When comparing ADW.Launcher vs Next Launcher 3D Shell, the Slant community recommends ADW.Launcher for most people. In the question“What are the best launchers for Android?” ADW.Launcher is ranked 10th while Next Launcher 3D Shell is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose ADW.Launcher is:
New themes compatible with ADW Launcher can be downloaded directly from Google Play. The launcher conveniently provides a link from the Themes page in the ADW Settings menu. More impressively, the Themes page provides previews of each theme you've installed on your device, as well as info about whether the theme supports icons, folders, the dock and the wallpaper. However, the best feature, by far, proved to be the ability to mix and match functionalities from a variety of themes to create an entirely custom look. And most of the themes are free.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great theme support
New themes compatible with ADW Launcher can be downloaded directly from Google Play. The launcher conveniently provides a link from the Themes page in the ADW Settings menu. More impressively, the Themes page provides previews of each theme you've installed on your device, as well as info about whether the theme supports icons, folders, the dock and the wallpaper. However, the best feature, by far, proved to be the ability to mix and match functionalities from a variety of themes to create an entirely custom look. And most of the themes are free.
Pro Infinite scrolling
Infinite scrolling lets you loop through home screens without requiring you to change direction.
Pro Tablet support
ADW.Launcher, despite being old and abandoned does work well on a tablet with the icons and everything else scaling correctly.
Pro Customizable app drawer
The margins, rows and columns of the app drawer also can be modified to fit your preferences. In addition, ADW Launcher supports a variety of visual styles for the app drawer, such as Horizontal Paginated, Vertical New and the standard Ice Cream Sandwich Paginated style.
Pro Customizable desktop
Adjust the size of the margins or the number of columns and rows on the desktop to a maximum grid size of 10 rows and columns.
Pro Stock Android experience
Made to look like stock Android with additional features.
Pro Group app drawers
ADW Launcher allows you to create your own groups in the app drawer.
Pro Highly customizable aesthetic
The launcher offers a variety of animations and themes for different parts of the UI that can all be changed to suit individual preferences.
Pro Lots of eye-candy
The launcher has a lot of flashy animations and transitions. For example, the app drawer by default imitates a cube when switching between pages, tapping applications create ripples around the application icon, the live wallpapers are affected by gravity, etc.
Pro A time trial version is available
A "Lite" limited time free trial version is available.
Cons
Con Last updated July 27, 2013
ADW.Launcher has not been updated since 2013, basically meaning it is abandoned.
Con Expensive
At $16.99 it's one of the most expensive launchers available.
Con Intense resource usage
The rendering of all advanced 3D animations and effects takes up a lot of resources.