Google launcher

[KillerQ]

I love being able to size apps and widgets, adjust the bottom, gestures, smoothness, get rid of that Google search bar at the top, double tap screen off, swipe down notification from anywhere on screen, ok google still works even when the screen is off... I'm sure there is more I guess.

Lefank

I agree.... I love the customization available with Nova Prime - I've been using it for years. When I get my 6p, definitely try stock and Google Launcher first to see if it hooks me.

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[AustinIllini]

I'm too hooked on Google Now to switch to Nova for the time being.

 

[KillerQ]

I'm assuming that Google now would still be considered a launcher, and then causing the Nexus to be true "stock"... Right?

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[KillerQ]

Just tried it... Icons way too big. People with think I'm In "old person, easy home screen mode."

I'm sure it's fine, I just like the swipes, gestures and other shortcuts that Nova Prime offers....

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[Trigati]

That's not the point. The question is, what does Nova do that is so much better than simply using Google's own launcher? For many of us, Nova doesn't do anything that we want or need, so we just stick with Google Now.

Resizing the grid, custom icon packs, gestures, folder options, wraparound home screens, resizing icons, different transitions, customizing the app drawer with folders and/or category pages, locking the setup so icons aren't accidentally moved.. to name just a few things off the top of my head.

 

[KillerQ]

Resizing the grid, custom icon packs, gestures, folder options, wraparound home screens, resizing icons, different transitions, customizing the app drawer with folders and/or category pages, locking the setup so icons aren't accidentally moved.. to name just a few things off the top of my head.

Yep... And this just scratches the surface!

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[KillerQ]

Resizing the grid, custom icon packs, gestures, folder options, wraparound home screens, resizing icons, different transitions, customizing the app drawer with folders and/or category pages, locking the setup so icons aren't accidentally moved.. to name just a few things off the top of my head.

Yes! And this just scratches the surface!

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[cbreze]

New to stock android so gave google now a good try to check it out. After awhile I got sort of tired of the stock white backgrounds everywhere, app drawer, folders. Guess i like having more options. Using themer ATM and find it nice to have lots of customizability. I can see why Nova is so popular but I just enjoy playing the field which is why I use android in the first place for all the optional choices it gives me.

 

[taymur]

what makes google now or nova appealing?

For me, my Samsung galaxy s6 edge is my first android phone ever, i really was frustrated by the experience, i kept on visually searching for apps which was difficult, some of them are on the home screens, others are in the app menu, which offers nothing more than the home screens, then some of them are in folders either on the home screens or the app menu, i really do not understand the system, its just a duplication with no added benefit.

After fiddling around with different launchers, i settled for Arrow launcher, its the only one (that i know of) that i found provides differentiation between the home screens and the app menu, as well as, sorting both spaces in a very convenient way, made finding my apps way more easier.

 

[LeoRex]

It's about integration. With the Note widget in Nova, it still has to launch Now as an app. With the Google launcher, Now is part of the launcher...

When you download the Google launcher, you are really only downloading an extension to the Google app that allows the Google app itself to act as a launcher. I use Now a ton, so the smooth access to those cards is great. If Nova could incorporate that window in the same way, rather than just using a widget or gesture to launch as an app, I might run it. But I don't think that'll ever happen to be honest.

 

[getbretweir]

That's not the point. The question is, what does Nova do that is so much better than simply using Google's own launcher? For many of us, Nova doesn't do anything that we want or need, so we just stick with Google Now.

And for many of us, Nova does what we want obviously, which is why we use it ... gestures, icon size, removing text under icons, etc ... even things like changing the color of the scroll bar, a very small detail, is something I like doing.

 

[j_grouchy]

I use Nova, but there is one thing that Google Launcher has that I wish Nova did, and that's having Google Now integration on the left homescreen.

Maybe it's different for different devices (I have an LG G3 with the on-screen buttons) and all I do is just a quick swipe up from the bottom bezel to open Google Now. I'm too used to being able to circulate endlessly between home screens, having Now as one of them would put me off. Too much like my wife's iPhone that way.

 

[bjrosen]

I use Nova, the Google launcher is primitive compared to Nova.

 

[LeoRex]

See.. that's the cool thing about Android.. it's flexibility. Having access to the launcher, being able to switch it, means people can do as much, or as little, as they want... with Now and Nova being really the two ends of that spectrum.

I mean, regardless of where you stand on that line, I think everyone would agree that it would suck with the power of a supermassive black hole if everyone was locked into a single launcher, with no alternatives.

 

[N4Newbie]

Resizing the grid, custom icon packs, gestures, folder options, wraparound home screens, resizing icons, different transitions, customizing the app drawer with folders and/or category pages, locking the setup so icons aren't accidentally moved.. to name just a few things off the top of my head.

None of that stuff matters to me.

How do I explain this...

The phone's user interface - the home screens, etc., etc., are simply means to an end. I don't care, for example, what an icon looks like or how big it is, so long as when I tap on it it opens the desired app. It is the apps (and their user interface) that matter, not the phone's user interface. Wraparound home screens? Who needs 'em? Lockable home screens "so icons aren't accidentally moved..." I don't accidentally move icons. Folders in the app drawer? Don't care about that nor need it. And so on.

The bulk of the apps I use on a regular basis are on my primary home screen; many of them in folders. 99% of the stuff I do on my Nexus 6P is no more than two taps away - one to open the containing folder and one to run the app. It doesn't get any easier than that.

 

[GreatCanadian]

I agree with N4Newbie. I am fine with icon size, my apps are in folders on my home screen, and I certainly do not want apps in the app drawer in folders. But I guess for people who want those options the choice of alternate launchers is beneficial.

GC

 

[TibixYT]

I like the Nova Launcher because it's better than Google One, and it's more light

 

[adam9997]

I use Nova, but there is one thing that Google Launcher has that I wish Nova did, and that's having Google Now integration on the left homescreen.

That was one feature I missed. Changed Swipe Up gesture to open google now and it's perfect for me since I can access GN from any screen

 

[AllynKC]

I want to like it because everything in my phone is mostly google but I can't unload waze for maps or nova for google launcher.

You're actually closer to all-Google than you realize. Google bought Waze in 2013. It still doesn't carry the same aesthetics of other Google apps, but it is one of theirs.

As for the launcher - I have to agree with you. I want to like Google Launcher; but it lacks features of Nova that I just find too useful to leave behind.

 

[Billy Bob Jimmy Joe]

Resizing the grid, custom icon packs, gestures, folder options, wraparound home screens, resizing icons, different transitions, customizing the app drawer with folders and/or category pages, locking the setup so icons aren't accidentally moved.. to name just a few things off the top of my head.

All of this applies to what N4Newbie said. These are all things that some just don't care about.

Google Nexus 6P