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Copycat iOS Launcher on Android Surpasses 50 Million Downloads
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Why in the world would I want this on my Android phone? I honestly barely even like the iOS look on an iPhone let alone forcing myself to use it on another phone. I love my Mac, but iOS just doesn't do it for me.
For a lot of Android users owning an iPhone is an aspirational goal but Apple should still remain out of the bottom end of the market where profit is nonexistent and there are problems galore.
To truly re-create the experience, it would have to stop you from being able to put icons anywhere on the screen you want.
I swear this one feature alone sometimes makes me think about going back to Android. Come on Apple geez just do it already.
There must be someone very high up at Apple with some serious OCD, having nightmares about a blank space on an iPhone home screen.
I swear this one feature alone sometimes makes me think about going back to Android. Come on Apple geez just do it already.
There must be someone very high up at Apple with some serious OCD, having nightmares about a blank space on an iPhone home screen.
Yeah this is porting basically the worst feature of the iPhone. I want this in reverse. Maybe next year after they’re done copying Android’s lock screen they’ll finally move on to making the launcher even slightly better than the very first release of iOS.
It’s time for Jiggle Mode to die. But it seems like Craig is literally in love with it, and absolutely hates the idea of all icons not being aligned to the top left of the screen. You know, the single hardest place to reach. They even made a feature called Reachability. They are even starting to align notifications and everything else along the bottom of the screen.
But you’re going to stretch for those icons, damnit. I hope you’re left handed with long fingers, because it seems pretty clear that’s who the iPhone is designed by and for.
I use both and both have its advantages. There are many neat little things that I wish either side would copy from one another. Also imagine where iOS would be without competition.
What I love on my android device:
What I love on my android device:
- Option to change apps on your lockscreen - I can’t believe Apple redesigned the lockscreen but still does not allow us to replace that damn flashlight / camera button
- More options in „control center“ and rearranging them whatever way you like
- Mark locations as „save“ e. g. no need to unlock phone while I am at home
- Dynamic wallpapers from the internet, not only your own camera roll. For instance, every time I unlock my phone, I see some pretty new lockscreen wallpaper of landscapes
- Downloads from other sources (Games)
- More useful icons in the status (?) bar
- Option to hide the home bar at the bottom
- Change the app layout on the Home Screen
- Under the screen finger print sensor works pretty good
- Proper „explorer / finder“
- Live widgets
- Update default apps without having to update the OS
That's one of the nice things about Android... you can tweak your phone to work/look the way you want it to.
The iPhone's lack of ability to simply put an icon anywhere you want on your home screen is frustrating at times.
Not a fan of emulating iOS on Android, but I can see why some would do it.
I prefer Nova Launcher myself. Offers the most flexibility of any launcher in my opinion.
But I don't want to replicate my iPhone on any of my Android devices... too boring.
The iPhone's lack of ability to simply put an icon anywhere you want on your home screen is frustrating at times.
Not a fan of emulating iOS on Android, but I can see why some would do it.
I prefer Nova Launcher myself. Offers the most flexibility of any launcher in my opinion.
But I don't want to replicate my iPhone on any of my Android devices... too boring.
I certainly wouldn't want it, this is an area where android is in the clear lead.
Seriously why are we stuck with top left justification anyway? Really?
Seriously why are we stuck with top left justification anyway? Really?
It’s not a bad idea to at least let people get a feel for how iOS looks on the surface. But honestly, the things that keep me using an iPhone as my daily driver are things that aren’t cosmetic.
It’s one of the nice things about Android though, it’s so very customisable, y’know if you trust there’s nothing untoward hidden in the bowels of the code.
I do like to tweak my Android devices though I prefer Nova, haven’t even considered making it look more like iOS….. yet
It’s one of the nice things about Android though, it’s so very customisable, y’know if you trust there’s nothing untoward hidden in the bowels of the code.
I do like to tweak my Android devices though I prefer Nova, haven’t even considered making it look more like iOS….. yet
Only thing is Nova was just purchased by a data mining company.
I like some aspects of Android too, but the unanswerable question for me has always been, which phone? Got burned on Samsung early and then burned by Google with the Pixels.
I still want what a lot of people have been saying for a long time. Apple hardware, but with clean Android on it. But there’s not even such a thing as clean Android anymore. Since the Pixels Google is just a worse imitation of Samsung.
I think peak Android was the Samsung Galaxy Nexus Google Play Edition. Terrible name but that’s as close as anyone ever came to great hardware with clean software.
I just want a launcher on the iPhone that brings back the UI of my old LG Vu. Now that’s classy stuff there.
This isn't it at all. Understand that changing launchers on Android devices is trivially easy. Install from the Play Store. Open it. Done. But liking, or wanting to try, aesthetics from another phone manufacturer (be it a wallpaper, icon set, or an emulating launcher) doesn't mean you are longing for the device they originated from. iOS aesthetics are designed to be broadly appealing, or at least broadly inoffensive. It should not be surprising that some people from outside the ecosystem might be attracted enough to those aesthetics to want to try them.
I've personally used, or tried, probably around a dozen launchers over the years, and I've never even heard of the one in this article. It is fun to change how your phone behaves and feels. iOS styling doesn't appeal to me, but who cares. The whole point of customizability is that you can use your own priorities and preferences. For example, I like to have a home screen with just the 10-25 app icons I use on a regular basis and a couple widgets I created myself. I don't like a lot of text, so no labels on those icons and the widget text only appears when necessary (if there is nothing on my calendars for the day, my agenda widget is invisible). Icons needs to be clustered near the bottom where I can hit all of them with my thumb. They need to match my wallpaper. If I can't do these things, I end up moving to a different launcher.
not sure if launchers to android exist on the app store 😃
A popular launcher on the Google Play Store that looks to recreate the iOS experience on Android smartphones has surpassed 50 million downloads as it gets updated with design changes and features coming to the iPhone with iOS 16.
The app is not new to the Google Play Store and has been recreating the iOS experience on Android for the last three years. Starting with iOS 13 and for every subsequent major iOS release, the app has been updated to reflect changes made to iOS.
The copycat iOS launcher, named "Launcher iOS 16," recreates the iOS Home Screen, dock, Force Touch menus on apps, "jiggle mode," App Library, iOS-styled widgets, and more. The launcher also replaces app icons with iOS icons, such as Messages, Notes, Camera, and even the Play Store has Apple's App Store icon.
In standard Android nature, the launcher provides users with customization features not even offered to iPhone users, such as being able to customize the categorization of apps in App Library, tweak home screen animations, easily rename apps, and more.
The app, clearly well known in the Android community, was given additional exposure on Twitter earlier this week. The largest change to iOS 16, the redesigned Lock Screen, made headlining news following Apple's WWDC in June. The widespread coverage of the new Lock Screen may have prompted additional downloads for the launcher from users eyeing to try out Apple's latest design. Unfortunately, this launcher does not sport the iOS 16 Lock Screen, at least not yet.
For those unfamiliar with Android launchers, they're programs that run on the device's home screen with their own design, personalization features, and options other than those offered by the device's original maker. As a matter of fact, casually browsing the Google Play Store, dozens of launchers promise to recreate the iOS experience on Android, with the vast majority having over one million downloads each.
Article Link: Copycat iOS Launcher on Android Surpasses 50 Million Downloads
Yeah... I heard that about Nova. I'll have to keep an eye on permission changes in upcoming releases.
I hope they keep the Discord beta channel open.
Unfortunately Samsung makes the best Android devices out there. Others may argue for some niche makers, but when it comes to quality hardware and beautiful displays, no one beats Samsung.
I would love for an OEM to make a decent unlocked device that you can put your own build on it vs Google's version.
Most I've found are trash, with 2-3 year old tech in them.
Yeah… Calling people embarrassing and pathetic over wanting the aesthetics of IOS but the functionality and device diversity of Android… wow… embarrassing and pathetic. How small is your world?
Yep… pointless. Look at the download number and get back to us.
Apparently someone is finding value with these types of apps.
And who cares?
You can using blank widgets app and works very well.
I have 8 apps on my first pages and nothing at the top so I can see my wallpaper
for me I’ve never liked how android icons look compared to iOS. Even on icon packs never really looked great for me
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Good icon packs are hard to come by, but they do exist.
A good launcher replacement like Nova has the ability to scale icons and shape the corners without losing quality.
You have to use the paid version for some of these features, but as they say... you get what you pay for.
Anyone going the cheap freebie route isn't going to have a lot of success.