I have left Branch and am no longer involved with Nova Launcher
teslacoilapps.com227 points by ktosobcy 5 days ago
227 points by ktosobcy 5 days ago
> "If Kevin were to ever leave, it's contracted that the code will be open sourced and put in the hands of the community."
Forget the public statements, those are worth their weight in gold; but what about the alleged contract here? Does it not actually exist, or is it not worth the legal battle?
I'm looking forward to the stream of 1 star reviews on Google's App Store explaining this app is no longer under curation from the original developer and that they violated their contractual arrangements for open-sourcing the app.
Semi-relevant, not too long ago I started tinkering around with launcher ideas and almost immediately ran into headwinds when it turned out that the only way to draw the wallpaper the user has set in Settings is to use a magic method that doesn’t let the launcher actually do anything with the image and forces you to let the system handle compositing.
This is limiting and completely rules out implementing effects like blurs or a Liquid Glass lookalike unless you want to make the user set the wallpaper in the launcher separately. Totally killed my motivation to build further.
It also prevents your launcher from uploading your private wallpapers to servers and reading the exifs from images to datamine location data.
This is an interesting point. Couldn't the OS give access to the pixel data without access to the EXIF data? i.e. doesn't need to give direct access to the image file, just convert it first to strip the metadata.
That still gives you the image data which might be private, but we should be able to lock that behind a permission dialog "Allow access to current desktop background image" or whatever. It's a weird and very specific permission but it might be worth having.
It could, but there's other benefits as well of decoupling wallpaper rendering from the launcher - it allows you to switch the launcher without having to beg the developer (OEM nowadays) to support your preferred (live) wallpaper. It gives you freedom to choose while preventing what the OP is ranting about - the launcher developer deciding for you what's best for you.
> the launcher developer deciding for you what's best for you.
I don’t understand how I would be deciding what’s best for users?
The only reason why third party launchers wouldn’t support live wallpapers is if Google didn’t give devs the tools to render them. All they’d need to do is include a WallpaperView the dev can add to their view hierarchy that supports live wallpapers. Boom, the dev can do fancy effects and the user loses nothing.
Why not also provide a way to deny all network access to the app? Then there’s nothing it can do with any data of gets.
This is how third party keyboards work on iOS. No network access by default, but the user can go into settings and grant network permission if they judge it fit to.
I think this model would make a lot of sense for Android launchers, too, given how they continually run and potentially have access to much more user data than is typical.
Honestly it should be how all apps work. I hate that I can’t deny Internet access to any app.
I'm so glad that the only entity with access to this data is Google and that open source launchers can't... render an image
Maybe I'm not understanding something here, but Kvaesitso has wallpaper blur and darkening effects.
Interesting, thanks for the link. Seems like they use that same “magic” wallpaper drawing I mentioned earlier and implement the blur by setting a blur property on the activity’s window, therefore letting the system compositor do the blurring. Had no idea that was possible.
Still has some limits, though, like inability to blur specific parts of the image (e.g. under a box) and apparently the Android skin that ships with some devices disables that window blurring feature, in which case it won’t work. Better than nothing but still restricts the scope of what’s possible quite a lot.
> the only way to draw the wallpaper the user has set in Settings is to use a magic method that doesn’t let the launcher actually do anything with the image and forces you to let the system handle compositing
My guess is, this might have to do with fixed layers in the Hardware Composer HAL, which offloads compositing that otherwise (I guess) Surface Flinger would need GPU/CPU for.
Android has gone through epochs of customization option the best of which for me was 'Theamer' phase, a long gone one-click to customize the whole UI app and lot of creative people making things. Much much better than todays root needing hacks I used to enjoy opening the phone more then. Enshitification.
[flagged]
As someone whose devices you don't use, I'm confused about why you think the rest of us should care about your cocky opinions.
It follows that customisation and individuality are incompatible with good taste. I love the idea that corporate design teams are the first and last word in style
That's a weird position to take. Are you also against people using Photoshop/Canva/MS-Paint/Figma to create graphics?
You come across super elitist.
It's an obvious troll post.
It’s not. I’ve seen too many screenshots of Android phones with awful typefaces. Windows 98 screenshots with pink themes. I’m glad all of that is over.
I truely dont care at all how YOU think MY phone should look like. It's mine for a reason I should be able to use it HOWEVER I want
You're free to think whatever you want about your own tastes, but do you actually think Google/Apple's tastes are that special?
There's so many talented devs/designers that have proven their ability to improve on the stock UI's on these mobile OS's. It'd be a damn shame to block out that ability.
Whatever happens on wallpaper side under the hood on old android versions is so messed up. At some point of using my Android 11 tablet and experiencing a lot of lag when any custom wallpaper was visible on the screen (but not when default one), after lots of digging I discovered that lag was completely gone if I set my wallpaper in portrait orientation. Had to install some separate wallpaper app from google for that but at least lag's gone. Just another little example of weirdness
A year ago there were some posts about Nova being on shaky ground because Barry was the only one left working on it. This seems to just be continuing the negative narrative. Unfortunate. Seems like he was really close to open sourcing it, which would probably be a boon. It's a longstanding and still pretty popular launcher in the Android world isn't it? I've used it for years on multiple phones.
I've been using it for couple years now, it gives me feeling of stability even when moving across devices.
Now what to do? Android apps is rarely a thing that you download once and use for multiple years.
> Android apps is rarely a thing that you download once and use for multiple years.
I've been using FOSS apps, Amaze File Manager, Muzei (wallpaper manager), and Lawnchair (Launcher), for well over 8 years across multiple Android devices and versions, with nary an issue.
The situation with Nova (and SimpleMobileTools before it) is that developers are selling their popular projects. This isn't an "Android" thing, but more of an indictment of sustainability of indie FOSS projects. This isn't limited to consumer apps, though (see: Redis).
> The situation with Nova (and SimpleMobileTools before it) is that developers are selling their popular projects. This isn't an "Android" thing, but more of an indictment of sustainability of indie FOSS projects.
Exactly this. I bought Nova 10 years ago (December 2015), and I even paid only 10 cent (Google had some absurd sales on apps back then). Till today, I'm using it, receiving updates, and never paid another cent to the dev AFAIK. I don't know how they even financed their business, but even as popular as it was (is?), I doubt they are swimming in money.
I can understand why so many apps end up in subscription-traps, or are selling the whole business to someone else. But at the same time it's insane that as a customer it's really hard to find a useful app, and have a way to continue support on a low level. For example, I probably wouldn't have a problem with paying Nova some dollar every time I switched to a new device, to get a new compatible version. But I can't even do that. There is barely any mobile app iterating this way through the android-versions. So they all are either dying at some point, or end in a trap.
I have an old launcher, and even an old version of it. Version 2 was great, version 3 came with small cosmetic changes I didn't like, plus fucking ads. So I restored v2 from backups and stopped allowing auto-updates, to stay on v2.
One day the makers disappeared from the Play Store, voila, no more auto-enshittification, I win!
except it's a matter of months, a couple years tops, until your old app stops working o doesn't work with your new phone
Nova Launcher is 13 years old.
Having to change your launcher every 10 years isn't too bad.
I've switched to Smart Launcher about a year ago, and I'm really happy with it.
Nova already seemed to be stuck 10 years in the past, also it had accumulated too many features that made it cumbersome to configure.
I've given up on custom launchers altogether because their proper support for gesture navigation breaks regularly. Nova support blamed this on missing apis, caused by manufacturer error (or intention?). Either way, custom launchers don't seem compatible with mainstream usage anymore.
I assume you use Xiaomi or other chinese device. Those are the only ones that break navigation on purpose.
They tie essentials with the spyware so it would be nearly impossible to get rid of it without gimping the device.
I already forgot most of the details, but afaik even xiaomi apk installer has meta and bytedance trackers, in addition to like 20 more. Their mostly useless "Security" app has like 60 trackers (Includes even yandex ;) ). And you can't even really get rid of it.
Not that I'm a fan of spyware, but isn't this effectively barking at the wind. We're either getting Google's approved spyware, Samsung's approved spyware, or <insert shady> spyware. Sure, we all implement blocks, and things like blocking VPNs and the like.... but the reality is also IP (not DNS) based for tier two of getting around blocks, in applications that they solve the dns blocking issue.
Combine this with the common method of literally fetching static files with updated IPs from AWS IPs, github gists, and other "safe" static hosts... Ultimately, your device connects to the internet, and you become the product.
Oh interesting. I was considering getting a Chinese phone soon (a vivo x200 Ultra), this really changes things. Is there somewhere I can read more about this?
Several years ago I got my Mum an Infinix phone. The default UI was painful, just really full on adware. I would change the launcher, but they kept changing it back every couple of days. One day I tried changing the default messaging app, a message popped up saying "Play Fair!" and changed the app back to the spyware-ridden default. I couldn't believe the gall! Stopped using cheap Chinese brands after that, though I doubt Oneplus would be as bad.
They just replace sending everything to Google and/or Samsung with sending everything to Google and/or Xiaomi. Not much of a difference.
That's in addition to send everything to Google. You're still using Play services and Google apps.
There are some known bugs even on Pixels (I, for instance, can't always open my Recents menu when using Nova)
An example: https://issuetracker.google.com/u/0/issues/296108449?pli=1
The original Pixel system also has this problem. ~20% of times opening the Recent Apps drawer shows empty, grayed-out rectangles in the place where the recent apps should appear, and they are not even touchable elements.
https://piunikaweb.com/2024/01/15/recent-apps-button-not-wor...
How such a glaring bug could slip through the cracks of "the iPhone of Androids"? No idea, but it suggest very poor QA.
Worse still, that bug on an essential feature of the phone (which older Android phones even had a physical button to invoke it) has been around for more than a year. Literally nobody at Google has yet sat down and checked the Jira ticket to fix an "if ()" somewhere in the code causing the bug.
It's a bad idea to give in to the incompetence or malice of manufacturers, and let them win.
And it is very much that. I just discovered Nova and installed it on my new Lenovo tablet, where they have a setting for changing the launcher. No matter, their old launcher just keeps on starting, fighting Nova and making it glitch out.
I signed the linked petition at https://www.change.org/p/make-nova-launcher-open-source-let-...
One of my favourite features of Nova is swiping up or down on an icon for alternative actions. Anyone know of another launcher that can do that?
Hyperion is the only other one that I know of that creates covers for folders. You can swipe up on the icon to reveal a folder with related apps (but still show the primary app icon instead of 4 little ones).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=projekt.launch...
Has a bug with 120hz VRR or OneUI and also kinda abandoned.
Maybe action launcher. I seem to remember they had the OG functionality for years and I was finally able to migrate to Nova after they implemented it. I not sure though but I remember my setup was swipe up to open folder and swipe down to open widget.
I keep thinking my requirements are simple, but then it turns out they are apparently not. Tried switching back when Nova got bought, tried it again just now. Requirements that aren’t universal:
1. Homescreen with (fully custom) widgets, app icons, folders.
2. App drawer with search and auto pop-up keyboard that shows new apps by default.
* Microsoft Launcher got close, but it’s essentially an ad for microsoft products. In addition, I can’t choose to have folder labels without app labels.
* Smart Launcher 6 as the only one ticked all boxes, but the UX of home screen adjustments is abysmal. I long press whatsapp, there I click the settings button, there I click the X, then I have to confirm I really want to remove the icon. Long press + 3 clicks for removing an icon from the homescreen. What? I guess it’s not a super frequent action, but when I’m expected to pay $22 for the premium version, I really would prefer not having such an annoyance.
I tried some others, both free and freemium, including Lawnchair, but for now I’m back at Nova.
Who has standing to sue them for breach of contract?
pretty sure only a party to this purported contract. Someone else who they signed it with, presumably Kevin Barry?
I don't fully understand the situation. This statement [1] seems to indicate that Nova doesn't have to open-source it:
> Cliff: Branch owns Nova completely and Kevin has no access to it in any way at all. So no, he can't re-brand, keep coding and go forward. That's a breach of contract on his behalf.
...but this post says they are obligated to:
> Cliff: Much more to it than word of mouth. There's a contract as well.
Branch being obliged to open source it, doesn’t mean Kevin could simply took matters into his own hands
Two breaches of contract don‘t make a right
I'm not saying he should. Just trying to understand the issue.
Apparently there are two conflicting contracts (or two sections within one contract), and Branch is counting on the fact that Branch can go after Kevin but Kevin can't/won't. Or maybe the contract is clear, but Kevin just doesn't want to burn the ships.
They aren’t conflicting.
Branch is obliged to open source the Launcher.
That’s it.
An employee of a company just isn’t allowed to do it on his own.
If a company refuses to pay a bill that it should pay, then one of its accountants cannot simply transfer money.
Guess it's time to find a new launcher then. Suggestions?
I've been using lawnchair, and I like it's simplicity. They're latest "real" released version is from 2018, but not long ago they jumped from Version 14-beta3 to 15-beta1. I can't say I understand their development philosophy, but the product is pretty decent with an occasional issue. I have had some intermittent problems with widgets on this latest beta.
I've been using Lawnchair 14 for a while now and it works well. I'm looking forward to some of the features in v15, but no complaints.
Everyone has different needs, so all these recommendations without any explanation are frustrating.
My reason to use Nova before was:
- REMOVE search bar from home screen, unlike the Pixel launcher
- Have the usual, customizable row of quick launchers across the bottom
- Have basic app drawer and background apps gestures pull up from bottom
- Add a couple basic widgets like Calendar and clock to home screen, or other app shortcuts
- Minimal permissions, no ads, no network-based features
Based on this, I just started trying out Fossify Launcher Beta, installed from F-Droid. It seems OK so far. My only complaint is that there seem to be multiple gestures that open up a Launcher menu, and I wish this was limited to just long press on the home screen background.
Fossify Launcher looks to fit my needs, maybe. I can't see how to make the app list a button instead of having to drag up (I am anti-gesture. The only gesture I want to make in connection with a computer is obscene)
Also having some issues getting widgets on there... But Android is Android, so I'm sure it's not Fossify Launcher's fault, I had the widget I wanted and then I removed it cause I wanted a different size, and it won't add again. A restart will probably help. (Spoiler: it didn't)
Would also be nice if I could make widgets 2.5 columns wide. I like a 5 wide screen, but I want two widgets to share the screen width.
Yeah I resisted gestures but gave up when I found that enabling legacy nav buttons seemed to make things unreliable for me. Maybe when I first switched to Nova?
I also noticed that the widget editing is a bit clumsy with resizing on Fossify Launcher. It seems like there is some hidden state where long-press doesn't quite work the same way after some interaction. But I was able make progress after going through several other interactions like opening the menu via back gesture from home screen, locking and unlocking the screen, etc.
I don't know if it is Android or the launcher itself that makes the widget sizing so annoying. It seems to have a different bounding box for the resizing tool than what is actually rendered, so I end up with way more dead space around the widgets than I wanted.
Lawnchair sounds like a good fit for you then.
Where do you install it from, and is it privacy focused?
I saw a prerelease one on Play Store that said it would do extra feedback telemetry. I bailed at that point and didn't look further.
I like Niagra.
I'm bummed Sesame got bought by these guys and stopped updating for no ultimate reason.
Kvaesitso! I've been using it for about two years. It takes a little bit getting used to a search based launcher but once you've gotten used to it, everything is so quick. Speed up animation speeds to 0.5x in dev settings and man it's like doing kung fu with your finger tips.
I was initially dismissing Kvaesitso because it was so different but I've since come to appreciate and really enjoy it.
I'd recommend you to at least try it for a while before you slam down the opinionated hammer.
Long time KISS user. Highly recommend, as it makes my app use far more intentional.
Same, I think I've been using it for like a decade now.
I like that I have to consciously type in who j app I want to open. Prevents me from spacing out and opening reddit out of pure habit.
A million times this. Getting rid of the grid of icons changes everything! I can also find specific apps really fast.
I've been using the ultra-minimal pie menu launcher for ~1 year: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.markusfisch.android.pielaunc...
Makes opening go-to apps faster, but opening anything else slower. Worth it imo
I've been using the super minimalistic 0launcher (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.olauncher&...) for about a year now.
Besides being a good, very simple, minimalistic launcher, it's also Open Source (https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher), ad-free, and collects and shares no data.
> collects and shares no data
If the developer is building the code that's on GitHub, it is curious why AppGoblin flags the Play Store version for using Firebase: https://appgoblin.info/apps/app.olauncher/data-flows
[Olauncher dev here] There's no Firebase integration in the Olauncher and never was. It literally collects no data. The releases on the Play Store, F-Droid and Github releases [APK] are all built from the same codebase, which is available on Github. Not sure why it's flagged.
I use the better fork: Olauncher CF. Simple and Clutter-Free Android launcher, https://github.com/OlauncherCF/OlauncherCF
That looks neat. I don't remember ever seeing any ads in the original though, so I'm a bit confused about what they removed. Regardless, having the choice is always good.
It has some extra features added, plus unnecessary ones removed, but I won’t recall the difference, since I use the fork for years (four or five, if I’m correct). I’m just pointing out this fork is worth anyone’s attention, it’s easy to compare by installing the two.
Once you get used to it, you'll never get back to classic launchers.
Probably good for people who use like 3-5 apps at most on their phone, but I prefer grids of icons with folders
FWIW, I also use KISS and I have a lot installed, maybe close to 100.
I really like the intentionality of what I launch, and I find the "search for app" faster than folders.
Any recommendations for a launcher close to the original android one, but that supports grouping? I find it so much more useful to group my apps by category. I use search most of the time, but sometimes I can't remember a name but I do remember the category and it comes useful. Also means recently apps are unclassified and can easily be separated.
I use NeoLauncher for this same reason: sometimes I don't remember the name of whatever app I use once in a while (eg WLANScanner or Ning).
It's available on IzzyOnDroid, though I installed the GitHub release. It does have some bugs, every now and then it freezes and you need to go to the Apps submenu in Configuration to restart it.
I looked at several yesterday. I landed on Action Launcher because it has a scrollable dock and infinite scrolling homepages. It lacks tabs in the app drawer, but it does let you create folders there.
Hyperion seemed to have all necessary features, but the UI was unintuitive and the documentation non-existent.
I also liked Lynx, but that would be a major change for me.
I use Square Home. Because I still miss my Lumia 920, and this makes me feel a little better about it.
Same here, Square Home. I really liked the tiled interface for mobile (was crap for Windows). Tiles just feel natural for touch input.
I use Square Home which looks like the old Microsoft tiles in windows 8 phone. I always found the the MS tiles worked really well on a phone and actually had it installed on a old android phone.
I like Lynx launcher, and would switch to Kvaesito if Lynx wasn't available.
I had not heard of Lynx, but I am a big fan of Kvaesitso. Looks like I'll need to give Lynx a try!
Nova is really good and I used it for a long time. I think it was the first launcher I purchased.
It sucks and there is nothing anyone can do really, but maybe you'd consider making a brand new launcher?
Ive been rocking Trebuchet for several years, no complaints
Edit: Oh I just got the name, it's a "launcher"
The first app I ever paid for, even when I didn't have any money to pay for apps. Miss you, Nova Launcher.
Started using this on a Samsung S2, now still using it on a Samsung S24. I'll miss this launcher.
Any other launcher that lets you use a PNG / image file as your icon? Apart from action launcher. Getting png icons from icons8 god send in having reasonably consistent home screen.
Been using this since my Galaxy S3 days and is currently installed on my Nothing 2A. The switch will be painful.
So the author gave away the rights for the thing he invented, for some reason, and the new owner killed it?
I've been buying/using/loving Nova for years. Gonna be tough to ditch it.