Alternative third-party app store for Android
Aptoide is a free third-party app store for Android devices that allows the safe discovery and installation of new apps. Open-source and community-driven, this alternative Android platform operates like Google Play or 9Apps, with a broad array of diverse choices. Users can even create and manage their own store and upload apps of their own.
Community is key with Aptoide, with community recommendations and highlights filtering out the noise of over one million apps to choose from. Green badges adorn the most trusted apps, but the beauty of this tool is that the final decision comes down to you. Whether to download other apps is a choice that’s yours to make, not Android’s.
Different source for apps and games
Aptoide Store is essentially a decentralized app store for Android users where they can search and download popular apps and games outside of the Google Play Store. It boasts thousands of titles across multiple categories and genres for you to browse and install. It does not require any login to use, and if you're a developer, it lets you create your own store page to showcase your work to others.
What's more, you can access region-locked titles and even some that are no longer available through the Play Store. Do be aware of a few things before proceeding, with the first being that not all apps are up-to-date. Another is that while everything goes through a verification process for validity, there is still a level of risk involved since these uploads come from independent sources.
More options, more personalization
Since Google Play is the recommended nexus for downloading and installing new Android apps, Aptoide’s existence is less known. There’s little need to sift through a bigger, less supervised sea of choices if you’re satisfied with Google Play. If you’re not, however, Aptoide is almost guaranteed to have something for you: games, HD wallpapers, productivity tools, social media platforms, and hundreds of other choices.
Aptoide recommends first searching the Google Play Store to find specific apps you might be looking for. The most mainstream choices are typically there, but specific third-party options might be missing. When that happens, it’s time to check if it’s on Aptoide. The platform has thousands of pieces of software to choose from, all of which have been checked for viruses. They’ve also been put through security tests to ensure your Android device stays protected.
One of the most useful features of Aptoide is that, by the sheer value of being an alternative to Google Play, it’s a great way to troubleshoot and manage your favorite apps. For example, if a music app like Spotify isn’t downloading properly from Google Play, it could be for any number of reasons. Since Spotify is also on Aptoide, electing to instead download it from there could bypass the issue.
For this reason, one of Aptoide’s handiest features is that it can revert apps back to their previous versions. Returning to our earlier example of Spotify, it could be that the newest build of the music app is incompatible with your Android version. Rather than having to update your phone, you can use Aptoide to downgrade Spotify back to its earlier build.
Besides being an app store alternative, Aptoide also serves as a place where users can create their own stores. You can use this to share and distribute your own apps and original content, choosing your personalized name, logo, and color theme. Gather a following, and soon your own app could climb to successful heights. Likewise, you can follow other people’s apps, start a conversation with other designers, and collaborate together.
Whether created by a company or by an individual, all apps in Aptoide have a rating and reviews. Read through a thread’s comments to see whether people like an app you’re not sure about and add your own questions to the discussion if you wish. For any that you’re particularly fond of, you can share apps locally with friends. You don’t even need an Internet connection to do it.
Fast downloads, useful filters, smooth UI
After you’ve installed Aptoide on your Android device, you can enter the app to see the most popular current pieces of software on the homepage. The interface here is intentionally similar to that of Google Play, making it easy for Android users to acclimate and familiarize themselves with the layout. The intuitive UI is a huge help for anybody skeptical about getting apps from a source other than Google Play.
Aptoide’s Browse option helps you search for specific apps by name or developer, and filters can be toggled to see which can be downloaded for free. By default, everything is filtered by category and popularity, and if you’re not looking for anything in particular, you can scroll down until something catches your eye. You can even queue multiple installations at once and monitor their progress under the Pending Apps tab.
When it comes to downloading speed, Aptoide is usually about as fast as the Google Play Store. Occasionally it will bug out and downloads will cancel. To fix this, open the Pending Apps tab, cancel the download, and try again. If it continues to fail, you can try selecting an earlier version of the app, consult the discussion threads, or look for an alternative.
If you start using Aptoide regularly, the marketplace automatically bumps applications up to their most recent build. This happens any time the developer makes adjustments like new features or bug fixes. Aptoide also starts sharing personalized recommendations based on your most used categories or authors. Aptoide’s integration with Facebook also makes it easy to get more information on an app, as well as any pending changes it’s queued to undergo.
Aptoide vs. Google Play Store
Compared to Google Play, Aptoide is lacking in elegance and legitimacy. It does, however, have more options than Google Play. This variety comes as a result of the nature of Aptoide’s community. Many of the apps within Aptoide were designed by the Android community specifically as a response to Google Play’s more insular distribution. The outcome is a hub in which user freedom trumps official approval.
It’s worth noting that, while Aptoide’s main appeal is that it isn’t Google Play, it isn’t the only third-party alternative. 9Apps is another app download store for Android, offering over 18 million apps, some of which are restricted by Google Play. It is more lightweight than Aptoide, but Aptoide is the safer choice.
Dark mode
Aptoide’s trusty interface hasn’t changed a lot in years, only pushing out bug fixes and other refinement patches now and then, but there has been a notable change that makes it even more user-friendly. Introducing a dark mode, the app platform now has an interface appearance that doesn’t strain the eyes and saves battery life for OLED displays. To utilize it, users should update their app to the latest version, go to the Settings menu, and activate it.
A high quality Google Play alternative
Aptoide is a great alternative application store that Android users can choose over Google Play. Its straightforward categorization, personalized recommendations, editorial collections, and active community make it an outstanding choice. Since it’s open-source, users can publish apps and earn revenue with Aptoide and find solutions to problems encountered on more mainstream apps.
For the more discerning Android user, Aptoide might even be preferable over Google Play, as it allows for more personal choice. Be careful with it, though; while Aptoide does scan its apps for viruses, it doesn’t guarantee that what you get will be high-quality. Stick with apps that sport the green badge, however, and then you should be fine.
