I am an accredited app junkie (aside from being an accredited Apple fan) and I have truck loads of apps on my iOS devices. Sure enough, there are only a handful one uses on a regular basis but hey, one can get into the mood to explore all the apps once in a while, right? I also eagerly await app updates and never leave updates pending even if it a 1GB update of the iMovie app which I hardly use. I also look forward to Friday mornings when Apple updates its iTunes with ‘App of the Week’, ‘New and noteworthy’ and ‘Editor’s Choice’ apps. Aside from the usual Twitter, Tweetbot, Nuzzel and Flipboard I have begun to use these apps often nowadays:
This free app from Curiosity.com falls under the ‘wish I had thought of it’ category for me. I liked the design and the curated stories. The app has some niggling problems like erratic Twitter sign in etc., but is totally worth it.
I have heard some negative feedback about the Apple Music from my friends mostly to do with UI/UX. I didn’t find the app klutzy or overwhelming despite the fact that it does a lot. The Beats1 Radio plays too much hip-hop and rap for my liking but I love the fact that they’ve put in a lot effort to bring back the classic FM radio with DJs, their banter and diverse music. The ‘For You’ section is fun as it quite accurately recommends playlists – especially in Pop & Rock music. The Indian music playlist isn’t so hot for me, which I am OK with. I have discovered truck loads of new songs in rock & alternative thanks to Apple Music. The ‘Connect’ tab is great on paper and perhaps hardcore followers of music groups find it interesting.
Word games are my favourite genre of games and this game is a nice mix of crossword and word jumbles. There is a NatGeo branded version too with tonnes of ‘themes’. The app looks like a potential money spinner with lots of options for in-app purchases.
I don’t change my device wallpapers often and prefer all 3 wallpapers – the iPhone, iPad and the Mac to be the same. I somehow think it reflects the seamless (almost always) nature of Mac devices. With iOS, I am picky about the wallpaper in the sense that the background wallpaper must kind of merge into the lock screen wallpaper – they must have a ‘relation’. In other words, the background wallpaper must not clutter the icons and the same one must show up in a slightly different avatar in the lock screen. That’s why I don’t prefer most of the Apple default wallpapers (even if they are gorgeous, like the purple flower on black background) as wallpapers. Enter Papers.Co which has gorgeous wallpapers for iOS and Mac.
This news app provides a timeline of events of their major stories. So when in a laid-back mood this is a good way to catch up on history and story backgrounds.
Unbundling is the name of the game with many ‘content heavy’ apps. Buzz feed’s specialty News app is one such. What I liked most: its ‘catchup’ feature with a summary of top news.
This app from NBC is great for news alerts, following global news events and such like. I wish they had an India-centric version.
Clean Crossword (iPad only)
I am pathetic with regular crossword puzzles. This one is a crossword with a twist. The clues aren’t as cryptic as regular crosswords, but more like a simple general knowledge test.
A bit like Nuzzel, this one is a ‘a realtime reading list powered by your Twitter stream’. The gestures are Tinder-like with swipe right to like an article and swipe-left to dislike it.
This is strictly not for the ‘let me quickly glance at the news’ moments. Given the real estate, I prefer the iPad version. There are tonnes of news sources for longform articles and it integrates with read later services too.
I know its been around for a while now, but I have discovered the many creative playlists like ‘If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!’ under BritRock, ‘Great rock guitar solos’ and ‘Jazz for concentration’ of late.
Which ones are your favourites? Any new app addiction of yours?
1 Comment
Yea these seems pretty apps. I don’t use ios devices, but when i will, i will give a try these. 🙂