Any specific suggestions for Nvidia Shield TV? The regular one is being progressively enshittified. I need something basic open source, but not too ugly looking.

Lawnchair because I can stack widgets on each other, and very fast

I really enjoy Niagra, I installed it three times before it clicked with me. It is also telemetry that I moved away from. I had nova for years but it got slopped.

I think Olauncher is on my tablet and I likeit. Lightweight and foss.

I use Kvaesito and its the best

Instead of the usual home launcher its based on a search bar for the apps as well as their internal shortcuts for stuff like Assistants and apps Cross-referencing others

So I can type in timer and instead of having to search for the clock, the timer, etc it just shows the timer section of the clock, make a new timer and a few ones I already have

I’ve been using the TUI Launcher for like a decade now. It’s kinda been abandoned, but it still works perfectly fine.

I used Niagra for the longest. But there’s no way to pay for pro outside GPS. Like a lot of apps I’ve paid for over a decade ago I can no longer use (shakes fist at SleepAsAndroid). That said, I’m trying a new one called Minimal SL from F Droid. I was immediately drawn to it because of the Minimal Phone 2 launcher, which I hope becomes available or ported soon. I may buy one soon as a primary phone and keep my now primary phone for bigger screen tasks/media.

So far I like the shortcut for apps. Start typing the app name and it immediately opens. A simple task list at the bottom.

Went from Nova via a few others and ended up with a minimalist beauty that demands nothing : Mako (f-droid) (I miss the double tap off but use the quick settings ‘lock screen’ button).

I can somewhat recommend Dragon Launcher. It’s gesture based around “app circles”. You arrange your apps in custom circles of arbitrary nesting and swipe to get there.

The main downside imo is the extreme pace of development; most releases fix this or the other issue while introducing new bugs. The config format also doesn’t appear particularly stable through upgrades, it’s probably time for a config reset for me.

I primarily switched (to Kvaesitso) because I don’t use Google search and it was impossible to remove the Google search bar from my home screen on a Pixel. I do enjoy the greater degree of customization as well.

Yantra launcher for weirdos who like the feeling of cli. I used to love tui-launcher but it was abandoned. I tried switching back to normal launchers but even minimal search-based ones feel clunky. It’s the only kind I’ve tried that felt qualitatively different

unLancher, baby. Just…look at it.

https://f-droid.org/packages/com.jkuester.unlauncher/

Sleek. Simple. Sexy. Salubrious.

I use kvaesitso and love it, but it’s certainly an opinionated approach. But while it is search focused, you can customize it to make it more traditional

Aio launcher has changed my world

Niagara or Pro Launcher. I accidentally paid for the latter before realizing Niagara does the trick just fine.

I switched to KISS launcher a while ago (years ago?)and I absolutely love it. It is search based but you can have tags for apps which allow you to have something akin to folders. If an app fits two tags then so be it, it will show up in all the tag folders, so organisation can be much cleaner. It is also blazingly fast and keeps things clean.