You’ve got an Android device, either because you didn’t want, or couldn’t afford, an iPhone – and in years past that meant you had to live with substandard apps. Thankfully, those days are well and truly over, with reams of great little programs standing toe to toe with the best Apple’s App Store has to offer.
What's the best phone of 2017?
Admittedly, 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 you should install right now – each one carefully chosen to ensure you’ll have a whole suite of fun, engaging and, dammit, useful apps on your phone or tablet.
Toontastic 3D
gives you or your child all the tools you need to create your own cartoons. And we
re not talking some sort of flip-book style animation, but rather fully animated 3D characters in 3D environments, with dialogue and music.
There is a sizeable selection of colorful characters and settings to choose from, or you can create your own using basic drawing tools and watch as theyre turned into a 3D model.
Once youve picked your cast you can create an animation by dragging them around, tapping on objects and speaking in ridiculous voices. Then add music and move on to the next scene.
Animations are all at least three scenes long, so you can give them a beginning, middle and end, but the whole process neednt take more than a few minutes and is easy for a child to learn.
And once youre done you can save your clip for later viewing, or export it to your gallery to share with friends. Toontastic is fun, but more importantly it has the potential to teach basic art and storytelling skills to kids.
Changing your phone" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s volume is as simple as hitting the volume key…except when it isn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t. Doing that will usually just change the volume for what you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re currently using (media if watching Netflix for example, or the ringtone if you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re just on your home screen).
Changing the volume of a specific task that you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re not currently using tends to require a tap on the cog icon that pops up, and even then (depending on your phone) you won" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t always be presented with a full list.
Volume Notification
makes tweaking the levels of specific things easier, be it media playback, voice calls, notifications, ringtone, system sounds or alarms.
The app places a bar on the notification shade and optionally also the lock screen, with icons for as many of these as you want, so you can just tap them to instantly bring up their volume controls.
And that" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s all there really is to it. It" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s an attractive widget with a customizable look, and it fits with the overall appearance of Android, so it won" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t look out of place. But more importantly, the next time you want to adjust the volume of something or mute your movie on a quiet train as your headphones have fallen out, Volume Notification will save you valuable seconds and frustrating taps.
Launchers are one of the best things about Android. These apps replace whatever overlay your phones manufacturer has put on your device with something new, and often something better.
In the case of
ADW Launcher 2
you get more control over the look and feel of your phone than with almost any other launcher.
That means customizable gesture controls, an abundance of themes, the ability to change the color of " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> or hide " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> the status bar, a choice of home screen transition effects and app drawer layouts, customizable folder styles and plenty more besides.
All these features are tucked away in menus, so if you want to keep things look clean and simple you can – but really ADW Launcher 2 is aimed at those who love to tinker and make Android their own.
We all need to-do lists from time to time, and while any number of note taking apps can do the job, theyre often a bit fiddly or basic.
Thats why, even if you never use it for more than your weekly shopping, a dedicated to-do list app is worth having.
Of these,
Wunderlist
is among the best. Beyond the attractive interface there are lots of little things that make it a firm favorite, such as the fact that once you tick something off it disappears, rather than your list simply getting clogged up with ticked items.
But by contrast, the ease with which you can view and restore previously checked off items when you need to do/buy/make/eat them again is a treat.
Wunderlist also lets you set reminders for deadlines, sort your lists alphabetically, put them into folders and sub lists to keep everything organized, and gives you access to your lists from the cloud on your phone, computer or tablet (perfect so you dont lose your lists when you drop your phone in the bath).
For most users, thats probably plenty, but Wunderlist goes even further, allowing you to easily share your lists with colleagues and friends, so you can build lists together or split the work. If needed, you can even attach photos and other files to your lists.
But the best thing about Wunderlist is that all these extra features stay tucked away, leaving you with a clean, clutter-free interface that makes it easy to create and complete lists – which is really the most important thing.
Ever tried hanging 4-6 medium sized bowling balls off your head? Well, the way you use your phone might be having a similar effect, as according to a study looking down at your phone at a 60-degree angle puts 60lbs of pressure on the neck and spine.
Reduce the angle and you reduce the pressure, but you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll want to significantly reduce it if you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re going to avoid lasting negative effects.
Getting into the habit of doing that might not be easy, but
Posture
is here to help. Its a simple app that just pops an alert up on your screen if it detects bad posture which it judges based on the angle of your phone, using its gyroscope.
You can choose the style and position of the alert, as well as choosing how often the app checks your posture and how strict you want it to be, and thats it.
Posture is an app that you can just set and forget unless your own posture is bad, in which case it will constantly be reminding you.
While SwiftKey is arguably the speediest Android keyboard, Googles own
Gboard
comes close, and has some key features that rivals lack.
Chief among them is its integration with Google search, allowing you to search the web directly from the keyboard, which is ideal if you want to look something up while engaged in a text conversation.
Gboard also has an emoji and GIF search, plus voice typing and Glide typing (where you swipe across letters rather than tapping them).
Like all the best keyboards Gboard also learns as you type, so it will start to suggest the words you use more regularly.
With a choice of themes, a one-handed mode, and the ability to sync your personal dictionary between devices, its easy to see why Gboard is worth having as a keyboard.
TED
isnt a new app, but it is an enduring and regularly updated favorite. Home to over 2,000 TED Talk videos and episodes of the TED Radio Hour podcast, it has interesting content from inspiring speakers on numerous different subjects, with talks covering everything from “the emotional impact of architecture” to “what a driverless world could look like.”
The talks are usually short taking no more than 18 minutes, so you can fit one into a coffee break, and they can be streamed, downloaded or sent to a TV via Chromecast, depending on how you like to consume them.
Alternatively they can just be favorited to watch/listen to later, so whether you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re out and about or sat in your living room they" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re always accessible.
The whole app is simply laid out with a polished look and lots of images, along with tools to help you find new talks. You can check out one of the curated playlists, search by suggested themes, or just type a term of your own into the search box.
And did we mention all of this is completely free? If only school had been this interesting, we might know as much about science and history as we do about phones.
Your phone probably came with a calculator app, but we can almost guarantee that
All-in-One Calculator
is better. Not only does it have a basic calculator (which changes to a scientific one when you hold your phone in landscape orientation or swipe in from the right edge), it also has over 50 specialist calculators and unit converters.
These cover everything from solving equations, to converting weights and lengths, to working out percentages, averages, density and more. Theres even a currency converter, which updates to offer the current exchange rates, and a BMI calculator.
Most of these youll probably never need to use, but next time you need to calculate or convert anything All-in-One Calculator will ensure the answer is never more than a few taps away.
Trusted Contacts
is a free app from Google, designed to help you stay safe and let those who care about you know youre OK.
You start by adding close friends and family members of your choice as Trusted Contacts, and they can then request your location.
Your privacy isn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t at risk, as you can deny the request, but if you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re unable to respond within 5 minutes then the app will automatically share your location, and it works even if your phone is out of battery or offline, by sharing the last known location data.
This means that if those who care about you have reason to worry (for example, they know you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re walking home alone late at night) they can request your location. But you don" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t have to wait for a request either in an emergency or if you simply feel unsafe you can send out your location without being prompted.
Photomath
, as the name suggests, can do maths from images. Just point your camera at a written out problem (which can be typed or hand-written) and the app will provide you with a solution.
It also has a built-in calculator, so you can type problems into the app if you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d prefer, and whatever method you choose you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll be given a step-by-step guide to reaching the same conclusion as Photomath, so if you have no idea why X equals 4, the app will teach you.
That takes it beyond just being a clever calculator, and actually makes Photomath a great educational tool as well. The core features are all free, but theres a $0.99/89p monthly subscription to unlock more in depth explanations and learning tools.
Cortana
never quite managed to rival Google Now or Siri, thanks in part to being tied to Windows an operating system that has proved unpopular on mobile.
But Cortana is a decent voice-based assistant, and you can find it not just on Windows handsets but also Windows computers, iOS and, of course, Android.
If you want just one AI assistant across all your devices that gives Cortana an edge, especially as by having Cortana on multiple devices you can do things like get missed call alerts on your PC, or ask it to send an SMS from your PC, giving you control over phone functions even when you dont have your phone to hand.
It" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s fairly accomplished too. You can start talking to it just by tapping the Cortana Mic" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> app icon on your home screen, and it can do many of the same things rival apps can, like make calls, send emails, answer questions and look up information online.
It" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s not quite as deeply integrated into Android as Google Now, so you can" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t launch it with a voice command for example.
As a Microsoft service it also insists on using Bing rather than Google. But its answers are normally relevant and useful, and its voice is arguably less robotic than Google Now" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s, so it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a strong alternative.
Quartz
is a new way of reading the news, formatting it like a text message conversation, with the app giving you a headline, and then giving you the option to hear more or move on to the next story.
All of the stories are condensed into bite-sized chunks, broken up with emoji and GIFs, which add to the conversational feel.
Each conversation" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> with Quartz only lasts a few minutes, so you can easily fit in a news update during even short breaks, and it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s an engaging way to take in the news.
Quartz isn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t perfect, it doesn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t let you pick the types of stories you want to see, and while it injects a certain amount of personality into the news your responses are generally limited to some variation of " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />tell me more" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />, or " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />next" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />.
But it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s an interesting approach to gathering news, and we" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re hopeful many of these features will be fixed if a greater swell of users appears.
Planning trips can be a messy business, with information and bookings often strewn across multiple websites and services, but
Google Trips
aims to put everything in one place.
Simply search for a location and the app will provide information on attractions, restaurants and more, which you can save to your trip.
Any bookings you make " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> be it for flights, accommodation or whatever else " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> can be added from Gmail, and if you're struggling to fill a day you can make use of pre-constructed day plans, which factor in the average time spent in locations and how long it takes to get between them.
Best of all, everything is available offline, so you won't have to rack up roaming charges every time you check your itinerary.
Arguably the world doesn't need any more feed readers, but for sheer simplicity
Microsoft News Pro
could find a niche.
The app has an attractive design and speedily loads articles two things which are near vital for any app which asks you to spend time reading. But where it stands out is in delivering content you never knew you wanted.
When we got our news from papers and TV headlines we had no control over what we were seeing, but in the age of feed readers and the internet we can filter out anything we don't want to read. That's handy, but risks us missing important or interesting things too.
Microsoft News Pro addresses that by giving you more limited control over what news is pumped into your face. You can add topics, and let it know if you want to see more or less of certain types of stories, but News Pro never puts all the power in your hands.
As a result you'll see some stories you have no interest in, but you'll also see great content you might have otherwise missed.
AccuBattery
isn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t designed to extend your phone" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s between-charge lifespan, so much as it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s aimed at lengthening the overall life of your battery so that two years from now it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s still staying charged for a longer time.
It does this not by meddling with things behind the scenes, but simply giving you the information you need to make more informed decisions about when and how much to charge your phone.
Regularly charging your battery to 100% can shorten its lifespan, and AccuBattery gives estimates of the effect of charging to different percentages, with recommendations that you generally dont charge beyond 80%.
To help you manage that it also has a built-in charge alarm, which goes off when the battery reaches the level you want it at, plus a scary battery health figure, which tells us our 8-month-old S7 Edges battery is already down to 83% health, with 600mAh gone from its original capacity.
That may not be entirely accurate, but its certainly the kind of number that will spur you into action.
And even if youre already careful about how you charge your phone, AccuBattery could be worth having, as it provides more detailed information on how power-hungry your apps are, and how long your battery will last between charges, than Android itself does.
If Planet Earth 2 isn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t enough Attenborough for you you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re in luck, as the BBC has launched
Attenboroughs Story of Life
a slick app that features a collection of over 1000 highlights from his nature documentaries.
These can be streamed over Wi-Fi or mobile data, giving you an almost endless (and very mobile) supply of animal and plant footage, complete with a handful of new clips recorded by Attenborough for the app.
You can search for specific content, filter by category, or simply browse the full selection. You" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll also find featured collections" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> which paste together a selection of related clips into a single longer video.
And if youre feeling creative you can even create your own collection, which you can then name and share on social media.
If you're on the hunt for a new messaging app you could do worse than
Google Allo
, which has most of the basics plus a few features that you won't get elsewhere.
Smart Reply, one of the standout features of Allo, suggests responses to messages and photos, learning how you talk over time, so you can send authentic responses without having to type – though it does seem a little impersonal.
The other big feature is Google Assistant, which works a bit like a text version of OK Google, but one which you can insert into any conversation, asking it questions or getting it to pull up information from the web.
Allo also has an incognito mode, with end-to-end encryption and expiring messages, for anyone who's particularly security conscious.
As with any new messaging app the big problem with Allo will be convincing your friends to use it, but it's worth the effort.
There are plenty of podcast apps to choose from, but few that are as full-featured and easy to navigate as
Podcast Player
, and fewer still that are also free.
Podcast Player helps you discover new shows by having you follow topics, which can be as broad as 'tech' or as niche and specific as 'beekeeping'.
The app is also packed full of other handy features, like auto-downloading the latest episodes of shows you're subscribed to whenever you're on Wi-Fi, and the ability to sync across devices, all wrapped up in an attractive, simple interface with absolutely no adverts. Podcast Player is so good you'll wonder why it's free.
Widgets can be a handy way to quickly access key functions of an app or view information without opening an app, but they can also take up a lot of space, quickly forcing you into using extra home screens if you want more than a couple of widgets.
Snap Swipe Drawer
solves that problem, by putting widgets on a separate screen that you can access by swiping down, much like you would to view your notifications.
It's separate from the notifications shade too, so that doesn't become too cluttered. Instead you can set the left, right or middle of the top edge to display your widgets when pulled on, while the rest will still take you to your notifications.
It's potentially a bit slower than having your widgets on your home screen, since it requires an extra swipe, but Snap Swipe Drawer is available from anywhere, even while you're in apps, so in that sense it can be faster and more convenient, and it certainly leaves your screens less cluttered.
It" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s similar to Apple" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s widgets, which are accessed with a swipe right from the notifications shade, but with one fewer finger flick.
If you can't go five minutes without checking Twitter, Facebook or Instagram then
Flow Home
could be the launcher for you.
The app replaces your standard home screen with a combined feed for those three services, plus Tumblr and Feedly (or as many of them as you want to include), so they're always the first thing you'll see when you turn your phone's screen on.
Your actual apps, which would usually take center stage, are instead relegated to a second screen, though favorites can be accessed by tapping an icon in the bottom right corner, and for anything you want really fast access to you can add a widget above the main feed.
Flow Home definitely isn't for everyone, but it's stylish, different and worth a look if you glanced at your Twitter timeline while reading this.
KinScreen
is a great example of the power Android offers, as the app adds new functionality to your phone, allowing you to turn your screen on just by waving your hand over the proximity sensor, picking your phone up, or holding it at a certain angle.
KinScreen also includes toggles to keep your screen on under certain circumstances, such as when on a call, although you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll need to make sure your face doesn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t press a million buttons at the same time.
It's not the only app to offer these tools, but it works well and while there is an IAP to unlock certain options, much of it (including the wave-to-wake feature) is free.
Got an expensive app habit? Then it's time you discovered
Google Opinion Rewards
, an app which gives you Google Play credit for filling out quick surveys.
Most of the questions are multiple choice and there are rarely more than a few questions in each survey, so the app won't waste your time.
You'll usually get around one survey a week, so it's not going to make you rich, but you can earn enough to buy an app or rent a movie every month or two, all for just a few minutes of work.
There are any number of apps for translating foreign text, but
MenuSnap
homes in on menus specifically and goes beyond mere translation.
Simply take a picture of a foreign menu and the app will let you tap on any of the different dishes, bringing up images, translations and other information about them from the internet, so you won't just know what the name means but even what the dish looks like.
One potential flaw with this is that the app requires data to do its work, which can be expensive when abroad, but images are compressed and the app only uses around 700KB of data per menu.
And MenuSnap isn't limited to English translations, with the ability to translate to and from over 50 languages.
Prisma will transform your photos into works of art, and now
Artisto
has arrived to do the same for videos.
Simply select any clip that's saved to your phone (or shoot a new one straight from the app), and then choose from a number of filters, some of which are inspired by actual art styles, such as art nouveau, and the app will quickly apply the filter to your footage.
Depending on the clip and style you choose the result can range from beautiful to an incomprehensible mess, but it's fun to play with and, if used with care, can lead to great-looking videos.
Once you've applied a filter you can share your creation straight to Instagram, Facebook, or any other compatible app on your phone, or just save it to your handset.
If you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re anything like us you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d probably sooner forget those embarrassing outfits you were wearing in all your old printed photos.
The good news is you can easily hide them away in a box, in a cupboard or at the bottom of the ocean. The bad news is
PhotoScan
by Google brings them into the digital world, where theyll never be more than a click away – so please think about your future self when digitizing your images.
Follow some simple instructions, which basically involve moving your phone over an image, so the camera lens can clearly see all the different parts of it, and it will be immortalized in digital form and ready for sharing on social media.
PhotoScan has some clever tricks up its sleeve too, allowing it to enhance images, avoid glare, and crop and straighten shots, so that the finished product really is like a digital photo, rather than just a snapshot of a snapshot.
It" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s all very quick and easy, which sadly means there" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s no forgetting those baggy jeans and nineties haircuts if you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re hell-bent on documenting your entire drawer of old photos.
Ever wondered how strong the network's signal is in your area and whether a rival provider would be better? Or wanted to know where your nearest cell tower is?
OpenSignal
can tell you all that and a whole lot more, with data taken from your handset and those of over 10 million other users.
You can use the app to test your download and upload speeds or latency, see detailed coverage maps split by network and signal type, charts highlighting the best and worst networks in a given area and statistics on your signal quality.
Data can be saved and shared, the app will build up a history of your network usage while it's on your phone, and all of this comes free of charge and adverts – so it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s perfect if you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re thinking about changing networks and want to get the best coverage with your new phone.
Distractions are the enemy of productivity and when writing on mobile even a busy interface can prove distracting, with options and icons taking up valuable space on the screen.
iA Writer
was seemingly created with that in mind, giving you essentially just a white screen to write on, while all other options are a tap or swipe away.
It can go even further than that, with a Focus Mode causing the text you've already written to fade into the background, so you can stay focused on the current sentence.
These features all make it ideal when you need to write a lot, pen prose quickly or put some thought into what you're actually putting down on the digital paper.
But there's more here when you need it, including a night mode with reversed colors if you're working late, real-time syncing to Dropbox and Google Drive so you never lose your work, instant publishing to WordPress or Medium and a word count too, so you'll know how far you've got left to go if youre being that regimented.
Aside from Google Assistant, one of the best features of the
Pixel
and
Pixel XL
is the fingerprint scanner as it goes beyond just securing your phone to also give you a shortcut to the notification screen, accessed by swiping down on the scanner.
While not unique, fingerprint gestures are a bit of rarity, with many popular phones like the
Samsung Galaxy S7
not supporting them.
But
Fingerprint Gestures
can add that feature to your handset, and its not limited to just bringing up the notifications screen. You can also set up swipes and taps to launch apps, toggle the torch, change the ringer mode and more.
There are three different gestures you can use, for any combination of these you want, with a swipe, a single tap and a double tap all supported, and while certain actions like putting your phone to sleep require root access, most work on unrooted devices.
SoloLearn
is for coding what Duolingo is for languages. Like Duolingo it has a wide-range of courses, covering C++, HTML, Java, Python 3, JavaScript, SQL, PHP, CSS, C#, Swift and Ruby.
Lessons are built into simple, bite-sized chunks, ideal for mobile, and SoloLearn starts at the very beginning, so its not intimidating to complete beginners.
Also like Duolingo theres a large community around SoloLearn, with users able to comment on each lesson, or engage in larger question and answer discussions.
SoloLearn also lets you put your coding skills to the test, with a built-in code editor. If there" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a downside to the app it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s the fairly plain appearance, which doesn" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t make it particularly inviting that" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s one area where it could stand to learn from Duolingo. But it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s completely free, with no IAP and no adverts, and perfect for those that feel they should learn to code but havent got round to it.
Like Chrome but dont like adverts? Then you might like
Brave Browser
. It" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a browser based on Chromium so it looks a lot like Chrome, and it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s built by one of the co-founders of Mozilla, who should have a better idea of how to build a browser than most.
As you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve probably guessed, Brave has a built-in ad-blocker, and it" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s simple to use and configure for individual sites just tap the lion icon at the top of a page to enable or disable ads, trackers and third-party cookies for the site you" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re on (although TechRadar would just love it if you chose to whitelist us to help us keep the lights on).
Brave is still in beta though, and this is just the beginning, as it has ambitions to work with websites and advertisers, rather than simply blocking ads.
The desktop version of the browser already lets you choose to show unobtrusive ads, or pay publishers of the sites that you block ads on, and in future the company even plans to launch a revenue share model, where users who dont block adverts get a small cut of the income which they can either keep or distribute to the sites and bloggers they want to support.
You won" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t find these features on mobile yet, but they" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re likely planned for future updates, so this is one browser that" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s sure to get a lot more interesting over time.
Anchor
describes itself as ‘radio by the people’ and that’s not far from the truth. The app lets you record up to two minutes of audio at the push of a button and then send it out into the world, ready to be listened to by other Anchor users.
They can then reply to your recording with audio posts of their own, starting a group conversation with potentially dozens of strangers, all using their voices rather than text.
Of course, if you’re not much of a broadcaster you can just listen to other people’s recordings – which cover everything from news and opinions, to short stories and humor.
Much like Twitter and other social media platforms you can also follow users, so you’re never short of new content to hear.
The internet has made life hard for bricks and mortar stores, and
Amazon Prime Now
could be the thing that finally kills them.
The app gives Amazon Prime subscribers free same day delivery within a two-hour window on thousands of products, or one-hour delivery for an additional charge.
You can get everything from smartphones, to video games, to clothes, toys and even food sent to you.
Well… at least you can if you live somewhere with access to Prime Now, so its rather limited availability means physical stores might not be doomed quite yet.
Still, Prime Now’s availability is growing, and for those who can access it there’s one less reason to ever leave the house again.
Kitchen Stories
is based around the idea that anyone can cook, and so the app is as accessible to the culinarily curious as it is to seasoned chefs.
That starts with finding a recipe, allowing you to filter not just based on the course or main ingredient, but also by how long it takes to cook or how many calories it has (among other things).
Then, once you find something you like the look of, you can add it to a personal recipe book with a tap, or add the ingredients to your shopping list.
When it comes time to actually cook you’re in safe hands, with fully illustrated and clearly laid out instructions for each recipe, along with video guides for many of the skills you’ll need.
The app also has a built-in timer and a measurements converter, plus new recipes and videos are added every single week.
Most wallpaper apps aren’t very exciting, but then most wallpaper apps aren’t made by Google. Simply named ‘
Wallpaper
’, this is an app you’ll find pre-installed on the
Pixel
and
Pixel XL
, but it’s compatible with other Android devices too.
The app lets you pick from a range of wallpapers across several categories, including Earth, landscapes, cityscapes, life and textures, with the option to have it automatically change the wallpaper each day.
The app also lets you have a separate wallpaper on your lock screen and home screen, but what really makes it stand out is simply the quality of the offerings. Images are sourced from Google Earth, Google+ and elsewhere, and while the selection isn’t as wide as some wallpaper apps the quality is universally high.
If you’re a fan of Facebook Messenger’s chat bubbles then you’ll probably love
Flychat
. It’s a similar concept – putting a small bubble with a contact’s image to the side of whatever screen you’re on when they send you a message.
You can move the bubble if it’s in the way, and tap it to read or reply to the message, at which point a larger screen will appear over whatever you were looking at, but won’t take you away from the app or page you were on.
It’s designed to both be unobtrusive and mean you won’t have to leave the app or game you’re in to respond to messages.
Where it beats Facebook Messenger is in being able to grab messages from WhatsApp, Telegram, Hangouts, Line, Skype, Twitter, Threema, Textra, Facebook Messenger and Plus Messenger, and that list is likely to grow over time.
So wherever you’re getting contacted from there’s a good chance you’ll be able to respond through Flychat.
Ever felt betrayed by the weather forecast? Then you might want to check out
Climendo
, as rather than relying on a single forecast it pulls data from up to nine providers depending on where you are.
The app then creates a combined forecast using data from the most accurate providers in your region and tells you how certain it is of the forecast’s accuracy, so you’ll know exactly what to expect and never again find yourself wearing shorts in a storm.
Hourly and daily forecasts are available, and you can look up to ten days ahead, though of course the accuracy drops off the further forward you look.
If you want a second opinion you can also see what each individual forecast provider reckons the weather is going to be doing.
Climendo isn’t as feature packed as some weather apps. It doesn’t offer widgets and nor can you see details like humidity and pressure, but it’s likely to get the basics of how wet you’ll get right, and that’s surely the most important thing.
Smartphone cameras have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, but they still tend to struggle in low-light, turning out dull, noisy images.
Light EQ
is a simple, free tool which aims to help with that, allowing you to use a slider to increase the exposure of underexposed photos.
It can also improve the contrast and vibrancy of an image and correct uneven lighting, and it does it all with a single slider, working out on its own what needs fixing.
Light EQ works surprisingly well, bringing out details which can hardly be seen in dark originals and generally creating a much more useable image.
It’s not a miracle worker, it can’t add details which were completely absent, and photos which started noisy will generally still be noisy once you’re finished with them, but if you just want to add some light to a shot, this is a slick, simple solution.
Google Duo is essentially the search giant’s answer to FaceTime, except unlike Apple’s video calling service Duo works on both Android and iOS, so you won’t have to ignore your iPhone-toting friends.
High-quality free one-to-one video calls over Wi-Fi or mobile data are at the core of Google Duo, but it’s got some standout features as well, most notably ‘Knock Knock’, which lets you see a video preview of the caller before you decide whether to answer or not.
There’s strong security too thanks to end-to-end encryption, and as there’s no need to sign up for an account, you just need to input your phone number to get started.
Fast Speed Test isn’t just referring to the speed of your network in its name, but also the fact that it’s superfast at testing it, getting to work the instant you launch the app.
This Netflix creation estimates your download speed by performing a series of downloads from the company’s servers, giving you a quick estimate of how speedy your internet is.
It doesn’t test your upload speeds, ping or latency as it’s designed to keep things as simple as possible and there are plenty of other services for them if you need more details, but if you just want a speedy snapshot of the internet performance on your phone Fast Speed Test is hard to beat.
We’ve all been there. You’ve decided you want to watch a very specific show or film and now need to hunt through all six billion different streaming sites to see if or where it’s available.
But what if there was another way? What if you could just search once and get back a list of locations where your content can be found?
That’s what JustWatch does, you simply tell it what country you’re in and which sites and services you’re interested in when you first download the app, after which it will bring back every relevant search result from then on.
That’s reason enough for stream fiends to grab it, especially as it’s free, but there’s more here, including lists of the latest releases on all of your subscribed services, so you’ll never miss a new Netflix series again.
If you work on a lot of collaborative projects, then a service built from the ground up for collaboration can be a better choice than established software like Microsoft Office.
Cloud services like Google Docs are doing a good jo