Don’t buy a $500 dumbphone. These apps will make your Android phone calm
I almost spent $500 on a phone that does less. Instead, I fixed the one already in my pocket.
The article discussed turning a Pixel 9a Android phone into a calm and minimalist device. The first step was disabling notifications for most apps, and using Android's notification channels to restrict updates to the most important ones. Switchly, a free app blocker, was used to block addictive parts of social media apps, such as Reels on Instagram and Shorts on YouTube.
BlockAds, a VPN-based global ad-blocker, was also employed to eliminate annoying full-screen ads in free Android apps, significantly improving the overall user experience. The article recommended using Fossify's suite of minimalist apps for Gallery, File Manager, Calendar, Music Player, Messages, and Phone functionalities, as these apps were ad-free and offered a more polished experience compared to their default counterparts.
For weather updates, the open-source and customizable Breezy Weather app was suggested, while NewPipe was recommended for YouTube, allowing users to watch videos without ads or comments. FUTO Keyboard was chosen as a free and open-source alternative to Gboard, offering customization options. To further reduce distractions, users were advised to use Fennec, an open-source version of Mozilla Firefox, which has no telemetry or extra features.
Lock screen and home screen customization were minimized to reduce decision fatigue, with a single-page setup and themed icons. Chrome was customized to have a calm home page with only the search bar, disabling notifications, and suggestions. Disabling the Explore page and Ask Maps features in Google Maps was also recommended. Overall, the article provided various tips and tricks to turn an Android phone into a calm and minimalist device, using a combination of built-in features, free and open-source apps, and customized settings.
Written by urgent.news from Android Authority's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
