It’s that wonderful time of year, where maybe you or someone you know gets a new Android phone for the holidays. If you’re new to Android or just want some new recommendations to freshen up your smartphone experience, here’s an article for you.
Below we have a list of apps and games that we play and recommend ourselves, as well as a few sources of wallpapers that we use. People always ask us where we get our wallpapers, so here you go. Our secret is revealed.
Applications
- Hévy – A great workout tracking app, perfect for those who train alone, at home or in a gym. There are no ads and it’s free to use, with some in-app purchases available for additional features.
- Lose it! – For macro counters, this is the application we use. There is a nice feature that allows you to take a photo of your meal and then the app will record the details for you. Much easier than manually recording things.
- Suno – This is an AI-based music app that can create complete songs for you. I use it mostly as a joke, but the results are surprisingly impressive. You can create any style of music, insert lyrics or let the AI do it all for you. It’s great fun for creatives who lack time to create, like me.
- Telegram – We finally managed to get most of our family and friends onto this messaging app and it continues to be updated to be better. If you’re tired of colorful bubble texts or worried about RCS nonsense, Telegram is a great messaging option.
Games
- Pokémon Sleep – A game that tracks your sleep and features Pokémon? What more could you ask for?
- Pokémon GO! – A classic that we still play. Travel the real world and collect Pokémon, then battle them in Gyms in your area. It’s always a lot of fun and there’s never a bad time to start playing.
- Pokémon TCG – The latest Pokémon craze, Pocket TCG, lets you open and collect digital Pokémon cards and play the real TCG against opponents online. They just released the first expansion pack, so now is the perfect time to get started.
- Marvel SNAP – SNAP is my favorite game. It’s quite a job, but if you like investing heavily in mobile games and love the Marvel IP, then it’s pretty much perfect.
- Monument Valley 3 – MV3 is the latest title in the series, exclusive to Netflix subscribers. As much as we hate this fact, the gameplay is classic Monument Valley. It’s beautiful to look at and great fun to play.
Wallpapers
- USGS on Unsplash – A plethora of stunning satellite images and photographs that we can’t get enough of.
- Topics – Threads is a great wallpaper app. There are thousands, if not millions, of AI-generated wallpapers that we love, as well as real photographers sharing their work that you can use as wallpapers. Threads never became the Twitter replacement we hoped it would be, but we like it as a source of wallpaper.
- Abstruct – A great wallpaper app created by the artist responsible for creating OnePlus wallpapers.
- The basic Apple type – This site has many wallpapers created for use on iPhones, but there are also many good options for Android and desktop users.
- Martin Naumann – Another artist who makes really solid wallpaper packs, but for a small fee. If you like the idea of supporting artists, this is a great place to do it.
We hope you enjoy your brand new phone or find ways to improve your existing device. If you want to share the apps/games/wallpapers you use with new people, don’t be stingy. Share them in the comments. Happy holidays!
