LAUNCHER 8 PRO vs SF Launcher 2

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.

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.

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.

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.

Launcher 8 supports basic unread counts like phone calls and text messages in the free version.

The home screen is organized into cards that can be scrolled vertically. Cards can contain widgets or collections of apps. Swiping from the left gives access to all apps and swiping from the right gives access to all widgets. These can then be added to the homescreen. It's possible to customize the order, color, transparency, size and what how much information or apps a card displays.

The look of the launcher is inspired by Android 5.0 Lollipop and material design. It follows material design color scheme, has a card-based layout and a Google Now-like, header with a stylized image of a city at the top of the homescreen that changes throughout the day.