getLaunchIntentForPackage is null for some apps

To create a home screen-style launcher, don't look for apps and then try to get launch Intents for each. Look for launchable activities, using queryIntentActivities() on PackageManager.

For example, this activity (from this sample project) implements a home screen-style launcher using this technique:

/***
  Copyright (c) 2008-2012 CommonsWare, LLC
  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
  use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy
  of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0. Unless required
  by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the
  License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS
  OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific
  language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

  From _The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development_
    http://commonsware.com/Android
*/

package com.commonsware.android.launchalot;

import android.app.ListActivity;
import android.content.ComponentName;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.ActivityInfo;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.content.pm.ResolveInfo;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.ListView;
import android.widget.TextView;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

public class Launchalot extends ListActivity {
  AppAdapter adapter=null;

  @Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main);

    PackageManager pm=getPackageManager();
    Intent main=new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MAIN, null);

    main.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_LAUNCHER);

    List<ResolveInfo> launchables=pm.queryIntentActivities(main, 0);

    Collections.sort(launchables,
                     new ResolveInfo.DisplayNameComparator(pm)); 

    adapter=new AppAdapter(pm, launchables);
    setListAdapter(adapter);
  }

  @Override
  protected void onListItemClick(ListView l, View v,
                                 int position, long id) {
    ResolveInfo launchable=adapter.getItem(position);
    ActivityInfo activity=launchable.activityInfo;
    ComponentName name=new ComponentName(activity.applicationInfo.packageName,
                                         activity.name);
    Intent i=new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);

    i.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_LAUNCHER);
    i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK |
                Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_RESET_TASK_IF_NEEDED);
    i.setComponent(name);

    startActivity(i);    
  }

  class AppAdapter extends ArrayAdapter<ResolveInfo> {
    private PackageManager pm=null;

    AppAdapter(PackageManager pm, List<ResolveInfo> apps) {
      super(Launchalot.this, R.layout.row, apps);
      this.pm=pm;
    }

    @Override
    public View getView(int position, View convertView,
                          ViewGroup parent) {
      if (convertView==null) {
        convertView=newView(parent);
      }

      bindView(position, convertView);

      return(convertView);
    }

    private View newView(ViewGroup parent) {
      return(getLayoutInflater().inflate(R.layout.row, parent, false));
    }

    private void bindView(int position, View row) {
      TextView label=(TextView)row.findViewById(R.id.label);

      label.setText(getItem(position).loadLabel(pm));

      ImageView icon=(ImageView)row.findViewById(R.id.icon);

      icon.setImageDrawable(getItem(position).loadIcon(pm));
    }
  }
}

On an Android TV device, you should also search for LEANBACK_LAUNCHER activities, as that's what Android TV uses, and TV-specific APKs might not have a regular LAUNCHER activity, or at best have one that is not necessarily ideal for use on a TV.

Since Android 11 there is a behavior change that some apps will not provide this info unless you add queries tag to the AndroidManifest like

    <queries>
        <package android:name="app.i.want.to.query" />
    </queries>

Refer here for more info

In Android 11 you can only get a limited number of package names using getInstalledApplications() and you only get intent for some of them by using getLaunchIntentForPackage().

Add this permission to your Android Manifest file to get all application package names and intent.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES"/>

If you want intent for only a limited number of apps you should instead use queries in your android manifest file.

<queries>
    <package android:name="packageName" />
</queries>