# Your 3 or 5 most useful Android App recommendations and why?



## wheresmycar (Sep 8, 2022)

_Sorry iOS users this ones only for the green robotters!_

For years I haven't added anything useful to my android phone other than the usual stuff we've become accustomed to over time. Other than games and the usual social media apps, what 3 or 5 app recommendations (which you use) can you suggest and why? 

Eg. my five:

*1. Teamviewer* - remote access to personal and external machines. Extremely useful with tons of features but I only use it to help troubleshoot family/friends PCs

*2. CamCard* - useful tool for managing business/work/personal contacts/business cards. Syncs across google contacts too.

*3. Who's on my WIFI* - this ones self explanatory

*4. Fake Call *- best piece of technology in the WORLDDDD lol Helps me get out of undesired situations. If you want to avoid that one person who talks alot (incl. the wife lol), just set the timer and when the call kicks off just talk your way out.

*5. Facebook Marketplace (one of the services in the facebook app) - *My regular go to solution for buying and selling used stuff. To-date ZERO problems Free service and beats Ebays high fees.

Seeing how powerful phones are today (or have been for quite some time)  i'm sure theres plenty of other and much more useful apps out there... or better alternatives to my 5 - so lets explore!!


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## Count von Schwalbe (Sep 9, 2022)

Hmmm....
Bank app - saves a lot of time with mobile deposit etc.

Zoom - better than Whatsapp or similar for more formal video calls on the go

2FA app - very nice to have, can save a lot of time and messages. 

Incidentally, I have found Anydesk to work a lot better than TeamViewer, but I don't know if they have a mobile app.


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## Lei (Sep 9, 2022)

Count von Schwalbe said:


> Incidentally, I have found Anydesk to work a lot better than TeamViewer, but I don't know if they have a mobile app.


They have and I use it.
You can control PC as long as you don't switch to another app on your screen or turn your screen off.

*ADM *download manager, up to 3 simultaneously

*Ricoh Theta* 360° panaroma photo viewer

*LeafSnap* Plant Identification, take a photo of a leaf/fruit/bark/flower and yadee yadda

*Dual Space* if your phone doesn't have Google Play Services. Now you can get cookies and lives on Candy Crush.

*Clash* a VPN

*Sound Meter* in case you want to know your watercooling PC is quieter than your smartphone


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## ThrashZone (Sep 9, 2022)

Hi,
I'm pretty sure available for droids
Translate a given
Converter a given
Gv-eye security cameras


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## 80-watt Hamster (Sep 9, 2022)

NOAA Unoffical.  Simple, no-nonsense presentation of NWS data.  Ad-supported, but the ad-free Pro version is only a couple of bucks.

Splashtop Personal.  Like Teamviewer, but slicker (IMO).  Caveat: the free version doesn't work over WAN, and still requires email registration.

Uh, I don't have a third that meets criteria, so here's a plug for Card Crawl instead.

EDIT:  Oh yeah, there's a WiFi spectrum analyzer that I used to use, but I can't remember what it's called.


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## 1freedude (Sep 9, 2022)

AdAway...makes ads go away
Nova Launcher...fast control of all the apps
Doze Off...keeps phone from reaching deep sleep
Wireguard....because I don't always use a kernel based VPN, oh wait, yes I do
Magisk...because I don't always root, oh wait, yes I do
AudioAnchor...for audiobooks along with Overdrive.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 9, 2022)

Tpu app
Google remote desktop 
PowerAmp
VLC media player 
R type 1/2


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## P4-630 (Sep 9, 2022)

TheoneandonlyMrK said:


> Tpu app


Hasn't been updated for years, it's just a shortcut which opens the TPU webpage in a browser.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 9, 2022)

P4-630 said:


> Hasn't been updated for years, it's just a shortcut which opens the TPU webpage in a browser.


I thought it a app, I know it's not updated (a shame) especially if it's a browser redirect, it's xenfor thought I thought and an app it looks made for phone compared to Tpu in chrome on phone but I have used it so long I'm biased, one click Tpu what's not to like.


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## MarsM4N (Sep 9, 2022)

Why limit it to Android? Most iOS apps are on Android, too.  I'm on iOS, so here we go:

*Shazam*: Shazam is an application that can identify music, movies, advertising, and television shows, based on a short sample played and using the microphone on the device. (best app, it's like magic!)
*Banking Apps: *the bank in your pocket
*Authenticator Apps: *absolutely essential for account security
*Bitwarden*: Bitwarden is a login and password manager that helps keep you safe while online (and it's free too!)
*Alarmy*: highly customizable alarm clock. You can even set up tasks, puzzles or mathematic calculations to turn off the alarms (great for morning zombies like me).


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## silentbogo (Sep 9, 2022)

wheresmycar said:


> *1. Teamviewer* - remote access to personal and external machines. Extremely useful with tons of features but I only use it to help troubleshoot family/friends PCs


That's the one I've abandoned a long time ago. On desktop they got too greedy, so I've replaced it with anydesk(just a single-user license was enough to fit our needs at work) and now in the process of testing a perspective move to RustDesk(opensource alternative with ability to set up your own server). On the phone anydesk is a bit clunky, but not as bad as TW. Good-ole RDP/VNC also works just fine.  Google Remote Desktop works much better if you really want to use your phone for that stuff, but I still don't see it working out on anything smaller than a 10" tablet. 


wheresmycar said:


> *2. CamCard* - useful tool for managing business/work/personal contacts/business cards. Syncs across google contacts too.


Any third-party contact manager(especially on Android) is a big no-no for me. Stock contact manager has everything that you could possibly need. 
And if you need optical recognition badly - google lens can do the same.


wheresmycar said:


> *3. Who's on my WIFI* - this ones self explanatory


Been using Fing for many years. Much more robust and has tons more features. Basically it's like dumbed-down zenmap for very lazy people, but it saved my ass at work many times.



MarsM4N said:


> *Alarmy*: highly customizable alarm clock. You can even set up tasks, puzzles or mathematic calculations to turn off the alarms (great for morning zombies like me).


Tried that one. My brain works more or less fine after waking up (dunno if it's good or bad, but it's a force of habit from back in a day). So, after solving the puzzles, doing clicks/swipes etc I just fall right back to sleep.
Nowadays I prefer setting 3-4 alarms in 5 minute increments with moar noizzzze each next iteration. I usually start with generic calm bells and whistles, and end up relatively awake around the time I hear Black Dahlia Murder.

My list definitely exceeds 5, but if I absolutely have to narrow it down, it's:
1) Banking
2) Google Pay
3) Authenticator
4) SSH client
5) OpenVPN (but I use it as intended, NOT[!!!] as VPN in general is advertised today)


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## wheresmycar (Sep 10, 2022)

this is great! - A nice collection of apps (some i'm unfamiliar with) and a few which have caught my attention! Appreciate you guys pitching in! 



Count von Schwalbe said:


> 2FA app - very nice to have, can save a lot of time and messages.





MarsM4N said:


> *Authenticator Apps: *absolutely essential for account security





silentbogo said:


> 3) Authenticator



This is something i'm definitely interested in. Looking at the app store, a bunch of options pull up... any particular app which does it better than the rest? Maybe add a link from: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=2fa&c=apps&hl=en&gl=US



MarsM4N said:


> Why limit it to Android? Most iOS apps are on Android, too.  I'm on iOS, so here we go:



You're right! For some reason I can't edit the initial query. 

All iphone users are welcome too 



Lei said:


> *LeafSnap* Plant Identification, take a photo of a leaf/fruit/bark/flower and yadee yadda
> *Sound Meter* in case you want to know your watercooling PC is quieter than your smartphone



I like the sound of the sound meter and leafsnap... i like stuff like this and glad it got a mention. The leafsnap will definitely be a solid addition to my mums phone too... she loves her strolls in the garden and long visits to the garden stores. A perfect gift for her!

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There's a bunch of other mentions i'm gonna make time for and check them out over the weekend


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## MarsM4N (Sep 10, 2022)

wheresmycar said:


> This is something i'm definitely interested in. Looking at the app store, a bunch of options pull up... any particular app which does it better than the rest? Maybe add a link from: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=2fa&c=apps&hl=en&gl=US



There is no big difference, they work all the same. Just different styles. __ Some websites require a particular app, either *Google Authenticator* or *Microsoft Authenticator*. Not sure if you can change this, have to look into it when I got some time. Both should be same as secure. Some also use 2FA via email, which is less secure.

Just remember, if you enable _*2FA*_ via app it's tied to your phone. You have to *backup your 2FA recovery codes* on a safe place in case you loose your phone to not loose access to your accounts!


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## sam_86314 (Sep 10, 2022)

wheresmycar said:


> This is something i'm definitely interested in. Looking at the app store, a bunch of options pull up... any particular app which does it better than the rest? Maybe add a link from: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=2fa&c=apps&hl=en&gl=US


I use Aegis 2FA. It supports encrypted backups of your codes. Nice to have that extra layer of protection; just make sure you remember your password.

As for other apps...

Firefox Beta (supports browser extensions)
YouTube Vanced (though it is discontinued and is now much trickier to install, it still works perfectly)
Lawnchair (slightly more customizable version of the Pixel launcher)
Google Pay
F-Droid (open-source app store)
Inware (ad-free hardware info app)
Simple Gallery Pro (because my Pixel 5a doesn't come with an offline photo gallery app; free on F-Droid)
Moonlight Game Stream (open-source Nvidia GameStream client)

Whoops, more than five...

The main themes with the apps I use are that they're ad-free and/or open-source.


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## leeamtheone (Nov 1, 2022)

I use a lot of apps on a daily basis but I can narrow the choice to these three:
1. *Google Search / Assistant / Feed*
I remember first using GA in 2016 and I was so amused, now it's only gotten better.
2. *LastPass *
This app solved my constantly forgetting passes habit, by generating and keeping my passes safely in one place.
3. *Strava*
I use Strava for running and I have a Garmin watch so I usually sync my watch’s data with Strava, which is awesome.


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## Bomby569 (Nov 1, 2022)

*Vanced*, better youtube
*Telegram*, free newspapers when i want to read something specific
*Headphones* by Sony, needed for my WHXM3 and WFXM4
*VLC*, for music


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## dont whant to set it"' (Nov 1, 2022)

1. One and only one of utmost importance: The Calculator. Setting dosh aside for tax purposes with every invoice payment.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Nov 1, 2022)

Power Amp full for music.
Tpu app(please consider update @W1zzard )
Chrome.


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## P4-630 (Nov 1, 2022)

TheoneandonlyMrK said:


> Tpu app


IIRC the tpu app is just a link to the tpu website in your default browser.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Nov 1, 2022)

P4-630 said:


> IIRC the tpu app is just a link to the tpu website in your default browser.


I don't think so it uses zenforo and looks different than if I view in browser, I wouldn't bet on it but stuff doesn't work that should if you were right, like copy pasting links, adding pictures etc.
Which does via browser.









						Guide for Retroarch on Steam Deck
					

I've been playing around with retroarch a lot, trying to get the best results with different emulators. I started to write about each emulator but figured I could write a general guide too.  Setting up retroarch: Download it from discover in desktop mode. Go to the application menu/games right...




					www.resetera.com
				




This is a check in browser








						Guide for Retroarch on Steam Deck
					

I've been playing around with retroarch a lot, trying to get the best results with different emulators. I started to write about each emulator but figured I could write a general guide too.  Setting up retroarch: Download it from discover in desktop mode. Go to the application menu/games right...




					www.resetera.com
				




In app check wtaf it works again hmnn 

Dunno , I still wouldn't bet on it but no header etc


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## P4-630 (Nov 1, 2022)

TheoneandonlyMrK said:


> I don't think so it uses zenforo and looks different than if I view in browser, I wouldn't bet on it but stuff doesn't work that should if you were right, like copy pasting links, adding pictures etc.
> Which does via browser.



W1zzard said


W1zzard said:


> Use the regular website in your browser, it should be working perfectly - if not, let me know and I'll fix the site











						TPU ios app issues
					

I didnt find a recent mobile app topic, so i create this.  I have some issue with the ios app. (It is present with ios version 9 and 12 too) - in the news section, i cant read the latest news fully, it simply cut the page, and offer the comment bubble instead letting me scrolling to the end. -...




					www.techpowerup.com


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## AusWolf (Nov 1, 2022)

*Banking* - self-explanatory.

*CPU-L* and *GPU-L* - databases of all Intel, AMD and Nvidia CPUs and GPUs ever released. Pretty useful if you need specs on a rare find or you're just curious. Can do comparisons too.

*KnowYourCar* - info on your car based on registration. MOT (inspection) dates, tax, etc.

*Unit Converter* - self-explanatory.

*Wise* (formerly known as TransferWise) - platform for sending money internationally, a lot cheaper than through any bank.

*Just Eat* - food ordering with minimal effort. It's basically the Amazon of food.

*Amazon* - just because I mentioned it already.

*Kerrang* - or any online radio that you like. Essential for cooking or taking a long, relaxing bath.

The *Whetherspoon* app - handy to order food and drinks directly to your table without lifting your butt at any Whetherspoon pub across the UK.


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## dgianstefani (Nov 1, 2022)

*Alreader

Discord

MX Player Pro

Strava

tTorrent

YouTube Vanced*


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## P4-630 (Nov 1, 2022)

-Contact list
-Phone
-SMS


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## Derek12 (Nov 2, 2022)

Airdroid to send or get files via wifi
Poweramp best player imo
Samsung internet, best browser imo
Adguard, best ad blocking for samsung browser
Microsoft Autenthicator, better than Google autenticator
Outlook better than gmail imo
Shazam


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