In 2013, Google unveiled the Nexus 5 with a new launcher known as the Google Now Launcher. Previously called Google Experience Launcher, it was available for download on Android 4.1 or newer devices from the Play Store.
Compared to other launchers at the time, Google Now Launcher offered access to the cards layout we are all used to and a stock Android experience. Fast forward to 2017, the tech giant announced that Google Now Launcher would lose access to Google Now since it was already available to OEM partners.
While it did receive a bunch of updates via the Google app, the company has shifted its focus to Google Assistant. According to a recent report by 9to5Google, the latest beta version of the Google Now Launcher is now showing a message saying that Google will officially shut it down sometime by the end of April. When that happens, the device launcher will change to the default launcher.
If you own an Android device with Google Now Launcher and want to keep things that way for some reason, just don’t update the Google App, since it will also update the launcher. In case you are wondering what launcher to install on your Android device after Google Now Launcher stops working, here are some of the best launchers available on the Google Play Store.