Nova has long been the go-to app launcher for Android users. When it first got launched, Nova was famous for the sheer amount of customization options it offered. Even in the past few minor/major revisions, new features were consistently added to the launcher—and it offers a lot for free.

But if you’re looking for power-user features like swipe gestures, custom drawer groups, hidden apps, and more, you’ll want to upgrade to Nova Launcher Prime. Let’s talk about the features that make Nova Prime the best launcher for Android.

1. Add Deep Linking Search With Sesame Shortcuts

Android’s on-device search is far from optimal. In a day-to-day workflow, you have to tap or switch between multiple screens to get the relevant information. Sesame Shortcuts is a third-party app that solves this problem, and it supports native Nova Launcher integration.

Once it’s linked, you’ll be able to access different kinds of in-app shortcuts. You can create a shortcut to enable one-tap access to make calls, send SMS messages or emails. And it makes it easy to search files, locations, important settings, apps from the Play Store, WhatsApp conversations, and more from a single place.

The built-in API gives you access to search YouTube subscriptions, subreddits, Slack channels, Spotify Playlists, Telegram chats, and Twitch.

  1. Navigate to Setup, check the Turn on data integration box, and enable the necessary permissions.
  2. After setting up the app, head to Nova Settings > Integrations and turn on the search integration.

Download: Nova Launcher Prime ($4.99)

Download: Sesame Search and Shortcuts (Free trial, $2.99)

2. Integrate the Google Discover Page

Google Discover (previously Google Now) is a quick way to access news or stories Google thinks will appeal to you. You can customize the content according to your interests, and let Google curate the feed. To know more about the basics, here’s our guide on using the Google feed on Android.

If you’re using a third-party app launcher, it’s not easy to get access to the Google Discover page. Nova Launcher has a workaround to integrate the feed into the left-most page of the launcher. You’ll need to sideload the official Nova Google Companion app first onto your device, then go to Nova Settings > Integrations and check Google Discover.

To ensure the Google Discover feature works properly, head to Nova Settings and uncheck Home Screen > Infinite scroll.

3. Customize Swipe Gestures

Gestures serve as a great tool to get your work done quickly and efficiently. In the case of Nova Launcher, gestures give you quick access to the screens, apps, or custom shortcuts that requires multiple taps.

To see all the options, go to Nova Settings and select Gestures and Inputs. By default, swiping down with one finger brings up Search, and swiping up reveals the App Drawer.

To customize them, tap any gesture to open a screen with three options—Nova, Apps, and Shortcuts. For example, you can choose to expand notifications on swiping down, launch the WhatsApp camera or recent apps on a double-tap, and start driving mode on a two-finger swipe up.

Other gestures include pinch in or out, two-finger rotation (clockwise or anti-clockwise), and more.

4. Create a New Tab or Folder in the App Drawer

After installing your apps, the app drawer can get disorganized. If you want to keep your home screen clean or avoid adding more screens, Nova Prime lets you create sub-categories in the app drawer to organize your apps.

  1. Go to Nova Settings > App drawer and enable Tab bar with its placement either on top or bottom.
  2. Then, scroll down to the Apps section and tap on Drawer groups.
  3. Tap the Plus (+) button to create a new tab.
  4. Type in a title and choose a tab color, or let Nova decide based on text color, folder background color, and wallpaper.
  5. Tap on the More button next to the tab name, and choose Select Apps to add your apps.
  6. Also, uncheck Keep apps in main app tab to avoid duplicating the same apps in the drawer.

In the same way, you can create a folder in the app drawer. It’s important to decide beforehand how you want to categorize the apps. See our guide on unique ways to organize your app drawer clean and sorted.

5. Hidden Folder Swipe Gestures

Nova Prime lets you hide folders behind app icons. You can swipe up on an app to reveal a folder hidden behind it. Once enabled, the first app in the folder becomes the app in the front. In this way, you can access the pool of related apps quickly and keep the home screen clean.

  1. To get started, create a folder and add all the app icons.
  2. Press and hold on the folder and choose Edit.
  3. From the pop-up menu that appears, toggle the Swipe to open folder option.
  4. Under the Swipe up section, choose First item in folder, and tap Done.

6. Create Quick Shortcuts for App Actions

Nova Launcher lets you set up a swipe action for any app icon on the home screen. You can launch a related app by swiping up, or enable an app-related shortcut. To do this, press and hold on an app icon, and tap on the Edit button.

Under the Swipe action section, tap on the arrow to open a screen with three options—Nova, Apps, and Shortcuts. For instance, swiping up on the Phone app can launch the Messages app, and swiping down could launch a two-factor authentication app.

Whatever options you choose, there are numerous swipe up and down combinations, as long as they’re related to each other. In this way, you can quickly open other apps and declutter your home screen.

7. Use Dynamic Notification Badges

Notification badges were already built into the Nova, but it required the separate TeslaUnread app, which unfortunately was buggy and the experience was inconsistent. Dynamic badges, in contrast, use the notification content to create a custom badge.

For example, WhatsApp will show a preview image of the sender, as long that notification remains in the shade. Dots, introduced in Android Oreo, was a great improvement from the TeslaUnread, but it was just a reminder showing that you have a notification for that particular app.

Numeric dots (built on top of the dynamic badge) show you a number instead of a dot with a personalized experience. You can tweak the position, size, and color (to match the app icon). Go to Nova Settings > Notification badges and select Numeric Dots to set it up.

8. Adaptive App Icons

Android has been a wild west when it comes to app icons. In comparison to iOS, the icons lacked consistency, shape, and style. With Android Oreo, Google introduced adaptive launcher icons to cater to the different shape varieties that OEM manufacturers like to include in their OS.

Head to Nova Settings, tap Look and Feel, and then Icon style. Here, you can choose between round icons, rounded squares, squircles, flowers, and more. Or you can start with a base shape and tweak each corner individually until you create an entirely new shape.

Also, enable the Reshape legacy icons option to make sure those icons look the same to a certain extent. If this interests you, read our guide on changing the app icon shapes for Android 12.

9. Hide Apps From the Launcher

If you have specific apps installed on your phone that you don’t want to show up in the drawer, this feature lets you clean up the app drawer and hide default OEM apps (the ones from Samsung and Xiaomi) that you never use. To do this:

  1. Open Nova Settings and tap App Drawer.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the list and tap Hide apps.
  3. Select the apps you wish to hide from the app drawer.

To view your hidden apps, tap on the app drawer tab at the top and check Show Hidden Apps.

Best Lightweight Launcher for Android

Launchers are the go-to apps to customize the look and add functionality to your phone. Although many launchers are available on the Play Store, what makes Nova Launcher Prime powerful are gestures, dynamic notification badges, a custom app drawer, per-icon swipe features, the ability to hide apps, and many more features.

For these particular reasons, Nova Launcher has been my default launcher for many years. If you’re looking for an alternative, read our guide on the best lightweight launchers to boost the performance and appearance of your Android device.