Nova Launcher 7 with ‘Launcher3’ rewrite arrives on Play Store in public beta

Damien Wilde | Jul 22 2021 - 3:19 am PT

The highly anticipated from-the-ground rewrite of Nova Launcher 7 is now finally available in public beta over on the Google Play Store.

After being announced way back in early 2021, the Nova Launcher 7 beta has technically been available since being confirmed. However, this Discord-distributed beta wasn’t as easily accessible, and as a result, felt more like a very early Alpha build. The latest beta is now beginning to rollout in phases via the Google Play Store, making the entry barrier even lower as a result.

Update: Clarity over Launcher3 merge.

For those unaware, this latest update rewrites Nova on top of the current master branch “Launcher3,” the stock Android launcher that has been in use since Android Nougat. Nova has been built on top of “Launcher3” since 2015 but under-the-hood changes will mean that this latest update should mean that Nova should be able to more quickly adopt new features.

You can check out the updated Play Store listings changelog below:

WHAT’S NEW

Nova7 first Play Store Beta

Visual refresh – Rebased on the latest AOSP launcher code and updated Nova specific code to match the latest animation and visual styles
Weather icon in search bar (Nova Settings > Search > Desktop Search Bar > Weather)
Swipe down action on icons (Requires Prime)
Enhanced Nova Search
Reshape themed icons and toggle reshaping per icon
Option for Android for Work apps in their own tab
Custom Widget Corner Radius (Nova Settings > Desktop > Widget corner radius)

We spent some time with one of the early Nova Launcher 7 beta builds and found it to feel very familiar and the new options complemented the home screen replacement nicely. True gesture navigation support might prove to be one of the most notable new additions longtime fans will be eager to try out. You can check out our hands-on video below: