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It’s been over two years since the last major refresh for Nova Launcher was released. But that is all changing today, as the Nova Launcher 7 beta is being made available through the Play Store. Until now, the Nova 7 beta (or alpha) was only available through the Nova Launcher Discord. Starting today, you’ll be able to sign up for the beta and can begin testing all of the new features.
Arguably the biggest change to come to Nova Launcher 7 is that the code is now based on AOSP’s Launcher3 application. The old version was based on Launcher2 which arrived with the release of Android 7.1 Nougat. It was for this reason that there were some issues with bugs that have plagued the popular launcher until now.
Nova Launcher 7 Beta Changelog
- Nova7 first Play Store Beta (Staged roll out)
- Visual refresh – Rebased on the latest AOSP launcher code and updated Nova specific code to match the latest animation and visual styles
- Weather icon in search bar (Nova Settings > Search > Desktop Search Bar > Weather)
- Swipe down action on icons (Requires Prime)
- Enhanced Nova Search
- Reshape themed icons and toggle reshaping per icon
- Option for Android for Work apps in their own tab
- Custom Widget Corner Radius (Nova Settings > Desktop > Widget corner radius)
As is the case with any piece of beta software, just because it’s available doesn’t necessarily mean that you should use it just yet. Obviously, the goal of opening the program to the Play Store is to get it in the hands of more users so that other bugs can be discovered and fixed. And in my time with Nova 7, I have not run into any major issues that pushed me back to using a different launcher. But, your mileage may vary.
With so many different great launchers available on the Play Store, it’s comforting to see a familiar face return in a big way. Let us know what you think about the new Nova Launcher 7 beta and if you plan on sticking with it.
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