The advent of creating the most productive and useful apps has been the driving force for Android developers for years now. But the game plan changed completely when the concept of an app marketplace was brought to reality with the Google Play Store. Notorious for harboring less-than-perfect apps before, Google has tightened the terms and policies for what kind of apps are allowed to make the Play Store their home.
These restrictions have kept some of the most useful Android apps away from the official source, forcing users to sideload them. By enabling Unknown Sources on your Android device, you can install apps directly in their APK format. We’ve sieved through the unchartered territories of the Android world to get you the coolest apps that you won’t find on the Google Play Store.
Related: How to Install APK Files on Android
F-Droid
The only reason you’d want to avoid installing APK files from untrustworthy sources is for security reasons, but F-Droid eliminates this concern entirely. This Free and Open Source app store brings you the best of Google Play Store without the red tape involved, so your user data is never tracked and there aren’t any unwanted advertisements. Not only does F-Droid Android APK client have an always updated list of apps, but even those that Google blacklists without any legitimate reason.
Download: F-Droid
Videoder
Considering the fact that YouTube doesn’t even want you to listen to the audio when the screen is turned off, it is understandable why such a useful app like Videoder is not available on the Google Play Store. A souped-up version of the YouTube app for Android, Videoder allows you to download videos from more than 50 other websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more. Apart from converting videos into MP3 audio in real time, you can download videos in 4K resolution, get rid of ads for good and so much more.
Download: Videoder
Tasker (Free Trial)
This may seem like a weird addition to the list, considering that the app already exists on the Google Play Store. However, the Tasker app is available as a purchasable item, but for those of you who aren’t 100% certain about putting your money on the table, you can fetch the trial version of the app from their website. The 7-day trial version of Tasker is just long enough to help you test out automation features for Triggers, Actions (plugins), Tasks, Scenes, and so much more.
Download: Tasker (Free Trial)
Humble Bundle
While the service was primarily created for PC users, especially gamers who want to try out a variety of apps and games at a fraction of the cost, the popularity of Humble Bundle has brought it to Android as well. This unique service brings you a bunch of apps and games at a single monthly subscription price, where you end up paying cents for products that are worth dollars. Humble Bundle works officially with the app developers and several other charity organizations, so every transaction you make brings something good.
Download: Humble Bundle
MiXplorer
We’ve already cruised through the best file managers on the Google Play Store, and we still come back to MiXplorer every time. With the capability to handle more than a dozen different compressed file formats, features such as drag and drop user interface, massive connectivity features such as FTP, LAN, and support for more than a dozen cloud platforms, MiXplorer also keeps the user experience completely ad-free from top to bottom.
Download: MiXplorer
Viper4Android
Apart from a few selective Android OEMs who offer equalizer apps right out of the box, finding one that works ideally can be a mammoth task. However, Viper4Android has been developed for all you audiophiles out there to not only fine-tune the speakers of your Android devices but tweak the hardware elements of it as well. You can not only create finely adjusted audio profiles for different environments but also make the most out of advanced features such as FET compression, Spectrum extension, AnalogX and more.
Download: Viper4Android
AnyBooks – Free books free reading
AnyBooks is a great application for those who love to read. The app presents you with innumerable titles you would want to read and that too for free. You can access almost any premium book you want and start reading it whenever you want to. The app is clutter-free and provides a smooth reading experience. Although this treasure of an app was earlier available on Play Store but it has been removed now. So you can access this one by following the link given below.
Download: AnyBooks
AdAway
AdAway can be your protective shield against adware and blocks ads for Androids using the hosts file. It is open-source software that is available for free with room to add exceptions to the white list or blacklist to filter out the content you dislike. The app is available on F-Droid to download and is compatible with any android version above 2.1
Download: AdAway
APKMirror
APKMirror is one of the most authentic sources to download apk files for your android device without searching on the web. The app showcases a user-Friendly UI that allows quick loading and supports multiple languages. You can also make use of its custom download manager to get the apk file you want.
Download: APKMirror
Amazon Appstore
The Amazon Appstore is not as popular as The Google Ply Store but it does score some good points in terms of authenticity. It is an android app store that was introduced way back in 2011 and is made available in various countries by Amazon. The app gives you access to plenty of apps and games where you spend less by scoring Amazon coins. All you need to do is to download and install the apk file to begin using the platform.
Download: Amazon Appstore
We’ve tried our best to include only the apps that do not fall in the legally grey area, of which there are many. Be sure to let us know which of these apps is worthy of being on your Android device, despite not being on the Google Play Store.
