Some people can’t stand the software customizations that handset makers put on their smartphones. You know what I’m talking about, Samsung’s TouchWiz, HTC’s Sense, Sony’s TimeScape, and the list just goes on and on. Luckily, there’s an easy way to change the way you interact with your phone. All you have to do is install what’s called a third party launcher. Many of them exist, just Google “Android launcher” and see for yourself, but the most popular one, by far, is Apex Launcher. Why? Because it looks like stock Android.

Today the guys responsible for Apex Launcher are launching version 2.0 of their app. The new number suggests that a lot has changed, but that’s not really the case. There are some UI tweaks, sure, but the biggest thing is tighter integration with something called “Apex Notifier”. In order to use Apex Launcher with Apex Notifier you’ll have to buy the pro version of Apex Launcher, so right there it’s going to have a limited audience.

What does Apex Notifier do? If you’ve ever seen an iPhone or iPad, then you know that some apps have a number in the top left corner indicating notifications. So if someone happened to call you, and you didn’t pick up, you’d see the number “1” floating on top of your Phone icon.

That functionality is now in Apex Launch 2.0. And that’s pretty much it.