Must have Android Applications in 2020 (Best alternative to some of the banned Chinese Apps)

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2020 has come up with a lot of different incidents in the world of Android Applications. Lots of our most useful and required applications were banned and most of us are affected by it in terms of our day to day activities.

For instance, 'CamScanner', one of the most powerful android application to scan your documents, convert images to pdf and share files online was banned in India on July, 2020, as it was developed by a Chinese Company and was found citing threat to the country's security and user privacy.

Similarly, lots of other Apps were banned due to privacy concerns in India.

Because of this, most of us are facing problems in our professional life.

In this post, I'm going to list some of the most useful and worth alternatives to some of the most important apps.

So let's dive right into it!

1. Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint & More

Working with documents is one of the most common and important thing which all of us do on our smartphone. Most commonly used apps include CamScanner (now banned in India), MS Powerpoint, MS Word, MS Excel, etc. These apps are task centric and so, we have to install different apps for different work, which results in inconvenience.

 

There is a very similar application "Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint & More" available on PlayStore which serves all these features at one place. This is one of the most useful and my favourite Application on Google PlayStore. It is a document viewer and editing application developed by Microsoft. This app combines the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps you know at one place, so that there's no necessity of having individual apps for each type of work on your phone. It provides powerful Office experience on the go.

If having individual apps on your phone seems too expensive for your phone's resources, then this app is for you.

You can not only edit, create or view Excel, Word or Powerpoint files, but also scan documents, create PDFs, convert images to documents, and many more things. Its freely available on Google PlayStore.

It has everything that you may want to have for your Office work.

(Best alternative for CamScanner, and other similar apps).

Pros:

• Create, Edit or View any type of Document.
• Supported formats are : Word files, Excel files, Powerpoint files, PDFs, etc
• Scan images into Documents.
• Combine images into PDFs.
• Recognize text from images and documents.
• Share files between devices.
• Convert images to table format.
• Convert any document to PDF.
• Convert PDF to any document.
• Scan QR Code.
• Many more features.

Cons:

• App size is pretty large ~85 MB.
• Might be a bit confusing for new comers.
• Has in-app purchases to unlock specific features.
• Doesn't support on devices older than Marshmallow.

2. Send Anywhere (File Transfer)

If you ever think of sharing any file over Wi-fi across different devices, the app that comes first to your mind will be either "Shareit" or "Xender". But these are banned in India due to security concerns.

But there's no reason to worry about sharing. There's another alternative available on Google PlayStore for this purpose.

"Send Anywhere (File Transfer)" is a powerful lightweight app that allows users to transfer files between two devices, with or without an internet connection. The files load up immediately after you fire up the app, and the user experience is blazing fast. From the manager screen, you can just select multiple files and then choose send. Here you will get a QR code to transfer the files, a link that can be shareable, or the option to connect locally to another device without the internet. The link or code can be sent over IM clients to another device. The utility of this app is that it works just as well on devices that are far away as well as closer together. The link for sharing the file expires after the transfer, and the files are not stored anywhere in the cloud. This is a fast, secure and simple way to transfer files between devices. The app works on computers, and smartphones from both Android and iOS just as well. 

(Best alternative for Shareit and Xender).

Pros:

• Send any type of file.
• Works online as well as offline.
• Enhanced file sharing privacy.
• Clean UI and beginner friendly.
• Share files between Android, iOS and Computer.
• Small app size ~25 MB.

Cons:

• Can be a bit difficult to adapt to the app at first.
• Multiple device support is not yet added.

3. Screen Recorder & Video Recorder - XRecorder

Sometimes we need to record our screen. There are a lot of applications available on PlayStore for this purpose. But choosing a right one is very difficult.

"Screen Recorder & Video Recorder - XRecorder" is my personal favourite app for recording screen. It is developed by "InShot Inc." and can perform very well on any type of android phone. Its free of cost, but has in-app purchases for unlocking perks, but most of the features you'll need is available freely.

(Best alternative for DU Recorder).

Pros:

• Record Screen.
• Video editor is available to edit any video.
• Record full HD videos.
• No WATERMARK on recorded videos!
• Record videos with Facecam enabled.
• Record internal as well as external sounds.
• Floating window for easy access of tools.
• Pause/Resume screen capturing.
• Small app size ~20 MB.

Cons:

• Video editor is not free, and has Watermark. (Note that Screen Recorded video doesn't have watermark, and is totally free.)
• Can be a bit confusing and complex.

4. Files by Google: Clean up space on your phone

We all need a file manager app that can clean up storage if necessary, help us manage our files efficiently, and share files between devices. We expect a lot of other additional features to be present in that app.

One such app was "ES File Explorer", which also got banned in India.

It was really a very powerful tool, and I personally loved it a lot, but unfortunately its no more with us.

But not to worry! "Files by Google" is yet another very powerful and useful tool for file managing and sharing. Its made by Google, so without any doubt, its much more secure and efficient than any other app available on PlayStore.

(Best alternative for ES File Explorer).

Pros:

• All features of a typical File Explorer.
• Built-in Storage booster and cleaner.
• File Sharing via Wi-fi or Cloud.
• Encryption and Protection by Google.
• File Backup and Restore.
• Compatible with all Google Services. 
• Clean UI. 
• Small app size ~13 MB.

Cons:

• Features are not showcased at first place and are hidden inside.

5. Opera browser with free VPN

There is a vital role of a good Web Browser in our life. We need it for everything we do on an Android Device. There is no need of explaining the importance of a web browser.

UC Browser was one of the most popular Web Browsers due to its ocean of features and capabilities, but it is also banned in India, so we need to look for an alternative.

Here comes "Opera Browser" with loads of features and an expanding community. It provides all the features that you would expect from a web browser. I have used it for several months as a primary browser in my phone.

(Best alternative for UC Browser, DU Browser).

Pros:

• All features of a standard Web Browser.
• Enhanced privacy protection.
• Built-in unlimited free VPN mode.
• Enhanced ad-blocking.
• Customizable entertainment support.
• Available in many languages.
• More control over how you use the app.
• Many other features for enhanced experience.
• Clean UI. 

Cons:

• In-app notifications need to be turned off as it can be irritating.
• Limited VPN servers available.
• Quite large app-size ~40MB.

Lite version also available with less app-size and limited features for users who don't want all the advanced functionality.

Thanks for reading till here! If you want to share anything with us, post them in the comment section, and become a part of our community.

Related post - Transfer files from an Android Device to any other device (Laptop/Tablet/Phone) without Internet 

 

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