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I carried around a Light Phone 2 for years, and I love Niagara Launcher for being an alternative Android launcher that takes a similar minimal approach to design. Following the latest update to Niagara Launcher, my Galaxy Z Fold 6 feels a lot like the Light Phone 3 I almost purchased.
Niagara Launcher Now Supports Themes
Niagara Launcher does away with the conventional grid of app icons found on most launchers. Instead, your apps are listed by name in a vertical column on your homescreen. Swiping your finger along either edge of the screen scrolls through a vertical list of all of your apps. Joe Fedewa hascalled Niagara Launcher the best Launcher for big phones, and as someone currently using Niagara each day on aGalaxy Z Fold 6, I agree.
The latest updateintroduces custom themes to Niagara Launcher. While the app already allowed you to change the wallpaper, app icons, and fonts—this update provides themes that change all three at once. Instead of having to create something beautiful on your own, you can benefit from the design work others have already done.
Create a Minimalist Theme With a Single Tap
you may get to Niagara Launcher’s new themes by going to Niagara Settings > Look > Themes.
As you scroll through the themes, there are two in particular that can give your smartphone a look akin to that of aLight Phone 3. There’s a dark theme offering a nearly solid black wallpaper with white text and white app icons, and there’s another offering a white wallpaper with black text and black icons.
As much as I like the look of both themes, I went with the darker one since it’s easier on the eyes.
Add Your Own Tweaks to Make Things Perfect
While a theme in Niagara Launcher is complete all its own, it can also serve more as a foundation to build from. I made several tweaks to complete the experience.
I love the Anycon icons that Niagara provides, but they’re limited to launcher. When you open up the recent apps list, you still see the original app icons. I find this jarring, so Iturn to Icon Pack Studio to change app iconsin places where Niagara can’t.
I like the Niagara Dots theme, so I selected it within Niagara Launcher. Then I searched for Niagara Dots within Icon Pack Studio. There are several versions that fans of the theme have created. I found one where the dots are roughly the same size. I then use the Theme Park module within Good Lock to apply the theme, since I’m on a Samsung phone.
The end result means that I now see dots next to app names on my home screen, on the recent apps screen, the lockscreen, and wherever else I am presented with app icons.
Rename Your Apps to Focus on Their Utility
The intent behind devices like the Light Phone 3 and the Minimal Phone is to reduce how addictive our phones can be by minimizing temptation. Removing app icons and minimizing color go a long way toward making our phone screens less compelling.
Minimal Phone
The Minimal Phone is a smartphone running a full version of Android on an E-Paper display. The phone also packs a 35-button keyboard, expanding its appeal beyond those looking to reduce phone addiction and reclaim their focus. It also makes for a nice pocket eReader.
A grid of large app icons exposes us to dozens, if not hundreds, of small designs all created to capture our attention. Removing the icons leaves us in a position where we open an app because we sought out its name, not because the icon caught our eye.
App names themselves can stand out in their own way, so I’ve started to rename apps based on the utility they provide. Some apps are already labeled this way, such as the phone and contacts apps. It’s common to have a calculator, calendar, and gallery app with a generic name as well.
Others need to be renamed. Seeing AntennaPod sticks out, so I rename it to “Podcasts.” My long-time Gmail replacement Proton Mail gets shortened to “Mail” and my chosen password manager, Proton Pass, becomes “Password Manager.”
Some apps share a similar purpose but aren’t interchangeable, so I can’t reduce them down to one. For example, I’ve renamed the Google Family Link app to “Parental Controls (Google)” This sets it apart from the Switch Parental Controls app, which I’ve renamed to “Parental Controls (Nintendo).” Some apps are difficult. What do you call an app like Slack?
This exercise nudges me to think about each app that I’ve installed on my phone and its purpose. If there’s duplication, that prompts me to reduce the amount of software that I can. Having six music apps with different names may not stand out, but having to scroll through six apps all named “Music” calls attention to how many apps I might have that all do a similar thing.
Ipre-ordered a Light Phone 3last summer, but I ultimately canceled that pre-order due to how my phone has completely replaced my laptop. SinceI no longer have a separate PC, replacing my phone comes with a cascading set of additional costs. But with the newest version of Niagara Launcher, my Z Fold 6 can extend the minimalism of the Light Phone not just to my phone, but to most of my digital life.
