We’ve once again overhauled our picks for the best Android apps, whittling our robust selection down to a paltry 100. Some are new, and others have been standbys on this list for years running. Either way, we’re certain that any and all of these apps will make your life easier, and help you get the most out of your Android device. The apps are listed by categories like Music, Travel, and so on. Just try to keep in mind that, like the best venue in town, space is limited. After all, 32GB will only get you so far.
More: Prefer to game on the go? Here are our favorite Android games
Movies and videos
Netflix
Netflix is one of the best video streaming services. There’s a huge selection of movies and TV shows for subscribers and the performance is silky smooth. This is as entertained as you can get for $8 a month.
Google Play Amazon Apps
Hulu
Hulu offers thousands of Movies and TV shows — many which are updated with the latest episodes after they air. Hulu offers various subscription models, including one that opens up the entire streaming library for $8 a month, and another that removes mid-stream ads for $12 a month.
Google Play Amazon Apps
YouTube
YouTube’s mobile app is sleek and intuitive, bringing the entirety of the Video sharing site to the palm of your hand. For those subscribed to YouTube Red, you’ll have access to all the premium content, as well as special features like audio playback while the screen if off.
Google Play
HBO Now/HBO GO
Both HBO Now (HBO’s standalone service for $15/month) and HBO Go (a streaming app available to HBO cable subscribers) have apps that allow you to watch all of HBO’s streaming content directly on your phone.
HBO Now HBO GO Amazon Apps
Periscope
Periscope allows users to share events happening right in front of them with anyone and everyone. Broadcast directly through your camera, and check out streams from others around the world, as well as videos of past broadcasts.
Google Play
Music and audio
Spotify
Spotify is the best full-featured streaming service. With this app, you can stream any music from any type of device, make your own playlists, follow artists, and sync tracks for offline listening.
Google Play
Soundcloud
If you’re looking for an all-you-can-eat buffet of sound with no ads and no subscription fees, you’ve found it. Discover new music and stream it from the cloud. But this is no Spotify replacement.
Google Play
PocketCasts ($4)
This has everything one could want in a podcast player. It has a huge library and the clean interface makes it easy to manage your subscriptions. It also lets you sync between devices and works with iOS.
Google Play
Bandcamp
Bandcamp’s mobile apps allows you to stream music from your collection, as well as the music offered by the thousands of artists who sell and stream their music on Bandcamp. It’s one of the easiest and fastest ways to buy music directly from the artists and labels you follow.
Google Play
Google Play Music
Google’s official streaming service is a worthy competitor to Spotify. Not only does the app provide a vast library of content, but it also allows users to upload up to 50,000 songs for online storage. This means you can download and stream your music on any Android device, at any time.
Google Play
News
NYTimes
One of America’s most hallowed publications also has one of the best news apps. The NYTimes app arranges the publication’s content in a clean format, and allows users to customize their newsfeed.
Google Play
VICE News
If you prefer journalism that leans toward gonzo, VICE offers its robust library of written and video content in an app that is elegant and easy to navigate. The app includes estimated reading times, so users with a time-crunch can prioritize articles that suit their schedule.
Google Play Amazon Apps
NPR News
The official app of National Public Radio provides a steady stream of straightforward reporting in both print and audio. Users can not only listen to news reports, but also various programs such as All Things Considered and Radiolab.
Google Play Amazon Apps
The Washington Post
One of America’s most noteworthy papers has a beautiful mobile app, with vivid images and colorful menus. The content is also top-notch, particularly incisive political reporting, although it does require a subscription.
Google Play Amazon Apps
News360
Here’s a smart news reader that learns about the kinds of stories you want to see, and grows more accurate as you use it, continually pulling in better news that matters to you more.
Google Play Amazon Apps
Sports
theScore
Whatever gets you excited, from Nascar to the NFL, theScore will have you dancing in victory or crying in your beer. It brings you all the latest touchdowns, goals, and positions as they happen.
Google Play Amazon Apps
ESPN
Having the official ESPN app installed is a no-brainer for any die-hard sports fan. You can quickly get the latest new on your favorite teams and leagues, including MLB, NFL, NCAA, MLS, NHL, and more.
Google Play Amazon Apps
CBS Sports
Not only does the CBS Sports app have the latest news, standings, and scores for all major league sports, you can also watch live games and events like NCAA basketball and the PGA Tour, as well as CBS Sports original programming, like Fantasy Football Today.
CBS Sports
UFC Fan App
For fans of MMA’s biggest promotion, this app has it all, including breaking news, up-to-date standings and stats, fantasy picks, press event live streams, and highlight videos from past events.
Google Play
Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
Whether your league is football, baseball, hockey, or basketball, the Yahoo! Fantasy Sports app will give you everything you need to indulge in your fantasy play, including mock and league drafts, advice from experts, and easy management tools.
Google Play
Social media
Instagram is ubiquitous in photography now, so you might as well have it on your phone. Owned by Facebook, the social network centered on photos offers great filters and connectivity with others.
Google Play
The biggest social network on the planet right now has a decent official app. Keep up with your friends and family, jump into instant chats, and stay informed with push notifications.
Google Play
Twitter’s microblogging platform brought about the now-ubiquitous internet facet, hashtags. Connect with you friends, share your new favorite content, follow celebrities, and get breaking news as it happens.
Google Play
Pinterest is the go-to social network for finding and sharing inspiration on creative projects, hobbies, fashion, and more. The app features the same functionality as the website, allowing you to “pin” and “repin” posts from other users to various boards, so you can share and save new ideas.
Google Play
Vine
Vine is to video what Twitter is to blogging. The Vine app allows users to to film and edit quick, snappy videos that can be uploaded and shared directly. The social media network has spawned its own stars and personalities, and is a repository for some of the funniest videos on the internet.
Google Play
Messaging
Skype
The original VOIP service is now owned by Microsoft and boasts more than 250 million users. Free international voice and video calls via your data or Wi-Fi connection is hard to pass up.
Google Play
Messenger
Facebook’s best feature is arguably its built-in messaging. Facebook now offers its messenger service as a standalone app, enabling you to chat with your Facebook friends and anyone in your contacts with the app installed, without having to be signed into Facebook, or even have Facebook installed on your phone at all.
Google Play
This cross-platform app lets you send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages. It starts out free for a year, and then costs $1. It’s well worth a look for texting addicts.
Google Play
Snapchat
Snapchat is all about sharing photos, short videos, and conversations that expire automatically after they’ve been viewed. You can use filters, decals, and effects to enhance your photos and videos, and take your Snap game to a whole new level.
Google Play
Dubsmash
Record and share videos of yourself dubbed over by famous lines from TV, film, reality stars, and more. You can even upload your own sounds and lines to create your own rendition of your favorite scenes or quotes.
Google Play
Dating
Tinder
Tinder is the ultimate dating app for mobile users, thanks to its location-centric features, and regardless of what its reputation may be, it’s still a great way to meet people. Your next match could be a swipe right away.
Google Play
OKCupid
OkCupid is one of the biggest dating apps around, so you’ll have plenty of chances to meet someone. Fill out your profile, answer questions about yourself, and connect with people nearby to see if you hit it off.
Google Play
Coffee Meets Bagel
This app is geared towards those who are looking for a real relationship, rather than quick hookup or short fling. Every day at noon, you get sent a prospective match based on a specific set of criteria. You can Like them or Pass on. If you like them, you’ll be set up with icebreaker questions; if you pass, the app will learn your preferences and try again tomorrow.
Google Play
Happn
Happn connects you with others you’ve passed in real life, making that shared glance at a coffee shop into a potential date. You can browse profiles of those you’ve crossed paths with, and if you both “like” one another, you’ll be able to begin a conversation.
Google Play
Bumble
Bumble is similar to Tinder in terms of presentation, but with a notable twist. Designed to flip the usual gender dynamics of dating apps, the app only allows women to message first, taking the pressure off men and reducing the chances of awkward pick up lines. Well, at least we like to think so.
Google Play
Match Dating
The Match Dating interface is also pretty sleek and minimalist, but it’s not as easy to use as, say, Tinder. The app utilizes a set of tabs that run along the top of the display — “matches,” “search,” “viewed me,” and “mixer” — which break up the service’s various functions. It’s not a complicated app, but it does take a few minutes to get used to.
Google Play
Blogging
Medium
Medium is a high-profile yet minimalist blogging platform that anyone can use. Due it its popularity and presence, it draws numerous well-known journalists, authors, actors, and other personalities to the platform, meaning you’ll have a stream of high-quality articles and essays to read whenever you want.
Google Play
Tumblr
The Tumblr app makes it easy for you to share anything from anywhere. You can post any kind of content to multiple blogs, save drafts for later, schedule posts, and then join in the discussion.
Google Play
WordPress
This app mirrors the functionality on your WordPress blog and helps you create and edit posts. It’s a simplified version that’s easy to use, and it also displays reactions to your latest articles.
Google Play
Blogger
This is the official app for one of the longest running and most popular blogging platforms on the internet. Through the app, you can compose, edit, and post directly to your blog, and swap easily between multiple blogs if you happen to have more than one.
Google Play
Writer
While not directly tied to any particular blog, Writer is a great app for those who need to compose while away from their computer. It’s a simple, clutter-free writing experience, yet still offers all the features and functionality one requires from a full word processor.
Google Play
Reading
Kindle
Don’t worry if you don’t have a Kindle — you can still read your ebook directly on your smartphone. From best sellers to the classics, it’s all here, with more than 900,000 titles in Amazon’s store.
Google Play
Comics
Comixology’s free app is a window onto a staggering library of more than 40,000 titles, including all the big names from Marvel and DC. It’s the biggest comic book reader out there right now.
Google Play
Relay for Reddit
Relay for Reddit is one of the best way to read and navigate Reddit — “the self-described home page of the internet.” Browse your favorite subreddits, checkout the latest posts, and interact with other users in the same way as you would on the website itself.
Google Play
Perfect Viewer
While primarily a comic book reader/library management app, Perfect Viewer also functions as PDF viewer, ebook reader, and image viewer. It can be connected to Google Drive, DropBox, or OneDrive to access your library, and is one of the best options for side-loading your digital comics and books.
Google Play
Gaming
Steam
Steam is the biggest and most prolific community and storefront for PC gaming. Through the Android app, users can access the Steam community, browse the store, and purchase news games.
Google Play
PlayStation App
Playstation Network can be accessed on your Android via the official PlayStation app. You’ll be able to sign in to your PSN account, interact with friends, make purchases, and even schedule downloads for your PlayStation 4.
Google Play
Xbox One Smartglass
Microsoft’s Smartglass app not only brings your Xbox Live account and console interface to your phone, it also opens up your gaming experience, with many games offering special, second-screen features, such as maps and bonus content, through Smart Glass.
Google Play
Twitch.tv
Through Twitch’s Android app, you’ll be able to watch your favorite streamers, view past broadcasts, and browse through all available streams to catch the latest high-profile Dota 2 matches and tense speed-running marathons right on your phone.
Google Play
theScore eSports
Like its major league sports counterpart, theScore eSports is the best app for die-hard fans of professional gaming. theScore eSports give breaking news coverage, live scoring, and live streams for all high-profile eSports titles like Dota 2, League of Legend, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike, and many more.
Google Play
Nutrition and cooking
Zomato
You can set your location, the type of food you want, and your budget to find suitable local restaurants. There’s also a handy shake feature to get a random suggestion if you just can’t decide.
Google Play
MyFitnessPal Calorie Tracker
If you really want to lose weight and get in shape, then you need to start counting those calories, and this app, from MyFitnessPal, is an easy, accessible, and completely free way to do it.
Google Play
Yummly
Browse over one million different recipes to find exactly the meal you’re craving. You can even set dietary preferences, so the recipes you see fit to your lifestyle or restrictions. Once you find a recipe, you can add all the ingredients to a shopping list.
Google Play
Food Network
Find thousands of recipes from your favorite food network chefs and personalities, including recipes featured on their TV shows and specials. How-to videos and shopping list features will equip you with everything you need to make a great meal.
Google Play
Simple Macro
Tracking your macros is an important aspect of fitness. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain mass, or maintain your body composition, eating the right balance of protein, fats, and carbs is key. Macro tracker lets you set your preferred macro ratio, and track the foods you’ve eaten.
Google Play
Fitness, athletics, workouts
Runtastic
Runtastic is a smartphone staple, with a simple interface that doesn’t sacrifice advanced features. The no-frills app uses your smartphone’s sensors to track metrics, such as your distance and relative pace, as well as calories burned and your heart rate. A few extra features, such as 3D mapping and a workout diary, only complement the app’s wearable integration.
Amazon Google Play
Strava Running and Cycling GPS
Strava is an excellent tracking app that monitors your runs or cycling routes via GPS. It gamifies your cardio workout and pairs with leaderboards, achievements, and challenges, bringing a competitive spirit to your routine. It also has Android Wear support.
Amazon Google Play
Daily Yoga
Yoga is unbelievably powerful. It strengthens your core, increases flexibility and focus, and decreases stress. Plus, it can help you lose weight and stay healthy. This app will guide you through daily yoga routines of varying difficulty and length, and step-by-step, HD videos showing exactly how to do each pose.
Google Play
RunKeeper
Turn your phone into a personal trainer and track your runs via GPS. You can get detailed stats on your workouts, listen to music, get audio cues to spur you on, and share your progress.
Google Play
Self improvement
Headspace
Headspace is a meditation app created by ex-Buddhist monk and TED Talk alum Andy Puddicombe. Users can chose between lesson packs centered around various goals such as: focus, health, creativity, and advanced meditation techniques. The app requires a subscription, but offers a free 10-day guided lesson pack to get you started.
Google Play
Duolingo
Anyone looking to learn a language should start here, because it’s fun and accessible for all ages. It has free courses for Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, English, and more.
Google Play
Fabulous – motivate me!
With science-based coaching as its backbone, Fabulous – Motivate Me! Will help instill healthy, positive habits and routines into your life — everything from better sleep, sticking to a morning routine, finding time for creativity, daily meditation, losing weight, and more.
Google Play
Habitica
Habitica is a hybrid between productivity app and role playing game. Users input their tasks, daily goals, or even new habits they want to accomplish, and the app awards you with new items like armor, weapons, abilities, and more. The app features RPG-like activities like quests and monster battles to gamify your to-do list.
Google Play
Finances and money
Mint
Mint is our favorite money management website, but it also has a kickass app. Mint can keep track of multiple bank accounts or credit cards to help you stay on budget and out of the red.
Google Play
Groupon
Shop for the best bargains online with up to 90-percent off all sorts of things. Groupon leverages the power of group buying to bring you voucher deals you simply can’t get elsewhere.
Google Play
Venmo
Venmo allows users to send money for free. The transactions can be sent to any bank and occur overnight. This makes paying back your friends simple and quick.
Google Play
Square Cash
Create your “Cashtag” and you can receive payments for just about anything. Square Cash lets you quickly transfer money between other users for free, using a passcode of your own choosing and 128-bit encryption as an added security measure.
Google Play
Shopping
Depop
Depop’s ultra-minimal, online marketplace takes little more than a photo to get started. Once captured, share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter before striking a secure deal with a host of potential buyers via the built-in chat function.
Google Play
eBay
There’s very little that you can’t buy or sell on eBay. The app is full-featured and much easier to use than the website. Bid on items, track your orders, and sell all of your unwanted stuff right here.
Google Play
Geek
This app allows users to purchase a bunch of cool and unique items — whether geeky or otherwise — directly from the manufacturers for far cheaper than they would be offered at retail.
Google Play
Amazon Shopping
Amazon is the number one online retailer for a reason. Browse Amazon’s vast collection of products quickly and easily. Plus, you can enable notifications for daily Amazon Gold Box deals so you never miss out on a discount.
Google Play
PayPal
The easiest online checkout method right on your smartphone. You’ll be able to manage your paypal account, send and receive payments, and more. The app can also notify you of transactions, offering handy reminders and alerts when you use PayPal as a payment method, or have an upcoming bill due.
Google Play
Travel and events
Maps
You’re never lost with Google Maps. Get voice-guided navigation for trips, different instructions for driving, walking, cycling, or taking public transport, and search for anything you need.
Google Play
Uber
If you need to get somewhere and don’t have wheels of your own, hop in someone else’s ride. Uber allows you to call upon a private driver in your city who will help you get to where you need to go.
Google Play
Lyft
Lyft is another private cab service, helping find a, well, lift whenever you need one. You’ll be able to hail a cab and pay directly in the app, and can even split the tab with a friend easily.
Google Play
Airbnb
Forego the headache of trying to find and book a hotel, and instead find an open room or home to stay at on your travels. Users can search for accommodations, communicate directly with hosts, and book all through the app.
Google Play
Google Translate
Translate speech or text between more than 70 languages with this app. It can act as your interpreter, enabling you to decipher signs and menus, and enable two way conversations.
Google Play
Going out
Yelp
Craving a decent microbrew, a breakfast burrito, or a good latte? Yelp will help you scratch that itch. It’s packed with user reviews, directions, and tips for almost every place around.
Google Play
StubHub
Buy and sell tickets to virtually any event. Stubhub protects its users with it’s “FanProtect Guarantee,” meaning you can buy and sell tickets on their app without risk.
Google Play
Fandango
A streamlined glance at your local theater listings with trailers and reviews of all the top releases, this app can also work as a mobile ticket at participating cinemas. You can buy tickets, too.
Google Play
Yellow Pages Local Search
If the title of the app wasn’t clear enough, this is a robust tool to help you find local businesses, venues, and restaurants, browse menus, and even book tables or nab tickets so you can plan your next evening out with ease.
Google Play
Foursquare
With over 60 million quick reviews of the best (and worst) places to eat, drink, and more in any city all over the world, you’ll know exactly where to go — and where to avoid — while you’re out and about.
Google Play
Device performance
Avast!
This comprehensive package includes malware protection, privacy advice, anti-virus scanning, filtering to block nuisance calls, and anti-theft tools. There’s even a firewall for rooted devices.
Google Play
Clean Master
Clean master provides several tools a features to keep your device optimized, including a battery saver, privacy locks, antivirus, file cleaning, and much, much more.
Google Play
Android Device Manager
Google’s official phone tracking service helps you locate your phone, remotely erase its data, and reset the screen lock PIN, and it works with any device associated with your Google account.
Google Play
SwiftKey Keyboard
You’ll never curse auto-correct again with the intelligent SwiftKey Keyboard. It’s packed with options, it learns your style, and it offers sensible suggestions and corrections that will speed your typing.
Google Play
Photo editing and management
Lightroom
Lightroom, a program built upon Photoshop, is a powerful photo editing tool for photographers. The mobile app takes the features of the desktop application and puts them on your Android device.
Google Play
Adobe Photoshop Express
While not as powerful or extensive as the desktop version, Adobe Photoshop Express still offers an impressively wide array of tools for editing and creating images directly on your Android device.
Google Play
VSCO Camera
VSCO Camera has become one of the most popular photography apps, thanks in part to its powerful editing features that include impressive present lens settings, post-shot tweaks, and before-and-after comparison shots.
Google Play
imgur
The official app for one of the most procrastination-friendly sites on the internet. Browse through near-endless GIFs and images from almost any topic you can imagine.
Google Play
Google Photos
A centralized location for all your photos. Google Photos will automatically backup your photo libraries on your phone to your Google Drive, saving them in a special folder that only you can access.
Google Play
Documents, web, and email
Office Suite + PDF editor
This app is the most downloaded app of the Google Play store, and for good reason. It’s the most robust and fully featured Office solution for Android. Create word documents, PDFs, power point presentations, spreadsheets, and more.
Google Play
Google Inbox
If you’re a Gmail user and Google loyalist, Google’s Inbox app is a must download. It rethinks the inbox entirely, encouraging you to eliminate clutter, make it easier to stay organized, and get more done.
Google Play
Google Drive
The natural choice for anyone invested in Google’s apps and services, the streamlined Google Drive app lets you store up to 15GB of files and access them wherever and whenever you need to.
Google Play
Evernote
Here’s an elegant solution for all your note-taking needs, from simple to-do lists, to voice reminders, to notes with supporting photos. Tag, sync, and organize for a real productivity boost.
Google Play
Google Docs
Combined with Google Drive, this is an excellent choice for collaboration, especially given how feature-rich the mobile and web apps are. Once you create a document, you can add people to it, so that they can collaborate. Once they accept the invitation, you can create a multitude of documents — similar to what you can do with Microsoft Office — and have your team collaborate in real time.
Google Play
Productivity
aCalendar
aCalendar gives you a great overview of your day, week, or month. It also supports reminders, repeat events, and has a fully customizable widget so you can view events from the home screen.
Google Play
Box
Box recently launched revamped web and Windows apps to better tackle online collaboration. Box takes things a step further by offering an overhauled web app that you can access through any browser by logging into box.com.
Google Play
Any.Do
This stylish productivity app allows you to create task lists and save notes. It deeply integrates into your phone, supports cloud syncing, and it’s easy to share lists across devices.
Google Play
CloudCal
CloudCal offers one of the most unique ways of showing you how busy you are on any given day. The Android exclusive uses a system it calls Magic Circles, which turns the days of the month into clock faces and shows different colored circles, or segments of a circle. We also like that you can attach photos, audio files, and Dropbox files to specific events.
Google Play