This is a quick list of the most important and used apps I decided to keep in my device when I switched my custom rom. I decided to do something quick like this because I am going to sleep after finishing this. I might write in more detail in a future blog, or I may not.
The apps
Among the important apps I use, which will not be mentioned here, are AntennaPod and K-9 Mail, since I’ve talked about them previously. Here are some others that I’ve been using for quite a while already, but haven’t got the time, nor idea of adding them to my Uses section. But they’ll probably be included in the future, since I do use them quite a bit.
Readrops
This is the most decent RSS reader app there is for FreshRSS and Nextcloud News, I really like how simple it is, it can sync pretty quickly and it has become the main way I consume news and articles in my phone, since I no longer use a local RSS app like Feeder. The only problem I have with it is the lack of customization and theming, especially because the color of hyperlinks is a little bit too dark, and it can be hard to read when using the dark theme. I hope it gets better integration with Android 12’s theming features, but its pretty decent nonetheless. I believe its the best FOSS client with FreshRSS support for Android. FeedMe its a nice alternative if you want something with more features, but its proprietary software. I still found Readrops more reliable and faster to load.
Tachiyomi
Without a doubt, the best app for reading manga. This is a great project that works amazingly and stays afloat thanks to the use or 3rd party extensions separate from the main app. Its super fast, can be synced with a ton of 3rd party services like MyAnimeList or Anilist to keep track of what you’ve read, comes with a lot of reading modes, offline capabilities and a pretty great interface. I don’t really come here to talk about the morality of apps like this, but it exists, its FOSS and it works. I personally use a fork of it, since there are quite a lot to choose from, so you can go ahead and pick your poison.
Migrate
I have talked about this app before, every time I switch rom, this is my go-to backup strategy, the app requires root access to create a zip file containing all of your selected apps, along with their data and permissions. Once you are done flashing your rom and getting root access with Magisk, you can also flash the zip file generated by Migrate, and after a a reboot, a notification shows up and you can restore all your apps in a matter of minutes. Sometimes a few apps get installed but fail to launch, but the success rate is great, and the app recently went open source! So if you didn’t trust it before, you can now check how it works and maybe give it a try next time.
Solid Explorer
This is the most important proprietary app I use, I just can’t find a replacement for it, its either too good or I just can’t get used to the interface or lack of features present in other FOSS alternatives, Solid has it everything, and I can’t live without its sorting options, the ability to show the size of folders, multiple connections to services like Nextcloud or FTP servers, working as an FTP server itself. I am really happy with it.
It is among the first apps I’ve bought with my own money, back when I had Google on my phone, and Migrate has been doing a great job keeping the license check working since then, a couple roms later.
Tailscale
This service got mentioned a few posts ago when I talked about using DietPi and other self-hosting services, it really deserves its own blog, but its really not that complicated to use, and there is nothing that special with the app itself, it doesn’t even have a dark mode.
Being able to have my own virtual network of devices that can talk and communicate with each other without any struggle at all is truly fantastic, its fast, reliable and works flawlessly. I don’t have to open my ports or do any complicated setup, I just install the client in whatever device I got, authenticate it and I am ready to go, I have my Nextcloud, Jellyfin and FreshRSS whenever I go, as long as my Raspberry Pi doesn’t die on me.
Wrapping up
As always, there are a lot of other apps and services I did not mention such as Syncthing, DAVx5, Infinity for Reddit or SimpleLogin, I just wanted to highlight the ones I did because I think they are great and I use them daily. I also just wanted to talk about something quickly, but I ended up taking quite a while to write this.
Regardless, it is done, this has been day 92 of #100DaysToOffload