The depth of the Android operating system is very impressive. There are hundreds of features to explore and a vast room for tweaks and customizations. Unfortunately, most Android users are only able to take advantage of only a tiny portion of that.

Despite Android's endless list of smart features, a lot of users are still stuck with manually doing time-consuming and often repetitive tasks that you'd expect a smart device to do automatically. But it doesn't have to be like that. There are a lot of automation apps for Android that can take care of these tasks.

Let's take a look.

What Are Android Automation Apps?

Having a hard time remembering to put your phone on silent when at work? What if your phone was able to automatically switch to a silent profile once you arrived at your workplace?

What if your phone was able to automatically reply to an e-mail from your boss if you took too long to respond or didn't even notice it in the first place?

Android automation apps are built for these kinds of scenarios. They are nifty little apps that help you program your phone to take predefined actions based on certain conditions. All you need to do is tell it what kind of actions to take and when to take them.

Want to relay your phone's location via SMS every 3 hours? Very possible. Need to automatically play from your playlist once you plug in your earpiece? Not a problem. Need to dim your display brightness every night and increase it every morning? Not a problem either.

As a rule of thumb, if you can use your phone to perform a particular task, there's a huge possibility that automation apps can automate that task for you.

How Do Android Automation Apps Work?

The power of automation apps lies in their numerous possible combination of conditions and actions. Most automation apps come with a long list of granular conditions and actions you can combine to form automation routines.

  • Conditions are typically based on device state (e.g display brightness, battery level, etc.), device events (pressing of the power button or volume buttons, receiving notification, the opening of an app, etc.), geographical location, and time.
  • Actions are tasks you'd typically perform manually with your Android phone. Examples include reducing your display brightness, playing music, skipping an ad, and opening a webpage.

Automation apps provide you with a set of tools to check for conditions and take action when those conditions are met with little to no human input.

When Do You Need Automation Apps?

If you can't find a dedicated app for a particular task, you can often use an automation app to handle it instead. Automation apps are so flexible that you can get them to do a bulk of the things your Android phone can do. It gives you the power to create your own apps without possessing programming skills.

Also, if there are apps you're unable to use because of paid subscriptions or geographical restrictions, you can create makeshift solutions using automation apps. However, the greatest appeal with automation apps is being able to do a lot of awesome things with little to no human input.

The Best Automation Apps for Android

If you'd love to try your hands on Android automation, there are dozens of paid and free automation apps to start your automation journey. Below are four excellent picks you should try out:

1. Tasker

Tasker is one of the original automation apps and is still going strong today. It is also one of the most powerful automation apps you can get. With Tasker, you can automate everything from downloading files and sending emails to automatically backing up important files. Tasker's edge over other automation apps is its extendability through third-party plugins.

It also has an App Factory feature where you can bundle and export your brilliant automation projects as standalone apps that others can install even without having Tasker themselves.

Pros

  • Stable and relatively bug-free
  • Thousands of features when extended with plugins
  • Ability to create sharable, standalone apps
  • Backing from a strong online community

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Only available as a paid app
  • UX/UI design sometimes impedes ease of use

Download: Tasker ($3.49)

2. IFTTT

IFTTT is one of the most recognized heavyweights in the Android automation space. Unlike most automation apps, IFTTT is not limited to the functionalities of the Android OS. IFTTT can talk to your smart bulbs, smart thermostats or even inform you when the International Space Station passes over your home.

You don't have to be a technical genius to use the app. Although you can program your own automation routine (called "applets" in IFTTT lingo), there's a huge chance that someone has already published a similar applet. All you'd have to do is search for it, and then plug and play.

Pros

  • Lots of applets to choose from
  • A huge online support community
  • Cross-platform automation options

Cons

  • Costly subscription model
  • Steep learning curve

Download: IFTTT (Free, in-app purchases available)

3. MacroDroid

After Tasker, MacroDroid is probably the largest Android-specific automation tool in the market. It is quite similar to Tasker in terms of features and mode of operation. However, MacroDroid is more intuitive and easier to use.

You can import and use automation routines (called "macros" in MacroDroid lingo) made by other members of the MacroDroid community. The app is designed with room for third-party plugins, leaving a lot of scope for extending its already enormous functionalities.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • A feature-packed free version
  • Friendly subscription model

Cons

  • Stability issues when migrating macros across different Android versions
  • A lot of cool features require your phone to be rooted

Download: MacroDroid (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. Automate

If you need an app that can excellently automate a wide range of basic Android tasks, then Automate is the one to call. However, while the app can handle a considerable number of complex automation tasks, it fades in comparison with heavyweights like IFTTT and Tasker.

Despite not being the best in complex automation, Automate still packs a lot of powerful features. With hundreds of actions and conditions to choose from, you can still create thousands of automation routines (known as "flows" in the app).

Pros

  • Automation routines are visualized as flowcharts, making it easy to understand
  • A feature-packed free version

Cons

  • Complex automation can be very tricky
  • Stability issues across different Android versions

Download: Automate (Free, in-app purchases available)

Are Android Automation Apps Safe?

There are a few questionable automation apps that pop up from time to time on Play Store and third-party download sites. While some of these apps work as advertised, a lot of them can cause serious damage to your Android phone because of the permissions you need to grant them.

These apps can use this access to hijack your phone's functionality for malicious purposes. They can snoop on your SMS, make calls on your behalf, tweet on your behalf or execute any of the hundreds of automated actions you'd expect an automation app to perform.

However, these risks are not an issue with legitimate automation apps. As long as you stick with popular automation apps which have likely been vetted on several occasions by the Play Store, you should be safe.

The only major risk with legitimate automation apps is breaking critical phone settings. Because the actions are automated, you might not be able to retrace your steps to return those settings to their initial status. This is why it is very important to tinker with only smartphone functionalities you're familiar with.

Supercharge Your Android Experience

If you need something to spice up your Android experience and make your smartphone even smarter, then automation apps can help you achieve that. Why waste time doing stuff you can get your smartphone to do for you at no cost?

If you're ready to get started, check out our beginner's guide to Tasker, the most powerful automation app of all.