Just a few days ago, the Nexus Launcher has been revealed; and in less than 24 hours, it went from a rumor to an official feature excusively for the upcoming Nexus phones. Here's how users can also get the upcoming Nexus feel as well.

Antonio Luciano leaked the copy of the home screen app for the upcoming Nexus phones, and unfortunately, it was deleted. The good thing is, some users were quick enough to get a copy for themselves and for everyone else to take use too.

First, users might want to check the initial looks of Nexus Launcher as reported by Android Police here. In a number of animated GIF screenshots, it shows the the launcher removes the App Drawer on its virtual home buttons. Instead, users use the swipe-up gesture.

It also has a number of other features like Google Now and other improvements on the navigation.

There are two methods of getting the launcher on your Android phone. It could be either through a non-root method and the rooted method. Let's first discuss the rooted method as the non-root method presents some bugs like not being able to change the wallpaper and the absence of Google Now features.

Rooted Devices

Here's the requirement for a rooted method

• Rooted phone

• Custom Recovery Installed (can be downloaded here)

First step is to download the flasher zip file. Once done with this, users can go ahead and boot in custom recovery.

Once is custom recover, simply tap "Install" and navigate to the directory where the nexuslauncher.zip is downloaded to. This will prompt the user to do additional steps to continue with the installation of the launcher.

Once done, simply tap "Reboot System."

Now after the device has rebooted, the user will be prompted to set an new home screen app. From here, the user should simply select "Nexus Launcher" and tap "Always" to make sure that this would be the default action for every home button presses or gestures.

Once all these steps are done, users will see the difference right away. The app drawer button should now be gone and the Google Now page should be just on the top right corner of the screen waiting to be swiped to the right.

Non-Rooted Solution

For those who do not have rooted devices and wish not to root their devices, installing the launcher is still possible. However, some bugs may be present and Google Now will not work as intended.

Users can download the apk here.

The setting "Install from Unknown Sources" should be enabled before installing the apk file. Once done, users simply need to press the Home button to be prompted for the new home screen selection.

Stay tuned for more tips and tricks for your Android devices.