I’m on a quest to discover some of the lesser-known, yet highly-rated Android apps that have managed to stay under the radar. I’m particularly interested in those with less than 1 million downloads and a rating of 4 stars or more.
I’m sure there are countless apps out there that are incredibly cool, interesting, or useful, but just haven’t hit the mainstream yet. Maybe it’s a productivity tool that’s boosted your efficiency, a unique game that’s kept you entertained for hours, or a niche app that’s catered perfectly to one of your hobbies or interests.
So, my question is: What are some Android hidden gem apps with less than 1 million downloads, more than 4 stars, that you’ve used a bunch or think it’s really cool/interesting/useful?
Please share your recommendations, and if possible, a brief description of what the app does and why you find it so valuable.
Looking forward to uncovering some hidden treasures in the Android app world. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
As a final note, I will be copying all the responses to c/polls to create an easy-to-view list of all the recommended apps. This way, we can all benefit from the collective wisdom of this community.
FX File Explorer. Super fast, feature-rich, and customizable, free with no ads and tracking.
I don’t know how hidden it is because most people into making electronic music at all know about it, but Koala sampler is a fantastic value at $5 for an intuitive and fun way to make some silly loops.
Mobilism for pirating the apps in question
LinkSheet is an alternative to URLCheck
Is there any reason to use one over the other?
At least I’m not aware of any reason. Just wanted to put the alternative out there.
Not sure how hidden it is, but I’ve been using Librera FD for the PDF of the textbook I needed for one of my classes. I only really ever use it for the PDF reading function and the search for certain words function, but it works great for what I need.
I also don’t know how hidden it is, but I also like Anuto TD (Another Ugly Tower Defense for Android) has been something I just got back into. It’s simple and fun enough to play since it doesn’t require too much thought.
https://www.f-droid.org/packages/de.westnordost.streetcomplete/
StreetComplete! You can contribute to OpenStreetMap while walking around and having fun. It’s super fun and satisfying to unlock achievements while contributing to a useful project.
NeverTooManyBooks.
I have several books cases and shelves where I store books, this has helped me a lot to have a catalogue of them.
I just scan the book code, the app gets book info, and I assign it to a place where it is physically stored, like, bookcase 1 in office room, shelf 3 on main room, etc.
I have it installed from Droid-ify which is like an app to have more sources for f-Droid.
https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.hardbacknutter.nevertoomanybooks
Also I want to recommend Birday, it is a very simple birthday manager, and you can import birthdays from your calendars.
I intend to use this to remember birthdays and actually call people on their phones.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.minar.birday
Doing inventory of your physical stuff seems like a chore, but a very rewarding one for sure.
This is a pretty neat idea to be honest, I wonder if it exists for other kinds of media?
Strangely enough I find a bit of joy in doing things like that. I’ve got several books of paperwork I’ve been gradually scanning and organising in a paperless ngx setup. It’s a big hassle that ultimately doesn’t help me much at all (95% of the things in there are random things I could just get rid of and would never miss), but yet I do it anyway, and enjoy doing it
Yeah, I have actually thought about using paperless as well, but just the idea of beginning keeps me away lol.
I also think it is a chore because inventory used to be one of my work functions in a former job.
This is incredible. I’ve been looking for something exactly like this. Thank you!!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.boyle.chris.sgtpuzzles
Several puzzles in one app, no ads, completely free.
Joplin https://joplinapp.org/ It is a free an open source note taking app similar to Evernote. You can keep your data on a cloud service (such as Dropbox) to keep your notes in sync between Android, Windows, Linux and IOS or you can pay for Joplin Cloud storage.
URLCheck
Checks URLs for nasties like tracking links. Can also be used to open links in specific apps (where they don’t always want to)
Available on both f-droid and the play store.
https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.trianguloy.urlchecker/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trianguloy.urlchecker
also great bc u always have the option to choose which app to open with, and acts as a confirmation if you accidently click a link
One thing I’d like though is a module to scan YouTube links this is why I think that would be useful
excellent point!
oh, i hadnt thought of that. i didnt think think it would be very helpful, but after i watched that video, it really opened my eyes to the dangerous possibilities.
Atomas is a lovely little game about atoms.
I gotta shout out cloudstream, a streaming alternate. Foss, great app available on f droid.
While i’m on that i’ll add showly there too.
Arity, the perfect calculator. I know that it is just a calculator app but it lightweight, open-source, has 2D and 3D graphing (!) and of course can do calculations.
Spotiflyer <- Give a link to a song/playlist from various platforms and it will download it for you.
Feeder <- Great all around RSS feeder that can help you read your feeds on the go.
Metro player <- FOSS music player with great customizable UI. Has tons of features.
Probably more that I can’t think of at the moment.
My favorite music player Musiclet
Oh, I haven’t heard of that one before. Is it any good? (I already have mutiple music players but testing out another isn’t a bad idea)
Spotiflyer <- Give a link to a song/playlist from various platforms and it will download it for you.
Soundbound now
I’ve been using Seeker to get hi def flacs for my music library since I decided Spotify sucks a little while back!
Since I’ve flipped to offline music, it’s been a dream to return to the forever glorious Poweramp music player. Gorgeous & compatible with a buncha skins from the play store, but best of all, you can setup profile based EQs that’ll trigger based on song, album, Bluetooth device, genre… It’s wild
For podcasts I use Feeder on my RSS feeds & AudioAnchor as my player. Straightforward & operable from my pocket, which is all I need!
Keepass2android is a great password manager that does biometric auth & slick password generation. File based tho, be sure to sync it somewhere.