Android is famous for a number of things but it really takes a beating when it comes to the default gallery app provided on most Android phones. While companies like HTC provide attractive options, they generally tend to be painfully slow in loading/refreshing content. If you’re looking for an alternative image browser for your Android, we’ve got just the one for you.
QuickPic is a free Android app that aims to change all that. With QuickPic, not only do you get quick and easy access to all your photos and videos in one place, you also get a myriad of other options to help you manage your captured content better.
On first launch, QuickPic will go through the content of your memory card and generate thumbnails for all of the images that it finds. This is the only time you will find the app to be slightly unresponsive. Once it is done with generating thumbnails, you will be provided with a consolidated view of all of your photos. In case you want to load your albums even faster, you have the option of excluding it from the media scan. This can be done by long-pressing on an album name and selecting Exclude from the menu that pops up.
Hide Photos
As you can see from the screenshot above, by invoking the menu for any album, you can actually hide it from view.
Password-protect photo albums
From a privacy point of view as well, this app beats some of the other alternatives hands down. You can actually set a passcode for folders you have hidden from view. While this doesn’t protect your images from the prying eyes of an advanced user who might go into the filesystem to view your files, it does provide you with a small dose of safety from the average Joe. In order to view the hidden files, you need to press Menu > Show Hidden Files. It will then ask you for the predefined password.
Browsing Photos
You have two options now. You can either choose to view the images in a list or grid view. Select the view of your choice from the little button at the top left.
And this is the grid view with the thumbnails blurred out. You’ll actually get several quadrant preview images.
Thereafter, it is a simple matter of tapping on the folder you want to browse and then the photo itself to get a full-screen view. Swipe right to left to get to the previous photo and left to right to get to the next one. Tapping on a video thumbnail plays the video in the video viewer.
Press the Menu button to select basic options like Sorting and viewing hidden files. Within the menu, click on Settings to get into the advanced settings for the app.
Under the Settings, you will find the option to switch between a light and a dark theme. Also included is an option to list only particular folders for scanning and exclude certain folders. Furthermore, you can enable or disable videos from showing up in the gallery.
All in all, QuickPic is a tiny little beast that is provided in a well rounded, comprehensive package. At less than 1 MB and a very competitive price point of free, it really beats the competition hands down.
Do you use an alternative image browser on your Android? Share your suggestions with us in the comments.
