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If you plan on upgrading to a new smartphone soon, you’ll need to install a bunch of apps on it. Every one of us has a bunch of apps that we know we need to install. If you wonder what else to install, however, or if you don’t have your very own set, we do have some recommendations. Below, you’ll find a list of 10 apps we believe you should install on your new Android smartphone.
In this list, you’ll find a bunch of excellent applications which are fairly different in comparison. This is a complete contrast to our usual app lists, as those lists usually contain apps which serve a similar purpose. Each of these apps serves a completely different purpose. Each of them is amongst the best in its field. So you’ll find a messaging app, a password-saving app, a note-taking app, and so on. If you haven’t tried one of these out yet, you’re missing out, as they’re all excellent. That being said, read on if you’re interested.
10 apps to install on your new Android smartphone 2023
Below is a quick overview of 10 Android apps we think you should install on your smartphone in 2023, including any download and in-app purchase costs.
| Download Cost | In-app cost (per item) | |
| Google Messages | ✕ | ✕ |
| MX Player (Pro) | X ($5.49 Pro) | ✕ |
| Google Keep | ✕ | ✕ |
| Weawow | ✕ | $2-$10 |
| Feedly | ✕ | $7.99-$69.99 |
| Netflix | ✕ | ✕ |
| Snapseed | ✕ | ✕ |
| YouTube Music | ✕ | ✕ |
| Solid Explorer | ✕ | $0.99-$9.99 |
| Uber | ✕ | ✕ |
10 apps to install on your new Android smartphone 2023 downloads
Below is a little more information on each app, and a direct link for easy downloading.
All download links go to the app’s Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.
Messages by Google
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Messages by Google is an app that does ship pre-installed on some phones, like Google Pixel smartphones, for example. This is Google’s very own messaging app, and even though it was exclusive to SMS messages before, that’s no longer the case. This app does support RCS messaging, which means it’s basically a full-fledged messaging app. You can use it to send images, videos, GIFs, and so on.
RCS is projected to replace SMS altogether down the line, which is why it’s referred to as SMS 2.0. Some companies / platforms are still preventing that from happening, though. This app allows you to message everyone who has access to RCS messaging. You can message other users who use this app, over the Internet (by utilizing RCS). So, you’ll essentially be able to message users who use Samsung Messages soon as well. All in all, this is a great app, whose UI looks great as well.
MX Player (Pro)
- Price: Free to download/$5.49 (Pro)
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Your phone likely comes with a video player out of the box, but… you can improve upon that. Getting a more advanced video player is not a bad idea. MX Player Pro has been our preference for a long time, though there is a free version too. That version comes with ads, but you can get rid of them with a one-time payment. MX Player does bring a lot of features to the table.
You can quickly swipe left and right across the video you’re playing to fast forward or back. Swiping up and down on left and right sides will allow you to tune brightness and volume, respectively. The app does have support for basically all file types, and subtitles are supported too. There is the Kids Lock feature, and the app also supports file transfers, and has the Privacy Folder feature.
Google Keep
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Google is offering a really simple and sleek way of keeping notes. The app is called Google Keep, and chances are you’ve heard of it before. Many of you have used this app as well. Everything you save in Google Keep is connected to your Google account. So, if you’re logged into your Google account on your Android phone, and have this app installed, it will log you in automatically.
The UI here is excellent, and the app allows for color-coding of specific notes. You can also create checklists here, not only simple notes. Adding tags for notes is also available. On top of all that, you also have reminders at your disposal. You can include images, and doodles in your notes as well. All in all, Google Keep offers everything a note-taking app should offer, and is not pushing too far with unnecessary features.
Weawow
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: $2-$10
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
Weather can be unpredictable, and it’s always a good idea to have a weather app installed on your phone. Well, Dark Sky was an excellent weather app, but we all know what happened to that. Luckily, there are many more great options in the Play Store, and Weawow is one of the best out there. This is an excellent weather app through-and-through, and its reviews in the Play Store reflect that.
This app is free to use, without any ads. There are in-app purchases, but you’re not forced to buy anything. Weather conditions are accompanied by wonderful landscape photos, while you can get weather information for the current day, tomorrow, for the next 48 hours, or a weekly forecast. Tons of additional information is included, such as UV index, air quality, pollen, wind direction, and so forth. This app is packed with weather information and features, while it can also notify you of severe weather.
Feedly
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: $7.99-$69.99
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Feedly is one of the best news reader apps in the market. You can basically attach any RSS feed to this app, and you’ll be getting content from it. So, instead of using 5 different apps for news from different fields, install this one, and get everything in one place. You have complete control over the content as well, so nothing is curated for your viewing, or anything of the sort. That way you’re assured you won’t miss anything important.
The design of Feedly is excellent, which is why that’s one of our favorite applications. You have a number of different viewing styles you can choose from, and you can even get paginated scrolling if you want, which is not something many apps offer. The dark theme is available here, and you can set the app to mark your content as ‘read’ the moment you scroll past something. It’s a great app, and worth checking out.
Netflix
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
There are tons of video streaming services available out there, but Netflix is one of the best. It all depends on what content you’re looking for, of course, but if the content fits, Netflix is an excellent choice. It is quite probably the most popular video streaming service, for a good reason. Netflix is making its own, unique content, constantly, while it also offers various other movies and TV shows for you to watch.
The app is excellent, to say the least. The UI is spot on, and it’s a joy to use. The same goes for the company’s app for Android TV, by the way, in case you want to install that one as well. All the focus is on the content, and the app is really easy to navigate. You’ll notice a number of tabs at the bottom of the display, which will allow you to access different sections of the application.
Snapseed
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
After you take that perfect photo of your backyard, which you decorate for Christmas, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to touch it up a bit. Smartphones offer great cameras these days, well, some of them do, but you can make that photo look even better with just a little bit of effort. That’s where Snapseed comes in. This is Google’s very own image-editing application, and it’s quite great.
Using it is not that complicated, actually. It is welcoming to both beginners, and more experienced users. You do have some automatic edits you can access, while you can fine-tune things manually if you want as well. There are a ton of options included in this application, options you’d find in more advanced solutions, like the ones that come from Adobe. Snapseed is one of the best image-editing apps for Android, without a doubt.
YouTube Music
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Many people are using the services of music streaming apps these days. YouTube Music is a successor to Google Play Music, and it’s an excellent solution. Next to Spotify, this is the best music streaming service you’ll find. It has a gigantic library of songs, and chances are you’ll find everything you’re looking for. Subscription models are not that expensive, especially if you take a YouTube Premium subscription for your whole family, that way you’ll really be able to save up.
The app offers a dark mode, and it also offers excellent recommendations. You can choose recommended lists of songs based on your taste, location, time of day, and so on. I rarely put together my very own playlists these days, as YouTube does a truly great job in that regard. In addition to official studio song releases, you can also access various covers, remixes, and even live performances.
Solid Explorer
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: $0.99-$9.99
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Some Android smartphones don’t offer a decent file manager application. Luckily for everyone, there are quite a few good choices in the Play Store. Solid Explorer is definitely one of them. This is one of the best file explorer apps in the Play Store, if not the best one. The app offers a really nice-looking design, and it is packed with features. First and foremost, you can change the theme of the app, to fit your needs.
This was one of the first apps, if not the first, to offer users a chance to manage files in a dual pane layout. You can protect your files with strong encryption, and manage files on your cloud storage or NAS. Regular file manager functions are here as well, of course, such as copying, pasting, cutting, renaming, deleting, and so on. Solid Explorer is free, but if you’d like an ad-free version with all the perks, get the ‘Pro’ variant, you won’t regret it.
Uber
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Size: Varies with device
- Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Uber is an app / service pretty much everyone has heard of at this point. Uber is available in a ton of countries at this point, and it’s always a good idea to have that app installed. You never know when you’ll be in need of a ride, and via the Uber app, you can get it really fast. The best of all, you can get a ride from a vetted driver, so that you know you won’t get a heart attack during that car ride.
Getting a random taxi may hook you up with a sketchy driver, which is something you can avoid here. The app is really simple, you can order a ride, and see, in real time, where your driver is at the moment. You can also rate your experience after the ride has finished. The UI is spot on, and something that not many people will have complaints for. Uber is also free to use, though you’ll have to pay for your rides, of course.