Nova Launcher adds Android O’s notification dots in latest beta update

Back at I/O 2017, Google released an updated version of the Android O Developer Preview. With it came some small graphical changes including the addition of notification dots that appear on top of an app. Now, Nova Launcher has brought these dots to its 3rd-party launcher, making this feature available to all versions of Android…

For a long time now, we have seen Apple and even some 3rd-party Android OEMs place its own sort of notification badge on top of apps that have unread messages or other unviewed notifications. Android O adding this functionality was a long time coming and is a welcome addition.

Once updated to the latest beta build of Nova Launcher, users should see a new “Notification badges” section. Here, they can choose which style of badge they would like (none, dynamic badges, dots, or numeric badges). Afterward, they can choose which corner of the app icon they want the dot placed and determine what size it should be.

The official 5.21-beta1 changelog can be read below:

• Dots! Android O style notification badges
• Round searchbar style
• Performance improvements
• Minor fixes for Android O

If you would like to try out Nova Launcher for yourself, you can download it from the Play Store for free. Just know that for now, the notification dots are only available for those with the premium version of the launcher which does cost $5. Additionally, you will need to sign up for Nova Launcher’s beta track which you can do so here.

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