6 Great Third-Party Apps for Enhanced Function on Android
Do you have an Android phone? They are one of the most popular types of phones in the entire world, thanks to it’s open-source compatibility with hardware. If you use an Android phone, you’ll want to get the most out of it, and this is why it is worth looking into apps to enhance or replace the existing functions of your phone. We spoke to TechQuarters, an IT support company based in London. They have a lot of experience helping their customer manage Android phones, and they gave us a rundown of their favourite apps on Android.
1. Crono
Seeing as many of us use both our smartphone and a PC throughout the day, it is very useful to have a high level of integration between the two devices. Crono is an app that does this for your phone notifications. It is especially useful for those who may have a tendency to get distracted by their phone during work or studying sessions.
You just need to install the Crono app on your Android, and the extension in Google Chrome, pair your phone and PC, and the app will mirror notifications from your phone onto your browser. If you want to stay in the flow of work, but keep up to date with notifications on your phone, Crono is a good way of doing this. You can even reply to notifications via your web browser.
2. Fleksy
Did you know that you can use alternative keyboards on your phone? You are not just limited to the built-in Android keyboard. An excellent option for an alt keyboard is Fleksy. Fleksy is a highly customisable keyboard that supports GIFs, emojis, gesture controls, and swipe typing. The keybord supports more than 80 languages so far, and has an award-winning auto correct section.
3. 1.1.1.1: Faster & Safer Internet
It should be well known by new that public Wi-Fi networks are far from safe. While providing outsourced IT support London businesses rely on, TechQuarters often find themselves having to advise users against connecting to public Wi-Fi networks with their company devices – sometimes, however, it might be unavoidable due to certain circumstances. Due to the fact it needs to be accessible to anyone, public Wi-Fi is completely unsecured; and because it is unsecured, it means your browsing data is accessible to anyone – in some cases, this means the provider is probably selling that browsing data and in other cases, it means other users might be snooping into your browsing data.
With 1.1.1.1, however, you will be connected to Cloudflare’s own DNS resolver. Cloudflare is the company that developed the app, and they promise not to sell your data, or to use it to for targeted advertising. This also makes it harder for other users to snoop into your data.
4. Morph Launcher
One of the great things about Android is the ability to change your user interface via different launchers. Launchers have been around for many years now, and Morph is a particularly unique one. Developed by Google themselves, Morph is designed to support your wellbeing via a minimalist, colourful interface.
One interesting feature is the ability to create different home screens for work, school, personal time, etc – simply name each home screen, select the days, times and locations that you want them to be used, and your phone will switch to that home screen automatically. The most interesting part of this is that you have to select which apps are available in each home screen; so for example, you can set it so that you cannot access work apps when your personal home screen is enabled; likewise, you can set it so that distracting apps are unavailable when your work home screen is in place.
5. Vivaldi Browser Beta
Vivaldi is a highly popular web browser for desktop, which is highly divergent from most traditional browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. What makes Vivaldi different is that it offers a very different style of layout, with many more features and customisable options packed into it. Vivaldi Browser Beta is the new Android version of the browser. Although it is still in Beta, it is almost as feature-packed as its desktop counterpart, and will likely have many more features added in the future. Current features in the app includes Speed Dial – a way to have links to specific websites included in the new tab page. Other features include partial and full-page screenshots, tab cloning, and easy switching between search engines.
6. App Tiles
The notification screen on your Android features a range of tiles for ease of access. For instance, you usually have a tile for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mobile Data, Sound settings, Location, etc. These are all very useful, but most versions of Android don’t allow you to add custom shortcuts for apps. But this is precisely what App Tiles can do for you. It enables you to create as many as six shortcuts to apps installed on your phone. These shortcuts will appear as tiles while you pull down the notification screen on your phone. With this app, you’ll be able to quickly open an app without having to navigate to your home screen.
