30 exceptional Material Design apps for Android

Material Design is the heart and soul of Google's Android platform (and increasingly the rest of Google's universe, too, from Chrome OS to the Web at large). Even if you don't actively think about it, the design standards introduced with Android 5.0 are probably becoming a core part of your smartphone or tablet experience. Here's the kicker, though: Once you start getting a taste of Material Design and the consistent style it brings to your mobile devices, apps with older design styles start to look out of place, out of date, and out of touch. But not to fear: Beyond the basics that come on every Android phone - Gmail, Google Drive, and the likes - there's plenty of tasty Material Design goodness out there, just waiting to be devoured.

So put on your favorite bib, grab a metaphorical fork, and get ready: Here are 30 top-notch Android apps that do Material Design right.

Pocet Casts

Pocket Casts brings a bright and enjoyable interface to the Android podcasting experience. It's jam-packed with features - including cross-device syncing of your feeds and preferences - yet still easy on the eyes and easy to use.

Relay for Reddit

f you're a fan of Reddit - and who doesn't like to dip in and browse from time to time? - this is the app for you. Relay for Reddit puts the popular social site into a lovely Material Design-themed format that makes it fun to read from any mobile device.

FreedlyReader

My go-to app for keeping up with all the news sites I follow, FeedlyReader is a minimalist but powerful RSS reader that shows you the latest stories from your Feedly account in a clean card-based layout. I especially like its configurable swipe shortcuts, which I use to quickly open articles in Link Bubble or to mark them as read without ever leaving the main story list.

PaperBoy

For a more magazine-like RSS reading experience, Paperboy is well worth giving a whirl. The Feedly-synced app has a great interface for following your favorite feeds, with large images and smooth animations surrounded by colorful Material Design elements. It can even read stories aloud to you, if you want to catch up on your articles on the road.

Flyne, the Offline Reader

Flyne puts its own touch on Material Design with a card-centric UI that keeps images large and center and an in-app browser that makes content consistently beautiful. The app offers the ability to view articles from Feedly or Twitter, both online and off, though you'll have to pay a 99-cent in-app upgrade in order to add your own sources.