Dumped Nova as soon as the sellout was announced. Replaced it with Octopi, which I found to be better anyways.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otp.octopilauncher&hl=en_US&pli=1
Nova Launcher gets a new owner and... ads
Submitted 2 weeks ago by ardi60@reddthat.com to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.androidauthority.com/nova-launcher-acquisition-ads-update-3633871/
Comments
schwim@piefed.zip 2 weeks ago
Slashme@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yep. I recently bought a used Pixel 8 and wanted to install a new launcher - my googling turned up Nova launcher, but the app said it had ads, so I looked a bit further and installed Lawnchair instead. Does the job!
lechekaflan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I blocked the app from updating itself.
ctkatz@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
this last week i finally bit the bullet and switched my default launcher to smart launcher once they finally got infinite scrolling working.
i think 2 days later nova updated to this latest version. i’m not going to see ads since i paid for it more than a decade ago. but that fb tracking (that i was not made aware of) i really don’t like.
i hope nova gets open sourced soon.
Gaja0@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
That’s capitalism we all know consumers demand adds overloading everything. /s
eightys3v3n@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I stopped auto-updates when the last death happened. Now I’m exploring Lawnchair.
woelkchen@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Luckily I bought the prime version in 2018 or so for a few cents. Means I only have to configure Lawnchair when I get a new phone. Win for laziness.
Electricd@lemmybefree.net 2 weeks ago
Is it not possible to have a launcher that modifies the menu that appears when you slide down from the top of the screen (brightness and notifications menu…)?
I would really like a separate menu for quickly changing brightness and volume
Dancermouse@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I believe that is all part of the OS and not anything a launcher can do. Unless you disable it at a system level and then have a launcher that was setup to display a custom similar menu when you did the swipe gesture. But I still think it would only work on the home screen and not inside any apps.
Electricd@lemmybefree.net 2 weeks ago
I see, sad stuff
Hopefully Graphene gets custom UIs one day
Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world [bot] 2 weeks ago
Laughs in iOS
LordFireCrotch@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
You’re only laughing because you’d cry otherwise
kazerniel@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Thanks for this post, I quickly turned off auto-updates 👀
I only started using it half a year ago, but it was still the best from all the launchers I’ve tried 😔
HP_Rubshaft@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
Does anyone know of a FOSS launcher that actually does the one thing from Nova I haven’t been able to see anyone replicate: empty pages
No I don’t want you to automatically delete my pages when I delete all the icons from a page— I have a KLWP I built with the page count in mind.
It seems like such an easy thing that I have such a hard time finding.
I just want an app drawer and two empty pages.
QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Wow, I’ve been using Nova Launcher. I paid for it and everything. Guess I’ll uninstall. The ads wouldn’t affect me, sure, but enshittification knows no bounds.
titanicx@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Damn.
SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Rinzler…what have you become?
rayf@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I use Total Launcher, even if it’s not Foss, since it’s the only launcher I found that give me the tools to do anything I want, even in it’s free tier. I never had issues with it. But I hope to find a foss alternative one day.
MoonRaven@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
Bought it so many years ago. Moved to action launcher and since that was abandoned, I’m now using lynx launcher which works perfectly for me.
Curious_Canid@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
If they stick with ads only for unpaid use, I’m okay with that. Software authors need to make a living.
Overall, I’m happy to see Nova Launcher getting support again. I’ve tried a half-dozen other launchers without finding one that really does everything I want.
SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I switched from nova to Niagara a few years back and after the break in period, I love it.
Baguette@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Also swapped to Niagara a few years back and paid for the pro license last year or so
Been pretty worth, though I kinda miss the customization options of using kwlp+nova
Mihies@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
AFAIK the app is the same in both free and paid case. Which doesn’t necessarily mean paid version gets the adds as well, but it’s more likely the case. 🤷♂️
Curious_Canid@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
You’re right, but a lot of apps work the same way, and only serve ads to unpaid users. I’m hoping for the best.
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Damn. Time to get rid of nova launch.
Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
So, i don’t need much from a launcher but gestures, custom icons and folders have been apart of my smartphone for so many year they’re a must.
DamienGramatacus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I switched to Action Launcher years ago and have been very happy with it.
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Does a launcher need network access at all?
ilillilillilillililli@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It doesn’t. I’ve also disabled network access to Nova years ago (GrapheneOS FTW). I’m gonna go ahead and disable updates for Nova and try to fully commit to switching to Lawnchair.
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
I can report now: it complains once every morning that it has no network access. But no further problems.