การรู้ว่าแอป Android ที่ดีที่สุดสำหรับโทรศัพท์หรือแท็บเล็ต Android คืออะไรนั้นไม่ใช่เรื่องง่าย Google Play Store เต็มไปด้วยเกมและแอพมากมาย ทั้งหมดนี้ถูกจัดระเบียบตามสิ่งที่ Google คิดว่าคุณจะสนใจมากที่สุด หรืออะไรที่ดึงดูดใจผู้ใช้ Android คนอื่นๆ
นี่คือที่มาของ Opera Max มันลดขนาดของภาพและวิดีโอ เพิ่มความเร็วในการโหลดเว็บไซต์ และโดยทั่วไปช่วยให้คุณประหยัดจากการใช้ข้อมูลทั่วไปประมาณหนึ่งในสามถึงเกือบครึ่งหนึ่ง คุณสามารถจำกัดบางแอพให้เชื่อมต่อผ่าน Wi-Fi เท่านั้น และปิดการเชื่อมต่อชั่วคราวหากคุณต้องการบันทึกข้อมูลบางอย่างสำหรับสิ้นเดือน
There’s always a Google alternative, and this has great potential
If you don’t want a paid podcast solution, there are plenty of alternatives of course. Google Podcasts may not be the most fully-featured of these, but it has a nice simple interface and a number of neat features, including the ability to easily connect with Google Assistant (so you can carry on where you left off on your Google Home speaker, for example.)
But the best may be yet to come. Google has said that AI will be at the heart of this. For now, that just means a clever recommendation engine based on what you’ve listened to before, but in the future, it could mean automated speech to text, and even translations on the fly via Google Translate. Watch this space.
Watch live streams of people broadcasting their lives from their smartphones. Search by location, individuals you follow, or just the most popular streamers in the world right now.
Watching someone drink coffee, eat a sandwich or explore a new city by foot has never been more exciting.
30. Spotify (from free; ad-free streaming from £9.99/mth)
Every album you need right there in your pocket
Spotify is your de facto streaming service for Android. Premium subscribers don’t even have to endure the ads, so it’s a no-brainer if you already pay for the service.
Now with Spotify Running, mobile video, news content, and intelligent playlist creation bundled in, Spotify is a one-stop-shop for all things music.
It’s always good to have an alternative if for some reason you don’t get on with Spotify, and Google Music offers a pretty great experience for the same monthly cost. Plus, you can upload MP3s from your own collection to stream remotely, should you find the catalog at all lacking.
Of course, if you have a large collection of mp3 files, then you won’t want the monthly subscription to Spotify or Google Play Music. But the chances are you won’t want to stick with the bundled audio player either, which is almost always universally dire. Poweramp, on the other hand, is brilliant. It supports a wide range of file types, includes a ten band graphical equalizer, has separate adjusters for bass and treble, automatically seeks out the album art, and – most importantly – looks great too.
Transform your Android smartphone into a DJ deck with djay. As the video shows, you can mix your favorite songs wherever you are. Perhaps most cleverly, you’re not hemmed in by the music you have stored locally, as djay plugs directly into Spotify to let your creativity really run wild…
Make Android handle any video file you throw at it
Say hello to the only video player you’ll ever need. VLC plays practically any video format you can throw at, isn’t power-hungry, and is incredibly simple to use.
Thanks to its open-source roots, the update process is transparent, so you always know what your device can or can’t support.
Gone are the days of scouring magazine listings for upcoming gigs that you want tickets for. Songkick plugs directly into Spotify or Google Play and alerts you whenever your favorite artists are on tour near you.
Buy tickets in the app, or just use it to keep tabs on your favorites. Either way, you won’t need to do the research yourself again.
Ordering gig tickets online is a terrible experience generally. Not only do they sell out in seconds, but you’re often stung with an extortionate booking fee at the end of things.
DICE fixes that firstly by having no booking fees. Your ticket is locked to your phone, meaning that touts and bots are also blocked out. It’s generally a safer, fairer, and better way to get gig tickets. What’s not to like?
The Oculus Rift will set you back a pretty penny, but if you want a (somewhat glitchy) taste of virtual reality on a budget, then Trinus VR is worth a look. In short, it lets you stream PC games to your Android phone as if it were an Oculus Rift, letting you mount your handset in Google Cardboard for a passable VR experience, but with a much wider PC catalog of games.
Just try the free version (limited to 15 minutes of VR shenanigans) first to make sure it works with your setup – it needs a beast of a PC to run well, as you might imagine.
Google Fit comes preinstalled on some Android devices, but if you don’t have it you should head on over to the Play Store and download Google’s health aggregator.
Not only does it track your walking, running, and cycling activity when you’re carrying your phone, but it’s also compatible with smartwatch OS Android Wear for phone-free tracking. It dishes out performance-based recommendations on reachable goals and aggregates fitness data from all of the tracking apps that plug into it.
If you need a straightforward app to record your runs, walks, cycle rides, and other activities, Runtastic does the job very well.
Using your phone’s GPS, Runtastic can track your route and times. You can even set up audio cues for intervals or distance run. Handily, it also lets you know the pace you’re running at.
Where every street is a race against your neighbors
Planning to cycle to work, or just want something to help track and improve your cycling bests? Strava is the answer.
Split between running and cycling, Strava is really best at keeping track of your cycling routes. It can tell you how quickly you’re riding, using GPS to track your progress, and lets you compete with yourself on future rides.
Strava’s best feature is how it pushes you to do better, allowing you to go toe-to-toe with complete strangers to mix things up.
Who said your run had to be boring? Zombies Run uses your running route to drop you into a zombie apocalypse.
Frenzied flesh-feeders chase you down, inspiring you to get fit and run further. You’ll be issued directions as you run, telling you where your nearby supplies are and the speed of the encroaching horde. Using your GPS, Zombies Run can tell you if you’re running fast enough to survive. The 5k version gives you enough content to get you from a standing start to running 5km in just a few short weeks.
Sworkit is aimed squarely at people who want to get fit, but keep making excuses to dodge the gym by a) bringing the workout to your home, and b) allowing you to set exactly how much time you’ve got. After you give Sworkit the time span you have to exercise, the app brings up a “playlist” of exercises, allowing you to veto areas you’d rather avoid.
Demonstration videos are provided by professional personal trainers, and with 160 exercises included, it certainly offers more variety and flexibility than the seven-minute workout, allowing you to really push yourself and see results.
Of course, running and exercise is only half the battle if you’re looking to lose weight, and My Fitness Pal covers the rest. Simply search for the food as you eat it (or scan the barcode if you’re eating out), and My Fitness Pal will do the rest, giving you a full summary of how much you’re eating, and how quickly you can expect the pounds to drop.
There are some paid options in there, including additional dietary plans for those who really want to take control, but the free option will be enough for the majority of people. It plugs in with plenty of other exercise apps, along with connected scales and activity trackers, to ensure that your good behavior is rewarded with bonus calories each day.
Get inspired to go that extra mile with a charitable donation in your name
If good intentions, a competitive spirit, or zombies don’t get you out of the house, then maybe doing your bit for charity will. Charity Miles is an app with commercial sponsors who will pay out a certain number of pence per mile to the charity of your choosing, in return for displaying their logo as your background for the duration of the run. If that doesn’t inspire you to go the extra mile, we don’t know what will…
Get into good habits with a little help from science
Training yourself to be better is hard work – that’s why so many New Year’s resolutions fall flat before the month is out. Fabulous aims to fix that, with help from the whizzes at Duke University’s behavioral economics lab. It builds up gradually, giving you additional goals to tick off each day so it isn’t too overwhelming. Whether you want to lose weight, feel more energized, get more focus, or better sleep, Fabulous is a great guide to a better, healthier you.
Thinking of taking a quick city break, but don’t fancy paying extortionate hotel fees? Airbnb is your saviour.
You could just log on to the Airbnb website, but its Android app makes the booking process effortless. What’s more, you can find everything you need within the app – no printing out maps, booking confirmations, or emails. Perfect for a hassle-free holiday.
Google Maps is so 2016. In 2018, everyone should be using Citymapper – that is if you’re lucky enough to live in a mapped city. That’s currently only London and Manchester in the UK.
Citymapper provides you with an extensive list of public transport routes, working out how much each journey will cost if you use cash, card, or city-wide travelcards. It also tells you which transport links are nearby, updating journeys with live transport data.
Always said you’d learn a second language but never got around to it? Well, Duolingo has swooped in to help you learn any one of nine European languages for free.
Using the art of gamification, Duolingo encourages you to learn through photos, speech, audio, and typing. You’ll pick up the basics rather quickly.
Of course, chances are you won’t be able to learn every single word in every single language of the countries you travel to, and that’s where Google Translate comes in. At first, this may seem like quite a dull inclusion into the list – everyone knows you can get quite stiff and stilted direct translations online, so why the need for an app?
Simply because the Google Translate app throws in a bit of magic to the mix: point the camera at text, and you’ll get the translation right there in front of you on your screen, with no need for fiddly typing and inevitable typos. Sure, the translations aren’t flawless, but it’s enough to tell if the dish you’re about to order will trigger your seafood allergy.
Let this app automatically keep your holiday plans up to date
Planning a trip is stressful enough without having to deal with dozens of apps, printed confirmation emails, and mental notes. That’s where TripIt comes in: it’s an app-based personal assistant that helps you stay on top of your holiday plans.
Just forward your hotel, airline, car rental, and restaurant confirmation emails to [email protected], and your itinerary will be instantly available in the app – even offline – along with maps and directions to ensure you don’t get lost. If you use Gmail (and really, at this point, who doesn’t?), this will happen automatically.
Controversies aside, Uber is indispensable for anyone living in a big city, where hailing a black cab could be a quick way to bankruptcy.
Currently available in seven cities across the UK, Uber can get you a ride anywhere within minutes of making a request. There are also five tiers of vehicles to hire, so you can travel like royalty if you so wish.
53. Manything (Beta) (free – subscription required for multiple cameras)
A cheaper introduction to the Internet of Things
Who knew that future-proofing your home for the 21st century would cost so much? Rather than investing in the very best smart home sensors, though, you could dip a cautious toe in the water with the Manything beta. In short, it takes an old phone and makes it your personal connected security camera, so you can keep an eye on your house when you’re away.
It’s free for a month, and even then it only costs money if you connect more than one phone to it – and who has that many old phones just lying around anyway?
This is an idea so simple, you’ll wonder how you lived without it. Every time you do something on your phone that you need to remember later, Click Me lets you do it in two clicks. This can either be automatic (a pop-up at the end of a phone call, letting you add a reminder based on it) to manual, where you can add a voice note or even a screenshot to ensure you don’t forget.
Either way, the result is the same: at the time of your choosing, a pop-up will appear reminding you to take action. Not ready yet? You can always snooze it. Click Me will never forget on your behalf.
The problem with recording important things, be they lectures, meetings, or interviews, is that you have to go through a lot of fluff to get to the important stuff when listening back. Cogi fixes that problem beautifully: it’s listening to all the time, but not recording. As soon as something important is said, tap record, and Cogi springs into action, recording from 15 seconds previously until whenever you press stop. Add written notes and photos, and you’ve got an invaluable resource – and the 500mb of included cloud storage means your recordings are ready and waiting to listen back to on your laptop.