Automation is largely taking over. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to automate your life. You can set the phone to stop notifying you at a certain time. There are ways to automatically back up captured photos. Your phone can turn Wi-Fi on and off when you leave or enter the house. The list goes on and on. There are many apps that can help you automate your life. Here are some of the best automation apps for Android.
Best automation apps for Android
Action blocks
Price: Free
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
Action Blocks is an automation app from Google. It has direct integration with Google Assistant. You can tell an app to do something at a specific time, and Google Assistant will perform a task at a specific time. You can do a few things like turn the lights off and on. It can also do simple things like remind you to call a family member. It can do the same thing as the Google Assistant, but you can decide when it happens. It still needs to be tweaked and hopefully Google will stick with it. Action Blocks isn’t the best option on the list, but it’s worth a try if you use the Assistant a lot.
Automate LlamaLab
Price: Free / $3.90
Automate is another decent automation app. It focuses more on basic tasks. For example, it can send a message to your significant other when you start driving home. Some other functions include automatically uploading files to Google Drive on a schedule, changing the sound volume at night, and other simple things like that. It uses a flowchart system and we really like how easy it is to mess around with. There are apps with much more power, but this one is extremely easy to use for simple tasks.
aProfiles
Price: Free / $0.99
Umme Aimon Shabbir / Android Authority
aProfiles works a little differently than the other apps on this list. It requires you to create profiles and specify a series of tasks for it. When you activate said profile, it will automatically perform these tasks. For example, you can assign one profile the task of lowering the brightness, putting the phone on silent mode, and turning off Wi-Fi. When you activate it, all settings will change accordingly.
IFTTT
Price: Free / $3.99
IFTTT is where we start talking about the big boys in automation apps. IFTTT is a pretty big deal with an absolute ton of integrations and functions. It can do simple things if you need them. One popular example is downloading photos from Instagram whenever they are posted. However, it integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, work messaging like Slack, and tons of smart home tech like Philips Hue, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and more. The list of things you can do is too crazy to even begin. The pro version unlocks more applets, but the free version lets you tinker long enough to figure out if you want to pay for it.
MacroDroid
Price: Free / $2.49
MacroDroid is an interesting automation application. Use if-then statements like computer programmers. You can set some pretty complex tasks. For example, you can set the app to reject phone calls when you turn the phone face down. These super granular actions are fun to play with and can make a lot of things easier. One of the fun ones that works is for the app to automatically skip any skippable ad on YouTube. It can even perform security tasks such as taking a photo whenever your PIN is entered incorrectly. Little things like this can improve the user experience quite a bit, and in some cases even replace entire apps.
Tasker is one of the most powerful automation apps for Android. Like IFTTT, it has an insane number of things it can do on its own. There are also a bunch of apps and plugins that increase the functionality. Think of it as a more powerful version of MacroDroid. However, there is a slight trade-off. All that power is pretty hard to harness. The learning curve on this app is quite intense. Lots of videos show you how to do various things, but it’s not easy to use at first. This one is also free via Google Play Pass if you use it.
Many individual applications
Price: Free / Varies
Many applications have some sort of automation setting for their primary function. There are several good examples. Photo backup apps like Amazon Photos or Google Photos can be set to automatically upload photos when your phone is on WiFi and also on the charger. Most to-do list apps can perform repetitive tasks that automatically fill in when you delete one. Some SMS and third-party social networking apps allow you to send messages or post updates on a schedule. There are too many to list here, but hopefully this gives you an idea to explore the settings menu in some apps to see if there are any native automation features.
Smart home applications
Price: Free (usually)
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
One of the most popular examples of automation applications are smart home applications. The whole point of having a smart home product is to enhance your experience with essentials. That goes for this list. Philips Hue lights can be set to turn on and off according to specific schedules. Smart thermostats can manage the temperature in your home in a variety of ways. Even things like Amazon Alexa and Google Home can help by letting you talk directly to your home. Most of these products have some kind of automation.
OEM-specific features like Bixby
Price: Free
Even Android OEMs are getting in on the action to some extent. There are not many examples of this, and the biggest one is, by far, Samsung’s Bixby. Bixby has a Routines feature that lets you automate things on your Samsung devices. It is a direct competitor to Google’s Action Blocks and Apple’s shortcuts. This is a relatively new thing that, again, doesn’t have a ton of examples. For now, Samsung owners should check out Bixby Routines. I use the feature to turn off fast wireless charging at night to keep my phone cool while I sleep. That’s just one example.
Your Android settings
Price: Free
The Android OS has a few things you can automate. Most things are doable on any modern Android device. Some examples include turning things like Do Not Disturb and the blue light filter on and off at specific times. More modern versions of Android include digital well-being features that can be activated each night to encourage you to turn off your phone and go to bed. Of course, there are classics like Smart Lock which turns your security on and off depending on your GPS location. It’s worth digging into the settings menu just to check.
If we’ve missed any great automation apps (or other stuff), let us know about them in the comments. You can also click here to check out our latest lists of Android apps and games.