At the beginning of the decade, the iOS and Android operating systems existed for only a year or two, and both of them were only developing. In ten years, smartphones have gone from mono-core processors to eight-core chipsets, from less than one gigabyte of RAM to 12 GB, from less than 4 GB of internal memory to 1 TB.
In the 2010s, smartphone applications made a huge leap in their development, and here we collected the best of them - those that were remembered, were useful to the audience and influenced it for the whole decade (without obvious and standard Facebook, YouTube, Gmail or Twitter).
List of Most Popular Android Applications of the Decade (2010 - 2020).
Adobe Apps -Popular Android Application
In 2010, the Android OS lacked a lot. For example, a good photo editor, video editor and other tools for artists and photographers. Many users dreamed of getting Photoshop for Android, and Adobe eventually released it. In addition, two more applications appeared - Illustrator Draw and Lightroom Mobile, and by the end of the decade - Adobe Premiere Rush.
It should be noted one of the most recognizable PDF readers - Adobe Acrobat, as well as an Adobe Scan document scanner. It is clear that it will take a lot of time before mobile versions of these applications can compare with the power and functionality of versions for computers, but the foundations are already laid.
Other well-known applications in this category include Snapseed, ActionDirector, PowerDirector, KineMaster, AirBrush, Pixlr, Autodesk's SketchBook, as well as PicsArt and many others. It is encouraging that we started the decade from scratch, and now we have received a very solid set of options, which means that further progress is possible.
Bluestacks - Popular Android Application
Bluestacks is technically not an application, but it is perhaps the most popular Android emulator for PC. It may not have been the first, but it has definitely become the most significant. This application has created an entire industry for those users who want to play mobile games or use Android applications on their desktop PC.
Bluestacks is not just popular - it, for example, collaborated with MSI to create the MSI App Player application for laptops of this company. By the end of the decade, the platform’s popularity was even encouraged by official emulators for new mobile games such as PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile.
Of course, there are other well-known emulators, including Nox, GameLoop and KoPlayer, as well as the pre-existing LeapDroid and Andy. However, it was Bluestacks that led the way for a decade.
Duolingo is perhaps the most popular language learning app on Google Play. It is absolutely free. In addition, it is interesting to use, since this application delivers material in a playful way. It manages to keep people involved in the process, and users of all ages like it.
Once in the Play Store, Duolingo easily won the title of the best Android application of 2013. 100 million downloads and over 8 million reviews on Google Play say a lot. Despite the appearance of the premium version, users still love Duolingo.
There are other great educational apps - Khan Academy (Khan Academy Kids), Memrise, Udemy, Mondly, edX, Rosetta Stone, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Brainly and many others. However, Duolingo was the first impetus for the development of mobile educational platforms.
Google Assistant vs Amazon Alexa vs Siri
Siri Personal Mobile Assistant appeared in 2010. It was far ahead of it's time and since then has existed and continues to exist on all new iPhones. Google Assistant started modestly enough, in the form of Google Now, in the early 2010s, before becoming Google Assistant in 2016. Another application of this type, Amazon Alexa, appeared in 2014.
They immediately began to compete with each other for market share. All three applications eventually moved into the realm of smart home, and now work with Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomePod.
All three services have their ups and downs, pluses and minuses. All of them gave rise to a lot of memes, and each of them is worthy of a place in our list of the best applications of the decade.
Google drive vs Microsoft Office
Google Drive and Microsoft Office are the two dominant office suites on the Android OS. Google Drive is a more popular option, but Microsoft Office also has many advantages. Google Drive offers 15 GB of cloud storage and a completely free office suite.
It quickly became a favorite among students and high school students. Meanwhile, Microsoft has adapted perfectly to the present with the help of an office suite of applications with a rather cheap subscription.
IFTTT and Tasker
Unlike most applications on this list, IFTTT and Tasker are not really competitors. They are similar, IFTTT is a little simpler, and Tasker has more features, but both of them help users automate tasks. Tasker started earlier and has long been considered one of the best applications on Android.
IFTTT, on the other hand, is more modern and supports the latest technologies - working with a smart home, but at the same time simpler things, such as exporting images from Instagram.
By all accounts, IFTTT is the best application for automating many tasks, while continuous updates to the Google Play privacy policy continue to impede Tasker’s progress. IFTTT supports virtual assistant applications such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. In fact, it boasts direct support for more than 600 applications and a variety of devices, including Fitbit, Sonos and Honeywell.
Instagram and Snapchat
We did not include Facebook and Twitter on our list, since both of them were popular even before the start of the decade. At the same time, Instagram was launched in 2010, and Snapchat in 2011. Both of these applications started the universal transition from social networks such as old school to mobile.
Both applications have been gaining popularity for a decade, and both had similar ideas with different designs. Instagram is the first social photo app that lets you follow people's daily lives and experiences. Snapchat is a photo messenger with messaging and storytelling features.
Both of these applications are widely distributed on the Internet. Many existing social networks have borrowed feature stories from Snapchat, including Instagram. Ultimately, Facebook won the competition by simply buying Instagram.
For a decade, both applications have had massive redesigns, feature additions, and sometimes specific problems. However, both are now as popular as possible. Both applications turned mobile photography into something special, and this helped shape the direction of the mobile industry over the remaining decade.
Why do you think manufacturers pay so much attention to smartphone cameras? This is due to the 1.2 billion people who use Instagram and Snapchat.
Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher is one of the most obvious items on our list. This launcher was launched almost ten years ago and has become one of the most popular on Android. At the same time, it manages to remain modern, plus, it’s quite simple to configure it to meet the needs of most users.
There are other good launchers, including Action Launcher 3, Hola Launcher, GO Launcher, Lawnchair Launcher and some fresh options like Hyperion Launcher and Evie Launcher. However, Nova is still the leader, constantly receiving updates and evolving.
Swype Keyboard
The Swype keyboard was perhaps the most iconic app of the first half of the decade. Gboard andSwiftKey, along with Flexi and others, eventually took the place of the iconic Swype, but most of them had to copy its functions for this.
Swype was the first gesture input keyboard, and for the early 2010s, this option was revolutionary. It was this keyboard that set the Guinness record - in 2010, with its help, the fastest text message was typed. Before appearing on Google Play, the app was used for years as a preinstalled application.
However, like many mobile products, Swype has been a victim of imitators. Gboard and Swiftkey added gesture input to their applications in a fairly short time to maintain their position. Other keyboards, such as Fleksy, now also use gestures, just in slightly different ways.
Swype was the first, but now almost every Android keyboard got this feature. Unfortunately, competing applications, as well as slow development, drove Swype out of the market, and it officially curtailed in 2018
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