There are some great apps that will be able to take advantage of the N5s great hardware.
People sometimes say the original N5 launcher is slow, and doesn't take advantage of the hardware well enough. This is why I got Nova Launcher (Free for now, will buy paid in a week.) It drastically improves the speed of the device, I mean it's so fast I accidentally click random things because my fingers and eyes don't stay coordinated with it's staggering speed!!!
Link:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ls?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&token=qWSG__fz
For my music needs I currently torrent all of it, but once Google Play Music Service comes to Canada, legally, I will be getting that for sure. But back to the music, I currently use uTorrent on my phone, and download music directly, then use ES File Manager to unzip the files, and then my music player of choice is PowerAmp, there is a free trial, but I paid for mine.
uTorrent:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...details?id=com.utorrent.client&token=3O8MI5mg
ES File Manager:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ls?id=com.estrongs.android.pop&token=JrbYbC9p
Poweramp:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ails?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayer&token=PL6sXunJ
Now on to email services, I use Evomail as my main email application because I like the overall UI and gesture based features of it much more than the stock Gmail app, also the icon is sick!
Evomail:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../details?id=io.evomail.android&token=awYHOFRf
For Text Messaging/Calling I currently use Contacts+ as my regular SMS/Call app. It is aesthetically pleasing, and compliments the holo UI nicely. It also takes images for contacts from your facebook, instagram, and twitter followers/friends, so you're texting doesn't look plain.
Contacts+ / Messages +:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...etails?id=com.contapps.android&token=x_PWF7e2 ||||||||||||||||||||||||
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...com.contapps.android.messaging&token=gaqtj6Vh
Now then, I use Flipboard for my news addiction, seriously, I read and breathe news. Its a great looking app, has my twitter/instagram integrated, and the pictures look amazing!
Flipboard:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../apps/details?id=flipboard.app&token=__Dp-0nK
For my Gallery application, since we all mostly agree that the stock Gallery app is terrible, I use Quickpic. It looks great, snappy, and I can hide those naughty images I don't want anyone to see :3
Quickpic:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...etails?id=com.alensw.PicFolder&token=avuHoZpS
For my Weather application, I find that the new Weather app, "Weather Underground" is the quickest weather app ever built. It finds information for you so fast and it has alerts built right into the app so you never have to open up the internet to read them! It also looks great and offers a notification icon with the weather in it. It also has interactive 3D and 2D maps so you can "get right into" the current and future weather conditions!
Weather Underground:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...m.wunderground.android.weather&token=x0fgVWUT
For my GPS application I use Waze because I speed alot when I drive and it's helpful to know where most of the police offers are, I'm kidding, or am I O_O, but really, Waze is a great navigation application, but it does use up alot of data fast, so.... get an unlimited data plan, I swear you'll love it!
Waze:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...store/apps/details?id=com.waze&token=mMqSG7jL
For my picture editting needs I use VSCOCam and InsText, as well as #Square. Great apps, many features, HIGH QUALITY IMAGES!
#Square:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...?id=com.sergeyotro.sharpsquare&token=XuTcMlnW
InsText:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../details?id=com.adiaos.instext&token=DWU256ze
VSCO Cam:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...e/apps/details?id=com.vsco.cam&token=Lh1x9q5s
Another app I use is Evernote, this is a great app as it syncs to my PC and I can do work from school right on my PC instead of even getting my notes out!
Evernote:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...e/apps/details?id=com.evernote&token=HRqpJ9Rs
People always ask about my battery widget, so for that I use Battery Widget Reborn. It's great feature is that it allows you to add a widget sort of thing into the notification tray and you can control your data, bluetooth, and even flashlight directly from the tray, so I don't have to go into settings all the time. It also gives you a battery in percentage on the top!
Battery Widget Reborn:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...et.hubalek.android.reborn.beta&token=Y_crCCdw
Also, lastly another cool app I love to use is "Screen Dimmer", it does exactly what its called. Basically when its dark sometimes my lowest brightness setting is still SOOOO BRIGHT on the N5, so I use this app to make it even less bright. The only bad thing about it is that since it doesn't require root, you cant use it to change the brightness of the software keys, so those stay white, and its REALLY noticable haha! Try it out though, it's useful!
Screen Dimmer:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ils?id=com.sebmorand.brightcom&token=ASmz9Vdm
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That's basically it, it mostly depends on your usage but these are my main favourite apps. If you have any questions or need a few more suggestions let us know! Hope you enjoy your N5!
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