I’m sure there are countless apps out there that are incredibly cool, interesting, or useful, but just haven’t hit the mainstream yet. Maybe it’s a productivity tool that’s boosted your efficiency, a unique game that’s kept you entertained for hours, or a niche app that’s catered perfectly to one of your hobbies or interests.
What are some Android hidden gem apps that you’ve used a bunch or think it’s really cool/interesting/useful?
Please share your recommendations, and if possible, a brief description of what the app does and why you find it so valuable.
Looking forward to uncovering some hidden treasures in the Android app world. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Fit Notes - simple lifting progress app that i’ve been using for years. On play store.
Kvaesitso - launcher on fdroid. Has become my favorite launcher.
You can use Joplin without any cloud sync at all and the notes just stay on your one device.
You can also use Syncthing to keep your notes synchronized across multiple devices. Syncthing is an app that does just that (keep files synchronized in the background).
Forkyz let’s you download and solve crossword puzzles.
It comes with an inbuilt list of sources for different languages but you can also manually add new ones. Many newspapers publish crosswords daily or weekly for free so there’s plenty of options.
Tidy panel 3 for hiding un-dismissable notifications from notification panel (for my Samsung phone). Icon pack studio for generating custom icon packs.
I have a Samsung and it’s not a problem anymore but in the Note 4 days I would get 50+ notifications a day to give access to Samsung calendar and then when I force removed the app it held a notification there about a calendar issue.
I keep my phone on dnd 24/7 and for some reason in Samsung there will be an un-dismissable notification for that which would also show up in the top of my phone. I found this super annoying so tidy panel 3 is great for hiding this. This wasn’t a problem on my old stock android phone.
App for learning to draw - AR Drawing: Sketch Paint Beautiful design, free, no ads…
Mobilism for pirating the apps in question
You can just search for APKs on androids. You wouldn’t believe what’s already out there.
LinkSheet is an alternative to URLCheck
Is there any reason to use one over the other?
At least I’m not aware of any reason. Just wanted to put the alternative out there.
Gravity Screen.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.plexnor.gravityscreenofffree
Screen turns off when you put your phone into your pocket. No more pocket dials etc.
Might not work on newest devices.
yeah this app is not compatible with this device
I did this with automate, it checks the proximity sensor, then it checks device orientation against set values (so it knows its upside down)
It’s just fun for me to make this logic myself in automate, no real reason to do it this way unless you just WANT to.
Nice.
Yes, automate is good.
My Realme phone will probably kill such an app though. It kills tasker even when told not to.
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I remember that one! I used it for quite a while on one of my old devices
Did you replace it with something? Or maybe newer devices are a bit smarter and it’s not necessary.
No, I don’t think I replaced it. If I remember correctly, I think I ended up having some small nitpick with it, so I uninstalled it or did something different. I still remember it fondly, however.
Yeah that’s mainly the reason. Most new phones (I think for at least 5 years now?) Have the function to detect being in a pocket. Mainly through the brightness sensor.
Simple Text Editor
FOSS text editor for when you just literally wanna write something down without any weird bloat and without having to deal with Google. Available on F-Droid.
Also, OpenBoard for a FOSS keyboard with swipe typing. Also available on F-Droid
You know what, I think F-Droid is actually my hidden gem app. I’m sure most Lemmy users use it, but I don’t think I know anyone else IRL who does, so hidden gem might not be accurate depending on perspective.
Oh my god thank you!! I’ve been out of luck looking for an open swipe keyboard, I’m so excited you found one and shared it!!! WOOT!
r ur notes available on every device u log into?
Nope, just a simple app for writing text files. If you want you can save those files to the cloud but for myself, there’s a lot if times where I just want to draft something quick on my phone and it’s my go to
Do you need to root phone to use F-Droid?
Nope
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On second thought… Seems they haven’t finished their glide type function for release yet, though it’s planned! Are you on a beta version or something to get the swipe function? Or were you talkin the backspace & spacebar swipe gestures? 🙂
Sadly it’s not on the playstore anymore, but I’ve had a free Tetris clone app on my phone for years that has served as a good time killer or a distraction from awkward silence. It’s called Tetra Classic. I think you can still find the APK somewhere, hopefully in reputable sources.
Falling Lightblocks, available on his own website or GitHub.
Essentials: DiskUsage, Total Commander
Music Folder Player - just a good music player that plays files in a folder instead of scraping all audio files from wherever as many players seem to do nowadays
Syncthing - to sync files with other devices
Arity, the perfect calculator. I know that it is just a calculator app but it lightweight, open-source, has 2D and 3D graphing (!) and of course can do calculations.
Did no one mention Flush yet?
What does it do
It shows you where the next public toilet is
it flushes
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.boyle.chris.sgtpuzzles
Several puzzles in one app, no ads, completely free.
Wow thanks! I play these on desktop all the time. I tried playing them from my phone browser and it wasn’t the same. Didn’t know there was an app! Thank you!
Github link incase you want to install it with Obtainium: https://github.com/chrisboyle/sgtpuzzles
also available on fdroid
