Google Now Launcher is the official launcher powering Nexus devices which are manufactured under Google's watchful eye. This launcher has been made public to the whole Android community through the medium of Google's Play Store. Google has also developed a new and fresh design language that it calls "Material Design". All Google apps are the forefront of that design revolution. Google put down the gauntlet by launching the Google Now Launcher for all devices as it helps make the devices look a bit like Nexus devices.
What Google Now Launcher brings to the table is a no fuss-no muss launcher that is as simple as just enabling and the launcher does the rest. It also gets the much improved Google Now interface with the Google Now assistant also built into it smoothly. You can activate "Ok Google" hotword from any screen or if your phone is running Marshmallow, then you can enable Google Now On Tap.
(From the left: Google Now On Tap in various stages.)
Google Now as a service was built as a competitor to Siri and was made available through Android Jellybean 4.1(9 July 2012). Though the original Google Now was a work in progress, with successful iterations of its Android it is constantly refining Google Now to the point of simple, functional and useful design. And as the adage goes- "Simplicity is the greatest complexity" and that's exactly what Google aims to do with this. This service was also soon made available on Apple devices.
Google Now recognizes actions and commands from the user to perform basic functions like answering a question, performing system tasks like setting an alarm or reminder. It displays cards based on your browsing history and adapts according to your present location giving you relevant location-centric information.
Google Now on Tap is a new feature introduced in Android 6.0 Marshmallow which allows the user to perform searches within the content of the information. When a user activates Tap by holding the home button or using the voice command feature the entire text is presented on the screen and is also parsed to search for keywords and other information. Users can also use voice commands to ask questions related to the topic of these cards.
While Google Now Launcher isn't as customizable as Apex or Nova but it is an app that just works without much effort on your part.
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