I've tested dozens of Android launchers. Here are 5 you should skip in 2026

The Android launcher space is the most exciting in the platform’s app industry, with a solution for seemingly every problem

I’ve covered many of my favorite examples in the past, including Niagara Launcher and its focus on efficiency, Octopi Launcher and the added value it offers on multi-screen devices, and AIO Launcher, the launcher that best suits my current maximalist bent and forms the cornerstone of my main phone.

But for every great launcher there’s one that you should probably avoid. Be it spluttering development, problematic changes, or a lack of features, I suggest you avoid the Android launchers below.

Yahoo Launcher

Yahoo is no stranger to the launcher space. It purchased one of the most promising home-screen products, Aviate Launcher, in the late 2010s, only to cancel it four years later. Nearly a decade later, it would return to the launcher game with its eponymous product, Yahoo Launcher. But unlike Aviate, it wasn’t an industry-mover or shaker.

When I heard of the company’s plans, I was excited to review Yahoo Launcher when it debuted in 2024, but I’d soon discover that while it packed several good ideas and an attractive aesthetic, it was unpolished, slow, and derivative.

I’ll give it its flowers; I quite liked its use of the brand’s prolific use of purple throughout and the Google Discover-like page displaying listings from Yahoo’s news site and a weather widget at the top, but that’s about it. I recently gave Yahoo Launcher a go on the vivo X200 Ultra (installing it via APK Mirror of all places), and I can confirm that Yahoo has fixed those performance issues, even if it hasn’t added any notable new features since my initial review.

So why should you avoid it? For one, I struggled to install it. It still has a Play Store listing, but I could not find it via search. Secondly, it’s practically dead. The launcher’s last update was pushed in September 2025. Finally, there are more feature-rich options with a more active, committed development team.

ADW Launcher 2

ADW Launcher 2 is a blast from the past. It supports a host of features that would’ve been unheard of in its day, including app categories, a variety of editable gestures, multiple app drawer configurations based on screen orientation, and various visual and aesthetic toggles. However, in 2026, it has one big problem.

ADW Launcher 2 was last updated in 2018, making its last patch older than many new Android launchers currently on the market. There is a 2020 update residing on APK Mirror, but that isn’t much newer. Naturally, this causes a few compatibility issues.

You will struggle to install the launcher from the Play Store. Since it wasn’t available for my device, I had to download the aforementioned 2020 version from APK Mirror. It did install, but that certainly is more trouble than it’s worth.

Secondly, it feels incredibly dated. While I understand that this is, to an extent, the point of the launcher, it lacks the efficiency of more modern products. Many of the features that made ADW Launcher a stalwart in its heyday have been improved on by modern launchers — Smart Launcher 6 offers vastly improved app sorting, while Octopi’s strength lies in its various editable home screen layouts based on orientation.

While I appreciate the developer keeping the listing alive to service those with much older Android phones, I certainly can’t recommend using this abandoned Android launcher if you have any device made this decade.

Stario Launcher

I wish I didn’t have to include Stario Launcher on this list. Its story is heartbreaking, especially if you root for independent developers with a novel concept.

It’s a launcher that puts aesthetics first without sacrificing pragmatics. It packs automatic app categorization to bundle related apps, custom home screen widgets with their own cute animations, a dedicated widget screen that’s become one of my favorite launcher features, and a built-in RSS feed reader that’s far more useful and customizable than Google Discover could ever be.

Stario’s also built for older, lower-spec hardware, thanks to its lightweight design and dedicated Low Spec mode that turns off some of the visual delights.

While Stario remains fully functional — and rather brilliant in some ways, too — the developer has sunset the project due to Google’s incoming developer verification rules. While these rules aren’t affecting Stario directly, they are affecting the developer’s motivation for pushing the project forward. Who can blame them?

This is the only reason that Stario Launcher is on this list, but given that the developer is keeping the project archived and available for fans to fork, we may just see a phoenix rise from its ashes. For now, Stario is effectively dead.

Pixel Launcher

Pixel Launcher offers Pixel users an unnecessarily restrictive home screen experience. It isn’t poorly made, nor is it slow or buggy. If anything, I’ve managed to craft a rather comfortable home for myself in the past, working within the launcher’s restrictions and quirks. But that’s its main problem — there are better launchers without these virtual walls.

Despite the many improvements Google has rolled out to Pixel Launcher in recent years, you still can’t remove the search bar, whether you use it or not. Custom icon support is still a pipe dream, while limited grid options make it tough to place widgets comfortably alongside icons. Using Pixel Launcher is a frustrating experience.

It’s worth noting that Pixel Launcher is the one product on this list that every Pixel smartphone owner will experience at some point. You can choose to stick with it and work within the lines Google has painted on the ground. However, I’d implore you to try the myriad alternatives that better suit Google’s hardware.

Nova Launcher

A few years ago, Nova Launcher would’ve been the first Android launcher I’d recommend to enthusiasts and newbies alike. In 2026, I wouldn’t dare.

This change of heart isn’t due to Nova Launcher’s functionality. It still packs most of the features that core users have grown reliant on over the years, from Sesame Search integrations that power its search bars to its slick swipe gestures on icons that can trigger various commands. Then there are its granular controls over various interface elements, from icons to widget sizes and beyond.

Nova Launcher is simple enough to use for newcomers but packs hidden features for power users. In many ways, that should make it the perfect Android launcher. Still, I can’t recommend it.

Under its current owners, Nova Launcher’s free version is now dotted with ads. If you are a newcomer to the app, you’ll have to spend a pretty penny to unlock the launcher’s ad-free Prime version. I believe there are free launchers that offer far more value to most users. Then there’s the infiltration of additional trackers in recent versions, which has permanently dented my trust in the software.

Nova Launcher was great, but it’s just not the same as what it once was.

That’s it for my list of Android launchers that I can’t recommend. Do you agree with my views? Is there an Android launcher that you feel deserves to be on this list? Let me know in the comments below.