this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2024

81 points (93.5% liked)

Android

17717 readers

63 users here now

The new home of /r/Android on Lemmy and the Fediverse!

Android news, reviews, tips, and discussions about rooting, tutorials, and apps.

💡Content Philosophy:

Content which benefits the community (news, rumours, and discussions) is generally allowed and is valued over content which benefits only the individual (technical questions, help buying/selling, rants, self-promotion, etc.) which will be removed if it's in violation of the rules.

Support, technical, or app related questions belong in: [email protected]

For fresh communities, lemmy apps, and instance updates: [email protected]

💬Matrix Chat

💬Telegram channels / chats

📰Our communities below

Rules

Stay on topic: All posts should be related to the Android OS or ecosystem.
No support questions, recommendation requests, rants, or bug reports: Posts must benefit the community rather than the individual. Please post to [email protected].
Describe images/videos, no memes: Please include a text description when sharing images or videos. Post memes to [email protected].
No self-promotion spam: Active community members can post their apps if they answer any questions in the comments. Please do not post links to your own website, YouTube, blog content, or communities.
No reposts or rehosted content: Share only the original source of an article, unless it's not available in English or requires logging in (like Twitter). Avoid reposting the same topic from other sources.
No editorializing titles: You can add the author or website's name if helpful, but keep article titles unchanged.
No piracy or unverified APKs: Do not share links or direct people to pirated content or unverified APKs, which may contain malicious code.
No unauthorized polls, bots, or giveaways: Do not create polls, use bots, or organize giveaways without first contacting mods for approval.
No offensive or low-effort content: Don't post offensive or unhelpful content. Keep it civil and friendly!
No affiliate links: Posting affiliate links is not allowed.

Quick Links

Our Communities

Lemmy App List

See thread

Chat and More

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Introducing... Octopi Launcher (lemmy.world)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

26 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hi everyone!

I'm happy to share my app, Octopi Launcher, which I've worked on for quite a while now.

Octopi Launcher is a launcher for Android, built with the latest trends in mind, which includes visual and haptic effects, and support for foldables.

Features:

App drawer, dock and homescreen
Different homescreen for different screen layout/ orientation/ size/ foldable position
Widgets and (autoscrolling) widget stacks
Blur for widget and dock background (experimental)
Home screen and app drawer folders
Fine/ free positioning of home screen apps and widgets
Big home screen icons
Swipe up/ down actions for icons
Display drawer items as icons or tiles (or single list); sort by installed date or updated date
App search + instant launch
Assign a nickname to an app for instant app search and launch (e.g. searching "ff" launches Firefox instantly)
Icon pack support
Wallpaper blur when opening app drawer (on supported devices)
Work profile support
Fun animations, reflections and haptic effects

Screenshot album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8xiXqSABV7Rhad139

Firstly, join the Google Group to gain access: https://groups.google.com/g/octopi-launcher-alpha-testers

Then, use this link to download the closed beta: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.otp.octopilauncher

I'd love to hear your feedback below, and have a nice day!

all 27 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 38 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Nice job! I like the looks, any plans on open sourcing it?

[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago

i second this, i won't install a closed source launcher on my phone anymore.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Not in the immediate future, but I have been thinking about this since I wrote the first bits of code.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago

It'd be awesome, good luck

[–] [email protected] 25 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

Somewhat weird name for a launcher considering this: https://octoprint.org/download/#octopi

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Doubly so since people sometimes use Android phones as dedicated interfaces for their printer.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Used the plural of Octopus, perhaps I should go with Octopus Launcher instead?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Thought of the same, I used it for a few years. It even ocurred to me the possibility that the dev was branching out to other stuff 🤣

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

it looks cool, but im not sure if id trust a proprietary launcher

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Fair comment. I do not have trackers that may pose a privacy issue, and it will remain so.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

When software is open source, people can know if they should trust you. When it's proprietary, they need to have faith in your good will.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I might try it out if it ever becomes open source but trebuchet is good enough at this point that I'm definitely not going to use a closed source launcher.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

I'll share here if I open source this or a variant of this

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Congrats! It looks exciting!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Do let me know any issues you encounter

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Initial thoughts: it would be nice if there was a screen where you could select apps for the dock on first launch.

I like the different sorts in the drawer, but the launcher should remember your choice.

Need swipe actions on apps, not being able to access my favourite chats in Telegram feels like a step back.

Other than that. Very nice.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Great suggestion on the "wizard"/ guide on first launch. The launcher starts a bit empty otherwise.

As for the app sorting, is there a reason why you prefer a permanent sort choice (by date)?

App shortcuts are definitely on my to-dos, and they will be supported as swipe/ gesture actions as well.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

As for the app sorting, is there a reason why you prefer a permanent sort choice (by date)?

No real reason.

App shortcuts are definitely on my to-dos, and they will be supported as swipe/ gesture actions as well.

I'll keep an eye out.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Make it open source and don't charge for a "premium" version when it's fully released that will hamstring your capability if you don't pay.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I plan to follow the model of Niagara and Nova launcher, but without recurring subscriptions and tracking. Closed beta testers will receive free codes to unlock the full version, so they get to enjoy all features they have now.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (3 children)

While I liked Niagara for what it tries to do, it's price for a launcher was steep, and Nova IMHO is not a good company to emulate. May I ask why the need to join the Google group?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

While I liked Niagara for what it tries to do, it's price for a launcher was steep...

Quality often is, and it's not terribly steep, in my opinion, if you consider that it's the gateway into your phone and is used practically every time you unlock your phone. I personally opted for the lifetime subscription to not deal with any monthlys.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

It will be priced very competitively, as it's a personal project and I do not need to pay anyone else ;) Nova's model before it's bought over was great. i still recall being part of those who paid $0.10 for it. The Google group is how Google currently handles closed beta sign-ups, not very intuitive, I agree.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

why the need to join the Google group?

Because closed beta

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Looks cool, thanks for sharing!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Thank you and look forward to hearing any issues you faced