How to Create and Automate Custom Tasks on an Android Smartphone

Though an average user may never feel the need to create custom tasks on an Android smartphone, savvy ones do want an easy way to do so. These custom tasks can range from a custom notification upon an SMS arrival from a specific number to a multi-step task involving several common tasks grouped linearly. Natively, Android doesn't provide an option or a way to create such custom tasks. But, there are several specialized apps made specifically for this purpose. Almost all of them provide extremely flexible options to create a multi-step custom task without meddling with any kind of code. I've handpicked some of the best ones and have tested them thoroughly before including them in the list. Initially, you may struggle to create custom tasks through these apps as it may sometimes feel, a bit overwhelming. But, after creating a couple of custom tasks, you'll get hold of it and then the sky is the limit. While creating tasks through these apps, make sure you do not mess with your phone's system settings.


To help you get familiar with these apps' workflow, look for the sample tasks in the docs of these applications to learn all the available options. The more you practice, the more you excel in it.

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So, let's get started and check out some of the best task creation apps that'll help you to automate key workflows as well as make you productive. Do share some of the interesting tasks you've created!

1. Tasker

Tasker is one of the best ask automation apps available for the Andriod platform. It's rated highly with a large user base. At first, you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer flexibility and power of this app. It runs smoothly on older Android versions too without any performance issues.

Following are some of the key features of this application:

• Almost infinite possibilities of custom tasks.
• Hundreds of custom actions to choose from.
• Automate file backups with ease.
• Flexible triggering conditions.

It's not just the task automation, but you can also create unique UIs for your custom tasks to get a personalized experience as per your requirements. Developers can easily create helpers apps or kinds of plugins that easily integrate with the main app to add more power to it.

2. Automate

Automate is true to its name giving you powerful options to create automated workflows on your Android smartphone. Its user interface is very intuitive which eases the process of creating custom tasks. In other words, it's a user-friendly task automation app you can use without any problems.

Following are some of the key features of this application:

• Block-based workflow creation.
• Hundreds of prebuilt tasks to choose from.
• Block plugin support.
• Extensive documentation for new users.

Power users can use variables, expressions, and functions to create highly-customized tasks that meet the exact requirements. You do not get pesky ads even in the free version of this task automation tool which is a big plus. You can also share your custom workflows with other users.

3. AutomateIt Pro

As the name suggests, AutomateIt Pro is going to help you automate different types of workflows or custom tasks like a pro! It's available in several languages and has an easy-to-use interface. It's one of the most flexible custom task apps when it comes to scheduling triggers depending on a specific time.

Following are some of the key features of this application:

• Supports composite triggers and composite actions.
• Customize active time windows for custom tasks.
• Easily copy existing rules.
• Trigger workflow based on a cell ID.

Apart from giving custom time windows, one can also schedule recurring event triggers based on specific periods for maximum flexibility. Sensor-based triggers enable you to create sophisticated workflows based on how your device or its surrounding environment changes.

4. RuleBot: Automation Tool

RuleBot is yet another task automation tool having great features. With an array of trigger conditions, events, and a collection of actions to choose from, you can easily create a large number of custom workflows. It has a simple interface best suited for beginners.

Following are some of the key features of this application:

• Simple 3-step rule creation process.
• Choose a starter template for a new rule.
• Use conditional operators with ease.
• Lightweight application.

You can create time-based and sensor-dependent custom tasks quite easily through this automation app. It has a 4+ rating with a lot of positive reviews. I tried it for a week and was hooked because of its simplicity and flexibility in creating custom tasks.

5. aProfiles

And last but not least is aProfiles app built for creating custom tasks on an Android smartphone, without any hassle. It has a few unique features that others don't have like managing multiple devices from a single one with the help of custom profiles.

Following are some of the key features of this application:

• Change settings in multiple devices from a single one.
• Rule-based profile activation.
• Inherent support for home screen widgets.
• Turn off active rules with ease.

If required, you can easily backup and restore the created rules with a click of a button. This saves the time you may spend in creating the rules from scratch, once again. You can switch to different profiles based on different conditions to activate or deactivate custom tasks.