Action Launcher is getting Google Now integration and a bunch of Android O features

Action Launcher's had a lot of big changes recently, and they just keep coming.

Action Launcher went old school with their name, made their Pixel features free by default, a butter-smooth Clock widget, and a more standardized gesture system for App Shortcuts, Covers and Shutters. But as Chris Lacy said in a podcast with Android Central, there was more to come, and it's coming tonight.

Get ready for some Google Now action.

Action Launcher is debuting a Google Now plugin to bring the pane to the popular launcher with Action Launcher v26 tonight. The Action Launcher Google now plugin you will have to download outside the Google Play store, because as you might remember, Google is making launchers jump through a bunch of ridiculous hoops to get Google Now on a third-party launcher. Action now joins Nova Launcher in the circle of launchers that have overcome the hoops in order to offer one of Google's most iconic launcher features.

But that's not all we're getting in Action Launcher v26. Oh, no, that's just one of the new toys Chris Lacy is giving us to play with. We're also getting a bevy of Android O and notification tweaks, including full support for Notification Dots, Notification Previews, Unread counts and the granular control to decide which apps get which. Widgets have gotten some love here, too, with Action Launcher adopting an Android O style widget picker and the Google Pill widget finally getting that Pixel Launcher edge when you set it on the left side of your screen with Google Now enabled.

Here is the full changelog for Action Launcher's massive update for you to read while you wait for the update, and it is quite the Christmas in July:

• NEW: Google Now integration for all! Requires installation of the Action Launcher Google Plugin application.
• NEW: Full Notification Dots support!
• NEW: Long-pressing a shortcut will display a preview of app's notifications and allow notifications to be dismissed ala Android O. Available when using either Notification Dots or Unread Count.
• NEW: Unread Count support extended to all apps that have a current notification.
• NEW: Android O style App Shortcuts panel.
• NEW: Allow granular control as to which apps display Notification Dots/Unread Count.
• NEW: Android O style widget picker, which displays all relevant widgets for a given shortcut.
• NEW: Directly engage Action Launcher's Quickedit panel via a shortcut's long-press popup UI.
• NEW: Dedicated "Icons & App Shortcuts" settings page, which is home to all icon related settings.
• NEW: When Google Pill widget is on the left screen edge and Google Now integration is enabled, display a tinted edge background as per Pixel Launcher.
• NEW: Option to adjust the scale of icon indicators.
• NEW: Revamped interface for selecting the apps that are hidden from app drawers.

More information about the plugin and the download are available at the link below.

Action Launcher + Google Now