For years, third-party launchers have occupied a strange space within Android.
Ever since gesture navigation was introduced, developers like us have had to work around animation glitches, missing APIs, and platform restrictions that made customization harder than it needed to be.
But something is changing, for the better.
In 2024, our community survey showed that many users still faced broken animations and frozen UIs when using alternative launchers. This year, we ran the same survey again, and the difference is remarkable: Android is finally regaining proper support for custom launchers.
Android Is Getting It Right
The 2025 results show a clear, measurable improvement across all versions.
- On average, reports of critical issues have dropped from 22% to just 7% (-68%).
- The number of users reporting no issues at all more than doubled, climbing to nearly 47%.
That’s a big step in the right direction!
Android 16 leads the way, showing that the platform is learning how to handle custom launchers more gracefully. Most users on recent versions now report only minor visual glitches, if any. The worst days of launcher freezes and UI lockups appear to be behind us.
Brand Breakdown: Who’s Doing It Best in 2025
Our 2025 survey also revealed which manufacturers are best supporting a smooth launcher experience:
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- 🏆 Google Pixel, Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, and Nothing stand out. all have drastically reduced major issues, with roughly half of their users now reporting a flawless experience.
- 📈 Google Pixel’s recovery is especially remarkable: after last year’s struggles with early Android 15 builds, Android 16 has turned things around dramatically.
- 🌱 Nothing users continue to report a stable experience with only minor issues remaining, confirming the brand’s steady refinement.
- ⚖️ OnePlus also shows consistent improvement, narrowing the gap with the top performers.
- 🔍 Xiaomi and Vivo, meanwhile, showed contrasting results — reporting noticeably fewer minor issues but a rise in major ones. This could reflect new underlying issues or simply sampling variability due to the limited size of this year’s survey. We’ll continue monitoring these trends to confirm whether this shift is temporary or structural.
These results are likely the effect of Google addressing long-standing launcher-related issues directly within AOSP. Once these fixes propagate through OEM codebases, the benefits reach users across multiple brands. It’s a strong signal that Google still cares about third-party launchers and remains committed to improving the overall customization experience on Android.
Why This Matters
This progress isn’t just technical. It’s about freedom.
Android’s identity has always been built around user choice and control, and third-party launchers are one of the clearest expressions of that philosophy.
A custom launcher isn’t just a cosmetic tweak, it’s often the only practical way for users to replace built-in services that come preloaded by the manufacturer. For example, many stock launchers include an unremovable search bar tied to proprietary assistants or web services, limiting users’ ability to choose their preferred provider. Others integrate promotional content, ads, or bloatware features directly into the home screen, which can’t be disabled without switching launchers.
Third-party launchers restore this choice. They allow users to reclaim control over their home screen, from how gestures work to which services appear front and center.
How You Can Help
If your phone still doesn’t play nicely with custom launchers, don’t stay silent. Let your manufacturer know. Post in their support channels or mention it in your reviews. When enough users speak up, it drives change and as 2025’s data shows, change is possible.
To everyone who participated in the survey: thank you.
Your contribute helps us continue improving Smart Launcher and gives us the evidence we need to push for a more open, customizable Android.
