Matthew is a seasoned writer and editor who has spent the last decade covering Android, gaming, e-readers, and a multitude of other mobile technologies.
Now that Android is fairly mature, it feels like with each passing year, groundbreaking app launches are fewer and further apart than ever. After 17 years, it's likely you've long ago settled on the apps that suit your needs best, and yet, thanks to how long the OS has been around, it's also likely there are plenty of awesome apps out there you haven't tried yet.
So instead of installing the same old, why not try something outside your comfort zone with a handful of essential Android apps we've gathered together, from unique weather apps to feature-rich image editors to free game apps to unheard-of e-reading apps and security-focused camera apps. No matter if you're looking for easier ways to gather info or are simply looking to repurpose your old smartphones, Android has it all and then some. It's time to dive into some of the best apps Android users swear by. Let's dig in.There's no doubt that your smartphone likely has a weather app installed by default, whether you're using a Pixel phone, a Samsung device, or something more obscure. Just about everyone uses their phone to check the local weather these days, but sometimes the default option isn't always the best. This is wherecomes into the picture. Not only is it a perfectly fine standalone weather app, but it's also great as a secondary app just for checking the radar, which is why over ten million users have already installed it as one of their favorite weather apps. First off, MyRadar offers a full-screen radar display that looks good on your smartphone screen. You can even choose the map's look, whether you prefer the default cool gray, an aerial view, or a topographic map. The choice is yours, and the options don't stop there. You can also customize the view for your weather, such as a satellite view, a temperature map, or simply drill down to different weather stations . What's especially nice is that the app comes in two different flavors. There is a free app that offers in-app purchases to remove ads and add new radar layers . But there is alsothat comes with ads already removed. This way, you can easily try the free software, and if you like what you see, you can remove ads via an IAP or purchase the ad-free Pro version. Having a choice is nice, especially if you are particular about how you spend your money on the Play Store.How good a phone's photos are remains a major selling point in the current smartphone market. Clearly, ensuring your photos look as good as they can is a feature many buyers look for when purchasing their phone. But not everyone's smartphone packs awesome cameras or the software necessary to ensure tiny lenses can output incredible images., no matter the phone you're using. It's easily one of the best photo editing apps on Android, thanks to its elaborate feature set, not to mention that the app is totally free. There's a reason it has racked up over one hundred million installs on the Play Store. If you've spent time taking a lot of photos with a phone, then you'll know full well that not every picture comes out perfect. Some need straightening or their perspective tweaked, some need centering, and sometimes you have to adjust the white balance, colors, and contrast to ensure the photo pops as it should. These are all built-in features for Snapseed, and they work a treat on a phone or tablet, or even a Chromebook laptop. Snapseed is easily one of the top photo-editing options when you can't get to your desktop's Photoshop install, hands down, as it offers many similar features that you won't find in the Instagram-focused editors. So if you're not already using Snapseed, you shouldWhat may sound like a controversial choice at first , Epic Games is a video game store and launcher that any gamer should absolutely install on their Android device. You see, Epic Games gives away, and often they are solid titles, like Machinarium, Subnautica, and Monument Valley II. Epic is clearly trying to build a user base for its new store, just like on the PC side, by giving away free games. Still, free games are free games, which have proven popular with the community. Why not grab them while you can? Once you have the store installed, all you have to do is dip in each Thursday at 11 AM Eastern and see which free game is available that week, and snag it if it looks good. Sometimes there is even more than one game given away. So far, Epic Games is not available on the Play Store, and even though Epic won its antitrust case against Google, there is no telling if or when Epic's store will gain the right to be listed on Google's platform. This is why you will have to sideload the APK after downloading it from Epic. Make sure this is the only place you secure the APK, as you don't want to risk installing a virus from a hacked app. Sideloading has its risks, but as long as you sideload the official Epic Games APK, you'll be fine.One of the most overlooked features of smartphones is that we all use them to read tons of text every day. From messages sent by friends and family, to work emails, to our daily doomscrolling. Many people are staring at their phones because they are reading something. After all, who doesn't have their phone in hand while watching TV? According to aRather than doomscrolling our days away, we could be reading quality content, like novels written by authors who know how to string their words together artfully. While there are tons of e-reading apps available on the Play Store, one of the top options is actually KOReader started its life as a community project for Kindle and Kobo devices. It has since evolved into the go-to e-reading app for enthusiasts. The biggest reason KOReader stands above the crowd is that it offers a boatload of features for formatting your e-books. These features go well beyond the vast majority of e-reading apps, such as the ability to customize a book's CSS or to change your DPI settings, all of which can be done on a per-book basis. You can even tell the app when to refresh the screen if you're using an E-Ink device running Android. You'll need to bring your own e-books, like ePubs and PDFs. But if you are the sort who prefers to manage their own library, KOReader is the e-reading app you should be using to tame and read that library on your Android device.At this point, it's safe to say many Android users probably have a spare Android phone or two lying around. But instead of leaving those old phones sitting in a drawer, you could very well be using them for their camera., and it even supports OBS output, one of the most capable streaming and recording apps available across Windows, Linux, and macOS. Whether you need a makeshift webcam to quickly jump into a Microsoft Teams meeting for work or have a friend on Discord that you need to talk to face-to-face, why splash out on a new webcam if you have a spare Android phone lying around? What's especially nice is that you can use DroidCam for free, though if you'd like to unlock watermark removal and higher recording settings , you can pay $4.99 a year, or a one-time fee of $14.99. The choice is yours. So, rather than buying a standalone camera for your desktop's streaming and recording needs, with the simple install of DroidCam on your Android phone, and a companion app on your PC, you can use your phone's camera just like a webcam. With one million plus installs, it's proven to be a noteworthy camera app. While you'll need to install a plugin to get OBS support working, the extra effort is worth it if you'd like to make recordings or stream from your newly repurposed phone's camera as if it were a native webcam.
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