10 awesome Shizuku apps I use to level up my Android experience

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19 hours ago

I have many favorite Android apps, but none offer the breadth of possibilities that Shizuku does. ItΓÇÖs one of the first apps I install on every phone, and frankly, IΓÇÖd be pretty lost without it.

This open-source tool acts as a middleman between elevated Android functionality and permissions and third-party apps, giving the latter (and the user) access to previously locked-away features. It might not sound like much, but itΓÇÖs a core reason why Shizuku is one of the most important Android apps for power users.

Do you use Shizuku on your Android phone?

Despite this power, Shizuku is pretty useless on its own. Without supporting apps that leverage its offerings, it doesnΓÇÖt really add much to Android. Thankfully, thereΓÇÖs no shortage of apps that rely on it and excel for it.

Below is a list of my favorite Shizuku apps that genuinely enhance my Android experience, from improving app installation to enabling more thorough app uninstallation, to theming tweaks, and so much more.

Canta

Android really doesnΓÇÖt like me uninstalling apps, especially those that manufacturers deem essential. For Samsung, this could mean the entire Facebook suite, for instance. Thankfully, with Canta, I can scrub my device of these annoyances with ease.

My leveraging Shizuku, Canta lets me uninstall practically any app on my device, including bloatware and system features. While cherry-picking apps to uninstall can be an adventure, Canta provides guidance about which apps are safe to uninstall and which should probably be left alone.

Running Canta regularly and after major software upgrades has become a core part of my Android security checklist.

ColorBlendr

My apartment might be an eclectic mix of multiple colors and textures, but I prefer my Android phone to have one uniform look and feel. If youΓÇÖre like me, ColorBlendr is absolutely essential.

Once again, it uses Shizuku to gain access to and hand me more control over AndroidΓÇÖs default color picking system. Pick from colors drawn from the wallpaper, a list of standard shades, and even choose which overall color profile you fancy, be it Monotone or Vibrant.

I find it a must-have app for Pixels, but it also works well on a Samsung device to theme elements that are usually outside One UI and Good LockΓÇÿs scope.

Essentials

Speaking of Good Lock, Essentials is a collection of features and tweaks for Pixel phones and other Android devices. In a sense, it operates much like SamsungΓÇÖs toolkit, albeit with less emphasis on UI tweaks.

I can adjust various settings that are usually hidden or inaccessible without Shizuku, including more granular call vibration adjustments, connected device battery alerts, a dedicated widget for switching your screen off, and various status bar customizations.

There are other quirky tools beneath the hood, too, including Are We There Yet? ΓÇö a real-time distance calculator for a selection of pinned locations ΓÇö and support for the Pixel 10ΓÇÖs Google Maps battery-saving mode, even on unsupported devices.

Essentials really needs its own deep dive, but in short, itΓÇÖs a toolkit every Android power user will find handy.

Smartspacer

There are plenty of Pixel-exclusive features that make other Android phone users rather jealous, and At A Glance is certainly one of them. This widget sits on the Pixel Launcher home screen and displays pertinent, contextual information throughout the day.

Smartspacer extends this feature beyond Pixels and actually makes it even better. It offers a far broader service support list, too, including details from social media, Aftership, Tasker, and more. But, most important of all, it brings At A Glance to Samsung phones and beyond.

ShizuWall

I only discovered the wonders of ShizuWall recently, but I canΓÇÖt quite understand how IΓÇÖve lived without it.

ItΓÇÖs a firewall that completely bans apps I select from accessing the internet. What I love about ShizuWall is that it doesnΓÇÖt require a VPN or Private DNS slot ΓÇö it functions on its own with the help of Shizuku. ThatΓÇÖs it.

The app is pretty simple to use and makes for a wonderful defense against trackers and apps that donΓÇÖt necessarily need to phone home but really want to.

aShell You

This brilliant little utility lets me run ADB commands on my device, so I can forego plugging it into a PC or using a full-blown terminal app. While I donΓÇÖt use it regularly, aShell You is one of those apps IΓÇÖd rather have in my pocket than not.

The app has a list of commands I can run right off the bat, and bookmark support for common commands, so I donΓÇÖt have to manually type a complicated shell command every time. It also supports saving outputs, making it a useful diagnostic tool.

Dare I say itΓÇÖs one of the prettiest apps on this list, too, making great use of GoogleΓÇÖs Material aesthetic.

Install With Options

While you normally have to use ADB to install APKs on Android with more advanced instructions, Install With Options simplifies this process. With Shizuku, apps can be installed with various asterisks. You can bypass SDK limits, downgrade apps, force your phone to free up space for them, and tell the system to never kill the installed apps.

ItΓÇÖs an incredible toolkit for installing APKs, just as Google is moving to quash some of the APK install freedoms weΓÇÖve come to enjoy.

Again, I donΓÇÖt use Install With Options often, but IΓÇÖve been really glad to have it when downgrading from a buggy app release to a previous stable version.

Adaptive Theme

IΓÇÖve already covered Adaptive Theme in great detail, but itΓÇÖs well worth reiterating its talents.

AndroidΓÇÖs Dark Mode activation is rather restrictive, either requiring manual triggering or occurring on a tight schedule. Adaptive Theme allows my Android phone to switch between Dark and Light modes based on ambient light levels.

How do you use Dark Mode on your phone?

It sounds unnecessary, but when I step out from my bat cave into the glorious sunshine, I appreciate my phone switching from dark mode to light mode all on its own.

SD Maid SE

I was a religious SD Maid user back in the early days of Android, but when the old version of the app stopped working on newer OS versions, I said goodbye and left it behind. Recently, I reboarded the SD Maid train with the SE release, and IΓÇÖm so happy that I did.

As its name suggests, SD Maid SE is a storage-cleanup tool that dusts my phoneΓÇÖs nooks and crannies to find unneeded or unnecessary files ready for deletion. It works incredibly well, and while it is functional without Shizuku, it gains so much reach when paired with it.

Shappky

Finally, and while weΓÇÖre on performance-enhancing apps, letΓÇÖs end with Shappky.

A portmanteau of sorts of Shell App Killer, this little tool lets me kill any running app on my device, even if itΓÇÖs labeled as a system app. Part of its charm is its simplicity ΓÇö just tap the apps you want to kill, and hit the switch. You can choose to display system apps or persistent apps, or hide these if youΓÇÖre less adventurous.

ShappkyΓÇÖs only fault is that it hasnΓÇÖt been updated for a while, but given its simple premise, IΓÇÖm not sure how important this detail really is. It still works a charm.

These are my favorite Android apps that support and thrive through Shizuku, but this is by no means a definitive list.

Do you have any apps youΓÇÖd like to recommend? Which Shizuku apps do you use on a daily basis, and why? LetΓÇÖs start a conversation in the comments section below.

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