The Best Alternatives to Google's Stock Android Apps

8/12/2019 The Best Alternatives to Google's Stock Android Apps

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greenbot.com http://www.greenbot.com/article/2365901/the-best-alternatives-to-stock-android-apps.html

By Ryan

Whitwam

The best alternatives to Google's stock Android apps

Greenbot | Jun 20, 2014 4:00 AM

Your Android phone came with so manyapps preinstalled, but not all of them are crapware foisted

upon you by carriers and OEMs. Once you dig through all that junk (and disable it), you get the the

core of the experience with apps like Gmail, Maps, Play Music, Chrome, and more. They all work

pretty well these days, but have you ever considered for a moment that they might not be the best

option? Shocking, I know! Lets check out the best alternatives to stock Android apps.

Gmail

A long-time die hard Android user will often swear up and down that K9 Mailis the best third-party mail client on

Android. You can plug just about any account into K9 including IMAP, POP3, and Exchange. It looks a bit plain(okay, it looks veryplain), but it comes packed with powerful features like multi-folder sync and PGP encryption.

Its also free and open source.

Left: K9 mail, Right: Mailbox

If that doesnt float your email boat, take a look at Mailbox, which just arrived on Android not long ago after rockin
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mailboxapphttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsck.k9http://www.greenbot.com/article/2365901/the-best-alternatives-to-stock-android-apps.htmlhttp://www.greenbot.com/


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it on iOS. This Dropbox-owned mail client syncs Gmail and iCloud with support for snoozing messages and

automation for common actions. There is also profile syncing via Dropbox. This app is free as well, but beware

some of the iOS-flavored UI elements.

Hangouts

If youre looking to get away from Googles Hangouts app with all that Google-y integration, Whatsappis one of

the most popular alternatives for IM on Android right now. Whatsapp uses your phone number as a user ID, so it

works a bit more like SMS. However it includes group chat, multimedia messaging, and offline push. Its free for ayear, then only $1 per year after that.

Left: Whatsapp, Right: EvolveSMS

For an alternative to Hangouts traditional SMS functionality, EvolveSMSis a great app to check out. This SMS

client has a hyper-modern Android design with multiple themes, widgets, and support for translucent

status/navigation bars on Android 4.4. Surprise, apparently it can send a text message pretty well too. This app is

free for the basic functionality, but features like MMS, Dropbox backups, and private mode require a small in-app

purchase to unlock. Of course, we think Hello SMSoffers one of the most reliable, usable, and simple texting

experiences out there, but it's not "over the top" messaging.

Chrome

Googles Chrome browser is better than it once was, but so is Firefox. Its actually astoundingly good these days

compared to where it was a few years ago. The interface is optimized for both phones and tablets, and it has

support for add-ons. Page loading and performance are about on-par with Chrome, but you can only sync with
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefoxhttp://www.greenbot.com/article/2362963/why-hello-sms-offers-best-texting-experience-on-android.htmlhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.klinker.android.evolve_smshttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whatsapp


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desktop Firefox, not your Chrome data.

Left: Firefox, Right: Javelin

Javelin Browseris a lesser known, but still great alternative to Chrome. It has a very clean, mature design with

gesture-based tab switching, adblock, and translucent navigation/status bars on KitKat devices. The trial version

has all the basics, but unlimited tabs requires a $1 pro upgrade. Theres also an optional $2 per month fast VPN

subscription built in for anyone who needs it.

Google Play Music

Google Play Music is a fine app, but its based heavily on cloud features that arent available everywhere, and

some people simply prefer to manage tracks locally. Shuttle+is a great music player with customizable themes

and support for a wide variety of file types. You get gapless playback, automatic album art downloading, widgets,

and a 6-band EQ. Shuttle+ even has Chromecast support. Feature-packed doesnt begin to cover it.

Left: Shuttle+, Right: PowerAMP

PowerAMPis another alternative to Googles app, but itll cost you $4. PowerAMPs claim to fame is its 10-band

graphical EQ and array of other knobs, dials, and switches. Its a bit on the skeuomorphic side, but the animations

are incredibly slick. All the features youd expect in a premium music player is here toogapless playback, album

art, widgets, and more.

Of course, for online streaming and curation, there's always the excellent Spotifyor Beats Music.
http://www.beatsmusic.com/https://www.spotify.com/us/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayerhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplecity.amp_prohttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nubelacorp.javelin


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Calendar

Googles calendar app is sometimes swapped out for a custom app from the device maker, but they are rarely an

more innovative. When looking for something fresh, Sunrise Calendarshould be your first stop. This is a recent

immigrant to Google Play from iOS, and it brings with it a killer experience. It uses a neat hybrid agenda view and

plugs into Googles calendar back end flawlessly. Its also completely free.

Left: Sunrise Calendar, Right: Cal

Calfrom the makers of Any.Do is similar to Sunrise. This app has a similar layout with easy access to a calendar

view and agenda on one screen, but Cal has a few more features. Its a little more flashy, though its not as easy

to get around in. It has very good tablet support, though. This one also costs zero dollars.

Google Maps

There was a bit of backlash when Google redesigned Maps a few months ago and removed some features, but

its still the undisputed king of mobile mapping. If you are particularly irked by Googles mapping app, it might be

time to check out Waze. This is a cool crowd-sourced mapping app, and while Google does own it now, it's still

retaining its own identity. Its still getting updates and offers a different experience that focuses on dynamic

directions based on community input.

Left: Waze, Right: MapQuest

MapQuestisnt a name you hear much anymore, but its still around. The Android app isnt half bad and might be
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapquest.android.acehttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wazehttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anydo.calhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=am.sunrise.android.calendar


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a viable alternative to Google Maps. It has turn-by-turn navigation, ample points of interest, and all of it free.

But

let's

not

kid

ourselves: Google Maps is one stock app you don't want to replace.

Gallery

There is one app that is far and away the king of the hill when it comes to replacing the Gallery app that shipped

with your phoneQuickPic. This app has it allconfigurable themes, modern design, frequent updates, and

support for all manner of layouts. QuickPic comes with a suit of editing tools for basic tweaks like cropping and

resizing. Its speedy performance lives up to the name even with large photo libraries, loading up in mere seconds.

However, cloud support is currently limited to the beta release.

QuickPic is your go-to Gallery replacement.

Camera

The camera app on your device was probably built using advanced technologies licensed by the manufacturer, no

Google, but maybe you want to replace it anyway. Camera Zoom FXis a long-time favorite with everything you

need to take nice snapshots. Theres digital image stabilization, grid overlays, and burst mode to name a few

features. Some of the effects and editing modes are silly, but its a nice app for $3.

Left: Camera Zoom FX, Right: VSCO Cam

For anyone into the whole pseudo-retro filter thing, VSCO Camis probably the best way to do it. Not only does it

have a very accurate auto mode, its filters are non-destructive and the images arent arbitrarily shrunken down for

ants. This app is free, but only some of the filters come with it. Most of the good sets cost a few bucks.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vsco.camhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=slide.cameraZoomhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alensw.PicFolder


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The Best Alternatives to Google's Stock Android Apps