Head to head · Updated October 2026

PLUI vs Arc

Two excellent launchers from two different schools — compared on facts from each app's public listing, with respect where it is deserved. Which is most places.

Arc is the honest minimalist. A compact grid, the lightest footprint on the list, support back to Android TV 5 — and fully open source under GPL-3.0, carried forward by the community from FLauncher after the original stopped. No store, no upsell, no telemetry to wonder about: the code is the documentation. For an old box, or for anyone who wants to read what runs on their TV, that is a genuinely strong offer.

Premium TV Launcher UI plays a different game. It is the fullest launcher on the list where Arc is the smallest: glass panels over your own wallpaper, a widget dashboard you compose yourself, live weather drawn as art, your security cameras beside the clock, and a profile for every person in the house. PLUI is closed source — it says so plainly, and publishes its focus layer as the MIT-licensed TV Focus Kit instead of pretending otherwise.

Neither school is wrong. The table below is the same 17 facts as our five-launcher comparison, reduced to these two.

Compare	Arc Arc Launcher Minimal	Premium TV Launcher UI Smartago Premium
StyleThe look the launcher is built around	Compact grid, lightweight	Glass panels over your wallpaper, widgets, rail
Ads / sponsored rows	None	None
Price	Free · GitHub only	Free · Elite included
Publisher	Community project on GitHub	Smartago — a named company with a privacy policy and a support desk
Support	GitHub issues	Email answered by a person in 24–48 h · GitHub issues · in-app feedback
Account required	No	No
Source code	Open · GPL-3.0, a FLauncher fork	Closed · focus layer published as TV Focus Kit (MIT)
Live widgets	Clock, weather	Hundreds: 82 weather faces, 38 clocks, forecast, radio, media, system, cameras
Wallpapers	Own images, video, day/night	Curated gallery to 8K, aerial video, fine art, NASA, Reddit, own photos
ProfilesSeparate home screens per person	—	Up to 10, “Who’s watching?”, 100+ avatars
Parental control	Not listed	PIN per category, daily screen-time limit, admin permissions
Security cameras on the home screen	—	Yes, beside clock and weather (viewer, no recording)
HOME button on locked TVs	Button Mapper or ADB (per README)	Button Mapper TV QuickActions (Play build) · built-in on the full build
Remote shortcut buttons	Not listed	Yes — single, double, long press (inside the launcher)
Sidebar / categories	Categories	100 slots you build, each with icon, layout, lock
Languages	Several	45
Backup / restore	Local export	Cloud backup, one Device ID
Devices	Android TV 5+	Android TV 8+, Google TV, Fire TV (sideload, Android models), projectors

Sources: each app’s Google Play listing and public documentation, checked September 2026. “—” means not offered. Corrections: info@smartago.net — we will fix it within a week. Full five-launcher table: Android TV launchers compared.

Choose Arc if

You want the smallest launcher — and the code

The lightest footprint on the list, Android TV 5 and up, and fully open source under GPL-3.0. If an old box or auditable code is the priority, Arc wins those on the facts, and the community keeps it moving.

Choose PLUI if

You want the TV to feel like the room

A widget dashboard you compose, weather drawn as art, a profile for every person behind “Who’s watching?”, your cameras beside the clock, glass over your own wallpaper. The premium school — complete, luxurious, and included at no cost.

Asked about this pair

PLUI vs Arc, in plain answers

Is Arc better than PLUI?▾

They are different categories. Arc is the lightest launcher on the list: a compact grid that runs on anything from Android TV 5 up, fully open source under GPL-3.0 as a community-maintained FLauncher fork. PLUI is the premium school: a complete living-room home screen with a widget dashboard, up to ten profiles, parental controls and live security cameras. If you want the smallest possible launcher or insist on auditable code, Arc is probably the better pick; if you want the TV transformed, PLUI is built for exactly that.

What does PLUI have that Arc doesn't?▾

Most of the premium layer: user profiles (up to ten, behind a "Who's watching?" screen — Arc has none), live security cameras on the home screen (ONVIF/RTSP), hundreds of widgets including 82 weather faces and 38 clocks against Arc's clock and weather, parental controls with PIN and screen-time limits, remote shortcut buttons, a curated wallpaper gallery to 8K, cloud backup, 45 languages, a Google Play listing with automatic updates, and a named company answering support email within 24–48 hours.

What does Arc do better than PLUI?▾

Openness and weight: Arc is fully open source under GPL-3.0 — anyone can read, build or fork the code — while PLUI is closed source and publishes only its focus layer (TV Focus Kit, MIT). Arc is also the lightest launcher on the list and supports Android TV 5 and newer, where PLUI needs Android TV 8. If auditable code or a ten-year-old box is the priority, Arc wins those on the facts.

Are both free? Do they show ads?▾

Both are free and neither shows ads or sponsored rows. Arc is distributed on GitHub only — no store listing, so updates are manual. PLUI is free on Google Play with the full Elite edition included at no cost — no unlock, no trial, no account.

Can I install both and switch between them?▾

Yes. Android TV launchers coexist: installing one changes nothing you cannot undo, and the free TV Launcher Manager sets either one — or the stock launcher — as the real Home app with one tap, including a one-tap restore. Trying both costs two minutes each.

Try both.
Keep the one you love.

No promises, no superlatives. Two minutes on your screen — complimentary, no account — and judge for yourself what belongs in your living room.

See PLUI on your TV

Read the Honest Take · All head-to-heads