Google offers one of the best Android smartphone experiences, mainly because of its software features. Pixel owners get the best of the best in terms of user experience, thanks to the Google Pixel launcher and regular feature drops. But there's good news for the non-Pixel owners among us: whether you own a gorgeous flagship or just a solid Android budget phone, you can get a similar experience with a few tweaks. This guide will walk you through the steps to make your phone nearly Pixel perfect.

Install a third-party launcher from the Google Play Store

A third-party launcher is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get your device looking and feeling like a Pixel smartphone. You may want to try several different launchers for a few days before making a decision, as you may find some perform better over time or have fewer quirks.

You may encounter a brief lag when using navigation features in a third-party launcher. Android uses your phone's native launcher for navigation and gestures. This means your third-party launcher will have to wait for a hand-off from the default launcher. If you have root access, you can install a Magisk module called QuickSwitch and use a third-party launcher as a workaround.

Lawnchair is a fantastic way to replicate the Google Pixel launcher. You can also use Nova Launcher to create a similar experience. Both are similar in terms of features and functionality. Each has a swipe-up app drawer with vertical scrolling, the Google search bar, and search functionality within the widget panel (the Lawnchair version replicates the Pixel's better). On top of that, the Google Discover panel is on the left side of the screen, but you must download their add-on apps. Nova's is Nova Google Companion, and Lawnchair's is Lawnfeed.

Lawnchair is the better option for replicating the Pixel Launcher since it includes more Android 12 and higher specific features, like:

• Adaptive-themed icons that follow the color palette of your wallpaper. With their add-on, Lawnicons, you can theme all your apps, not only Google's. Install the latest Lawnchair version to use this feature.
• An At-a-Glance widget, which you can also turn off as needed.
• A universal search bar within the app drawer (if you have a rooted Pixel device running Android 12 or higher).
• Dynamic wallpaper-based theming.

To take advantage of these features, watch the video below. It shows you the settings to replicate the Pixel Launcher experience as closely as possible.

Add Custom widgets and icon packs to your phone

With your custom launcher installed, we turn to the widgets, icon packs, and wallpapers that let you go beyond what your device manufacturer allows. When you search for Android widgets or Android wallpapers on the Google Play Store, you'll discover plenty of options. Find apps to help you use the Material You system-wide theming feature from Android 12 and above. In the sections below, we describe some good third-party options to help you get started.

Google widgets

Starting with the widgets, most of the Google apps you download from the Play Store, like Gmail, Clock, Google Drive, Google Keep, Maps, and Photos come with Material You widgets.

For example, the widgets for the clock have four design options. The Photos app has an attractive clover-like framing that shows highlights of your family and friends. The Gmail app has a fantastic updated widget listing most of your emails from your inbox.

But a few are missing, like the Weather widgets, conversations, and the new Google Search bar that includes the Google Lens icon.

Conversations widget

You must download additional apps to obtain these missing widgets. You can install the Notification Widget app for the conversation widget. It requires notification access to display notifications on the widgets and storage permissions to get the wallpaper colors. Then, open Notification Widget to select the app from which you'd like the widget to display incoming notifications. You can also change the widget's shape and colors.

New Google search bar

To obtain the new Google Search bar, an app can give you that feature on your device. Nova Launcher and Lawnchair come with it, but they aren't wallpaper-based. You can install the Search Widget (Material You) to obtain it. It places the new search bar within your widget panel and works like a charm. Within the app, you can change the Google Assistant and Google Lens icons to a different action, like Music Search, the Play Store, the Settings app, or the Clock app for your alarms.

Google Weather widgets

The only option for the weather widgets is to install a KWGT widget pack. KWGT widgets are apps on the Google Play Store filled with custom widgets created by community-driven developers. It expands a whole new world for customization. You must also install the KWGT Kustom Widget Maker and KWGT Kustom Widget Pro Key, which costs around $6.

A KWGT widget pack called Android 13 widgets for KWGT Pro has the most accurate weather widgets shaped like giant pills (both angled and horizontal). It also opens the weather forecast within the Google app. If you want that, a good alternative is Uzuri for KWGT Pro. It provides a weather pill with dynamic wallpaper theming. It also shows different information, like the time, date, and battery percentage, when you tap it. The only downside is that its design language isn't the same as the original Google Weather pill.

Snow Cone for KWGT Pro is the only good option for the Google weather widgets that look like a card. It looks similar, with minor differences in the font and weather icons, but it's well done. Plus, it automatically follows the colors of your wallpaper background.

Google Wallpapers

You could do a Google search for the wallpapers to find what you're looking for. However, you'll likely want to narrow your search to high-resolution images designed for phones using the portrait aspect ratio. Plus, it's not entirely safe to download files from third-party websites you may not have visited. With over 400 of those same Google Wallpaper backgrounds to download in batches for free, you'll save time. This includes wallpapers, Community Lens, Arts & Culture, Curated Culture, and more from Google.

Other options that aren't replications but follow the Material You theming include Team Pixel Wallpapers, Wallfever, and Pix Wallpapers. Team Pixel Wallpapers bring a new light to Google Pixel-inspired backgrounds. Many walls are abstract and colorful, with groovy shapes and flat elements. They also work well with Google widgets on your home screen. With every Google Feature Drop, the developer creates new walls inspired by that update.

Wallfever is versatile and has dozens of backgrounds. They don't adhere closely to that Google look and feel but have elements of the Material You style. Created by the same developer of Team Pixel wallpapers, new backgrounds are always added.

Pix Wallpapers is a free alternative that transforms Pixel-inspired wallpapers to look more eye-catching. It has holiday-themed options that follow the Material You language. The only downside is that it isn't updated often. Since it's free, it's a solid choice.

Doodle: Live Wallpapers offers some Pixel live wallpapers if you want an interactive home screen experience. It has the entire Doodle Collection from the Pixel 4, some inspired by the Pixel 6. Each includes elements that move when you unlock the screen, open an app, or switch to the next page. They go black when you activate the system's dark theme.

You can customize the walls further, such as increasing the zoom intensity of the shapes, changing the shape size, adding a tilt effect where the walls follow the movement of your hand, and more. The best part is that it's free, with no ads or in-app purchases.

Custom icon packs

Regarding the icons, Google themed most of its icons on the home screen. Each one is flat, circled, and follows the Monet and system light/dark theme (this changed with Android 13). Lawnchair lets you obtain these themed icons on older devices. When you install the Lawnicons Add-On, you can theme more third-party apps, all of which support Monet theming and turn dark when you flip the system switch.

If you prefer Nova Launcher, use a third-party icon pack from the Play Store called Dynamic Material You icon pack. With support for over 11,000 icons, this icon pack themes most apps in your app drawer and matches them to the color of your background. It also supports light and dark modes. You must re-activate the icon pack when swapping backgrounds so that the colors change. The only catch is that the Monet theming works on devices that run Android 12 or higher.

PixelExperience custom ROM

Installing the PixelExperience custom ROM is the ultimate solution to turning your Android device into a Google Pixel phone. It offers many of the best features of the newest Pixel phones without physically owning one. This also allows you to update older Pixel phones when they stop receiving major OS upgrades, giving them new life. As long as the PixelExperience team supports a device, you'll continue to get future ROM updates. They are now testing Android 14, so we can expect the PixelExperience custom ROM to gain the latest Pixel features on select devices soon.

Before you install the PixelExperience custom ROM on your device, you must unlock your device's bootloader and be comfortable with ADB and Fastboot commands via a command line interface. The list of supported devices is limited but continues to grow as time passes. Installing a custom is more for advanced users, but this is the closest you can get to replicating a Google Pixel phone on another device.

Pixel-Exclusive Features

Google Pixel smartphones also come with exclusive features that aren't found on other Android devices. From the Call Screen feature to Now Playing, they're among the reasons people buy Pixel phones. Reproducing them is challenging on non-Pixel devices, but there are ways to get close.

Call Screen

To recreate the Pixel's call screening feature, use KONTXT Voice from the Google Play Store, which offers similar functionality. When you receive a call and decline it, Kontxt asks the caller why they're calling. Read the transcript to see what the person is saying and decide if you want to accept or decline the phone call. It's compatible with most mobile carriers, and setting it up is easy. You can also change the greeting to anything within the app's settings.

Quick Tap

Pixel phones have a double-tap gesture called Quick Tap that launches tasks or applications by double tapping the back of the phone. To get this feature on other Android devices, download Tap Tap, a helpful tool that expands on Google's functionality. It allows for triple tap functionality, restrictions so that the gesture doesn't run during specific tasks, and more.

Now Playing

Shazam has a similar function called Auto Shazam that replicates the Now Playing feature. Any time Shazam hears music, it identifies the song and notifies you when it finds a match. Tapping the notification brings up the recognized songs. It even works when the screen is off.

Google Camera

Google makes a camera app designed for Pixel phones, which helps them produce the amazing photos these devices are known for. Over the years, developers have adapted the app for other devices, known as GCam. This XDA article provides a list of devices that support GCam. Some GCam apps work better than others since these are created by the community, and each version is different. Test as many as you can before settling on which to use.

Rules

Pixel devices have a simple automation tool in the Settings app called Rules. It offers helpful additions like a custom ringer and Wi-Fi settings based on location. Let's say you want your phone to automatically silence while you're at the movies or vibrate when you connect to your home Wi-Fi network. To recreate that workflow, use an app like MacroDroid, which makes it simple to create automated tasks.

Enjoy your new Pixel-like phone

Transforming an Android device with the Google Pixel experience brings some of that Google magic without owning a Pixel device. You can only do so much regarding third-party apps short of installing a custom ROM. With some know-how, you can closely replicate the sought-after Pixel smartphone experience. The apps mentioned in this guide work well for most but try other ones. Test additional apps that offer a similar experience if they don't work for you.