The Android operating system is the most widely used operating system on smartphones today. One of the main reasons why the operating system is so popular among OEMs and users alike is that it is highly customisable. So, we are taking a look at some of the best applications available today which will help you customise your smartphone experience further.
Walli - Wallpapers HD
One of the simplest ways one can customise his / her phone is via wallpapers, and Walli is one of our favourites. The wallpapers on this app are designed by a community of artists across the world.
Frame - Wallpapers
Frame is another popular wallpaper application, which offers a simple VSCO Cam like interface with pictures from Unsplash website. It offers high resolution photographs clicked by professionals.
Darkops : AMOLED Wallpapers
If you have a smartphone with an AMOLED display, Darkops is the wallpaper app to try. It does not have a very vast selection of wallpapers, but the those available will utilise your AMOLED display in the best way possible.
Wallpapers
Simply called Wallpapers, this is a Google app comprising of pictures from Google Earth and some other categories. However, we like the app for the picturesque Google Earth photos only.
Pixel Launcher
While wallpapers will change just the face of your smartphone, a launcher offers much deeper integration and personalisation to your smartphone, and according to us, Google’s Pixel launcher is by the far the best launcher available. It is not the most feature rich as other launchers mentioned below, but it is simple, and easy to use.
Nova Launcher
Nova launcher is another very popular launcher among the Android community. Offering a ton of settings, gestures, and tweaks, Nova launcher strikes a nice balance between personalisation and Android’s minimalistic approach.
Muzei Live Wallpaper
Muzei Live Wallpapers is a popular app which features various paintings across the world as wallpapers. If you are curious, Muzei means Muzeum in Russian.
Arrow Launcher
Made by Microsoft, Arrow launcher is a more focused launcher app which adapts the homescreen, app drawer and even your most frequent contacts according to your usage.
Evie Launcher
Evie launcher may look like Google’s Pixel launcher at first, but it offers much more functionality than that. You still get the swipe from the bottom app drawer, but you also get unread counter on major applications and some additional features. If you like the Pixel lauchner, this is a good alternative.
Go Launcher
Go launcher is the upgraded version of Go Launcher Ex. It is an extremely customisable launcher for Android phones and offers more than 10000 themes. The launcher also has features like hide and lock apps, memory cleaner, and app management.
Zooper Widget
The Zooper Widget is an all-in-one widget for all your widget needs. From simple clock widgets to full widget packs with over 25 different widgets and included wallpapers, Zooper lets you change your smartphone interface completely.
UCCW - Ultimate custom widget
UCCW is another such app which lets you transform your smartphone with widgets. The primary app has a set of well designed widgets and there are plenty more available on the play store. So, pick and choose.
DashClock Widget
If fancy widgets are not really your style, you can try Dashclock. This is a simple clock widget which has some additional features such as weather, unread text message counter, calendar appointments and more. It looks quite minimal and will look good with a Pixel launcher.
Light Flow - LED Control
Now, most phones do come with a notification light and while some will let you choose different colours for different types of notifications, some don't. That is where, Light Flow comes in. It is an easy to use LED notification light controlling app. You can simply choose between different coloured notification lights for different apps, provided your phone has more than one notification LED.
Navbar Apps
Navbar simply let you set an image behind your on-screen navigation buttons on your smartphone. You can choose an image from the app itself or just choose one from your gallery. It even supports cool music visualization in some apps.
SwiftKey Keyboard
While visuals play a key role in personalising a smartphone, you can take it a step further by adding productivity into the mix with third party keyboards. This is where Swiftkey comes in, offering the best swipe based keyboard. Also, if you make an account, it will remember your frequently used keywords in conversations, making it much simpler and intuitive to type. It also has a good ‘hinglish’ word database.
ai.type Free Emoji Keyboard
If you are looking for the most feature rich typing experience with emojis, themes, cursor tracker (like the one on Lenovo thinkpads), built in calculator and custom rows for top and bottom, this is it.
Energy Bar
The Energy Bar is a simple battery indicator which once installed will reside above the top bar of your smartphone. As the name suggests it is a simple battery percentage indicator and can be configured to change colour according to the remaining battery percentage.
Next Lock Screen
Next Lock Screen is another another good looking app from Microsoft which offers plenty of shortcuts to various applications right on the lock screen. It also features the weather information, calendar and Wallpapers by Bing.
What else?
Beyond the range of apps available on the Play store, one can certainly change ringtones and put some third party cases to further personalise your smartphone.
Or, if you are little more in tune with Android development and modding, you can try third party ROMS and kernel tweaks as well.