Lib navigation bar (experimental), plus fixes for the header, Recents and more

New features

• Added Lib navigation bar. When it is on, pressing Home on the cover screen navigation bar takes you back to Lib Launcher’s Home instead of the Samsung cover screen. If you use swipe gestures, tap the Lib Home button that appears at the bottom of the screen. Turn it on in Experimental features in Settings. Lib Launcher must be turned on in Accessibility to use it. You can also add Lib nav bar from + > System settings to Quick settings, Home or the Slide Panel to turn it on or off with one tap. It is off by default.

Bug fixes

• Fixed Lib navigation bar covering the keyboard’s hide and voice input buttons. It now hides while the keyboard is showing.
• Fixed Recents opening again if you picked an app right after opening it.
• Fixed Back closing Lib Launcher’s Home. As with other home apps, Back now does nothing on Home.
• Fixed Lib Launcher sometimes crashing when you changed a setting during the tutorial and went back to Home.
• Fixed Lib Launcher sometimes not appearing on the cover screen if you closed your phone with a permission settings screen open during first-time setup.
• Fixed a white bar behind the navigation buttons hiding the wallpaper with 3-button navigation.
• Fixed the header sometimes showing the alarm icon when no alarm was set.
• Fixed the Wi-Fi and signal strength in the header sometimes showing fewer bars than on the main screen.

Recents and more without Accessibility on One UI 9, plus Search apps

New features

• Added Search apps. Tapping it opens Apps with the search field ready for typing. You can place it in Quick settings, on Home and in the Slide Panel, add it to the items shown on Pill and Smart, and assign it to the Pill minimize button or Smart double-tap. It is off by default in the Pill and Smart items.
• In Slide Panel edit mode, you can now change the icon size (70% to 140%), the number of columns (3 to 5) and whether app names are shown, from controls next to the panel. Notification count badges are no longer cut off on larger icons.

Improvements

• On One UI 9, Recents and Continue apps after closing now work even with Accessibility turned off. If you have allowed usage access, Lib Launcher uses the app usage records on your device instead. In this case, Samsung’s own Recents opens on the cover screen. Behavior on One UI 8.5 and earlier is unchanged.
• On One UI 9 and later, Lib Launcher no longer shows its Close all button in Recents on the cover screen, since One UI 9 Recents already has one built in.
• When you tuck the Smart button into the edge, it now floats around your finger before settling into the edge with a short animation.
• On new installs, the header is now on by default. If you are already using Lib Launcher or restore from a backup, this setting does not change.
• After you update, a screen introducing the main new features of v1.3.3 appears once. You can view it again anytime under Highlights in v1.3.3 in About in Settings.

Header bar, tucking the Smart button into the edge, and redesigned wallpaper and clock editors

New features

• You can now show a header with the time, battery, signal and more at the top of Lib Launcher screens such as Home, Apps, notifications, Quick settings and Settings. The cover screen does not show the system status bar, so Lib Launcher draws one instead. Turn it on under Header in Settings, and choose Match main screen (using the main screen settings that apps can read) or Custom for its contents. With Custom, you can long-press and drag items to the left, to the right or to hidden and set their order, and change the battery percentage, seconds and size. By default, Home moves down by the height of the header and shrinks slightly so the header does not cover it (you can also have the header overlap Home without shrinking it). It is off by default. No new permissions are needed.
• You can now tuck the Smart button into the screen edge. Choose Tuck into the edge in Settings, or hold the button against the left or right edge for a moment while moving it, and only a small tab peeks out from the edge. You can open the fan from the tab while it stays tucked (swiping to run an action and double-tapping work too). Long-press the tab to move it, and drop it away from the edge to bring the button back.
• Added a Custom size for the Smart and Pill buttons alongside S, M and L. Use the slider to choose from 75% to 200% in 5% steps, and the button changes size as you move it. The Smart fan and the Pill icons scale up by the same amount. Large sizes are meant for a small display size and may not fit on the screen at the standard display size.

Improvements

• On new installs, Auto-open Home on wake is now on by default, so Lib Launcher’s Home appears when you close your phone and turn on the cover screen. If you are already using Lib Launcher, restore from a backup or have changed this setting yourself, it stays as it is. You can change it under When the cover screen turns on in Settings.
• Sections in Settings can now be opened and closed. Only their headings and a short summary of their current state are listed, and tapping one opens it in place. You can open as many as you like at once.
• The Smart button no longer overlaps the slide panel bar. Before, which one responded where they overlapped depended on the situation. You can still place it right next to the bar.
• You can now pick a wallpaper from Galaxy Gallery as well. Tapping Change Wallpaper lets you choose between Galaxy Gallery and the Android photo picker (the previous screen). On phones without Gallery, the photo picker opens as before.
• Redesigned the wallpaper editor. It opens with your Home icons and clock on top, so you can frame the picture while seeing how Home will look. You can adjust blur, dim, brightness, contrast, saturation and warmth, and rotate or flip the picture (rotating, flipping and color adjustments are for still images only). The Pill and Smart buttons and the slide panel bar are hidden while you edit.
• Redesigned the Home clock settings. You can adjust the clock while seeing it on top of your wallpaper and Home. Added colors for the time and date (any color as well as preset swatches), letter spacing, shadow, vertical position, date size and format, and AM/PM display, and you can now choose the layout (Standard, Date on top, Side by side, Vertical, or Vertical with date) and rotate the text. You can also move and resize the clock within the settings screen. The text size no longer changes when you resize the clock (clocks already on Home keep their current text size).
• Tilt to rotate and Keep clear of the keyboard moved from Experimental features to Rotation & keyboard in Settings. If you had them on, they stay on. They are now also restored from backups when you switch phones or reinstall.
• After you update, a screen introducing the main new features of this version appears once. You can turn the header on or off right there. You can view it again anytime under Highlights in v1.3.2 in About in Settings.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the area where the Smart button had been sometimes taking your touches while the keyboard was showing and the button was hidden.
• Fixed the clock text weight not taking effect in some fonts (One UI, Condensed, Casual and Script).
• Fixed the clock text in some fonts not getting any bigger past a certain size.

Fixes for continuing apps and replying to notifications

Bug fixes

• Fixed apps set to always continue automatically sometimes showing Home instead after you unlock, if you turned on the cover screen right after closing your phone.
• Fixed notification details closing and returning to the list when an app cleared its notification after you replied. The details now stay on screen after you reply, so you can still open the notification to go to the app.
• Fixed other apps, such as One Hand Operation+, sometimes opening on the cover screen when you closed your phone right after going back to Home on the main screen.

Reply to notifications and pick up where you left off

New features

• You can now reply to and act on notifications from their details on the cover screen without opening your phone. Buttons that apps add to their notifications, such as Mark as read or Archive, can be tapped, and tapping Reply opens a text box so you can type and send a reply with the cover screen keyboard. Reply suggestions from the app or the phone are sent as soon as you tap them. You can reply in apps whose notifications show a reply box on the main screen. No new permissions are needed. What you type is passed only to the app you are replying in, and Lib Launcher does not save or log it. If an app clears its notification after you tap a button, the details stay on screen and you can still open the notification.
• You can now continue the app you were using on the main screen after you close your phone. If you open the cover screen within 5 minutes of closing it, Continue (app name) appears at the top, and tapping it opens that app on the cover screen. You can also dismiss it with ✕. After you use it a few times, you can choose for each app to always continue it automatically (it then opens as soon as you open the cover screen) or to stop suggesting it. It also appears on top of Samsung’s own cover screen if you use that. You can turn it on or off with Continue apps after closing under When the cover screen turns on in Settings, and choose how each app is handled by searching all your apps in Per-app settings. It is on by default. The last app you used is stored only on your device and is never sent off it.
• Added a Recent apps item you can place on Home. You can add it from the widget picker. It shows your most recently used apps, newest first, one per cell, and resizing it changes how many it shows (four at 2×2). The time you last used each app, such as now or 5m ago, appears under its icon, and a tinted background sets it apart from regular apps. In the free version it counts as one widget.

Improvements

• When you install Lib Launcher for the first time, Home now starts with four apps as well as the clock. If you have allowed usage access, these are the apps you used most over the last 14 days; otherwise they are your phone, messages, camera and browser apps. The clock placed at first is also larger. If you are already using Lib Launcher or restore from a backup, your Home layout does not change.
• The clock now follows your phone’s 12-hour or 24-hour setting. Before, it always used the 24-hour format. This applies to clocks you add from now on; clocks already on Home stay as they are.
• The Home items in Settings are now split into three sections, When the cover screen turns on, Home and Wallpaper, so they are easier to find.

A hands-on tutorial and a lock for your Home layout

New features

• A tutorial now appears the first time you open Home on the cover screen. It guides you step by step on the real Home: opening and closing Apps, opening notifications and quick settings and switching between them, changing pages, and editing with a long press. If you use Smart, it also shows you how to use the round button. It appears when you install Lib Launcher for the first time or reinstall it, but not when you just update. You can view it again at any time from Show the tutorial again under About in Settings.
• Added Lock home screen layout under Home in Settings. When it is on, a long press no longer opens edit mode and you cannot drag apps out of an open folder, so your layout will not change by accident, for example in your pocket. If you long-press while it is locked, a message lets you know. It is off by default.

Improvements

• You can now close the notification panel by swiping up once you have scrolled to the bottom of the list.
• The permissions screen has a new look. Short animations show what each permission lets you do. A highlighted box makes it clear that Lib Launcher does not send your notification contents, the apps you use, your Home layout or other settings off your device, with notes on ads in the free version and on diagnostic reports. Permission names now match the headings of the Galaxy settings screens that open when you tap Allow, such as Appear on top, so you can find your way more easily.
• Usage access during setup now opens Lib Launcher’s own settings page directly, so you no longer need to find it in the list.
• Settings, quick settings and the notification panel you open by swiping down now use a softer dark gray.

Fixes for casting and external monitors, and settings in the Slide Panel

New features

• You can now add Lib Launcher settings, such as wallpaper, Apps columns, button style and rotation, to the Slide Panel with + in edit mode. They appear after Lib-Launcher buttons in the picker, folded into one row; tap More to show them all and Less to fold them again. They look and work the same as the settings you can place on Home, and settings that are on are shown in blue. Settings that need their own screen, such as columns or wallpaper, open Home and show it there.
• You can now choose Back under Minimized Button in Settings, so the minimized Pill works as a Back button.

Improvements

• Home screen icons are now larger by default on new installs. If you are already using Lib Launcher, your icon size stays the same.

Bug fixes

• Fixed Lib Launcher’s Home and buttons sometimes appearing on your TV or an external monitor while you cast your screen or have a monitor connected. This also fixes Home appearing on an external monitor when Lib Launcher is turned on in Accessibility.

Back buttons for the Pill, Smart menu and Slide Panel

New features

• Added a Back button to the Pill, the Smart menu and the Slide Panel. It takes you back one step in the app or screen you are using. In the Pill and Smart menu it is shown by default, and you can turn it off under Settings → Overlay Items. You can add it to the Slide Panel with + in edit mode. Lib Launcher must be turned on in Accessibility to use it.
• You can now reorder Overlay Items in Settings by dragging ≡. The order applies to both the Pill and the Smart menu. Home always comes first.
• Added Back and App to the Smart button’s Double-tap Action. With App, you can choose any app to open, such as another launcher.
• Added a Cover home shortcut to the menu that appears when you long-press the Lib Launcher icon. Run it from Modes and Routines to open Lib Launcher’s Home on the cover screen, even when Samsung’s standard cover screen is showing.

Improvements

• The Home, Apps, Recents, Back and Rotate buttons in the Slide Panel are now added with + in edit mode. Buttons not yet in the panel appear at the top of the picker under Lib-Launcher buttons. The Built-in buttons setting has been removed.
• When the Smart menu has only a few items, the icons are now spaced to suit the number of items instead of spreading too far apart.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the screen flickering when you open Recents from Lib Launcher, with Samsung’s cover screen home or the notifications or widgets you had open briefly appearing. On One UI 9, Recents now opens as smoothly as with the Recents button on Samsung’s navigation bar.
• Fixed the icons in Lib Launcher not changing when you switch icon packs in Galaxy Themes. Icons on Home, in the app list, in the notification panel and in the Slide Panel now switch to the new icon pack.

A Now Playing card, refreshed Home folders and panel fixes

New features

• Added a Now Playing card at the top of the notification panel. You can also place it on Home from the widget picker, where it counts towards your widget limit. The card provides previous, play/pause and next controls, and switches to the music app currently playing. Tap it to open the music app on the cover screen, even if it is not added to Good Lock (MultiStar). It prioritises the destination set by the playback notification, so the screen that opens depends on the music app. In the notification panel, the card scrolls with the other notifications. You can also hide the card in the notification panel with a button in the panel header. This does not affect cards placed on Home. It uses notification access and adds no new permissions.

Improvements

• Folders on Home have a new look. Folders are now the same size and shape as app icons, shown as a frosted-glass tile with the first four apps inside. An open folder appears as a card sized to its contents, and you can scroll it vertically when there are too many apps to fit. The small app icons inside folders also have smooth edges instead of jagged ones.
• In the notification panel, you can now swipe right outside the notifications in an app's notification list to go back to the full list.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the Slide Panel disappearing when you expand or collapse the Pill, or move it to a screen edge to switch between vertical and horizontal layouts.
• Fixed apps opened from Lib Launcher on the Galaxy Z Flip7 and Z Flip8 leaving an empty space at the bottom of the screen, instead of filling it, when Lib Launcher is not turned on in Accessibility.
• Fixed the notification panel sometimes opening scrolled slightly down, with the newest notification hidden above the top of the screen.
• Fixed the suggested apps sometimes not appearing in Recents on the cover screen of the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Flip6, after you open an app from Recents.
• Fixed the Close all button sometimes not appearing when you open Recents on the cover screen of the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Flip6.
• Fixed suggested apps in Recents on the cover screen of the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Flip6 not opening when tapped while the phone is closed. The app you tap now opens on the cover screen.

Dual Messenger app support and a mirroring fix

New features

• Apps cloned with Samsung’s Dual Messenger (used to run the same app with another account) and apps from a work profile now appear in the app list, on Home and in the Slide Panel. Their icons carry a badge, and notification counts are kept separate from the original app.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the picture going black in version 1.2.1 when mirroring the main screen onto the cover screen (experimental).

Main screen mirroring and double-tap shortcuts on Home

New features

• You can now double-tap an empty area of Home and swipe to open the screens and apps you use most.
• App icons on Home and in the Slide Panel now show the number of notifications as a red dot. Ongoing notifications, such as music playback, are not counted. Notification access permission is required, and you can turn this off under Settings → Notifications.
• You can now place the Smart button in the corners (following the rounded edges), right at the screen edges, or in the band beside the camera at the very bottom of the cover screen. Until now it could not be moved that far. The camera and the screen’s rounded corners are avoided automatically. There is no setting to turn on: just drag the button there.
• You can now mirror the main screen onto the cover screen and use it while the phone is closed. Touches on the mirrored image are sent to the main screen, with Back, Home and Recents buttons and a mini-map you can drag to move around the screen. It is a Premium feature, started from Experimental features in Settings, and it ends when you open the phone. Lib Launcher must be turned on in Accessibility to use it. Because it relies on OS behaviour that is not a public API, it may stop working after an OS update.
• You can now put launcher settings and shortcuts from Quick Settings on Home too. Tap + on an empty cell and choose Settings to add one as an icon. For example, add Rotation to switch cover screen rotation from Home, or add Watch an ad to watch an ad straight from Home. Items that switch on and off turn blue when on. They do not count towards the free version’s limit of 4 apps on Home.
• Added Update info under About in Settings, which opens this page so you can see what changed in each version.

Improvements

• You can now add as many apps as you like to favourites in the app list. Until now, the limit was the number of columns. Extra favourites wrap onto the next row and stay in favourites when you reduce the number of columns.
• You can now choose the text size (50–200%) and weight in the built-in clock settings, and there are four new typefaces: the digits used by Samsung’s clock, condensed, handwritten and script. A preview of the clock with your current settings appears at the top of the settings screen. Typefaces that are not available on your phone are not listed.
• Made opening and closing the app list, notification panel, Quick Settings and other screens consistent and smoother.

Bug fixes

• Fixed games opened on the cover screen being sent back to Home when Auto-open Home on wake is on.
• Fixed the Smart menu icons overlapping when the button is moved to a screen edge or corner.
• Fixed the Slide Panel sometimes appearing far too large for the screen, with the Smart menu icons overlapping.
• Fixed the bottom of screens such as Settings, the app list and the notification panel being hidden behind the navigation bar or camera on the cover screen. Lists now scroll so the last item clears the camera.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when the background service could not start.
• Fixed some older notifications being left behind when you clear an app’s grouped notifications in the notification panel. Clear all notifications left some behind for the same reason.

Video and GIF wallpapers, plus customisable Quick Settings

New features

• You can now use videos and GIFs as wallpaper. Frame, trim and preview before applying. Playback stops after 15 seconds by default; switch to looping under Settings → Wallpaper → Animated wallpaper.
• Arrange widgets and launcher settings in the lower half of Quick Settings. Long-press or tap the pencil button to edit.
• Change the settings of placed widgets and the built-in clock using the gear in edit mode.
• Added experimental tilt-to-rotate. With auto-rotate off, tilt the phone and tap the button that appears to rotate the cover screen.

Improvements

• Reduced memory use and made Home appear faster.

Bug fixes

• Fixed widgets getting stuck as grey boxes.
• Fixed returning from Settings opened on the cover screen showing Lib Launcher on the main display.

Notifications on the cover screen and moving items between pages

New features

• Read notifications on the cover screen by swiping down on the left half of Home, or add them as the leftmost page. Notification access permission is required. Swiping down on the right half still opens Quick Settings.
• Move apps and widgets to another page by holding them at the screen edge while dragging.
• Drag apps out of an open folder onto Home.
• You can now change the size of Home screen icons.
• Added an experimental extra Home row for Galaxy Z Flip7 and Z Flip8.

Bug fixes

• Fixed scrolling inside widgets opening the app list or Quick Settings instead.
• Fixed widgets not filling their allocated space.
• Fixed crashes on some devices when opening the app list or changing wallpaper.

Smoother swipes and new wallpaper, clock and bar styling

New features

• Customise the Slide Panel edge bar’s thickness, length, opacity, colour and shape.
• Adjust wallpaper blur and dimming to make clocks and icons easier to see against bright pictures.
• Change the built-in clock’s typeface, font weight and text alignment.

Improvements

• Improved swiping on Home and the Slide Panel. Pages follow your finger, with the next page fading into view.
• Made widget resize handles easier to grab. Drag the frame’s lines to adjust the size.
• Organised Settings to make options easier to find.

Improved button positioning and recent apps

New features

• Added Experimental features in Settings, with options to try if the overlay does not return or recent apps will not open on Galaxy Z Flip7.

Improvements

• Rebuilt the recent apps screen provided by Lib Launcher.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the floating button and Slide Panel tab shifting out of place after rotating the screen.
• Fixed the Slide Panel tab position resetting after an app update.
• Fixed the recent apps list sometimes stopping updating.

Faster Home display and app list sorting

New features

• The app list can now be sorted by name or recent use.

Improvements

• Made Home appear faster and reduced the flash of the previous screen when returning.
• Moved the floating button’s default position higher to help keep it clear of the keyboard.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the floating button unexpectedly returning to its default position.
• Fixed Lib Launcher appearing on an external monitor when one was connected.
• Fixed the Slide Panel bar disappearing when switching overlay modes.
• Fixed Auto-open Home on wake not working when a screen lock was set.

Automatic restart after updates and a new Diagnostics screen

New features

• Added a Diagnostics screen. You can copy a record of cover screen activity and include it in a bug report.

Improvements

• Lib Launcher now restarts automatically after an app update.
• Home shows placeholders for apps while their icons load.
• Resized the app list’s long-press menu to fit the cover screen.
• Rewarded ads now load only when you tap to watch, reducing ad-loading traffic when you do not watch one.

Bug fixes

• Fixed long-pressing a widget in edit mode opening its provider app.

Fixed the overlay not reappearing

Bug fixes

• Fixed a problem where the floating button and Slide Panel could stop appearing after the cover screen was turned off and on again.
• The Overlay Items setting is now available in Smart mode as well, so you can hide the items you don’t use.