How to easily find the best Android apps in the Google Play Store
The Google Play Store is a giant marketplace for all the apps we want on our devices. With over 1.5 million apps available for download on the Play Store, it can be quite a daunting task to find the best of the best. Of course, you can just peruse the top charts and see what’s popular, but that doesn’t really help in the hunt for an app that may be a diamond in the rough.
Because there are so many apps on the Play Store, there are a few tools out there that are designed to help you find those awesome apps that will never make it to the Top Charts. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to find the best apps for Android.
AppHunt
A personal favorite, AppHunt allows users and developers to submit applications to a curated list that is updated in real-time. It also serves as a community and allows for users to vote on various applications. When you first open AppHunt, you’re presented with the top apps from the last 7 days, with corresponding vote counts on the right-hand side. However, if you want to get a broader view of the top apps, there’s a way to make that happen as well.
Occasionally apps that cannot be downloaded from the Play Store will make their way onto the list, but thanks to the voting system, you can actually see how many apps are being installed, then uninstalled. Additionally, each application that is submitted features a description of the app, a link to the download, a comment section, and the chart with the installation rate of the app.
App Hunt is the best way for me to easily find new and unknown apps, so it’s an easy recommendation here.
Download on Google Play: AppHunt – discover new apps
Reddit is the end-all-be-all for discussing just about everything in the world, even if it’s not technology related. With the numerous subreddits and constant community interaction, it’s difficult to not mention Reddit here. There are two specific subreddits to pay attention to when it comes to trying to find the best apps for your device — /r/Android and /r/AndroidApps.
/r/AndroidApps is specifically focused on developers or users sharing new applications, as well as their favorite applications. Since the community interaction is right in the face of the developers, it makes it extremely easy to communicate issues or questions without dealing with the atrocity of emails.
/r/Android focuses on Android as a whole, so it’s a bit more difficult to find those apps that aren’t high on the charts, but there is a specific thread that is posted every Saturday. Saturday APPreciation is a weekly app recommendation thread where users and developers are encouraged to share their favorite applications or applications from developers themselves.
Reddit is an amazing source for information regardless of what you’re looking for. If you’re interested in trying out Reddit, check out Phandroid’s favorite Reddit applications.
Top Apps Lists
Sometimes, it’s easy to just look at lists that others have compiled, versus trying to search through the plethora of applications in Reddit or AppHunt. That’s where a Top Apps List comes into play. Many websites have their own list of top applications which are easily found with a quick Google search.
When looking through these various app lists you will usually find apps that overlap and are duplicated. That’s just because it’s a popular application, or it truly is the best in the business. Phandroid has its own such list, compiling the top applications heading in 2016, and is updated each year to give everyone the best of the best.
Phandroid’s Top 100 Apps of 2016
Filter out the games
If you open up the Play Store and scroll the Top Charts for either Paid or Free apps, you’ll find a lot of games as Google insists on keeping those 2 categories grouped. Of course, games are great and serve a purpose on our devices, but there are also times where you would only like to see traditional apps. Apps from Happening Studios is an extremely simple and useful application that helps you filter out the games in the Play Store.
According to the developer, there’s actually a hidden “Apps Only” page, which gets rid of all the games and focuses on just non-game applications. This includes all of the different “Top” charts that the Play Store displays. So once you’ve installed this free application, simply tap the icon, and you’ll be redirected to the hidden Apps Only page.
Using this application does not require any crazy permissions, and does not permanently alter the Play Store. For example, if you open the Play Store after using Apps, your Play Store will still look normal, allowing for the games to reappear within the Top Charts.
Additionally, as a side note, there’s also a way to browse the top non-game applications via the web and you can do so by clicking here.
Download on Google Play: Apps – Play Store Link
These are just a few different ways to find the best apps that are NOT in the Top Charts on the Play Store. Do you go about it differently? Drop us a line below and let us know how you find the hidden gems you’ve been able to dig up.