The app store formerly known as the “Android Market” has been around since 2008. What started as a few thousand apps has exploded to nearly two million. Some of the best original Android apps are still kicking in the Play Store today—they’re still pretty good, too.

I’ve been using Android since 2010, and the apps on my phone today are obviously very different from what I had 15 years ago. Yet, there are some that have stuck with me, though every new device, too. Some of the oldest apps are still the best.

K-9 Mail (aka Thunderbird) (2008)

The OG mobile email app

When Android was first made available to the public on the T-Mobile G1 in 2008, it included an extremely barebones email app. Seven days after the G1 launched, K-9 Mail first appeared in the Android Market, and it was an immediate improvement.

K-9 Mail is so old that it predates the official Gmail Android app by two years. It was significantly better than other options, and it’s still a nice, simple email client that supports many services and receives regular updates. In 2022, it was taken over by Mozilla, and now it’s the backbone for the Thunderbird client on Android.

Poweramp (2010)

A living legend

For nearly two decades, one name has consistently been mentioned when anyone asks for the best Android music player apps: Poweramp. Local media may not be as popular on mobile devices as it is in elsewhere, but Poweramp is still a top choice for it.

Poweramp has been developed by Max MP since the beginning (here’s the forum threads to prove it), and it has consistently been updated and improved over the last 16 years. Currently, Poweramp has over 50 million downloads and a 4.1/5 rating. It’s remarkable that an app can stay this good and relevant for as long as it has.


Quiz

8 Questions · Test Your KnowledgeHow well do you know classic Android apps?
Trivia Challenge

From the early days of the Play Store to iconic must-haves — how well do you remember Android’s greatest apps?

HistorySocialProductivityGamesAndroid

Begin

What was the name of Android’s original app marketplace before it became the Google Play Store?

AAndroid MarketBGoogle Apps HubCDroid StoreDAndroid Bazaar

Correct! The Android Market launched in 2008 alongside the first Android device, the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1). It was rebranded as the Google Play Store in March 2012, merging apps, music, books, and movies into one unified storefront.

Not quite. The original marketplace was called Android Market, which debuted in 2008. Google rebranded it as the Google Play Store in 2012 to unify all of its digital content under one roof.

Continue

Which classic Android app was famous for letting users ‘check in’ to physical locations and earn badges?

AYelpBGoogle LatitudeCFoursquareDLoopt

Correct! Foursquare was a location-based social network that let users check in to restaurants, bars, and landmarks to earn points, badges, and the coveted ‘Mayor’ status. It was enormously popular around 2010–2013 before splitting into Foursquare and Swarm.

Not quite. That was Foursquare, the location-based app where checking in to places earned you badges and the ‘Mayor’ title. It was a cultural phenomenon in the early smartphone era before eventually splitting into two separate apps.

Continue

Which mobile game, released in 2009, had players launching birds from a slingshot to destroy pig structures and became one of Android’s first massive hits?

ACut the RopeBAngry BirdsCFruit NinjaDDoodle Jump

Correct! Angry Birds by Rovio became a global phenomenon after its 2009 launch, eventually spawning movies, merchandise, and dozens of sequels. It was one of the apps that demonstrated the enormous commercial potential of mobile gaming.

Not quite. The answer is Angry Birds, developed by Rovio and released in 2009. It became one of the best-selling mobile games of all time and proved that smartphones could be a dominant gaming platform.

Continue

Which messaging app, launched in 2009, was one of the first to offer free cross-platform text and voice messaging over the internet on Android?

AKikBViberCWhatsAppDBBM

Correct! WhatsApp launched in 2009 and quickly became one of the most downloaded Android apps ever, offering free messaging as an alternative to costly SMS. Facebook acquired it in 2014 for approximately $19 billion, one of the largest tech acquisitions in history.

Not quite. WhatsApp, founded in 2009, was the app that pioneered free internet-based messaging on smartphones. Its massive global adoption made it one of the most successful Android apps ever, leading Facebook to acquire it for roughly $19 billion in 2014.

Continue

Which note-taking app, with its distinctive elephant logo, was a go-to productivity tool for Android users throughout the early 2010s?

AOneNoteBEvernoteCNotionDGoogle Keep

Correct! Evernote and its iconic green elephant logo dominated the note-taking space for years, offering syncing across devices at a time when cloud sync was still a novelty. At its peak, it had over 225 million users before competition from Google Keep and Notion eroded its lead.

Not quite. The answer is Evernote, recognizable by its green elephant logo. It was the king of note-taking apps in the early Android era, offering multi-device cloud sync before that was a common feature, and it amassed hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Continue

Which early Android flashlight app became notorious as one of the most downloaded yet most privacy-controversial apps on the platform?

ATiny FlashlightBBrightest Flashlight FreeCSuper FlashlightDLED Torch

Correct! Brightest Flashlight Free by GoldenShores Technologies was once the most downloaded flashlight app on Android, but the FTC took action against it in 2013 for secretly collecting and selling users’ location data without clear consent. It became a landmark case in mobile app privacy.

Not quite. Brightest Flashlight Free was the infamous flashlight app that the FTC investigated in 2013 for collecting and selling users’ location data without proper disclosure. It became one of the first high-profile examples of mobile app privacy violations.

Continue

Which music streaming app launched its Android version in 2009 and allowed users to stream personalized radio stations based on a single artist or song?

ASpotifyBRdioCPandoraDLast.fm

Correct! Pandora brought its Music Genome Project-powered radio to Android in 2009, letting users create stations seeded by an artist or track. It was a revolutionary concept at the time and helped pave the way for the on-demand streaming era that Spotify would later dominate.

Not quite. That was Pandora, which used its Music Genome Project algorithm to generate personalized radio stations on Android starting in 2009. It was a pioneering streaming service that introduced millions of users to internet-based music discovery on mobile.

Continue

In the classic Android game Temple Run, which creature chases the player throughout the game?

AA giant spiderBDemon monkeysCA stone golemDA fire dragon

Correct! Temple Run featured a group of demon monkeys relentlessly chasing the player after they steal a cursed idol from a temple. Released in 2011, the game pioneered the endless runner genre on mobile and was downloaded over 170 million times within its first year.

Not quite. The answer is demon monkeys — terrifying creature enemies that chase you endlessly after you steal their idol in Temple Run. The game launched in 2011 and became one of the defining endless runner games of the early Android era, with hundreds of millions of downloads.

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Paprika (2010)

Still the best in the biz

The internet is absolutely stuffed with recipes from hundreds of websites. They all have slightly different layouts, not to mention the many paragraphs of preamble to scroll past. That’s where Paprika comes in—and it has since 2010.

Paprika allows you to import recipes from the web and have them all neatly formatted and organized like your very own cookbook. It’s genuinely life changing if you’re a frequent kitchen dweller. The current version of the app is Paprika 3, which arrived in 2018, but the original launched way back in 2010.

SoundWire (2011)

Stream audio from your computer to phone

SoundWire is a very cool app for very specific purposes. Launched in 2011, it enables you to wirelessly stream the audio playing on your Windows or Linux PC to your Android phone.

Why is this useful? SoundWire is for much more than just Spotify or Netflix, it streams the actual “what you hear now” audio. You can be anywhere in your house—or not at home at all—and hear what’s happening on your computer. It’s still a cool concept even 15 years later.

Weather Underground (2011)

Still one of the best for local weather

Weather Underground has been around for over 30 years, and it was one of the very first weather apps to launch on Android. It gets information from the National Weather Service and hundreds of thousands of personal weather stations.

That last part is what makes Weather Underground still one of the best weather apps. The use of personal weather stations means it can provide more precise local information than many other apps. If you’re interested in a hyper-local weather app—especially now that Dark Sky is dead—Weather Underground is still a solid choice.

Oldies, but goodies

We tend to view “new” as “best,” but that’s not always the case. Android is lucky to have classic apps that have been maintained with care over a span of many major changes in the platform. This list is for some of the lesser-known names, but classic apps such as Tasker, SwiftKey, Shazam, Evernote, and many more are also still going strong.