Published on July 21st, 2018 | by Guest

The Apps on my Phone

Every time you buy a new phone, there are apps you would always download. I also have such apps. First of all, there are social media apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc., so I’m going to skip these.

Let’s move on with the rest.

I use Gmail for everything, aggregating all my secondary accounts and Outlook accounts. To read them, I use Google Inbox. Google Calendar serves me very well for setting tasks and schedules.

I am a hobbyist photographer, so I use Nokia Camera for taking pictures. The stock camera app of my phone is isn’t very customizable, making me switch to Nokia Camera. If your phone supports Camera API level 3, you can take full advantage of this app: manual mode, live bokeh, and bothie which are parallel shots from the back and front cameras stitched together. It feels so bad that Spotify is not in India yet. You can download the app and use it, but you will require a VPN to enjoy the full music library.

Almost all Android phones come with Google Play Music which lets you play music stored on the phone. However, I listen to 90% of my music by streaming. (You know, data is dirt cheap in India.)

Here are some apps I use for streaming: Wynk is for music and radio stations. I was using Google Podcast for my podcasts, but due to its inflexibility, I switched to Castbox where you can find anything from serious tech all the way to rib-tickling comedy.

For movies I use JioTV (India only). It has a good collection of movie channels but isn’t sufficient, so I use Showbox and the official SonyLiv app to compensate.

Being a regular mobile games for a decade, I like to play engaging games like Asphalt 8, Asphalt Extreme, PubG, N.O.V.A, World War, Sniper Fury and relaxing arcade games like Smash hit, Sparkle and Mekorama.

Transportation is always a headache for everyone. However, it has become very easy to book a cab today. Most of the time I use Uber. Its easy, fast and more responsive then Ola. If you travel a lot alone, then Uber Go is better than Ola. You can save even more money by booking a single seat for Uber Pool instead of the whole car.

For decorating my home screen I use Nova launcher. Wallrox and Backdrops are my best choice for wallpapers.

For browsing, I use Chrome. It is fast, secure and advanced; something you can expect from Google software running on a Google device.

CamScanner is a very good app for scanning documents with your phone camera and directly saving it to a PDF.

I always upload my photos verbatim and I’m not a fan of editing and using filters. However, if I require a photo editor I use Snapseed. It is a professional image editor where you can do anything with your photos.

Sometimes my dual camera phone does not blur the background perfectly. So I use AfterFocus to achieve the effect.

For weather, AccuWeather is very accurate.

As I travel a lot, carrying a laptop is not always possible. So I use Google Docs for writing articles. You can also find Microsoft Word in Play Store but the UX is not so intuitive.

Since I am always trying to out new apps, my collection is bound to change over time. What do you use on your phone? Please let us know in the comments below.

Download links for mentioned apps:

Facebook: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.katana
Whatsapp: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whatsapp
Instagram: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram.android
Snapchat: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snapchat.android
Google Inbox: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.inbox
Google calendar: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calendar
Nokia Camera APK: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/hmd-global/nokia-camera-new/camera-7-8-0260-50-release/camera-8-0260-50-android-apk-download/
Wynk Music: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bsbportal.music
Google podcast: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.podcasts
Castbox: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fm.castbox.audiobook.radio.podcast
Jio TV: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jio.jioplay.tv
SonyLiv: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sonyliv
Asphalt 8: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftA8HM
Asphalt extreme: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftMOHM
PubG: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tencent.ig
World War: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamedevltd.wwh
Sniper Fury: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftFWHM
Smash Hit: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mediocre.smashhit
Sparkle: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.the10tons.sparkle.free
Mekeroma: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinmagni.mekorama
Uber: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7908612043055486674
Ola: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.olacabs.customer
Nova: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher
Wallrox: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.material.wallrox
Blackdrops: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.backdrops.wallpapers
Camscanner: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intsig.camscanner
Snapseed: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed
AfterFocus: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.motionone.afterfocus
AccuWeather: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.accuweather.android
Google Docs: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.docs

About the author:

I’m Biplab Das, a technical writer, tech YouTuber, blogger, ICT tutor and a part time website developer. People say smartphones are boring these days, but I think everyone is beginning to take this wonderful technology marvel for granted. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel MoboMotion.

Tags: Phone