The Android Launcher, the Home screen interface, is the gateway to all of a device's apps, games, contacts and settings. If the home screen doesn't quite feel comfy enough or if there's simply a desire to reorganize furniture and decorations, the Google Play Store features new Android launchers that can spice up Android smartphones as much or as little as desired.
With hundreds of Android launchers in the Play Store, that's just counting the free ones, we've whittled down a list consisting of eight of the best home screen mods that don't cost a thing.
1. dodol Launcher
With a collection of over 4,000 wallpapers, dodol Launcher offers users more than a decade's worth of home screen eye candy to look at each day. If the launcher's current cache of wallpapers isn't enough, users can always upload custom imagery and edit it with dodol Launcher.
2. Next Launcher 3D
For those looking to drastically step away from their vanilla Android launchers, the Next Launcher 3D provides the opportunity. The Next Launcher 3D wraps home screen menus around a carousel, which users can spin to move from app shortcuts to widgets to anything else they want to tack.
3. Buzz Launcher
If a 3D home screen still isn't interesting enough to warrant the installation of a launcher, then why not try Buzz Launcher? Drawing from a collection of hundreds of thousands of home screen templates, Buzz Launcher swaps out its presentation every day. If a day's home screen isn't appealing, then users can simply move forward to another template.
4. Smart Screen Launcher
It's still in beta right now, but Smart Screen Launcher attempts to show its users imagery and sounds appropriate to where they are. The launcher features themes for mornings, work, evening, parties, sleep and weekends. Morning mode, for example, places news and music onto the home screen, while work mode sets productivity tools and to-do lists out front.
5. Solo Launcher
For those war-weary Android devices, Solo Launcher presents a novel way to help the mobile devices feel and act young again. In addition to providing new wallpapers, Solo Launcher optimizes the home screen and RAM to speed up a mobile device's responsiveness.
6. Mini Launcher
For those truly aged Android Devices, Mini Launcher brings an updated user interface to the home screen. Yes, Lollipop is out now, but Mini Launcher can bring the KitKat experience to any device running Android 4.0 or later.
7. One Launcher
Not every Android user is a big fan of the mobile OS. Some Android converts start to long for their iOS days. For those people, there's One Launcher and its iOS-like layout. One Launcher can admit to referencing iOS, due to trademarks, but it's hard to look past the Android Launcher's striking resemblance to Apple's mobile iOS.
