Analyzing UI Changes in Launcher App Drawers After Android Builds

We understand that a recent update to your Android device, specifically the 23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4 build, has introduced noticeable changes to your launcher’s app drawer. These changes include the sudden appearance of a scrollbar and an apparent increase in the spacing between icons and fonts. For users who prefer a minimalist layout and possess fewer applications than can fill a single screen, these modifications can feel intrusive, disrupting the visual harmony and consuming valuable screen real estate. Our goal here is to provide a comprehensive technical analysis of why these changes occur, the underlying mechanisms of Android launchers, and actionable methods to restore your preferred aesthetic, including the removal of the search bar.

Understanding the Root Cause: Build Updates and Launcher Behavior

When a user updates their Android operating system, particularly in custom ROM environments like the Nightly builds for the Fairphone 4 (FP4), the system does not merely update the core OS components. It also updates the system applications, which often include the default launcher. The 23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4 build likely updated the underlying AOSP (Android Open Source Project) Launcher3 or a variant thereof.

The Mechanism of the Scrollbar

The sudden appearance of a scrollbar in the app drawer, despite having fewer apps than one screen, is a common programming behavior in Android view components. The ScrollView or RecyclerView components used to render the app grid are programmed to show scroll indicators under specific conditions.

• Touch Interception: Even if the content fits within the viewport, the UI framework might register the drawer as scrollable because of specific padding values or grid calculation errors in the new build.
• Focus Indicators: The system may be anticipating user interaction or system overlays (like the navigation bar) that slightly reduce the effective screen height, triggering the scrollbar to ensure all items remain reachable.
• Default System Overrides: Updates often reset or alter default system behaviors. The new build may have changed the scrollbars attribute in the launcher’s XML configuration from none to vertical to ensure consistency across devices with varying app counts.

Icon and Font Spacing Changes

The increased separation between icons and font size is usually a result of changes in the launcher’s grid density or adaptive layout algorithms.

• Dynamic Grid Resizing: Android launchers often calculate icon size based on a defined rows and columns count. A system update might revert the grid density to a standard default (e.g., 5x5 instead of a custom 6x6), making icons appear larger and more spaced out.
• Accessibility Compliance: New Android builds frequently tighten compliance with accessibility standards (WCAG). System-wide updates to density and font scale can unintentionally affect the launcher’s rendering engine, increasing padding between items to improve touch targets for users with motor impairments.
• Theming Engine Updates: If the update included changes to the Theming subsystem (Material You or Monet engine), it may have recalculated the visual density of the app drawer to align with new dynamic color palettes.

Troubleshooting Launcher Settings in AOSP Builds

Before modifying the system files or installing third-party tools, we must exhaust the built-in configuration options available in the standard launcher provided by the 23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4 build.

Checking Grid Size and Density

Most AOSP-based launchers allow for some degree of customization, though these options are often buried in sub-menus.

1. Long Press Method: Long press on an empty space on the home screen. This usually brings up a menu labeled “Home Settings,” “Wallpapers,” or “Widgets.”
2. Grid Settings: Navigate to Home Settings > Grid Size. If available, adjust the rows and columns to the maximum supported value. Increasing the grid count (e.g., from 4x4 to 5x5 or 6x6) will reduce the spacing between icons, making them appear tighter and potentially hiding the scrollbar if the content fits perfectly within the calculated view height.
3. Icon Size: Look for an “Icon Size” slider. Reducing the icon size can also reduce the perceived spacing, allowing more items to fit on the screen, which may trick the system into disabling the scrollbar logic.

Addressing the Search Bar

The request to hide the search bar is common. In many AOSP launchers, the search bar (Google Widget or AOSP Search) is a system-integrated component.

• Standard Hiding: Long press the search bar widget itself. If a “Remove” or “Remove from Home” option appears, select it. However, in many builds, the search bar is pinned to the top of the screen and cannot be removed via standard UI gestures.
• Launcher Settings: Check Home Settings > Search Bar or Desktop Mode. Some launchers offer a toggle to switch the search bar to a “Assist” pill or remove it entirely, though this is rare in nightly builds without Google Apps (GApps) pre-installed.

Advanced Customization: Using Magisk Modules

For users running rooted devices (which is implied by the context of Magisk Modules and Nightly builds), the most effective method to rectify these UI issues is through Magisk system modification. This allows for deep customization of the System UI and Launcher without altering the core OS partition permanently.

Module Recommendation: SystemUI Tuner

We recommend utilizing the SystemUI Tuner module available in the Magisk Module Repository. This module provides granular control over system interface elements that are usually hidden from the user.

• Functionality: It allows you to modify the status bar, navigation bar, and launcher parameters.
• Application: Once installed via the Magisk app, you can use it to adjust the launcher_grid_density or force-hide specific UI elements like the persistent search bar.
• Installation: Access the Magisk Module Repository (hosted at Magisk Modules), search for “SystemUI Tuner,” and install it through the Magisk Manager. Reboot your device to apply changes.

Using GravityBox for Pixel Experience

If you are running a build based on AOSP (like the Nightly build for FP4), GravityBox is a comprehensive modification tool that often works well on such systems.

• Launcher Controls: GravityBox includes a “Launcher” category where you can tweak grid sizes, icon padding, and hide status elements.
• Search Bar Removal: Under the “Navigation Bar” or “Launcher Tweaks” section, GravityBox often includes a specific checkbox to “Hide Google Search Bar” or “Disable persistent search.”
• Relevance: Given the specific nature of the build, ensure you download the version of GravityBox compatible with your Android version (e.g., for Android 13/14, based on the 23.0 versioning of the ROM).

Third-Party Launchers: The Immediate Solution

If system-level modifications via Magisk feel too invasive or if you prefer a plug-and-play solution, installing a dedicated third-party launcher is the most direct route to regain control over icon spacing and search bar visibility.

Nova Launcher

Nova Launcher remains the gold standard for customization. It does not rely on the system build’s launcher code, meaning updates to the 23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4 build will not affect its settings.

• Icon Layout: Go to Nova Settings > Home Screen > Icon Layout. You can adjust the label position, icon size, and padding independently.
• Scrolling Behavior: Nova allows you to define whether the app drawer scrolls vertically or horizontally. You can also adjust the “Drawer Grid” to perfectly fit your app count.
• Search Bar: Nova has a dedicated “Search Bar” section. You can choose from various pre-made styles or select “Hidden” to completely remove the search bar from the dock or the top of the drawer.

Lawnchair 2

For users who prefer the stock Android aesthetic but want customization, Lawnchair 2 is an excellent open-source alternative.

• Adaptive Icons: It supports adaptive icons natively, allowing for consistent sizing regardless of the system’s density settings.
• QSB (Quick Search Box) Hiding: Lawnchair has a toggle in Home Settings > Dock > Search Bar where you can select “None” to remove the bar entirely.
• Pixel Integration: It mimics the Pixel Launcher’s look but exposes all hidden settings, allowing you to reduce the top margin (which effectively reduces the spacing) and eliminate the scrollbar by adjusting the app drawer height.

Modifying Build.prop for Density and Spacing

For the advanced user comfortable with editing system files via a root explorer or terminal, modifying the build.prop file can force a global change in display density, which directly impacts the launcher’s rendering.

Adjusting Density (DPI)

The ro.sf.lcd_density property controls the device’s native DPI (Dots Per Inch). Increasing this value makes UI elements smaller and tighter; decreasing it makes them larger.

1. Locate the File: Navigate to /system/build.prop using a root file explorer.
2. Backup: Always create a backup of the file before editing.
3. Edit Value: Find the line ro.sf.lcd_density. The standard for the FP4 is likely around 420. You can try increasing this to 440 or 460 to force tighter rendering. Alternatively, if the spacing is too large, you might lower it (though this is less likely given your issue).
   • Example: ro.sf.lcd_density=440
4. Save and Reboot: Save the changes and reboot the device. This will affect the entire system, making text and icons slightly smaller everywhere, which may resolve the app drawer spacing issue.

Forcing Overscroll

To hide the scrollbar, you may need to manipulate the launcher’s specific flags if accessible via system properties, though this is rare. The more effective method via build.prop is setting the windows_scrub or accessibility scaling, but these are deprecated in newer Android versions. The most reliable method remains using a dedicated launcher or Magisk module.

Analyzing the Nightly Build (23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4)

The specific build mentioned (23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4) indicates a LineageOS or similar custom ROM nightly build. Nightly builds are automated compilations that occur daily, often including the latest commits from the AOSP source and developer contributions.

Potential Bugs in Nightly Builds

It is highly probable that the changes you are seeing are not intentional features but rather side effects of recent code merges.

• Commit 45a2b3 (Hypothetical): A recent commit to the frameworks/base repository regarding Recents and Launcher memory management might have altered the CellLayout calculations, resulting in increased vertical padding.
• Upstream AOSP Changes: Google frequently updates the AOSP Launcher3 code. If the Nightly build maintainers merged a recent AOSP tag, they inherited Google’s new UI logic, which often prioritizes larger touch targets (spacing) over density.

Reporting the Issue

Since you are using a Nightly build, feedback is crucial for the developers to fix these regressions.

• XDA Developers Forum: Search for the specific thread for the Fairphone 4 running this ROM. Post a screenshot of the app drawer and mention the specific build date.
• GitLab/GitHub Issues: The repository hosting the device tree (likely on GitLab or GitHub) has an “Issues” section. Report the unwanted visual regression there.

Conclusion: Restoring Your Preferred Interface

The appearance of the scrollbar and increased icon spacing in the 23.0-20260114-NIGHTLY-FP4 build is a result of either a default system reset during the update or a change in the underlying AOSP launcher code. To resolve this and hide the search bar, we recommend a tiered approach:

1. Immediate Fix: Install Nova Launcher or Lawnchair 2 from the Play Store. This bypasses the system launcher entirely, giving you full control over grid density, spacing, and search bar visibility. It is the safest and most customizable solution.
2. System Modification: For a native feel, utilize the SystemUI Tuner or GravityBox modules available in the Magisk Module Repository. These tools allow you to tweak the existing launcher to remove the search bar and reduce spacing without changing your default launcher app.
3. Advanced Configuration: If you are comfortable with root management, editing the build.prop density settings can globally resize UI elements, though this affects the entire operating system.

By leveraging these tools, you can effectively revert the visual changes introduced by the recent update and tailor your Fairphone 4’s interface to your specific preferences, eliminating wasted space and restoring the minimalist app drawer you had prior to the update.