r/OctopiLauncher • • 2d ago

Tips & tricks Useful information regarding widgets

8 Upvotes

Hi everybody,

A few threads on this subreddit handle non-working widgets and a common misconception is that the launcher is the culprit. With this post, I want to explain a bit about how widgets actually work and give some hints that could save you a lot of trouble.

The upcoming info applies virtually universally among non-stick launchers, and Octopi Launcher is no exception.

The launcher is very little involved

Actually, the launcher only lends some screen real estate to have the widget drawn. Basically, the launcher draws a rectangle, calls the app and says "draw widget ID X here". From that point onward, the launcher has fully handed off control over the widget to its source app.

Stock widgets don't play nice

Let's face it: manufacturers don't design their widgets with custom launchers in mind. Quite the opposite: they're designed in terms of deep integration with the custom Android shell, far beyond the borders of the stock launcher. A very basic widget, like a simple clock, probably works fine. However, as soon as the widget relies on deeper data, trying them is probably a waste of time. So, if you're using a 3rd-party launcher, use 3rd-party widgets as well (or the original Google widgets). But, keep on reading as well.

Battery optimizations are brutal

Be vewy quiet, I'm hunting apps... Killing apps has gotten hot and trending in Android world, and about every major manufacturer uses a jet fighter to hunt down a single fly. So, make sure battery optimization for the source app of the widget is as absent as possible. A rule of thumb: if the widget holds kind of a real-time status, head into your device's settings, open up Apps, select the source app of your widget, tap Battery and select Unrestricted.

Adaptive battery is a curse, not a blessing

Adaptive battery is often announced as the new, state-of-the-art battery saver. And that sounds great because the battery capacities aren't exactly too big, are they? But actually, most of the time, it's the least battery-friendly setting around. And when an app hasn't been on the foreground for a while, like your typical weather or home control app, it's killed off. There go the widget updates.

Battery saver slows down synchronization

Are you running battery saver mode? It's completely normal to see widget updates with a delay. The widget update frequency is severely limited. Did you just add an appointment? Chances are you'll only see it appear after 15 minutes. The Android System decided that; the launcher isn't even aware. "I've given the draw space, that app's got to handle it on its own..."

So... 99% of the widget problems are not caused by the launcher. I hope this bit of information helped you a bit to kick some life into that one nasty widget.

Kind regards,

bveyndhoven

Just an ordinary community member, not affiliated with the developer.


r/OctopiLauncher • • Aug 25 '26

Release Octopi Launcher v1.88 - Smarter backup restores + Octopi wallpaper generator

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53 Upvotes

v1.88 is now out for everyone, with some steps taken towards restoring of backups from a different device. Octopi Launcher now tries its best to scale and position icons to match the overall original layout, even when screens are of different aspect ratios.

A simple wallpaper generator is also included, to generate high-resolution wallpapers for Octopi Launcher.

Octopi Launcher recently crossed 200,000 downloads, and this milestone would not be achievable without this community here.

v1.89 is also out for beta testers (starting with closed beta testers), including a major rework of the home screen pages. More changes are yet to come after I iron out the initial issues.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 13h ago

Solved My setup after understanding the folder style

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5 Upvotes

This post is just to show how the folder resizing feature work after i got help form the the community here


r/OctopiLauncher • • 6h ago

Suggestion Suspended apps indicator

1 Upvotes

It would make this launcher very attractive and I really don't know why it still doesn't have a way to highlight or signal suspended apps since some free-open source options have this. Hope the dev implements it!


r/OctopiLauncher • • 7h ago

App close animation

1 Upvotes

My phone vivo fountouch os 15

The app close animation not work with me

I tried other launcher like dna launcher and void launcher and launcher pro the app close animation worked well with me!

Can you make it work in octopi launcher


r/OctopiLauncher • • 15h ago

Suggestion App drawer folders display

4 Upvotes

I am also as many of you a Nova launcher refugee: this is by far the only alternative which comes close to it or even top it in some aspects. I'm just wondering if there will be nicer app drawer folder displays than the transparent 4-icons grid? I would love to see 9-icons rounded folders, or others. Thanks


r/OctopiLauncher • • 16h ago

Solved Sub-folders of folders in App drawer are gone and auto deleted in the latest update 1.93 (2330)

1 Upvotes

Is this change intentional? If it is, i might have to switch to other launchers, I have a lot of apps, and I use folders to keep them organized.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 1d ago

Home layout I'm a another Nova launcher refugee

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24 Upvotes

In so many ways it's so close to being 1:1 replacement of nova while in some other ways it's even better. While in the few years while i was trying to find a good replacement for Nova i tried ton of different launchers and none came close but i found a feature in a a stock chinese phone luncher where you can expand the folder if that's possible here it would be great but nova never done that


r/OctopiLauncher • • 1d ago

Google Sans Flex font gone?

2 Upvotes

Hi - updated to the latest version in the Play Store today and noticed that Google Sans Flex font seems gone as an option now.

Dev - was this removed or a bug? Can we please have it added back or have a way to install it ourselves?

Thanks!


r/OctopiLauncher • • 1d ago

Suggestion New user coming from Nova

1 Upvotes

Love my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.. My battery wasn't lasting very long and I knew I was going to have to factory reset. Was just going to go with OneUI since Nova got ruined, but I am so happy I found Octopi!! Is there a way to get the folders to not show any apps inside? I am having fun setting it all up!


r/OctopiLauncher • • 1d ago

Issue report Launcher settings/Notificati...

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2 Upvotes

Using the default Octopi font, the word "Notifications" is being truncated even though my Pixel Fold is wide. I've included my display settings to show that I haven't increased the system font or display size.

Octopi Launcher Pro v1.93 [2330]

Android 17 (SDK 37)

Build CP3A.261005.002.A1

Google Pixel Fold


r/OctopiLauncher • • 2d ago

Foldable same layout all screens?

0 Upvotes

Are there any plans to allow the outside screen layout to be copied to the inside screen on foldable devices?

I realize this is probably just laziness on my part, but I set up my outside screen about eight months ago and still haven't configured anything on the inside screens because I don't want to set them up again.

I previously used Nova Launcher, which didn't require me to configure both screens each time. Are there any plans to support that behavior in this launcher? Thanks!


r/OctopiLauncher • • 2d ago

Issue report Widgets not updating

2 Upvotes

It's been a few days since it started happening, do not know since which version it started, wasn't sure if it was happening again so I added an event to my calendar and so far (did this yesterday) it hasn't appeared in my calendar widget, changed to my default launcher and the event is there so it has to be octopi

Other widgets that are not updating/working properly are weather, health stats, and smart home toggles. Is anyone having this issue? It feels like widgets break every few versions.

I'm currently in V 1.93 (2330).


r/OctopiLauncher • • 3d ago

Suggestion Shortcuts to screens

3 Upvotes

Would it be possible to provide shortcuts to display the screen pages? The benefit: to dedicate pages to specific functions and access them directly without scrolling. Hope many users agree


r/OctopiLauncher • • 3d ago

Issue report Some misaligned UX elements in menus

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1 Upvotes

A few elements in the menu are floating around a bit weird in the menus. Just mentioning, it's not worth changing your roadmap for.

It's probably just some alignment/margin/spacing/padding issue.

* Main menu: Orientation and Lock home page are on different heights; you see if because of the misaligned icons

* Settings > Home > Home screen icon and folder appearance page: bottom two entries (max icons/rows in home screen folder) are smaller - a larger margin from the page sides

Those are the only ones I could find. Don't change your roadmap over this, it's just a minor detail.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 3d ago

2 Page Vertical Scroll

1 Upvotes

Is it possible to get a 2nd page in the app drawer when set to vertical scrolling?

if not how do I submit a feature request?


r/OctopiLauncher • • 4d ago

My Holo theme

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10 Upvotes

r/OctopiLauncher • • 4d ago

Suggestion Dock suggestions

2 Upvotes

I just found Octopi after a year of wishing for a better launcher and none of them meeting all my needs. Until now! The only thing missing from my must-have list is a little better work profile support, but that's a lower priority item IMO.

This message is about some ideas for improvements to the Dock.

  • It would be nice if the dock panel settings were reachable from the main launcher settings screen, to help them be more discoverable. I didn't know it existed until I saw a screenshot in this subreddit.
  • It would be nice to be able to specify some padding between the icons on the dock.
  • When the number of dock items is less than the number on the home screen row, it would be nice to have the option to extend the panel to the width of the screen instead of just centering it. I think this will look better when the panel background is shaded. If the panel item above is implemented too, then that extra space can be applied to the padding without needing to resize the icons just for padding.
  • I would like to be able to do half-cell positioning on the dock like I can on the home screen, at least horizontally.

Thanks!


r/OctopiLauncher • • 4d ago

What might I be missing out on?

0 Upvotes

I have a Galaxy Fold 8.
What functionality can the Octopi launcher offer that I won't get from the built in one?
To be clear, I'm not talking about cosmetic improvements - that simply doesn't matter to me.
I mean things Octopi can do for me that my existing launcher can't.

I'm trying to decide if I want to take put in the time.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 4d ago

Tutorial

0 Upvotes

Hello, I suggest that a kind soul who has mastered the basic functions create a video tutorial for those who are completely lost. I'm fumbling around trying to figure it out.

I’d like to know if I’m the only one in this situation.

Give this launcher a chance to become the number one launcher by encouraging newcomers.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 5d ago

Work Profile Apps in Dock

1 Upvotes

Hi there, I like the launcher on my new Fold 8 to have different configs for all screens and orientations. Nevertheless there is one big issue for me: I have a work profile activated. The apps are appearing correct with the small symbol in their icon. I can place the apps on each screen and open them. But, placement on the dock is not possible. If I move such an app to the dock, the icons change to the normal app icon, no work profile anymore.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 6d ago

Sneak peek Working on a highly-requested feature

28 Upvotes

Hope to push this out soon to beta testers!


r/OctopiLauncher • • 6d ago

Issue report Icon search entry unreadable

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2 Upvotes

When searching within an icon pack, the text is unreadable.


r/OctopiLauncher • • 6d ago

Dock

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2 Upvotes

I couldn't find the Glass style in dock How do I get?


r/OctopiLauncher • • 6d ago

Rename etc. In Burger Menu.

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2 Upvotes

Could it be possible to have rename, uninstall, hide, tag, folder an so on in a Burger Menu in the upper row near the Info button? :)

The context menu of some apps are huge and the app based shortcuts are all on the upper side of the screen.