Nova Launcher, our favorite homescreen app, has been updated to version 5.0 beta 8, and the latest beta version adds some really useful features to the app. First up, is support for Android 7.1 launcher shortcuts. These shortcuts are available in a few apps (such as Google’s Gmail, Drive to name a few), and are accessed by long pressing the app’s icon.
This will let you perform an in-app action directly without opening the app. Teslacoil has backported some of these shortcuts from Android 7.1 Nougat’s API to work with Android 5.1 Lollipop, and 6.0 Marshmallow devices. We tested it on our Redmi Note 3 running on Cyanogenmod 13 and they work just fine.
Here are a couple of screenshots of the Android 7.1 Launcher Shortcuts in Nova Launcher Beta.
The second feature is an optional search bar style, which displays the weather in the Nova Launcher widget. You must allow Nova Launcher access to the GPS (location) to display the weather. There is no option to choose the weather provider. But you can toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius units from the same options window.
Download Nova Launcher 5.0 beta 8 from the Google Play Store
[appbox googleplay com.teslacoilsw.launcher]
(You need to join the beta test to access beta version updates, or download the APK directly from the official website).
