It’s that wonderful time of year, when maybe you or someone you know got gifted a new Android phone for the holidays. If you’re someone new to Android or maybe just want a few new recommendations to freshen up your smartphone experience, here’s a post for you.
Below we have a list of apps and games we ourselves play and recommend, as well as a few wallpaper sources that we find ourselves using. People always ask us where we get our wallpapers, so here you go. Our secret is out.
Apps
- Hevy – A great workout tracking app, perfect for those who workout on their own either at home or at a gym. There are no ads and it’s free to use, with some in-app purchases available for additional features.
- Lose It! – For the macro counters, this is the app we use. There’s a nifty feature that lets you take a picture of your meal, then the app will log the details for you. Much easier than manually logging things.
- Suno – This is an AI-powered music app that can make complete songs for you. I use it as a joke mostly, but the results are surprisingly awesome. You can make any style of music you want, plug in lyrics, or have AI do everything for you. It’s a lot of fun for creative people who lack the time to actually create, like me.
- Telegram – We finally managed to get most of our family and friends onto this messaging app and it keeps getting updated to be better. If you’re sick of colored bubble texts or worrying about RCS nonsense, Telegram is a great messaging option.
Games
- Pokemon Sleep – A game that tracks your sleep and features Pokemon? What more could you want?
- Pokemon GO! – A classic that we still play. Go around the real world and collect Pokemon, then battle them at arenas in your area. Still a lot of fun and there’s never a bad time to start playing.
- Pokemon TCG – The latest Pokemon craze, Pocket TCG lets you open and collect digital Pokemon cards and play the actual TCG against online opponents. They just released the first expansion pack, so it’s a great time to get started.
- Marvel SNAP – SNAP is my go to game. It’s quite the grind, but if you love getting heavily invested into mobile games, and love the Marvel IP, then it’s pretty much perfect.
- Monument Valley 3 – MV3 is the newest title in the series, exclusive to Netflix subscribers. While we hate that fact, the gameplay is classic Monument Valley. It’s gorgeous to look at and a lot of fun to play.
Wallpapers
- USGS on Unsplash – A plethora of gorgeous satellite imagery and photography that we can’t get enough of.
- Threads – Threads is a great wallpaper app. There are thousands if not millions of AI-generated wallpapers that we enjoy, as well as real photographers that share their work that you can use for wallpapers. Threads never became the Twitter replacement we hoped, but we do appreciate it as a wallpaper source.
- Abstruct – A great app for wallpapers created by the artist responsible for making OnePlus’ wallpapers.
- Basic Apple Guy – This site has a lot of wallpapers created for use on iPhones, but there are plenty of good options on there for Android and desktop users, too.
- Martin Naumann – Another artist that 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 so.
We hope you enjoy your shiny new phone or find ways to spruce up your existing device. If you want to share what apps/games/wallpapers you’re using with new folks, don’t by stingy. Share them in the comments. Happy holidays!