Essential Android free apps (2015 edition)

Android is the world's most popular operating system and it has a gigantic ecosystem of apps with nearly 1.5 million applications on the Google Play Store, but having so much choice often means that it’s hard to find the essential apps, the ones that truly enrich your experience in a meaningful way.

That's what this selection of essential Android apps aims to do: help you discover the very best of the platform without the tiresome trial-and-error.

TIME AND TIME AGAIN, WE KEEP ON COMING BACK TO THESE APPS

This is not a conclusive list, but we've found that over the years, as we have tested tens if not hundreds of Android phones, we keep coming back to these exact apps. If there is one thing that makes them truly special is that they get updated regularly and have passed the test of time, but we're eager to hear your favorites in the comments below.

Finally, let’s get this out of the way: we are not including the portals and messengers that most of you will install anyway. Apps like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Netflix, Pinterest, or Snapchat will likely end up on most phones either way, and so will messenger like Skype, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Hangouts, etc (pick your own poison). The goal of this list is to help you discover the best apps in various new categories that you may or may not have heard of. Let’s take a look.

NOVA Launcher: great custom Android launcher

Download on Android

There are literally hundreds of custom Android launchers and many great ones among them, but NOVA Launcher is the launcher that stands out with its amazing set of features, regular updates, and smooth performance.