Android Central’s Best of 2024: Apps & Services

There were some great apps and services released this year, and I couldn’t agree more with every winner on this list.
I’m a little biased here, but I’m a huge Spotify fan. I’ve tried YouTube Music and Apple Music, but frankly, neither really meets my needs like Spotify does. This year the app also has one of my favorite end-of-year features, Spotify Unwrapped, which this year incorporates a lot of artificial intelligence to give me even more information about my listening habits!
What I am trying to say is that while Netflix is the king of streaming services, there are many others that offer great shows. But of course, there can only be one winner and we choose Netflix! There’s a lot of great shows out there and it’s a lot of fun, not to mention the streaming giant is also getting into live TV, which we suspect will expand over the next year.
Finally, we can’t help but discuss the best Android app: Gemini. Google has outdone itself with a truly great app that AC employees love using.
Congratulations to all winners!
Of course, here’s what some of my colleagues Derrek Lee, Patrick Farmer and Namerah Saud-Fatmi had to say about the winners:
Best Music Streaming Service: Spotify
Derek Lee: We just can’t leave you, can we? Not only does Spotify remain our favorite music streaming service, but it’s clearly everyone else’s favorite too. Just in November, the company reported 252 million subscribers, up 12% from the previous year. It also has more than 640 million monthly active users, up 11% from last year. So why do we love Spotify so much?
A streamlined user interface makes listening to your favorite music and discovering new tracks easy. While Spotify has yet to launch its long-awaited Hi-Fi tiers, the company continues to add and test new features to stay ahead of the curve, such as AI-generated personalized playlists that let you tell it what you want to hear. It also added a cheaper basic plan for users who don’t need access to audiobooks.
It’s been a pretty good year for Spotify, but we’re hoping 2025 will be a great year for audiophiles waiting for higher-quality listening. With any luck, we’ll finally get that “super premium” plan we’ve been hearing about.
runner up: YouTube Music
Meanwhile, YouTube Music emerges as our runner-up as Google continues to improve the competitiveness of its streaming apps. This year, the company has made some tweaks to the user interface and added a number of artificial intelligence features to help you create playlists and thumbnails. It hasn’t been an overly exciting year for YouTube Music, but it’s steadily becoming a serious competitor to Spotify for anyone interested. Earlier this year, Google celebrated 100 million subscribers, so there must be something at work.
Best Video Streaming Service: Netflix
Patrick Farmer: Despite a controversial password-sharing crackdown and another round of price hikes expected soon (according to analysts), 2024 is still shaping up to be a great year for Netflix. From blockbuster movies to original series and holiday rom-coms – has anyone else seen The Flirting? just me? Well, moving on – Netflix has something for almost every type of user.
Netflix may not have dropped any groundbreaking cultural phenomena this year, like Squidward or Stranger Things , but it continues to remain the most popular streaming service in the world. With its recent push into gaming, Netflix clearly has no intention of resting on its laurels any time soon.
Best Android App: Gemini
Namara Saudi Arabia-Fatemi: Apps are everywhere, but making the best ones requires infinite effort. Google has all the resources for the job and has them working with Gemini. This language model combined with the intelligence of Google Assistant creates the ultimate Android app.
With Gemini, anything is possible. Need to create automation for your smart home? no problem. Have some code you need help writing? Deal done. Whether it’s generating images or pulling data from all Google services like Gmail to answer prompts, AI can do almost anything.