Material You has been a cornerstone of our favorite OS since Android 12. Its dynamic theming features have since been adopted by hundreds of the best apps on Android, most prominent on Google’s latest flagships, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
Not all apps are designed with Material You in mind, but plenty of the best apps include support. To make sure you get the most out of customizing your phone’s Material You theme, we’ve gathered the best apps with fully integrated Material You support.
1 Tapet
Tapet, like Material You, is all about unique customization. While many wallpaper apps compete for the most extensive library, Tapet can create original wallpapers on the fly. Nothing is downloaded from the internet, as everything is generated in the app. It’s a beautiful way of seeing what Material You can do as your theme updates as soon as the wallpaper changes.
While Google’s Wallpaper app can download a fresh wallpaper daily, Tapet updates as often as every minute. You can customize how often you’d like to see specific patterns and save your favorite ones for the future.
2 Sync for Reddit
One of the best Reddit Android apps on Google Play, Sync completely overhauled its user interface to take advantage of Material You. It offers themed icon support, a new layout, and dynamic themes. Its trademark smooth, fast, and fluid experience perfectly fits with Material You, making this the best Reddit app for fans of Material You.
3 Infinity
Alongside Sync, Infinity is a brilliant alternative for your Reddit feed. Its Material You theming can be customized in-app, with dynamic color sliders for everything from the toolbar to the text on buttons.
Infinity has many great features, including Lazy Scrolling. Lazy Scrolling auto scrolls your feed, so you don’t have to move your thumb to see new content. It’s also open source, an ideal choice for anyone looking to flesh out their collection of open-source apps.
4 Google Keep
Once you’ve mastered all its features, Google Keep is a note-taking app for all purposes. As a Google app, it includes the full range of Material You features, from dynamic theming to rounded buttons. Beyond this, it offers a range of color and background options for your notes, bringing a surprising amount of life to your shopping lists. Google also offers Keep as a web app and Chrome extension. Notes are synced across each version so that you can edit and view notes made on any device.
5 Inware
Inware breaks down the specifications of your device and wraps it in a beautiful package. Taking the Material You philosophy to heart, it is easy to forget it’s not one of Google’s apps. It’s quick and simple, offering up your device’s data in easy-to-navigate menus.
While all phones can tell you essential information about your device, Inware takes it further by showing Media DRM information, battery temperature, display information, and more. It’s ideal if you like to know as much as possible about your device.
6 Tasker
Tasker helps automate every little thing in your life. Part of the appeal of Material You is that after years of identical home screens, Android phones would be noticeably different from one another. Tasker takes this further by allowing you to make your phone work more efficiently. It’s similar to Google Assistant Routines but more powerful.
Tasker offers a list of more than 350 actions that you can combine with triggers to make a variety of automatic functions. For example, you can change the volume when leaving the house or turn on Do Not Disturb when opening a specific app. It’s an extraordinarily powerful app that provides a true customization experience.
7 Niagara Launcher
Material You isn’t only for stock Android 12 launchers. Niagara Launcher is a beautifully minimalistic launcher that provides easy access to all your apps with one hand. Due to its minimalistic nature, its Material You features are less evident than stock Android 12, but it provides enough theming to round out the experience. However, Pixel users will miss out on the Themed icons feature.
Niagara Launcher keeps your experience light. Rather than a fixed layout, information such as calendar events and the media player only pop up when needed. Its unique design takes some time to get used to but is a brilliant alternative to the grid layout favored by other launchers.
8 Wavelet
Wavelet is the ideal app for audiophiles who are obsessed with aesthetics. It has many EQ features to tweak your audio, including a bass booster, reverb simulator, and channel balance. Wavelet also offers over 3,000 preset optimizations for headphone models, saving you time when setting up a new headset.
Wavelet’s Material You integration is remarkably splendid. Beyond the menus and buttons, it tweaks the colors of every graph and slider to match your theme.
9 Gmail
If you have an Android device, you’ve probably used Gmail. It comes with every Google account, which is required when using an Android device, and it’s currently one of the most popular free email services.
Now, Google’s email service takes advantage of Material You’s dynamic theming. If you enjoy Gmail’s robust suite of features, including its free storage space and detailed search filters, you can now enjoy the app while its colors match your background as it changes daily.
10 Gboard
Google’s first-party keyboard app is the best Material You-themed keyboard available in the Google Play Store. The keyboard matches the colors of your current Material You theme and features the theme’s trademark round look on menus, pop-ups, and panels.
Gboard is one of the best keyboard apps, with fast voice and glide typing. Its look matches your Material You theme, making it indispensable for those who want to take full advantage of Google’s new personalization features.
11 Pix Material You Icons
Third-party support for Material You’s themed icons was introduced in Android 13, but they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Pix Material You Icons is a great app that offers dynamic themed apps and widgets in a unique style. While it does take some manual work (you have to reapply the icon pack after each wallpaper change), it’s a beautiful look overall. It also adds some wallpapers that fit perfectly with the icons and widgets.
Keep customizing; long live Material You
Material You is best experienced on Pixel devices, but other Android manufacturers have used the style effectively. If you’re a Samsung user, try these tips to improve your Samsung Galaxy S22 home screen experience.
