The Best Android Apps

In the Google Play Store you have thousands of apps for the Android operating system, many of them even free. The search for the best Android apps can, however, be quite time-consuming, because categories and areas of application are a dime a dozen. So where do you start? And which Android apps shouldn’t be missing on your devices? We’ll tell you.

The best video and photo editing apps

If you want to create unique pictures and videos with your smartphone, you should definitely get a decent editor. The best four image editors that we can recommend can all be installed on your Android devices for free.

If you like to shoot videos, you, of course, need an app that provides you with the necessary tools such as cutting, trimming, special effects, or background music. So you can perfect your films for YouTube, Tiktok, and other platforms. The Android apps InShot and PowerDirector are very popular for this purpose.

• InShot
• PowerDirector
• YouCut
• Video shop

The best news and weather apps

With just a few clicks you always know what is happening in the world. There are a number of tried and tested news aggregator apps that inform you about current events around the globe from thousands of sources (magazines, publishers, online magazines, TV stations, etc.). Each of them can be personalized according to your thematic preferences so that you only get messages that really interest you. The Flipboard app is preinstalled on many Samsung smartphones, with which you can conveniently “flip” through the articles. However, we can also recommend Bundle News and the News Republic. The Squid app stands out a bit, but not only because of its lovable mascot and name-bearer, an octopus. It also convinces with a colourful, unusual design and the possibility of embellishing screenshots of news articles with drawings and stickers according to old Snapchat fashion in order to share them with others.

• Squid
• Bundle news
• Flipboard
• News Republic

While we’re on the news, the weather will come right after. Let’s put it this way: the more grids a weather model uses for a country, the more reliable the forecast – of course, exceptions included. With the following four weather apps, however, you are perfectly equipped to plan your next weekends. With the RegenRadar you will be specifically informed about upcoming precipitation and can also follow it live on the map.

• Weather live
• Wetter.com
• weather Online

The best internet browser

Tired of Firefox or Chrome? It doesn’t have to be, because there are plenty of alternatives with which you can surf the Internet safely and comfortably. The DuckDuckGo browser is known and valued for its high level of data protection. It guarantees your anonymity, encrypts your data, and blocks annoying ad trackers so that you can browse the web without worries.

If you want to surf the Internet safely and at the same time do something for the environment, you should definitely take a look at the Ecosia Browser. Because it uses the profits from search ads on the web to fund reforestation programs around the world. In plain language, this means: You surf the Internet, and Ecosia is planting trees for it.

• DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser
• Ecosia
• Browser for Android
• Tor Browser

The best apps for office and productivity

Manage appointments, sort files, edit documents – the smartphone can also be used perfectly for typical office tasks. First, we want to introduce you to the best Android apps for organizational purposes, such as the time recording app (the name says it all) or the highly functional Business Calendar 2, with which you will never miss an important appointment again. Cloud storage like Google Drive or office software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from Microsoft Office is of course also included.

• Google Drive
• Time tracking
• File manager
• Business calendar 2
• Microsoft Office
• PDF Reader & Editing

But what are the best office apps if you have trouble concentrating? Far too often we distract ourselves with unnecessary things or lose our focus for other reasons. For more efficiency and undisturbed work, we, therefore, recommend three very special apps that will get you back on track. The Focus To-Do app helps with task management and supports you with the timer function with time recording and with controlled breaks. With Forest, you plant a tree seed and have to let it grow into a tree, which is only possible if the app remains open – so distraction is not allowed. If you want it a little stricter, you should get AppBlock to look at. This app blocks other apps or the internet so that you are not even tempted.

• Focus to-do
• Forest
• AppBlock

Finally, there are the best note-taking apps at hand, with which you can no longer forget a thought. Microsoft OneNote is especially suitable for everyone who works with Microsoft Office 365 and can therefore synchronize their notes online on all devices. A corresponding counterpart is Google Notes. But Evernote and ColorNote also offer a lot of advantages that we don’t want to withhold from you.

• Evernote
• Google notes
• Microsoft OneNote
• ColorNote Notepad Notes

The best messenger and email apps

The main function of every smartphone is and remains communication, which is why you should consider which messenger you want to use for exchange. We don’t want to list the classics from Facebook – Messenger and WhatsApp – here, because everyone should be familiar with them. Instead, we would like to show you three alternatives that are far more sensitive to your data. The Telegram and Signal apps are free and are now very popular, so you will likely find many of your contacts there. Threema is the only paid messenger, but don’t let that put you off: It is considered one of the most secure messengers on the current market and is recommended to the best of our knowledge.

• Telegram
• Threema
• Signal

Another area of communication is e-mail. If you only have a single email provider, you usually use their own app. But if you use many different email addresses or aliases, you can set up all of them on a single app and call them up separately with just a few clicks. The email apps available for this are unfortunately not always kept intuitive or clear. But don’t worry, with the following four candidates you will get the best apps for smooth and convenient email communication.

• Aqua Mail
• ProtonMail
• Tutanota
• Spark Mail

The best tools and gadgets

Keyboards, tools, and many other device tools await you in this category. The two most popular Android keyboard apps are SwiftKey and Gboard, which also come in different designs. In order to equip your devices with cool gadgets such as a compass, barcode scanners, or scientific calculators, we can recommend the Tools Calculator app, which comes with several tools. Finally, a dictation machine should not be missing so that important recordings can be made quickly and spontaneously.

• Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard
• Gboard – the Google keyboard
• Tools – calculator
• voice recorder

When it comes to analyzing and optimizing your devices, we have four very good apps in our repertoire. In the end, they all do the same job: they clean up the operating system, free up storage space, extend battery life, or clean up other apps and documents. Anyone who uses their smartphone frequently and extensively will appreciate the use of a good device cleaner.

• All-in-one toolbox
• AVG Cleaner
• Droid Optimizer
• SD Maid – system cleaner

And since we’re on the subject of devices: How about a special launcher? After all, you don’t have to be satisfied with what comes from the factory. Be sure to take a look at the following three recommendations and give your device new functions and a distinctive design!

• Nova Launcher
• Microsoft Launcher
• Smart Launcher 5

The best lifestyle, travel, and game apps

There is a mixed bag of useful and entertaining lifestyle apps in this section. The app Fabulous is a kind of personal coach with which you can work effectively on your habits and goals without having to throw in the towel after two days. With the ZEDGE app, you get sensational background images and ringtones for your devices and you can even set which tone sounds for which contact. CodeCheck is a very practical app for everyday shopping. This allows all barcodes and EAN numbers on food and cosmetic packaging to be scanned in order to find out more about the good and bad ingredients of the respective product (e.g. microplastics, healthier alternatives, vegan or lactose-free, etc.). More so, when it comes to entertaining leisure time for mobile devices there are plenty of slot game apps at your immediate disposal.

Two other recommended apps in the media area are ReadEra and VLC for Android. ReadEra is a premium ebook reader to read books in a myriad of formats for free. Why we mention this app: Not only does it offer many functions and settings, but it also works without advertising and registrations. To play audio and video formats you should get the VLC Player for Android.

• Fabulous
• ZEDGE – ringtones and wallpapers
• CodeCheck
• ReadEra
• VLC for Android

Always on the go or ready for your next vacation? Finally, we have a small selection of great apps for travelling and navigating. The MapFactor Navigator app has chosen itself as the “highest rated free offline navigation app on Google Play” and will take you reliably to your destination without detours. The navigation app HERE WeGo is equally popular. If you have chosen a further destination and are feverishly thinking about how to best plan your trip, the TripIt app will help you. With this travel organization app, you can create detailed travel plans in order to record all-important bookings and appointments at a glance.

• MapFactor Navigator
• HERE WeGo
• TripIt: travel planner