I actually feel the opposite way. If the search is fuzzy and incremental with good visual feedback there's no way I'd rather launch things than typing their names, except maybe dedicated keyboard shortcuts. Of course, something else is needed for discovering apps.
This is true on a computer, but on a mobile device I suspect you're in the extreme minority; typing an app's name on an onscreen keyboard is an order of magnitude or two more complex than tapping its icon after a swipe or two, especially when familiar with the layout.
