June was a busy month for Android apps, from pure productivity to an app
that will make personalized game recommendations for you and much in between.
We also take a look at a painfully simple way of streaming porn on your
Android device, if that’s your sort of thing. PushBullet managed to score
two slots in our roundup this month and Medium finally got around to launching
its first Android app, more than a year after debuting on iOS.
All you have to do is cast your eyes over the list below and choose your
favorites.
1. Adobe Creative Cloud
June 2015 was the first time four of
Adobe’s Creative Cloud apps made it onto Android – namely, Photoshop Mix, Color CC, Brush CC and Shape CC — all of
which were already available for iOS devices.
Mix lets you combine images, tweak color and play around with your
photos; Shape lets you capture and convert images into vector graphics for use
in Illustrator CC and Photoshop CC; Brush CC converts photos and graphics
into bespoke brushes and Color CC lets you sample colors in a scene
to create themes for use in Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.
Best of all, the apps are free, regardless of whether you have a
creative cloud subscription or not.
2. DoubleTwist
If you’re the sort of person who has a lot of music scattered about
different cloud services, DoubleTwist for Android is an app for you.
In a nutshell, it makes your tracks stored
in Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive accessible and directly playable from
your Android device.
After the seven-day trial is up, you’ll need to pay a one-off fee of
$8.99/£4.99 to keep using the premium features, which include Chromecast and
AirPlay support.
3. Pushbullet + Pushbullet Portal
This doesn’t really happen too often, but Pushbullet made it into our
‘best of’ list twice this month.
Not only did the company launch fully overhauled Android, iOS, desktop and browser apps with
better designed layouts and smarter messaging, but it also introduced a
completely new one called Portal.
Although it only works on Wi-Fi
connections, Portal seems to be pretty handy for sending large batches of files between mobiles, desktops and tablets.
It’s free, too.
4. Medium
Medium has been available on iOS devices for over a year, but it wasn’t until
June that a native Android option arrived.
As you’d hope, the app supports writing new posts, albeit in a
simplified editor, but it doesn’t let you save more than one draft at a time
and they’re all stored locally, meaning you won’t be able to view or edit them
on your computer when you get home.
5. IFTTT DO
IFTTT’s DO apps got pretty notable updates across iOS and Android this month, which
include a floating button for direct access from the home screen and a whole host of new channels and recipes specifically for
controlling Android functionality.
You can use this for things like
like triggering actions when specific notifications appear or muting the phone
in certain situations.
It can also be tied to factors like battery level, automatically triggering certain actions
when you drop below a specific percentage.
6. Office
Productivity might not be the most exciting
category of apps, but a lot of people were pleased to see Microsoft’s Word, PowerPoint and Excel apps officially launch for
Android devices this month.
Provided you’re happy with basic editing tool and don’t need the full
suite of feature, they’re free to use. If you do want the whole shebang,
you’ll need to sign up to an Office 365 plan to get unfettered access.
As they’ve been designed for smartphones, the apps are optimized for
one-handed operation, while retaining familiar features from the desktop
versions.
7. Dropbox
IFTTT wasn’t the only company to add
a floating icon to its Android app this month, as Dropbox also introduced a button that allows you to take photosand
save them directly into whichever directory you have open – bypassing local
storage and saving you space on your hardware. Smart.
The Android app also got a full Material Design overhaul, a new search
icon and saw its file and folder controls split off into a new panel.
You can now just swipe left or right to browse through folders.
8. The GameOn Project
The GameOn Project is an Android app
that asks you a few questions before recommending Android games you
might like to play.
It’s a smart idea for people who are time-poor but still want to get in
a bit of mobile gaming without having to wade through all the rubbish.
All you need to do is tell it your age, gender and list three of your
favorite games to get going. You can then filter by other factors, like price
or whether you want it to be single or multi-player etc.
It’s not going to change the world, but it might help ensure that your
precious few minutes of downtime are spent playing something you enjoy.
9. Todoist
June was the month Todoist decided to bring
a Material Design update to its Android app.
Along with the visual overhaul and 10 new color themes, Todoist now
understands natural language, so you can say things like “go for a run every
day at 6AM” and it will automatically add a task for you.
As well as a few other tweaks, there’s now the option to set start
and end dates for recurring tasks, too, which could come in handy for specific
time-limited projects.
10. Porn Time
As well as bringing its Popcorn Time-like service for porn to the desktop this month,
the group behind it also launched an Android app
for streaming filth on your phone.
It doesn’t take a lot of explanation – it’s essentially a P2P client
that lets you stream simultaneously
However, if you search for it, you’ll probably find what you’re looking
for. You’ll also have to be comfortable installing third-party apps without the
relative security of Google Play, of course.
11. PennyOwl
If you want to raise financially
savvy children, one way to do it may be through an app like PennyOwl.
The app, which launched this month for Android and iOS devices, uses
age-appropriate content in a newsfeed-style layout to teach children about
saving.
While parents retain control of how much money kids can spend and how
much should be put aside, PennyOwl provides a level of autonomy by giving them
a store from which to buy apps, toys and games. It also provides monetization
for the otherwise free service.
12. BBC Newsbeat
Sticking with the theme of
‘responsible young adults’, the Beeb launched its Newsbeat apps this month on Android and iOS.
The app uses a card-based interface to show news from around the
world, as well as updates on social trands, entertainment, gaming, student life
and more.
It even caches each day’s content for offline use, including the videos
and other embedded media.
13. Intel Remote Keyboard
Although it launched without fanfare,
and other options are available, Intel’s remote keyboard for Android is a hassle-free way to control your
PC from the other side of the room.
Once you’ve installed the Android app and the Windows counterpart,
the app provides a virtual keyboard and trackpad with slide bars.
It’s free to download and use too.
14. Addappt
If you’re familiar with Addappt’s contextual contacts app for Android
devices, then you’ll probably want to check out the updated UI built for
speedier navigation.
Along with the fresh paint job, there’s a new Smart Favorites
option that remembers how you last communicated with someone and a Favorites
option for quick actions. The update also restores support for grouping
contacts.
15. Instagram
Instagram saw a few notable updates in June on both Android and iOS,
including the option to find images by location, as well as a few tweaks to
image discovery.
The new section also features a curated selection of accounts, places
and topics, organized into collections.
Users in the US get an additional feature too: an ‘Explore’ page that
showcases trending tags and places across the network – these include local and
worldwide trends, it’s just a shame it’s not a globally available feature
right now.
16. Straw
Straw, a polling app for Windows
Phone, Android and iOS devices got a significant new feature this month in the form of
StrawCast, which allows you to broadcast your polls.
Anyone who has the app installed can see StrawCasts, which are also
posted by the company’s Twitter account, and there’s a discovery feed which
surfaces polls to vote on.
Along with StrawCasts, the update also brought new features
like the ability to embed polls on websites, make results private and
edit polls in real-time.
