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).
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2025
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I've had updates and Internet access turned off since they were bought, and it still works fine. I'll switch when I have no other choice.
Almost every other launcher advertised on these threads is minimalist and search based, and I don't want either of those. I want full control over how my app menu, notifications, and home pages are laid out.
Lawnchair seems to do a good chunk of what Nova does. I haven't taken the time to fully recreate my setup, but most things I've tried have worked so far.
With Nova I have a setup that more or less fits everything on my home page without looking too busy. Lawnchair is letting me change the number of rows and columns, shrink icon size, choose a monochrome theme as a default, make folders, etc.
I'm more than a little nervous to try something else, because I worry about not being able to reenable the same version of Nova I have now with all of my settings.
Lawnchair doors look good as a next home, though.
Why remove Nova before you've got things set up? Get a feel for whether or not your new launcher works for you for probably at least a month before removing the old.
If you don't find any issues you can't live with within a month, you should be fine.
You don't think anything in Nova will break by turning it off? I haven't switched launchers in many years.
Lawnchair doesn't seem to allow gestures on icons/folders, so it's a non-starter for me. I use swipe actions all the time to launch apps. Like, tap for SMS, swipe down for WhatsApp, swipe up for Signal; or tap to open a folder of utilities, swipe up for Root Explorer and down for KeePass. I want to be able to launch all of my frequently used apps with 1 action from my homescreen. If anything, I'd like a launcher that allows even more swipe actions (right & left).
I just want a full app drawer and a single homescreen with shortcuts/folders that can be overloaded with swipe actions. IDGAF about widgets or search. If I need to type anything, I'm doing too much work to launch an app.
This is the key missing piece for me too. All of the things I use on my phone are accessible through the five icons on my dock. Whether it's a simple swipe to open another app or swipe to open a folder, none of the "alternatives" have similar functionality.
I don't want to search for things, I want at most two taps to open the app I want.
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'm in the same boat as you
Also, most of these replacement suggestion in this article and many others, are not FOSS
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...
Same, and I've tried others. I want the app drawer to have tabs, I want to change the folder appearance... Use gestures. Something is always missing.
Check out Kiss on F-Droid.
I like KISS launcher, but not sure if it's the right alternative for someone who liked Nova. Lawnchair might be more similar
Most of the alternatives mentioned here just data hungry non foss apps. It's better to use default one than an extra data hungry option.
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.
What even is a launcher, what does this app actually do? I'm asking earnestly I've never been able to figure it out
Basically the home screen. Third party launchers used to be the frontier of introducing new features, like gestures, app drawer categories, different icon layouts like more columns/rows, customer icon theme packs, custom animations, etc.
The iOS equivalent if you jailbroke was SummerBoard/WinterBoard, a pun on SpringBoard (name of iOS launcher).
Oh thank you
My only addition to what Meron35 said is that Launchers can provide interfaces that both look and act differently than the built-in launcher. Some of them are radically different from the default, with everything from expanding radial menus to an actual command line. There is not single best solution that suits everyone, so Launchers allow you to decide what experience works best for you.
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.
Niagara launcher for the win
It has the best kind of subscription-based monetization, too.
Nothing in the sub features look like I need it so I can just ignore it.
Agreed I switched about a year ago when nova first got purchased and never looked back!
I'm a fan of Neo Launcher, but development is slow and not totally stable yet.
I will keep using it till it fails
Nothing closed source or FOSS really comes close. Heres to hoping with it being axed well finally see a FOSS launcher like it eventually.
What !?
It will still work, till it won't any longer. I assume new Android version will release one day and Nova won't be compatible with it.
Man this sucks. Fuck idk what imma use