15 Android Apps Actually Worth Paying For
Free apps are cool, but a few bucks can get you so much more. If you are looking to buy in the Google Play store, here are the best paid Android apps to put on your phone.
By Evan Dashevsky and Jason Cohen
Android’s poly-manufacturer ecosystem has long since eclipsed iOS as the world’s most popular mobile operating system. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Google Play store is filled with must-buy apps. Just like Apple’s App Store, there are hits and misses, and a whole lot of free stuff to play around with.
If you’re actually looking to make a purchase or two, it’s hard to know what you actually need and what you can live without. Would any of us really pay for Facebook if it cost money, for instance? Probably not. There are apps out there that are worth putting a few dollars down for.
The alternatives are barf-inducing mobile ads or sly freemium models that prey on the ignorant. Everybody wins when you are willing to shell out a little for the apps you use every day. Here we present 15 apps available for download in Google Play that are completely worth the tiny cost of entry.
Bitdefender on Android
As buggy and frightening as the Android ecosystem can be, you would be wise to spend a little extra for our Editors’ Choice for Android mobile security. You can download the Bitdefender app for free to test drive it for four days; after that, you pay $15 for a year’s worth of coverage.
BlackPlayer EX
For $3.29, music player BlackPlayer EX allows you to listen to any file format, including MP3, WAV, OGG, and FLAC. You can also customize your music experience with a powerful equalizer and the option to create your own interface. Not convinced? Check out the free version first.
Bouncer
Don’t worry about apps invading your privacy — use the Bouncer app instead. This app helps you manage your device’s permissions and even allows you to grant permissions to some services on a temporary basis. Set exactly which apps have what permissions and for how long you want to grant them. Bouncer costs a mere $0.99 for peace of mind.
Calibre Companion
Thanks to the Calibre Companion app, you can easily add any ebook from your computer onto your eReader of choice via USB or Wi-Fi. The app also allows you to store books in the cloud for easy access, making it the perfect alternative to Amazon. Try out the free demo version before paying $4.99 for the full app.
Gorogoa
Gorogoa, a $5 puzzle game, is completely hand drawn, making it a beautiful artistic experience. There is no text, leaving players to complete puzzles and explore the game all on their own.
LastPass
You’re asking for trouble if you don’t have unique and hard-to-guess passwords for each of your online accounts. But keeping all those long passwords in order can get unwieldy real fast — especially when inputting them on a mobile device. That’s where a password manager like LastPass comes in handy; it can securely save and create hard-to-guess passwords for all your accounts.
While the app itself is free to download and use, the $3-per-month premium service is worth a subscription. You’ll be able to share passwords to an unlimited number of people, create a digital contingency plan for emergencies, gain additional storage space, and priority tech support.
Minecraft
For $6.99, you can get the world of Minecraft on your Android device wherever you go. Gameplay blends creativity with strategy. It’s a 3D sandbox-building game in which you place blocks made of different kinds of materials to build anything you want. In the survival and hardcore modes, the object is to survive when monsters land on the scene. Meanwhile, creative mode gives the player complete freedom of invention.
NordVPN
Whether you like to think about it or not, you are being watched. That’s not delusional — online marketers and unseen bots are watching your behavior in order to micro-target ads and other corporate messaging. A VPN service helps make you invisible online by masking your device’s IP address.
For people who want basic functionality with an easy-to-use interface, NordVPN is a good choice. You can mask up to six simultaneous devices (it works across multiple platforms) when accessing the web. Choose one of Nord’s yearly plans or go month-to-month.
Nine Email
In a world filled with server hacks and data breaches, Nine Email does things a little differently. Instead of using a cloud-based service to store all your information, everything gets saved on your device or a server of your own, ensuring your data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Nine supports Exchange, Outlook, Gmail, and IMAP, integrates with your calendar, contacts, and notes, includes SMS sync features, provides widgets, and offers much more. Download the app for a two-week free trial before purchasing a license for $14.99.
Poweramp
Poweramp was created specifically to give music lovers the best possible audio quality available. Enjoy gapless playback, fantastic crossfading, and a powerful equalizer tool to help improve audio quality. The app also supports many different file formats, including FLAC, WAV, mp4, and more. Buy the full app for $4.99 or download the free version for a 15-day trial.
Race for the Galaxy
Race for the Galaxy is a $7 card-based strategy board game that has you building your own galactic empire and going up against other players or the game’s AI. Make important decisions about how your empire will develop. Develop new technology, build settlements, focus on military conquest, or steer yourself in any number of directions.
Spotify Premium
There are several music-streaming services out there, but Spotify stands out among the rest. The app is free to download, but you’ll have to contend with ads and limitations on shuffling. If you consider yourself a true music fan, upgrade to Spotify Premium for $9.99 month. This tier nixes the ads, gives you a la carte music-on-demand, allows you to download songs for offline listening, and gives you unlimited skips when shuffling around.
Star Walk 2
This augmented reality app will use your device to present an overlay on the sky with information on all the bodies that you see — all updated as you move your device in real time. You don’t even have to be outside; its view of the sky is based on your location. Wouldn’t you pay $2.99 for the solar system?
Tasker
Your smartphone is a powerful device that fits in your pocket, but you’re limited by what Google and your phone’s manufacturer will allow you to do — unless you are willing to invest the time in rooting and coding your device. That’s where an app like Tasker comes in.
For $3.49, Tasker allows you to extend your phone’s customization — no coding required. It gives you the ability to specify what types of alerts (e.g. vibrations, Notify LED, pop-ups, sounds) any individual digital action will cause. It makes it a lot easier to sort through your phone’s files (including zip/unzip capabilities), and a whole lot more.
WolframAlpha
WolframAlpha is kinda like Google, but centered around data and math. While Google will help you find the best website to tell you about the seafood cuisine of Portugal, WolframAlpha will generate a graph comparing the seafood consumption of the Portuguese versus that of Americans, categorized by different type of fish. And now that power is available in a handy $3 app.
While this official WolframAlpha app will be a welcome tool to anyone who works in STEM, there’s a lot of cool stuff you can do with it, some which don’t even require an advanced degree in mathematics.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com on December 19, 2019.
