Best free Android apps
If you have an Android device you really are spoiled for choice when it comes to apps, with the Google Play store being home to thousands of them.
- What's the best smartphone of 2015?
The huge quantity of apps doesn't mean they're all quality - far from it in fact. To make sure you never install a duff app here's our selection of the best 50 you should install right now. Each one has been carefully chosen to ensure that you have the best apps on your device.
1. Periscope
Periscope, Twitter's live video streaming app, has made its way to Android and it's an essential download for anyone who likes the immediacy of Twitter but craves something more visual.
You can easily create your own live streams or watch other people's, send comments and hearts in real time and if you miss the action there's a 24 hour window with which to replay streams. In short it's simple enough to dive straight into but has enough to it that you'll keep coming back, whether you're more creator or viewer.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
2. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is one of the most essential apps you can install on your Android device, especially if you have friends and family across the world.
Rather than using up your SMS allowance by sending text messages, WhatsApp lets you send messages over any Wi-Fi or mobile data connection instead. You can also send and receive photos with no size restrictions, and if you're using Wi-Fi (or you have unlimited mobile data) they won't cost you any extra to send.
- Winner of app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
3. Spotify
Similar to Netflix, Spotify has been pretty quick to establish itself as the top music streaming service, and the Spotify Music app brings some great features to your Android device, turning it in to a pocket jukebox that delivers your favourite tunes no matter where you are.
Even better you can now listen to Spotify music for free on Android, although if you want to download songs for offline listening and without any ads, then a Spotify Premium account is worth investing in.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
4. Evernote
Evernote is an excellent app for your Android device that lets you stash and sync all your text notes, voice memos and files on your phone and access them through a desktop computer.
It's a brilliant productivity tool that lets you organise and search your notes so you always have exactly what you need at your fingertips.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
5. Timehop
For the most part, social media is fleeting, but Timehop is all about digging up precious memories from the past. You link it to whatever social media services you frequent (and your on-device photos) and it shows you what was happening years ago on today's date.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
6. Pushbullet
Boost your productivity with Pushbullet, which lets you view your Android phone's notifications and messages directly on your desktop PC. It means if you get a text message you can read it there and then without having to take your phone out of your pocket or bag.
You can also quickly send files from your computer to your phone with only a few clicks, and if you regularly find that you email links to yourself just to open them on your smartphone, then you'll never have to do that again thanks to Pushbullet's link sharing features.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
7. Snapseed
Snapseed is Google's own photo editor that's been designed from the ground up to make tweaking your snaps as easy and fun as possible on a touchscreen Android device.
Although the interface is simple enough to use with just your fingers, there's also a lot of depth to this app as well. You use tools to tweak and enhance your photographs to make them look the best they ever have, as well as playing around with fun filters that can transform the photos you've taken on your smartphone or tablet.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
8. Instagram
Instagram is the go-to app for quickly taking photos, adding quirky filters to them and sharing them with the world. Over 300 million people use Instagram and thanks to the social aspects and effortless interface it's easy to see why it's such a hit.
You're not limited to sharing your snaps on Instagram either, as you can easily add your photos to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and more with just a few taps.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
9. Google Photos
There are probably hundreds of photo apps around, but Google Photos stands out as it gives you unlimited storage for photos and videos, all for free.
That's reason enough to jump on board, especially as it works not just on Android but on iOS and computers too.
But with basic editing tools and the ability to make collages and albums this is more than just photo and video storage, it aims to be your first and last stop after taking a picture. To achieve that it will need a few more features, but it's well on its way.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
10. Strava
If you're serious about running or cycling then you should be serious about Strava. As smartphone fitness tools go it's one of the best, allowing you to track your performance, set goals and see daily progress updates.
There are leaderboards and challenges to give it a competitive edge and if you're ever not sure where to run or cycle you can find user created routes on the app, or share your own. All of that comes free of charge, while a premium version adds even more tools.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
11. Pocket
Even in 2015 there are still times and places where we can't get an internet connection, but this doesn't have to mean you can't read websites, however, thanks to the excellent Pocket app. It allows you to save articles, news stories, blog posts, videos and much more, letting you read and watch them offline.
You can also synchronise your saved articles across every device you've installed Pocket on, allowing you to pick up where you left off and continue reading.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
12. Uber
Uber is transforming the way we travel. You can quickly and easily request a taxi using the app and get picked up within minutes and you can compare rates and get quotes, as well as paying with Google Wallet, PayPal or by adding your credit card to a secure Uber account.
The Uber service is available in over 50 countries, and it's rapidly growing. Give it a try and you'll never want to hail a taxi the old fashioned way again.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
13. Citymapper - Bus, Tube, Rail
Arriving in a brand new city is always exciting but it can also be a little daunting, especially if you need to get around using public transport. Citymapper - Bus, Tube, Rail is a brilliant app that brings you real-time information on public transport for cities around the world.
You can easily plan your route using all kinds of transport and you can be kept up to date with any disruptions or cancellations. An essential app for any city-bound traveller.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
14. Google Maps
Google Maps is probably already on your phone, but as the best free mapping option around it's well worth highlighting.
Transit directions, live traffic updates, voice-guided GPS navigation, Street View and more are all included, making this more feature-packed than even most paid options. Importantly it's detailed and accurate too, so you'll never get lost again.
- Listed for app of the year at the TechRadar Phone Awards.
15. Yahoo Livetext
Yahoo Livetext is somewhat impressive in that it manages to put a new spin on instant messaging. Because rather than just sending messages out to a blank screen the person you're talking to can see a live video feed of you and you of them.
So it feels more like you're face to face and you can instantly see their reactions to your messages, yet you're still typing, there's no sound here, which means you can easily use it when out and about where it might either be noisy or you don't have enough privacy for an audible conversation.
In most other ways it's a fairly standard messaging app. If there's a downside it's that you'll need to convince people to get the app, which could be hard given the huge number of communication apps most people are already using, but it's a novel experience.
16. Snowball
If like us you've filled your phone up with hundreds of apps you may find that you're getting an almost endless stream of notifications, many of which you have little to no interest in. Sure, Android has its own notification management, but Snowball arguably does it faster and better.
With it you can make sure important notifications are always shown at the top, while less important ones are listed below or hidden completely.
Better yet it learns and makes predictions over time and it allows you to reply to many notifications, such as WhatsApp and SMS messages, straight from the notification itself.
17. Twitter
A few short years ago if we'd recommended the official Twitter app as the best resource for tweeting from your Android device, we'd have been laughed off the internet.
However a lot of work has since been put into the official app to help it compete and even surpass third party offerings. New features such as being able to embed tweets within tweets for some sort of tweetception shenanigans, as well as uploading GIFs, are all very welcome.
These new features plus a streamlined interface, a lack of superfluous features some of its competitor apps contain and no ads makes this the best app for firing off a quick tweet.
18. VLC for Android Beta
It might not be quite as glamorous as other media players, but if you want a no-nonsense app that can play pretty much any media file under the sun, then VLC for Android Beta is the app for you.
As the name suggests this app is still in Beta which means there could be the odd bug, but we've yet to encounter anything serious and it's perfectly stable for playing and streaming your media from around your house.
19. Dash Radio
There are a number of streaming radio apps available for Android but where Dash Radio differs from most of them is that it includes over 60 original stations, with real DJ's, no adverts and 24/7 content.
It's not FM so you can listen with or without headphones and there are radio stations covering numerous genres, so it's easy to find ones you'll like. It also has daily competitions and supports Bluetooth streaming to external speakers. The overwhelmingly blue interface could use a bit of work but we can't fault the content.
20. CloudPlayer
CloudPlayer, as the name suggests, lets you stream music you have stored in the cloud. This of course is something Google Play Music has been successfully doing for years, but with CloudPlayer you can link up your OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive accounts and access all of them in one place.
It also has both Chromecast and AirPlay support and lets you stream files in lossless quality, on top of which it's got all the basics you'd expect from a music player, like a 10-band equalizer and playlists. Some features are free but others require a one-time payment to upgrade to premium.
21. Dropbox
Dropbox is probably the best known tool for syncing and sharing your files, photos and videos across all your devices, and its popularity is well earned. Any files that you save to your Dropbox folder on any of your PCs or devices will appear in the Dropbox app.
It took a while for Dropbox to come to Android, and after a shaky start this app is now essential with a number of helpful new features that let you save photos and videos from your device straight to Dropbox, as well as quickly editing your documents from within the app.
22. Boxer Calendar
Standing out as a calendar app is pretty hard, since there are so many and they all do essentially the same thing. But Boxer Calendar just gets it right. For one thing it works with other calendars, such as Google, Facebook, Outlook and Twitter and you can easily choose which ones to sync if you don't want all of them displayed.
It's also got an attractive Material Design inspired interface, offers pop-up notifications, multiple calendar views, a widget and if you couple it with Boxer email you can even view and send your availability to someone without jumping between apps.
It could soon be a pretty big deal too, as it's set to replace Google Calendar as the default calendar for Cyanogenmod OS 12.1, but you can get it for other Android devices as well.
23. Hopper
Booking flights can be a minefield, with so many different airlines offering them and prices changing all the time. Flight comparison sites can help a bit but they usually only tell you what the prices are at any given time.
Hopper goes a step further and tells you whether flights are likely to get more or less expensive if you wait to book, as well as giving you a snapshot of which days have the cheapest flights, so you can predict the best time to buy. You can 'watch' specific trips too, getting alerts for price drops and warnings before a price is likely to rise.
So if you're planning a trip it never hurts to stick it into Hopper and see if you can't save yourself some money.
24. YouTube Gaming
If you enjoy watching games as much as playing them you might want to check out YouTube Gaming. The app includes videos and livestreams, covering reviews, speed runs, let's plays, trailers and more, from both gamers and publishers.
You can chat and comment while watching videos and the app is easy to navigate, with dedicated pages for every game, plus various video categories and the ability to save your favourite games and channels.
25. Hexlock
You can lock your whole Android smartphone with a PIN or pattern, but out of the box you can't lock specific apps. That's where Hexlock comes in. It lets you set a PIN or password and apply it to apps of your choice, so even if someone borrows your phone you can control what they see and access.
Maybe you want to keep your messages private for example, or stop a child accessing the browser or Google Play. To make things even easier you can set up multiple profiles which lock down different apps and switch between them with a tap.
If you want to make things really secure you can even keep Hexlock itself from being uninstalled by unauthorised users.
26. IF
IF was formerly known as IFTTT, which stands for "if this then that" and handily sums up what this app does. It's a simple ethos that gives you a huge amount of options for making your Android device even smarter.
You can create simple statements such as "if any photo is taken then add them to Dropbox", or "if my location is home, send a text message to my partner saying "I'm home!"" which can also be shared with other IF users. You'll be amazed how much you can do with such a simple premise.
27. Nova Launcher
One of the best things about Android is how customisable it is, and there are loads of apps out there that can help you change the way Android displays and launches apps to suit your preferences.
Out of these Nova Launcher is the best, giving you complete control over your home screen. You can change the icons, themes, colours, layouts and much more.
28. Skype
There's a good chance that you've heard of Skype, the excellent voice and video service (with instant messaging thrown in for good measure as well). The Android app integrates brilliantly with your device, making it easy to make and receive calls.
Calls to other Skype users over Wi-Fi are free, but you can also make calls to mobiles and landlines as well. You'll need Skype credit for this, but you could find yourself saving a small fortune, especially if you're ringing people in other countries.
29. Photoshop Mix
Adobe Photoshop Mix isn't quite the full Photoshop experience, but it is a slick photo editing app designed for fast and intuitive use on a smartphone.
You can easily crop and merge images, adjust the colours, add filters and do more fine-tuned editing of a specific segment of a picture.
Importantly you can always return to the original image too, so if you create a monstrosity the photo it was based on isn't lost and when you're done creating you can share your pictures in a snap as well.
30. Prey Anti Theft
If you've just dropped hundreds of pounds/dollars/kwachas on a new smartphone you'll probably want to protect your investment and Prey Anti Theft helps you do that.
If your phone is lost or stolen you can use your Prey account to find it on a map, take pictures using the front or rear camera, remotely lock it, remotely trigger an alarm even if it's on silent or display a tailored message on the screen, increasing your chances of getting it back, or at the very least scaring whoever stole it.
31. S Health
S Health has been around for a while, but until recently this Samsung-built app was only available for Galaxy devices.
There are any number of other health and fitness apps around, but few as jam-packed full of features as S Health. You can track everything from running, walking and cycling, to food, water and caffeine intake and even things like blood pressure and sleep.
There's also the ability to set goals and undertake training programmes to run 5K or 10K. So whether you're gearing up for a marathon or just want to watch what you eat, S Health could help you out.
32. Google Fit
Google Fit is an excellent app for keeping track of your activity and you don't need any additional fitness trackers; you can just carry your Android phone around with you. If you do have Android Wear-compatible fitness trackers and wearables, then Google Fit gets even better.
Fitness goals can also be set to help you reach the level of fitness you desire, as well as keeping you motivated.
33. Map My Fitness Workout Trainer
Map My Fitness Workout Trainer is another great app for keeping tabs on your workout regime. As the name suggests it uses the GPS positioning features of your Android smartphone to log your runs, letting you get an accurate look at your workout regime.
Voice feedback will keep you in the loop even when you're in the process of working out, giving you information on your pace, the route you're taking calories burns and plenty more.
34. Slide for Reddit
There's no shortage of Reddit apps for Android, though curiously there's also no official one yet, but if there was we'd like to think it would look like this.
Slide for Reddit is one of the most visually pleasing Reddit apps around, making it a joy to use. It's also customisable, allowing you to change the theme and colours according to your tastes.
It's not lacking in features either, as you can both read and reply, easily access saved and upvoted content, view user profiles and your inbox, use it in both list and full view modes and much more besides. There are Reddit apps with more features, but none which also look this good.
35. Duolingo: Learn Languages Free
If you fancy learning a foreign language then make sure you download Duolingo: Learn Languages Free, as it's one of those rare apps that manages to be both educational and fun, ensuring that you'll keep coming back for more to brush up on your langueage skills.
Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, and English can all be learned, it's completely free with no ads or hidden fees and it's one of the best ways you can learn a new language with your Android device.
36. Truemessenger
If you're as sick of spam messages as you are of spam calls then Truemessenger could be for you. It's the SMS counterpart to Truecaller and leverages a massive database of numbers to identify almost any person or company that texts you, even if they're not in your phone book.
SMS ID is handy for any number of reasons, not least knowing which numbers you should block, but Truemessenger is also smart enough to automatically send most spam messages to a separate folder, so your inbox never gets clogged up with them.
37. Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office? On Android? Don't worry, you have read that right; Microsoft's suite of office applications is now available on Android devices and not only is it free, it's also really rather good.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint are all included, so you can open and edit your documents no matter where you are.
38. Google Drive
If having Microsoft on your Android device feels a little weird, then worry not, as Google Drive has you covered as well. You can view all the files you save to the Google Drive cloud storage service, as well as share them with friends and co-workers.
PDFs, photos, videos and much more can be accessed through this handy app.
39. Google Translate
If you need to quickly and easily find out what something means in another language, then there's no better way than with Google Translate. You can translate between 90 languages and even converse naturally with speakers of other languages and let Google do the translation.
One of the best features lets you use the camera of your Android device to translate real-world objects such as signposts and posters. Just point, shoot and translate!
40. Polarr Pro Photo Editor
Considering the basic app costs absolutely nothing Polarr puts a lot of photo editing power in your hands. From cleaning images up with sharpening and noise removal tools to tweaking the exposure, temperature and contrast and adding one of a number of filters.
There are other apps with similar tools, but few which have quite the wealth of options this does and with an in-app purchase of $4.99 / £3.84 you can unlock even more features, giving you the ability to make fine-tuned edits to just certain sections of a photo.
41. Inputting+
It's possible to type surprisingly quickly and accurately on a smartphone, but mistakes still happen more often than they would on a proper keyboard and when they do the means of fixing them are somewhat more limited.
But Inputting+ gives you a few extra tools, which would take the form of keyboard shortcuts on a PC. Any time you enter text with Inputting+ enabled a little circle will pop up and if you want to undo, redo or find and replace text you can do so by tapping on it.
It's still not quite as fast as an actual keyboard shortcut, but it's the next best thing and should help make text entry on Android error and frustration free.
42. Feedly
If you've got a huge list of websites and news sources that you like to keep up to date with, then you'll need to get Feedly. This excellent RSS feed reader collects all the latest news from your favourite sources and brings them together in an elegant interface that makes it easy to find what you're looking for.
43. Kindle
Amazon's Kindle app is a great e-reader, which is seamlessly linked with your Amazon account. Support for magazines and newspapers is limited at the moment, with only a handful of niche publications in Android-friendly format.
But for books it's great, with plenty of screen and text display options to get it looking a way that hurts your eyes the least. Another exciting new way to collect classic novels you'll probably never get around to reading because there's the internet now.
44. eBay
Another app that's been out there for a while on Android, the eBay tool has also been updated so much that it's now a credible alternative to the desktop site.
You can list items that you want to sell direct from the app, while there's a simple PIN system that makes paying for your winnings via PayPal much simpler and less convoluted than it is on the full blown web site.
45. Tinder
Tinder is the dating app that's taking the world by storm, and it's easy to see why as it lets you view and connect with people nearby, and its simple interface could net you a match made in heaven.
All you need to do is swipe through the photos of people who are using the app nearby and if you like the look of someone swipe right and if not swipe left. If someone likes you back, you'll be put in contact with them through the app. It's also compatible with Android Wear devices.
46. Microsoft Translator
Microsoft Translator ensures you'll always be understood, no matter where you go. You can get a written and spoken translation for any word or short sentence in dozens of languages and it supports both text and speech input.
There are other similar apps, but Microsoft Translator has a slick interface, Android Wear support and most importantly it works well, almost always understanding what you're saying to it.
47. Journey
Journey brings journaling into the smartphone age, making it easy to log your travels and experiences or just your day to day activities with text, images and videos.
A clean design and intuitive interface makes it simple and fun to use and you can easily find past journal entries based on their date or location. You can back them up too, leaving you safe in the knowledge that you'll still be able to find them in five years, no matter where you are or what phone you're using.
48. Adblock Browser
No-one likes adverts and they can be especially annoying on a smartphone, where they consume both data and battery. Adblock Browser is built expressly to combat them, automatically blocking all intrusive adverts.
As well as saving data and battery life this can also lead pages to load faster and reduce the risk of malware infection, not to mention removing the annoyance of pop-ups. If you want you can set it to block all adverts, but it defaults to allowing non-intrusive ones, so websites can still make their money.
49. Hooks - Alerts for Everything
Want to be alerted when your favourite band has a new album out or a new gig in your area? Or how about when a certain Twitter account tweets, or when a new episode of Game of Thrones airs? Perhaps you want to be alerted every time a critically acclaimed game launches for the PS4? Or when there's a weather warning in your area?
Hooks – Alerts for Everything can do all that and more. Despite the name it doesn't quite cover everything, but it has options for things as niche as being alerted of when a particular website goes down or when a well-regarded restaurant opens nearby and new alert types are being added all the time.
So just set up alerts for everything you care about and never again worry about missing something or having to hunt for it.
50. Amazon Appstore
There's a particularly great reason to have the Amazon Appstore on your phone or tablet - free stuff. Amazon is enticing users to stick its alternate Android app store on their devices with the promise of a free app every day, with some classics like Sega's ChucChu Rocket and World of Goo featuring as previous daily freebies.
The catch is these are unsupported releases, meaning no updates or fixes in the future, but you can't moan too much about getting some ace freebies every day.
- Not enough? Check out our list of 50 best Android apps.
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