One of the most fun parts of using an Android phone is the number of apps available. Some of the most interesting ones tend to be apps outside Google’s curated Play Store.
I enjoy discovering and checking out open source apps, but F-Droid and its dated interface have never made it particularly fun or easy.
Finding the right app often meant knowing the exact name, and the installation process had too much friction. The experience was functional at best and has long needed an overhaul.
F-Droid 2.0 brings that much-needed overhaul. The entire client has been rebuilt with a new interface that tackles many, if not all, of the gripes that long-term users had.
Not only does the reworked app solve the interface problem, but it also improves search, app discovery, and takes a much more thought-out approach to installing and updating apps.
I’ve been using it the last couple of days, and while it might not replace Droidify for me just yet, it’s clear that this is a massive step forward.
F-Droid 2.0 feels and behaves like a modern Android app
The refreshed interface makes it easier to find things
The first thing you’ll notice when you open F-Droid 2.0 is how much cleaner and more modern it looks. While the app still won’t win any design awards, it looks much less dated.
Navigation is cleaner, with Discover, Categories, and My Apps clearly marking where you need to tap for relevant information.
Moreover, the app follows modern Android design conventions, including Material You theming.
Elsewhere, one of the biggest improvements to F-Droid 2.0 comes via the upgraded search.
Older versions of F-Droid could only search the app name field. This required you to know the exact name of the app you were looking for.
If you’ve dabbled in open source apps, you’ll know that all too often the app name doesn’t match what it does. That complicates matters.
With F-Droid 2.0, the app can now search app descriptions, categories, and translated content rather than relying on the app name.
If you are looking for a utility that does something specific, you can describe what you’re after and browse filtered results.
This isn’t AI-powered search that’ll get you precisely what you need, but the advanced filtering goes a long way.
F-Droid’s expanded categories help here, too. The app discovery section surfaces categories, new apps, and recently updated apps.
If you’re looking for something fresh, you no longer need to check community forums; open F-Droid, scroll through the categories, and see what’s new.
I’m already noticing a profound impact on app discovery. Earlier, I’d mostly come across interesting new apps over on Reddit, and then search for them on F-Droid. With the updated app, I’m discovering fresh apps within the same interface.
Installing apps no longer feels like sideloading
F-Droid handles installations and updates more like the Play Store
The other aspect of F-Droid that I always found annoying was installing apps. The process isn’t difficult, but it was closer to installing a third-party APK downloaded via the browser than an actual Play Store replacement.
You’d start a download, wait for it to finish, and then deal with the installation confirmation. That entire process has been given a serious overhaul.
F-Droid 2.0 uses a unified installer and Android’s new pre-approval APIs, which means you can give F-Droid installation permissions when you tap Install instead of waiting for the APK to download.
This is closer to how the Play Store operates and makes the user journey more seamless.
Similarly, F-Droid 2.0 comfortably checks for updates in the background and installs them automatically. Again, it works much like the Play Store. It’s a solid upgrade over the manual process we had earlier.
F-Droid has moved the pull-to-refresh option altogether. While you can still check for manual updates by going to the My Apps section, the assumption is that you won’t need to update apps manually.
The new design brings F-Droid much closer to a proper app store
If you’re used to using F-Droid to manage open source software, it won’t be a night-and-day difference. The app is a significantly cleaned-up version of the app you’re already used to.
Between the cleaner navigation and, more importantly, properly defined categories, it makes uncovering interesting new apps much simpler.
Add to that better search, and there’s plenty here to like. But what truly stands out is its deeply integrated system for installing and updating apps, which adds to the quality of life.
While F-Droid has always been an important tool for discovering new open source apps for me, F-Droid 2.0 goes a long way toward fixing several issues long-term fans have had with it.
