Yay, Nova Launcher incorporates Nexus 5 styling

[JeffDenver]

Nova Launcher 2.3 Beta 1 Is Out, Offers A Sample Of Simulated KitKat

Awesome...now I can have the look of the native launcher without sacrificing flexibility. Now if only they could incorporate "ok google"...

 

[anon(5857193)]

I gave the stock launcher an honest try but found that it's just too limited for what I was looking for. It feels great being back on Nova! The only thing I'll miss is having Google Now as a homescreen.

 

[JeffDenver]

I gave the stock launcher an honest try but found that it's just too limited for what I was looking for. It feels great being back on Nova! The only thing I'll miss is having Google Now as a homescreen.

The main thing I missed was being able to scroll the dock. And to get rid of the dock indicator.

 

[Jonneh]

I've been trying to have fun with the new stock launcher, but just yesterday I switched back to Nova even though it's not yet optimized for 4.4. The icons being crazy-large was okay to me, but when I began creating folders and found out I can only have a maximum of 16 icons per folder, I realized I needed Nova again. Plus I missed all the customization it added for me...I like to swipe down to have the dock disappear, swipe up to have the notification bar disappear, and double tap anywhere on the home screen to have the notification panel expand.

Thanks for the news that the Nova developer is still working on it! I look forward to its release in the Play store.

 

[JeffDenver]

I've been trying to have fun with the new stock launcher, but just yesterday I switched back to Nova even though it's not yet optimized for 4.4. The icons being crazy-large was okay to me, but when I began creating folders and found out I can only have a maximum of 16 icons per folder, I realized I needed Nova again. Plus I missed all the customization it added for me...I like to swipe down to have the dock disappear, swipe up to have the notification bar disappear, and double tap anywhere on the home screen to have the notification panel expand.

Thanks for the news that the Nova developer is still working on it! I look forward to its release in the Play store.

Yeah I forgot about the gesture support. That is something I need.

 

[Jonneh]

Yeah I forgot about the gesture support. That is something I need.

Exactly. I will miss the Google Now as my leftmost screen though. But, swiping up from the home button really isn't a big deal, and is what I'm used to from my Galaxy Nexus. But the cards don't seem to be pre-loaded like they are when using the leftmost screen version of Google Now.

Do you know if the Nova developer is even capable of getting the "Okay Google Now" voice search to work in the future?

 

[JeffDenver]

Do you know if the Nova developer is even capable of getting the "Okay Google Now" voice search to work in the future?

Oh yeah I'm sure. They all will.

 

[onthecouchagain]

I don't know why Google decided to limit the number of apps in their folders. I could have sworn, there was once a time -- many years ago -- when Android allowed as many icons into the folders as you wanted.

Or did I imagine that?

 

[Jonneh]

I don't know why Google decided to limit the number of apps in their folders. I could have sworn, there was once a time -- many years ago -- when Android allowed as many icons into the folders as you wanted.

Or did I imagine that?

I don't know why they limited it either; I was getting everything set up and then hit a roadblock with that. :-( I like to keep a "Utilities" folder in the corner of my screen, and it usually has about 22 apps in it, organized in a specific manner.

If I remember right, it took Android forever to even incorporate folders into the OS; third party launchers were doing it first. Maybe I'm wrong though? I came to Android right at Froyo and can't necessarily remember.

 

[JeffDenver]

I have this installed now. So far, zero problems. No crashes or weird behavior. It does not incorporate "Ok Google" though. But I am very happy with the look.

 

[Gekko]

i like the look of Kit Kat. BUT i tested out the Nova Beta and i really didn't like it - at least the way Nova did it. i didn't like the new "cloudy" App Icon, Mic Icon, i didn't like the 3 dots indicator, and i really didn't like the new Font under each App Icon. is this a direct copy of KitKat theme or an attempted copy of the look? perhaps it will grow on me - but i reverted back. one of the main and only reasons i even installed Nova is to get rid of the Persistent Search Bar and free up that space - if Google would let me do that i wouldn't need Nova.

 

[JeffDenver]

i like the look of Kit Kat. BUT i tested out the Nova Beta and i really didn't like it - at least the way Nova did it. i didn't like the new "cloudy" App Icon, Mic Icon, i didn't like the 3 dots indicator, and i really didn't like the new Font under each App Icon. is this a direct copy of KitKat theme or an attempted copy of the look? perhaps it will grow on me - but i reverted back. one of the main and only reasons i even installed Nova is to get rid of the Persistent Search Bar and free up that space - if Google would let me do that i wouldn't need Nova.

What do you mean by "new" 3 dots indicator? Mine looks exactly the same.


As for icons...I was using custom ones anyway. I downloaded this a while back: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...mes.kitkat.launcher.experience&token=VbxZUYJB

This is what my home screen looks like now:



Thats exactly what it looks like under the native launcher as well. (The blue line is the Team Battery bar app...if I did not have that installed, it would be clear)