Check out Kiss on F-Droid.
This is really disappointing, but not unexpected. I’ve been using Nova for more than a decade and can’t get used to any other launcher I’ve tried so far. Everyone thought Nova would turn into an ad infested shell of itself once it was bought a few years ago. I guess this is worse since it will cease to function soon (maybe).
I used Nova back in the day, but these days use Lawnchair on an AOSP-based ROM. It’s fine. I really just need to be able to remove apps from the drawer and modify icons. Preferably set both an icon pack, and override icons per-app. The AOSP launcher should have this functionality at this point, but it doesn’t really have any functionality at all.
With Google doing more stuff the FOSS community doesn’t like with AOSP, and the absolute stagnation of the built in apps, maybe it’s about time for the community to fork AOSP as a whole.
I have been using Nova for nearly a decade now. I think it was the first app I paid for. I tried ahem, different launchers but each had something or the other missing. Nova seems so feature complete to me. I will go looking out for something new when it breaks.
Currently on Android 15 on my phone, it works for the time being…
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Lawnchair might be the best alternative to it. Hyperion is kinda cool too.
Yup, switched to it a couple days ago and it’s basically identically after some settings
is it worth it to grab the apk in case they pull it from the store? and is it possible to get an apk for nova prime (i had paid for it) or would that be pointless?
The current APK will be available since it the internet without any issues. The real problem are missing security updates and future compatibility issues with new android versions.
As a long-term Nova user, my biggest problem with replacing it is finding anything that provides similar capabilities. There were reasons why it was so popular for so long. That probably also limited the market for launchers with a similar approach. I can only hope that its decline will cause someone to build something similar.
Of the available options, Lawnchair seems to be the best, but that doesn’t make it a good option. It probably does three-quarters of what I rely on in Nova. That isn’t actually a complaint about Lawnchair. It wasn’t intended to be a Nova replacement… It’s a good launcher in its own right and I really appreciate that it is also FOSS.
I guess my point is that people keep saying there are lots of alternatives to Nova. Yes, there are, but there are currently no substitutes.
I’m a fan of Neo Launcher, but development is slow and not totally stable yet.
