Nova Launcher 5.0. has arrived with the latest Pixel Launcher features

The popular Nova Launcher has just hit its fifth birthday and is celebrating in high style – by releasing version 5.0 of one of the best launchers in the Android ecosystem. And as if that weren’t enough of a reason for excitement, this new version brings together the features from the latest version of Android and Pixel Launcher, which has just come out on the new Google Pixel devices.

To say that Nova Launcher is one of the best customizable interfaces for Android wouldn’t be any kind of overstatement. Or if it’s not the best, it’s at least one of the most popular thanks to its immense customization capacity, as well as the frequency of its updates. This Android launcher tends to stay right one the cutting edge – and this latest version 5.0 is the perfect cherry on top of its five years of great performance.

The new features in this version are manifold so let’s spell them out for you:

• New mode for opening and closing your app box by sliding up or down on the screen.
• New Google Pixel search bar.
• New search bar for frequent, recent, or new/updated apps.
• New timed screen lock.
• Shortcuts to functions in each app using context menus.
• New double-tap and swipe gestures available.
• Quick launch for fast adjustment of common settings on Nova Launcher.

It must be said that not all these novelties are available in the free version of Nova Launcher – the swipe gestures, for instance – but that doesn’t keep you from enjoying the rest of the new features. I particularly like the shortcuts to each app – you can now type quick tweets on Twitter or smoothly access your saved destinations in Google Maps, to give a couple examples.

This new version of Nova Launcher should be especially exciting to anyone who still can’t enjoy the latest version of Android. There couldn’t have been a better fifth birthday for this useful tool. 

Nova Launcher for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download