Sam Beckman's 6-App Android Stack

YouTube creator specializing in Android productivity and customization. While most tech YouTubers focus on iPhone and mainstream apps, Sam dives deep into the Android ecosystem that iOS users don't even know exists.

His videos cover Android launchers, widget customization, productivity workflows, and apps that never get covered by bigger tech channels. The content is nerdy in the best way - detailed app reviews, home screen setups, automation guides.

What makes Sam different is he actually uses the stuff he covers. Not just installing apps for a review then deleting them. His home screen has been refined over years of testing different launchers, widgets, and workflows. When he recommends something, it's from months of daily use.

The Android focus means his stack looks totally different from typical productivity setups. No Notion, no Todoist, no mainstream web apps. Just Android-native tools that take full advantage of what the platform offers - customization, widgets, deep integrations.

Everything below comes from his YouTube videos and social posts where he's shared the Sam Beckman tools he uses. Fair warning: half these apps iOS users have never heard of because they're Android-exclusive.

Nova Launcher is the foundation of Sam's entire Android setup. Stock Android launchers are fine, but Nova lets you actually customize how your phone works instead of accepting Google's defaults.

Custom gestures mean swipe up opens the app drawer, double tap locks the phone, swipe down pulls notifications. The muscle memory from these gestures saves hundreds of extra taps weekly. iOS users literally can't do this level of customization.

Icon packs keep everything visually consistent. Grid layouts can be whatever you want - 5x6, 4x5, doesn't matter. The app drawer gets organized with folders and custom sorting. After years of refinement, Sam's launcher setup is basically muscle memory at this point.

KWGT handles all the widget customization. Weather, calendar events, task counters, battery stats - everything shows up on the home screen exactly how he wants. No waiting for app developers to build widgets. Just design exactly what you need.

The widget customization in KWGT is absurdly deep. You can design dashboard-style screens showing everything at a glance. Tasks, calendar, weather, news - all visible without opening apps. iOS widgets are getting better, but they're still years behind what KWGT enables on Android.

Sam's home screen videos show setups he's refined over months. Not just pretty screenshots. Actual working layouts optimized for speed and information density. The whole philosophy is reducing friction - if you need 3 taps to do something, redesign it to take 1.

Memorigi handles personal tasks and content planning. Natural language input works smoothly - type 'review camera app next Tuesday' and it parses the date automatically. Recurring tasks, location reminders, all the standard task manager features.

What makes Memorigi stand out is the Material Design. Most task apps look generic or overly minimalist. Memorigi actually looks good while being functional. The widget integration means tasks show up on his Nova Launcher home screen without opening the app.

Bring! is the shopping list app that actually works for couples. Sam and his partner use it for groceries and household shopping. The categories auto-organize items by store section - produce, dairy, frozen, etc. Way smarter than just a linear list.

Sharing works flawlessly. Add milk on your phone, it shows up on your partner's phone instantly. Check items off in the store, they disappear from both lists in real-time. Apple Reminders and Google Keep try to do this but the UX is clunky. Bring is built specifically for shared shopping.

Sam's featured Bring in multiple videos as the one shopping list app worth recommending. When someone who reviews productivity apps constantly only uses one shopping app for years, that tells you it actually works.

Sam uses two different note apps for different privacy needs. Standard Notes handles the most sensitive stuff - passwords, personal journal entries, ideas he doesn't want in the cloud.

End-to-end encryption means notes are actually private. Unlike Evernote or Notion where the company can technically read your data, Standard Notes encrypts everything locally. Cross-platform sync works between Android and desktop without compromising security.

The app is intentionally simple. No AI features scanning your notes for insights. No suggested tags or smart organization. Just encrypted text that syncs. For some people that's a dealbreaker. For privacy-focused users, it's exactly the point.

Notesnook handles daily work notes, video scripts, and general knowledge capture. Also privacy-focused with encryption, but the feature set is richer than Standard Notes. Notebooks, tags, rich text editing, all the stuff you'd expect from a modern note app.

The Android app is fast and sync doesn't lag like Evernote. When you're capturing video ideas or writing scripts on your phone, speed matters. Notesnook gives you privacy without sacrificing features or performance.

Using both apps seems redundant until you realize they serve different threat models. Standard Notes for maximum security on sensitive stuff. Notesnook for encrypted but feature-rich notes on everything else. Different tools for different privacy levels.