The Google Pixel Launcher is better than ever, but it's still missing 5 big features

The Pixel Launcher has picked up some long-requested features over the last year. We can hide icon labels and remove the At A Glance widget, and there are some AI icon packs that can add some fun and flair to your home screen. Even with those improvements, there are still a lot of features the Pixel Launcher is missing, and these are the ones I want the most.

Proper icon packs

The AI-generated icon packs that Google added a while ago are better than nothing, but they’re nowhere as good as the huge variety of icon packs available on the Play Store. Icon packs have been a part of Android customization for over 16 years, so you’re spoiled for choice when you look through the store.

For a long time the only way to use icon packs was to download a custom launcher, but that started to change over the last few years, and now Samsung, OnePlus, and other Android OEMs let you use an icon pack with the stock launcher. Google is one of the few that hasn’t added support yet, and I’d love for that to change.

Widget stacks

Of all of the features on this list, this is the one I want the most. Widget stacks, as the name suggests, let you stack widgets on top of one another and scroll through them. It means you can have convenient access to all of your widgets and app icons without spreading them across several home screens.

It’s a simple feature, but when you get used to it, it’s hard to give up. When I bought my Pixel 10 Pro last year after years of using Samsung phones, widget stacks were one of the things I missed most, and that hasn’t changed almost a year later.

Bigger grid sizes

The Pixel launcher has four presets for grid sizes. That might be enough for most people, but I’ve always found it restrictive and would like to be able to tweak the grid size. Once phones adopted a taller aspect ratio, I started to add an extra row of icons, and that’s not something I can do on a Pixel.

It gets even more frustrating if you’re using a Pixel tablet or foldable. I like to spread out on the larger screen size, but that’s hard to do when the grid options are restrictive.

Big folders

Big folders are, as the name suggests, folders that are bigger than the usual 1×1 size. Big grid sizes are great on large phones, foldables, and tablets, but big folders shine on smaller devices like my Pixel 10 Pro or Galaxy S25. Instead of opening the folder when you tap on it, big folders let you open the apps contained within by tapping on their icon when the folder is closed.

So, even though the Fold 7 in the screenshot above has a grid size of 7×4, I can have the same number of icons on the screen as I would with an 8×6 grid. Tapping the bottom right corner of the folder opens it normally. It’s similar in concept to widget stacks, putting all of the icons you need neatly in one place without having to use multiple home screens.

Double-tap to sleep

Pixels have had double-tap to wake since the original Pixel came out nearly a decade ago, but Google hasn’t been as quick to add double-tap to sleep. Instead of reaching for the power button to put your phone to sleep, some phones let you double-tap an empty area on the home screen or lock screen instead, which is often easier depending on how you’re holding your phone or if you’re using it while it’s on a desk.

It’s been rumored for a while that Google might be working on bringing this to the lock screen for Pixels, but that hasn’t happened yet, and if it does, I’d like to have it on the home screen, too.

I know none of these features are big or game-changing, but they don’t need to be. Small changes can make a big difference, and now that custom launchers like Nova aren’t as popular or as usable as they once were, I’ll take whatever I can get in the stock launcher. I’ve always loved Android for how customizable it is, and I want more of that, not less.