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Add to SafariWhen comparing LAUNCHER 8 PRO vs APUS Launcher, the Slant community recommends LAUNCHER 8 PRO for most people. In the question“What are the best launchers for Android?” LAUNCHER 8 PRO is ranked 12th while APUS Launcher is ranked 27th. The most important reason people chose LAUNCHER 8 PRO is:
Like Windows Phone 8, the design of Launcher 8 consists of brightly colored tiles on either a black or white background. The result is a simple and appealing design. Although simply changing the tile color is not as personal as wallpaper in conventional launchers. Fortunately though any color is possible on Launcher 8 not just the preselected colors on Windows Phone 8.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Windows Live Tile-like vibrant interface
Like Windows Phone 8, the design of Launcher 8 consists of brightly colored tiles on either a black or white background. The result is a simple and appealing design. Although simply changing the tile color is not as personal as wallpaper in conventional launchers. Fortunately though any color is possible on Launcher 8 not just the preselected colors on Windows Phone 8.
Pro Separate widget pages
Windows Phone 8 was never designed to work with Android widgets but that doesn't mean you can't use them with Launcher 8. The developers of Launcher 8 have finally found the right solution to using widgets on the tile interface with new separate pages. In the previous version of the launcher, Launcher 7, the widgets would be squeezed into tiles and the result was rarely good. The new separate widget pages accessible with a swipe to the right are a big improvement.
Pro Transition effects
Launcher 8 uses the same transition effects when opening apps and returning to the home screen as the Windows Phone 8. Not only is this appealing but apps seem to load quicker. The transition to open an app takes a few hundred milliseconds which gives apps extra time to load. The result is an interface that seems quicker than it actually is.
Pro Notification bar can be hidden
This feature may seem counterproductive at first but it provides a minimalistic appearance that stays true to the original Windows Phone 8. The notification bar will still appear everywhere else on your Android but Launcher 8 will be just tiles.
Pro Unread counts
Launcher 8 supports basic unread counts like phone calls and text messages in the free version.
Pro Smart folders for app categorization
APUS Launcher launcher puts all apps on the homescreen and tries automatically categorizing them. If it fails, they can be manually reorganized.
Pro Lightweight and fast
Due to APUS launcher being just 1MB, it is very fast.
Pro Curated app search and recommendations
The launcher suggest apps other people are using.
Pro Quick-access to battery saving mode
A battery saving mode, called Boost, can be accessed from the notifications menu.
Cons
Con Difficult to set up
As expected this launcher is much harder to set up than the real Windows Phone 8 launcher. Apps must be assigned to their their corresponding tiles, live tiles are difficult to set up, and setting tiles up to display contextual information is difficult. Fortunately though the developer has been consistently improving these issues.
Con Sketchy advertising
Ads for Apus Launcher are very, very ugly and misleading
Con Sacrifices commonly expected customization options
The launcher allows changing the wallpaper and offers a choice of having it be blurred out or not. And that's about all customization that is offered by APUS launcher.
Con Has non-removable clock widget on the default screen
