You're welcome! Yeah I'd be interested in which one you choose. I might end up checking it out too.
this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2025
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I moved over to octopi launcher. It's really good, and single dev like how nova started.
So here's the problem I'm having with Octopi, and I'm not even sure of the right vocabulary to describe it.
I'm using the Outline icon pack, not that I think that matters here. But I'm trying to make an icon for the calendar that updates the date each day. I can see the icons 1 through 31 in several different icon styles, but if I choose today's date, Octopi doesn't update tomorrow.
Another way of stating this is that in the icon drawer itself, several other launchers show my Google calendar with today's date but Octopi shows the standard 31st.
What is this feature even called?
And am I right to assume that it's a feature that depends partly on the launcher?
I do believe that is a launcher functionality. octopi launcher has a subreddit and you can suggest features and stuff there.
Thanks. I've been trying to stay off Reddit, but it's still so much more active than Lemmy.
Yeah, I only landed there because there was a Google result for this same post there, don't know if the dev has a sub in lemmy
Octopi is my current leader.
I'm not sure whether I will actually use this feature, but it's fascinating the way each icon can be resized to a different size.
Also I note that it lets you set the number of columns, but not the number of rows. By setting the number of columns you set the grid size and then the number of rows is forced. But not entirely forced because if you show icon labels you're arranging rectangles and if you don't show icon labels you're arranging squares. And also not entirely forced because just because you said that there were seven full size icons across the screen doesn't mean you can't fit in 14 half-sized icons or one double wide double tall icon and five regulars.
Yeah, it's a feature request I'm sure he'll get to eventually. You can also control the number of rows by changing the icon size, it leaves a bit of whitespace, but it's manageable.
The developer also posted here IIRC, so that's a W.
Fuck, first I'm hearing of the sale or anything. Like most things in my life, I picked it years ago and never bothered to switch because it works. Might have to give some of these alternatives a shot. I just want pretty phone
Lawnchair launcher
Are you in a cave? I heard an echo.
Belly laughs in Niagara.
Nova launcher has been dead since it was sold to an ad company three years ago.
It's been dead since they didn't release it under a FOSS license.
That's really the only way a piece of software is guaranteed to survive.
It's still not a guarantee. I quite liked neo/omega launcher but there are breaking bugs introduced in the last update over two years ago. Nobody seems interested in fixing them so I moved on.
(Of course anyone has the option of fixing them, and I understand that that's your point!)
Yes, I get your point and I paused for a second if I should really use the word guarantee, because sometimes development just stops on software, regardless of license.
The thing is, if development stops on proprietary software, the project is truly dead. With FOSS it can always be revived by someone with enough interest in the software because the codebase is freely available. So instead of being dead, it's merely "in hibernation".
A good example is the Amarok mp3 player that I used in KDE 15 years ago. It stopped being maintained around 2011 and fell in disuse until last year some people picked up the code, cleaned it up and ported it to Qt5, and now it's being actively maintained again.
I imagine it doesn't happen that often, but that's a really nice success story
[...] and Android is worse off for it
Hard disagree!
The only damage the whole Nova Launcher thing does is mostly sentimental. Nowadays, there are plenty of launchers to choose from, all with some great degrees of customizability. Here are my top picks:
- Kvaesitso - my current pick. It's not the most flexible on this list, but I generally find more and more ways I could integrate it in my personal life. And the font pick is just great.
- Lucid Launcher - another top pick of mine that is not relied on AOSP. Goes more like a vertical scroll than a horizontal one. Used it on my tablet for as long as it lived, almost.
- KISS Launcher - If you want to Keep It Simple, Stupid. It's all just a search bar. That's it. Search for everything you need and when you're done, you're done.
- Niagara Launcher - also minimalist, but more functional. Didn't really get the hang of it just yet, not sure if I will. Kvaesitso is quite cool.
- AIO Launcher - let's just call it the best strike between minimalist and functional, ok?
- Lens launcher - for when you want to be so minimalist you put all your apps on the home screen
- ap15 launcher - same as Lens but there are only labels instead of icons
- Total launcher - goes the opposite way. Probably the most customizable on this list. Really great once you get the hang of it.
- Square home - if you used a Windows phone, you know what this is about. If you did not, you will know (alternative implementation, Mur)
- Microsoft Launcher - as the name implies, it's Microsoft's current attempt at a phone launcher. Really useful, especially if you are invested in Microsoft's ecosystem.
- Plus there are plenty more others that I didn't get to test really much, such as Smart launcher, Action launcher, hyperion etc. However, the most hyped in this thread seems to be Lawnchair. Looks like it follows Nova the closest among the open source picks.
Really, there's no point in worrying about this. I'm also sad to see Nova go, especially since it was that popular. But there's that. The launcher landscape is the one I worry the less in Android.
I second Kvaesitso. Great list though.
Microsoft Launcher - as the name implies, it’s Microsoft’s current attempt at a phone launcher. Really useful, especially if you are invested in Microsoft’s ecosystem.
I'd rather communicate using smoke signals than willingly installing Microsoft software into a portable device
None of these are a good replacement for nova.
I've been using android since 2007. Nova allowed me to stick with the old school UI paradigm of dock and app drawer... nova was so good, that i set up my homescreen in 2013 and basically never touched the settings again until i migrated a new phone....
All these new launchers break my 20 yr old workflow... i dont like the "everything is a search bar" thing
Action Launcher is what you seek then. I liked it better than Nova back when Nova was everybody's darling, and finally stopped trying other launchers because they lacked something or other.
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It's not a real replacement but if you want to support open source stuff, fossify apps including the launcher. Users and support will get it improving faster. On F-Droid and google Play store
Sorry, if you sell your project to a data collection firm you have already lost the plot anyways. These companies care only about one thing, and it's not "making a quality app".
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