Install Lean Launcher on Android

With the Pixel 2/XL handsets, Google made some major changes to the famous Pixel Launcher, includin a bottom-placed search bar and that special At a Glance feature that users loved from the start. There is no secret that third-party launchers quickly caught up and updated their own launchers to include features from the new Pixel Launcher, but I know your disappointment: it seems that most of them are paid.

An open source, customizable launcher similar to the Pixel Launcher seems to be what you want and here I have a great free option that you cannot refuse. Yes, Lean Launcher is free to grab and use and it promises a Pixel Launcher like experience and something more than that.

This launcher has the search bar at the bottom, also comes with a At a glance widget, a colored G icon and the story continues. I basically see it as the Rootless Pixel Launcher, with some changes: you also have the option to hide ‘At a Glance’ widget, to hide the search bar in app drawer, to hide the bottom search bar, to lock desktop and prevent accidental changes, to force dark or light theme, as well as to hide apps in app drawer.

However, for the At a glance widget to work with no issues on your Android handset, you will need a Lean Launcher companion app. This should be no problem, yet the developer says it can’t be released on the Play Store and this is no joy for some users. What I can add is that the LeanGlance companion app has been updated. If the companion app cannot install or you experience any sort of problems, make sure that you don’t have any other Pixel Launcher variant installed as this is the source of the issue.

With these being said, Lean Launcher is pretty good to be used if you like the Pixel 2 look, and want some additional customization.

So, go ahead and give this launcher a shot. Lean Launcher can be taken from this Google Play link.