F-Droid, a repository for free and open source Android applications, announced the launch of F-Droid 2.0 on September 24, 2026, following more than a year of development. According to the project, this represents the largest app update in 10 years and a complete redesign of the official F-Droid app.
The redesign introduces a modern interface built with Kotlin Compose, Android’s current standard toolkit. The new version integrates with Material Design patterns while preserving familiar F-Droid interactions. Navigation has been simplified into three core areas: Discover, Search, and My Apps. Categories are now integrated into the Discover section, while My Apps provides a central location for managing installed applications, updates, and issues.
A primary goal of F-Droid 2.0 was improving app discovery as the ecosystem has grown to thousands of applications. The Discover screen now highlights newly added apps, recently updated apps, and the most downloaded apps in the repository. The category system has been significantly expanded with more specialized categories, such as VPNs, firewalls, password managers, and navigation tools. The Games category alone now distinguishes between 17 different genres. Higher-level “meta” categories group related categories together to provide easier browsing.
Search capabilities have been substantially improved. The search function now looks beyond app names to include app descriptions, categories, and translated content. Users searching in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean will see enhanced support for these writing systems. The search feature also remembers recent queries, allowing quick access to previous searches.
F-Droid 2.0 introduces powerful filtering options that can be combined using multiple criteria, such as app category, device compatibility, or anti-features. The app includes onboarding screens to help users discover these advanced capabilities.
Installation and updates have been enhanced. F-Droid 2.0 uses a unified installer for all installations and leverages new pre-approval APIs available on supported devices, allowing users to confirm installations immediately after deciding to install rather than after download. Update checks now happen automatically by default, though users can maintain manual control through settings.
According to F-Droid, the redesign involved careful decisions about features, with some familiar interactions moved, modified, or removed to streamline the app and improve maintainability. The rollout began in the weeks following the announcement after 14 test releases.
Key facts
- F-Droid 2.0 is the largest app update in 10 years and a complete redesign
- Navigation simplified to three core areas: Discover, Search, and My Apps
- Category system significantly expanded with specialized categories like VPNs and password managers
- Games category now includes 17 distinct genres instead of grouping all games together
- Search now includes app descriptions, categories, and translated content with improved CJK language support
- Filtering options can be combined using multiple criteria like category, device compatibility, and anti-features
- Unified installer leverages new pre-approval APIs for smoother installation on supported devices
- Automatic update checks now enabled by default with manual control options available