The Android lock screen has improved a lot since the early days. The lock screen has become a major battleground for productivity because it is where information is seen first. But productivity always comes hand in hand with personalization because we all have specific needs and wants. We bring you a list of the best Android Lock Screen apps and tell you about their strengths and weaknesses.
GO Locker
It is a standout amongst the most beautiful Android lock screen applications. The app offers a wide range of themes. GO Locker is especially meant to act as a beautiful and interesting lock screen. You just cannot keep yourself from trying out the new themes available.
Interestingly, it supports Gesture unlocking as well. Well, you do not need to worry about its accuracy, it works just perfect for me even with the ugliest gesture I normally draw. In addition, it offers a music player as well. To help with the situation where you forget the password, gesture or the pattern, an emergency unlock option comes baked in. You can disable it, or enable it, which would let you quickly access the device by pressing the volume rocker button for a longer period of time.
If you fall in love with the themes offered, it lets you purchase the GO Locker VIP to unlock access to every theme, which is cheaper for heavy theme switchers.
Pros
- Polished UI
- Smooth Performance
- Easy-to-use Interface
- Great collection of lock screen themes
Cons
- Limited features
- Does not offer much customizability
Hi Locker
In comparison to Go Locker, Hi Locker does not offer themes. It has got a different taste to it. It is simple, smooth and effective as well.Considering the customizability, this one lets you set a background wallpaper and even set it to “blur” if you want. It seems more personalized when the app greets you when upon starting. Well, to be exact, it treats you with a welcome screen saying -”Hello, ____”, and asks you to fill it up with your name. Small things do matter!
The app contains in-app advertisements which might prove to be annoying. Therefore, it offers an in-app (1.7 USD) purchase to upgrade to the PRO version to get rid of them.
Pros
- Simple & Fast
- Various baked in Clock Widgets to choose from
- Fingerprint lock support
Cons
- Customizability
- Utilizing more resources than required
LokLok
It is one of newer lock screen alternatives. It is fun when you use it. At first, I encountered some crashes with the app (considering it is still in beta phase). Fortunately, it was not anything serious but a temporary glitch.It lets you interact (draw) with your lock screen and share them with your connected friends using the same app. Yes, you need to ask your friends to install it in order to have fun with it.
However, it is not a powerful alternative. Still, worth a shot to have fun!
Pros
- Interactive & Unique
Cons
- Lack of features
- Still in beta with known bugs
Next Lock Screen
Surprisingly, developed by Microsoft, Next Lock Screen is a quite impressive lock screen app. Unquestionably, it offers a pretty good user interface. And, I have been a beta tester for this app from a long time and it keeps improving! You can set the lock screen timeout duration and control the status bar mode as well. You get the ability to control music players right from the lock screen (Spotify, audible & pandora supported).The recent smart quick action feature has been inspired by one its launcher applications (Arrow Launcher). It is helpful while it lets us become more productive by accessing quickly what we use the most. And, Bing wallpaper integration seems good enough as well. It does bring in support for fingerprint lock.
Pros
- Productive
- Simple
Cons
- User Interface could look better
- Consumes more resources
Picturesque
It is a direct alternative to Next Lock screen (developed by Microsoft!). Picturesque utilizes Bing wallpapers to display wallpapers by default. But, you can set a custom background wallpaper as well.It offers almost the same user interface as Next Lock Screen. However, in my experience, it felt faster.
The app integrates Bing Search as a widget on the lock screen. If you swipe up, you will be able to unlock the device and if you want to check out live cricket scores or the recent news buzz, simply swipe left. It comes baked in with various lock screen widgets which prove to be handy. Also, if you pull down to find the toggle center right on the lock screen, you would not get the default view, but it looks cool enough and is faster. For your convenience, it provides an option to enable a “One-click” camera start on your lock screen.
Pros
- In-built widgets, one-click camera start
- Consumes fewer resources
- Works great on low-end devices
Cons
- No fingerprint lock support
- Customizability
ZUI Locker
It is one of the fascinating lock screen alternatives available for Android. The user interface offered here is just fabulous!It gives an experience comparable to Zen UI. It comes with various unique features which include smart screen, privacy protection, and control panel.
When the device is taken out of the pocket, the smart screen feature turns on the screen when it detects unread notifications. If there are no unread notifications, it would not turn the screen ON automatically. If you are having trouble with reaching the top of your screen to pull down the toggle menu, you would be needing this lockscreen app. It is because the app provides an additional control center which can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the lock screen.
Pros
- Great UI
- Smooth and Responsive
- Intruder Selfie
Cons
- No fingerprint lock support
AcDisplay
An impressive lock screen app that brings the taste of “Alway-On Display”. It is not the exact same thing, but it presents a similar kind of look.If you are one the admirer of Moto’s smart wake up feature, you would be the one to try it out first. It is primarily meant to display notifications in a simpler manner yet keeping up with an attractive interface. However, it has introduced support to act as a standalone lock screen but tagged as a beta feature.
Pros
- Elegant display style
- Notification pinning
- Resource-friendly
Cons
- Does not work sometimes (that is what we encountered)
SlideLock Locker
One of the lock screen alternatives which is specially built for managing notifications. It offers a control panel with quick setting toggle buttons. It contains most of the basic features as you would require. Similar to the others, it offers an in-app purchase to get rid of the advertisements. Apart from the over-sized font used, the app does a good job.Pros
- Easy-to-use
- Fast & Simple
Cons
- Over-sized font
- No fingerprint lock support
SnapLock Smart Lock Screen
It offers quite a unique user experience. It is a clock-based lock screen with nothing else to customize. Simply, it presents various clock styles which you would prefer.Pros
- Resource-friendly
- Unique User Interface
Cons
- Lacks much of the needed features
- Less secure
Locker Master
It is one of my personal favorites. The app provides unique and attractive lock screen designs. Creative lockscreen themes do attract a lot of users. A well-polished user interface with packed functionalities.Pros
- Great UI
- Unique themes
- Feature-rich
Cons
- Not suitable for low-end devices
Solo Locker
One of the most loved lock screen alternatives. It comes baked in with a different approach – Do It Yourself. You get powerful customization features by which you can set the preferred design. It offers a VIP in-app purchase which lets you enable the ability to turn off the weather/news side button on the lock screen. It is nice, looks good and feature-rich as well.Pros
- Customizability
- Elegant UI
Cons
- No fingerprint support
Holo Locker
Missing Android Jelly Bean? Well, I do as well, it was very good back then but not great compared to the latest Android iterations.It is simply a lock screen replacement which brings in the style of Android Jelly Bean. Not much features offered, still, it is good enough if you are having a low-end device.
Pros
- Jellybean style lock screen
- Simple & Fast
Cons
- Lack of features
C Locker Free
A lock screen app with 5 preset lock profiles – Default, Music, Location, Time, and Wi-Fi. According to the selected profile, it would offer personalized widgets on-screen. Various unlock styles available for your convenience as well, which includes – Fingerprint lock and gesture unlock mode. It offers a pro version to get rid of in-app advertisements.Pros
- Lock Profiles
- Security Selfie
Cons
- User Interface
Slide to Unlock
If you ever wish to try out the traditional iOS lock screen style, this might be for you. A simple lock screen app with no fancy features. Simply, slide to unlock.Pros
- iOS lock screen style
Cons
- No unique feature additions
Echo Notifications
Offering a similar kind of user experience as Next Lock Screen, it empowers the user with the ability to open notifications in one tap.You can also categorize applications by priority. It lets you filter notifications from the applications which you have selected. Similarly, you can deselect those you want to stay hidden. In order to get rid of in-app advertisements, you will have to pay around 3 USD. However, for now, it gives you an option to use it for a week and then you can upgrade it for just 0.99 USD. If you like it, you should consider using it for a week and upgrade it to the pro version!
Pros
- Resource-friendly
- Notification groups
Cons
- Fewer Customization options
- No themes to get more out of it
- Crashes Often (In my case)
Start Lock Screen
Yet another unique user experience. Not quite creative, but it uses the classic UI design concepts to present it as a productive lock screen. It comes baked in with quick actions at the right sidebar. It will be a good fit for the low-end devices.Pros
- Fast
- Classic UI
Cons
- Less customizability
- No fingerprint lock support
Jet Locker
A simpler lock screen alternative for Android. In addition, it contains in-app advertisements but does not offer an in-app purchase to get rid of them. It provides an option to enabled Parallax 3D effect. If it works as expected on your device, it would make your lock screen look cooler.Pros
- Fast & Smooth
- Parallax 3D effect
- Simple
Cons
- Annoying Advertisements
Good Lock
An impressive lock screen app developed by Samsung for Galaxy Note 5, S7 & S7 Edge. Yeah, it is a device-specific lock screen app but if you are equipped with one, it is definitely worth a shot.Pros
- Quick Access to battery stats
- Useful features like Keep & Routines
- Polished User Interface
Cons
- Scrollable Widgets Fail to work
KK Locker
KK locker comes baked in with various features along with multiple theme support. It is fast, simple and offers a basic user interface. Of course, only if you prefer a basic design for your lock screen with acceptable features, this should be your choice.Pros
- Fast & Light
- Some of the themes make it look cooler
Cons
- UI
- No fingerprint Lock support
Zero Locker
In order to use it, you should be having Zero launcher installed. It is a super-light lock screen app for Android. If you have the required launcher installed, you can enjoy using it. It is compact and fast.Pros
- Super-light
- Fast
Cons
- Needs an additional launcher to make it work
Which one of the mentioned lock screen app seems the best to you? Did we miss one of your favorite lock screen app that deserves to be on the list? Let us know your thoughts through the user comments section below.