How to Add Apps to Your Home Screen in Nova Launcher

Nova Launcher is one of the best, if not the best third-party launcher for Android phones. It’s much better than the default launcher because it allows you to customize your home screen, the app drawer, the themes on your phone, and much more.

If you want to learn how to add apps to the home screen using the Nova Launcher, you’re in the right place. Keep reading to find out, and also learn more about customizing your phone’s UI using the Nova Launcher.

There are tons of customization options, and the Nova Launcher is regularly updated with new stuff.

Nova Launcher Looks Familiar

The developers of Nova Launcher are very smart. They kept the default launcher’s look nearly the same as Google’s launcher. This is because they don’t want to make any drastic changes, unless you yourself want those changes that is.

You’ll notice that as soon as you install the launcher for the first time, that it’s also very simple. Just visit the Google Play Store and find the Nova Launcher, click on the link and download this great launcher for your Android phone, free of charge.

Nova Launcher is supported on all Android phones with the Android 4.0 system or above. The app is entirely free unless you decide to get the premium version, which is only $5. For basic purposes, you can keep using the free version. The premium version only brings more customization options.

Note: The tutorial we are about to show you will work just fine on the free version of the Nova Launcher.

Nova Launcher Home Screen Customization

If you look at the home screen, you’ll think that you’re still on your old launcher. Adding apps to the home screen on the Nova Launcher works the same way as on the default launcher:

1. Make sure to install and update the Nova Launcher to the latest version (link provided above).
2. Open the home screen on your phone (press home button).
3. Drag the apps you want on the home screen just like you did before (you can either drag them from an existing folder or use the App Drawer (your phone’s App menu).

That’s it! You see, it’s ridiculously easy, but there’s a lot more to Nova Launcher than adding apps to the home screen. You can actually improve the home screen by using this neat launcher.

Besides apps, you can add a lot of useful widgets like the clock, weather, etc. Tap the Widgets option and drag any widget to the home screen. When you press and hold the widget, you get to resize it, remove it, and check its info.

Tweaking Your Home Screen

The best part about the Nova Launcher is the seamless tweaking of the home screen. The default number of apps you can have on the home screen is 5×5. Nova lets you increase or reduce that number as well.

The option that allows you to change the home screen layout is called Desktop. Here’s how to change the number of apps on your home screen using the Nova Launcher:

1. Swipe up from your home screen to access the Nova settings. All the customization options are here.
2. Select Desktop, and tap on Desktop Grid. Set the number of apps on the horizontal and the vertical side of your home screen. The numbers don’t have to match (e.g. you can go for 7×8, 8×7, etc.) The maximum number is 12×12.
3. When you’re satisfied, save the changes by tapping on Done.

After doing that you can go back to your home screen and add more apps to it. Also, you can reposition the apps and place them wherever you want on the home screen.

You can change the size of the icons too:

1. Swipe up from the home screen.
2. Select Desktop again, but this time tap on Icon Layout.
   
3. Move the slider below Icon Size to adjust the size to your liking.
4. That’s it, the changes will be saved automatically.

There are many interesting options in the Desktop settings. You can add width and height padding, a persistent search bar, or even change the search bar style. You can also change the scroll effect style which will add cool effects when you’re swiping on your phone.

Near the bottom, you can find a feature relevant to this article. Under New Apps, move the slider to enable the option to Add Icon to Home Screen. This will add the icon for every new app that you install on the home screen.

Experiment with Nova Launcher

There you have it, folks! This article only covered the basics of what you can do with your home screen using the Nova Launcher. It’s up to you to experiment and customize your home screen to your own liking. You can also do a lot of app drawer customization, changing the background, color, etc.

This launcher is really fun, but it’s also fast and functional, so definitely check it out if you haven’t already. You probably won’t ever return to your old launcher after you’ve tried this one out.

Feel free to join the discussion and tell us about your experiences in the comments section below.