Nova Launcher has been acquired by analytics company Branch
www.androidpolice.com
Hopefully, this isn’t the end of an era for Android launchers

Since a few folks seem unaware of this, I’m posting anew for visibility.

  • atomWood@lemm.eeEnglish
    861·
    2 months ago

    Are there comparable alternatives? I never found another launcher that I like as much.

    • Hubi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      591·
      2 months ago

      I switched to Lawnchair 2. It’s free, open source and quite versatile. Probably not as much as Nova, though it’s been a few years since I last used it.

      • deweydecibel@lemmy.worldEnglish
        30·
        2 months ago

        It is significantly less than Nova. People keep suggesting it but it’s not a true replacement for those that were actually using Nova to its full potential. They’re frankly isn’t a replacement right now that goes all out on providing users customization options. That’s not in vogue anymore, apparently.

      • DannyBoy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        Lawnchair 2 isn’t available for my phone since the app is too old, and I’m only on Android 12.

        Edit: this only applies to the Play Store version

      • FrameXX@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        Lawnchair 2 is no longer under development. The development team always starts to develop a new launcher based on the latest stock launcher every time a new Android version is released (so basically every year). This way the app usually never gets past the alpha or beta builds till they already move on to start from scratch. I don’t understand their strategy.

    • aleph@lemm.eeEnglish
      372·
      2 months ago

      Free - Lawnchair | Kvaesisto
      Paid - Niagara Launcher

      • spankinspinach@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        121·
        2 months ago

        Shoutout for Niagara. High quality reliable launcher. Only switched away after 2+ years cuz I got a little bored of the interface

      • FrostKing@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        2 months ago

        I used Niagara free for quite a while. It does have a fair few features locked behind the paywall, but it’s certainly usable.

      • AmbientChaos@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        21·
        2 months ago

        Niagara’s free version is still pretty great too. I usually pay for apps but don’t want a subscription for my launcher, so I use it in free mode. Despite the limitations it’s methodology of getting you to the app you’re looking for as quickly as possible is a game changer. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to icons and folders + app drawer launchers haha

    • lemmyngEnglish
      15·
      2 months ago

      For me Hyperion ended up giving me the closest out of the box experience to what I wanted.

    • shadshack@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      71·
      2 months ago

      This will be down voted, but I also tried a bunch of launchers and never found one I liked better than Nova. I ended up installing TrackerControl and Nova has its internet connection fully disabled. It doesn’t need Internet for any features I use, so I felt like this was a good compromise, personally. I ended up starting to block trackers in all my apps now because of it, so I see it as a net win.

    • deweydecibel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      83·
      2 months ago

      You can download the APK of Nova 7, which was the last version before the buyout. It’s perfectly clean.

      Just don’t update it.

      Plan to just keep using it myself until it’s no longer viable, at which point I’ll look for a launcher that hopefully reached feature parity.

    • 0x2d@lemmy.mlEnglish
      4·
      2 months ago

      i’m just using the stock launcher

      since niagara can be buggy

    • BossDj@lemm.eeEnglish
      54·
      2 months ago

      Maybe not a popular reply, but if you’re already in Windows ecosystem, the Microsoft launcher is pretty impressive features-wise.

    • Volume@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      2 months ago

      I haven’t found anything yet, Nova has always been the best. I’ve been using Nova since the early years like version 2 or something like that. When I heard they were going to be bought and uninstall went to vanilla Google launcher, and searched high and low for another launcher. I tried dozens over a few months and literally nothing was close to Nova. So here I am, typing this to you in an app that was launched through Nova…

      Please, please, please someone make a good launcher.

      I’ll probably try lawnchair again, but it isn’t nearly as good.

    • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      2 months ago

      Nope. And since so far they’re doing nothing, Nova it is for the time being. There just isn’t anything remotely as customisable.