Kia ora!

I’ve been an ios user for 100 years at this point, but used to be deep in the android scene before then. I’ve just got an android for a work phone and am wondering what’s changed in the last 10 years - what are your essential apps, settings, customisations? I’ve had a hunt around xda but can’t seem to find much in the way of roms for my model (Samsung A04) - back in the day it seemed there was a thread for every device!

What do I need to know?

@Andy@programming.dev
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1Y

Some of my favorites:

  • Launcher: Niagara
  • Rom: LineageOS
  • Browser: Firefox (with DarkReader and uBlock Origin)
  • Reddit: Relay (is this ending?)
  • HackerNews: Harmonic
  • Lemmy: Jerboa (haven’t tried alternatives)
  • Podcasts: AntennaPod (haven’t tried much else)
  • Identify stuff: LeafSnap (plants), SoundHound, Merlin (birds!)
  • Books: Moon+ Reader Pro
  • Barcodes: Catima
  • Computer stuff: KDE Connect
  • File stuff: Material Files and ZArchiver
  • TTS: @Voice Aloud Reader
  • Passwords: Bitwarden
  • Icons: Crayon or Viral
  • Keyboards: MS SwiftKey, maybe someday FlorisBoard, sometimes Hacker’s Keyboard
  • Scrobbles: Simple Scrobbler
  • Video: VLC and NewPipe
  • Weather: Weawow

EDITS:

  • Lemmy: Liftoff
  • Chat: Telegram
  • Email: Delta Chat?
@agegamon@beehaw.org
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1Y

Plant.Net is also good for plant id, though I like leafsnap as well. Better than trying to use Google lens on them.

Relay I think is still up in the air. It’s either shutting down OR going paid subscription, which, despite how good Relay is, would be a deal-killer for me - but I don’t blame DBrady (the dev) for that, I blame reddit

Kresten
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01Y

On the topic of Android, am I the only one who dislikes the google pixel version of android UI?

Eddie
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11Y

I love how stock android looks but agree that it’s become too iPhone like. One UI has become a great balance!

Ghostalmedia
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11Y

I do not recommend getting attached to Reddit Is Fun, although it is a great app.

EuphoricPenguin
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11Y

Infinity is still pretty good, and my understanding is that it could easily be updated to support the free individual API keys Reddit is supposedly going to still support.

Entropywins
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21Y

It still stings… I’m gonna miss that app

Niagara Launcher is the coolest thing I’ve seen happen for mobile interfaces since the first touch interface. It is so clean and well-designed, it makes everything else in iOS and Android look like a cluttery mess - all while adapting to what you need and offering quick access to everything on the phone.

Deebster
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11Y

I’m trying it now - I like it but there are a few confusing choices, like how you can only have one widget visible at once.

How do you access the shortcuts that would normally be placed on the home screen? I have some webapps and e.g. OpenVPN shortcuts that I currently can’t see.

@dan@upvote.au
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11Y

Is it better than Nova? I’ve been using Nova for as long as I can remember.

bugsmith
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01Y

It’s completely different to Nova, and any other drawer based launcher. It has a free version so you can check it out. Personally, I don’t like it but I totally get the appeal.

Nova was recently bought out by an ad company, so if that’s not something you like then you might check out some FOSS alternatives such as Lawnchair or Neo Launcher (both are currently in development and less feature-rich than Nova though).

@jennifilm@beehaw.org
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01Y

Oh, this is so neat, thank you! I’ve just had a play - especially for a work phone that has real specific uses, Niagara makes a lot of sense! Do you subscribe to pro? Have you found it useful?

@sup@lemmy.ca
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11Y

Is it subscription based? Or a one time payment to unlock pro?

@jennifilm@beehaw.org
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11Y

Both - $12.90nzd/yr or $41.90 outright

@sup@lemmy.ca
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11Y

Thank you!

I do subscribe to Pro. Not really because it’s necessary, because the free version is already pretty great, but it offers a bit more customisation - and it is cheap. I really just wanted to support the devs more than anything.

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