Nova Launcher could soon introduce Nova AI, a built-in AI assistant complete with a chatbot, and a new Nova Plus subscription tier
You know some people beat this drum that more people should pay for good software and that it guarantees it’s longevity and independence, and so I did buy the pro version of Nova years ago and now we are here, I think when it comes to software unless it’s open source and you can have full control over it then it’s not worth anything, as it’s only matter of time before it either gets deleted or enshitified, that’s why I started shifting to open source alternatives for most things
What have they done to my boy
You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.
It’s true even for apps.
Total enshittification. Practically conned then kicked out the original team so that they make their own intrusive changes.
Hell, any data they harvest will and can be sold to other parties. God knows how much fucking lunatic Peter could be offering them.
If anyone is stubborn enough and until someone makes a near 1:1 version – and Lawnchair is functionally close to what Nova does – do backup the existing settings, uninstall the app, roll back to the pre-2022 7.0.57b version, sideload install, then from GPlay disable auto-updating for the app. Yeah, and put restrictions on the app from trying to do telemetry.
This is what I ended up doing. Keeps it in the older untarnished state, things still work fine. Telemetry hadn’t been added yet
I’m surprised people are still using this. I haven’t used Nova for almost a decade.
I’ve been quite happy with Niagara for the last few months.
+1 for Niagara, plus even though you don’t have to, pro features can be purchased outside of Google Play.
+2 for offering a lifetime purchase option (though it is kinda pricey)
Somebody please give me a lightweight alternative.
Had the pro version for years. I dont want niagra or lawnchair. The pixel launcher sucks.
Lawnchair
Go foss to avoid further enshittification.
I have been enjoying octopi launcher. Has pretty much the same as nova for settings and shortcuts.
It’s made some pretty significant additions lately that makes it a viable replacement for Nova.
Smart launcher will let you import your nova backup and transition seamlessly. That’s my recommendation.
I hate this suggestion but it is the only one I’ve been able to stomach as something that operates like Nova: Microsoft Launcher
Its actually quite decent and mostly seems to be a forgotten piece of software so it hasn’t been enshitified.
i used it for a long time, then moved to nova
I did come across it and it looked good but I cant instlall it. Its bad enough google are on my phone.
I did install Niagra and it seems better than before.
Moved to action launcher after the sale. Enshittification was inevitable.
Other people are still rocking Action Launcher? I thought I was the only one left. Covers are my favourite feature.
Oh yay creepware. Anyone know a good launcher with support for tablets?
Kvaesitso
I switched from Nova to Smart Launcher.
Missing a few things I liked but still super capable
Lawnchair?
Neo Launcher is a near 1-1 clone of Nova Launcher imo, and it’s open source
What a great advertisement for almost any other launcher.
Lawnchair is my go to if anyone wants a pretty simple and customizable launcher that respects your privacy.
It sounded interesting so I gave it a look and realized that I’ve been using it for years now and it’s just so unobtrusive that I forgot about it.
I second this. Lawnchair is great.
+1. Just last week they added the ability to import Nova backups.
Switched about a year ago and it works perfectly!
I downloaded the APK for the old version before they added the spyware and bloatware, but i turned off auto updates and Google Play keeps trying to get me to update Nova launcher to the newest version 🥱
Not going to happen and the best part is there was no forced update within the app so im going to keep using the old one till it breaks.
I’ve tested several popular ones and landed at Lawnchair as well. Plus point for being FOSS.
there have been enough reasons to ditch nova in the past years, in case someone is still using it
- 2022 acquired by branch metrics, data harvesting company https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/branch-strikes-twice-with-nova-launcher-and-sesame-search-acquisition
- 2024 nearly everyone laid off https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/9/24217077/nova-launcher-layoffs-only-original-developer-remaining
- 2025 original dev left after being told to stop working on the open source efforts https://www.theverge.com/news/773937/nova-launcher-founder-left-kevin-barry-branch-open-source-android
- 2026 fb and google ads tracking https://lemdro.id/post/lemdro.id/35049920
- 2026 (this post) evidences for built-in AI that harvests your data https://www.androidauthority.com/nova-launcher-ai-plus-subscription-apk-teardown-3658932/
I was still using it because I was too lazy to migrate things over to another.
And then I saw this post, so I guess it was time. Only took half an hour to figure out how to get Lawnchair doing basically what I wanted it to.
Octopi Launcher is damn near a replacement. Learn nothing new, muscle memory for swiping up or down on dock icons to open other apps.
Those were my requirements and it nails it.
I’m trying out Octopi right now, seems nice so far. But, is there any way to make folders open the first app with a tap, and open the folder by swiping? That’s how I used Nova for years and years, very hard to break away from that
Never heard of it but this thing looks fully featured and very polished. I’m surprised I haven’t heard of it before since I’ve gone looking for decent launchers!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otp.octopilauncher
Its a shame its not FOSS. Just checked it for trackers, and according to this site, there are none.
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.otp.octopilauncher/latest/
Switched to Octopi as well and had to configure it a little to get it setup but now I almost forget that I even switched
That was why I settled on Octopi
Whahahaha motherfucker you just made my day!
The one feature I use most of all on Nova is swipe down on the screen to search. I has that all the time and would be tough to give up. I also really like the ability to swipe up on a folder and have it launch the first app in the folder.
I’ll give Octopi a try on an older phone and hopefully it has some of these same features.
lawnchair is what I swapped to a few years back. I do want to warn… be careful updating it. Always make a backup of lawnchair prior to allowing it to update because ive had it fail to update twice now and have had to restore the backup on the new version.
Yeah I switched to lawn chair a few months ago because I kept seeing these stories about Nova’s parent company. I like it just fine—i haven’t had the issues you have (thankfully)—but there are a few features I miss from nova. Oh well, I’d rather have the peace of mind than the minor feature.
Yeah the only words they needed in the headline were “Nova Launcher sucks”
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Well shit, that’s me.
Or it just keeps breaking and not reading my files.
Oh I am confusing this for Nova Video player.
Damn I was excited to switch to this Lawnchair everyone is so indifferent about.
What possible use could AI be in a launcher?
I don’t think anybody is pretending it’s a legitimate reason. We all know the reason. The developer knows the reason. It’s exactly what you think it is
Excellent. Lawnchair it is then.
I don’t hate Lawnchair. I just hate Nova making the switch necessary.
Niagara is good as well.
Well it’s a good thing those two URIs can be easily blocked. Besides you can get the app from their Github page (sadly no F-droid repo as closed-source), and pay for Pro (if wanted) via Stripe instead of Google Play. I also had issues migrating Niagara off of Google once I’d connected the two, but an email correspondence with the lead dev Max Rumpf got the issue pleasantly and quickly resolved.
Also spyware.
Thanks!
Just turn off network sharing if you have something like Graphene OS
Well yeah that’s the only way but then you lose the meteorology API which is a shame.
It sucks because Niagara is easily my favourite launcher, but I can’t afford to have a proprietary app with insane privileges across my device.
It’s likely the only reason for the privilege is to collect coords to send to the weather API. At least it’s optional, and there are alternative ways to see weather reports, just not on the home screen.
I tried accessing Google Photos via my phone to handle a couple of things I had active on that account from before. Little fuck refused to let me open the app unless it had unconditional access to all my media.
Sauce?
How so?
Requires network connection and is closed source.
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I switched from Nova to Niagara a couple years ago and I’m very happy with it
Niagara is great, I don’t miss pages with icons at all
>Downloads Niagara to minimalise my phone, reduce distractions
>Buys Pro, re-enables iconsAm I a heathen
Niagara, my beloved
Used Nova for close to ten years. Switched last year to Kvaesitso.
I recommend everyone still using Nova to look into options and switch. It’s not as scary as it seems.
Really enjoying Kvaesitso!
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Fuck all this. Stock android degoogled/Lineageos should be standard for every phone.
Next phone I get will be 100% degoogled. Hopefully a full Linux distro is out by then. I wish there was a Linux distro for phones that was just the regular OS but with adaptive standards like how websites change with desktop and mobile and Windows size changes.
Try Fairphone. Ethically fantastic company, and they offer their phones with either Android or Murena /e/OS
Check out Swappa.com, find an unlocked Google Pixel 7a or 8a, and load GrapheneOS onto it.
Yeah might end up doing that. I’m waiting for the graphene official phones for now while my current phone is still functioning.
Out of interest as a 7a user , what’s the top 3 pros and cons ?
Top 3 Pros:
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You have a daily driver OS that is so open you can install any app on it that can be sideloaded.
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You have access to the Google Pixel camera, which, when paired with Open Camera or any open source camera app, can take photos in stunning detail without having to rely on Google’s proprietary software.
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The form factor of the A-series of Pixels, depending on your hand size, may be just the right fit for your hands. I have big hands and even I find the Pro/XL models to be a bit big for my tastes.
Top 3 Cons:
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There are some banking, payment, etc. apps that won’t even open without Google Play Services being installed. Fortunately, GrapheneOS has Sandboxed Google Play services that isolates Google Play services from the OS and allows only the necessary minimum utilities from Play Services for those apps to be useable.
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Google’s Tensor chip is…not good. Like it’s Exynos bad. Fortunately, I believe the Pixel 6 series had the first and worst version of the chip. Each phone after has slowly improved the reliability of the modem so calls can be made in/outbound. Thankfully, GrapheneOS recently partnered with Motorola to allow future Motorola phones to be installed with GrapheneOS, so ideally their phones should have much better modems.
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[insert third con I can’t think of here]
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