Best Android Apps of 2016 by Lifehacker

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26

2016 gave Android users a lot of decent programs. Google itself made a significant contribution, but third-party developers also tried, releasing several hits. Lifehacker and cashback service have selected all the most interesting for you.

Google Trips

Google Trips can be your indispensable travel companion. The application displays information about all kinds of tourist attractions and helps you plan excursions to unfamiliar places. By choosing a locality, you immediately get detailed information about local hotels, restaurants, parks, transport infrastructure and attractions. What is especially pleasing is that the information can be loaded into the memory of the gadget and viewed offline.

Prisma

One of the big surprises this year was the Prisma app, which uses neural networks to stylize photographs like the work of famous artists. Its developers were the first to popularize this idea, quickly turning it into a new trend. First released on iOS and then on Android, the program became a hit on both platforms. And Google has already named it the best app of 2016.

Photo Scanner

If you have old photos, "Photo Scanner" will help you to digitize them. This program uses machine learning technology that creates high-quality digital copies. All you need to do is launch the "Photo Scanner", bring the picture to the camera and take a picture of it in the indicated places. After a short processing, the duplicate will be in the smartphone's memory.

Opera VPN

The more websites that politicians block, the higher the demand for VPN services that open access to prohibited Internet resources. The Opera VPN app turned out to be very useful against the background of more frequent bans. It allows you to go to any site bypassing government blocking. Moreover, Opera VPN does not require payment and does not restrict users in traffic.

Google allo

The audience of instant messengers is growing by leaps and bounds, and Google simply cannot watch it with its arms folded. The search giant's new app, Google Allo, has already begun battling Facebook Messenger, Telegram and other competitors. Among other messaging programs, Allo highlights the built-in Google Assistant bot. It is a trainable assistant that executes user commands in natural language.

Android Auto

Previously, this platform for interacting with Android services inside the car existed as a program on the computers of some cars. Now it can be used in any car if you have a device running Android 5.0 or higher. To do this, just fix the gadget in a convenient place in the cabin and run Android Auto on it. The screen will display an interface with access to music, calls and navigation, adapted for use in the car.

Adobe Photoshop Fix

Photoshop Fix, released on iOS a year ago, has finally made its way to Android. This is a portrait editor that successfully combines functionality and simplicity. With it, you can quickly correct a face in a photo by changing its colors and shapes. And cloud sync will make the edited files available to the desktop version of Photoshop.

YouTube kids

In 2015, the largest video service received a new application, YouTube Kids, designed for children. And in the fall of 2016, a localized version of YouTube for Children with cartoons and other Russian-language content was released. A special algorithm of the service selects children's videos and tries to block videos intended for adults. A good application for those who are afraid to let their child into regular YouTube.

InkHunter

Tattoo fans around the world use InkHunter to try new tattoos on themselves before being applied to their skin. In this they are helped by the augmented reality technology implemented in InkHunter. The user draws a special marker on the body and selects the desired drawing from the program list. After that, in place of the marker, the display shows the selected tattoo.

MSQRD

And another augmented reality app, Facebook's MSQRD, made its way to Android in early 2016. Millions of users amuse friends with it by sending them unusual selfies. Thanks to a special filter, the program can apply funny face masks during photo or video shooting and allows you to send the results to friends.