Latest news with #TickTick
Android Authority
27-05-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
These are the 6 Google apps I always install on a new Samsung phone
Ryan Haines / Android Authority Apps that come preloaded on your smartphone can be a touchy subject. An app I use every day and I'm glad to see on my phone out of the box could be considered bloatware by someone who doesn't use it. Naturally, there are numerous Samsung apps on a Samsung phone, but you'll find Google apps like Chrome, Gmail, and YouTube pre-installed, too, among a few others. However, plenty of other Google apps are worth using, and these are the ones I download first on my Samsung phone. Before we begin, a brief disclaimer: Apps pre-installed on Samsung phones vary based on model and region, so while none of these came preloaded on my Galaxy S24 Ultra or Galaxy S25 in the UK, one or two might already be on your phone in your country. Google Tasks Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority I use Tick Tick Premium for most of my task needs, but if you don't want to pay for or use something as involved and only need a simple task app, Google Tasks should be the one for you. Samsung's Reminders app is good, but it can only sync to non-Samsung devices via Microsoft To Do, and that synchronization isn't as instant as I'd like. So, Google Tasks is the perfect app for me that works on the web, Android, and iOS and costs nothing. Even though I'm a Tick Tick user, I still keep Google Tasks installed for its Assistant/Gemini and voice command integration, something Tick Tick currently lacks. If I'm driving with Android Auto or have my hands full and need to set a reminder via my Nest speakers, those simple items can be added to my Google Tasks account with 'Hey Google, remind me to …' Google Wallet Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority Galaxy devices come with Samsung Wallet pre-installed. The app is fine, but many banks and loyalty programs don't support it, and I find the overall experience more clunky than Google's alternative, which is more widely supported. In fact, I can't think of any banks, at least in the UK, that don't support Google Wallet. Samsung Wallet also insists on adding a swipe target on the bottom of the home and lock screens, which I always activate by mistake when I'm trying to open the recent apps screen. Turning that off (or uninstalling Samsung Wallet entirely) and switching to Google Wallet makes the overall experience smoother and less frustrating. Google Calendar I enjoy Samsung's Calendar app quite a lot, but I still use Google Calendar for certain things, and you might prefer it, too. For starters, it works well with Google Tasks, showing them in your calendar and providing a shortcut to make reminders without leaving the app. If Google Tasks is your go-to, then Calendar should be too. Outside of Tasks, Calendar integrates better with third-party calendar accounts than Samsung's app, at least in my experience. I use it to integrate my due dates at work and shared calendars with my family group. Another bonus is that Google adds some delightful design flourishes, like the illustrations at the top of events. Gboard Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority If you only take one of these recommendations, please let it be this one. Even I, who usually advocates for Samsung apps being better than most people think, admit that Samsung's keyboard is trash. Whenever I see a post online about an iPhone user switching to a Samsung phone for the first time, one of the biggest complaints I see is that they can't stand the keyboard. Gboard is the best keyboard, and downloading it on your Samsung phone will make the phone easier to use and the entire experience less exasperating. The only exception to that rule used to be foldables, as Samsung's keyboard was the only one that defaulted to a split layout when the phone was open, but now Gboard does this too, and even has full S Pen detection for handwriting input. There's really no reason not to ditch Samsung Keyboard and switch to Gboard. Google Docs Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority Google Drive comes pre-installed on most Samsung phones, but Docs doesn't. I know we don't all handle documents on our phones regularly, but most of us do at some point, and I'd rather have it ready for when I do need it than have to rush to install it when required. The beauty of Google Docs is its ability to handle almost any document format, like those used in Microsoft Office, which other apps can struggle with. Combine that with the simple and quick cloud sync through Google Drive, robust editing features, and plenty of options for sharing and collaborating in documents, and Google Docs is a must-have app for me. Google Keep Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority Google Keep is the best note-taking app and an essential for any smartphone. The key to its success is its simplicity. It's easy to create notes and lists, attach media or links, categorize with colors and categories, and pin the important notes to the top. Plus, it recently got better formatting with headers, bold, italics, and underlining. Another reason Keep is my notes app of choice is how quickly it syncs between devices. Keep is available on Android, iOS, and via the web, and it takes seconds for a note to sync via your Google account. There are other note apps with cloud sync, but I haven't found one as seamless and simple as Google Keep. Among the plethora of Google apps available, these are the ones I use most. Gboard makes any Samsung phone feel a million times more usable, Tasks is a simple way to stay organized, and Wallet is the superior way to pay. Is there a Google app you can't live without? Let me know below.
Android Authority
15-05-2025
- Android Authority
One UI 7 has a scheduling superpower that Google badly needs to copy
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung Calendar gains natural language processing in One UI 7, improving how users create events. You can type dates and times directly into an event title, which the app recognizes and applies automatically. While cleaner formatting could be improved, the feature outperforms TickTick and Google Calendar in understanding complex phrases. Samsung Calendar was an app everyone wanted to remove and replace with Google's offering back in the TouchWiz days, but it received a glow-up when One UI came along, and now it's one of the best calendar apps out there. One UI 7 brought natural language processing to Samsung's apps, which gives Samsung Calendar a feature we'd love to see Google copy. Samsung's apps have already been supercharged with Gemini support, but Samsung has added some special features on top. In apps like Samsung Calendar and Reminders, you can include the date and time you want the event/reminder to occur in the title. A handy pop-up will then appear that, when tapped, will set the event to what you typed. Apps like Todoist and Tick Tick have been able to do this for a while now, and it's good to see some first-party apps get it too. Impressively, One UI 7's ability to pull dates and times like this is, in some ways, more impressive than what you'll find in Tick Tick. In the example above, we created an event called 'Dinner with Millie a week from Saturday 8 PM.' Tick Tick would've set it for this Saturday at 8, not understanding 'a week from Saturday,' although using 'next Saturday' would work there, while Samsung's app did it correctly. The only downside to Samsung's implementation is that it keeps everything you type in the event/reminder name, while Tick Tick or Todoist cleans things up. In those apps, typing 'get milk tomorrow 7 PM' would create an event called 'get milk,' stripping the date and time info out of the title but still using that information to schedule things properly. Unfortunately, Google Calendar can't process dates and times in this manner. That's a shame, because it's an easier and faster way of creating events, and Google has the know-how to do it, as Gemini can take these commands and make the right events or reminders. Hopefully, something like this will come to Google Calendar soon. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
