The Android Useful Apps thread: Q & A

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#2210071 3-Apr-2019 12:01

Batman: What's a good clean weather app that has no ads?

I use Chronus; I have the Pro version (paid for, not very many $$ from memory), so I don't see Ads. I can't recall if the "free" version has ads or not any more.

NikT

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#2210173 3-Apr-2019 15:03

May as well toss a few picks from my app ecosystem in here.

Browser:

Samsung Internet Beta
- Excellent browser, fast and reliable, now with the updated One UI version you get full dark mode web browsing
- You can hold down on the home button to pop up the keyboard to save reaching for the top of your phone
- Content blockers available with whitelists (for Geekzone!)
- Like everything Samsung, you need to fiddle with all the settings extensively to make it work as it should, but it's really very good
Alternatively, Bromite
- It's an optimised and de-Googled Chromium build with a focus on privacy
- Adblock baked in (unfortunately without a whitelist at this stage), tracking blockers etc, many things off by default, very regularly updated
- You can add it as a custom repository on F-Droid or download from the Bromite site/GitHub/APKMirror
- Highly recommend on this or regular Chrome for Android to head to chrome://flags and enable both Duet and Horizontal Tabs

Email (Exchange):

Nine
- This is hands-down the best professional email client I have ever used on any platform
- It's expensive, but for my use - every day, obscene amounts of email - it's the best app purchase I have made yet
- Fully themable including AMOLED dark mode + customisable quick actions (mark as read/flag for follow-up/reply-all from notifications)

Notes:

Google Keep
- I use this for personal notes
- Colour-coding is great, widget is useful, it's simple and straightforward
- Syncs to my Google account rather than requiring something entirely separate
OneNote
- Use this for work notes and larger personal projects
- There's been a recent overhaul that took the app from a slow, unusable mess / option of last resort to something very handy
  - This is chiefly due to the integration of Windows 10's Sticky Notes, a much better mobile quick-note experience
  - I use full-fat OneNote on my Surface for sprawling, often-handwritten monstrosities that really are not parseable on mobile

Customisation:

OLEDBuddy
- If you're using a phone with an OLED screen, those deep inky blacks are a big draw - and save a wee bit of power
- Many otherwise-excellent wallpapers will not actually be true black and will not turn off your screen's pixels
- OLEDBuddy will firstly tell you if images are true black and also allow you to convert images to true black with adjustable thresholds - neat
APKGrabber
- If you, like me, use a bunch of apps which are not available in the NZ Play Store (or for your specific device), this is very useful to keep them up to date
- This is also very useful for bypassing Google's obnoxious staged rollouts for new app versions and features
- APK Mirror is about the only guaranteed trustworthy repository for APK files outside of the Play Store itself - this will scan your apps, scan the latest versions on APK Mirror, and compare the versions

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

Batman

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#2210179 3-Apr-2019 15:16

thanks a whole mega bunch heap!

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#2210548 4-Apr-2019 09:12

Just found Wunderlist.

I was looking for a To Do list system that worked across all platforms and looked good, worked well and wasn't too complex etc.

Wunderlist is it - just about any platform, syncs seamlessly. I am using it on Android phone, Android tablet and Mac desktop.

scottjpalmer

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#2210568 4-Apr-2019 09:49

Geektastic:
Just found Wunderlist.

I was looking for a To Do list system that worked across all platforms and looked good, worked well and wasn't too complex etc.

Wunderlist is it - just about any platform, syncs seamlessly. I am using it on Android phone, Android tablet and Mac desktop.

https://www.wunderlist.com/blog/your-preview-of-microsoft-to-do

I wonder how long it will last, lasted well so far.

Batman

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#2210590 4-Apr-2019 10:21

Is there a trusted app that locks the screen without needing to press the power button?

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#2210626 4-Apr-2019 10:54

Two apps that have made me very happy with my phone again:

Edison Mail It seems like many Samsung users that use gmail, gmail seems to go to deep sleep and no matter what settings you change (and I changed a lot!) can decide to take anything from a few seconds to receive new email up to 40 minutes or so. It seems a common problem without a satisfactory resolution. I finally gave up on gmail and installed this product. Now my email always comes in within a couple of seconds and it seems to use pretty much zero battery. Email got useful again.

Missed Notifications So like many phones now my new one has no notification LED. I am surpised how much I miss it. I dont like having the Always On Display enabled because it drains around 1% an hour and I dont like charging my phone every day. I tried a few apps that would display something on the screen for missed notifications but they used even more battery than the AOD. Some samsung models have a feature where you can set the AOD display to just activate for notifications - sadly mine doesnt get that feature. This wonderful little app lets you set up a reminder sound for missed notifications. You can set it to remind you every X minutes for as long as you want. So I set it to make my phone use a subdued little sound that goes 'plink' once every 3 minutes - Now I always know if I have missed a call/email/txt whatever. Seems to use no appreciable battery.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

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Stu

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#2210629 4-Apr-2019 11:00

@Batman: Tasker can do it for sure. Probably MacroDroid etc also.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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#2210640 4-Apr-2019 11:23

Geektastic:

Just found Wunderlist.

I was looking for a To Do list system that worked across all platforms and looked good, worked well and wasn't too complex etc.

Wunderlist is it - just about any platform, syncs seamlessly. I am using it on Android phone, Android tablet and Mac desktop.

I've been looking for a better todo app. I've been using gtasks for years, but I don't really want all my tasks in Google Calendar. I use TickTick by the same company, but the interface is only ok, and premium is a monthly fee rather than buying an app.

Is Wunderlist free? I guess if Microsoft purchased it, it will stay free but may integrate with the Microsoft ToDo.

I had a quick play with Wunderlust. I would prefer there to be low / medium / high priorities rather than just starred or not starred, like TickTick does, but it's much the same as GTasks. Might give it a try though.

robjg63:

Two apps that have made me very happy with my phone again:

Edison Mail It seems like many Samsung users that use gmail, gmail seems to go to deep sleep and no matter what settings you change (and I changed a lot!) can decide to take anything from a few seconds to receive new email up to 40 minutes or so. It seems a common problem without a satisfactory resolution. I finally gave up on gmail and installed this product. Now my email always comes in within a couple of seconds and it seems to use pretty much zero battery. Email got useful again.

The risk there is your phone never goes into proper sleep mode, and overall battery use goes up.

robjg63

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#2210655 4-Apr-2019 11:46

timmmay:

I've been looking for a better todo app. I've been using gtasks for years, but I don't really want all my tasks in Google Calendar. I use TickTick by the same company, but the interface is only ok, and premium is a monthly fee rather than buying an app.

Is Wunderlist free? I guess if Microsoft purchased it, it will stay free but may integrate with the Microsoft ToDo.

I had a quick play with Wunderlust. I would prefer there to be low / medium / high priorities rather than just starred or not starred, like TickTick does, but it's much the same as GTasks. Might give it a try though.

robjg63:

Two apps that have made me very happy with my phone again:

Edison Mail It seems like many Samsung users that use gmail, gmail seems to go to deep sleep and no matter what settings you change (and I changed a lot!) can decide to take anything from a few seconds to receive new email up to 40 minutes or so. It seems a common problem without a satisfactory resolution. I finally gave up on gmail and installed this product. Now my email always comes in within a couple of seconds and it seems to use pretty much zero battery. Email got useful again.

The risk there is your phone never goes into proper sleep mode, and overall battery use goes up.

If anything battery life has improved on my phone since I switched to this mail app.

I am a very light user - just emails, txts and a little music (20 mins a day) - So far my phone is at 38% battery since the last charge 76 hours ago.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

jonathan18

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#2210698 4-Apr-2019 12:46

Batman: Is there a trusted app that locks the screen without needing to press the power button?

@Batman: you don't say the particular input you're expecting to trigger the screen lock, but as an example I have my phone set up so that a double tap on the 'back' icon locks the screen, and it works perfectly. (That said, I am struggling to find out what I'm using to launch this, as I can't see it set up in Microsoft Launcher (where I thought it may be), MacroDroid, or a setting on the phone [a OnePlus])!

Stu: @Batman: Tasker can do it for sure. Probably MacroDroid etc also.

I can confirm that MacroDroid can do this fine. The relevant "action" is found via screen / screen on/off / screen off / lock screen, and the range of triggers to launch this is substantial. I really rate MacroDroid - far easier to use than many similar apps, very reliable, and very comprehensive; way worth paying for the full version (free is limited to five macros).

Stu

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#2210705 4-Apr-2019 13:04

I've been using MacroDroid for a while to do some things that Trigger struggled with, as it wasn't evolving with Android updates. The only reason I haven't transferred everything from Tasker to MacroDroid, is that I have some rather complex things happening in Tasker that took agrees to perfect, and will probably take almost as long to duplicate in MacroDroid!

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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#2210707 4-Apr-2019 13:07

@Stu, @jonathon18, @Batman -- how do Trigger/Tasker/MacroDroid compare to Automate?

jonathan18

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#2210716 4-Apr-2019 13:23

The learning curve for MacroDroid is far shallower than for Automate; I downloaded a number of these types of apps a few months back, and quickly discarded those which seemed to make the job overly complex (and Automate was one of those!).

Given MacroDroid was able to do what I wanted it to do, with very little fuss, it was a no-brainer.

I don't use it for anything too complex - things like automatically muting my phone while at work (using geofencing), or particular actions when connected to my car etc.

As mentioned, the free version allows you to create five macros, so it's limited only in that way - not functionality - so I suggest just download it and give it a go.

Stu

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#2210725 4-Apr-2019 13:37

I've been using Tasker for a very, very long time. Trigger was used to compliment Tasker, as Trigger did a couple of things that Tasker couldn't do, or for some reason couldn't do as easily. Trigger was never as good as Tasker, though. I can't remember why, but when I looked at Automate to see if it could replace Tasker, it didn't stack up and I didn't spend much time with it.

MacroDroid is something I started using a few months ago to replace Trigger, and it works very well. MacroDroid is easily better than Trigger ever was, and easier to get your head around than Tasker. I'll possibly eventually get around to replacing Tasker with MacroDroid, but at the moment they're sharing the work and I have no real need/urge to change this.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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