OnePlus makes pretty great smartphones and they’ve proven that over and over, barring a few early hiccups like the OnePlus 2 and OnePlus X. Nearly everyone would agree that OnePlus devices are as much about the software, as they’re about the hardware. Oxygen OS is probably the fastest OEM-made skin for Android. It feels nearly like stock Android only faster, and with a few improvements. The same can be said about the OnePlus Launcher which is at the forefront of the Oxygen OS experience. Now, you can enjoy a port the OnePlus Launcher on any device running Android Pie.
Quick Switch
For those unaware, Lawnchair is pretty great Android launcher based on the stock Android launcher. The developer team behind it has been testing a beta version of the launcher that supports Android Pie recents screen. The same team also recently released a Magisk module called QuickSwitch. It’s an upgraded, re-branded version of Lawnstep, the Magisk module that allowed Lawnchair launcher to be the default recents provider on rooted Android Pie devices.
That’s also party thanks to Android Pie which has taken the recents screen out of the system UI and packed it into the default launcher. The system still does have the default recents screen but a pre-installed launcher by any OEM can provide their own versions of the recents menu. Quick Switch allows any launcher to become a system-app as if it was pre-installed by the OEM. Now if the launcher does provide a recents screen for Android Pie and it compatible, it can provide a modified recents screen. Lawnchair, for instance, provides a stock Android Pie-like recents screen. This can also be customized to an extent in the launcher settings.
OnePlus Launcher Port
The OnePlus Launcher also has its own take on the Android Pie recents screen. It doesn’t display the dock and the Google search bar and instead displays a very iPhone like recent apps screen. If you prefer the OnePlus Launcher, you can now install it along with its Android Pie recents screen on any Android Pie device. XDA Senior Member paphonb modified the OnePlus Launcher APK allowing it to be installed on any Android Pie device. There is the requirement that the device should be rooted, though, for the launcher port to work correctly. paphonb also happens to be one of the developers in the Lawnchair and Quick Switch development team.
Install Quick Switch
Before you install the OnePlus Launcher port though, make sure you have the Quick Switch Magisk module installed on your phone. This is pretty easy if your phone is rooted via Magisk.
- Launch the Magisk Manager app.
- Swipe from the left edge of the screen or tap on the hamburger menu button on the top-left to pull out the side menu drawer.
- From here, go to Downloads.
- Tap on the search icon at the top and type Quick Switch then tap on the download icon next to the first search result, which should be Quick Switch.
- Select INSTALL on the pop-up dialog box that appears.
- When the installation is complete, tap on the REBOOT option at the bottom.
After reboot, you should find the Quick Switch app in your app drawer among all your other apps.
Download modded OnePlus Launcher port
OPLauncher2_QuickSwitchMod_paphonb.apk
Install OnePlus Launcher port and set it as the default recents provider
You can find the modded OnePlus Launcher APK on the Android File Host link provided above. Once the APK is downloaded, install it like you would install any normal APK. Don’t set it up as the default launcher yet though. In fact, if you try to do that or even as much as launch it, the launcher will crash. It’s unusable in this state. So launch Quick Switch from whatever your default launcher is or any other launcher that you may have.
In the Quick Switch app, select the newly installed OnePlus Launcher. Tap OK on the confirmation dialog that appears and then you’ll be asked to reboot your device, so do that. When your device reboots, you can now set OnePlus as your default launcher.
You can see everything works as well as the recents screen. On the left of the home screen is the Google feed instead of the OnePlus Shelf, by default. That’s because this is the modded APK by paphonb which enables the Google feed on the OnePlus Launcher. If you want the Shelf you can enable that in the launcher settings.
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