How To See All The Apps You've Ever Downloaded

These are the Best Android Apps: Tasker, Spark, Feedly, Weather Underground, and more!

And then y'all merely got a new Android phone. You unbox it, take the plastic film off, and turn information technology on for the very get-go fourth dimension. And so you lot add your Google account and end setting it up. Now it's time to download some apps! But if you're new to the Android ecosystem, y'all might not be quite settled on which apps you're going to download. You might be overwhelmed by the vast amount of choices on Google Play, or you might just exist undecided between several choices. Don't worry though, we're hither to assistance.

Today, nosotros're going to highlight some must-have apps every Android user should accept in 2021. Some are newer apps while others are older and popular. We've classified this listing with at to the lowest degree three picks for each category.

Navigate this guide:

Best Essential Android Apps
Best Web Browsers for Android
Best Android Apps for Video
All-time apps for Music & Sound
Best Android Apps for Advice
Best Android Social Apps
Best Android Apps for Productivity
Best Android Dating Apps
All-time Android Apps for Reading
Best News Apps for Android
Best Sports Apps for Android

Essential Apps

We'll start with some apps that are essential for improving your Android experience, like VPN apps or password managers. These apps don't exactly fit into any of the categories nosotros'll mention later on, but, at least in my opinion, they are very handy to have and are sure to make your Android experience meliorate. I always install the get-go three apps on any Android device I try out, as a thing of fact.

From allowing you to manage your apps better to automating your entire Android experience, these are definitely worth a await, no thing if you're a normal user or an enthusiast.

Solid Explorer

Solid Explorer isthedefinitive file explorer app. Information technology's i of the best browser apps out there — if non the best — and it'due south because it allows yous to do so much. It features congenital-in encryption to encrypt your important files, it features Google Drive and Dropbox integration, with support for connecting to an external server of your ain, and easy file management with support for exploring other partitions of your device through root admission.

There's actually a lot to love virtually it. You'll need to pay a one-time license in order to use it, only other than that, it's ane of the very few paid Android apps I recall is actually honestly worth it.

Bitwarden

If you're annihilation similar me, you're probably a mess with your passwords. They're all over the place, you lot probably have several variants of 1 password and get confused while logging into stuff, and ofttimes mistake them. Not to mention, if you're the kind of guy to use the same countersign on several websites, you might be in for a nasty surprise if someone manages to guess it.

Later LastPass tightened their free tier, a lot of users started looking to Bitwarden as a decent, no-frills password manager alternative. While the app has a Premium tier, all of the core features of the app remain fully free, including a secure password generator, syncing beyond all devices, and more. You merely really demand to pay for the app if you're looking for features such as the built-in two-cistron authenticator and file sharing, but otherwise, you will be served more than okay with the free tier of Bitwarden. The best office of all? Information technology's open-source. Who doesn't love some proficient old open-source software?

Tasker

Tasker is 1 of the most circuitous apps out of this whole listing, and information technology has a scrap of a steep learning bend to it, specially for beginners. But in one case you go the grasp of information technology, information technology's one of the most useful apps out there.

It can automate virtually every aspect of your smartphone usage and have it work the way you desire it to. This will reduce a lot of manual input and repetitive behavior by setting automated deportment to the parameters and conditions you lot want. It'due south too a Swiss tool of sorts and serves as a workaround to adding amazing functionality to your smartphone. If yous can think of it, Tasker can probably pull it off.

Backdrops

The Backdrops app is ane of the best tools for customizing your smartphone and making information technology truly yours. It's been my go-to choice for well-nigh of my smartphone wallpapers for several years, and information technology's not really that hard to see why. You get a wide range of wallpapers to fit any kind of person, including a section with curated wallpapers also as other customs-contributed ones.

Aside from some "premium" collections, the app is fully complimentary to utilise. If you desire something unlike than your new device's default wallpapers, Backdrops is an astonishing place to showtime your search.

Weather condition Underground

Atmospheric condition Underground is one of the best Weather apps on Android. It's well-organized and comes with a make clean interface. It has everything you would want in a weather app. You lot can meet hyper-local weather condition forecasts, get sophisticated conditions visualizations, and severe weather alerts.

Web Browsers

A great web browser is a must-have app for whatever Android telephone. After all, near of us spend quite a flake of time in a spider web browser. In that location are dozens of web browsers in the Google Play store, simply not all are made equal. So here are our height picks for the best web browsers for Android in 2021.

Chrome

Google'due south Chrome is an excellent web browser for most people. It's fast and includes virtually features you look from a web browser. Moreover, it comes pre-installed on most Android devices these days. So you don't have to look for it in the Google Play store. In terms of features, you get sync back up, a countersign manager, a lite mode to save data, support for secure DNS, and more.

Firefox

Firefox is one of the few browsers that still uses its own browser engine — Gecko. So if you're looking for a existent Chrome alternative, Firefox is your best bet. It's snappy and packs all the browser basics. I of its highlights is addition support. While the browser doesn't support all add-ons available on the desktop version, you become a limited but decent selection of recommended add-ons.

Brave

Brave is a Chromium-based open-source web browser. It focuses on privacy and comes with built-in features to block ads and trackers. Y'all besides get sync support, background video playback, and the usual basics. In improver, the browser allows users to run optional ads and get rewarded in Bones Attention Tokens (BATs), which is Brave's own cryptocurrency.

Best Android Apps for Video

For video, we'll mention some of our favorite apps for streaming movies, Television set series, and content from your favorite content producers, as well as giving you the option to play dorsum your locally downloaded content hands and painlessly.

These are our three summit picks for video apps right now.

Netflix

I'm certain Netflix doesn't demand an introduction. It'due south one of the biggest media companies right now and its namesake video streaming service has almost 200 million users. You'll exist able to find all kinds of movies and Idiot box series, new and quondam, from fantasy, to activity, all the mode to terror and suspense. It's one of the best video streaming services on the planet, and one of the biggest ones besides.

The Android app gives you admission to all of the service'south features on the get, including watching your favorite shows on your telephone, up to the highest quality your device can handle.

Disney+

Information technology looks like it's been around for a long fourth dimension, just actually, Disney's streaming service, Disney+, launched in belatedly 2019. Information technology represented a big change of direction for Disney — which hosted many of their movies and series on other platforms like Netflix — for them to take a change of direction and launch a hub for everything Disney.

It was a successful move, as Disney+ is now i of the most used streaming services in the world. Disney+ gives y'all admission to Disney, Fox, Marvel, and Star Wars content, all from the same app. The best function is it'southward also cheaper than the competition, at only $6.99 per calendar month.

YouTube

YouTube is the biggest video platform on the unabridged planet correct now. Y'all tin check out content from your favorite YouTubers, observe educational videos, watch music videos, and even upload your ain content if you lot're into that sort of matter, equally well as accessing your creator tools.

The YouTube app supports playing back videos in the highest resolution available for your smartphone, supports HDR video, and several features such as movie-in-picture (PiP) way.

VLC

VLC is probably the all-time app for watching locally downloaded videos on your smartphone. Information technology'southward a pretty big bargain on a PC, and it'south available for Android as well, with the same feature set. It supports playing a wide variety of videos, an endless number of formats (no affair how aboriginal or non-standard they are), and closed captions (if you have a separate subtitle file).

What's more, information technology's completely costless and has no ads to hurt your media experience.

Music & Sound

Next upwards, we're going to feature some apps for music and audio. From subscription services that requite you access to millions of songs and podcasts hosted online, to something that allows you lot to play back your locally downloaded music the mode you lot're supposed to, there are a lot of alternatives in the Google Play Store.

Hither are our top 3 picks for the best Android apps for music.

Spotify

Spotify is likely one of the best music streaming services bachelor out there in terms of features. I've tried out a scattering of them, and in that location's e'er something I miss nigh Spotify. The app's recommendation algorithm is pretty spot-on and allows y'all to find more music every day, either inside the genre you similar or an entirely different music genre. Information technology likewise supports a lot of different platforms, curated playlists are updated every day, it has podcasts, and then much more.

Information technology's besides completely free to use as long every bit you're willing to cope with ads and certain limitations, and there's as well a paid version that gives yous the full experience for a monthly subscription fee.

Apple Music

Apple Music is one of the very few services that Apple tree decided to launch on Android devices, and the app itself is pretty adept. The Android app is pretty well polished and feature-rich, the service has a wider music choice than Spotify, and it supports features such as live lyrics for songs, downloading music locally, and more than.

Different Spotify, Apple Music doesn't have a gratis plan and requires you to sign up for an Apple ID if you don't accept one already, but it has a gratis 3-month trial that allows you to try it out without restrictions. In my opinion, it holds its ground pretty well compared to Spotify.

YouTube Music

Google launched YouTube Music every bit a replacement to the ageing Google Play Music, simply it has besides managed to stand its own every bit a music streaming service. While information technology get-go started as another version of the YouTube app geared towards music, it has been spun off as a fully-fledged music streaming app.

It can be used for gratuitous — just similar Spotify — with a handful of caveats such every bit ads, no background streaming, et cetera, while the full feel will ready yous dorsum $nine.99 a month. It has improved a lot since the last time I used it, and it'south definitely worth a look for anyone looking into getting a new music streaming service.

Poweramp

Poweramp is one of the best apps for playing your music locally on your smartphone. It'southward probably non going to win whatever awards for UI pattern, but Poweramp focuses on function over form, and the office is amazing. Information technology has a powerful audio engine with back up for hello-res sound, a scattering of music formats, a built-in equalizer, internal 64-bit processing, and a whole bunch of tweaks so y'all can brand sure your music actually sounds the way you want it to audio.

You can have Poweramp for a $four.99 quondam buy, and believe me, information technology'south worth information technology.

Communication

With the COVID-nineteen pandemic limiting our social, in-person gatherings to a minimum, the importance of a reliable, robust app for communicating with friends, family, and acquaintances has been highlighted now more than ever.

In this section, nosotros're going to highlight a few apps for staying in bear on with other people, from texting and chatting to multiple-people video meetings, so you lot can stay connected while staying at home.

WhatsApp is hands the most widely used instant messaging app in the world, and it's pretty much the standard ways of advice betwixt people in a lot of countries. It's not equally feature-rich as some of its competitors and has recently come under scrutiny for privacy concerns, just it wins withal because of its wide user-base of operations of billions of users.

WhatsApp is more than just messaging, though — information technology as well features voice calls and video calls with up to 8 people at the same time.

Telegram is one of our favorite messaging apps always, and it's considering the app has a wide assortment of features that makes it a solid alternative to WhatsApp and even fully-fledged social networks. It features back up for bots, groups with thousands of people, animated stickers, and much more than. You tin likewise fully customize the app'south UI to your liking.

What's more, the app features encryption for communicating securely and is constantly updated with new features and improvements tailored to user demands.

Signal

Signal is your best bet if you intendance about both security and privacy. Signal uses the same encryption protocol as WhatsApp, and then you get the same end-to-stop encryption you'd get there, with the departure that Signal is backed by a non-profit foundation instead of a "large tech" company, and they besides have a less invasive privacy policy.

It's definitely worth a await if that's something yous're interested in, although you likewise have to carry in mind the fact it has considerably less users than either Telegram or WhatsApp.

Google Meet

Google Meet is a rising player for multi-people meetings, allowing up to 100 people to connect simultaneously to a single room. It'southward also very useful for pocket-size meetings every bit well. Google Meet is one of the apps that has enjoyed massive growth throughout the pandemic, and features a similar feature set to other apps like Zoom while being more accessible (being integrated into apps like Gmail) and not having virtually as many restrictions as Zoom does.

Textra

If you lot text a lot, Textra is an excellent messaging app to have on your phone. Information technology's highly customizable and comes with a lot of theming options. In terms of features, you get conversation heads, scheduled messages, the power to copy part of a bulletin, group messaging, and blacklisting.

Social networking is more of import than ever now to keep up with friends and family, or simply be in the loop of everything that's going on in the world. Here are our pinnacle picks for the best Android apps for social media.

Instagram

Instagram is ane of the biggest social media services available out there, one that'due south focused on sharing photos and videos of pretty much annihilation. On Instagram, you can share anything from selfies to informative posts, and you can likewise mail stories that concluding up to 24 hours and then disappear.

It also has a congenital-in messaging service and has also recently gotten several features, such as IGTV for long-course videos and Reels for shorter-form ones similar to TikTok.

Twitter

Twitter, on the other manus, is focused on short-form text posts. While information technology was get-go conceived as an app where you lot could chop-chop express your thoughts in curt 140 character posts, it has since gotten much bigger. The character limit went up to 280 characters and you can post threads for longer-grade content, which allows y'all to share photos and videos.

It has born messaging, and it'due south constantly existence updated and refined with new features and improvements.

Snapchat

Snapchat'southward prime is long gone, but information technology still remains a social media service with a large active userbase. While it's technically a messaging app at its core with its headlining feature being "snaps" — self-destroying letters that delete themselves when the recipient reads them — the presence of features like Stories and Discover, also as the ability to connect and interact with friends, have fabricated it resemble a regular social media app way more than closely. The Android app used to be famously slow and laggy, but information technology has improved a lot in recent years.

Discord

Lastly, Discord is a rising player in the social media space. While originally geared towards the gamer market, it has gotten much bigger through 2020 and has started to host communities (called "servers" inside the app) of all kinds.

The app is extremely flexible, allowing for voice and video calls with similar functionality to Google Run across, as well as carve up channels for each server (that yous tin can adjust to your liking) and bot integration for adding cool functionality to servers.

Best Android Apps for Productivity

It used to exist that, in order to keep up with work stuff, y'all would absolutely need to be near a reckoner. Smartphones weren't powerful or capable enough to allow y'all to properly get stuff done on the become. While a smartphone can't supervene upon a fully-fledged computer for working and you can't piece of work exclusively from a smartphone, things take gotten to the point when you lot can keep up with your team and possibly even get somework done on the get.

Hither are some of the best Android apps for productivity in 2020.

Google Docs/Sheets/Slides

These are actually three different apps, but it'd be cheating to list them as three split apps since they complement each other. Merely these apps allow you to become stuff done on the go pretty easily and painlessly.

Google Docs allows you to draft upward and edit documents, and even get them done in a pinch, Google Sheets allows you to read and modify spreadsheets right from your smartphone, and Google Slides lets you go presentations done from your device or revise them hands.

Trello

Trello is a very uncomplicated way to organize and get work washed within a team by creating job boards with different columns, move tasks between columns and boards, adding information and files to a specific task, and assign tasks to specific people.

This tool tin can be used for all kinds of purposes, both personal projects and inside businesses, and tin can greatly amend productivity inside a team.

Asana

Asana works pretty similarly to Trello in how it gives users the ability to create tasks and organize them in boards with cards, but a lot of people prefer Asana over Trello for a lot of reasons, especially in a work/project managing context on a larger scale.

Asana has a piddling bit of a steeper learning curve compared to Trello, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to go effectually it, especially if you larn how to use it to its total potential.

Slack

Slack is an excellent tool for work as it allows you to easily communicate inside a team, but you tin technically create a Slack server for almost any purpose. Slack has pretty similar functionality to Discord in that you lot tin can create a server and organize information technology into individual channels with various purposes (and add specific people to those channels).

However, Slack is much more than local. All DMs and internal groups are limited to the limits of the workplace you're in, and with paid plans, it allows for fashion more functionality for bigger teams.

Business Calendar two

A proficient calendar app tin can be beneficial in organizing your twenty-four hour period. So you need Business Agenda two, a powerful calendar app that acts as your complete personal organizer, giving you features of a calendar, schedule planner, and task organizer.

Spark

Spark is a fantastic electronic mail app that packs a lot of features. It can intelligently prioritize your emails, exist smart about notifications, and even allow you to collaborate with your team on emails. Other great features of the app include intelligent search, quick replies, email scheduling, snooze emails, and more than.

Dating

Finding your soulmate these days isn't any easier than it was before, merely at present nosotros have several tools these days to brand information technology even easier to connect with other people and see if whatsoever of them fit the beak. Whether you just want a quick fling, getting to know new friends, or perchance a possible soulmate, nosotros've rounded up three of the best Android apps for dating and knowing people.

Tinder

Tinder is the go-to app for quick dating from your smartphone. Tinder allows you to create a profile and upload photos of yourself, and shows you random people in your surface area with their pictures and biography, where you can and so swipe right if you like them or swipe left if you lot don't.

If someone y'all liked swipes right on you, then you're matched with that person and you're allowed to conversation with them within the app. It takes away a lot of the anxiousness from dating by matching you lot upward automatically with people you like.

Bumble

Bumble works pretty similarly to Tinder in how they match people, but they take a few cardinal differences and added functionality. For i, Tinder focuses on by and large dating but while Bumble allows for dating, friendships, and even business organization connections.

Furthermore, Bumble encourages people to connect by giving them 24 hours to message each other after a match, whereas Tinder doesn't have a limit and besides has a video chatting feature built right into the app for more personal conversations.

OkCupid

OkCupid is one of the oldest dating services on the Internet, launching back in 2004. It has changed a lot over the years likewise, merely in its current form, it works quite a bit differently than Tinder and others' "match-based" approach.

Rather than swiping left or right on people, OkCupid instead has users answer a series of questions, then matches people based on things they have in common, which should allow for more intimate and less superficial matches.

Grindr

While the other ii options do allow LGBT people to go to know each other, Grindr is specially built from the ground up for LGBT people — peculiarly gay, bi, and curious men, although it's also open for women every bit well every bit trans and non-binary people.

The app allows you to chat and run across up with people, see people nearby from your location, filter your search to find exactly what y'all want, star your favorites, and send your location to brand it easier to meet.

Best Android Apps for Reading

Dedicated e-readers are, for the nearly part, non a necessary commodity anymore for people that like to keep their books electronically. While defended e-readers notwithstanding have their ain set of advantages, you tin just catch any smartphone or tablet and have a very similar experience to e-readers. So of course, you'd probably like an app that allows you to access all of your content easily and painlessly, and discover new books online.

Here are our tiptop picks for the best Android apps for reading in 2021.

Kindle

Kindle was formerly just a lineup of east-readers from Amazon, simply there's a Kindle app for Android devices that gives you lot the same functionality without having an east-reader. The Kindle app gives you lot access to Amazon'due south extensive library of books, comics, newspapers, and magazines and allows you to easily read what you desire at the moment.

Some of them also have Audible narration if you're more into hearing than reading, and you can explore several genres, new releases, and some of the acknowledged books bachelor out there.

Nook

Barnes and Noble's east-book service, Nook, also has an amazing Android app for reading all of your favorite books on the get. Nook gives you access to their library of over four one thousand thousand e-books, magazines, and comics, and over 75,000 free titles and then you lot can check out an author, serial, or genre without gamble. You tin can as well browse skillful recommendations to discover what to read next based on what you like.

The reading experience can also exist tailored however you desire, with font styles, line spacing, background colour, and more, and you can too add notes, highlights, and bookmarks while y'all read.

Google Play Books

Google also makes an app for reading ebooks based on their Google Play ecosystem, called Google Play Books. Information technology gives users the power to read ebooks hosted in Google Play, including new releases as well equally older classics.

It doesn't have subscription fees or anything, and you lot'll demand to purchase any books yous're going to read, but you can likewise read a sample beforehand. It too has neat features like Bubble Zoom for comics, Nighttime Light for reading in the dark, and note syncing with Google Drive.

Lithium

Do y'all just desire something that does the job of reading your locally downloaded e-books? Then Lithium will do the task, and do information technology well. It's built based on Material Design guidelines and allows you to read e-books saved on EPUB files. It automatically detects which e-book you lot're reading, allows you lot to highlight and add notes to books, change to nighttime/sepia themes for easier reading, and information technology's free of ads.

At that place'south also a Lithium Pro version as a one-time license purchase that adds extra functionality, custom themes, more highlight colors, and more than.

News

Present, we get near of our news, if not all of information technology, from the Internet, and nosotros can read it on our smartphones. There are several Android apps that serve equally hubs for all of our news-reading needs, delivering you lot the content you're really interested in knowing most or news that really matters to y'all, while not prioritizing other, tedious content.

Here are some of the best Android apps for reading news and articles in 2020.

Google News

Google News is my go-to app for reading news on the get. It delivers news to you based on the content you're actually interested in. The AI might be a little rough effectually the edges at first, only once yous requite it time to mature, information technology gets actually good and authentic and tailors to what you like.

Information technology gives y'all functionality such every bit Full Coverage, which presents you with the coverage from several sites so you can reach your ain determination and cut out possible media bias. The headlines tab gives you the biggest events from around the world, whether it's tech, politics, or concern.

Axios

Axios is an app for a unmarried news outlet, just we similar it a lot because their reporting is fairly unbiased most of the fourth dimension. Their articles are very cleanly organized and like shooting fish in a barrel to read through, cutting downward on click baiting and fluff. Their Android app is very amazing too, as it delivers a clean reading experience and allows you to follow channels to come across only the content you intendance nearly, and notifications only for noteworthy moments.

Microsoft News

Want an all-in-one hub for your news but y'all're not totally sold on Google News? And so Microsoft News might be more your loving cup of tea. Microsoft News' editors handpick stories from several outlets, and it also lets yous choose which topics you lot care well-nigh the virtually, likewise as allowing you to sync your preferences across the app and the Spider web.

It supports a handful of news outlets for dissimilar topics, including news and politics, amusement and gossip, coin and investing, and sports.

AP News

Again, the Associated Printing is a single news outlet, but it'southward also a known name for providing unbiased news, and the app itself is pretty expert likewise. The app allows y'all to read news from the Associated Printing's network of local, national, and international news journalists.

Users tin can besides follow their favorite news topics too as local AP-affiliated news sources, view photo galleries, mind to video and radio news, and sign up for personalized news alerts depending on their preferences.

Feedly

Feedly is unlike our other recommendations in this category. It isn't a typical news app, but it allows you to follow news websites, blogs, YouTube channels, and more than in i identify. In addition, with Feedly on your phone, you don't need to install multiple news apps.

Sports

Sports data can be delivered by the apps I talked about before, and they'll probably practise the job well plenty. But if you're an avid sports fan, you'll probably want something that keeps up a little faster with sports developments. Something that volition runway things such as sports results and statistics in existent-time, no matter if you're a football fan, a basketball game fan, or a soccer fan.

We've grabbed iii of the all-time Android apps for sports that volition give you this exact functionality.

theScore

theScore aims to exist an all-in-one hub for everything sports. Information technology allows y'all to read news from a variety of sports, such as football, soccer, and basketball, and major leagues and competitions such every bit the NFL, the NBA, the Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, too as a handful of others from different sports.

It also gives yous alive coverage of games, complete with scores updated in real-time and stats throughout the game. Information technology likewise gives you a curated feed based on your preferences and even allows for chat and messaging inside the app.

ESPN

The ESPN app gives you lot like functionality to theScore as an all-in-one hub for sports stuff, as it allows you to read up news from a variety of unlike sports and leagues and gives you live coverage on sports matches.

But information technology's also from a more than reputable sports outlet and, if yous're an ESPN+ subscriber, y'all can watch live sports coverage as well as ESPN+ originals without cable or TV, correct from your smartphone.

CBS Sports

CBS Sports is made by the CBS group, every bit the name suggests, and while the app allows you to go along track of your favorite sports and teams, it doesn't end there. You can besides watch some of your favorite games on CBS Sports, including UEFA Champions League, Europa League, the NFL, and fifty-fifty mixed martial arts tournaments.

CBS All Access subscribers volition be able to watch a variety of exclusives, as well as all major sporting events.

NFL

Finally, the NFL app is a must-accept for football fans. The feature gear up of the app includes alive local/primetime games too as live Playoffs and Super Bowl. It allows you to sentinel videos, highlights, and replays of every game, and it keeps football fans in the loop all off-season long with news, highlights, stats, and more.

If yous only care exclusively nigh football and not give as much thought to other sports, then this might be better than the other ii options I mentioned. You can also stream on-need videos through a Chromecast, although you're non allowed to stream alive games due to rights restrictions. Yet, if this sounds like the app for you lot, and so check it out.

These were our top picks for the best Android apps currently bachelor. Most of our picks were based on popularity and functionality, favoring popularity a little bit more in some cases given that apps such as social networks and messaging services need users in order to actually exist useful.

I utilize almost of these apps on my day-to-twenty-four hour period basis, keeping tabs with my friends on WhatsApp and Telegram, listening to music on Spotify, and getting away on Netflix and YouTube. Of course, you might be a different kind of user, and you might care nearly other things.

What apps are you planning to download on your new Android phone? Did you recall we missed an app? Let united states know down in the comments.

Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/best-android-apps/

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