Google is ending support for the Google Now launcher

Google is ending support for the Google Now launcher. The launcher, which made waves on the Nexus 5 (from 2013), has now been completely replaced by the Pixel Launcher (since 2016). Google has therefore decided to move the software to the Google Graveyard.

Google Now launcher

The most recent phone released with Google Now on it is Google Nexus 5X and 6P, which was back in September 2015. They were even equipped with ‘Now on Tap’, a service that allowed you to translate something at the touch of a button, for example, or quickly receive information about the state of your shares. It may sound a bit silly now, because there are now 50 other, quick ways to do this, but at the time it was quite revolutionary.

Now that is coming to an end. 9to5Google stumbled upon a message in the beta of the app. It is a warning to users that the Now launcher will be discontinued at the end of April. This way you can spend a few weeks looking for a new solution, although that is not necessarily necessary. If you’re still using the Google Now launcher, your phone won’t stop working when Google officially pulls the plug. Your phone will then go back to the launcher it came with from the factory.

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Now cards

One of the great features of Google Now was the Now cards. These were a kind of information blocks that gave you fixed answers to questions that you will probably have later, as we now know from the Google Assistant. When Google Now saw the light of day in 2012, it was quite an innovative launcher that always gave that little bit extra. Many of the capabilities invented for Google Now eventually found their way into other Google products, such as the cards within the Google Chrome browser.

We secretly said goodbye to the launcher in 2018, but now it’s really over and out. Are you sad about it, did you still use it? Leave it in the comments.