Google Pixel's built-in apps worth keeping on your home screen

At a glance:

• Files by Google offers space cleaning, duplicate detection, and Quick Share integration
• Google Lens provides instant QR code scanning and real-time text translation
• Live Transcribe and Now enhance accessibility with sound detection and music identification

The overlooked value of built-in apps

Phones these days come with a wide range of apps installed out of the box, ranging from the essentials to the bloatware we all want to remove. But somewhere in the middle are genuinely useful apps that you might not immediately realize you need until you start using them. These apps have rightfully earned a place on my home screen, and you should check them out, too.

Of course, built-in apps will depend on what device you have, but even if something isn't built into your device, you might be able to install it using the Play Store. So let's get into it.

Files by Google: More than just a file manager

A file manager like Files by Google could fall under the category of apps you're likely to keep using, but it actually does a bit more to earn a spot on my screen beyond the typical file management necessities. My favorite feature is how it helps me clean up space on my phone. I always like to remove temporary or unnecessary files to keep things as lean as possible, and the Files app from Google includes a range of features, starting with a simple "clean" option that deletes temporary or cached files automatically.

This usually saves me between a few dozen and a couple hundred megabytes whenever I run it, and it's always nice. But it can also detect duplicate files, low-resolution videos and photos (which may have been shared as a joke and no longer serve a purpose), and apps you haven't launched in a while. The Files app is also a great gateway to Google's Quick Share feature, which makes it easy to transfer files quickly and wirelessly between devices, whether they're Android phones or Windows PCs. Even before this app started being included with some phones, I was installing it manually, and I can't recommend it enough.

Google Lens: Your camera's hidden superpower

QR codes are one of those things you don't really think about until you need it, and realistically, it might not even be needed that often. But when you do need it, you want it to be ready instantly, so having a built-in app to handle it is essential. Most Android phones come with the only QR code reader you really need with Google Lens, which does this job perfectly fine. Open the app, point it at the QR code, and you can instantly see what URL it leads to and just tap it to go there. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

There are other apps that can handle QR code scanning, but that's not the only thing Google Lens is great for. It leverages your camera for a whole host of useful capabilities, with another one being translation of real-life text. Point your camera at any foreign text, and not only will it be translated, but it will be overlaid on top of what you're seeing, making for a pretty seamless experience.

Live Transcribe: Enhancing accessibility and awareness

You might not think you need accessibility features unless you're in a very specific group, but Live Transcribe is a genuinely great app that can help keep you engaged with your surroundings. Once you launch it, it will transcribe anything it hears on your screen, so if you missed a word or phrase, or you just tend to have poor hearing, it can keep you in the loop. If it's a conversation you actually want to keep on record and search through later, then Google's Recorder app is similarly useful. In addition to recording your voice, it also transcribes it and makes it searchable using text, which is a huge benefit for journalists and others who may need to conduct interviews and read them back later.

But going back to Live Transcribe, there's actually a bit more to it, because it's not just about transcribing text. The app can also listen for sounds, like a fire alarm going off or a baby crying, and notify you of those sounds. It's not just useful for those who are hard of hearing, but also if you just happen to be wearing headphones, that may be blocking outside sounds. It keeps you alert without breaking your immersion unless it's truly necessary.

Now Playing: Your personal music identifier

Finally, we have Now Playing, which actually wasn't a standalone app until just a couple of months ago. It's been built-in as a feature on Google Pixel devices, and it would just identify songs playing in real life so you could see their names on your lock screen. As an app, though, it's even more useful than that. Not only does it identify songs in real-time, but it also keeps a history of songs you've identified before, you can add songs to your favorites, and you can even link it to a music streaming service (such as Spotify or YouTube Music) so you can instantly go from hearing a song, to knowing what it is, and then to having it on your playlist.

It's also nice that Now Playing actually doesn't share audio with the cloud. The app has a local database of songs that it checks against, so you can identify songs without using the internet. That arguably makes it even better than the Shazam app we all used to rely on for this kind of thing.

Don't dismiss built-in apps

As someone who likes keeping my devices free of fluff, I certainly understand the innate desire to remove all the apps included with your phone, but there are some gems in there that are not only worth keeping, but having front and center on your device. These are just a few examples, but specific phone makers may have other great apps, too, so give them a go before you discard them.