Ever since its Play Store arrival in February, the Google Now Launcher has only been officially available to Nexus and Google Play edition hardware running Android 4.4 or higher. However, an app update that was released today suggests that that restriction may finally be eased up soon.
As noted by Android Central, the Google Now Launcher received an update today that includes no immediately noticeable new features, but does appear to have expanded the app’s compatibility. Users have found that Google Play now lists the Google Now Launcher as being compatible with the HTC One (M8), One (E8), One mini 2, HTC Desire 816, Huawei Ascend P7, LG G3 and Verizon’s Galaxy S5.
It’s not yet clear if expanded compatibility is a mistake on Google’s part or an official change. Google hasn’t made a statement on the matter quite yet, and not everyone is able to access the app on the devices listed above. It is worth pointing out that ZTE recently announced that the Google Now Launcher will come preloaded on several of its devices in the near future.
On my end, Google says that the Google Now Launcher is compatible with the Nexus 5 but not with the HTC One (M7) or Moto X. We’ll have to wait for Google’s comment on this matter to find out what’s really going on, but here’s to hoping that this change is for real.
Is the Google Now Launcher showing up as being compatible with any of your non-Nexus, non-GPe devices?
UPDATE: Google just announced that the Google Now Launcher is now compatible with all Android devices running Android 4.1 or higher. You can download it from Google Play right here.
Via Android Central, @Android, Google Play: Google Now Launcher
