When KitKat launched, Google made the odd decision to make one of the headline features, a brand-new launcher, exclusive to the Nexus 5. The new launcher was actually a merging of the standard home screen with the Google Search app. This allowed for things like always-on "OK Google" hotword detection (while on the home screen) and easy access to Google Now. While Google didn't make the app available to non-Nexus 5 customers, enterprising Android users found that they could grab a few files off the Nexus 5, and the new launcher would work on just about anything. There were a few bugs, but the new home screen has been quietly receiving updates to deal with running on other devices.

Today, Google finally released the new launcher on to the Play Store for other devices. Owners of older Nexus devices and any Google Play Edition device can update to the new launcher via this link. The launcher, which was formerly known as "Google Home" or the "Google Experience Launcher," has been renamed to "Google Now Launcher," a reference to Google's predictive search card interface. The new launcher is an official way to easily get a close-to-stock experience on any device, and it pushes users toward performing more Google searches. It also takes advantage of new Android 4.4 features like transparent status and system bars. Saying "OK Google" while on the home screen will trigger the voice recognition to start listening for commands.

For now, this is limited to stock Android devices, but will the company soon open this up to other devices? Will Google eventually package its home screen into the licensing requirements for the Play Store? It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the Android ecosystem, but for now, Google has taken another baby step toward general availability of its home screen. If you're interested in trying out the new launcher, just grab it from the Play Store and enjoy your searches.