Minimalist Launcher Reviews

I thought installing MinimalistLauncher would fundamentally change the launcher for my iPhone but that is not the case. It is just a wall paper and some widgets and some instructions to get that set up to have a less visually cluttered home screen. Don’t get me wrong there is definitely some value in that feature though. My main problem is that the widgets don’t even work. They just remain dark blank boxes that when clicked just open up MinimalistLauncher . Despite following the instructions of MinimalistLauncher and the instructions of tech support in an attempt to get the widgets working, they still do not work. I have uninstalled and reinstalled MinimalistLauncher twice and set the background of the widgets so do not respond to this review asking if I did that because I did. The only reason I did not give this one star is because being able to block distracting apps is pretty useful and that works great. If the developer responds with a way to fix my problem then I will update to 5 stars as it would do everything I expect of MinimalistLauncher .

I can’t seem to finish setting up MinimalistLauncher on my phone. When I go to “long press the Home Screen,” (as it says in step 6) it doesn’t give me any options to “hide the extra screens,” which means MinimalistLauncher ’s aesthetic doesn’t get activated. Also, trying to set up detox put me in an endless loop of requesting permission to connect Screen Time and then being denied “so please press continue” to try again, which results in being denied, etc etc.
I also found the option to add the apps to the screens mildly annoying bc I couldn’t easily rearrange the apps in any order once I’d chosen them. I had to delete apps 6-11 I’d added to insert, say, calendar into the #5 slot.
Also, the link to send feedback via Telegram (an app I don’t have) or via Email doesn’t work.

Really like the idea, but can’t get it to work on my phone!

MinimalistLauncher does an excellent job of making a smartphone take away much less of your time. The aesthetics of the iPhone are alluring and are designed to draw your attention and keep it on the phone. MinimalistLauncher, with a simple setup process, helps you take that time back—reminding you that a phone is meant to be functional, not distracting. The free version of MinimalistLauncher has all that I need, and the developer was super kind in adding some apps that were not already setup in the launcher. Overall, I would highly recommend MinimalistLauncher to help you be more intentional with your phone usage!

However, just after I wrote this review, MinimalistLauncher decided to tell me that I owed $10 for it. So much for free and so much for 5 stars

I’ve been going back and forth between MinimalistLauncher and another that does similar functionality. Each has its issues that are holding me back from committing to either on, but this has less so I’m riding with this for now.

The two main issues with MinimalistLauncher are that it doesn’t have a second widget that is the smaller size so I can make a full page of app links. There is a top widget with the date, but the other launcher allows me to create an app link widget to fill in the rest of the Home Screen with the large widget, which is a big plus. That to me is a 1 star deduction on MinimalistLauncher.

The second star deduction comes from the fact that after I tap MinimalistLauncher name in the widget, I get routed to the iOS shortcuts app, MinimalistLauncher, and then I get to my target app. However the other launcher I was testing was sending me direct to the target app, which is a big deal when I’m trying to open MinimalistLauncher to use it right away.

The main reason why I stuck with Minimal Phone Launcher is that it gets me to my target app every time, and generally gets there quickly. The other app occasionally freezes up when clicking an app name in their widget.

A great app to make your iPhone into a dumb phone! I didn’t think you could do this, but you can and it only takes a little bit of time. It’s helped me be on my phone less in the past week and since it only costs $10 for lifetime membership, I decided to just get it since it’s helped me simplify my phone and my time spent staring at a screen. I will say that I couldn’t get the colored backgrounds to work for some reason - I don’t know if it’s just me or a glitch, but I couldn’t get them working where the widgets blend into the background. I actually love the black background, so I’m kind of glad I was forced to use it haha. My phone is in grayscale. The other thing I’ll say is that it can be challenging at first to figure out how to set everything up. I’m glad there was a video to reference. I think it just takes time to learn all the settings, but once you do you’re good to go. That said, this is an amazing app and I’m so glad I downloaded it instead of Dumbify because I think that’s more expensive lol. I thought MinimalistLauncher was free though and must not have gotten the memo on the seven day trial situation, but it doesn’t matter. For $10, I’ll be able to use it for the rest of my life which I think is a pretty good deal with the way it’s reduced my screen time. Thank you, Ankit!! You made an amazing app!

Overall does what it says and reasonable trial, I would have preferred around $5-7 but it’s reasonable compared to competitors. It would be nice if we could delete apps in the re-order list menu. Digital detox function doesn’t work when trying to set a time that goes across dates (ie. 8pm - 7 am the next day). Wallpaper is also slightly off color from the widget. It would also be an improvement if which apps were displayed in each widget was edible through the widget customization menu (when holding down on the widget on the home screen). Adding a 2 x 4 widget so that the bottom half of the home screen is used would also be useful. These features would make it a 5 star.

It works as well as some of the others. It’s helped to make my phone boring to use, which is what i wanted. My only issue with it is how difficult it is to change the order of apps. As far as I can tell, the order you select apps is the order they appear, but what if you want to change an app on page one? You have to deselect everything on page 2, select MinimalistLauncher , then reselect everything again. And inevitably you’ll miss one app and have to do it again.

Other than that, it works well. Minimal lag, much less distracting, and really makes me ask “why am I staring at my phone right now?”

Solid app, the set up isn’t too complicated (took about 15). Being forced to read the names of the apps has actually slowed down my thought process while scrolling the phone. And I added a grayscale color filter as well and my phone feels much much simpler, which in turn keeps me off of it more. Great support by the way, within a couple days I was able to reach it and get a couple apps added to the next release.

Now that being said, I have a pet peeves. It irks me that any time you open an app from the widget it first pull up the Minimalist app. It stays in you tab of opened apps. It sometimes opens up the apple widget app, meaning it opens two apps before the one I want. This is instant, it doesn’t make me wait but it does make it annoying to switch between apps.

MinimalistLauncher has helped me reduce my phone usage to less than an hour every day. I love that’s it’s simple to use and being able to block social media apps for certain parts of my day has been extremely helpful. I only allow myself to use social media for a small portion of my evening with the features that MinimalistLauncher has. This is the first time I’ve ever paid for anything on an app. For $9.99 I’m more than willing to pay due to its high quality. And it’s a one time payment as well. This combined with putting my phone on greyscale has been the ultimate experience and I really appreciate developers who actually seem to care for the well being of their people.

I’ve been wanting to improve my digital footprint for a long time. I’ve tried a multitude of different apps. This minimalist phone launcher peaked my interest when I saw it on Reddit thread. At the time I downloaded, there were limited apps available. While this may be a point of frustration for some, this is the equivalent of buying a smaller suitcase and being forced to pack lighter for a trip. The constraints were helpful enforced me to pair down what I really needed on my home screen. Subsequently the developer was kind enough to add one additional app for me that I use frequently at work. MinimalistLauncher has really helped me step forward in my goals of reducing screen time so far and certainly has been worth the price. Thank you.

Recently I’ve realized how much time I spend on my phone; whether that be scrolling on instagram or just trying to fill my time on various apps I’ve installed. This issue had started to get out of hand so I decided to make a change. After downloading MinimalistLauncher and setting it up (which only took around 20 min to really get it how I want) I immediately started to see changes. I didn’t really want to go on my phone as much and it was harder to access the apps that were wasting my time. I emailed the developer with a question and they responded quickly and professionally which shows they care about their users. I definitely would recommend MinimalistLauncher to anyone who’s trying to organize their life, get it back in order, and fight back against the screen time.

I downloaded MinimalistLauncher to reduce my screentime and it has worked like a charm. This + grayscale has been life changing. MinimalistLauncher is easy to use with an abundance of instructions (but not in an annoying way) and best of all it looks really good once your phone is minimal! Probably the most amazing thing is the responsiveness of the developers. Within a few hours, they responded to my request. More than anything they clearly care about MinimalistLauncher . The only improvement id want is the translucent background doesn’t perfectly line up if you select large icons on the iPhone Home Screen. It would be really great if that worked somehow but it’s really an amazing app. 10/10

Really easy to set up and use. It has helped me reduce my screen time because my home screen is much less fun to look at. Just having it set up this way reminds me to be conscious of why I am looking at my phone. Also, I found it helpful that the clock area and the list of apps are two separate widgets. I am still able to use the smaller widgets I like on my home screen while using this as a larger widget with the short list of apps. It should also be noted that the developer’s customer service is excellent! There were some apps I wanted to use that weren’t available yet and they added them for me!

I couldn’t stop looking at my phone, constantly closing an app and mindlessly opening in 30 seconds later. I felt like a clown. I looked into buying a dumb phone, but after a fair amount of research decided smartphone modifications seemed more promising for long term success. It’s only been a week, but my screen time went from average of about FIVE hours a day to under one. I’m already less anxious and feel like my days are longer. The best part is MinimalistLauncher is free, though I opted to buy MinimalistLauncher for a few more features. And you know what? I was happy to do so. It was so refreshing to be able to outright buy something instead of an indefinite subscription. And it’s an incredibly reasonable price as well. Huge thanks to the creator for making a life changing app.

Honestly I was doubtful but wanted to try this method of productivity since I was considering getting the light phone but it was too expensive. And it’s been great! I’ve been using my phone way less for wasting time and I like the layout of my Home Screen being so minimal and less stimulating! The only thing that could make it a perfect five stars to me would be if it didn’t redirect you back to their app every time you click one of MinimalistLauncher shortcuts. It would be nice if you click the short cut and it took you straight to that app, but since I don’t think that can be helped yet, it’s the best it can be for now! Highly recommend! Plus, if an app you’re wanting a shortcut for isn’t listed, you can message them directly and they add it for you!

I'm not one to review, so this is big- I've needed to step away from social media on my phone in a biiig way; I have a tendency to get totally stuck scrolling, in a way that's only dissociative, not enjoyable whatsoever... and in just a week (really after just the first day!), MinimalistLauncher has provided me with the simple tools I needed to completely kick the habit. If you'd told me a week ago that my scrolling addiction would be gone and I wouldn't miss it at all, I would've said there's no way. I owe MinimalistLauncher my well-being, for real. My phone doesn't own me & my attention anymore with flashy colors and icons and notification bubbles. It's a tool that I control. Thank you!!! (Also big tip: use the accessibility settings to set your phone to greyscale- even less eye catching that way!)

Actually really like it! Makes i more difficult to get into the apps which removes that impulsive half second of swipe open click that kills my time and also the aesthetic is really beautiful. I learned how to remove the many pages of useless apps so now my whole phone is shrunk down to the apps I use every day and the ones I don’t I simply click on the little search at the bottom of the page and search it. MinimalistLauncher also didn’t have an app for my alarm that I use here in Italy, I emailed the developer and he responded almost immediately saying he would add it asap. Amazing

I was desperate to quiet my phone. Too many icons too many swipes to find what I needed, it was costing me too much time and frustration.

I searched MinimalistLauncher store and looked for minimal design or a launcher, I learned the term “dumb phone” and then I decided I just needed to get an app.

I chose this one and the onboarding was pretty easy. I get frustrated with trying to figure things out on my IPhone but the instructions were fairly easy.

I just upgraded to the lifetime pro. I felt MinimalistLauncher (and the developer) brought me so much value with making this type of launcher available that they earned it.

If you’re checking reviews to see who you want to try just give MinimalistLauncher and the developer a chance.

It could be a great fit for you in whatever season you’re in where you’re trying to quiet your phone.

If it’s not, maybe it will give you some ideas of what app would be a great fit.

Give them a try, Maybe it will inspire you to write a review yourself. 🤓🤙

I just got MinimalistLauncher and impressions not bad

For only ten bucks, you get premium benefits for life! I haven’t bought it yet, but I will soon. You don’t see these types of offers these days—everywhere it’s subscriptions this, subscriptions that. But this team said, “Nah, just buy us a coffee and some chips, and we got you covered.” I really appreciate the project they’re working on.

Giving indie creator vibes if you know what I mean. And for the four star review there are some apps that aren’t being open from the widget like “Offline Music” it just opens the minimal phone launcher.

I’m a few days into using the Minimal Phone Launcher, and it works fine as a notification and distraction suppressor just as I anticipated.
However, The main reason I’m writing this review is to highlight the developer! I’m incredibly impressed with the effort and timeliness given by “Airman” to answer my concerns and incorporate shortcuts to essential apps, which are tools I need to run my Business. This gives me faith in MinimalistLauncher. If he’s serving the other users this way, MinimalistLauncher catalog will fill rapidly, and feature suggestions will likely be integrated and improved.

Also I should mention I immediately purchased the lifetime subscription, and it was more reasonable than a few overpriced competitors.