If you’ve been lucky enough to unwrap a beautiful new iPhone or iPad this Christmas then you’re going to want to start populating it with...
If you’ve been lucky enough to unwrap a beautiful new iPhone or iPad this Christmas then you’re going to want to start populating it with some apps.
The usual ones are a given – we’re expecting you to auto-download the likes of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. But what about the best games? Or some of those under-the-radar apps you may not have heard of?
At this point, the App Store contains well over two million apps, so hunting down the good ones can take some time. Luckily, we’ve done the legwork for you.
Whether or not you want an addictive game or an extra productivity tool, here are five apps to get you started this Christmas.
Spectre Camera
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Spectre Camera uses AI to make your photos look great
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This app picked up Apple’s award for the best app of 2019 and it’s easy to see why. It uses artificial intelligence to give your photos an awesome, arty overhaul.
It combines hundreds of photos taken over a span of three to nine seconds to create some Insta-worthy effects.
You can remove crowds of people from pictures or turn water into a swirling mass to make it look like it’s been shot with a long exposure. ‘If you wanted to take a long exposure with a traditional camera, you’d have to carry around all sorts of equipment like a tripod and filters and have a deep understanding of photography,’ said Ben Sandofsky, one of the app’s two developers. ‘Spectre lets anyone shoot long exposures handheld, on their iPhone.’
Headspace
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The app uses animations and narration from Andy himself
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Mindfulness has become very popular of late and a lot of it is down to the success of this app. Led by former monk Andy Puddicombe – who recently sat down to discuss his method with Metro.co.uk – Headspace serves as a perfect introduction to meditation.
The app gives several courses for different aims, such as sleeping better or reducing stress. You can try it out for free and then pay a monthly subscription for new content.
All it asks is that you give it 10 minutes of your day to listen to Andy’s soothing voice and give your brain a break. It’s probably the best way to get ready for 2020.
Goodnotes
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GoodNotes works especially well on an iPad with an Apple Pencil
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This note-taking app is more suited to an iPad than an iPhone because of the way it uses the Apple Pencil stylus.
It will convert your handwriting into text and allow you to draw or annotate on PDF documents. Anyone that writes a lot of equations or formulas will find this extremely handy as searching through keyboard options is never easy.
All your notes are indexed and easily searchable and you can export or share them to others. The only downside to this app is that, at £8, it’s a bit on the pricey side.
Call of Duty Mobile
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If you want Call of Duty on your iPhone, you’ve got it
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The seminal console shooter has finally arrived on iOS and, as expected, it’s a lot of fun. It doesn’t work on all iOS devices so check that yours is compatible first, but once you’re up and running you an experience the series’ frantic gunplay on the small screen.
The download is 2GB and while there’s no real story mode it does include almost all the multiplayer options of the regular console games, plus battle royale.
But with all that in the game you won’t be surprised to hear it’s also filled with microtransactions, with two different in-game currencies and a battle pass. Weapon and equipment upgrades are managed by XP cards, attained through the battle pass, so while the game is technically free-to-play there’s going to be a constant temptation to pay real money as well.
See How You Eat
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Get a jump on the New Year and start tracking what you eat
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We’re getting ahead of the New Year’s traditions here with this app, which lets you record your food and drink intake for beginners.
It’s like many food diary apps and lets you take a picture of your meals and upload them to your food journal. The app is still in its early stages but over time we’re expecting it to get more advanced with more features.
At the moment, you’re limited to 12 photos a day so fair warning if you’re a serial snacker. It will also give you little motivational quotes to keep you on the road to a fit and healthy 2020.
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