Nova Launcher has been acquired by analytics company Branch
www.androidpolice.com
Hopefully, this isn’t the end of an era for Android launchers

Since a few folks seem unaware of this, I’m posting anew for visibility.

  • LordCrom@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Fuck. Using nova kept me sane. Even though they say, nothing changes…it will. With an analytics company, if they spend that much on nova, they are either going to go behind a paywall, or start data mining the shit from every user.

    Remember, if the product is free, then you’re the product

    • GreatDong3000@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      If a product is not free but is a digital service with a paid subscription you are also the product. They ain’t gonna stop data mining you b/c you give them 10 bucks a month.

  • Cows Look Like Maps@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    I’ve been using KISS for I don’t know how many years at this point. I can’t imagine using anything else at this point. I’m sure that there’s plenty of other great FOSS launchers out there!

    • Demdaru@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Had an old, barely living phone. Tried very hard to die on sole fact it had to display icons. KISS actually made it usable once again. ^^

    • Tebbie@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      I always assumed the stock launcher was always running under custom launchers. Is this the case?

    • WatTyler@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Hi, I’ve installed KISS after reading this comment and there’s one thing I don’t understand. Is one supposed to manually select their ‘Favourites’ or are they populated by KISS with use? I couldn’t find an answer to this anywhere else.

    • Natanael@slrpnk.netEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Neo Launcher seems to have either tabs or folders, not both (you have to choose one). Seems fairly close to what I want overall, still missing a few features

      Kvaesito with its tags is really interesting but that’s not how I use launchers. If it had also supported modifying the default app list with tags as alternative views then it would’ve been great for me. And it would also need better tools for managing tags (bulk adding apps, navigating tags)

      Lawnchair doesn’t let me customize folders within the app list

    • KammicRelief@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Awesome… I just installed kvaesitso after (…about 10?) years of being a paid Nova Premium user. I uninstalled Nova and so far so good. Thanks!

  • Localhorst86@feddit.deEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    It is unfortunate and I was looking at dozens of other open source launchers, but I was not able to find one that fits my needs and is as customizable as Nova Launcher :(

  • Chemical Wonka@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Lanwchair is a great replacement but I am facing many problems with its widgets. But don’t forget the default launcher always is the best option if you consider less surface attack

  • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Saved for the launcher recommendations, although all of my experiences with them have been bad because of the broken animations since A12 I think… Some look slightly better, like kvaesitso.

  • TedZanzibar@feddit.ukEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Reading the article and justification given I do actually get the idea of it. They want to levarage the parent company’s clout and connections in order to convince other app makers into implementing a way for Sesame, the universal search app/plugin, to pull results directly from those apps. For the parent company it would give them a USP in the analytics market.

    In short: Think of searching for a product from the launcher and rather than it opening Google, it returns results directly from the Amazon app, or eBay, or any other app that supports the functionality. Obviously there’ll be an affiliate kickback for any click-through and you’ve got a decent revenue source.

    It’s a good idea, I get it. Would I feel comfortable using it? I don’t know. On the one hand it just cuts out the middle-man of searching for and clicking through to products via Google etc. On the other hand, all of the concerns already raised in this thread!

  • Thorny_Insight@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    I didn’t even bother to install 3rd party launcher on my current device. I had been using Nova ever since I got my first android device.

    I used to be super excited about new device releases but I’ve lost nearly all my interest in smartphone technology. LG V10/V20 was peak smartphone in my opinion and they’ve been just gotting more and more boring since. My current one most resembles that of some old granny except for the lack of bloatware. I could barely be bothered to look for a new wallpaper.

  • RBG@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Anyone here not using an open source launcher after this announcement is seriously learning nothing from this. You are just trusting the next company that either already or eventually will go the same way. Like the dude mentioning Microsoft launcher as alternative, that one has branch analytics baked in as well as far as I remember.

    • ammonium@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Be aware that using open source doesn’t protect you completely from this, look at what happened to Simple Mobile tools, best install your open source applications from f-droid.

      Do you have any good open source alternatives for Nova Launcher?

      • RBG@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        Of course, but when something like that happens to a popular app there will be an outcry. If you are not a tech person you might miss that, but I’d argue if you care about what launcher your phone has and you care about this issue to go foss you are probably the type of person who’d hear about it.

        I use KISS launcher but there are many other options mentioned here that are also good. Yes, nothing is exactly like Nova. But lots of other stuff is good too.

        • deweydecibel@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          5 months ago

          Yes, nothing is exactly like Nova. But lots of other stuff is good too.

          Then they aren’t good alternatives, they’re passable.

          Seems crazy to me that the software that’s owned by an analytics company is also the one focused on giving the user the most customization options. None of the FOSS alternatives have the same mentality as Nova. They’re all focused more on minimalism, or evoking Pixel, or pushing a specific niche type of interface of their own design. None of them provide anywhere near as many tools to the user.

          If I have to use a closed source app provided by an analytics company just to get a launcher that actually empowers the user, so be it. Maybe more of the FOSS alternatives could start taking note of why Nova is the most popular.

    • slimarev92@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      I backed up the APK of the last “clean” version before the sale. I’m going to keep using until some OS update breaks it.

      • Scrollone@feddit.itEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        You don’t have to do it! :)

        One of the original maintainers of Simple Mobile Tools forked the project and he’s adding new features and fixing bugs.

        The project is called Fossify and you can already download the apps from both Play store and F-Droid