Droid Life

Category: Apps

The latest selection of Android apps, both free and paid, are found right here. If you were looking for that fresh list of trending Android apps, we have you covered on a daily basis. Want to know the newest Android application releases first? Want to know which Android applications are free for a limited time?

Whether it’s Gmail, Google Calendar, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, or lesser known apps like Nova Launcher, Trello, Sling TV, and Philips Hue, you will know the best Android apps at all times.

Got a suggestion for a new app you think we should check out? We are all ears and regularly accept user-submitted applications, so that you won’t pay until you know if we approve.

  • This Icon Pack is Hot: Pireo

    This Icon Pack is Hot: Pireo

    Always on the hunt for the next “hot” icon pack, we have come across a new addition called Pireo from known icon maker Vertumus on Google Play. The pack just launched, priced at $0.99, providing over 3,800 high quality icons and 50 QHD wallpapers that make my Pixel 2 XL really stand out.

    The icons are extremely similar to what Pixel 2 owners already have (Material Design, circles, etc.), but it does help with uniformity for other applications that don’t offer that circular icon look. As the developer describes, the pack offers, “amazingly clean and crisp” icons with Oreo/Pixel design language. For some apps, there are multiple options you can choose from, granting you more flexibility in the customization department. To showcase just a couple, I’m a big fan of the Simple app icon, Coinbase, as well as the many different options for the app drawer button (shown below).

    If the 3,800+ icons aren’t enough to convince you that this pack is worth a single dollar, there are the wallpapers, too. There are a few gradient options to choose from, texture choices, plus many more. However, as I mentioned they are QHD and cloud-based, meaning that loading them can sometimes take a second or two.

    If you’re in need of a hot new icon pack, check it out by following the Google Play link below.

    Google Play Link ($0.99)

     

     

  • Liam Neeson’s Voice Now Available on Waze

    Liam Neeson’s Voice Now Available on Waze

    One of the best features of Waze, the Google-owned, community-driven traffic and maps app, is the fact that you can regularly change the voice to something fresh. That could be a switch from female to male or to someone with an accent or even a celebrity. And starting today, Liam Neeson is the latest voice addition for a limited time that you may as well take advantage of.

    To promote his new movie, “The Commuter,” which is some kind of combination of “Speed,” “Phone Booth,” and “Taken,” you can access that unmistakable voice starting today through January 14, two days after the movie comes out.

    In order to turn on Liam Neeson, you’ll need to use a particular set of skills, skills that you have acquired over a very long Android career, to head into Settings>Sound & Voice>Voice Directions and then tap on his name.

    Google Play Link

    // Waze

  • Chrome is Going to Start Blocking Bad Ads on February 15

    Chrome is Going to Start Blocking Bad Ads on February 15

    After announcing in June that Google planned to start blocking ads in Chrome at some point in early 2018, ads that violate the Better Ads Standards, Google has updated us today with an official date. Come February 15, if your website has been flagged with a “failing” status in Google’s Ad Experience Report for more than 30 days, they’ll remove all ads from it.

    As Google explained in June, bad ads (full-page interstitials, ads with unexpected sound, and flashing ads) have had a negative impact on almost everyone’s experience on the web. Because of poorly designed or malicious ads, people are installing ad blockers at an increasing rate and making it harder and harder for free content to exist. Google even went as far as to say that ad blocker use because of bad ads is threatening the sustainability of the web ecosystem.

    So again, on February 15, if your website is failing with ad standards, it won’t show ads any longer in Chrome on both desktop and mobile. If you receive a failing score or want to check your score, you can do so in Google’s Webmaster Tools and the Ad Experience Report. Google can also help you in their Ad Experience Report Help Forum.

    For those of you who don’t own a website, well, this is good news for you. As long as you use Chrome, Google will make sure you see fewer and fewer obnoxious ads, which will hopefully mean less reliance on an ad blocker to help support the content providers you read the most.

    // Google Developers

  • Buy Moto Mods Directly From Your Phone With the Moto Z Market App

    Buy Moto Mods Directly From Your Phone With the Moto Z Market App

    If you’re having troubles discovering a fancy new Moto Mod for your compatible Motorola device, Moto has a new app for you. Located in Google Play, the app is called Moto Z Market, designed specifically for helping owners discover and purchase new Moto Mods.

    When you open the app, you can look through the various categories of mods, such as batteries, projectors, speakers, and cameras. As you may already know, there are many different types of Moto Mods, so if you haven’t yet dove into the continually growing world of mods, it’s possible you’ve missed something neat.

    Purely as an example, the Polaroid Insta-Share printer would be a good one for the holidays when you have the whole family around and everyone is enjoying themselves.

    If you have the necessary hardware (a Moto device that supports Moto Mods), check out the app and discover something useful.

    Google Play Link

  • DEAL: Nova Launcher Prime Down to Just $1 on Google Play

    DEAL: Nova Launcher Prime Down to Just $1 on Google Play

    This time of year is always about gift giving to those you love, but have you taken the time to spoil yourself a little bit? For a limited time, you can get Nova Launcher Prime for just $1, which is a perfect, inexpensive treat for your Android device.

    If you’ve somehow never heard us talk about Nova Launcher, it’s the 3rd-party launcher we use the most. With it, you can use custom icon packs from Google Play, customize every inch of your home screen and app drawer, plus set gestures to help you navigate and control your phone more quickly.

    Basically, we love this app and we’re pretty sure you will, too.

    As I mentioned, it’s listed at just $1, down from its usual price of $5.

    Google Play Link

  • The Last Jedi’s Rey (Jedi Training) Arrives in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

    The Last Jedi’s Rey (Jedi Training) Arrives in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

    The game I won’t shut up about, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, just received a new character that all Resistance squads will want to have. Rey (Jedi Training), is now in the game, synergizing ridiculously well with BB-8, Resistance characters, and many other squads in general.

    Rey (Jedi Training) can be unlocked through a limited time Hero’s Journey event, meaning unlocking her is no easy task. Much like Commander Luke Skywalker’s Hero’s Journey, you’ll need a specific 7-starred team to unlock her. You will need a 7-star BB-8 (which requires a 7-star First Order squad), Finn, Veteran Smuggler Han Solo, Veteran Smuggler Chewbacca, and Rey (Scavenger).

    As for her abilities, she is labeled as a tank, capable of applying debuffs, afflicting big damage, gaining Foresight, and much more. From the gameplay I’ve seen and discussions I’ve had with my own guild, the only downside to her tank label is that she does not taunt. Additionally, her kit is somewhat underpowered, unless she is strategically placed in a Resistance squad that is consistently applying Expose and receiving Secret Intel from BB-8.

    If you have the necessary characters, go try your hand at unlocking her! If you ever need help on your cantina table quest, feel free to hit me up and I can offer suggestions and insight the best I can.

    May the Force be with you!

    Google Play Link

    // EA

  • Party Chat Support Arrives for Xbox Beta App

    Party Chat Support Arrives for Xbox Beta App

    If for some reason you must put down the headset and walk away from your Xbox console, you no longer have to leave your party chat hanging. Rolling out through the Xbox beta app on Google Play, Android users can now maintain their conversation through their smartphone, instead of the feature being tied solely to your console.

    The feature is listed as beta, so you can expect a few hiccups here and there, but it should function just as it does from the Xbox console. Should you receive a party invite, you can join it, then speak via your phone’s mic directly to the party members.

    I use the beta app myself, and while the chat bubble feature still needs a whole lot of optimizing, I’m pretty excited about this new party chat functionality. I’ll definitely be giving it a shot.

    Follow the link below to download the beta app for yourself.

    Play Link

  • Twitter Makes It Much Easier to Create Threads

    Twitter Makes It Much Easier to Create Threads

    If the character count increase wasn’t already enough, and you still need to make a thread to share your sometimes esoteric views with others, Twitter is making it very easy to create threads.

    Before this change, users would simply reply to their previous tweet to create a thread. Now, once you have composed a tweet and used all your characters, you will see a “+” button in the composer to add another tweet in order to create a thread. From what I can tell, there’s no limit to how many tweets you can have when creating a thread. This means, God help us all.

    We’ve made it easy to create a thread by adding a plus button in the composer, so you can connect your thoughts and publish your threaded Tweets all at the same time. You can continue adding more Tweets to your published thread at any time with the new “Add another Tweet” button. Additionally, it’s now simpler to spot a thread – we’ve added an obvious “Show this thread” label.

    Twitter says this change is rolling out to all platforms over the coming weeks.

    Google Play Link

    // Twitter