27Purple

The thing is you do get the choice to sync the account, it’s not automagic, so the writer saying “she didn’t authorize it” is actually false. Generalizing here but most non-tech literate people generally sort to just pressing “next next yes” on everything so it’s not unlikely she’s simply authorized it without actually realizing it. Same with Onedrive sync, it’s not automatic, you get the option but it’s very simple to opt out during OOBE or when prompted in Windows, but most people simply look at it and say “that sounds neat”.

That said the OOBE on new Samsungs is absolutely atrocious and I don’t blame her for ending up in this situation. It’s like a 20 step process on the S25 (I have one so I know what it’s like) and I’m definitely not defending the clusterfuck that Windows is. I feel for both of them. I’m just saying there are some inaccuracies.

I unfortunately don’t have the source but I did read that soda from glass bottles taste slightly different because the caps aren’t 100% airtight, so a little bit of carbonation escapes and a little bit of air gets in.

It’s a Pixel-esque launcher that aims for “pixel, but more”. I can’t remember why I didn’t stick with it which to me means it can’t have ducked, but it didn’t make a big impression.

They’ve said they’re gonna honor existing paid users but there are no guarantees.

Edit: They confirmed they’re honoring existing prime owners, so we’re good for now. New users face $5 subscription.

Long time Nova user, trying out others now because the Pixel launcher is too boring.

Niagara for a scaled down ui. 8 apps on the home screen, rest is in a super easy to reach list on the edges of the screen. Currently on day 3 and liking it. Paid version is either €12 a year or €40 lifetime. Basically all the flashy stuff you see of it is locked behind the paywall.

Hyperion is good, pretty close Nova relative. UX needs tweaking. Dock and home screen are completely separated so you can open a folder in the dock and one on the home screen at the same time. Minor things like that.

Octopi I did a quick review of on the other site. Tl;dr navigation / interaction is kinda laggy (gestures, tapping, moving things), doesn’t have google feed integration but customization is top tier, better than nova imo. I left it because of the interaction issues.

Smart Launcher is built around a search function. Not my thing so I moved on quickly. UI/UX is good though.

TL;DR: Sold off, dev team was (figuratively) slaughtered, OG dev is pretty much out of the picture, new owner is planning on injecting ads into the launcher and we basically know nothing else about the future of it. I.e they’re turning it into a cash grab.

Sounds like my experience so you’re not alone. Tried it on both a Pixel 8 Pro and P10 Pro XL. Its foundation is good, but it needs a lot of polishing.