After more than a decade as one of Android’s most iconic customization tools, Nova Launcher is officially shutting down—and longtime fans are mourning the loss.
The news came directly from founder and developer Kevin Barry, who confirmed over the weekend that he has left Branch, the analytics company that acquired Nova in 2022. With Barry’s departure, development has effectively ended. In a farewell note titled “So Long”, he admitted he had been the only person maintaining Nova for the past year, but efforts to release the project as open source were halted by Branch’s leadership. Despite earlier promises that the code would be handed to the community if he ever stepped away, those plans have been shelved.
Launched in 2012, Nova Launcher quickly became the go-to home screen replacement for Android users who wanted more control over their devices. Its deep customization tools let users change everything from grid layouts and gestures to icon packs and app drawer settings. For many, it became essential—not just an app, but a defining part of the Android experience.
The end of Nova is hitting its community hard. Reddit threads and social media feeds are filled with tributes calling it a “legendary” app. Some say it was one of the key reasons they stuck with Android in the first place. One user wrote, “Nova is legendary. It has contributed to the success of Android as a platform and has been the go-to on my devices for years.” Another added, “From my Nexus 5 to my S23 Ultra, I’ve been a Nova user. Thank you for all your work.”
Nova’s decline traces back to its 2022 acquisition. While Branch initially promised resources and experimental features powered by analytics, a wave of layoffs in 2024 left Barry as the sole developer. The app’s last major update shipped in May 2024, and with no successor or open-source release, the writing was on the wall.
For now, Nova Launcher is still available on the Play Store and will continue to work—at least until future Android updates break compatibility. But without active development, its days are numbered. Fans are already weighing alternatives such as Niagara Launcher, Lawnchair, Hyperion, or Microsoft Launcher, though none yet carry Nova’s legacy of balance between power, polish, and performance.
This is the end of an era. Nova wasn’t just a launcher—it was proof that Android’s openness could empower users to truly shape their devices, and it set the gold standard for what third-party launchers could be.
