Google Play is the official Android app store. Therefore, most users go there to download their apps. Naturally, developers upload their creations to this platform to achieve a greater reach. However, you should know that there are alternative app stores for Android.
Alternative applications for Android other than Google Play
Google’s store for mobile devices stands out for its wide catalog of apps. But its competitors can offer very interesting alternatives. These are some of the most popular virtual stores for Android on the market:
- Amazon AppStore
Among the alternative applications for Android, the Amazon AppStore stands out, since it is one of its main competitors. Currently, it registers more than 600,000 apps and although most of them are paid, their prices are usually affordable. If you are interested in installing the Amazon AppStore, you can do it safely from its official website.
Amazon’s marketplace comes by default on the brand’s own devices such as Kindle Fire or Fire Phone, and on some Blackberry devices. However, to download it on other Android devices, you have to grant permissions on the phone for applications outside the Play Store.
- APKMirror
This store is a viable and safe alternative to get free apps for your smartphone. For this reason, it is one of the most preferred by Android users. Besides, any of the platform’s apps has the signature of the developers themselves, which makes it more reliable. Download APKMirror on your mobile and grant permissions to the application so you can install it.
- Malavida
Malavida is another of the best-known alternative app stores for Android. Among its most notable features is the speed and ease with which apps are downloaded. In addition, it has a wide catalog of original applications that are checked with antivirus for greater user safety.
- F-Droid
In this virtual store you will find exclusively free and open-source applications. In addition to its official website, F-Droid has its own app for Android. Although its catalog is not the widest, open source applications can be an interesting option for users.
- SlideME
SlideME was launched specifically for those smartphone manufacturers equipped with Android systems, but who do not use Google Play services. Among its most outstanding features is the possibility of using multiple payment methods, such as PayPal, for example. However, popular applications such as YouTube or WhatsApp do not appear in its catalog.
- Aptoide
This is another online store that has its own mobile app. Here you can search, upload and download APKs to your Android. In its catalog there are at least 700,000 applications, it has about 200 million active users and accumulates about 3 billion downloads.
- Uptodown
Uptodown is a marketplace available to the market since 2002. Its catalog includes more than 30,000 apps for the Android operating system. The apps are also available in their older versions. Here you can legally download all kinds of APKs to your device without restrictions. If you want to get the mobile version, you can do it from their website.
The company registers more than 1.2 billion users, who have downloaded at least 2,000 applications. In this store, APKs are reviewed and analyzed with the VirusTotal service. For this reason, it is considered one of the safest virtual stores on the market.
How to download APKs on Android
Android devices have security controls that prevent downloading apps outside of Google Play. Therefore, if you want to use any of the alternative app stores for Android, you will have to disable these controls. Otherwise, you will not be able to install APK files from external sources.
To do this, you need to follow these steps:
- Enter Android settings.
- Go to the Security section.
- Find the ‘Unknown sources’ option and enable it.
Once this is done, you will be able to download files from other application stores other than Google’s Play Store.
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