Well, that didn’t take long
Earlier this week, one of the oldest and best Android launchers — Nova Launcher — was acquired by analytics company Branch. Nova creator Kevin Barry’s announcement tried pacifying users and assuring them the original team remains in charge of development efforts. While the community is still wondering what to make of the deal, the latest beta update for Nova Launcher is already here, packing a few Branch-related features.
When Barry announced that Nova and Sesame Search had been taken over by Branch, he mentioned Nova’s upcoming version 8.0.2 beta would be the first to include features powered by its new parent company’s tech. Specifically, Nova search would be the first to be improved with on-device Branch-powered processing. It delivers “microresults” so you can message a person in an app of your choice just by searching for their name.
Nova’s 8.0.2 beta seems to have renamed the feature to “Branch search for shortcuts and contacts,” replete with a dedicated section in the settings menu. The app changelog says Branch search uses an offline library identified as ‘io.branch.search.’ It clarifies that the library does not access the internet and that Branch’s deep link library, identifiable as ‘io.branch.sdk.android,’ is separate.
In the initial announcement, Barry promised most of the Branch features would be opt-in, and users can switch them on if they wish to. So far, he’s hept his word: the option for Branch search is switched off by default when you install the latest beta.
Branch search results do seem more comprehensive than what Sesame Search delivered when it was integrated with Nova. As you can see in the screenshots below, Branch combines all the contact options, such as phone, WhatsApp, and SMS for every contact while the Sesame-enabled Nova search displays separate results for WhatsApp. Interestingly, Branch search doesn’t seem to have access to some apps — options to message people on Slack are shown separately.
Besides the search feature, the newest beta update fixes smaller issues with widget resizing, and text in the Edit dialog box and app drawer. Some Redditors theorize that the widget-resizing bug was introduced intentionally to compel users to update. We don’t have any evidence of that, but Nova has integrated Branch’s components into the app with surprising agility. Meanwhile, some power users and members of the Android enthusiast community seem ready to jump ship in favor of other, comparable launchers that don’t have a (potentially) data-hungry analytics firm at the helm.
If you want to take the new Branch search feature for a spin, you can download the Nova 8.0.2 beta from APKMirror or Nova’s website.
