What non-game paid apps do you use that are worthwhile and still relevant in 2023?
For context, I have a decent amount of Google Play credit thanks to Opinion Rewards and a gift card. I’m not looking to start a book or movie collection there, nor sign up for subscription services. But I’m happy to buy the paid/pro version of useful apps.
I’m excluding games just because that’s a whole topic on its own.
Here are some one-time paid apps I’ve been happy with:
I have multiple Google calendars to keep track of pretty much everything; birthdays, anniversaries, bills, when school is in session (I have kids), scheduled days off, various appointments, etc. I’ve been using this since 2011/2012 with their first version, and moved over to the 2nd version after that came out. It gives me more control over how my calendar looks on my phone, I can easily toggle calendars and tasks on or off…
Honestly, I can’t use another calendar app now. I love my color coded (you can change calendar colors in the app to any color you want) month at a glance calendar.
And I also can’t recommend KWGT enough for widget making. I originally got Zooper to try to emulate Conky (from Linux), but Zooper stopped being developed. I have a lot of fun trying to get my widgets just the way I like them - even if my code is a mess.
I am interpreting “worth paying” as “immensely useful” because I don’t recall paying for an app, ever.
Aurora Store: Basically Play Store but you don’t need to sell your soul to Google. You can log in to Google account while staying signed out on Android or use “anonymous account” function.
KDE Connect: File transfer, phone notifications on PC, stops video/audio on PC when you answer a call and many other features. Right clicking a file on my Linux PC and then clicking “Send to Phone via KDE Connect” is so satisfying.
Samsung Notes: No non-sense PDF reader and annotator. It did not appear when I searched for Android PDF readers on the Internet and its name doesn’t imply that function making it sort-of a hidden gem. Maybe there are better apps I couldn’t find, though.
Balance - for Meditation. They have been offering a one year free trial for some time now. It has been really helpful for me. Their programs are highly customised to achieve your goals. Give it a try.
KWGT & KWLP - if you’re into home screen customisation, then these are must haves.
Niagara Launcher - Lightweight, minimalist, with solid, fluid animations. One-hand friendly. Free version has ZERO ADS. I’ve been using the free version for a couple of years now. I’m hooked to it. I don’t think I can go back to a normal App Drawer drawer style launcher now. They offer one time purchase as well for the pro version. I felt no need for the pro features, though i’d definitely buy the pro to support the dev.
Some of these have decent free alternatives. Mixplorer is free to use officially through XDA. KWGT & KWLP have free ad supported versions available through their official website. Regardless, these have been installed on all my phones for years now.
Ah yes, it also has star-related stuff if you do astro, a useful AR overlay (so you can plan for shoots when scouting a location), as well as a bunch of useful calculators. The map feature is useful for planning outdoor shoots if you want to know things like sun angle, as well as shadow cast by objects. Lots of little, useful things!
I don’t have many paid apps, but one I do like is Peakfinder. It’s not something I use all the time but it does become rather handy when you’ve climbed up a hill to a viewpoint and now want to figure out which other hills you’re looking at.
Check the price for Sync for Lemmy again, maybe you get lucky - they are tweaking it regionally now - the price for me changed to 1/10th of the original ask.
KLWP and KWGT are amazing for customization. KLWP is for making live wallpapers, KWGT is for making your own widgets. They’re both extremely powerful apps that allow you to completely customize phone home screen to your exact liking. There’s a slight learning curve to them, but once you have the basics down you can do some pretty amazing things with them.
I’ve thought about those but I’m just not sure I’d really use them. I’m generally happy keeping my screen pretty simple with static wallpaper and very few widgets.
I paid for Tilla, it’s a great app to manage subscriptions. I get notifications when the next payment is due. Pretty simple UI but that’s what I like about it. You can check how much you spend per week/month/year.
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Moonreader - ebook reader
Onkyo HF Player - High Fidelity Music Player
CDisplayX - Comic Book Reader
Listen Audiobook Player
Moonreader is amazing!
And if you have a folding phone, it splits in half like a book! Totally awesome
Business Calendar (by Appgenix Software)
I have multiple Google calendars to keep track of pretty much everything; birthdays, anniversaries, bills, when school is in session (I have kids), scheduled days off, various appointments, etc. I’ve been using this since 2011/2012 with their first version, and moved over to the 2nd version after that came out. It gives me more control over how my calendar looks on my phone, I can easily toggle calendars and tasks on or off…
Honestly, I can’t use another calendar app now. I love my color coded (you can change calendar colors in the app to any color you want) month at a glance calendar.
And I also can’t recommend KWGT enough for widget making. I originally got Zooper to try to emulate Conky (from Linux), but Zooper stopped being developed. I have a lot of fun trying to get my widgets just the way I like them - even if my code is a mess.
Absolutely, Business Calendar is my #1 app.
I am interpreting “worth paying” as “immensely useful” because I don’t recall paying for an app, ever.
Parents should try ChildIDFile. Creates a secure file that will expedite a search for a missing child. No ads. Private
Im in the same boat, Ive got every imaginable app thats useful to me but Ive got about $75 in rewards
Some of these have decent free alternatives. Mixplorer is free to use officially through XDA. KWGT & KWLP have free ad supported versions available through their official website. Regardless, these have been installed on all my phones for years now.
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1DM+ and Hermit are the apps that have been in my constant rotation of use among the apps I bought. SeriesGuide too for tracking tv and movies.
Found I have replaced lot of apps with Foss alternatives over the years, so been buying apps less and less.
Thanks for the shout out for Hermit!
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Didn’t know that, but I can’t seem to find it on fdroid.
oh sorry mistook it for Librera, librera is the one that’s paid (PRO version) but is free on fdroid
Photopills. If you do any kind of outdoor or landscape photography it’s a must.
What does it do?
Shows where the sun and moon is at any given time, along with a bunch of photography aids.
A nice. I have golden hour+, which sounds similar, but I guess it’s more focussed on the golden hour
Ah yes, it also has star-related stuff if you do astro, a useful AR overlay (so you can plan for shoots when scouting a location), as well as a bunch of useful calculators. The map feature is useful for planning outdoor shoots if you want to know things like sun angle, as well as shadow cast by objects. Lots of little, useful things!
I don’t have many paid apps, but one I do like is Peakfinder. It’s not something I use all the time but it does become rather handy when you’ve climbed up a hill to a viewpoint and now want to figure out which other hills you’re looking at.
FairEmail : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.email
The best email app.
Sleep as Android. I don’t even use 75% of the features, but it’s the best alarm clock I’ve ever had. Never slept through work since I got it.
Not FOSS but, I love TickTick, it’s a great cross-platform reminders app. I’ve tested a ton but TickTick is my fav
Ticktick is great but op said they weren’t looking for subscriptions
Check the price for Sync for Lemmy again, maybe you get lucky - they are tweaking it regionally now - the price for me changed to 1/10th of the original ask.
Fx explorer is dead? The most recent updates were in april, with fixes for newer android versions. I have not had any issues whatsoever
wait they updated it?
just checked, works on android 13 now!
still no workaround for android/data tho…
Voyager is a good Lemmy app that’s worth a look 👍
KLWP and KWGT are amazing for customization. KLWP is for making live wallpapers, KWGT is for making your own widgets. They’re both extremely powerful apps that allow you to completely customize phone home screen to your exact liking. There’s a slight learning curve to them, but once you have the basics down you can do some pretty amazing things with them.
Add Tasker into the mix and you got a stew going!
I’ve thought about those but I’m just not sure I’d really use them. I’m generally happy keeping my screen pretty simple with static wallpaper and very few widgets.
I paid for Tilla, it’s a great app to manage subscriptions. I get notifications when the next payment is due. Pretty simple UI but that’s what I like about it. You can check how much you spend per week/month/year.
That’s a good suggestion. I don’t think I personally have enough subscriptions to need Tilla but I could see it helping a lot of folks.
The only app I’ve paid for is Torque Pro. If you deal with cars a lot it’s worth the 5 bucks. The free version is also pretty handy.
I dunno. I just wish torque looked a little better. I don’t like the interface at all. But it’s a great app for troubleshooting car problems.