Nova Launcher just reached another beta release, a surprise for an app that many figured was basically “dead” after being abandoned by its creator. The 8.1.6 beta seems to include a fix for a crash that affected app drawer searches; the problem made it so that app drawer searches couldn’t be used in KitKat, meaning one of Android’s most popular third-party launchers had a core function broken when compared to stock KitKat.
The update comes as there remains confusion over who is maintaining Nova following the exit of its founder, Kevin Barry. But for users, the bottom line today is simple: The app is still getting fixed, and one particularly annoying bug has been squashed.
Why the Update Matters for Nova Launcher Users
Nova Launcher has long been a staple for Android power users, with its deep customization and wealth of features providing an honestly ridiculous amount of value based on countless iterations’ worth of polish. The Play Store actually lists 50M+ installs for the free version, again a notion that organizations destroying even minor progressions can have broad implications.
Productivity suffers when the launcher can be crashed over nothing more than a routine drawer sweep. For those who use Nova as the main interface for both work and personal phones, reliability is a must. The 8.1.6 beta addresses that pain point head-on.
What the 8.1.6 Beta Repairs in Nova Launcher
User threads on Reddit show that the bug was brought about by version 8.1.5, which caused the app drawer search to crash immediately upon attempting a search query. A temporary fix — restricting the drawer layout to no more than a single row of apps — allowed some devices to operate, but it was an inelegant solution.
The 8.1.6 beta, released on the app’s test channel, fixes that crash. Also, I’m getting a lot of feedback that the search works now without any hacks or engine changes. Details about what this means aren’t public yet in the release notes. However, the behavior suggests a fix related to how Nova manages the search view or indexing pipeline as it populates the drawer.
Who Maintains Nova Launcher Now and What It Implies
The puzzle remains. Kevin Barry has said he would step back after Nova became a part of Branch in 2022. The conventional wisdom was that the launcher’s future was at best uncertain.
Except former Nova developer Rob Wainwright noted that much of what users are seeing could be work done by the original team years ago, now finally pushed live. That makes sense as an explanation: a set of small, targeted updates that resemble queued changes released via an available pipeline.
Another possibility is that Branch, which develops the app, essentially has its own house in order and happens to be plopping prebuilt fixes or giving a green light to limited maintenance for stability purposes. Either way, there is not a clear sign of full-blown long-term resurrection — just enough activity to suppress urgent bugs.
What It Means for Android Power Users Going Forward
That’s good news in the short term. A crucial crash remedy keeps Nova as a daily driver, and that’s no small thing for an app nestled at the core of how people interact with their phones. It also hints the release infrastructure still exists. The semantics haven’t disappeared; they’ve just slowed down or changed.
Long term, uncertainty persists. Without a clear roadmap, users need to plan defensively:
- Export Nova backups regularly.
- Keep a backup launcher ready.
- Watch for compatibility as additional beta Android versions roll out.
Options such as Lawnchair, Niagara Launcher, and Smart Launcher are all under active development and offer safety nets in case Nova’s updates really do come to an end.
It’s also worth rechecking tick boxes around analytics and privacy, an area that became a talking point following the acquisition. Power users tend to want control when it comes to telemetry — having some peace of mind that such toggles are configured as expected, regardless of who is at the codebase’s helm, is never a bad thing.
For the time being, here’s the takeaway: Nova Launcher isn’t quite as silent as it might appear. The 8.1.6 beta restores stability to a core function, giving the few and the proud who never left Nova — and still appreciate its performance, customization, and muscle memory — time to figure things out from here. The next question is whether that momentum carries over.
