First, we introduced you to a chosen collection of 6 awesome launchers for Android. Then we featured 3 more launchers tailor-made for Android 4.0 ICS+ operating system. Since then, a lot of our readers have been asking for more lightweight alternatives to the ones we already featured. SPB Shell 3D or TSF Shell 3D are not really for the ones who look for simpler, more lighter launchers. Hence this article. A collection of 5 simple and lightweight Android launchers.
Smart Launcher: Installing Apex launcher was the first thing I did after upgrading to Android 4.0 ICS and I never looked back, until I came to know about Smart Launcher. Unlike all other launchers out there, with almost the same kind of layout (at a basic level), Smart Launcher is characterized by its minimalist design, low memory usage and a user-friendly UI that lets you start any application with a few taps. You have to use it to know it. My only gripe is that, the Quick Start screen does not have native icons for generic apps such as Google Maps. FREE
Smart Launcher: Installing Apex launcher was the first thing I did after upgrading to Android 4.0 ICS and I never looked back, until I came to know about Smart Launcher. Unlike all other launchers out there, with almost the same kind of layout (at a basic level), Smart Launcher is characterized by its minimalist design, low memory usage and a user-friendly UI that lets you start any application with a few taps. You have to use it to know it. My only gripe is that, the Quick Start screen does not have native icons for generic apps such as Google Maps. FREE
FTL Launcher: FTL stands for Faster Than Light, and to an extent, this launcher stands up to its name. A no nonsense launcher with pretty good support for customization. FREE
Launcher 8: I'm not a big fan of Windows Phone 8's Metro (whatever it is called now) UI. But it can act as a quick alternative to conventional mobile phone interfaces. Launcher 8 is an Android launcher which tries to emulate Windows Phone 8's look and feel. It surely looks nice and I have many friends who are absolutely in love with Launcher 8. There's also another alternative called Launcher 7, based on Windows Phone 7. Give both of them a try. FREE
Lightning Launcher: A bare to the bones, highly customizable and free Android launcher that is extremely light on your phone's memory. FREE
Nemus Launcher: Extremely fast and customizable launcher for Android. It's no surprise that Nemus maintains an overall Google Play Store rating of 4.6 even after a million downloads. Specific charectersitics include low memory usage, responsiveness, easy management of apps, workspaces and folders among others. FREE
