EACH WEEK, WE highlight five apps that are worth downloading for your smartphone and tablet. There are a lot of apps released on a daily basis, but not all of them are worth paying attention to.
This week features a Game Boy-inspired platformer, a way to stop annoying push notifications from appearing, and an in-depth photo editing tool.
Riff
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free
- It doesn’t take long for Facebook to release a new app – the last one was stickers for Messenger at Christmas – but this one looks like some thought has gone into it.
- Riff is much like Vine but taken up a notch. Anyone can create a video as long as 20 seconds and post it for their friends to see.
- The twist is any of your friends can add their own clip to yours and tie into the theme that you’re going for. Then their friends can add to it and so on.
- The result is a collection of clips strung together that keeps you watching for the next one. It also helps that the app is easy to use, but it’s still a little rough around the edges and could do with some refinement
- An app that has a lot of potential for Facebook if it gets it right.
Tiny Dangerous Dungeons
For: iOS
Cost: €0.99
- Who doesn’t like a game inspired by the Game Boy? There’s something charming about the monochrome 8-bit style it used when first released.
- Tiny Dangerous Dungeons takes inspiration from the likes of Metroid and Castlevania by making you explore a huge dungeon.
- Your abilities at the start are rather limited, but the more you explore, the more upgrades and moves you unlock.
- It quite smooth and while it’s tough in parts, it’s never overly unfair.
- One for those who want to relive the memories of playing Metroid II on the go.
Smart Notifications
For: Android
Cost: Free
- The more apps you download, the more notifications you will be bombarded with. It’s inevitable anytime you download a new app (or ten).
- Smart Notifications wants to help by identifying which notifications are useful and which ones aren’t.
- Some of its choices are automatic, but it does encourage you to identify which apps are important to you so you don’t miss any important ones.
- There’s also a Do Not Disturb mode included which is useful if you’re on Lollipop (its version isn’t the best).
- If you’re getting sick of notifications popping up regularly, then this will really help you out.
Truefilm
For: iOS
Cost: €2.99
- You can never have enough photo-editing apps, and with newer ones offering more advanced methods, it’s becoming a field that’s crowded with both quantity and quality.
- Truefilm has been around for a bit now, but its most recent update has changed a number of things and is worth a second look.
- Instead of using sliders to adjust editing features, it allows you to edit through ‘Precision Control’ which gives you exact references for the majority of edits instead of rough changes.
- Once you’re used to it, its auto-edit feature learns what adjustments you make and edits your photos based on that so you don’t have to cycle through the same settings again.
- If you regularly edit your photos before posting, this will be a useful tool to have.
Telescope
For: Windows Phone
Cost: Free
- Android users may still be waiting for Periscope to arrive, but for Windows Phone users, there’s a great third-party app based around it.
- Telescope gives you unofficial access to Periscope’s news feed allowing you to watch livestreams and broadcast your own.
- All the basic features you would associate with the app are here like searching for friends, check your profile and send messages and hearts to people.
- It’s pretty limited though, but considering that Periscope is barely a week old, it’s impressive that it came out so quickly.
- For Windows Phone owners who want to see what all the fuss is about.
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