Nova Launcher: Home Screen – Customizable Home Replacement

Nova Launcher: Home Screen is a home screen replacement app by Instabridge Sweden AB that lets you customize the look, layout, and behavior of your Android device's home screen and app drawer. It provides a wide range of options for personalization, from icon themes and color schemes to grid positioning and backup tools, while aiming to keep the interface fast and responsive. The app has been available since 2012 and continues to receive updates, with the latest version being 8.9.4 (build 89400), released on October 7, 2026. This update introduces new adaptive icon shapes, including Flower, Pebble, Vessel, and several polygon shapes like Pentagon and Octagon, along with bug fixes and optimizations. The app is free to download and includes ads and in-app purchases for optional premium features. It has been installed over 100 million times and carries a moderate user rating of 3.46 based on more than 1.3 million ratings. The app requires Android 8.0 or higher and the installation file is about 35 MB in size. It requests permissions for calendar, contacts, location, phone, photos/media/files, storage, and Wi-Fi connection information, which are used for various customization and search features. The app also optionally uses AccessibilityService for gestures, Device Administrator for screen-off functions, and a Notification Listener for badges and media controls; these are only enabled when needed and no data is collected from the AccessibilityService. Overall, Nova Launcher aims to be a versatile tool for users who want to tailor their home screen experience without sacrificing performance or ease of use.

Key features

• Custom icon themes and reshaping to a uniform shape
• Material You color system with custom color options
• Light and dark themes that sync with system, sunrise/sunset, or stay manual
• Powerful search across apps, contacts, and services with micro results for calculations and conversions
• Customizable home screen, app drawer, and folders with icon sizes, label colors, and scroll options
• Subgrid positioning for precise icon and widget placement between grid cells
• Backup and restore for local or cloud storage to ease device transfers
• Optional gestures, app drawer groups, hide apps, and icon swipe actions via in-app purchase

How to install

1. Tap the download button on this page to get the APK file (about 35 MB).
2. When prompted, allow your browser or file manager to install apps by enabling the 'Install unknown apps' setting for that app.
3. Open the downloaded APK file from your notification bar or file manager.
4. Tap 'Install' when the system asks for confirmation.
5. After installation, tap 'Open' to launch Nova Launcher and set it as your default home screen if desired.

Latest changes · 89400 (8.9.4)

Nova Launcher 8.9.4 adds new Adaptive Icon Shapes, including the Flower, Pebble, and Vessel shapes from Android 11, along with Pentagon, Hexagon, Heptagon, and Octagon options. This update also includes bug fixes and performance optimizations for a smoother experience.

This app is ideal for Android users who want deep control over their home screen appearance and layout, power users who appreciate features like gestures and subgrid positioning, and those who frequently switch devices and need a reliable backup and restore solution.

After installing, go to Settings > Backup & restore to create a cloud backup before experimenting with new layouts, so you can easily revert if something goes wrong.

Nova Launcher remains a strong choice for Android personalization, offering a rich feature set that balances power with usability. While some advanced options are locked behind a paid upgrade and the free version includes ads, the core experience is solid and regularly updated. It is a worthwhile tool for anyone seeking to make their home screen truly their own.