The Android Useful Apps thread: Q & A

Forums › Android › The Android Useful Apps thread: Q & A

Batman

Mad Scientist
29664 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#243038 24-Nov-2018 16:10

I thought I'd start a thread where people can find out what apps are useful for that purpose?

Because there are so many million apps that all claim to do certain tasks but most are just rubbish.

I'll start with - is there an app that tells your phone when to stop charging so it doesn't keep charging at 100%?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

38 posts

Geek

#2133439 24-Nov-2018 16:42

Try Accubattery

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29664 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2133690 25-Nov-2018 10:06

Thanks.

Is there an app (or method) that allows you to play a 4k video that you recorded on your phone straight onto an android TV?

Batman

Mad Scientist
29664 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2133716 25-Nov-2018 11:58

Batman: Thanks.

Is there an app (or method) that allows you to play a 4k video that you recorded on your phone straight onto an android TV?

Ah found it, don't use huawei photo app, but use Google photos app.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29664 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2133717 25-Nov-2018 12:00

Batman:
Batman: Thanks.

Is there an app (or method) that allows you to play a 4k video that you recorded on your phone straight onto an android TV?

Ah found it, don't use huawei photo app, but use Google photos app.

Hmm it casts in 360p and not 2160p. Darn that's silly!

d3Xt3r

687 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2133740 25-Nov-2018 13:20

My list:

AdGuard - System-wide adblocker and privacy tool. Great for blocking cryptomining scripts, analytics and other nasties.

ADM Pro - One of the best download managers for Android

AirMore - Manage your phone wirelessly, stream media, mirror your screen etc. Best alternative to AirDroid.

App Cloner - Make clones of apps, very handy to run multiple accounts or instances of an app, or to restrict its permissions, has tons of privacy related options.

App Swap Drawer - Handy app launcher that's accessible with a simple swipe gesture from anywhere. Reduces the need to keep going to your homescreen, helps keep your homescreen clutter-free

Bouncer - Grant/deny app permissions on demand (eg allow apps to access your GPS only when you're actually using the app and not when it's in the background). If you require even finer permissions control then check out App Ops.

Edge Gestures - Gesture controls for navigation, shortcuts etc at the edges of your phone. Handy for eg, to pull down the notification shade with a swipe-down gesture, or control media volume by just sliding along the edge, or swipe right to go back etc. A must-have app for big phones.

F-Droid: Opensource app store, handy for keeping your opensource apps like NewPipe up-to-date.

Firefox Focus - Permanent private mode browser. Great for setting as a default browser, so random links from random apps open in it, or for just browsing random sites as it doesn't clog your history or cookies, doesn't appear in your recents.

Island - Sandboxed virtual environment - run second copies of apps and or data, protected behind a password. Uses Android's built-in Work Profile feature. Similar to Samsung's Secure Folder.

LTE Discovery - LTE signal troubleshooting and diagnosis. Handy if you think you're in an area where you should be getting 4G/LTE but you're phone is only on 3G. Also shows which LTE band your phone is currently using, among other things.

Measure - Uses AR to measure physical objects/rooms etc. Latest update makes it fairly accurate (note: doesn't replace a measuring tape but gives you a pretty close estimate).

NewPipe - Lightweight, open-source YouTube client: ad-free, background playback, pop-out video and video downloading.

Samsung Internet - Fast Web browser (faster than Chrome) that supports pop-out/full screen video playback, supports addons (like adblocking), password-protected private browsing (remembers your private tabs), and night mode for eyestrain-free browsing at night. Works on all Android devices, not just Samsung.

SD Maid - Junk cleaner/storage analyser that actually works, is updated regularly and isn't riddled with adware

SendLeap - Text from your computer, works with all SMS clients, so you don't need to replace your current one. No need to install any client on your PC unlike other solutions, which makes it cross-platform.

Shortcutter - Add several handy tiles to your QuickSettings panel, my favorite one being Immersive Mode toggles.

Sleep - Sleep cycle tracker, smart alarm (wakes you up when you're in your light sleep cycle), control smart lights based on your sleep cycle etc.

Solid Explorer - One of the best dual-pane file managers for Android - fast, simple, supports smb/FTP/cloud connections, no ads or bloat unlike like other file managers.

Sweech - Lightweight cross-platform WiFi file transfer tool. One of the best there is - updated regularly, no ads or bloat, cross-platform (no need to install any app on the reviving end).
Taskbar - Desktop interface for your Android. Useful for tablets, or if you connect your phone via a dock to your monitor and want to use it like a PC. Kinda like Samsung DeX, but doesn't require a DeX or a Samsung device.

Timbre - Fast and clean video/audio editor/convertor, no bloat.

WiFi Analyzer - A super handy tool for visual representation of all the WiFi signals around you, see their channels etc. Helps you chose the best channel for your router. Also has a geigercounter-like mode so you can go to different spots around your home with your phone and hear your signal strength in real-time. Also handy for identifying the physical location of access points.

Yalp Store - Clean, opensource alternative to Play Store. Handy for downloading apps which aren't available yet for your device or country.

Some super-geeky/power-user tools which may require root: ADB Wireless, AutoTools, AutoInput, BackgroundRestrictor, DriveDroid, Linux Deploy, SystemPanel, SystemUI Tuner, Tasker, Termux, Titanium Backup, WiFi Password Viewer

Edit: Fixed typos, added links.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29664 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2133741 25-Nov-2018 13:44

Thanks I'll look into them, very much appreciated

landcruiserguy

765 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2134147 26-Nov-2018 08:49

+1 on Samsung internet. It's faster and more stable than Chrome, has add blockers and integrates with the Samsung password manager (on Samsung phones). It's also made by a company that doesn't sell adds so they are less motivated to track everything you do although realistically they probably do anyway.

Naptime is great if you want to extend battery life.

I highly recommend Disconnect Pro for Samsung phones. It uses the firewall build into Knox to block adds on a system wide level. It is $35 but worth it imho. It's not available on the Play store because Google don't like add blockers so you have to download it from the Galaxy App store.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29664 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2134154 26-Nov-2018 09:07

Thanks. How to play 4k recorded videos on android TV? Thanks

d3Xt3r

687 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2134159 26-Nov-2018 09:16

landcruiserguy:
+1 on Samsung internet. It's faster and more stable than Chrome, has add blockers and integrates with the Samsung password manager (on Samsung phones). It's also made by a company that doesn't sell adds so they are less motivated to track everything you do although realistically they probably do anyway.

Naptime is great if you want to extend battery life.

I highly recommend Disconnect Pro for Samsung phones. It uses the firewall build into Knox to block adds on a system wide level. It is $35 but worth it imho. It's not available on the Play store because Google don't like add blockers so you have to download it from the Galaxy App store.

Agreed with all the above, except I'd recommend AdGuard over Disconnect Pro. Few reasons why:

- It works on all devices, so if you decide to buy a non-Samsung phone in the future, you'll still be able to use the same adblocking app and don't need to soend again (note: there's also Blockada which is a free app, but it's not as thorough).

-It's cheaper: currently only $12.47 for a lifetime license (Black Friday deal, valid till tomorrow)

- Samsung has a history of blocking retail apps which use the KNOX APIs (eg look at SABS, AdHell - the number of times they had to be forked/re-released with workarounds for Samsung's blocking)

- AdGuard uses the same filter lists that you use on your desktop: EasyList, Fanboy etc + they have their own filter lists too (which you can also subscribe to on your desktop browser addons). Anyone using these filter lists will know why they are better than a firewall/hosts-file/DNS based blocking solution (if you don't, see below).

- It's better than a firewall/hosts/DNS solution because AdGuard actually filters HTML code to remove ads and any junk (eg: empty boxes). In addition to making your Web pages look nicer, it's code filtering allows it to get rid of nasties like self-hosted cryptomining scripts, malware/phishing/xss scripts, Anti-Adblock scripts etc. But the most important feature is the ability to whitelist a website (eg: geekzone.co.nz 😉) without whitelisting the ad networks everywhere else - which is not possible with a firewall/DNS/hosts based solution - this way you can continue to support your favorite sites while blocking nasties everywhere else. :)

elbrownos

109 posts

Master Geek

#2134163 26-Nov-2018 09:32

regius:

Try Accubattery

Accubattery just sets of an alarm to tell you to unplug your phone.

There are apps that will actually stop your phone charging at a set percentage, but you need to be rooted. I use "Battery Charge Limit" available on F-Droid. It makes a huge difference to the rate of deterioration of your battery.

dryburn

429 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2134235 26-Nov-2018 10:48

Thanks for your list d3Xt3r

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
78914 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2134246 26-Nov-2018 10:55

Opera Browser. Best browser all around.

My technology disclosure

dafman

3898 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2134248 26-Nov-2018 10:57

For a great ad-blocker browser - I recommend Brave browser for Android. It blocks all ads and trackers and its interface is identical to Chrome for Android.

Its free and available on Google Play.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
78914 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2134270 26-Nov-2018 11:10

The biggest thing about Brave is not the ad-blocking. It's the option it offers for people to support their favourite web properties. This seems to be lost to many.

My technology disclosure

SpartanVXL

1237 posts

Uber Geek

#2134351 26-Nov-2018 12:10

I thought the battery constantly charging was a myth/older phones only? Remember seeing a post on xda about how the integrated charging circuitry reports 100% but slowly lets the battery go down to 90% after a full charge and still plugged in.

People would complain about their phones quickly losing 10%+ after unplugging but this was just how the charging system was working to stop batteries overcharging.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5