Nova Launcher is basically dead, and Android is worse off for it

Wait ppl still use nova launcher?

Sorry, if you sell your project to a data collection firm you have already lost the plot anyways. These companies care only about one thing, and it's not "making a quality app".

I am using Lawnchair from IzzyOnDroid, and very happy with it. Strong recommend.

With Nova, I set the grid to 13 rows and left off the labels.

Based on recommendations for a Nova replacement, I tried Lawnchair. But it only goes up to 10 rows, leaving space for labels even when labels are off.

Can anyone point me to a launcher that allows 13 rows?

Currently on Lawnchair 15 beta and you can do up to 20 columns and rows. But it needs to be enabled under experimental features.
- Thanks. I'll try.
I've been using Smart Launcher for however long since Nova sold out, 3 years?
I just checked and mine is set to 7 columns, 17 rows. Might be worth a look?
https://www.smartlauncher.net/
Have you tried Hyperion launcher? It's what I gravitated to after Nova.
- Just tried now, thanks.
  It only goes up to 12 rows, but rechecking Nova I see that it also only goes up to 12 rows. I miscounted my home screen.
  The other feature I used to smash a lot into a single home screen is the swipe up and swipe down gesture on each icon to get two other closely related apps. I haven't verified if Hyperion has this yet.

Nova launcher has been dead since it was sold to an ad company three years ago.

[...] and Android is worse off for it

Hard disagree!

The only damage the whole Nova Launcher thing does is mostly sentimental. Nowadays, there are plenty of launchers to choose from, all with some great degrees of customizability. Here are my top picks:

Kvaesitso - my current pick. It's not the most flexible on this list, but I generally find more and more ways I could integrate it in my personal life. And the font pick is just great.
Lucid Launcher - another top pick of mine that is not relied on AOSP. Goes more like a vertical scroll than a horizontal one. Used it on my tablet for as long as it lived, almost.
KISS Launcher - If you want to Keep It Simple, Stupid. It's all just a search bar. That's it. Search for everything you need and when you're done, you're done.
Niagara Launcher - also minimalist, but more functional. Didn't really get the hang of it just yet, not sure if I will. Kvaesitso is quite cool.
AIO Launcher - let's just call it the best strike between minimalist and functional, ok?
Lens launcher - for when you want to be so minimalist you put all your apps on the home screen
ap15 launcher - same as Lens but there are only labels instead of icons
Total launcher - goes the opposite way. Probably the most customizable on this list. Really great once you get the hang of it.
Square home - if you used a Windows phone, you know what this is about. If you did not, you will know (alternative implementation, Mur)
Microsoft Launcher - as the name implies, it's Microsoft's current attempt at a phone launcher. Really useful, especially if you are invested in Microsoft's ecosystem.
Plus there are plenty more others that I didn't get to test really much, such as Smart launcher, Action launcher, hyperion etc. However, the most hyped in this thread seems to be Lawnchair. Looks like it follows Nova the closest among the open source picks.

Really, there's no point in worrying about this. I'm also sad to see Nova go, especially since it was that popular. But there's that. The launcher landscape is the one I worry the less in Android.

None of these are a good replacement for nova.
I've been using android since 2007. Nova allowed me to stick with the old school UI paradigm of dock and app drawer... nova was so good, that i set up my homescreen in 2013 and basically never touched the settings again until i migrated a new phone....
All these new launchers break my 20 yr old workflow... i dont like the "everything is a search bar" thing
- dont like the “everything is a search bar” thing
  Same here. Been using Android since 2010. Currently running KISS for the last few months, but it doesn't quite work with my muscle memory. I don't want to type things to find them when I can just open the app drawer, or drop a shortcut on the desktop.
- Huh lawn chair can remove all the search bars.
- I feel the same. I like having my desktop with easy to reach commonly used apps, and a few widgets, such at a Google calendar widget and my keep notes. And I want all the things in the exact spot I put them, so I can build muscle memory to go where I want. The dock is not so necessary as long as I can have enough icons on the desktop. And then I want an app drawer, where I can divide it into tabs, one for regular apps and one for games.
  The closest I could find are either:
  Lawnchair launcher, but it's missing the drawer tabs (it has folders though)
  Pear Launcher, it has everything, but unfortunately it doesn't remove the games from the main apps tab when I add them to a games tab...
- @9488fcea02a9 hmm, didn't lawnchair also have an app drawer and a dock? Or other similar launchers like Microsoft, action, hyperion etc.? There are plenty more AOSP based launchers in the Play Store.
I personally recommend Multi Launcher, which is KISS with just a few more features that stay out of your way if you don't want them
I use Smart Launcher! I picked it up a few years ago, after Nova was sold. Nowadays I'd probably focus on a FOSS launcher, but at the time I didn't care about such things. That said, the app sorting into categories within the app drawer is super nice, and I love it a lot. Everything else about the app is pretty fine, though I am disappointed at how it can lag when I'm trying to switch between apps or the home screen. I'm pretty cozy with it so I'm reluctant to change but I probably will on my next phone.
Hey thanks for the list!

Meh. It's been dead to me since it was sold off to an ad company years ago. It was novel and cool 10 years ago but today there are plenty of better alternatives and even default launchers have come a long way. OneUI + Good Lock has been more than enough for me on my phone and tab.

I'm pretty happy with the lawnchair nightly release

I switched over after the sale and have had no issues.

It's not a real replacement but if you want to support open source stuff, fossify apps including the launcher. Users and support will get it improving faster. On F-Droid and google Play store

Nova was not the end-all-be-all of Android development. It had a lot of features and was highly customizable, sure, but there are many other launchers to pick from.

Does any other launcher allow setting of custom swipe actions on home screen icons?

I've settled on Total Launcher. It has custom swipe on all 4 directions.
Also background double & triple tap. And double finger swipe up & down.
Lawnchair 15.Beta 1 has swipe left and swipe right.
- only works on the home screen though not the dock maybe that'll be fixed though
As far as I know, Action Launcher supports custom swipe actions, but it's years since I tried it.
- I'll look into it, thanks.
Yes. This is not an exclusive feature.
- It's either gotten more common since I last explored or I was looking in the wrong places.
Thought all of them did

Neo Launcher has development stagnation, but otherwise it's very feature close and an influx of users might get more dev attention.

I've been using Neo pretty much since Nova was sold to the ad company. I definitely wish it had more active development, but it's been a good enough replacement for me.
It was the first launcher I found that also has the feature to set a folder to launch a specific app on single tap and show everything in the folder with a swipe up. I didn't realize how much I relied on this with Nova until I tried other launchers that didn't have it.
- That was a nice feature.
- Oh wow, I started using neo recently as a Nova replacement and didn't know it has this. Great news!
- I feel the same way. I like folders but don't want to see them. I'll try Neo Launcher.

I like lawnchair.

Man I hope linux phone somehow rises through the ashes....not many places to find hope anymore

I've been using Octopi since yesterday and it seems really similar to Nova so far.

Are you a Phones Show Chat listener?
Same here. I really like it and bought the Premium version already to support the developer. It's not on the same level of customization and not as feature rich as Nova, but it's quite nice. And it's under active development.

I've been using Hex launcher since the whole selling data nova launcher thing. Essentially you get your widgets as a home screen, and thats it. You press on the screen and get 6 app choices, the search at the the top, and notifications at the bottom. To get all the apps you put three periods "..."

Its almost too simple.

Another reason to stop being bound to Android.