Lots of new apps have landed on Google Play over 2018 and we've highlighted many of the best in our best Android apps and best free Android apps guides, but only one can be the very best, and if you ask Google it's Drops: Learn 31 new languages (opens in new tab).
This is an app which, as the name suggests, aims to teach you a foreign language, but it does so in bite-sized chunks using pictures and games to help you learn and remember the basics.
While that won Google's 'Best App of 2018' award, a number of other apps were also highlighted.
For 'Most Entertaining', Google selected five apps, namely VIMAGE (opens in new tab) (a cinemagraph app), No.Draw (opens in new tab) (an app for coloring by numbers), Neverthink (opens in new tab) (an app full of hand-picked web videos), TikTok (opens in new tab) (an app for creating and sharing 15-second videos), and Scout FM (opens in new tab) (a podcast player).
The best of the rest
There's also a 'Best Self Improvement' category, where Google highlighted Mimo (opens in new tab) (an app for learning to code), Drops, 10% Happier (opens in new tab) (a meditation app), Keep Trainer (opens in new tab) (a workout app), and MasterClass (opens in new tab) (an app for learning various skills).
For 'Best Daily Helper' meanwhile, Google chose Tasty (opens in new tab) (a recipe app), Otter Voice Notes (opens in new tab) (a voice memo app), Sift (opens in new tab) (an app for tracking purchases and getting automatic refunds when prices drop), Canva (opens in new tab) (a graphic design app), Notion (opens in new tab) (a notes and tasks app), and Woebot (opens in new tab) (designed to track and improve your mental health).
Then there's 'Best Hidden Gems' category, which highlighted Luci (opens in new tab) (a lucid dream journal), Just A Line (opens in new tab) (an AR drawing app), Unfold (opens in new tab) (an app for creating story collages), Slowly (opens in new tab) (a messaging app that makes you wait between messages), and Learn Spanish With Lirica (opens in new tab) (which teaches you Spanish through songs).
Google has also let users choose their 'Fan Favorites', with YouTube TV (opens in new tab) and PUBG Mobile (opens in new tab) being selected in the US, while Reddit (opens in new tab) and PUBG Mobile were selected in the UK. So if you're looking for new apps to keep yourself entertained over the holidays, these should make for a good start.
- We've also got a guide to the best Android games
- See how to discover more apps in Google Play by changing your location
