So, you've just cracked open the box and peeled the plastic off your brand spanking new Android smartphone. But there's not much going on in the way of Android apps straight away. Sure, Google has you covered with the essentials, , but what else do you need? This is where our list of the best free Android apps comes in,until it is your one stop shop for the absolute best-in-class Android apps. And it won't cost you a cent. Here are some apps you must have in 2015!Any.do Task List & To-do
If you want to expand your horizons from the Google Keep world, there are many list and task apps which are actually really good, like Any.do Task List & To-do List. It’s got it all in one clean-looking user interface. You can make multiple kinds of lists, like for chores, shopping lists etc, as well as attach videos, photos and Dropbox files. The lists can be shared with colleagues or family members. There’s also an Any.do Moment feature which is a daily planner that has received a lot of praise.
Audible for Android
If you haven’t got time to read a book, that doesn’t mean you can’t listen to it! With Audible for Android installed on your phone, you can listen to books on the go from about 150K titles, of all different genres. Perfect for the commute, going for a run or a long road trip. The app is really well made, with a bunch of features like bookmarking, sleep mode, variable narration speed, multitasking features, etc. It’s quite complex!
AccuWeather
Weather apps are a dime a dozen, all stating that they are the best, most accurate apps to keep you up-to-date with the forecast. Well, how does one choose which app is for them? One of the best weather apps that you can get is AccuWeather. First of all, it’s free and offers a bunch of customization options that can’t be beaten. You get services such as Minute Cast for weather by the minute, weather for worldwide locations, a nifty home screen widget and much more.
IFTTT
If This Then That (IFTTT) is a brilliant app for automating your phone that lets you set very simple rules for making something happen on your Android, based on a simple premise: if this happens then do that.
Inbox by Gmail
The Inbox by Gmail revolution has begun! Inbox lets you bundle similar emails, create reminders, pin important emails to the top of your inbox, snooze messages for later and get the highlights of an email previewed without actually having to open it. Here's everything you need to know about Inbox by Gmail.
Poweramp
Poweramp is easily the best music player on Android, so if you like music, you have an Android phone or tablet, and you know what the Install button is for, then you can do the math!
Google Fit
Google Fit is about to redefine the way we see smartphone health. Closely tied into Android Wear but functioning perfectly fine on it's own, Google Fit will help you achieve your fitness and activity goals.
Amazon Kindle
Anyone that has ever read an ebook knows that Amazon Kindle is the king of ebook readers. Of course, you can read all or your Amazon ebooks but the Kindle app can be used to read any other ebooks you have as well.
VLC
VLC is the app for every Android. If you want to play any media file on Android, VLC is the one app that can handle everything. VLC is technically still in beta, but it is already just as awesome as you'd expect it to be when it's finished.
Google Camera
Unless you're lucky enough to have a rock solid camera app on your phone that you actually like, the next best thing is Google's fantastic Google Camera. It's free and it's definitely worth trying out. It even has post-focusing capabilities.
SwiftKey
If you haven't heard of SwiftKey then you must have been living under a rock for the last couple of years. Or been using an iPhone. Either way, SwiftKey is the class leader for swipe-typing apps, and it doesn't get any better than this.
Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher is the king of Android customization and is easily the best known custom launcher. Jam packed with options, Nova lets you rebuild your home screen, app drawer and gesture controls just how you like them.
Pocket is an incredibly useful tool you'll wonder how you ever lived without. Simply save any online content to Pocket and you can read it later, offline and stripped of ads and everything else but what you actually want to read.
Spotify
Spotify goes up against the likes of Google Play Music, last.fm, Pandora, SoundCloud and even YouTube in the battle to bring music to your ears. An eternal playlist at your fingertips for free? Sounds good to me.
Love it or hate it, Facebook is one of the most installed apps in the world. Resource hungry, slow and buggy, there's still no living without the official Facebook app. As far as features go, none of the third-party options even come close to the official app.
Another essential app for every Android phone, if you're not using WhatsApp, then how exactly are you communicating? WhatsApp is ubiquitous, like Facebook, and is easily the msot popular instant messaging app in the world.
Facebook Messenger
Of course, where Facebook goes, Facebook Messenger is soon to follow. If you want to chat on Facebook, you now have to do it via Facebook's Messenger app, as the chat function no longer exists in the official Facebook app.
Wikipedia Beta
What's better than Wikipedia? Wikipedia Beta, that's what. Live life on the informational cutting edge with all the latest features the Wikipedia team has to offer. The biggest difference right now is the awesome new native design on Wikipedia Beta.
ES FIle Explorer
ES FIle Explorer is the undisputed king of file managers. If you spend any time downloading files, managing music or images, then a good file explorer is an essential Android app, and they don't come any better than ES File Explorer.
Dropbox
Dropbox lets you expand your internal storage into a cloud based backup of everything that's important to you. Music, photos, files and more can be saved, accessed on all your devices and restored if you ever lose your phone.
Speaking of photos, it doesn't get any better than Instagram if you love life through imagery rather than text. Follow your friends and celebrities to see the whole through someone else's eyes. Be warned though, it's addictive.
Pushbullet
Pushbullet is a fantastic app that means you'll never miss another notifiaction again. Pushbullet can display your notifications direct on your computer screen or share links, photos, files and more between multiple Android devices.
QuickPic
Let's face it: most stock Android gallery apps are pretty sucky. That's where QuickPic comes in. QuickPic is a nice clean gallery app that foregrounds your images, has plenty of sorting options and is also connected to the cloud.
Google Keep
Google Keep is like the Android version of Post-Its on steroids. Any time you have something quick to record you can note it in Keep and, well, keep it for later. You can set reminders, save images, audio notes and more.
Feedly
If you like to keep up to date with the endless stream of news in the world of Android and beyond then you need an RSS reader, and Feedly is the original RSS champ, in case you didn't already know. All your favorite websites in one place.
Helium
Helium is a must-have app for anyone that has ever lost data or never done a backup before. It works great with root, but even without, you can simply connect your Android to your computer and use Helium to backup everything. Use it.
Microsoft Office Mobile
Microsoft Office Mobile finally made it Android for free and we couldn't be happier. If you ever use a mobile device for reading or editing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations, then you know you need this app.
Falcon Widget (for Twitter)
While there's not really anything wrong with the official Twitter app, I still like Falcon Widget better. But I'm a fan of full-screen widgets, sooo... Still, if you like your Twitter feed front and center you can certainly do worse than Falcon Widget.
What did we miss? What Android app can't you live without?
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