Your choice Android apps

Phoenixmgs

The Muse of Fate
Legacy
Apr 3, 2020
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w/ M'Kraan Crystal
Gender
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So I just got a new phone (Moto G8 Power) going from Android 8 to 10 and a few of my favorite apps don't quite work/display properly now so I had to find some new ones and make some switches. I think it's mainly the difference in screen aspect ratio as the screen is taller in portrait (or wider in landscape) and several apps just don't realize this and display things wrong.

-Launcher: Nova Launcher
I used to use Apex launcher but I switched to Nova on my last phone and Nova still works great on the new Android. There's a free version without ads I believe but the paid version unlocks features like hiding apps on in the app drawer (which I can't live without). I did just switch to the Flat Square icon pack as my old goto Tymax icons were showing too much age.

-Web Browser: Kiwi Browser
I just made the switch days ago because Firefox on Android 10 is not very good; it plays Youtube videos off center and crops the video in full screen and a few sites like Vimeo don't even play video at all. I installed like all the browsers and Kiwi was the best because it's sorta a unicorn in the Android space as it allows you to install (Chrome) extensions that pretty much every browser like Chrome doesn't and it has a setting that disables the address bar from disappearing as you scroll (which I can't stand that other browsers don't have such a simple and basic option). Kiwi also plays video perfectly from sites like Youtube, which I much prefer playing in browser than the Youtube app.

-Music player: jetAudio
There is no player with better audio quality than this but you do need to buy the premium version for it and it's totally worth it (the PC version is even better). It is a weird setup as you have to pay for things separately like the getting the premium version doesn't unlock much, you do get a 20-band equalizer, but paying for stuff like the AM3D, Bongiovi, and Crystalizer enhancers are very much worth it (it really is a night and day difference with all my settings enabled and then switching them all off). Of course, you can find a APK of the program by Googling if you wanna try it all out without having to pay anything or worry about doing refunds.

-Video player: VQ Player
I just switched to it yesterday from the MoboPlayer because of display issues on the new Android. I tried pretty much all the video players that seemed legit and didn't have super generic names and VQ Player was the best. It loaded super fast, it didn't have to do some scan to find all the video files or anything. The interface is super clean. You don't have to switch to a software decode to play certain audio formats (like a couple other players). And, it has some nice advanced settings like changing the font color of subtitles.

-Automation: Tasker
It has some learning hurdles to get over but I've been using this since KitKat I believe and it's still great. You can do simple things like lower your notifications/ringer during work hours automatically. You can do much more advanced things as well but I doubt most people will ever need to.

-Lock screen: Next
Now this has to be downloaded off the web because it's old and not in the Play Store anymore. It is made by Microsoft so it's by no means sketchy. Since it's old, it can't see the very top area ("notch" area) of the screen so you'll have to do a bit of photo editing (and Tasker automation) to get your wallpaper working as the very top of your screen will actually show what's under the lock screen. It took some pixel perfect photo editing but it was totally worth it because the Next lock screen is the cleanest looking.

-Texting app: Textra
I think this one is a pretty popular one. Lots of customization features and it just works.

-PDF reader: Xodo
The best PDF reader that I found a couple years back and it's still great and free. It's great at displaying large PDF files like say a tabletop RPG's Players Handbook.

-Keyboard: Swype Keyboard (from Nuance)
I paid for this awhile back (so I can still download it from the store) but it's no longer on the official store because it's no longer supported but it's still hands down the best swype keyboard I've ever used. You can easily find the APK on the web and install it.

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Some odds and ends:

-Google Opinion Rewards - Great survey app to earn some Google Play Store money. All these apps I've paid for, I used money from taking surveys to pay for them.

-Navigation & Maps: Shortcut - It just opens Google Maps at the point you can put in an address directly to get directions (filling in Your Location as the starting point).

-Bluetooth Auto Connect - It auto connects to bluetooth like say your car so you don't have to do anything at all. This is no longer in the Play Store because some new company bought the app and charged something ridiculous like $5 or $10 a month to use the app (and I'm guessing got booted from the store for basically being a scam) so you'll have to find the APK on the web (it was always a free app beforehand so don't feel guilty at all). Version 4.5.5 works just fine on Android 10.

-Greenify - I mainly just use it to enable Aggressive Doze to save battery. You do need to do some command line stuff with the phone connected to a PC to enable the feature though, which is rather annoying.
 
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Chimpzy

Simian Abomination
Legacy
Escapist +
Apr 3, 2020
12,190
8,435
118
I don't care enough about mobile to bother, so my phone's pretty much just got all the factory default android stuff on it. Save for Whatsapp, the Steam app, a couple 2fa authenticator apps, the app from my bank and a medical app.
 
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gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,083
1,849
118
Country
USA
WW app: food/weight/activity tracker
Spotify (Music)
Wifi Analyzer: gives you all sorts of info about wifi APs in your range
Speed Test (test network speeds)
Uber
Screaming NetTools (IT Network tools)
QR Scanner: in lock down, lots of restaurants want you to scan a code to see their menu online.
 

william32

Regular Member
Jan 31, 2021
11
5
13
Country
PK
Gender
Male
MX Player for Music
Whatsapp to communicate
Instagram to socialize
Youtube to watch videos
Reddit to have fun
 

Baffle

Elite Member
Oct 22, 2016
3,459
2,746
118
What3Words, in case I get lost between here and Sainsbury's.