Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Back to school
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop
  • Best web hosting
Recommended reading
Android apps
Android 7 must-try Android apps you didn't know you needed until now
The a list of audio apps on a Realme phone.
Android These are the best audio apps for Android (that aren't Spotify)
An iPad with apps on it
Streaming Best free streaming service in 2025: Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel and more
Google Fit
Android These are the 7 best fitness apps for Android (that aren't Strava)
A remote with Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services running as buttons.
Streaming Best streaming service 2025: Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and more compared
A close up of the Apple TV Plus app on a smartphone
Apple TV + Apple TV’s new Android app just got two great updates, but it’s still missing a big feature
Streaming apps on a smartphone screen with TechRadar radar overlay
Streaming Best streaming deals: current savings for Disney+, Hulu, Sling TV and more
  1. Streaming

6 essential streaming apps for Android

News
By Nathan Taylor published 20 July 2015

Check out these awesome apps for streaming video content

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

6 essential streaming apps for Android

6 essential streaming apps for Android

If you like taking your streaming media with you, then there are plenty of applications to help you do just that. Here we've taken a quick look at six of our favourite Android apps for streaming content; we'll skip the obvious ones like YouTube and Netflix, and tell you about some you might not have tried.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Kodi (with add-ons)

Kodi (with add-ons)

Of course we have to start with Kodi (formerly XBMC), easily the best media player and streaming platform for Android. Kodi on Android looks and works just like the PC version of the app, and includes support for the various media streaming plugins that we talked about in the last issue. It will play just about anything you throw at it, and it supports a huge host of protocols for accessing remote servers, including AirPlay, DLNA and Windows File Sharing.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
iFlix instant torrent player

iFlix instant torrent player

As happens with most apps associated with BitTorrent, the iFlix app was very quickly removed from Google Play, but you can still get it from a number of other Android app sources. Somewhat ironically, the best place to get it is probably from BitTorrent.

iFlix was actually designed as a tool for monitoring streams from IP cameras, but was morphed into a one tap BitTorrent streaming app. You just tap on a magnet BitTorrent link in your mobile browser, and iFlix takes over the rest. It's will likely spend a minute or two buffering (this is BitTorrent after all), and you may be asked what media player you want to use, but after that it plays quite smoothly.

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Showyou

Showyou

Available on Android and iOS devices, Showyou gathers together video feeds from selected social media sources, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Indieflix, Buzzfeed and more. Videos from channels you subscribe to and people you are friends with or follow appear in the video list and there are a variety of user-curated channels that you can visit.

There so much content, and the complexity of the way the videos are curated and delivered makes the whole app a bit of a mess really – but it's kind of a glorious mess. If you're the kind of person who likes to browse YouTube's trending or top videos or who simply wants to see what your friends are posting and watching, it's definitely worth trying.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
TED

TED

Another app available on Google Play, TED offers access to a fascinating collection of live talks. It includes poetry and inspirational speakers as well as a variety of industry, governmental and organisational speakers. Speeches are drawn from conferences and events as well as personal chats.

It's probably not something that's going to appeal to everyone, but it's certainly a big (and welcome) change of pace from unlikely animal friendships on YouTube, and is definitely worth a gander.

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Crackle

Crackle

A service similar in many ways to Netflix and Hulu, Crackle is a free video service with an actual Australian presence and locally and legally viewable material. Of course, our selection is nowhere near what the US gets – there tends to be a lot of older TV show reruns and movies from the 80s and earlier that appear on it – but it's actually a weirdly pleasant grab bag of commercial media.

It's kind of like switching on the TV at midday back in the pre-internet days; you're probably going to only have the option of a handful of older movies and TV shows to watch, and that's OK. Sometimes it's cool to revisit those old westerns and classic movies. You probably wouldn't go seeking them out, but they're pleasant enough to watch if they're just on in front of you.

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
LiveNow!TV

LiveNow!TV

Although it lists itself as being a product for US and UK users, LiveNow!TV actually works just great for Australian users as well (it even has a feed from the ABC), since there are plenty of services that aren't geoblocked.

The service is essentially a portal into more than 600 live streaming TV channels from around the world. There are US and UK channels, but also German, French, Italian, Russian and Middle Eastern channels. There are channels categorised by content (movies, classic TV, kids shows etc.) and lists of most watched channels. It's kind of like a kick ass global cable TV service – and a handful of channels even support video on demand in addition to the live TV stream.

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Nathan Taylor
Read more
Android apps
7 must-try Android apps you didn't know you needed until now
The a list of audio apps on a Realme phone.
These are the best audio apps for Android (that aren't Spotify)
An iPad with apps on it
Best free streaming service in 2025: Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel and more
Google Fit
These are the 7 best fitness apps for Android (that aren't Strava)
A remote with Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services running as buttons.
Best streaming service 2025: Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and more compared
A close up of the Apple TV Plus app on a smartphone
Apple TV’s new Android app just got two great updates, but it’s still missing a big feature
Latest in Streaming
Three member of Zora's team smiling as they look at an off-screen dinosaur in Jurassic World Rebirth
Heading to see Jurassic World Rebirth this weekend? Here’s where you can stream all the Jurassic Park movies
Tom Holland's Peter Parker stares into the camera in Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will start filming in August, and I'm desperate to have some of my biggest questions answered about the Marvel movie
Rachelle Lefevre smiles in a red and black fur coat
Just signed up to Hallmark+ through Prime Video for $0.99? Here are 4 new movies and TV shows I recommend streaming first
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar sprint to the finish line at Stage 12 of the 2024 Tour de France.
How to watch Tour de France 2025 on ITVX for FREE
A phone with the icons for multiple streaming services on it, with text saying "Prime Day streaming deals guide"
The 11 best 4th July streaming deals live – huge savings on Prime Video, Paramount+, Apple TV+ and more
Pilou Asbaek's The Mule looking at something off-screen in Foundation season 3
'He needs to be a big threat': Foundation season 3 star Pilou Asbaek reveals how The Mule differs from his book series counterpart in the Apple TV+ show
Latest in News
The Xbox Series X Digital next to the new Dyson Airwrap and Nothing Headphone (1)
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Spotify's suspected AI band to Nothing's first over-ear headphones
AMD RX 9070 GPU models
AMD's new GPUs could be a flop – and while that's good news for Nvidia, I'm worried for gamers
Tom Holland's Peter Parker stares into the camera in Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will start filming in August, and I'm desperate to have some of my biggest questions answered about the Marvel movie
Android apps
Android 16’s answer to iOS Live Activities is coming soon – here are the apps it’ll support, including Google Maps
Alibaba logo
Alibaba and Wix join forces, promise great things for SMBs
mazon logo on the facade of one of their corporate office buildings located in Silicon Valley, San Francisco bay area
Hunting for early Prime Day deals? Beware, scammers have set up thousands of fake Amazon sites - here's what to look out for
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    I'm a Prime Day expert - here are the 29 best tech gadgets that I recommend buying right now
  2. 2
    This is the main reason TechRadar readers use VPNs - and no, it isn't streaming
  3. 3
    ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Spotify's suspected AI band to Nothing's first over-ear headphones
  4. 4
    The must-have app for your summer holiday costs less than you think
  5. 5
    This is probably the best Apple Mac Mini Windows Mini PC alternative on the market right now - $378 Chuwi AuBox Mini drives four 4K monitors and has a Radeon 780M GPU

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...