App Reviews

Waze and Google Maps are both owned by Google, and both are excellent. The differences are small but real, and matter more for some kinds of driving than others.

Duolingo is the language app the whole internet has downloaded at some point. Whether it teaches you a language depends entirely on what you were expecting. Here is an honest look.

DuckDuckGo’s Android browser blocks trackers by default, has a one-tap ‘burn everything’ button, and does not have an account. For a specific kind of use, it is the calmest browser on your phone.

Proton Mail is the encrypted email service serious enough to run your day-to-day inbox on. Free tier is real, paid tier is fair, and the Swiss privacy story is not a marketing gimmick.

Firefox on Android is not the fastest browser. It is the only mainstream one that supports real extensions on your phone and does not answer to Google. Both of those things are worth more than they sound.

CapCut became the default mobile video editor by being free, capable, and closely tied to TikTok. The app is genuinely good. What you should know about it — and about its ownership — before you rely on it for real work.

Todoist has been the recommendation for cross-platform task management for the better part of a decade. Its Android app still holds up in 2026 — fast, natural, and readable. Here is what you get on the free tier and what Premium buys you.

Lightroom for Android is one of the most capable photo editors ever released for a phone. The free tier is real. The Premium subscription is where the interesting features live. Here is what you get on each side.

Canva has quietly become the design tool most non-designers reach for. Its Android app is not a mobile companion — it is a genuine mobile-first editor. Here is what it does, what Pro adds, and where it falls short.

VLC plays every video and audio file format that has ever existed, streams from your network drive, has no ads, has no in-app purchases, and asks nothing from you. In 2026 that combination is nearly unique.