There have been several leaks in recent past about Google launching Pixel branded devices while ditching its Nexus series. Now a ROM developer, @LlabTooFeR, has released a launcher APK called Pixel Launcher which sort of confirms the arrival of Google Pixel devices.
However, there is not much difference between the official Nexus Launcher and the leaked Pixel Launcher. In the new launcher, Google Search tab has become a bit longer and moved down a bit. The navigation bar in the App drawer is now transparent. The overall size of the apps in the App drawer has been shrunk down to make more space between rows. Another change which has been there in iOS for long now is regarding the calendar app. The calendar app icon now shows the actual date which is a nice change.
The app drawer icon has now been replaced by a small arrow just above the dock giving an extra option for dock icons. While you can just swipe up to open up the app drawer, swipe left for Google Now is still there.
You can download the zip here. You might have to mount the apk to system and use it as system app. However, we must warn you that it is not an official APK so proceed at your own risk.
So far, the launcher seems to best work on Nexus devices or AOSP based ROMs. There are some compatible issues installing this launcher on other Android skins. Nevertheless, this launcher only adds to the confirmation that Google’s new flagship devices will be named as Pixel and Pixel XL. Also there have been some rumours saying that both the devices might as well come with Android 7.1 which will bring few more changes. Pixel and Pixel XL are likely to launch on October 4 with Pre-orders starting in some countries from that day itself.