One Of The Best Third-Party Android Launchers Is Dead

It can be hard to let go of legends, but that’s what many Android users are facing this month, as news of Nova Launcher — which has often been heralded as one of the best third-party Android launchers by both users and tech reporters — is being abandoned. People have been using Nova for years to change up how Android looks, but the time for updates has sadly come to an end.

The app, which was founded by Kevin Barry in 2011, was sold to a metrics company called Branch in 2022. Part of the deal was that Nova would go open-source if Barry ever left or stopped working on it. It seems that won’t be the case after all, as Barry posted an official farewell and explained that he was told to cease all work on the project. This has left many users unsure whether they should keep using Nova, or even where to go next. 

While Nova Launcher was considered one of the best, there are many other launchers out there for those that want to move on from Nova but are still looking for good features and design. So, if you’re already tired of Samsung’s One UI changes, you have some other options.

One of the more popular Nova alternatives is Smart Launcher. This launcher earned a name for itself thanks to its plethora of features, as well as its fairly affordable lifetime license, which gives you access to even more features. One reason that Smart Launcher is a good fit for Nova users is because it supports some of the same functionality they’re used to, such as gestures, home page customization, and more.

Furthermore, the company behind Smart Launcher has released a community letter detailing how it plans to support Nova users that make the jump, including a roadmap with features like Nova backup importing, a dock — which many Android users should be used to at this point — and an assortment of other upgrades that it plans to release within the next 12 months, like more folder customization, quick access options on folders, and even infinite home page scrolling.

It doesn’t have all the same features as Nova just yet, but if you want a solid launcher with many of the same perks — as well as plans to add others in the future — then Smart Launcher isn’t a bad option. The next iteration of Smart Launcher is currently in beta, too, with plans to make it available to anyone who buys a license for the current version.

While many users loved Nova for its gestures and other handy features, including easy access to options in folders, in-depth customization of the home page, icon appearance, and more, others liked the minimalism it offered that wasn’t always available with other launchers. Thankfully, if you’re a fan of a minimalistic design, Nova isn’t your only option. New launchers like Niagara are designed solely to provide an minimalist approach to how you use your phone, turning all of your icons into a list of apps that you use frequently. There’s still theme customization, but it isn’t nearly as in-depth as Nova Launcher or Smart Launcher.

This is a really cool approach if you want to do away with the endless icons that plague smartphones these days, though it is definitely a detour from what many users probably rely on Nova for. And while it isn’t directly comparable to Nova as a whole, it’s still a great alternative if you’re looking to shake things up. The other benefit here is that even the free version of the launcher doesn’t have ads, but most forms of customization will prompt a “purchase Pro” option, which requires you to shell out for a monthly or yearly subscription. Unfortunately, there’s not currently any kind of “lifetime” subscription, so you’ll need to pay every month or year to get Pro features.

If you crave something other than your phone’s standard launcher, but don’t want to rely on Nova Launcher now that Barry has stepped away and it’s technically “dead,” then you can always turn to an open-source launcher like Lawnchair. This launcher isn’t available on the Play Store, and the latest version is only available in beta — which means you might run into issues. Even with those issues, though, Lawnchair does a fantastic job of emulating the “stock Android” experience that Google pushes out on its first-party devices like the Pixel 10.

It doesn’t offer the customization options that Nova does, or even that Smart Launcher and other launchers do. But, if you’re just looking for something simple and easy to use, Lawnchair is a great way to bring Google’s Pixel Launcher to any Android device, no matter what brand it is. I did experience quite a few bugs when using it, though, including icons that randomly hopped around as I closed apps and some artifacting when opening the home screen. That said,, considering it’s in beta, this isn’t wholly unexpected, and overall, the experience was pretty solid.