On Android smartphones customization is endless, let's see which apps and widgets make the screen look its best, according to your needs
One of the most important aspects for Android smartphone users is the possibility to customize the device. In fact, on Google OS phones, we can change everything from the application icons to the drawer interface.
To customize the screen of your Android smartphone, you can install applications and widgets designed specifically for this purpose. The easiest way to change the graphical interface of the screen is to install one of the launchers available on the Google Play Store: they allow you to customize every single aspect of the smartphone, but in some cases they may slow down the performance of the device. Alternatively you can use other applications or widgets to customize Android, such as Notification Hub that groups all the notifications that arrive on the smartphone.
Smart Launcher 3
The first step is to choose a fast and lightweight launcher. For those unfamiliar with the term, launcher refers to the application responsible for the graphical interface of the smartphone. It always appears when you turn on your device and you can return to it simply by pressing the Home button. On the Google Play Store there are several launchers: one of the most used is Smart Launcher that offers a number of features and shortcuts that improve the user experience.
With Smart Launcher we can organize the apps on the Home screen according to our needs, choosing grids or circles. Also, all apps can be organized into folders according to their category. In this way we can put order and maintain a very clean device interface. Very interesting are the shortcuts, you only have to press and hold to make the settings appear on an icon. For example, on the message icon we can set it to open SMS with a tap.
KLWP Live Wallpaper Maker
If we want to edit and customize Android wallpapers, backgrounds and widgets, one of the most used applications is KLWP Live Wallpaper Maker. The app will also allow you to make animated wallpapers and have interactive widgets. Also, we will have the main information of the device directly on the Home. For example, the memory occupied on the hard disk or the CPU speed. This is a free app but it has additional paid features. There is also the KWGT Kustom Widget Maker app, which is very useful if you want to make widgets such as clocks or weather icons on your own.
Fluenty
Are you tired of constantly answering messages, SMS and Messenger conversations? Well, then Fluenty is the app for you. It is a bot that replies to your messages on your behalf. Just mash its button, displayed on the screen, to generate automatic replies to the messages you receive. How does it work? Simple, it intercepts incoming conversations and according to what is written and prepares an appropriate response. And it can also integrate maps and links to outgoing messages. It is a free app that is compatible with major messaging services. It works with Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp and, of course, SMS.
The notification bar
It's not just messages that clog up our smartphones. Between social networks and various apps, we are continually bombarded with notifications. How can we manage them all in the best possible way? Simple, just use an application like Notification Hub. The app works in a clear way: it groups notifications by themes. Calls under the phone symbol, conversations under messages and so on. This way we know which ones to respond to first and which ones to leave out if we're too busy.
Appointment Widget
If our work involves a busy schedule, meetings and client appointments then a widget to manage our time is just what we need. The SolCalendar app and its widget do this better than anyone else. All we have to do is link our calendar to the app and it will alert us on time about our every commitment. We can perform actions from the app, such as calling a client to reschedule an appointment or chatting with a colleague.
Icon pack
Do you like square icons? Feel like customizing them? Okay, then Rondo is the app for you. This is an icon pack where each icon is made in a circular shape, clean and light. We can choose from a wide range of options to customize the icons of our apps. Rondo boasts almost two thousand different icon options. It's a free app but if you want you can make a donation to the developers.
Contextual App Folder
If you've followed every piece of advice so far, most likely you'll now have a smartphone with clean, custom icons and intuitive, easy to recognize folders. Only one thing is missing: a little magic. To do this we need an app like Contextual App Folder. The app creates dynamic folders that appear based on various contexts. For example, we plug in our headphones? Perfect, a folder with all our music will appear out of nowhere.