The development team at Nova Launcher has been let go, which has made the app’s future quite uncertain.
As per media reports, Branch Metrics, the firm that acquired Nova Launcher, in 2022, has dissolved almost the whole team that worked on the launcher, which is said to be the most downloaded third-party launcher in the Android OS ecosystem, being installed widely on smart TVs, Android TV boxes, tablets and smartphones.
Post acquisition, Branch had absorbed the founder of Nova Launcher and other important team members and offered them complete autonomy. However, now most of the team has been suddenly rendered jobless.
It is pertinent to mention here that Branch laid off over 100 employees and not just the Nova team. However, the most affected team remains Nova, as per reports.
Nova’s popularity grew because users who did not possess a Pixel phone but craved a similar experience, could achieve the same by using Nova Launcher on any Android phone.
Nova was more popular because unlike other home screen launchers offering an entirely different take on the Android UI, Nova managed to retain the familiar layout and simply improved on it.Therefore, users did not have to learn something completely different. All they had to do was customise what they already knew and were familiar with. They could make it appear and behave exactly how they wanted.
