How to add newly downloaded Android apps to dedicated folder?

[Rob]

When you download a new app to the play store, you can choose to have the app automatically added to a homescreen or not added to a homescreen. Great. But I test so many apps that neither options is very helpful.

If I add them to a home screen, they completely crap up my layouts.

If I don't add them to a home screen, it's a pain in the butt to go through and find/test/delete them.

The easy answer would be to STOP going on app downloading sprees and instead test one at a time, but that's not how I typically work. I do some research online, download straight to my phone from the Google Play Store, get taken on a "recommended download" bing of 2 dozen more apps, and before you know it- things have gotten really, really messy.

Wondering if anyone else has had this issue, and if so, what you've done?

In my perfect world I could download new apps to a "testing" folder and moderate them from there, long pressing to select multiple apps at once for uninstallation, or for approving into my regular app library/launcher. As far as I know, nothing like that exists, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

[Hadron]

The sort of thing you want would need to be a launcher feature, since it's the launcher that maintains folders or app drawer tabs. I had a quick play with the launchers I have available, and found that Apex launcher allows you to define different types of app drawer groups, one of which is "new". A quick test revealed that newly installed apps did indeed go in there, but they didn't remain there long (possibly until first used, I've not tested long or systematically enough to be sure). So while that might help as a staging post (collect them together so you could move them to a folder) you'd have to remember to do that or they would end up just in the normal app drawer (where they are as well). That's the closest I found though.

I never put app launchers on my desktops, so for me any app that's being tested sits in my drawer until I've tested and decided whether it deserves placing in a folder or drawer tab, being left amongst the occasionally-used masses, or removed. But I rarely test more than 5 at a time, usually thematically related, so I can generally keep track.

 

[Xyro]

Rather than having new apps be placed in a special folder, why not move all of your permanently-installed apps out of the way of your main app drawer?

For instance, with Nova Launcher I put 90% of my apps in a secondary tab of the app drawer, as I either don't use them or I have shortcuts to them on my home screen. As a consequence, my primary app drawer is only a single page of useful things (incl. newly installed apps), but my unwanted apps are only one swipe away.

Bearing that in mind, you could move all of your permanently installed apps to a custom tab in your app drawer. Your primary app drawer would be empty, with the exception of any new installs. Obviously that makes finding your usual apps more difficult, so you might consider installing a secondary launcher app purely for this purpose.