Google Now Launcher Comes To Play Store, With Always-On ‘Ok Google’ And Swipe For Now
Google reconfigured the Android home screen launcher somewhat with the Nexus 5, but that redesign didn’t make its way out to other Nexus or Google Play Edition hardware when they received the Android 4.4 KitKat update. Today, Google has released the new “Google Now Launcher” as a standalone app in the Play Store (via Android Police) to bring that modified home screen goodness to a wider audience.
Note that I didn’t say “to everyone”; Google has made this available only to other Nexus devices and Google Play Edition handset owners for now, limiting access to people with Android hardware that’s essentially running the stock version of its mobile OS. It’s perhaps a little sad for users outside the “stock” experience pool, but the good news is that there’s not too much changed.
Nexus and Play Edition device owners running KitKat can download this now and replace their default launcher with the app. Hopefully, Google sees fit to expand this to other Android handsets in the future, too, if only because the “Ok Google” always on voice commands are genuinely pretty useful.