The Android platform has grown significantly over the past few years. It is now one of the most used mobile operating systems in the world and the number is only growing. One of the biggest reasons for the growth of the platform is that it comes with a ton of apps, basically fulfilling the user’s every need. If there’s something you can think of, I’m pretty sure the Play Store has an app for that. Keeping this in mind, when we discuss some of the best free apps for Android, it’s not as easy as it seems. Picking out the best app in the midst of thousands can be quite tricky.
Thankfully, users have carefully managed to sort out the good apps from the bad. Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take you through some of the best Android apps available in the Play Store that are also free of cost.
5 Best Free Android Apps
Nova Launcher
A custom launcher is one of the first apps you need to get (apart from the basics) to enhance your usage in ways that only a custom launcher can offer. Nova launcher has been around for quite some time in the industry, gaining millions of users in the process. Given that it provides full control to the user, it offers the ability to change icons, user interfaces and a whole lot more. If you download this app, the chances are that you will spend a significant amount of time fine tuning your experience with Nova Launcher.
One of the things that’s worth mentioning here is the fact that Nova doesn’t slow down your phone even with continued usage. However, the number of open processes on your device might dictate the speed of your smartphone. The app comes with a backup/restore feature by default, allowing you to save your custom creations on the device to restore while switching to a new device.
Although Nova is completely free to download and use, the developers have a “Prime” version of the app that adds a few more features and customizations to the list. With over 50 million installs, Nova Launcher is one of the most popular custom launchers out there.
Grammarly Keyboard
We hate making mistakes. While mistakes while texting are tolerated and can be quickly amended, important text like presentations and class submissions cannot be changed that easily. Keeping this in mind, wouldn’t it be nice if you could never make a spelling or grammar error while typing? Well, this is where Grammarly Keyboard comes into the equation. Available as a browser extension on desktops, the mobile version of the app is equally capable, complete with suggestions to improve your sentences.
Since this is a standalone keyboard, you can access it practically everywhere, including your text conversations. So be prepared to be a spelling and grammar expert among your peers. What I personally love about Grammarly is the fact that it teaches you how not to make that mistake again with polite pop-ups that can significantly change your vocabulary and understanding of the English language. Grammarly Keyboard is a free download on the Google Play Store with no ads or in-app purchases. The keyboard works with any device that runs Android 4.0.3 and up.
IFTTT
This is for those interested in home automation with IoT devices. It communicates with other devices, thus helping you setup a line of command between your connected devices. It is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices, so the applets you’re going to create has no limitations. IFTTT also has a descriptive list of applets that will be suggested for your device when you open the app. You can pair this with your Google Home, Amazon Echo, Philips Hue and other connected devices.
IFTTT also has curated collections that help you setup automation for items within your home, office or even the car. It’s a brilliant app to get started on automation and is available for free from the Google Play Store. There are no ads or in-app purchases here, so what you see is what you get.
Google Duo
Google Duo needs no introduction as it is one of the best video calling apps available for the Android platform today. It arrived relatively late to the scene, but has taken over the video calling space with relative ease, thanks to its ease of use and quality of video calls. The app is available by default on Pixel phones, while non-Pixel devices require the user to install it separately.
This is a cross platform application, which means you can even connect with your iOS friends and family using Google Duo. This is one of the major factors that makes Google Duo immensely popular among users today. It’s no surprise that this app is believed to offer the best video call quality among contemporary calling apps. While video is one of the primary features here, Google Duo also lets you use voice calling to save up data. Speaking of data, video calls on Duo are optimized to offer the best quality without eating into too much data.
Duo is a free download on the Play Store and is devoid of ads and in-app purchases.
Velociraptor
Now that we have the attention of dinosaur nerds, this app really has nothing to do with them. Instead, it lets you avoid speed traps and tickets by informing you of speed guns in advance. It runs a crowd sourced maps which highlights all the speed traps in your area. It’s particularly useful when you’re driving as it can mention the speed you’re traveling in to get your foot off the gas accordingly. The developers mention that speed tracking is done through TomTom & HERE Maps via Sygic, which needs a monthly subscription to work efficiently.
However, most of the core features are available for free, so you have nothing to worry about in that regard. Velociraptor is a free download from the Google Play Store, but comes with in-app purchases. Check it out.