The Best Android Apps of 2019
What makes a smartphone “smart” is its applications. In Android precisely there is no shortage, with an estimated number of 2.6 million, and this means that there are apps for everything, even for the most absurd purposes. Here we compile the opposite extreme: the best Android apps today.
We will mix here essential apps from yesterday and today with recently launched apps, known and little unknown, choosing only the best for their concept, functions, and / or design. We will update this article frequently to add new applications that you should not miss.
Actiondash
We start the list with one of the most recent apps: Action Dash. From the creator of the famous Action Launcher launcher, it is the same concept as Google’s ‘Digital Wellbeing’, but available for all mobile phones with Android Lollipop or higher.
Like Google’s digital well-being, it allows you to keep track of how long you use each application, how many notifications and how many times you have unlocked your mobile. It has no tools to limit the use of apps at the moment, so its use is informative for now.
ActionDash: Digital Wellness Assistant
Developer: Action Launcher
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Customization Canva
Have you ever wondered how they make some accounts in social networks to create such good designs? Sometimes it is not necessary to waste the afternoon in Photoshop, but an application with ready-to-use templates, so that you can easily create images for Instagram, Facebook Stories or any other purpose.
With about 60,000 free templates, the hard part will be that you don’t find one that meets your requirements, be it an Instagram post, a birthday card, a logo or anything else, adding your own photos and texts.
Canva – Graphic design and photo editor
Developer: Canva
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Art and design Feedly
It is important to keep informed of the latest news, if possible without installing the official application of each medium, as they would be too many. That’s exactly what Feedly does, one of the easiest ways to follow a lot of blogs and topics from a single place.
In Feedly you can keep up to date on any topic, with a clear interface that makes reading enjoyable and the ability to save articles for late and continue reading on other devices (for example, on PC with the web version).
Feedly – Smarter News Reader
Developer: Feedly Team
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: News and magazines Gboard
Gboard – formerly known as “the Google keyboard” – began its journey on Android as one more keyboard, with the peculiarity that it had a Google button to search for animated GIFs and little else. However, over time it has man, aged to reach the height of heavy weights like SwiftKey based on updates, and today it is probably the best keyboard app.
With unsurpassed language support, new customization options, floating keyboard option, offline voice writing, clipboard management and more news that arrive almost every week, it seems incredible that it only takes two years between us.
Gboard – the Google keyboard
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Tools Gmail
The Gmail application for Android is almost more years old than the Sun, but has managed to remain among the best email applications based on updates and renewals. The last one arrived recently, with the new Material Theming interface (and an extra white).
Gmail not only serves to manage Gmail email accounts, but you can add accounts from Yahoo , Outlook or any other address, enjoying a lightweight app with intelligent functions.
Gmail
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Communication Google Keep
Google Keep is undoubtedly one of the best apps to take notes on Android. As in other applications of the company, it started rather with the basics and little by little it has become essential based on adding new functions without compromising its agility or ease of use.
Among its advanced features, the possibility of adding reminders per place (that is, as soon as you arrive in a certain area) is highlighted, with the possibility of sharing the notes with other people for collaborative editing.
Google Keep: notes and lists
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Productivity Google Photos
Google Photos is a peculiar case as far as Google applications are concerned, because instead of doing just one thing, its focus is a bit scattered. It is partly a gallery application (somewhat regular), partly a backup service , partly a photo and video editor, partly an advanced image search system.
Only for the excellent photo search for its content it already deserves to appear on our list, but Google Photos can do much more like sharing albums with other people, creating romantic or pet videos.
Google Photos
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Photography Google Maps
It would be unthinkable Android without Google Maps, an essential app on any device. It offers one of the widest and most complete visions in the world, thanks in part to the collaboration of its users, reinforced by the great coverage of Street View, the 360 images taken by the company’s vehicle fleet.
There are many benefits of Google Maps such as the calculation of routes, real-time information on traffic or the influx of public in a place, offline maps and what is to come, such as indications with augmented reality or radars.
Maps – Navigation and public transport
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Travel and guides Manga Plus
There are many applications to read comics and manga, but they are official, legal, free and include a lot of popular manga publications worldwide, not so many. Also, in Spanish.
Among the titles available are One Piece, My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note or Dragon Ball. The application is in Spanish and some of the comics, too (the rest are in English or Japanese).
MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA
Developer: 株式会社 集 英 社
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Comics Nova Launcher
Do not be fooled by the name, Nova Launcher has little again, it is already more than seven years old, but it is one of the most consistent launchers, with constant updates to keep it relevant and improving the legacy that is getting bigger. It often acts as the launchers’ Robin Hood, bringing to the masses what is available exclusively for Pixel mobiles.
It is not the most customizable launcher and perhaps not the prettiest, but if something has stood out all these years Nova is to have a good balance between functions, constant development and stability. While other pitchers come and go, Nova Launcher prevails.
Nova Launcher
Developer: TeslaCoil Software
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Customization Netflix
The official applications of TV and streaming services are not always as good as their contents, and Netflix must be recognized with its official Android app: it works well, it has a careful interface and it doesn’t bother : you can’t ask for more.
Sometimes the best app is the one that fulfills its mission without further ado, and there the Netflix app stands out from its competition. He even dares with experiments like compatibility with interactive movies like Bandersnatch .
Netflix
Developer: Netflix, Inc.
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Entertainment Pocket Casts
It is an open secret that Android users do not like to pay for applications, so when an app like Pocket Casts, which is worth 3.99 euros, exceeds one million downloads, something must be doing well.
For years it has been considered by many the best application to listen to podcasts on Android and recently renewed its design. Google threatens his reign with his new Podcasts app, but for now it is extremely simple in comparison. The 7 best applications to listen to podcasts on Android In Xataka Android The 7 best applications to listen to podcasts on Android
Pocket Casts
Developer: Podcast Media LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: 3.99 euros
Category: News and magazines Samsung Internet
Samsung software doesn’t always get the best reviews, but you have to recognize when things are done right. Samsung’s browser is nowadays an alternative to Chrome to keep in mind.
While Chrome is primarily committed to simplicity, Samsung Internet has some noteworthy extras such as support for add-ons (advertising block included) or the QR code reader. Samsung Internet Browser Samsung Internet Browser
Developer: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Communication Snapseed
Snapseed, now owned by Google, is one of the best apps for editing and retouching photos on Android, with a good number of tools ranging from a simple crop to advanced settings such as changing the orientation of a face or deleting objects.
Its main asset is that it is completely free , with no ads or surprises, and that these advanced settings are very easy to apply with a couple of taps, with the majority of preset tools ready to use.
Snapseed
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Photography Spotify
Like Netflix, the official Spotify application for Android is quite polished, and even more since the last major update, which substantially relaxed the restrictions applied to users who are not subscribed.
Other benefits of the official application are the ability to control and resume playback on other devices , download songs for offline listening (only for Premium accounts) or podcast support. Spotify: music and podcasts Spotify: music and podcasts
Developer: Spotify Ltd.
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Music and audio Telegram
As for popularity, Telegram lives in the shadow of the omnipotent WhatsApp, but from a technical section the superiority of Telegram is clear. The app is very agile, with a good portfolio of added functions and support for synchronization in the cloud to access your chats whenever and wherever you want.
Telegram channels and bots are some of its additions, but the truth is that almost every month it receives updates that add small improvements here and there. The only thing missing today are video calls , although at least you already have voice calls.
Telegram
Developer: Telegram FZ-LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Communication TikTok
Probably the most controversial entry on our list, TikTok, before Musical.ly. There are those who consider it the antichrist, but its more than 500 million downloads show that the application likes (the average score, by the way, is 4.4).
Whether by the application itself or by the content, the truth is that it has led to the creation and editing of simple short videos to the masses, filling in a way the gap left by Vine. There is a bit of everything, and as a user you have an almost unlimited toolbox to create original videos.
TikTok
Developer: musical.ly
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Social VLC Player
In the world of video players for Android, there are some names that always come out, such as VLC or MX Player. VLC is the only one that marks all the boxes , with support for Chromecast , subtitles and its own codecs. What is the best video player for Android? We thoroughly analyze the seven best In Xataka Android What is the best video player for Android? We thoroughly analyze the seven best
If you use or use VLC on the PC, the Android version is a worthy successor that includes advanced features such as floating window mode or searching and downloading subtitles directly from the application.
VLC for Android
Developer: Videolabs
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Video players and editors With an overwhelming user community, WhatsApp lasts and endures. It is perhaps not the most advanced messaging application technically speaking, but above all it does what is expected of it, and it does so quickly and easily .
In recent times WhatsApp has extended its tentacles somewhat further from its domains, with timid incursions into business (WhatsApp Business) and chats with a larger multimedia component such as animated GIFs or stickers , with a greater pace of news than a few years ago.
WhatsApp Messenger
Developer: WhatsApp Inc.
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Communication Instant transcription
Instant transcription is a new accessibility application created by Google whose purpose is implicit in the name: transcribe what is heard by the microphone to be displayed as text on the mobile screen.
Created with people with hearing problems in mind, although it can be used by anyone to interpret what other people say and even sounds. It is also possible to use the keyboard to “respond” on the same screen.
Instant transcription
Developer: Research at Google
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Communication TDT Channels
Taking into account that the screens of our mobiles are getting bigger, why not use them to watch TV? TDT Channels is one of the best apps to watch TV on mobile, and best of all, the videos come from channels that broadcast on the Internet .
The app itself is very easy to use, just displaying the information of the m3u8 and m3u playlists, including a large number of national, regional and regional channels, also with radio stations. TDT Channels
Price: Free
Developer: Marc Vila
Download it at: GitHub Google translator
The Google translator is the translator par excellence. He has always had very good performance, but recently he received better offline translations and improved the interface and the performance of his translation using the camera , probably his most “magical” function.
The Google translator translates between hundreds of languages, giving you a multitude of options: from written to spoken text, captured by the camera or even handwritten. You can use it even to translate web pages.
Google translator
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Tools Night Vision
It is one of the “revelation” applications of the year, despite being a relatively simple concept. This app uses the TOF sensor of the mobile camera to generate a kind of night vision image.
The result is a bit pixelated and the support is limited to mobiles with TOF sensor and compatible with CameraApi2, but it is not surprising that in total darkness you can get an idea of what you have in front, even if it is pixelated.
Night Vision / ToF Viewer
Developer: Luboš Vonásek
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Tools VMOS
VMOS more than an application could be said to be Android, specifically Android Lollipop 5.1. It is an Android virtual machine that works under Android, being able to run in a floating window.
It requires a mobile with some power to move freely, but it can be used to test apps in a closed environment or to experiment with root, because the environment itself can be rooted with the press of a button.
VMOS Virtual Android on Android-Double Your System
Developer: VMOS | Virtual Android System Running on Android
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Customization Gallery Go
At the end of July Google surprised us by creating a gallery app called Gallery Go, after years in which we had made the idea that Google Photos is what we had, for better or worse.
Gallery Go is an old-fashioned, offline and simple gallery app, focused on the photos you have stored on your mobile, with basic options – but sufficient in most cases – for editing.
Google Photos Gallery Go
Developer: Google LLC
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Photography Ruff
Ruff is one of the winning applications of this year’s Google Material Design Awards and it is easy to see why: it is a minimalist note editor that gives all the prominence precisely to what you are writing.
With a practically clean interface, the note itself occupies the entire screen, although below you have some additional information on how many words and characters you carry, in addition to the format controls. When you finish writing, you move the note to one side and start writing a new one.
ruff
Developer: Third Culture Apps
Download it at: Google Play
Price: Free
Category: Productivity Reflectly
Following a diary with what you do or stop doing every day can be a bore, so all help is little. In Reflectly that help comes from the hand of an impeccable interface with animations that won a Google Material Design Award.
Beyond its appearance, Reflectly is a personal diary focused on dealing with negative thoughts, increasing positivity, in which you can save your structured reflections and get motivational content every morning.