G+_Graham Forte Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Originally shared by Joseph Cappellino The Google Experience Launcher == iOS Home Screen I know I'm going to get some hate on this, but here goes. I had a brief couple of hours with the Nexus 5 last week, and overall, I loved the phone. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the jump to T-Mobile yet (don't worry, you're still going to be my next carrier). That being said, the Google Experience Launcher (GEL) is actually a step backwards in my opinion. Yeah, sure, they added an awesome, always listening Google Search widget (which I'm sure will be emulated many times over), but everything else was a move to how iOS implemented their home screen/launcher. First, you have 'n+1' number of home screens, where 'n' is the number of screens with at least one icon. If you delete all the icons from one screen, it gets deleted. Also, you can't add another screen if the rightmost one will be empty. This is exactly how iOS treats its home screen. This doesn't work for me as I keep a pretty tight ship (a dockbar full of folders, the next line up is 2 pop-up widgets, a folder and an app, the rest of the screen is used for the Google Now widget). So, on the new GEL, I am forced to have 2 home screens, which then offsets my wallpaper (which used to be centered). Thankfully, I can still run Nova Launcher, though I lose the always on voice actions... for now. Next, they put an always present search screen all the way to the left... just like iOS. Granted, this home screen is way more useful than its iOS counterpart, but still. Again, I'm sure I'll get backlash on this, but I would rather have seen Google keep the launcher the way it was, and then add the "persistent" search button to the navigation bar. Additionally, add the "always listening" to the entire framework, not just the launcher. And, I'm not talking about the MotoX feature (which is awesome), but when the device is on, no matter what app is running, let me perform a voice action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Damian Dalle Nogare Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I agree 100%. This is the first time I've considered installing a third party launcher on a nexus device. I miss my old N4 home screens. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mark Scholes Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 They're making the default simpler for people no doubt they noticed people weren't finding Google now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts