this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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34
New launcher to replace Nova? (multiverse.soulism.net)
submitted 14 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) by Grail@multiverse.soulism.net to c/android
26 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hello folks. Four minutes ago, I got a notification that Nova now has ads, despite Me disabling updates. Three minutes ago, I uninstalled Nova. Any recommendations for a new launcher?

My ideal launcher would be completely free, have plenty of customisation options, and the only updates would be bugfixes and op-in features that I am not notified about. I first installed Nova years ago, to make My new phone's home screen look like the last one's. And I'm not about to change My ways now, so hopefully the new launcher lets Me recreate the look and feel of the very first smartphone I ever owned over a decade ago.

image

All the best,
A cranky old wizard

top 26 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 16 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

My top customizable FOSS launchers:

Kvaesisto
Search-based with native-themed widgets and app drawer. Lots of integrations, reliable, and my personal daily driver.

Lawnchair
Drop-in replacement for Pixel launcher with some friendly features. Very active development.

Ion Launcher
Automatic app folders by category and decent customization options.

Einstein Launcher
Highly customizable and built from scratch. It's under 3MB and already pretty capable, although it's a young project and still in alpha

[–] MaddestMax@lemmy.world 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

+1 for Kvaesisto. With Cuscon icon pack.

[–] jagermo@feddit.org 1 points 4 hours ago

Bit of a learning curve but i won't use anything else now

[–] IDew@feddit.nl 18 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Lawnchair would be my best bet. I've had issues with icon packs not applying only to the home screen which makes me stop using it, but it's a pretty solid experience if you'd ask me

[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Does Lawnchair let you use app icons with different shapes? I hate it when the icons are all the same shape, it makes it impossible to find anything. I like it when the email looks like a letter so then I just look for the letter and I've got it. I don't want to look for a circle with a letter in it, that's too hard.

[–] jcarax@beehaw.org 4 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Yes. Make sure you're installing the beta, they never really release stable anymore from what I can tall.

[–] GlenRambo@jlai.lu 1 points 9 hours ago

This is the way.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Nice to see some here I haven't heard of before. Looking forward to checking some of these out.

I've been trying Olauncher since another thread like this maybe a week ago. It's alright so far, though very much the opposite of what OP wants. (100% text based, no icons, no sorting)

It's fine on my phone, but ideally I'd like the same interface on all my devices, and I don't know if I'd enjoy Olauncher on my tablet.

[–] N0MAD@sh.itjust.works 4 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I was in a similar situation a few weeks back and even though Nova was set to not auto update and blocked internet access, I want to try something new. Someone suggested Octopi and I'm glad I made the switch. Has all the features from Nova that I loved and used. A little finicky but overall I'm happy with it. It has 2 in app purchases that are more support the Dev than unlock special features.

I can barely tell the difference between Nova and Octopi so easy to transition to and set up. Good luck in the search.

[–] mirisgaiss@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

does octopi let you have icons with no titles? first I've heard of it, and it's one of the reasons I keep the old version of Nova that I have. for some reason very few launchers support this, but it's how I've use my home screen for 10+ years. the search method of opening things drives me batshit.

[–] N0MAD@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 hours ago

You can turn off titles on the home screen but I don't see anything in the settings for the app drawer. However, I did just try while writing this, to rename an app and leave a space for the name and it accepted that. While it would be a pain to do for every app, it is possible.

[–] CouncilOfFriends@slrpnk.net 10 points 14 hours ago

I switched to Lawnchair

[–] artyom@piefed.social 4 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Brother, you are in the club of cranky old wizards. We are all in the same boat. We reject these things not because we are old but because we are cursed with knowledge.

That aside, Lawnchair seems to be the go-to replacement, although not nearly as good.

[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 0 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm nobody's brother. I would begrudgingly agree to be called sister, but most prefer to be called sibling, and to be addressed with capitalised They/Them pronouns.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 4 points 11 hours ago

Sorry I used the improper pronouns while assuaging your concerns and answering your query. I promise it won't happen again.

[–] THB@lemmy.ml 3 points 11 hours ago

I'm terms of pure customization, Octopi Launcher so far has let me recreate my old Nova setup 95% fully. I've tried all the other launchers in this thread and they were always missing some key customization feature. The menus and ways to get things done are slightly different from Nova, but I got there in the end. It's fairly new and the dev seems to be actively releasing fixes.

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 5 points 13 hours ago

Niagara, I can find any app in less than 1 second. But you need to remember the name or just use favorite.

[–] aln@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Lawnchair was too buggy for me. Smart Launcher lets you import a Nova backup so you get your Nova layout back immediately. Instant purchase.

The only thing it doesn't have is infinite scroll on the home screen. Which took like 45 seconds to adjust to.

So yeah, my vote is for Smart Launcher.

[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Do they have a free option?

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago

Free as in beer? Yes. Free as in open source? No. I used it for a long time and really liked it.

I also used the paid version at a certain point to support the devs. It unlocks a few cool features.

[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 4 points 14 hours ago

You bought a Fairphone because you care about the environment and don't like slavery.

I bought a Fairphone because I want to keep using it for the next decade.

We are exactly the same.

[–] Kirk@startrek.website 3 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm the same way and finally had to accept I'm going to need to change because Nova isn't coming back 😭 and to my knowledge nobody is recreating foss.

Kvaesitso is what I went with. It's a different style of launcher but very well put together. So far I've been quite happy.

[–] petrescatraian@libranet.de 1 points 13 hours ago

I went with Kvaesitso as well, but if you, @Grail, cannot get used to it do give Lawnchair a try. It currently seems like the most developed AOSP based FOSS launcher.

[–] deifyed@lemmy.wtf 2 points 12 hours ago

I went from a decade with nova to Dragon Launcher recently. It was weird at the start, but I'm starting to like it more and more

[–] Cassa@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 13 hours ago

Probably not your preferred style, but I use ΞΌLauncher https://github.com/jrpie/Launcher

[–] pryre@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago

Ive been using Lynx Launcher. I wanted something quick, simple, effective, and this was it.