Photo: Google.
Back at Google I/O this year, the company showed off the ability to run Android apps on ChromeOS and Chromebooks natively. Today, Google has gone ahead and unveiled the first batch of Android apps to run on Chrome OS.
You no longer have to buy an HTC handset to get your hands on HTC apps and services. The Taiwanese company is opening up its software to third-party Android devices, starting with Zoe, a video sharing platform that hopes to compete with the likes of Instagram and Vine.
When not even your own employees want to use your smartphone operating system, how are you supposed to win over consumers? That’s the question Microsoft is facing after one of its Xbox employees was caught tweeting from an Android as opposed to one of the company’s own Windows Phone devices.
Android’s software library gets bigger and stronger each and every year, and that’s no surprise given that it now holds the largest share of the worldwide smartphone market. And there’s never been a better time to be an Android user from a third-party software standpoint.
Not only has Android caught up with the quantity of apps on iOS, but developers are helping it bridge the gap between quality, too. Apps like VSCO Cam, Cal, and Yahoo! Weather are proving that Android software can be just as beautiful as its rivals, while things like Cover and Fleksy demonstrate the important of its customization options — and the benefits of using Android over other mobile platforms.
Picking a small selection of apps for a Best of 2013 roundup hasn’t exactly been easy, then. This list could have been significantly longer than it is, but we’ve tried to condense it down and cherry pick the apps that really stand out. So, without further ado, here are the best Android apps of 2013.
Vine received quite a hefty update in the Google Play Store yesterday, furnishing it with two very useful new features, and a handful of the usual bug fixes and stability improvements – designed to make its user’s experience with the app as seamless and fluid as possible.
