Good apps on Android in 2025

The Beauty of Android is its rich app system and a huge set of community driven versions of apps written with good software principles. These are my favorite set of apps and is not a complete guide. I still prefer some Google apps for their convenience and security. I still prefer to use the browser instead of an app whenever I can.

• Google Maps:

  • HERE WeGo : Full navigation with offline maps. Navigation works without network access.

    

  • Galileo PVT : Visualize Galileo satellite signals and calculate position from raw GNSS data. It is a very fun app.

    

• Google Camera:

  • Black Magic Camera : Professional video recording and Features Manual controls, professional codecs. I still like Gcam for its functionality, but this is an amazing tool.

    

• Google Photos:

  • Immich : Photos alternative, facial recognition, automatic backup, timeline view

• Google Drive:

  • Nextcloud : Self hosted or third party cloud like Hetzner Managed nextcloud

• Google Photos:

  • Aves : Feature-rich gallery with metadata support

• Google Keep:

  • Quillpad : Closest to google keep.

    

  • Markor : Markdown editor.

    

  • Fossify Notes : Basic note taking.
  • Super Productivity : Advanced task management with time tracking and Pomodoro timer.

    

• Second Brain:

  • Joplin : Cross-platform notes with Nextcloud sync.
  • Obsidian : Knowledge management.

• Google Calendar:

  • Primary: Fossify Calendar : Clean calendar interface. Just works.

• Google Calculator:

  • Fossify Calculator : Powerful calculator

    

    

• Offline Music Player:

  • Fossify Music Player : Simple, clean interface
  • VLC : Universal media player with codec support, Plays all formats, network streaming, subtitle support.

• Google Podcasts:

  • AntennaPod : Full featured podcast manager with backups.

• Google Chrome:

  • Firefox + Addons. Don’t need to say more.

• Google Keyboard:

  • FUTO Keyboard : Functional keyboard. Got better over the last year. Voice typing with offline whisper model is amazing. My post about FUTO keyboard . Also Futo voice is an equally good input tool.

    

    

• Google Weather:

  • Weawow : Beautiful weather app with advanced dashboards and beautiful widgets.

• Google Search:

  • Perplexity : AI powered search and answers.

• Duolingo:

  • Primary: AnkiDroid : Spaced repetition flashcards for Dutch practice.

• Google Translate:

  • RTranslator : Offline translation and a host of other modes. I migrated from Microsoft translate after It broke in May 2025.

• Play Store:

  • F-Droid : The FOSS app repository.
  • Obtainium : Direct GitHub releases.

• Google Dialer:

  • Fossify Phone : Clean, simple dialer.

• Chess Puzzles

  • Tactic Master : Chess puzzle trainer with tactics practice.