
You can use the internal Android file explorer or a computer to copy files into it, and you'll need to modify different files in it depending on what you're configuring. While you should follow the official instructions on how to install Optifine in Pojav Launcher, you may come across difficulties when trying to copy files to the /sdcard/Android/data//files/.minecraft folder thanks to Android 11's Scoped Storage changes. You can then click "play", and if you get a warning in a dialogue box, click "play anyway". This gets complicated when playing on PvP servers. The most annoying part of the experience is that you can't easily click by tapping - you need to hold down on the screen to use a weapon. Incredibly, I had better performance on the Google Pixel 6 Pro than I've seen on some laptops, and that was without any optimisation whatsoever.

The launcher is completely open-source on GitHub. You can use Forge Launcher up to 1.16.5 for a modded experience, and Fabric is supported as well. Still, this works surprisingly well, and there's even a mouse pointer and touch controls that you can use for navigating menus.

You can check out the official Pojav Launcher website to find out more information, including how to install Optifine or Forge. Be warned: you'll need to employ a workaround to play Minecraft 1.17.1 as well, and the latest Cliffs & Caves Part 2 update (version 1.18.1) also requires a number of complex steps.

I had great success playing the game on my Google Pixel 6 Pro, though you'll have better results on any of the best phones with an Adreno-based GPU such as the OnePlus 9 Pro.
