I replaced my Samsung home screen with a custom launcher, and I'm never going back

I have been using a premium Samsung Galaxy phone as my daily driver for the last few years, and I'm happy with how it has performed over the years and its powerful customization features.

I have tweaked several settings in One UI, and most of them improved the overall Galaxy phone experience.

However, I was so much in love with the One UI home screen that I never felt the need to change anything about it, let alone dump the One UI Home screen in favor of another custom launcher.

I changed my One UI home screen out of curiosity about the custom one, though I thought it'd only be an experiment and wouldn't really change anything in the long run. The custom launcher proved me wrong.

After years of using the Samsung Home screen, I finally replaced it with a custom launcher, and I'm never going back. Here is why.

Related

How I decluttered my Android home screen — one app at a time

Less chaos, more clarity

Posts 5
By  Rajesh Pandey

Niagara Launcher made me rethink what a home screen should look like

More is better, but in many instances, having something more can actually create obstruction, making navigation hard.

I haven't faced any real challenge using the One UI Home screen, but I could clearly see that Niagara's approach to designing a home screen is more effective.

Instead of the conventional multipage home screen, Niagara dares to be bold by relying on a minimalist single-page layout, consisting of a vertical list of apps. It may sound boring, but it can quickly draw anyone's attention because of its unique setup.

It certainly sounds boring theoretically, but after you start using its alphabet index animation, you'll find scrolling through apps so satisfying that you'll keep doing it.

I was instantly addicted to it after I slid my finger along the right edge of the display, and the letters expanded and moved alongside the app list.

The visual feedback tells you where you are as you slide through the alphabet.

However, to quickly find an app from the list, you don't need to slide your finger through the alphabet. Instead, tap the first letter of the app you are looking for, and Niagara will display all the apps that begin with that letter.

Moreover, Niagara supports colorful app icons and supports multiple themes, so its minimalist home screen looks anything but boring. It's probably the best example of how simplicity can still be glamorous.

I now spend less time looking for apps without using a cluttered interface

Switching to something new isn't easy because you have to unlearn and relearn everything. It takes time and effort to do that.

However, this wasn't the case with the Niagara Launcher. It doesn't take more than a couple of days to get used to it and learn all its features.

I didn't spend a lot of time learning about it, nor did I have to put any significant effort into customizing the home screen. I simply followed the trick that almost everyone follows: pin all the important apps to the home screen.

Since Niagara features a vertical list of apps on the home screen, I can fit more of those apps on a single page. So, all the important apps are now easily accessible, without making the home screen cluttered.

However, Niagara's appeal goes beyond aesthetics. It's the most functional custom launcher that I have ever used on Android.

It allows me to reply to messages right from the home screen with a single swipe to the right. You can use the gesture on any app icons to reveal their shortcuts.

For example, if you swipe to the right on the X app icon, Niagara will show a pop-up, displaying "Search," "Grok," and "New post."

This way, you can quickly create a new post section on X and start typing what's on your mind. This cuts down the number of steps to post on X.

Subscribe to our newsletter for smarter home-screen tips

Curious about better Android home screens? Subscribe to the newsletter for hands-on launcher guides, practical One UI vs custom-launcher comparisons, and step-by-step tweaks that make finding apps and shortcuts faster.

Get Updates

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

You can also create a new email quickly using the same trick.

Niagara also shows Calendar Preview and Media Player on your home screen.

While Niagara Launcher is designed in a way that encourages you to spend more time using the apps and less time organizing them, it gives you quick access to a handy Digital Wellbeing tool to keep track of your usage.

Tap and hold on the app icon, and select the Screen time option to see how much time you spend on the app.

I didn't dump the One UI Home screen because it was bad — I found something better

I'm not much into customizing the home screen to make it look great.

While I don't mind visually appealing home screens, accessibility is a priority, something that I can't compromise on after using Niagara Launcher.

That's a big enough motivation to never go back to using the Samsung Home screen and remain a Niagara loyalist forever.