Have you ever thought how useful it would be to be able to take photos remotely, without having your phone in hand? Or how practical it would be to put whatever you want in the quick settings bar? For example, a shortcut to the file explorer, or any other app you use frequently? That would be incredibly handy!You’ll be able to do all this and more with some of the hidden gems for Android that we have prepared in today’s post. By the way! Remember that this article is also available in video format:
Bluetooth Camera Shutter
Without further ado, let’s dive into the first hidden gem I’m bringing you today, called the Bluetooth Camera Shutter. Just from the name, you can probably guess what it is: a remote shutter release .
Or, to put it simply, it’s a tool that lets you take photos remotely using a second phone as a shutter button. You can move up to 30 meters away, it’s compatible with any camera app, and it also allows you to take multiple photos with a single tap, which is great.
This is the perfect alternative for taking selfies without stretching your arm or for taking photos from a distance without having to ask someone else for help. Imagine you’re walking down the street and you have to talk to a stranger to help you take a picture… ugh! So annoying. No way. You install this app and avoid socializing with any other human being. There you go. Much better, right?
Bluetooth Camera Shutter | Download on Google Play
Tile Shortcuts
In ninth place we have “Tile Shortcuts”, which will instantly become your favorite app if you’ve always wanted to customize your phone’s quick settings bar .
Normally, you can activate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the flashlight, and a few other things from here. Which, by the way, are always the same. But with Tile Shortcuts, you can take this menu a step further and turn it into a much more powerful tool.
You can add a button to access your browser, file explorer, or perform any other action that would normally take a bit longer. Simply add a button for the application you want to launch, and you’re done.
This utility fills a gap that has always existed in Android regarding quick settings, and it’s sorely needed. If you don’t consider this a hidden gem worthy of praise, then nothing affects you anymore, and you’ve transcended to another spiritual plane from which there’s no return.
Tile Shortcuts | Download on Google Play
Syncthing
Okay, let’s take a breath because this is pretty intense. If you’re like me and use more than one phone daily, this app is going to be a lifesaver. Syncthing is a tool that lets you synchronize multiple folders across different devices.
Here’s how it works: First, you choose a shared folder, and then all the files you put in that folder will be replicated on all your other synced devices. If you add a new file, it will appear on your other phones shortly after. And if you delete a file, the same thing happens.
This is super-useful, for example, for taking photos with several different mobile phones and having all the photos on all the phones at the same time, or for sharing files and documents without having to upload them to the cloud.
Syncthing | Download on GitHub
Stay Put – Unplug Alert
Are you one of those people who uses public charging stations to charge your phone? Maybe you’re in a library or a shopping mall and your battery is running low. But of course, if you plug your phone into one of those outlets, you’re already worried, because if you’re not careful, someone might come along and steal it .
Stay Put is an application that aims to prevent such situations with a rather radical system that consists of making a very loud and annoying noise if someone unplugs the phone while it is charging.
This helps you scare the thief, but it also alerts you so you can react before it’s too late. By the way, the app is free and open source.
Stay Put | Download on F-Droid
TimeLapseCam
Do you know the worst thing about recording time-lapse videos? The battery drains incredibly fast. Having the camera recording for extended periods with the screen always on consumes a lot of power, and that’s precisely what this app aims to solve.
TimeLapseCam is a camera app for recording time-lapse videos, but it runs in the background . This means you can keep the screen off and continue recording for hours, until your battery or memory runs out.
Videos can be saved in MP4 format or as separate JPG images. If you choose the latter option, you can also disable the shutter sound to prevent it from clicking every time you take a photo.
TimeLapseCam | Download on F-Droid
Toolbox
Number 5 is what we have as a multi-purpose toolbox. Toolbox includes a set of over 40 different utilities for all kinds of tasks. For example, we have various math calculators, a compass, and a speedometer.
But it also includes some less common things, like a URL shortener, a Morse code translator, and even a utility for making decisions by flipping a coin. Seriously, there are things as diverse as a text comparator and a file encryptor.
This is the kind of app you install for one thing, and end up using it for something completely different. Plus, it’s free and open source, which makes it even more appealing.
Toolbox | Download on Google Play
SuperAlarm
Are you one of those people who, when the alarm goes off, snoozes for five more minutes, then another five, and in the end, you realize you’ve overslept and it’s gotten late? The creators of this app have taken this classic human weakness and tried to solve it with an alarm that doesn’t work like the others.
Essentially, it’s just a regular alarm clock: you set a wake-up time and it goes off when it’s supposed to. The fun part is that if you get lazy and try to turn it off, it will first show you a few math problems to solve. Because if you don’t, the alarm will keep ringing indefinitely.
The math problems are pretty simple, but by the time you finish them, your brain will probably be fully engaged and you won’t feel like going back to sleep. The thing is, you end up getting up anyway. (Not a bad idea, huh? You might be a little annoyed at the time, but you’ll definitely be glad you did later.)
SuperAlarm | Download on Google Play
Guru Podcast
In third place we have Podcast Guru , a podcast app that, for once, isn’t riddled with ads. This overuse of ads is an epidemic that almost no one escapes, but it’s especially annoying on streaming apps.
The great thing about Podcast Guru is that it’s ad-free and free. But that’s not all; the interface is quite well-designed and has everything you’d expect from a good podcast app.
It’s compatible with a lot of search engines, you can view program information, and it even accepts offline downloads.
If you like the app and want to support the authors, there’s also a premium version that adds cloud sync, backups, and advanced speed controls.
Guru Podcast | Download on Google Play
Chroma Galaxy Live Wallpapers
Now let’s look at some live wallpapers. Chroma Galaxy is an app created by Roman De Giuli, a German artist who makes abstract animations in 8K quality for his YouTube channel. This app, therefore, compiles some of his best work, and the truth is that most of it is quite good.
After years working for companies like Sony, Samsung, and Microsoft, the German artist has released this app, which includes 30 animated backgrounds, completely free and without ads.
If you like this gentleman’s work, there is also a paid version that includes more than 200 new backgrounds.
Wallpaper apps are like podcast apps: even though they’re free, they’re riddled with ads. That’s why I think it’s important to give visibility to apps like this one, which stand out because they break the mold.
Chroma Galaxy Live Wallpapers | Download on Google Play
PaperSpan
We’ll finish with an app that can be incredibly useful for those times when we lose signal and our data connection. PaperSpan is a very simple app, but that’s precisely where its brilliance lies.
It’s simply a utility that lets you save articles from websites and then read them at your leisure without an internet connection . Furthermore, it doesn’t display the website itself, but rather cleans it up and removes all distractions so you can focus solely on the content.
It also has other neat features like a text-to-speech reader and the ability to increase the font size. Don’t think it has much more, but it doesn’t really need it.
