There was some stiff competition for alternative launchers in the early days of Android, but now thanks to tireless dedication and improvement from the developer, the excellent Nova Launcher stands at the top of the pile. Nova has been one of our favorite apps since it debuted way back in the Ice Cream Sandwich days, and while it's quite serviceable as a free app, the $4.99 upgrade to the Prime version is worth every penny. Luckily, you won't actually have to pay every penny today: it's on sale for 99 cents.

Nova Launcher Prime is an "unlock" app, so users will need to keep the main (free) launcher app installed to use the extra features. What features, you ask? Well, there are homescreen gestures for advanced functions like opening the Settings menu or the notification shade, hiding apps from the app drawer, custom actions for swiping on icons instead of tapping them, and unread counts for compatible app shortcuts. It also includes a few extra animation options buried deep in the Settings menu.

Obviously the 99 cent price is for the US version of the Play Store. According to the developer, the price reduction is part of a larger "Play Summer Deals" promotion, and the price should be similarly reduced (80% off) in several other countries. Click the widget below to see the current price for your region. (Note that the price drop may not show in the widget for a few hours.)

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher[/EMBED_APP]

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher.prime[/EMBED_APP]