Are you tired of the same apps cluttering your Android screen? You might have scrolled through the Play Store’s top charts countless times, yet your phone still feels ordinary. Most Android users settle with social media, streaming, and a few productivity tools. What if I told you there is a secret stash of Android apps designed to solve unique problems and enhance your mobile experience in ways you never imagined? This isn’t another list of generic apps. It’s a curated collection of surprises designed to transform how you use your Android phone.
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Anytype
Anytype is one of the best productivity tools for Android. Its sleek user interface, intuitive block editor, templates gallery, and unique organization have transformed how I manage tasks, notes, and projects on my device.
Anytype has a different organizational approach with widgets and objects. While the note-taking concept requires a learning curve, managing and accessing your data is a breeze in Anytype when you get past it. It is cross-platform compatible and has native apps on all the major desktop and mobile platforms.
Unlike other productivity tools, Anytype is open source, so anyone can review the source code and verify the company’s privacy claims. Besides, it’s end-to-end encrypted and keeps your private data safe from prying eyes. Check out my separate post to learn more about Anytype.
Easy Fire Tools is a must-have app for Fire TV Stick users. It’s a powerful app that unlocks a new level of control for Amazon Fire TV and Fire Stick users. Easy Fire Tools is a utility app that simplifies sideloading, managing, and backing up apps on your Amazon Fire devices.
After you enable the developer mode on the Fire TV Stick, download relevant APK files on your Android phone and use Easy Fire Tools to sideload them on your streaming device. It gives you the flexibility to access apps and services that aren’t available on the Amazon App Store. You can even take screenshots of Fire OS using Easy Fire Tools. I use it all the time in my tutorials.
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AppFlowy
AppFlowy is the best Notion alternative on Android. It’s an open source privacy-focused tool to create a flexible and customizable workspace where you can organize your thoughts, projects, and information in a way that suits your needs.
The concept is similar to Notion. You can create a workspace and add pages to it. You can use a variety of blocks and templates to structure your notes, create databases, and build dashboards. For example, you can use the Kanban boards to manage projects, create a page for tracking meeting notes, build a database for customer information, and more.
Unlike some cloud-based note-taking apps, AppFlowy offers robust offline functionality, so you can access and edit your notes without an internet connection. If you are tired of Notion’s limitations, AppFlowy is worth trying.
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Thunderbird
Thunderbird is one of the best email apps on Windows, and it has arrived on Android. If you use Thunderbird on Windows or Mac, you’ll feel at home with the company’s Android app. During the app setup, you have the option to import your preferences on Android.
Thunderbird nailed the basics with a functional UI and several customization options to change the app’s look and feel. It won’t win awards in the UI department, but Thunderbird gets the job done. In terms of features, you can tweak swipe actions, utilize widgets, filter messages, and set custom notifications. Thunderbird also supports end-to-end encryption and remains a part of the open source community.
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Cashew
There is no shortage of finance apps on Android. Cashew grabbed my attention for several reasons. It is one of the rare expense tracker apps that supports the Material You theme. The UI is organized, visually clear, and user-friendly for new users.
You can create budgets to track your spending habits, set goals for specific purposes, add detailed expense and income transactions with relevant details, and use calendar integration to glance over your spending. As for cross-platform availability, you can access Cashew on iPhone and the web.
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AnyDesk
While there is no shortage of TeamViewer alternatives, AnyDesk caught my attention for several reasons. It delivers fast and responsive performance, even over a slow internet connection. This is crucial for remote desktop applications, as lag can make remote control frustrating.
AnyDesk offers several remote desktop functions, such as file transfer, remote printing, connection via VPN, and more. Besides, it’s a cross-platform solution with native apps on all the major platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, and iPhone. AnyDesk also supports unattended access that allows you to connect to your devices without needing someone to accept the connection.
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Arc Search
Arc Search is the newest entrant in the browser space. If you are tired of usual options like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox and want a fresh approach to browsing the web, try Arc Search. It offers a unique interface that’s free from unnecessary news add-ons.
Arc also offers several app icons and theming options to change the app’s look and feel. Arc Search is where it shines. It acts as Gemini or Copilot in your browser. For instance, you can search for a car model and receive all the relevant details, such as launch date, color options, pricing, engine specifications, dimensions, and more in a user-friendly format.
Arc is available on iOS, Windows, and Mac. I look forward to the company introducing its desktop features like Boost, Easel, and more to the mobile application. Read our comparison post if you are undecided between Chrome and Arc on Android.
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Notesnook
If apps like AppFlowy and Anydesk are too complex for you, consider Notesnook. It has an identical UI to popular note-taking apps like Evernote, so new users won’t have difficulty getting started. Notesnook has a smooth and customizable UI where you can tweak the toolbar to place your frequently used formatting actions like highlighter, bold, quote style, list type, and more at the bottom.
In addition to a rich text editor, Notesnook offers bidirectional note linking, which allows you to link your related notes and create an effective knowledge management system. Other goodies include a tags system to organize your notes and reminders to receive alerts for your important notes or tasks.
Notesnook is an open source solution that offers native applications on all platforms. Its end-to-end encryption ensures the security of your data from unauthorized access.
Supercharge your Android
The Android app ecosystem is constantly evolving, with new and exciting tools emerging all the time. This list is a starting point for your exploration. From productivity powerhouses like Anytype to secure notetaking with Notesnook and AppFlowy and the remote access capabilities of AnyDesk, these apps should inspire you to look beyond the obvious and unlock the full potential of your device.
Aside from these apps, you can also try a Canva alternative from Microsoft. This AI-powered Microsoft Designer revolutionized my design workflow. Check out my dedicated post to learn more.
