When Google announced the Nexus 5 back in October, they also announced a new launcher for the pure Android platform called Google Now Launcher (Also known as Google Experience Launcher) which was exclusively developed for Nexus 5.
Speaking of this new launcher, it might not be as full-featured as Samsung TouchWiz launcher, but it is always a good thing to be able to run Google's latest services and products on your Android device.
If you are kind of a Geek and like rooting and installing custom ROMs, you may have already experienced Google Now Launcher on your device, but from today Google officially expands the availability of Google Now Launcher and if you happen to have a Nexus device or a Google Play Editions (GPE) device running Android Kitkat, you can easily install the new launcher on your device from Google Play Store.
At the moment, the list of supported devices are: Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, HTC One GPE, LG G Pad 8.3 GPE, Moto G GPE, Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE, and Sony Z Ultra GPE. (Note that since Moto X is neither a Nexus device nor a GPE one, you can not officially install the launcher on your customized Moto X)
If you are wondering about Google Now Launcher features, here is a quick list:
- You just need to swipe to open Google Now, while you are on Home Screen
- "OK Google" is all you need to say, to get your phone be ready to operate your commands
- Translucent navigation and status bars
- and many more
