Nova Launcher is getting a major rewrite with new animations in version 7

XDA

By Pranob Mehrotra

Published Jan 4, 2021

Nova Launcher is getting a major rewrite based on the open-source Launcher3 app in AOSP, featuring a bunch of design changes and new animations.

Nova Launcher is undoubtedly one of the most popular third-party launcher apps available on the Play Store today. The launcher has been around for almost a decade now, and it has managed to stay relevant thanks to a constant stream of updates that bring new features to the table. However, since the launcher is still based on the open-source Launcher2 app in the Android Open Source Project (AOS), it has become increasingly difficult for the developers to merge new changes from AOSP to the launcher.

For the unaware, the Launcher2 app was deprecated in favor of Launcher3 with the release of Android 7.1 Nougat. This, coupled with the fact that Nova's code-base has diverged a lot from Launcher2, makes it difficult for the developer to merge new changes from AOSP to the launcher. To address this issue, the next major update for Nova Launcher (version 7) is based on AOSP's Launcher3, and the rewrite brings a bunch of design tweaks and new animations.

Nova Launcher version 7 is already available for public beta testing in the Nova Launcher Discord channel, and it features the following changes:

Nova Launcher 7 beta changelog

Nova has been rebased on the latest Launcher3 offering from the Android Open Source Project. This means updated visuals and animations and just about every part of Nova's code has changed.

Nearly all of Nova's extensive customization has been brought along for the ride and updated to match, enjoy the new folder opening animation with any of Nova's folder customization options such as immersive windows or different icon layouts.

Some configuration options have been dropped such as the card background and horizontal app drawer styles. Feedback is welcome on this.

Though the focus is on refreshing the base and updating visuals there are various new features sprinkled in as well, such as:

Radial folder icon layouts
Vertical paginated folder scrolling
Swipe Down action on icons (Prime)
Search bar and Tab bar in app drawer can be placed at the bottom
More Nova search window and bar options
Save APK popup menu action
More

Do note that the changelog mentioned above pertains to the initial Nova Launcher 7 beta release, and the launcher has since received several updates on the beta channel with bug fixes and additional features.

https://gfycat.com/ifr/WeeklyBlackBat

If you're interested in trying out the latest Nova Launcher 7 beta, you can download the release by joining the public Discord server here. In case you face any bugs or issues in the beta build, you can report them in the #bug reports channel in the Nova Launcher Discord.

Nova Launcher 7 beta screen recording courtesy of XDA's Zachary Wander!