Friday, 23 October 2015

Living without PlayStore



So... I've searched for a similar thread, but I didn't found any so I decided to make a new one.

As I don't want to use any google services on my telephone I had to purge Play Store also. I've searched for alternatives. I came across Fdroid - actually the store I've searched for. The only problem I've faced is there are no proprietary apps. I try to reject using of proprietary software as much as possible, but many of my friends use proprietary chat apps like WhatsApp, Viber etc.
So I've searched a solution to get this proprietary apps without much tricks...just keep it simple. I came across Aptoid - another android store, but I didn't liked the idea behind very well - you can find lots cracked apps etc. and that is not what I am looking for. Second point is - all apps are outdated - so you are missing the new version of the apps and their security and performance fixes. It didn't suited my needs so I decided to purge Aptoide.

So... after a bit of research I founded another two solutions:
APKmirror - it is a website - there is no app for it. So If you want to use it you have to go to the website and download and install .apk manually (you also need to enable Untrusted Sources in your security settings). The website has very nice interface and it looks exactly as a normal appstore. I've bookmarked it and placed it on my homescreen - so it is usable - no pain in the *** at all. The packages seems to be "trusted" as the packet signature is checked with the one of the original developer. All apps are updated - you can even download beta versions (before they hit PlayStore) and if it goes wrong... you can easily downgrade to previous verions - very nice feature. This site is related to Android Police - as it is a good source in my opinion, I think the packages there are trust-able. Is there anyone who has additional info about APKmirror?

APKpure - the second solution I came across. I wasn't able to find any additional information about this source or any review so I really have no idea who is standing behind this project. Anyway... I downloaded several apps and I checked the app signature and it seems fine - every app I checked matched the original signature of the developer. There are also "Trusted" marks same as APKmirror. All of the apps are updated. It looks pretty much like APKmirror - there is no app, just website. You can easily update your applications too so it suit all my needs. Anyway... I would like to get some additional information about it... it seems to me like mirror of PlayStore but... anyone who knows more maybe?



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