These are our picks for the best Android apps of 2024

The year is drawing to a close, and that means it’s time for our best Android apps of 2024 breakdown. It’s been an incredible year for tech in general, but we’ve also seen some notable Android app developments from companies big and small. And yes, while generative AI-influenced apps heavily influence this list, those genuinely practical apps that make smaller digital tasks much easier will still get their time to shine here.

We picked our favorite apps based on their impact on us over the past year, their functionality and effectiveness, and their novelty. Our main list below details the best Android apps released in 2024. However, because we’ve used various tools across the year, we’ve also included another section for older apps that stole our hearts. Without further ado, here are the best Android apps of 2024.

Focus Go

The best new Android gallery app, bar none.

• Price: Free
• Developer: Francisco Franco

Focus Go is a simple Android gallery app, but don’t let that modest description fool you. The app puts your photos front and center, and that’s wonderfully refreshing in the age of AI and feature creep.

So, yes, you won’t find any AI gimmicks, editing tools, or additional features here. This app was made to showcase your photos and nothing more. This acute focus makes Focus Go incredibly swift, regularly loading mountains of photos in little to no time.

It may sound threadbare, but Focus Go is one of those rare Android apps that nails the one thing it sets out to do.

Google Gemini

A must-have Android utility and worthy heir to Google Assistant’s throne.

• Price: Free, with premium subscription tiers available
• Developer: Google

I was skeptical when Gemini launched and promised to overthrow Assistant as Google’s chief virtual helper. But since the app launched in February, we’ve seen countless new additions to the platform.

Thanks to a slow but assured rollout of extensions, the arrival of Gemini Live to more regions, and its newer ability to remember user preferences, Gemini has become an essential app for Android smartphone users. I’ve used Gemini Live for all sorts of queries, from cooking to general knowledge conversations, while Gemini has offered incredible insights into email formation, document creation, and more.

Mozilla Thunderbird

The best new unified email app for Android.

• Price: Free, with optional in-app purchases
• Developer: Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird finally launched the stable version of its long-awaited Android email app, and it’s an excellent debut. It borrows heavily from K-9 Mail, but using this legendary app’s functional bones as a base is good.

Thunderbird collates emails from various accounts: Hotmail, Webmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and beyond. It also includes a unified inbox, allowing all these emails to be viewed in a single stream. Sure, it lacks the AI trappings of Gmail and the extensive features of Outlook, but it’s a good start. Thunderbird desktop users can easily import their configurations to the Android app, making it a seamless offering for legacy users.

Blackmagic Camera

An excellent manual video recording app for Android users.

• Price: Free, with optional in-app purchases
• Developer: Blackmagic Design

Modern smartphones are powerful pocket video recorders, capable of sucking up 8K moving images without fuss. While native camera apps are great, professionals and enthusiasts require something more serious. That’s where Blackmagic Camera fills a niche.

Originally an iOS exclusive, Blackmagic Camera arrived on Android in 2024 to offer users manual controls, quick access to frame rate, a lens picker, and another image adjustment. Users can view a histogram and other status indicators from the main recording screen. More serious users can benefit from DaVinci Resolve support, and there’s also an option to save clips to Blackmagic’s cloud storage service for paying customers.

Notably, the app added support for a host of premium flagships with its latest version, but it does not offer LOG support — something that would’ve taken the Android version of the app into the must-have category. It’s a great package, but we hope Blackmagic takes it to the next level next year.

Arc Search

The best new Android browser of the year, infused with AI goodness.

• Price: Free
• Developer: The Browser Company of New York

Arc Search is a browser on the surface but functions more like an answer engine on Android. Its nifty Browse For Me feature supercharges this facet, directly answering search queries (think Perplexity) with bullet point answers and a list of sources. Users can also use it as a traditional browser, roping in Google and co. for general searches.

I wasn’t a big fan of Arc Search at launch, but the app has received several updates. It’s now a great companion browser for those needing quick web access.

ElevenLabs Reader

Turn any ebook, PDF, or website into an audiobook.

• Price: Free, with optional in-app purchases
• Developer: Eleven Labs

ElevenLabs isn’t getting a Christmas card from me this year, at least not after it killed Omnivore, one of the best read-it-later apps I discovered far too late. Nevertheless, its innovative Reader app does earn it a gold star in my book.

As its name suggests, Reader makes various document formats audible, transforming them into audiobooks. Its trump card is its ability to vocalize this content using various AI voices, including celebrities. Practical features, like playback speed, the ability to import simple text documents, and an easily navigable UI, add to the app’s appeal as a study guide or a hands-off article reader.

AI is everywhere in 2024, sometimes to no real effect, but Reader is an excellent example of how useful it can be when implemented correctly.

PixelShot

Get a Pixel Screenshots-like feature for any Android phone.

• Price: Free
• Developer: Aculix Technologies

This year, the Pixel 9 series received some tremendous exclusive features, and Pixel Screenshots is the most ingenious. It aims to bring some semblance of order and use to your masses of screenshots. Thankfully, non-Pixel owners can rely on a third-party Android app called PixelShot to bring a similar feature to their devices.

PixelShot unashamedly dupes Pixel Screenshots, organizing your screenshots folder and summarizing the information using AI. Users can also leave notes on specific screenshots and search for specific snippets, making it a useful archival tool.

The app uses AI to analyze your data and sends some text snippets for analysis, which raises questions about security, especially if you screenshot essential documents. However, it’s free and well worth a try.

Clean as Duck

A simple chore management app for busy households.

• Price: Free
• Developer: wilmo

I’ve always found it challenging to keep up with more mundane chores that are imperative but easy to forget. Clean As Duck helped me record these and reminded me to tackle them when required.

The app offers users a long set of templates detailing some common chores, but you can add practically anything to the app that you need a reminder for. For instance, I like to add a reminder to water specific plants more often than others.

Clean As Duck is among my favorite apps of the year, and it absolutely deserves its place on this list.

Pixel Weather

Google’s refreshed weather app is the best new weather app of the year.

• Price: Free; some features require a newer Pixel device
• Developer: Google

Google had several hits in 2024, and the revamped Weather app is one of them. First debuting on the Pixel 9 series (hence the name I’m using), the app adopted a fresher modern design with movable widgets and even more weather metrics. These details now include pollen notifications, multi-day forecasts, and an AI Weather Report feature that decodes and summarizes the day’s data in a sentence.

It may not be the best weather app available across the entire Android ecosystem, but Google is clearly committed to continuing to expand its feature list.

AInput

Get Magic Compose smarts on practically any Android device and any app.

• Price: Free, with in-app purchases
• Developer: IJP

Finally, AInput rounds out our list thanks to its helpful AI-fueled text suggestions. Like Google’s Magic Compose, AInput offers users a list of alternative suggestions to lines of text replies. The app can be used in social media apps, when constructing a review on Google Maps or a comment on YouTube. It also integrates an AI web search feature for those who prefer guided web tours.

Perhaps the only issue I’ve found with AInput is the prevalence of ads that mar the experience. Of course, you can pay to remove these.

There are many apps we’ve grown fond of in 2024 but were launched in years past. This is a special category I wanted to include for those particular apps.

• Kvaesitso: A lightweight, search-based launcher that is now my preferred home screen.
• KineStop: An app that helps minimize the effects of motion sickness when using your device in a car or other vehicle.
• LocalSend: An incredibly polished app that allows easy sending/reception of files between devices, including iOS to Android, and vice versa.
• HeliBoard: A quicker, more secure alternative to Gboard with a nifty toolbar that I really enjoy using.
• HotStock: This app notifies you whenever a product is available for sale. It’s C. Scott’s pick of the year after it helped him score a new desktop CPU.
• TickTick: Zac swears by this excellent to-do app, but not for tracking tasks. He uses it as a reliable habit tracker.
• Tropical Hurricane Tracker: This app was my favorite left-field discovery of 2024, just in time for the North Atlantic hurricane season. It makes it easy to track storms and follow advisories.
• Wysa: Feeling down or struggling with your mental health? This app’s surprisingly supportive chatbot talked me through some issues throughout the year.

What was your favorite app of 2024? Comment below with your pick, and vote in the poll above.