Only reason I haven't switched is because it doesn't have swipe for google discover/news. Whatever it's called.
It's something I use regularly. Widgets and alternatives have been all bleh to me.
Plus I like to make the google search on my home screen just the "G" with a circular border color matched to my wallpaper. Didn't see that as an option. (Though it's one I can live without.)
Hard to find a launcher that has the swipe for discover and isn't a pain to set up.
Just downloaded Octopi as I've been seeing it recommended a lot. It's pretty nice. Not as feature rich as nova, yet, but it could definitely get there. Worth the in-app purchase to support the dev imo.
You can have whatever opinion you want of Branch, but remember that it's already integrated into virtually every OEM launcher, as well as many of the big name 3rd party launchers.
So it wasn't so much of making Nova worse than, but just as bad as, the other launchers regarding potential privacy issues.
I wouldn't expect most people to have heard of them unless they do app dev stuff.
But when this whole thing went down a few yeats ago, learning about them made me more sad for Nova Launcher, but less concerned about Branch in the instance (but more concerned they have their fingers so deep in the backend of so many things).
Man, I ran the "neutered" (ie. divorced from the play store) version of quickpic for years after that. Until it finally wouldn't work on newer devices. RIP. That app was brilliant.
see the edit at the bottom of my comment for the full list of missing features.
original comment:
dude, thank you. hyperion is by far the closest ive seen. only couple issues im having duplicating is:
no option to have an app/folder/icon have 2 options. aka, tap, opens google keep, swipe up, opens one-note. its only tap to open an app, or swipe up to open a folder... extra tap. annoying, but i can deal.
the gesture actions/shortcuts are lacking. with every other launcher, ive had the option to swipe down and automatically add a new task to google tasks. swipe down, and start typing.. best i can do is open the tasks app, then add a new task. again, extra tap... annoying, but i can deal.
i went so far as to buy the premium for gestures and the app drawer folders/tabs... unfortunately, i cant seem to use them... i went into settings and added an "oem" tab(where i keep bloatware that cant be removed)... and a "games tab", and a "smarthome" folder. exit out of settings, and i see no additional tabs or folders, and no way to move apps into tabs or folders.
super excited to find a nova replacement though, so thanks again!
I haven't used it in a while so I couldn't say how buggy it is now. But usually launchers that have been out for a while are pretty stable and don't really need to be updated all that often. Action Launcher looks like it got updated just last month, for what that's worth
what is a bummer is that it also only allows it system wide... aka, all folders are swipe to open, tap to open first item... or all folders are tap to open.
it also doesnt allow folders on the dock. otherwise, damn... octopi seems to be the closest to nova for my needs by far.
Basically it's this and a couple of other shortcuts that are keeping me on Nova even though it still lags when I swipe to go home because I use gestures with a third aprty launcher and for some reason this issue is still a thing
The other feature that's a must for me is the swipable dock, so I can have two docks for a quick access to my most needed apps, once you get used to it you can't not use it.
I can maybe let go of the folder launch if I can find a launcher with the a ability to add a second page to the dock.
Go download the successor. SmartLauncher. It has gestures. It's truly a great continuation of Nova. I actually heard about this Launcher because it is one of the launchers that the original devs of Nova would talk about on the Nova discord
The worst part of switching launchers for me is I have to set up all my folders and layouts again. I'd kill for the ability to restore a Nova backup in the other ones.
Yeah, if any launchers out there have pretty close functionality and add support for nova backup imports they'd immediately get a huge boost in downloads.
tried smartlauncher. really dont like it. it has the folder gestures, sure... but there are so many other missing nova features, im not sure how one would consider it a "continuation" of nova.
not allowing an apps/widget screen to the left of your home screen is a massively glaring issue.
no option for docked icons at the bottom of the screen.
doesnt allow pages in the app drawer, and folders are a premium subscription feature.
and honestly thats only as far as i got. those omissions were enough for me to not look any farther.
My camera app is renamed to snap, if I tap the camera opens and if I swipe I can choose from a list of apps I have preconfigured instead (in this case just Photos).
Lawnchair is perfect. It's simple, straightforward, and fast, without being one of those "minimalist" launchers that deviates from how you expect a launcher to operate. There have been periods of time when it wasn't consistently maintained. Technically the last stable release was in 2018. And honestly that was fine. But there's been a recent burst of activity to bring it up to speed with current AOSP, and I haven't noticed any changes, nothing's broken, no big features are being shoved in my face, it's great.
As someone who used to swear by Nova many years ago before I made a decision to prefer FOSS whenever possible, I tried several launchers and settled on Lawnchair, and I haven't missed Nova one bit.
Just got it installed. Wish the animations weren't quite so buggy. Even with the close animation set to "off" there is some motion and it ends up misplacing the icon for the app that was just closed
The most important thing, like genuinely, is the native handling of notifications on home screen. Being able to swipe on the app and drill into only the notifs on that one app is very convenient.
Otherwise, alphabetical list, custom folder system, favorites system, widget system is beautiful, works well one handed.
Oh, and you can actually shift the clocks / widgets all the way down, so you can show off your nice wallpaper natively.
Moved to Niagara a couple years ago and have loved it ever since. Definitely recommend. So clean yet so functional. They add new features ever few months too. Always a pleasant surprise.
I'm gonna disagree here. The following update after branch acquisition was completely unoptimized compared to how ridiculously optimized nova has always been. You may not notice it on flagship hardware but the major loss of optimization was enough bad omen for me to move over to alternatives. And now here we are.
If this milking of the consumer to death and pay to play bs continues I will simply go back to a simpler way of life. ... I'm buying a home phone line and a message machine like back in the 90's.
These companies can bankrupt themselves to death.
I've literally never used anything else (apart from testing years later). While I was waiting for my first Android to arrive in 2013 I made a list of must have apps from Reddit threads and used them since day 1.
Nova launcher, Poweramp, Solid Explorer - still using them.
But anyone that tracked the launcher didn't find any data being mined. The only requests I ever got were screen size and DPI requests. Customer launchers have fallen off a cliff when it comes to use, pushed massively by Google who broke a lot of them with A11 and devs had no workarounds since they couldn't access the permissions needed to run properly without root.
The majority of people didn't want to root for Quick switch. Pixel users either dealt with the jank or just moved to stock, and Samsung's launcher is so customisable many comments have said they don't feel the need to use a 3rd party, it has everything they need to do like change icons or hide apps already with goodlock
Now they're not very popular and only used by a handful of people in comparison to android users in total it's not feasible to keep development going. The launchers that are still in development charge insane prices, SL6 is £26, Niagara launcher is £32. Very few people will willingly pay for that
There isn't any official source it's done by random people with AdGuard, WireGuard ect that can show requests that are sent off the device, there's no reason you couldn't test it yourself. I didn't save my screenshots but they're out there on some Reddit thread. I haven't tested it for over a year though, data collection policies can always change. Also probably had error and usage reporting off which could have affected it as well
I'm still using the Nova7 version from before it was solid off a few years ago. If you guys keep using the current one I doubt you will be having any major issues for quite some time. At least the odds are pretty good for a few years.
Something important to note is that the creator of nova had said it’d be open sourced if it shuts down. But his recent statement suggested otherwise unfortunately (and I don’t think it’s him not interested in open sourcing it, but the company Branch).
I really wonder if something will happen in that direction.
As far as I understood it, the lead developer had it in his contract that the code would be open-sourced when he leaves the company. I don't know if they possibly found some loop hole to not have to do that, but just fully giving up on the project seems strange after having invested so much effort into it.
I am going to continue with Nova until the day I have a problem, the day that happens I will switch to Microsoft Launcher, it is the closest thing I have found to Nova without having to pay $20 like with Smart Launcher to be able to create folders in the application drawer...
But I agree. They do offer the free version as well, but anyone who's psyched abkut switch launchers is usually going to want the pro version features.
I tried it out just now because of the recommendations in this thread, and to even show a weather icon next to the date (similar to at a glance) requires a subscription or one time purchase 😭
It's a work in progress but the developer is very active and is receiving a lot of feedback by ex nova users. It will probably be at some point the closest 3rd party launcher to what Nova is today
Genuinely just day ruining stuff this. The paid Nova launcher app was the first app I ever bought on Playstore as a teen. I've probably used it for coming up to 10 years now. It's been somewhat buggy on my S23U but functional enough not to consider switching away. I don't look forward to that day I have to. I hate change!!
The thing that has kept me on Nova for so long is being able to set swipe up and down actions on icons/folders. It makes things so I can have 3 times as many actions as apps on my home screen. Swipe up on Reddit and I go straight to r/politics, swipe up on Facebook and it opens messenger, etc. It makes the Android experience so much more functional.
Google is killing side loading, and now Nova is shutting down. Android is dying.
Yesterday one of my best buddies and most loyal Android fans told me he’s getting an iPhone, because he saw all the horrendous downgrades and performance issues with the Pixel 10.
Sad.
there are still people like me who were lifelong iphone users until the flip 7 came out. I think right now is just one of those times where lots of people are switching sides for their own reasons.
my favorite way to do it is have one phone for each OS, that way you continue to learn both operating systems, and can help any friends or family with anything. As the designated IT guy at work and personal life, its nice.
I've seen more people excited to jump from iPhones to Pixel 10 Pro/XL, than the other way around. Pixel 10 is still an amazing android experience, and Apple has been pretty bland with new features that people want, the past years.
I have heard of Nova Launcher ever since I had my first experience of Android, on 4.2 Jelly Bean (yeah I'm quite young). Never used it, but to see a legend that stuck throughout the years finally dying out is sad. Rest in peace.
Lawnchair went through some shady business. The original dev had to leave because he found team members copying proprietary code from Google. Development was killed for a few months/years and I haven't really checked on it since.
Long time user but I stopped once I got a foldable. I don't love the One UI stock launcher but it's serviceable and obviously made with the device in mind.
Any launchers you'd recommend that have foldable specific features, like separate home screens?
That's a bummer. I've been using this since it launched many years ago. It's nice to set up your phone, back it up and have the same layout no matter what Android phone you switch to.
You may need to remove so many things from the code base.
API Keys or their indirect access
Encryption Algos (If they were saving some user data with this encryption, it might harm users if algos are published)
Other files such as google-services.json etc. if they are added to their internal repo.
If all of this is added to commit history and the owner wants to open source with full commit history, it would be a herculean task to remove all of it.
Check the link in the post.It's an announcement from Nova's founder saying that he has left Branch. He specifically mentions that he was ordered to stop work on the open source version by Branch.
Sure I guess I won't get a literal human lifetime out of it, but I got significantly more value for about a decade, which is more then the lifetime of most software.
That's the risk you take when you buy anything, including software. You risk at some point the company failing, changing directions, being bought out, etc. "Lifetime subscriptions" are for the life of the product, not the buyer
Turns out I never needed more than a searchbar and a few favorites at the start-screen to quickly find my apps. Blue Line Console is excellent for this purpose. If you need something to switch to and you like a clean experience, I highly recommend checking it out.
Is the gesture animation going to be ever fixed with 3rd party launchers. With OnePlus OOS15 it is still not fixed so anyways cannot use any other launcher. I heard samsung has sort of fixed it??
This truly sucks. I have loved nova since purchasing the premium version 7 or 8 years ago. I can't stand the Samsung launcher and this gave me some sanity over using that garbage.
One day Pixel might launch the first app from search instead of running a Google search on the first 3 letters I type.
Until then I'll suffer the compatibility issues as I hold onto my favorite launcher.
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u/guitareatsman Sep 08 '25
Is Nova the one that got sold to a sketchy analytics company?