Homescreen Tutorial: Oviate (aka Aviate-style for Nova Launcher)

If you’re getting a bit tired of your Android homescreen, then this Aviate-inspired setup might be something you need. The Aviate Launcher had a great idea, and many people still use it to this day, but its stubbornness to customizing and its acquisition by Yahoo put some people off. The one thing that it did have, though, was a fresh setup and its ability to adapt to certain conditions. Oviate, designed by Andre Zimmerman (aka Kohlewrrk), gives you a 3-page homescreen that not only looks fresh and clean, but also has some tricks up its sleeve.

Dark or light, take your pick.

For starters, you can change the color of the backgrounds and blocks. But its main selling feature, the ability to switch to a music-like widget when your headset is plugged in, makes it definitely a unique setup. Watch the video or read the guide below if you’d like to set this is up on your Android phone.

Apps and Resources Needed

 

Apps

Nova Launcher Kustom Live Wallpaper Kustom Live Wallpaper Pro Key Tasker

Icon Packs

Delta Icon Pack FlatOut Icon Pack

Kustom and Tasker Resources

Oviate Preset Oviate Weather Komponent Tasker Headset Preset

Nova Launcher Setup

Open Nova Launcher Settings, then set up the following:

1. Desktop
   1. Desktop Grid – 9×5 is recommended, with Subgrid Positioning enabled
   2. Icon layout – set Icon size 115% and disable the labels on the homescreen.
2. Dock – disable it
3. Look and Feel – Icon theme can be set to the Delta Icon pack for ease of placing it onto your homescreen
4. Add 3 blank homescreens, so delete any app icons and widgets (Note that you won’t have an app drawer, so either add one via a Nova Launcher Action when adding a new Widget, or set the app drawer to open when you swipe up in the Gestures section of the Nova Launcher settings).

Kustom Live Wallpaper Setup

1. Copy the Oviate Preset onto your phone.
2. Open Kustom (KLWP) either via Live Wallpapers or the app, then select the gear icon at the top to open its editing settings.
3. Once open, select the menu on the top left, then Load Preset.
4. Tap the Open icon at the top, then select the Oviate.klwp preset file.
5. Select the Exported tab, where the Oviate preset should be available to select.
6. Once selected, you can edit it’s Global Variable settings, such as colors and background image.
7. If you are happy with the result, select the Save icon and follow any on-screen prompts to set this preset as your new wallpaper.

If the weather icons aren’t showing properly, try reloading the preset a few times. The Weather Komponent is also available if the first method doesn’t work.

Also, leave a comment below if you’d like to see a video on how to make colors have an automatic day/night cycle change.

Icon Setup

Simply open your app drawer and drag the needed icons onto the rightmost screen. The middle homescreen’s icons can be edited to either the FlatOut icon pack or any free alternative you require.

Tasker Setup

1. Copy the Tasker Preset onto your phone.
2. Open Tasker, then tap on the Profiles tab, then select Import.
3. Tap the phone icon, then find where you saved the .xml preset file on your phone and select it.
4. The Headset Profile should now appear.
5. You can test it out by starting your music app, plugging in your headset, then unplugging it. The leftmost homescreen should change accordingly.

 

And that’s it. If you have any issues I can address them in the comments section below. If you’re new to Kustom and Android homescreen personalisation, check out this homescreen and this intro video for more details.