Action Launcher drops the "3" from its name as part of its big update

Users of the popular Action Launcher 3 app can now download a major update. Not only does it have a bunch of new features, it also includes a new logo for the app and a new name. As shown above, the app is dropping the “3” part of its name and it will simply be called Action Launcher from now on.

The new version also has plenty of other additions, including one that developer Chris Lacy discovered while looking at the recent beta of Android O. You may remember that the beta version has a redesigned icon for its clock, but Lacy says he found it also supports an animated second hand in its code. That animation has now been added to the clock icon in the new Action Launcher update, and users can also check out that animation as a separate widget.

There are a ton of other new additions, improvements and bug fixes in the newly renamed Action Launcher update. Here’s the full change log:

• NEW: Action Launcher 3 has been renamed to Action Launcher, and has a shiny new icon to prove it!
• NEW: Use an animating, Android O-style clock icon for the Google Clock app (requires Lollipop or later). This animating clock is also available as a standalone widget.
• NEW: By default, all new installs of Action Launcher will use Pixel Launcher style All Apps, folders and everything in between.
• NEW: Many Pixel Launcher features that previously required Plus are now free for all users. Furthermore, the app is now far less aggressive in prompting users to upgrade to Plus.
• NEW: Full integration of Pixel Launcher’s UI styling for displaying App Shortcuts (previously known as Quickcuts). App Shortcuts display when long pressing an icon from either the desktop or All Apps list.
• NEW: App Shortcuts can be used in combination with Shutters and Covers.
• NEW: App Shortcuts can be dragged and placed as shortcuts on a home screen.
• NEW: Revamped appearance of the icon indicators for Covers, Shutters and App Shortcuts..
• NEW: Smartsize icon resizing is no longer a beta feature, and is enabled by default for all Plus users.
• NEW: Add animated caret indicator when opening/close Pixel style All Apps.
• NEW: Custom system fonts are correctly applied to labels on the desktop.
• NEW: The horizontal screen margin can be adjusted (via Desktop settings, phones only).
• IMPROVEMENT: Lots of polish to ensure the app’s look and feel mimics that of Pixel Launcher. Notable areas of focus include the padding of All Apps drawer and folder appearance.
• IMPROVEMENT: Optimizations to memory, battery usage and scrolling performance.
• IMPROVEMENT: Order the date and month displays on the date widget is correctly localized.
• IMPROVEMENT: The screen edge shadow no longer displays at the bottom of the screen when using a tinted dock.
• IMPROVEMENT: On first boot, the home screen animates smoothly on screen rather than having shortcuts snap on.
• IMPROVEMENT: Update translations.
• BUG FIX: Remove stutter first time All Apps drawer is opened.
• BUG FIX: Open folders display a shadow.
• BUG FIX: Fix aliasing on the icons of the first 3-4 shortcuts in a folder.
• BUG FIX: Improved support for tall devices like the S8 and G6.
• BUG FIX: Notification panel shortcut works on Galaxy S8.
• BUG FIX: Fix issue where removing the last shortcut from a Home screen page would sometimes also fail to also remove the now empty Home screen.
• BUG FIX: Fix issue where items could appear on the Quickbar multiple times.
• BUG FIX: Improve detection of App Shortcuts on pre-Android 7.1 devices.
• FIX: Misc. stability fixes.

Finally, if you have paid for both the older Action Launcher 2 and upgraded to the paid version of the older Action Launcher 3, Lacy says he will refund your Action Launcher 2 money if you contact him via email and provide him with the Gmail account that was used to buy both versions.