5 essential apps to download to your new Android phone or tablet

Appsolutely essential (Picture: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)If there’s a brand new Android device in your life, courtesy of the jolly man himself (or an especially

generous family member), you’re going to want some apps. Gone are the days when Android couldn’t muster the same level of quality or choice as Apple’s iPhone App Store.

There are millions of apps on the Google Play Store to choose from. And while there’s a lot of chaff – Android has its fair share of wheat too. We’ve picked a few of our

favourite apps here that you can try out over Christmas. The usual ones are a given – we’re expecting you to auto-download the likes of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and

WhatsApp. Maybe even TikTok. But there are more than likely a few excellent gems you havem’t heard of. Download one, two or all of the following apps to turn your new Android

phone or tablet into a 21st century Swiss Army Knife of functionality. Table Top Racing: World Tour Race to it (Picture: Google Play Store)Remember being a kid and pushing toy cars

over and between any flat surfaces you could find? You were probably making ‘vroom, vroom’ noises, and a parent or guardian was most likely protesting as you drifted your

vehicle a little too close to table-top ornaments. The fact that this childhood activity is unsurpassably entertaining was picked up by game developers a decade ago, with the

result being the app Table Top Racing. It was quirky enough but draggy and shallow. Table Top Racing World Tour is much better. Everything has been scaled up, from the Mario

Kart-style weapons at your disposal to the tracks of giant objects you have to screech around. And the whole enterprise is refreshingly free of in-app purchases. £2.49, download

it here. Asana Get organised for the New Year (Picture: Google Play Store)If your New Year’s resolutions involve better organisation, then you could really do with Asana. In

fact, maybe we could all do with Asana. As organisational apps go, it has few competitors, and allows you to track both individual and team projects and hit targets more quickly

than ever. It also has endlessly adaptable interfaces, views, and layouts, so that your work life is arranged exactly as you’d like it to be. Free, download it here. Adobe

Lightroom Photo & Video Editor Usable by everyone from amateurs to experts (Picture: Google Play Store)Adobe Lightroom has long been a valuable tool for professional

photographers, but over the years it’s attracted more and more ambitious amateurs. Now Adobe has embraced this trend and catered for the amateur market by splitting its software