Kevin Barry, the founder and original developer of Nova Launcher is stepping away from the forever-loved Android launcher app. Why they are stepping away is an important question and goes back to Nova Launcher’s acquisition by Branch back in 2022.
Originally, not much was supposed to change for Nova Launcher. We assumed Branch’s services would get baked into the launcher, which was fine, but according to Barry, the company isn’t honoring the words of then-CEO and founder Alex Austin. Long story short, Barry has been readying the Open Source release of Nova Launcher, work that included cleaning up the codebase, reviewing licenses, removing or replacing proprietary code, and coordinating with Branch’s legal team to ensure a proper release.
Apparently, instead of being cool, the company has instead asked Barry to cease efforts to make Nova Launcher open source and to stop working on Nova Launcher entirely. According to Barry, he is the only person to work on Nova Launcher for the past year.
It’s important to note that Branch’s then-CEO wrote on reddit that if Barry were to ever leave, “it’s contracted that the code will be open sourced and put in the hands of the community.” It seems Branch isn’t honoring that based on the tone of Barry’s open letter to the community, which we recommend you read (linked below).
If you wanted a sign to stop using Nova Launcher, this is it. In our book, it’s RIP to Nova Launcher. An absolute OG app that will go down in Android history. Thank you, Kevin, for all of the work and energy you put into Nova.
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