Olauncher
Ranked 7 of 8 Android launchers by recommenders
A minimal, open source Android home screen replacement with no widgets or icon grid, recommended for a distraction-free phone.
7 people recommended Olauncher in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 9 comments.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 6 of 12 months
In 8 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 8 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 29% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 8 of the 11 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Simple, distraction-free interface
“I wanted a very simple interface and have no need for widgets and don't like a grid of toy icons.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “uLauncher” “I recommend Olauncher[10] for a distraction-free home screen.”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions” “I like it as much as my featureless openbox desktop.”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Kiss Launcher – fast launcher for Android” Open source and forkable
“grapheneos + olauncher give me a minimal and open source enough experience to make it somewhat tolerable”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “I don't have a smartphone or at least I wish I didn't” “I am a big fan of the olauncher and i forked it.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “I build an ultra minimal Android launcher”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Wants an option to disable them
“I would appreciate an option to disable them.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “uLauncher”
Other Android launchers people recommend
The four most recommended other Android launchers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Launcher | 31 | 7 | 57 | 35% | 5 | 10 yrs12 people | — |
| Kiss Launcher | 26 | 2 | 4 | 87% | 2 | — | — |
| Lawnchair Launcher | 22 | 5 | 7 | 76% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Niagara Launcher | 20 | 3 | 2 | 91% | 2 | — | — |
| OlauncherThis page | 7 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 11 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“grapheneos + olauncher give me a minimal and open source enough experience to make it somewhat tolerable”
“one thing that helps me is using OLauncher as replacement from the system "shell" UI”
“I recommend Olauncher[10] for a distraction-free home screen.”
“I would appreciate an option to disable them.”
“I wanted a very simple interface and have no need for widgets and don't like a grid of toy icons.”
“I like it as much as my featureless openbox desktop.”
“i'm a big fan of your work and olauncher”
“I am a big fan of the olauncher and i forked it.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.