Hi @christinar this is the way because the new launcher was implemented in this update and that has this look. We thought everybody would appreciate it, but Iāve seen some more feedback that not all people are to happy with it.
I did some research and for now your best option seems to be to install a custom launcher.
Before you install a custom launcher, there is a way for you to play around with the DPI settings on a per app basis. I will post back shortly with some instructions of how to do this - itās fairly safe as long as you follow to the letter (Iāve done this successfully and been using it on the pre-release version of 1.8 for the last week or so)
After updating to OS 1.8.
This is not a matter of taste: The icons are unsharp.
I guess every designer would be turning in his/herās grave!
How could that happen and how can I change it.
Compare: The icons in the quick access are still alright.
Iāll caveat this with the usual - this is not an official answer to the problem and this solution does allow a greater deal of access to the system than usual so you have to be your own judge as to whether to install the below. Itās not particularly risky, but anyone of a nervous disposition may want to think twice.
1) Install the Xposed Framework:
Click on this link from your phone to download the Xposed Installer
APK, then click on the download to start the installer: http://dl.xposed.info/latest.apk
Launch the āXposed Installerā from the Apps menu
Go to the āFrameworkā section and click on āInstall/Updateā
Once the update has finished, click the āRebootā button
2) Install the App Settings Module
After rebooting from the above, Launch āXposed Installerā
Click on the āDownloadā section
Scroll in the list to find āApp Settingsā and
click on it
Click on āDownloadā, then click on āInstallā when you get a
pop-up. Then click on āDoneā
Once installed, youāll get a notification message on your status
bar saying that the module is not active. Click this message (or go
back to the main menu on the Xposed Installer and go into the
"Modules" section)
Click on the tick box next to āApp Settingsā to enable it
Reboot
3) Configure the App Settings Module for Fairphone Launcher
After rebooting go to All Apps and launch āApp Settingsā
Scroll or Search for āFairphone OS v2ā and click on it
Click on the On/Off button at the top to activate first
Change the āDPIā to ā225ā (you can also play with other figures, the bigger you make it the bigger the icons will be. I think 240 is the default setting. If you play around with this, change it in small increments)
Change the āFont Scaleā to ā95ā (you can leave at 100 or change to a different figure depending upon your preference)
I have also ticked āApply res to widgetsā so that it applies to widgets, but you donāt necessarily need to do this
Click the āSaveā button at the top right
Click āOKā to Kill the app so that it relaunches with the new settings
Now exit the App and the launcher should refresh and the new settings should be active
If you donāt like the results, you can play around with the DPI and Font Scale settings until it fits how you want it. If you really really donāt like it, simply disable the settings by clicking the On/Off button within the app again to disable.
What is not nice, is that the overall look and feel is now inconsistent. The icons on the home screen and in the list of apps have changed, whereas the launcher and the last used apps kept the old appearance. imho, it doesnāt look/feel right, and I liked the old UX better!
No please - to play around with a upgraded version that was just published. So my question
about beta test was serious: I wonder what they have tested.
Who exactly thought this?
I see even moderators like Chris_R that were trying the beta version for weeks did enormous tweaks to get back to the smaller size -this should have been tellingā¦
At first I thought it was too big but after two days of testing I already got used to it.
The thing is the bigger icons is actually also part of KitKat where the new launcher is based on, so this is just implemented in the new launcher.
Further I guess it is a matter of taste, some like it smaller, some like it bigger
Though, I understand @Chris_R but thatās just because I am also crazy enough to try all tweaks (even with the chance of not being able to use my FP anymore without a hard reset).
Now if I can only find a way to remove the text below iconsā¦
For me, the big issue was not the size of the icons but the fact that the screen only allowed for 5x4 positions instead of 6x4 in the old launcher.
Will this also change if one follows @Chris_R 's instructions? Or is it just the app icons that are resized?
@kgha - Yes, I believe it does (although Iāve not tried). The settings I detailed do change how many icons per row in the All Apps part of the launcher.
@rainer_zufall - The sharpness is better with the settings too
@Herve5 - I think this is a matter of personal preference and not my opinion of the update - see my general note below
@tin - youāve made your point enough times, I believe the Fairphone team have responded on this so I wonāt say anything more.
My thoughts on this issue:
When I upgraded to 1.8 I didnāt like the layout and searched the net to see if there was anything that could be done. Itās not an uncommon problem apparently because the settings FP have used are those that Android advocate and this really annoys a lot of people on many devices. BUT it also satisfies a lot of people. The benefit of Android is that it is so customisable - so my advice is that if you donāt like it, change it, itās in your gift to do whatever you like with your device. Thanks to rooting, you can do many things that you canāt (or invalidate your warranty to do) on other manufacturers devices.
Same here - the icons are way too big for me. I have very good eyes and I love having a lot of info on my screen. On my Windows 7 machine I can set the icon size just how I want it. Isnāt that what computers (including phones) should be? Customizable to anyoneās needs? Thereās more than one reason I donāt buy Apple products, but in this case the important one is that Iād like to be in control. I want to make the most of the screen real estate.
Weird that although I have good eyes I donāt have a problem with the sharpness. I donāt have a massive number of apps but the icons I do have on my home screen are very clear. Inconsistent with the Latest Used and Most Used apps, yes.
A much easier way to get the old layout back in 1.8 is to just load the āFairphone Launcherā from the Play Store. Itās the old launcher, so everything can be arranged as before, while still having the rest of the update.
Alternatively (if you donāt want to trust the person who re-packaged the old launcher for Play Store, but donāt want to build it from source yourself) you can open some older software image .zip file, grab FairPhoneHome.apk from the /system/app folder and install that.
Remember to re-disable installation from unknown sources in Settings -> Security afterwards.
Mmmm, first post on the forum, first moan. I DO NOT want to fiddle and I really donāt like the big icons. The inconsistency between the views is the worse of it.
The aesthetics of it is a rather personal thing, but I donāt like itā¦