There are so many ways in which you can make your Android look and feel awesome, but one of the easiest is by downloading an Android theme. Below I’ve assembled what I currently believe to be the best Android themes for a number of different launchers which are all free to install and use. Recent updates include Ocean Dream, Glasklart and the minimalist White.
Best Android Launchers
Best Android Icon Packs
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Dragon for CM Launcher is on of the best themes on Android. / © ANDROIDPIT
1. Ocean Dream for ZenUI Launcher
ZenUI is a strong launcher for theming because it doesn’t require any extras and doesn't supply much in the way of bloatware. Though its themes aren’t the most comprehensive – its icon packs generally cover only the most basic apps (and often not even all those that come pre-installed) – they are nonetheless considered and consistent.
The icons within Ocean Dream are all cleverly designed to tie in with the theme. The icon for messaging app for example, looks like a message in a bottle. The icon for the browser app, on the other hand, is a radar.
It's beautiful stuff, I just wish its icon packs were more extensive. Be sure to take a look at the Autumn theme too (you can see a picture of that at the top of the article).
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Ocean Dream was created by the ASUS / ZenUI team. / © ANDROIDPIT
2. Glasklart for Apex launcher
Glasklart has many unique icons, even for slightly less common apps such as Anututu and Greenify, and the overall design is fantastic. Even those which aren't built from the ground up don’t look out of place here.
The apps in the app drawer are like ghosts, drawn in a single shade of white. Their names are hard to see against the gray background, but pull them out of the app drawer and onto the homescreen and they'll really look delicious.
The app icons are subtly, but expertly shaded, which gives them a soft and chic appearance. With its white and silvery icons against a palette of purple, Glasklart is highly recommended.
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Glasklart is a highly polished theme. / © ANDROIDPIT
3. White for CM Launcher
White for CM Launcher is gorgeous. There is real confidence shown in the minimalist background wallpaper; a simple winter scene of a tree and a person walking away from it. But it's the postcard-like app icons – the namecard style address book icon in particular – that steal the show.
You can also get a theme called Dragon for CM launcher (seen above), which is quite garish for my tastes and only adds some simple shapes to the regular icons, but any fantasy or anime fan may be interested. It’s White's two-tone winter scene below that is most beautiful, though.
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Simple, elegant, White. / © ANDROIDPIT
4. Black Mechanic Atom Theme for Atom Launcher
Anybody who’s ever checked out Android themes in the Play Store should be immediately familiar this one. Garish for sure, this theme combines a live cyber-punk style wallpaper with some well-designed neon buttons to give your handset a futuristic feel.
It largely consists of blue and black tones, which makes some of the widgets in its ‘Atom All in One Widgets’ look a little out of place, but the initial theme has a strong continuity between all of the elements, even down to the font choice and the time/date/battery display. Combine it with the Mechanism Atom Icon Pack for an even more impressive look.
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Black Mechanic is a futuristic-looking app. / © ANDROIDPIT
Black mechanic Atom Theme
Install on Google Play
5. Jellyfish 3D for Hola Launcher
Jellyfish theme for Hola Launcher is incredibly simple in principle: it creates a ripple effect when you tap on display, on an app, or swipe between homescreens. This is slapped onto a background of an underwater scene with a couple of jellyfish pictures.
But the result is so effective and pleasing to watch that it completely belies the concept. The background colors and designs are carefully matched to the soft and bright tones of Hola Launchers icons, and it’s always responsive. It's simple, effective and features a nice clock icon too.
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You have to see Jellyfish 3D live to fully appreciate it. / © ANDROIDPIT
Jellyfish Hola 3D Theme
Install on Google Play
6. Pinko for APUS Launcher
Pinko has been an Android favorite for a long time thanks to minimalist icons with high attention to detail. Pinko turns all your apps into circles which have all been colored and designed with care. The dialer app looks like the mouthpiece of an old-fashioned telephone, and the messaging and all apps icons are just groups of circles.
It doesn’t make the interface look a whole lot different, and it doesn’t use any fancy animations, it just creates an almost retro style which looks neater and more sophisticated than many other competing themes.
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Pinko is understated and effective. / © ANDROIDPIT
Pinko APUS stylish theme
Install on Google Play
7. Music Life for Go Launcher
Music Life is an unashamedly colorful theme inspired by graffiti art. There are a number of icons with custom street-art style designs, and the paint splash drop shadows added to all of your pre-existing icons look very cool.
The stock white Android Clock icon is a fraction unclear against the white background, and be warned that Go Launcher throws a lot of ads and bloatware at you. If you're okay with that, make sure you give it a go.
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It's brash, but the Music Life theme is undeniably exciting. / © ANDROIDPIT
Download Music Life from the Play Store here
8. Album for Go Locker
One of the best lockscreen themes right now is Album. It works with Go Locker, and transforms your lockscreen into a map of tiles. Not only do these look good from an aesthetic standpoint, but these tiles are functional too.
Several of the squares house an icon which leads to a particular app. Swipe the tile with the message symbol and you will see a 3D effect before it launches your messaging app, for example.
It’s quirky, and the disorganized look of the colors and squares somehow combines to create something unique and interesting.
androidpit album locker app theme
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