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Hands-on with 5 Android apps you should download in January 2017 [Video]

There are nearly 1.5 million applications currently on Google Play and with so many choices, finding new worthwhile apps can be a hassle. As we have the last several months now, today we’ll be showing you another 5 Android apps that you should definitely give a shot…

Screens

One of the long-awaited features that finally debuted in Android Nougat was split-screen multitasking. Running two apps at once not only makes getting things done on mobile easier and quicker, but it finally makes the extra screen real estate of an Android tablet useful. However, accessing multi-window on Nougat isn’t the quickest task. To do it, you have to open up both apps, then select them from the recent apps menu. With ‘Screens,’ though, you can directly enter split-screen with pre-defined apps with just a single tap.

The app’s premise is pretty simple. After downloading, users can set up a number of pre-defined shortcuts, which work on any launcher, to open up those two apps side-by-side. The interface is pretty basic, but it gets the job done. One you’ve selected two apps, simply add a name and a shortcut will be added to your homescreen which will open two apps up side-by-side. Root isn’t required either, all you need is to enable the app as an accessibility service.

Best of all, Screens is free and there are no in-app purchases. This is a useful app for anyone on Android Nougat, but it’s especially useful on a tablet like the Pixel C.

Screens allows you to quickly enter splitscreen mode with pre selected apps. It creates shortcuts that can be opened from any launcher. This might be good for productivity or having SeriesGuide and Kore at the same time.

Download on Google Play

Quartz

Keeping up with the news is a constant task, and not necessarily a fun one. You can spend all day weeding through stories just to get to the important things, but most of us just don’t have time to dig through the news just to find what’s important. That’s where Quartz comes in. Quartz is a free app for Android which makes checking the news easy, and a little fun.

Simply open the app and you’ll be presented with a very minimal interface. Moments later, a text bubble will come up revealing a news story. From there, you can click the link to read the full article, ask the app to give you a quick summary, or move on to the next story. The app automatically picks out the biggest news stories on a given day and presents them in an ongoing conversation. Unfortunately, there’s no way to curate this news to your interests, but overall, it’s a fantastic option I can highly recommend downloading.

Quartz is also free to download and there are no in-app purchases.

Quartz’s new app puts the entire global economy in your pocket. It’s an ongoing conversation about the news, sort of like texting. We’ll send you messages, photos, GIFs, and links, and you can decide when you’re interested in reading more. Each session lasts just a few minutes, so it’s perfect for the train, elevator, grocery store line, or wherever you have a spare moment.

Download on Google Play

Volume Timer

One thing every smartphone owner has run into at one point or another is their device ringing at a time when it really shouldn’t. The easy solution is to mute your device, but for some of us, remembering to turn that volume back on is more important as it might be the only way we know our notifications are coming in. Sadly, it’s easy to forget to turn your volume back on after getting out of an event. With Volume Timer, though, that’s not something you need to worry about.

This free app allows users to mute their devices for a specific period of time, from just 15 minutes all the way up to 16 hours. The timer fully mutes the device, including the vibrations if you’d like, until the time is up. Once the timer ends, the volume will be restored to where it was when the timer was set, or to a pre-defined setting in the app. This isn’t an app everyone will need, but if you forget to turn your volume back on and miss notifications because of it, this might be a good app to check out.

Have you ever forgot to turn volume on after getting out of work, school, cinema, meeting, church? We have an app exactly for you! Our app lets you to turn volume on automatically after a volume timer is done!

Download on Google Play

AfterShip

Whenever you purchase something online, you are given a tracking number so that you know when your package will arrive on your doorstep. Of course, you can download the individual applications for each of the shipping couriers to keep track of your item or you can simply download AfterShip. This free application features support for over 370 couriers worldwide without any ads. One of the best features of the app is that if you have a tracking number in your clipboard, Aftership will automatically detect it and offer to track your package.

Aftership was recently redesigned to make it easier to keep track of current and past packages. Additionally, you can sign in with your Google account and track all of your packages across all of your mobile devices.

Download AfterShip Android package tracker app to track all your shipments in one simple and beautiful app! AfterShip is the only Android package tracker app to support 370+ couriers!

Download on Google Play

Caffeinate

One of the best ways to save battery life without adjusting your routine is to reduce the amount of time it takes for the device to go to sleep when not in use. Generally, I keep my device set to go to sleep after just a few minutes, but if you want to keep your battery life up, you might set this as low as just 30 seconds. That, however, can be a little inconvenient at times. Caffeinate aims to fix that.

Caffeinate is a simple Android Nougat quick setting tile which, when pressed, will keep the display turned on for a pre-defined period of time and then set it back to the original setting. The app defaults to keep the display turned on for 5 minutes, but you can set this up to 60 minutes if desired. Caffeinate is free to download on Google Play and has no in-app purchases.

Caffeinate works by creating a Tile in your Quick Settings, a feature only available in Android Nougat (7.0) and higher. Upon toggling, Caffeinate will keep your screen awake for five minutes. After time is up, your screen will continue sleeping normally.

Download on Google Play

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.