Have you just received or offered yourself an Android smartphone or tablet? Now is the time to fill it out and choose the best apps to install. Here is a selection of best Android apps to download to get started as a chef.
The Google Play Store (and its alternatives) is full of applications of all kinds, for better and for worse. It is sometimes difficult to navigate through this tide of content, especially when you buy a new smartphone or come from another ecosystem.
Here is a selection of the best essential applications to have on Android. Note that if you buy an app from the Google Play Store and it doesn’t suit you, you have two hours to request a refund.
Best Android Apps for Podcast
Between music, podcasts, video. You really won’t be bored. For podcast management, the best of its kind for those who do not want to spend too much is undoubtedly Podcast Addict, at once complete, intuitive and above all free.
Besides, if you are looking for content to listen to, do not hesitate to add Hi Techie to your list of favorite podcasts.
Pocket Casts was paid, but went free during the year, with a paid subscription for certain premium functions. The application is also very popular and has the merit of being available on all mobile platforms.
Best Android Music Apps
For music, we really recommend that you try Youtube Music, now preinstalled on most Android smartphones.
For several reasons: you have between one and three months of free subscription, which is far from negligible, you can find the music and cover available on the huge YouTube library, and finally, because you can enjoy YouTube Premium for a few euros more and that will allow you to remove advertisements from the service.
If you are looking for a simple music player for your smartphone, you can turn to Vinyl Music Player, a free and open-source alternative.
To display the lyrics of your favorite music, it is best to use QuickLyric, the champion of the sector developed in Belgium.
And then, we will recommend Spotify of course, or the application of your favorite music streaming service (Deezer, Apple Music, Qobuz, etc.).
Best Android Video Apps
Here are the two video players that we can advise you with your eyes closed and that play almost all video formats. First VLC, which is a benchmark for both computer and smartphone, while remaining completely free and open source.
XPlayer offers an ultra-pleasant interface – notable thanks to its very elegant dark theme. XPlayer is available in a Premium version to get rid of advertisements, but these are already very discreet on the free version.
Best Android TV and Movies Apps
We no longer present the famous Netflix and its popular series like La Casa de Papel or Mind Hunter. As an alternative, let’s mention Amazon’s SVOD service with series like Good Omen, The Office or The Boys.
If your thing is rather French production or HBO series (Watchmen, Chernobyl, Westworld, etc.), we recommend the OCS service instead. The best way to access this service is to use the Molotov application, which also allows you to follow live television.
Best Android Picture Editing Apps
Taking photos, editing them, sending them. It is not always very easy with basic Android apps. Google Photos is essential for its ability to save all your photos for free while offering some easy editing tools.
With Snapseed, you will be able to carry out precise and varied retouching.
Best Android Apps for Games
There are tons of good games on Android and we have written several thematic guides to help you make your choices.
Here is a very small selection of titles to discover on your new smartphone. Note that Fortnite is reserved for a restricted list of devices and is not available on the Play Store. However, we explain how to install it.
Best Android News Apps
To take your news everywhere, there are a lot of solutions for Android. Google News, and more particularly Digital Phablet app, is surely the best it is to keep up to date with news every morning.
The Feedly application is essential to easily follow the news of its favorite sites, like Frandroid of course.
The Google News app is also a safe bet when it comes to being informed, always checking the quality of the media chosen.
Best To-Do List Apps for Android
For a project or simply to get organized on a daily basis, it can be practical to create “To Do List“, lists of things to do. With the mobile always at hand, it is practical to be able to create beautiful lists.
To put it simply, we recommend Microsoft To-Do, inherited from the takeover of Wonderlist by the American giant.
To go further and if you want to become the master of To-Do lists, you should rather turn to Tick Tick. A universal application that offers a refined, but very complete interface.
Best android Note Taking apps
Always in the pocket or nearby, the smartphone is the ideal tool for quickly taking notes. In the application stores, there are many choices in this category, and above all, there is something for everyone.
Google Keep is, for example, an application designed to take small notes and get to the point, to replace the good old Post-It in fact.
Microsoft OneNote is on the contrary much more complete and makes it possible to list notes on many subjects. It is the ideal tool for taking notes in class for example, especially since the application is available on all platforms and manages to handwrite with a stylus.
From the simple shopping list to a full semester of courses through the organization of a trip, OneNote is the essential application of this category.
SimpleNote is a free, open-source and free application that offers a very good alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
Best Android apps for file management
Yes, on Android, file managers allow you to do a lot of things: copy, paste, cut, extract. All the tools are at hand. The plethora of applications offers to organize your documents in a simple and efficient way.
Google offers its own file explorer with Files by Google, which offers an easy to learn experience.
We also recommend the Solid Explorer application, which goes further, in particular with storage options in the cloud, or more simply on the local network, on a NAS for example.
Best Android document editing apps
The best way to quickly create a document to share with your contacts in Google Docs. The application is also very effective for quickly modifying a document previously created on a computer.
Note that the official Microsoft Office suite is available on the Play Store and is very effective. It allows you to edit your Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents. However, you must have an Office 365 account to take full advantage of it.
You can also see the best PDF reader apps as well.
Best Android cloud storage apps
Managing your files online is even better for accessing them from anywhere. The two big customers for this are Dropbox and Google Drive.
OneDrive is also a solid alternative that works with a Microsoft account.
Note that your operator can also provide you with online storage space, with a dedicated application.
Best Android keyboard apps
There are some great alternative keyboards that can really improve your typing, whether it’s on Android or iOS.
The two market references are Swiftkey, one of the oldest and now under the control of Microsoft, and Gboard developed by Google directly as the default keyboard for Android.
Best Android Texting (SMS) apps
On Android, you can also use an alternative SMS client to the one installed by default. The simplest, but effective, is none other than Google Messages.
To take advantage of even more options, and in particular an end-to-end encrypted backup, the best alternative is Pulse SMS, whose interface uses Google codes to respect the consistency of its ecosystem.
It is a very complete application and available wherever it is possible, to be able to write SMS from its connected devices.
Best Android Security Apps
In the “ Security ” category, we are not going to advise you on an antivirus. By applying simple rules and monitoring the apps you install on your smartphone, you don’t need them.
On the other hand, we recommend that you install the “Locate my device” application which allows you to find or delete your smartphone remotely (in the event of theft).
To manage your passwords, we recommend Bitwarden, our favorite application. It is free, open-source, free and available everywhere, and offers easy auto-completion of password fields in your favorite applications. Alternatively, 1Password and Dashlane are referenced.
Best Android Launcher Apps
Manufacturers generally modify the Android interface. The operation can be successful, but sometimes it can slow down the user experience. Fortunately, on Android, you can do anything, including changing the “launcher “.
Since Google Now Launcher is no longer available, Nova Launcher is THE benchmark in the field. For a different, but effective experience, the Microsoft Launcher might be for you. And if you want to get closer to the Google Pixels, the APK of their launcher is also available outside the Play Store.
Best Android Travelling Apps
In addition to the popular Google Maps, there are several apps that we highly recommend for your getaways. The first is CityMapper, which provides access to the best of public transport in several cities around the world.
We also recommend the Transit application, a competitor of CityMapper which has the merit of displaying the location of buses in real-time, and of sharing data between service users in a practical way.
Of course, there is also an essential Waze if you take the road. It is simply the benchmark for GPS navigation applications.
Best Android Weather Apps
Access the weather from anywhere, the dream. Accuweather or Carrot will do the job very well for the simplest forecasts, while Yahoo Weather will go much more deeply into the information given.
Best Android Apps For Connecting Smartphone to PC
It is possible to create real links between your computers (PC, Mac or whatever you want) and your Android smartphone. To do what? Access your phone remotely, write your SMS on the keyboard, easily transfer files. The solution offered by Microsoft – Your Assistant Mobile – deserves your attention.
Conversely, you will be able to access your PC from your Android, with Chrome Remote Desktop.