17 Android-only apps that will make your iPhone friends jealous
by Steven Tweedie
One of the best things about Android is that apps have a lot more freedom compared to those found on iPhones.
Some of the most interesting Android apps are exclusive to Android because they do something Apple wouldn’t allow.
With apps like the one that lets you message your friends while still watching Netflix or one that lets you hack your smartphone’s LED lights for custom notifications, you’re guaranteed to find something new.
Just remember: You can’t recommend them to your friends with iPhones.
1. Muzei promises to turn your home screen into a “living museum.
“Muzei is a live wallpaper that changes your home screen into a different famous work of art each day.
2. Unlock your phone and apps with your face and voice using AppLock Face/Voice Recognition.
AppLock Face/Voice Recognition is an interesting app that lets you use your face and voice to unlock your phone and access locked apps. You can decide which apps to lock and unlock using this method, and there’s even a nifty “liveness” feature that requires you to move your face to protect against people tricking the system with photos.
3. Keep your Android phone virus-free with Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus.
Sometimes malicious apps make their way into the Google Play app store, and this comprehensive antivirus app will keep you protected. It scans for and removes viruses, includes anti-theft tracking, lets you lock specific apps with a PIN, and even lets you remotely snap a picture and record audio if anyone steals your phone.
4. Google Keep is a powerful tool for recording what’s on your mind.
Google Keep is a flexible app for note taking and reminders. You can color code your notes and take pictures from within the app. If you record a voice memo on the go, the app will automatically transcribe it for you.
5. Wikileaks lets you browse leaked documents and files.
Apple removed the Wikileaks app from the App Store, but you can download a version of the app on Google Play. (It hasn’t been updated in years, though.) The app lets you browse and dive into Wikileaks’ treasure trove of leaked documents.
6. Light Flow lets you hack into your smartphone’s LED for custom notifications.
If your phone has an LED light for notifications, Light Flow will let you assign a custom color for when you receive a text, email, phone call, calendar reminder, or even when you’re running low on battery.
7. HoverChat lets you message without stopping what you’re doing.
HoverChat is a messaging app that lets you continue your conversations even while you’re using another app or watching a movie. By resizing and deciding how transparent you want the messaging window to be, you can customize your messaging to fit what you’re up to.
8. Cover puts your favorite apps on your lockscreen.
Cover removes the hassle of searching through pages of apps to find what you’re looking for. Cover senses whether you’re at home, work, or driving and puts the apps you use most during those times right on your lockscreen.
9. Lux lets you darken your phone beyond the default brightness setting.
Lux lets you tweak your phone’s brightness settings. You can lower the screen’s brightness below the default zero when reading at night, and there’s Night Mode, which can be turned on automatically at sunset.
10. Cerberus is the best anti-theft app out there.
Cerberus does a lot more than just let you track your stolen device. You can control it remotely using the website or via text message, sound an alarm even in silent mode, wipe everything, lock the device with a code, record audio from the mic, see a list of sent and received calls, and even hide the Cerberus app so the thief doesn’t notice it.
11. Locale lets you customize your phone with crazy levels of detail.
Locale is an automation app, meaning you can customize how your phone behaves based on where you are, who calls you, what your battery life is, the orientation of your phone, or the time. For example, you can set it up so you silence your phone by turning it over, or so that it turns down the brightness automatically when your battery life hits 20%.
12. Google’s Sky Map makes stargazing fun and informative.
Sky Map was created by Google to help people learn more about the stars above them. By pointing your phone up to the sky, you can see what constellation you’re looking at.
13. Link Bubble Browser could change how you browse the internet.
Link Bubble Browser is all about saving time. When you click on a link online, the app will load it in the background, leaving you free to continue browsing. Once it’s done loading, just tap the link bubble and
you’ll see the fully loaded page.
14. tTorrent allows you to find and download torrents with your phone.
tTorrent is a peer-to-peer app that makes browsing and downloading torrents easy. And it comes with all the bells and whistles of other popular torrenting programs.
15. Mighty Text lets you text from your computer using your Android number.
Mighty Text allows you to send and receive SMS text messages with your computer or tablet, which is great when you’re in work mode and can’t glance at your phone. It also works from within Gmail.
16. Tasker is another automation app for customizing every aspect of your phone.
With over 200 built-in actions, Tasker is another great app for deciding what your phone will do when a certain “action” occurs. You can create custom actions based on the app, time, day, location, event, widget, or shortcut, and there’s even a built-in platform for creating and selling your own app.
17. UCCW lets you create your own custom widget.
UCCW allows you to design your own widget for your home screen. You simply choose from one of the many skins to create your own look. Then you can choose what the widget displays, with options for text, images, weather, clocks, calendar, battery info, missed calls, Gmail, and more.
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Please note: Most features are free