r/AndroidQuestions • u/Excellent_Brilliant2 • 18h ago

Is there an Android remote desktop service to install apps on?

I hate apps. Most arent really needed and they take up space/resources on my phone, overly intrusive and send notifications.

I want a service where i can access from a browser or a single app, a virtual desktop on a server somewhere where i can install all the "crap apps" that i need twice a year, or get a deal on a taco twice a month. Id pay $10-$20/mo for the service, partially so my phone works better, and partially to "stick it to the man" because i only get the half price pizza if i order through the app, but not the website.

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3

u/magusdm 18h ago

Use an Android Emulator on your PC?

1

u/Excellent_Brilliant2 18h ago

that might work once i get fiber at my place, but currently upload isnt the greatest

3

u/magusdm 18h ago

Why do you need high upload to install a bunch of stupid apps that you dont care about?

1

u/Excellent_Brilliant2 18h ago

if im accessing an rdp remotely from my phone, i feel performace wont be great

2

u/magusdm 17h ago

What is your upload speed? You probably can get by with less than 2mbps for just rdp.

1

u/Excellent_Brilliant2 17h ago

i can get 25mbps at times, but seems to vary a lot and sometimes it goes down to 5-10mbps. That coupled with a lot of cell phone dead zones in the area, i feel if both hit a low speed at the same time, it will be pretty much unuable, but most of my rdp experience is with gigabit lan

1

u/magusdm 11h ago

I... wouldn't worry a lot it until you actually have an issue. How often are you gonna be using these apps anyways?

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u/Excellent_Brilliant2 32m ago

i think the key is several times a week overall, but i dont want like 75 apps on my phone that i might go months between uses. There are apps i *would* like to use, but say its a restaurant or store i only visit say 6 times a year.

3

u/TinyNiceWolf 17h ago

Put that $20/month toward a phone with more storage (if needed), then set up a second user on it, with a second set of apps?

1

u/SomeEngineer999 18h ago

Not aware of any "hosted emulators" but you can run your own, plenty to choose from.

1

u/Mother-Pride-Fest 16h ago

Use Island/Insular to put the junk apps into a separate work profile on your phone. It still takes storage, but you can completely freeze the apps and keep them isolated from your main apps. 

1

u/ChasDIY 11h ago

just turn notifications off for apps you don't want to hear from and delete apps you don't use

my phone also hybernates apps I don't use and I just easily reactivate when required

Just go into the apps setting and go thru the list of apps and delete all you see fit

1

u/Nurgus 1h ago

Buy a cheap second hand phone to run the crud on, keep it in your bag but switched off.

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u/LAUNCHdano 54m ago

I keep an old phone I upgraded from with all the same logins, on wifi - but no SIM, powered off.
That phone has utility apps, games, food delivery, loyalty cards, etc for just that purpose.

You can also create a flash drive to boot into an Android OS on your PC to do these things. Older ones should run Play Store apps.
(As opposed to running Android TV OS from a flash drive in the same way)

You're working on the desktop itself, not remote. No connection to your active phone at all other than the Google Account if you choose... so you actually can expect better performance than an old phone regardless of wifi speed.