Asklemmy

Lawnchair. It mimicks the Pixel launcher quite well, which is my favorite stock Android launcher, and is much better than default OneUI. To be honest, I dont care for phone customization as much as I used to, but Lawnchair just works. Not to mention its FOSS and has a great themed icon pack that covers every app I use daily except for the Lemmy app Liftoff.

Nova was my jam for the longest time, then CPL (Customised Pixel Launcher) due to its google feed integration & good customisation. Now that I've stopped using the google feed (I get my news from ~~reddit~~ lemmy) as well as it isn't actively maintained anymore, I've switched to Neo launcher as it's FOSS as well as having a very light footprint and specific features such as categories in the app draw.

I'm on Pixel 5 and my vote is Niagra! It's utterly unique among launchers, most of which are more or less the same but with different customizations. It's difficult to say what makes Niagra better for me, but now that I've gotten used to it (not easy but worth it) all the samey launchers just feel so much worse.

Neo launcher, it is foss and can use Neo Feed (which is also foss) it is stable, has cool features and a backup function. Also it is under active development.

I used nova for years, until I discovered Niagara. It's so effortless to find and launch the app I'm looking for

I technically use the stock launcher... from my first ever Android, the OnePlus One. It used to ship with CyanogenMod preinstalled, which had the Trebuchet launcher. I got used to that, so when CM died I found Evie on the Play Store which is a port of Trebuchet. I still use it to this day!

I've been using Nova for a really long time. When I get a new device, I'll check out whatever isinstalledg for a while, but I always end up going back to Nova. Easy to use, hides apps, enough customization without being overly technical.

I have used many over the years. Lots of great ones, but it came down to taste for me. A few faves were Niagara, Nova, Lawnchair and the stock Pixel launcher. But for the last few months, I have gone back to Square Home. I was a huge Windows Phone enthusiast, so I just really wanted to go back to that vibe. It took a decent amount of time to get it set up and exactly how I wanted. Worth a try if you want something different.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ss.squarehome2

Action Launcher

I'm pretty much forced to use the Samsung launcher as I can't live without the gestures. I've tried multiple launchers and the gestures are always broken in some form or fashion.

But...using Goodlock has made it bearable.

Smart Launcher. The app drawer is set up like my Palm Pilot (tabbed categories). Over the years it has added more features but the only gesture I really use is double tap to turn off the screen.

Nova was my first third party launcher but SL has an easier set up for the same effect (for my case).

Ruthless launcher! Came from a Pixel to Samsung and can't deal with their UI. Ruthless allows mostly replicating the Pixel look I'm used to.

Probably not very helpful for you on a Pixel, but maybe it helps someone else :)