Android Nougat is right around the corner and while the LG V20 has been confirmed as the first out-of-the-box device to feature the new OS, that doesn’t mean the new Nexus device isn’t getting some special attention. According to Android Police, Google is completely redesigning its launcher for its own devices.
The first most noticeable change is the lack of an app drawer icon; it’s being done away with and users will instead be able to swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap the little arrow that appears just above the static set of apps at the bottom. To close it you can just swipe down or tap the back button. The app drawer itself isn’t too different from the one we know but it does include a new search bar at the top.
The actual main home screen itself has one very noticeable change: there isn’t a search bar at the top. In its place is a calendar widget that unfortunately can’t be moved or removed. Instead, there is a Google “G” icon near the top left that can be tapped to display a search bar. That same icon can be dragged to display the Google Now pane. Furthermore, many other features of the launcher Android Police running were not functioning due to not running on an Android Nougat device. As a result, this isn’t a final look of the new launcher; integration with Google’s Assistant is lacking which will surely be rectified in the final version of the launcher.
Source: Android Police
