Replace Touchwiz Launcher with Google Launcher

rickinoz said:

If like me, you dislike the look and feel of Touchwiz ... it is possible to replace at least the launcher portion of it with Google Launcher. This will make the Note look cosmetically similar to a Nexus device. The remainder of the Touchwiz interface will remain unaffected.

For those of us on JB 4.3

1. Download the zip file from this post (credits @geoworld_200)
2. Extract the 3 apks but copy only GoogleHome.apk to external storage
3. Install (requiring temporary disabling of the "unknown source" security block)
4. Run the app and it will invite use of GoogleNow which you can either accept or decline
5. Press the physical "Home" button and you can now chose to use the Google Launcher instead of Touchwiz

I've tried this on my (rooted and custom ROM) P605 and it works just fine with no FC or issues so far. But, per usual, YMMV. And it obviously won't get updates via Play.

Presumably the same could be achieved for KK using the more recent version of the apk found here. But I haven't tested it yet pending a 4.4 ROM release ...

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Or just use Apex or Nova - which will be updated in Google Play? My personal preference is Apex, and I also use the LG Lock Screen app on the Play Store too.

I'm rooted, so have removed TW Launcher via Titanium completely.

YmmV

I own NOVA launcher on GS3 and tried on P600 but I prefer Touchwiz ability to show unread FB notification count directly on icon. I didn`t find any replacement with similar feature.

kornelius1982 said:

I own NOVA launcher on GS3 and tried on P600 but I prefer Touchwiz ability to show unread FB notification count directly on icon. I didn`t find any replacement with similar feature.

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Just place the FB widget on the home screen, and resize to 1x1. Does the same thing. Then you can escape the lag that TW gives.

cdinoz said:

Just place the FB widget on the home screen, and resize to 1x1. Does the same thing. Then you can escape the lag that TW gives.

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Thanks for the solution, I`ll give it a try later, but to be honest, Touchwiz on KK isn`t as laggy as older one, at least I for me.

p.s. I just tried on GS3 but when I try to resize I get white little widget without any info on it.

I was excited about trying the Google Experience Launcher because it would respond to "OK Google" on any launcher screen.

However, I was extremely disappointed with the lack of ability to configure the launcher. No, that's too general. There's absolutely no configuration options at all.

One of the things I don't like about the TouchWiz and Google Launcher is that there's no way to control the number of rows/columns and the spacing between them. I use Apex where I can get a lot more rows and columns on the page. And I can control the spacing so I can get icons right up to the edge of the screen. In addition I can reduce the size of the icons for a better look.

It's not like I want to fill the screen with icons, on the contrary, I like to have the icons near the edges and out of the way so I can better see the wallpaper. The TouchWiz and Google launchers are pretty much an iPad launcher. No flexibility and no configurations.