It’s the first week of February and we’re ready with our list of new and free Android apps. And boy, they’re amazing. From a great new keyboard to a stylish sound manager, this month’s list of new Android apps definitely got us excited.
So, without further delay, let’s get started.
1. Microsoft Edge
Microsoft has made some major improvements to the Edge browser for Android, and that’s why it’s included in this month’s list. This elegant Android browser now comes with a redesigned navigation menu that makes browsing a fascinating affair, especially if your phone has a long screen.
You can access all your Favorite tabs, History and Downloads at the touch of a button. Edge Browser handles this and more.
There’s also a new hamburger menu in the top right corner that gives you plenty of options to optimize your landing page. For example, you can switch between Focused mode, Inspirational and Informative mode depending on your reading habit. However, if you don’t want any of these, you can customize the feed to your preference.
2. Typewise Keyboard
If you are bored with your regular keyboard app, you should definitely check Typewise. This new keyboard app wants to shake up the traditional keyboard layout with its unique hexagon shaped keys. The familiar QWERTY layout of the keyboard is also gone, as you can see below.
But before you get into that, let me tell you that keyboard makers claim about 80% reduction in typos thanks to the larger keys.
You won’t find a dedicated backspace key in this one. Instead, swipe left slightly on the keyboard UI and the text will be automatically removed. Is not it beautiful?
Of course, this serious redesign means you’ll need some time to get used to it, but once you do, your typing will be so much better.
The trick of this keyboard is that it doesn’t require permissions. And autocorrect is pretty awesome. If you are using the Pro version of this app, there are other themes that you can change.
Overall, Typewise is a good app to start with if you’re looking for a break from the usual options like SwiftKey and Gboard.
3. gesturePlus
Do you love using navigation gestures on your Android? If your answer is yes, you will love jestPlus. This nifty app adds a software button in the middle of the navigation gestures bar. And as you can already guess, you can customize this button with an action of your choice.
For example, if you want to invoke the Google Assistant or open the Navigation module of Google Maps, you can do so. The best part of this app is that the configuration is as simple as 1-2-3.
At the time of typing, jestPlus allows you to program the button to launch an application of your choice, open system tools, change voices or configure the voice assistant you want. Apart from that, there is also an area to add a long tap action.
4. Sound Manager Lite
If you regularly switch between different sound profiles on your phone, Audio Manager Lite is the app for you. This application has a set of tools that allow you to automatically adjust the volume without any manual intervention. It has a set of routines that you can program.
In other words, if you want to switch the phone to silent mode every evening at 15:00 on some days, this application makes it possible. All you have to do is tap on Routines and then add the necessary events like time and volume. The best part is that you can have several routines running at the same time.
Another thing you will appreciate about this app is that the sound presets (Mute, DND, medium volume, high volume) are available as a sticky notification. So if you want to instantly reduce the overall system volume, a simple button press is all it takes. And that’s it. (OnePlus users, this trick is not for you **wink**).
If you upgrade to the paid version, you will also be able to use location-based voice routines.
I loved this app for its simple and easy to understand UI and it has automated a lot of my manual work.
5. Shorthand Notes
Next up on our list is Shorthand notes and an easy-to-use note-taking app. It gets rid of all the distractions like formatting options, bullet points, and the like. Instead, it includes a clutter-free user interface and you’ll love its clean look.
The best part is that you can organize all your notes into folders by adding a hashtag to your notes. Yes, Shorthand it’s that simple. I like that all the folders are painted different colors, which makes them easily accessible.
The search function is pretty simple. Type the keyword in the search field and the app will bring up the note regardless of whether the search term is in the body or in the headlines. It is as simple as deleting a note. Swipe left and the job will be done.
6. My Wall
My Wall is great if you like to customize your phone wallpapers. It is a small, lightweight wallpaper manager application that allows you to change a wallpaper to your liking. For example, if you want to adjust the brightness of the image, give it a blurred background, or apply filters, it lets you do that.
You can also select primary color palettes from the image so you can set the color of your home screen widgets and icons.
As a new app, it has limitations. For example, you can only customize your phone’s current home screen image, and you can’t just grab a random image from storage.
7. Activity Bubbles
While our phones are at the center of our lives, we need to know how much of our time we spend (or waste) on our phones. With Activity Bubbles, you can now measure the time you spend on your phone.
It is a live wallpaper application that shows your phone usage by creating small bubbles. And as the day progresses, the bubbles and their respective sizes will continue to increase. Your goal is to keep the number (and size) of bubbles to a minimum if you want to reduce your phone usage.
Activity Bubbles needs Google’s Wallpaper app to work. After downloading, you can find the app in question under Live Wallpapers.
Hold on, Hold the Phone!
These were some of the new and exciting Android apps released in the last few months. I like jestPlus and Audio Manager Lite and am considering making Typewise a permanent fixture on my phone. I hope it will reduce the typos I usually make.
Next: Missed last month’s version of our Apps of the Month post? Just click the link below to discover new and exciting apps.
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