Razer Phone Comes With Nova Launcher Preinstalled

There is an overabundance of home screen and app launchers on Android, though the craze seems to have become, well, less crazy. There are dozens of smaller launchers catering to niche audiences and tastes. There are also a handful of OEM-made launchers designed to set them apart from other brands or, sometimes, mimic the look of another. Razer, however, seems to have exercised a bit more common sense and practicality and has used one of the most popular third-party launchers in the market today: Nova Launcher.

Few Android app launchers have withstood the test of time and of a fickle smartphone market. Nova Launcher is one of those. It is deceptively simple in appearance, sticking close to the aesthetics of Google's own Nexus or Pixel launchers. However, it offers all the bells and whistles that, to date, Google refuses to give users. Nova's simplicity and abundance of options makes it an ideal launcher for an OEM like Razer to use and tweak for its own needs.

While that may be a glowing recommendation of Nova Launcher, it raises the question of its future. Unlike what it did with OUYA, Razer didn't acquire Nova Launcher, at least not yet. While the mainstream Nova Launcher development continues, there are already some places where Razer's version differs from the "stock" one available all users.

For one, it doesn't need workaround and a separate Companion installation to make Google Now work. That's the benefit of being installed as a system app and part of the firmware. Razer also uses a custom overlay to integrate Nova Launcher with the look and feel of the entire phone.

Developer Kevin Barry, however, promises that the divergence between the two versions will be minimal. Already, some of the features from Razer's version implemented in the beta version for the next Razer release. Razer seems to be doing good by the larger Android community, and hopefully it will stay that way.

SOURCE: Kevin Barry