When comparing Apex Launcher Pro vs Mi Launcher (MIUI), the Slant community recommends Apex Launcher Pro for most people. In the question“What are the best launchers for Android?” Apex Launcher Pro is ranked 4th while Mi Launcher (MIUI) is ranked 40th. The most important reason people chose Apex Launcher Pro is:
Apex Launcher lets the user customize the app drawer, including its style (Horizontal Paginated, Vertical Paginated, Vertical Continuous or Vertical List), the method of sorting and the background transparency.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Highly customizable app drawer
Apex Launcher lets the user customize the app drawer, including its style (Horizontal Paginated, Vertical Paginated, Vertical Continuous or Vertical List), the method of sorting and the background transparency.
Pro Customize grid size
Apex Launcher allows the user to change the grid size of their home screens (up to a maximum size of 10 rows and columns) and adjust the margins on the left, right, top and bottom. Icons can be made larger by as much as 150% or reduced to as little as 50% of their original size.
Pro Stock Android experience
Made to look like stock Android with additional features.
Pro Has a theme shop
A marketplace where the user can download extra themes is provided. Some of the themes must be purchased via Google Play, but many are free. Paid version allows the use of themes from other launchers.
Pro Sort drawer by most used
There is an option in the Apex Launcher drawer to sort apps by the most used, making for a convenient way for users to get back to their most often used apps.
Pro Can hide apps
Apex Launcher also allows users to hide unused or unwanted apps from the drawer.
Pro Gestures are free
The free version of Apex comes with swipe gesture support.
Pro Unread count (paid version)
Unread count notifications create badges for home screen, dock and drawer icons that let the user know how many unread messages they have.
Pro Infinite scrolling
Infinite scrolling allows you to cycle among your home screens without ever changing directions.
Pro Tablet support
Apex, which requires Android 4.0 or later, boasts a dedicated tablet UI mode. Turning this on enables the persistent search bar at the top of the display, and somewhat inexplicably disables the dock at the bottom of the screen.
Pro Independent of Google services
Almost all Google services are removed from this Android-based UI in favor of creating a competing ecosystem of apps, games, themes and services.
China government prohibit the Google services
Pro Combines best of iOS and Android launchers
MIUI has visual similarities to iOS and TouchWiz and combines functionality from both iOS and Android OS and its variants. For example, MIUI has no apps drawer and instead puts all app on homescreen pages the same way iOS does.
Pro Runs faster than stock Android
MIUI includes performance tweaks that give it a edge in speed compared to stock Android.
Pro Detailed installation instructions for supported devices
Step by step instructions (with screenshots) for flashing MIUI ROM can be found for each of the supported devices on the companies website. For example, here is the flashing guide for Nexus 5.
Pro Fast development cycle
New features and updates are released regularly.
Cons
Con Can be overwhelming at first
Apex Launcher offers lots of customization in terms of user interface and functionality that can be overwhelming at first.
Con Slow to implement new features
Development of Apex Launcher can some times be slow, lagging behind in features when compared to more frequently updated launchers.
Con Version 4 changed everything
The look, the options, animations and sizes.
Con Some bundled services are available only in Chinese
Xiaomi, the developers of MIUI are Chinese and their primary maket is China. As such primary language for most apps and services is Chinese and not all of them have yet been translated to English or any other language.
Con A Mi account is required for using bundled services
Various services and apps require a Mi account. For example, buying new themes requires spending Mi currency that can only be obtained if a Mi account is available.