- I was a 10+ year long Nova Launcher user and knew this day was coming after the sale and layoffs[0][1]...
This evening I at looked several replacement launchers, such as Lawnchair and even the stock Pixel launcher again, but Octopi Launcher[2] is the more modern, more refined Nova replacement that you are looking for.
It was a very easy, natural transition process from Nova - all of the Nova features that I used were there (unlike Lawnchair), such as swipe up/down on icons to perform different actions. And little things like folder options, icon placement, and widget handling are SO much nicer on Octopi compared to Nova. Staggeringly better.
I took a screenshot of each home screen page, set Octopi as the new default launcher, and was back to my previous configuration but with a significantly improved visual appearance, in about 15 minutes. It's a no-brainer upgrade from Nova.
The Google Play install is free and basically unlimited, but there is an unobtrusive "Buy Me A Coffee" type button that allows you to donate either $1 or $3 to unlock some eye candy, which I did, but mostly just wanting to support the developer.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45170000
[1] https://www.androidpolice.com/exclusive-cliff-wade-nova-laun...
[2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otp.octopi...
by celsoazevedo
4 subcomments
- For those still using Nova Launcher (custom launcher for Android), it seems that it's owned by a new company and the latest update comes with the Facebook Ads and Google AdMob SDKs and require extra permissions.
8.1.6:
- Branch (analytics)
- Bugsnag (crash report)
8.2.4:
- Facebook Ads (advertisement)
- Google AdMob (advertisement)
- Branch (analytics)
- Bugsnag (crash reporting)
- Google CrashLytics (crash reporting)
- Google Firebase Analytics (analytics)
- What happened with the Open Sourcing promises?
https://www.osnews.com/story/143297/nova-launchers-open-sour...
- I just took a look in F-Droid, and it looks like there are more than 20 launchers in F-Droid that are under active development (updated within the past three months). A lot of them are very different from each other, and a few look quite nice.
I was a long time Nova user, so clearly at one point I looked at the F/OSS offerings and didn't love any. But the longer I've used Android, the more I have come to appreciate the way F-Droid calls out anti-features, dependencies on proprietary services, etc. This kind of privacy violating stuff just can't sneak up on you on F-Droid, or get buried in a ton of fine print. (The extreme cases, of course, are patched out altogether lest an app simply be banned from the store entirely.)
In the time since I first gave Nova a shot, the Play Store has become a source of absolute last resort for me, in sourcing apps. I think this time, I'll explore launchers that are exclusively F/OSS, and only via F-Droid, for at least a few months before I even consider recommendations from the Play Store.
The wild thing is that I don't think you need to be either a F/OSS zealot or a miser to get it, at this point. Even if you're fine with proprietary software, even if you don't mind paying for your apps, it's too hard to find apps that are vetted for decent behavior outside of F-Droid. There is no store for "well-behaved, sometimes-proprietary apps".
So that's my recommendation: even if you don't think of yourself as a F/OSS hardliner, consider looking to F-Droid first in seeking your replacement for Nova. There's something relaxing about getting your apps from a supplier that respects you.
- Do older versions of Nova have any security flaws which preclude using them?
I've been using this app for ages and it's been essentially feature-complete for several years. A part of me wants to switch launchers for no other reason than "it is supported and not tracking me", but it is possible for software to be finished, and I believe Nova falls into that category. If there's no meaningful vulnerabilities in it, there's really no reason for me to switch away, at least not immediately.
- Well, that sucks. When the sale was announced, I tried several launchers, free and paid, and none of them were as good as Nova :/ Guess I’ll do another round.
by kristopolous
2 subcomments
- There's so many suggestions here that you open up and it's just a buy screen with comment reviews like "oh dearest me, I was lost in the darkness and then I found salvation with this app"
I can't help but think there's a lot of devs here pushing their own products.
by AdmiralAsshat
0 subcomment
- So the new stewards of Nova Launcher posted an official statement:
https://novalauncher.com/nova-is-here-to-stay
Pretty much confirms that ads will become a thing. However:
> If ads are introduced, Nova Prime will remain ad free. Our guiding principles are clear: keep the experience clean and fast, avoid disruptive formats, and provide a straightforward way to keep the experience ad free.
That's probably why I wasn't seeing any ads even after I got the update.
I've still reverted to a previous version and disabled auto-updates, because I basically have zero faith that being a paid member will turn off any of their shady tracking stuff, even if ads are not visible.
by mochsalman
3 subcomments
- I initially thought that switching to a lighter launcher like Nova would make my phone-apps launching faster. However, I soon realized that what I actually needed was something to boost my productivity, so I switched to a launcher with fewer distractions, like Yantra Launcher (terminal-based), which I've been using ever since.
by 31rf89e1f5e6
0 subcomment
- Been using it for well over 15 years, and I have paid for Prime. But recently ~1-2 years, when it go acquired I was sad, but hopping it would go open source... maybe. But after today, I'm removing it from all of my devices, and all of my relatives devices. And leaving an updated review, so people know about this.
by ap-andersson
0 subcomment
- New company have published this page on the website:
https://novalauncher.com/nova-is-here-to-stay
by bastard_op
0 subcomment
- I've used nova on every android I've had since it came out to current, and when the former owner/dev warned people, I switched to lawnchair and didn't look back. Sounded like shenanigans and time to pull the ripcord on nova. RIP (not in ad/malware)
by unethical_ban
0 subcomment
- At least in Graphene, you can block the app from having network access, but stock launcher in Graphene has worked well for me.
Damn these privacy-invading leeches.
by InfinityByTen
0 subcomment
- It seems it's not easy to find a non-search-first, with an app drawer that allows for horizontal card/page scrolling launcher that would get out of my way ASAP.
The only widget I have is for the calendar. Pinning most used apps on the front page is an appreciated add on, but I think I could live without that too. I'll just pin 8 on them on home screen.
by MarsIronPI
0 subcomment
- I'm curious: why would you use a proprietary program like Nova and not expect these kinds of behaviors? This sort of thing is exactly why I don't use software until it's actually released as free software, even if the developer promises that it will be open-sourced "sometime soon".
by my_throwaway23
1 subcomments
- I've been using https://aiolauncher.app/ the past few years. It's great!
Bit of a sidenote, and I might be an exception here, but I don't get the point of all these launchers - they're all the same! Some might look a little better, some might have an option or two extra, but otherwise they're all the same. Mostly the same drawer, mostly the same panel for quick access.
- For those out of the know, Nova Launcher is an Android home screen replacement... so hits home when the root of your phone existence gets shook piece by piece.
by ipcress_file
1 subcomments
- I'm still using an old version with the network access blocked. I'll use it until it stops working.
If anyone knows of another launcher with app drawer tabs, let me know.
by AdmiralAsshat
2 subcomments
- So, frustratingly, I can't seem to get the launcher to downgrade after it automatically updated last night.
Someone on the thread linked to the previous version APK from a site called uptodown (glanced at it, didn't seem to be malware, but didn't do any real forensic analysis). I enabled sideloading on my phone, tried to "update" the app, but the OS then refused to install it, claiming it was invalid.
Can't tell if it's an OS level safeguard or an app-level one. Very frustrating, either way. I had my version of Nova launcher locked for years on both my phone and tablet after the acquisition, but when I got a new phone I obviously had to install the latest-greatest, and at that point I forgot to disable the auto-update flag...
by Atlas-Marbles
2 subcomments
- Plenty of great open-source launchers on F-Droid.
by rationalist
1 subcomments
- Thankfully I am using GrapheneOS, so I never gave the app network permissions. I will look for a new launcher anyways now.
Thanks for sharing.
- I have been trying to figure out why my phone has beep going stupid and laggy with the launcher lately, now I know why
- Do we know if this counts for Prime?
Though tbh the writing has been on the wall for awhile. It's really frustrating, because it otherwise just gets out of your way, which is why I like it.
I guess I have to dedicate an afternoon to finding an alternative.
by OrangeMusic
0 subcomment
- If you're looking for something extremely simple, I recommend this one: https://github.com/BoD/a
- Solution: Just use a firewall to block all remote requests.
by spidermonkey23
0 subcomment
- I had a go at finding a launcher that suits my preferences, and ended up back to square 1, the native launcher on Samsung Oneui. the killer feature is stackable widgets so you can reduce the real estate used for each one.
That said,my other top picks are :
Lawnchair +Lawnicons
YAM Launcher (foss and minimal)
Fossify launcher beta (bare bones typical launcher).
by pveierland
1 subcomments
- That sucks. I've been running the paid version for years - however it's clear that it hasn't been properly maintained for a while and it suffers from sporadic crashes.
Any recommendations for launchers that are functionally similar? The launchers mentioned in this thread so far are quite different.
- Any other launcher that lets you hide a folder behind a single icon? so tapping it opens the first app in the folder, and swiping up opens a folder itself.
Nova served me well for more than 10 years, and I built my flow around this one feature.
- OK, Nova is gone from my devices. I replaced it with Smart Launcher. That seems OK. It's not as full-featured, but it does enough of what I need to be a good alternative.
by anshumankmr
0 subcomment
- Nova really made the perfect product. I remember paying for the premium version worth ₹400 or something back in 2014. I used it till 2023 after I switched to iPhone as my daily driver.
- I installed Nova way back when the default android launcher was crap, nowadays it's not really any different. I guess I may as well uninstall it now
by nipperkinfeet
0 subcomment
- I was unaware that Nova was still in existence. My current preference is for Lawnchair.
- I want to avoid having a Google Search bar on my desktop, no gestures, no AI mode, no voice mode, etc. Is there a launcher for me?
- It's about time we started switching whole Android OS, instead of replacing only launcher.
- Any launchers where you can set PNG as app icon?
Or whats the safest version of Nova to downgrade back to?
- I would honestly have stayed in version 6 of Nova because of the as yet unrecreated magical feature of allowing unread count badges on the home screen for many popular apps, that are not tied to notifications, via TeslaUnread. I've been trying to reverse engineer it a bit to see if I can recreate the functionality somehow, but all I've managed to figure out is that the icons are really widgets that look like icons and run _something_.
Features like that one, and browser text reflow, are such must haves to me that we used to have a decade ago and lost along the way for no good reason, it's frustrating.
by bongothrowaway
0 subcomment
- I have been asked if these ads also apply to the paid version of Nova.
by another_twist
0 subcomment
- Nova drained my erstwhile Android phones battery. Not sure if this has gotten any better.
- Thank you everyone for all the alternatives suggestions.
by tonyhart7
3 subcomments
- does anyone know open source launcher that actually good ????
by shevy-java
0 subcomment
- The user has become the product.
by doanbactam
0 subcomment
- It's a shame for a free software.
- What's the problem exactly?
by SuperSandro2000
0 subcomment
- It used to be good :(
by everdrive
2 subcomments
- I've never heard of Nova Lanucher. Apparently it's for Android. Smart phones are a cesspool for privacy. There's really no reason people should be using them for anything but the bare minimum tasks possible.
- How disappointing. Been using premium for a decade now (got it in a 10p sale back in 2015! Those were the days)
Time to start scoping out replacements, this thread is a great start
by brianpbeau
0 subcomment
- Enshitification for everyone by everyone. Remember when tech was fun, disruptive and mostly beneficial to the end user?
by blcknight
1 subcomments
- That’s disappointing. My primary launcher on my eink devices since it works so well on them.
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