonebook, messages, apps, songs, files…), Blur folder view (and touch blank to close it), view new apps in the top row of the app list, select icons, indicator notification (Unread badges), App Info and Uninstall options for applications from the home screen.

Nova has all those options, but I was looking for a "lighter" and nicer Launcher that will simply work nice and smooth. I finally found it and it's Evie.

This Launcher has a few options but in that list of options, I have all the ones I need, which I listed above. It's very simple, fast, fluid, it has nice animations, it doesn't slow down, everything works by touch and Swipe, you don't need two fingers, you don't even have to use the Back button. It has a lot of Blur effects, which I like, and in combination with Blur's background, you get an even nicer effect.

An additional detail that I liked was the Options screen for applications. When you hold the icon longer, you can drag it to the top of the screen in the Options field and a new screen will appear (with the Blur effect) where you can see the application icon and the items App info, Change icon and Uninstall. From that screen, you can perform those actions with that app, and to close the screen, just swipe down.

There is a search box at the top and all you have to do is tap it or drag your finger down anywhere on the screen. When you do that, a keyboard will appear and you can start looking for what you need. When you use the search, it will eventually appear below the suggestions, ie. what you’ve been looking for a lot lately. Close this panel by tapping blank or swiping up (either the classic Back or Home key).

I've been using it for a month now and I'm very satisfied, I have everything I had with Nova Launcher, only the interface here is a little nicer and the animations are nicer. For example, Swipe above for displaying all applications works better than with Nova, as well as searching the phone (and everything else) works better and finds faster higher, and more accurate results.

The downside is that there aren't as many setup options as Nova (and the like) and if you don't mind then even better.

Some of the options: number of columns and rows on the home screen, icon size, scroll background. Dock and adjust background, icon, and number of columns. Icon Pack, select a complete package or change each icon individually. Folder shape selection. Unread Badges and select applications to run on. Double-tap to sleep (Admin and Delay options), launch Google Assistant with two fingers, Home button to open search. Clear search history, and open web results in a default web browser. Hide applications. Backup and restore settings.

Evie Launcher is in development and developers are adding new options. It's free and you can download it from the Play Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.shortcut&hl=en