6 Android apps that are so slick, I thought Google made them

In terms of the Android operating system, there are a staggering variety of cellular functions on the market to select from. These apps can be found to obtain from throughout a lot of sources, together with the Google Play Retailer, the free and open-source F-Droid storefront, the Amazon App Retailer, the Samsung Galaxy Retailer, and others.

As with different platform holders, Google publishes and maintains up-to-date tips on how Android apps ought to look and behave. This consists of a number of visible issues: consumer interface buttons, toggles, sliders, menus, context menus, and extra. The aim is to create a coherent design language that extends throughout third-party apps, and to foster a novel id for Android apps as an entire.

No matter the place you get your apps from, one factor is evident: not all Android apps are created equal. Specifically, many cross-platform apps (notably social media and streaming companies) neglect Google’s UI tips, leading to a disjointed end-user expertise. Fortunately, there are many wonderful apps that do faucet into the Materials Design language, whether or not or not it’s Android 12-era Materials You or Android 16-era Material 3 Expressive. Listed below are six of my private favorites.

1

Gramophone

YouTube Music does not even come shut

So far as native music playback apps are involved, the Android OS is residence to a number of the easiest choices in the marketplace. I’ve examined quite a few old-school music gamers through the years, and Gramophone is much and away my present favourite. The app makes good use of Google’s Materials You theming, with dynamic shade tinting, the distinctive squiggly progress bar additionally present in Android’s native music mini participant, and playful animations. It is simple to parse by way of tracks through a lot of sorting choices, and you’ll dive proper into the file system for a extra hands-on expertise, too. Gramophone is a wholly free app, with an open-source code base besides.

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2

Compass

One of the best compass app availble for Android

Shockingly, Google is but to construct its personal native compass or stage software app for Android. Most third-party telephone makers have taken issues into their very own arms, however trendy Pixel telephones nonetheless do not present a user-facing app for accessing coordinates, altitude, magnetism, and different helpful metrics. Fortunately, Compass has you lined. Other than providing lovely and clear visuals that feel and look native to the Android platform, there’s an expertly crafted implementation of haptic suggestions all through the app that brings the entire expertise collectively in a cultured style. Compass is on the market for a small charge on the Play Retailer, and the app itself is solely ad-free.

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3

Inware

Discover your Android’s specs

There are a number of Android apps on the market that may floor helpful {hardware} and software program gadget specs, however my private favourite must be Inware. It follows Google’s Materials You theming to a tee, with wonderful group of information and a extremely approachable residence web page with massive iconography. I notably benefit from the app’s bespoke font, which seems to be nice and gives a splash of persona to the combination. Machine metrics displayed by Inware embody knowledge regarding the system, {hardware}, reminiscence, digital camera, community, connectivity, battery, and media digital rights administration (DRM) standing. The app is totally free to make use of, with no adverts or in-store puchases to talk of.

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4

Wavelet

The equalizer software that Google by no means made

Regardless of there being some wonderful alternate options, Wavelet continues to be my Android equalizer (EQ) software of selection. The app makes it straightforward to regulate bass, treble, channel achieve, channel steadiness, launch time, assault time, and extra. There is a useful graphic equalizer web page with numerous presets obtainable to select from, and a outstanding on / off button is one thing I enormously admire. Better of all, Wavelet totally embraces Google’s Materials design language, all the way down to Materials 3 Expressive’s wonderful new slider design. The app itself is free, however a one-time Professional buy is required to unlock extra options like reverberation, equal lludness, and the bass tuner.

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5

Counters

You possibly can depend on this app to maintain tally

A fundamental counter app is the type of factor that may not appear notably helpful at first look, however it may be a lifesaver in a pinch. There are a ton of use instances that crop up in my very own day-to-day life that warrant a fast tally, and the Counters app excels at all-things rating maintaining. The app embraces Materials You design tips, making for a visually pleasing and easy-to-use app interface. All of the necessities are right here: you’ll be able to set a number of counters, you’ll be able to have the counters reset mechanically, and you’ll title and shade coordinate every tracker. Better of all, the app is solely free with no commercials, and it could possibly sync with Android’s Well being Join framework, too.

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6

Everplan

Observe your bills in fashion

If Google have been to construct its personal expense tracker app for Android, I might invision it to feel and look rather a lot like Everplan. Revealed by the identical builders behind the superb Lumolight and Groovy apps for Android, Everplan helps you to preserve tabs in your financial institution balances, subscription charges and due dates, and different recurring charges. The app adopts a beautiful Materials You aesthetic, full with dynamic shade tinting and iconography, and the interface itself is straightforward and minimalistic. There is a good graph visualizer on supply right here, in addition to an choice to create distinctive expense classes to raised replicate your individual funds. Everplan is free to obtain and set up, with a one-time charge required to take away all adverts.

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