Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Apple : The best cheap laptop deals and sales in April 2019: prices from just £159

Apple : The best cheap laptop deals and sales in April 2019: prices from just £159

The best cheap laptop deals and sales in April 2019: prices from just £159

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 01:37 PM PDT

Navigating the swarms of cheap laptop deals can be a bit overwhelming with so many options to choose from here in the UK. Luckily for you, we're checking through the net's laptop sales throughout the year, so we know how to spot a bargain.

With such a competitive scene in the UK for laptop deals, there's plenty to choose from all year round, so if you need to buy a new laptop sharpish, we should be able to find you something that fits with your budget nicely. We've split this guide into sections based on price.

We'll give you a bit of info about each laptop we highlight too, so you can see some specs at a glance before you click through to the store and have to browse their lengthy descriptions for those vital stats you're after. 

Not everyone needs a super powerful laptop, especially if you just want something for the basics like casual browsing, email and document editing, so don't feel like you have to spend £500 on a laptop for that - you can get something for far less if you want. Naturally, if you're a bit of a multitasker, love to have loads of tabs open and want a little extra grunt for media editing, we've found laptop deals with higher spec. We sometimes chuck in gaming-friendly laptops if they meet our sensible price criteria and Chromebooks too as they're increasingly popular nowadays as users look to ditch Windows for the stripped down speedy Chrome OS instead. For you Apple fans, you might be interested in our MacBook prices and deals page too.

If you're from the States or Down Under, be sure to check out our selection of the top laptop deals in the US or Australia in our always-updated guides.

Cheap laptop sales and deal highlights

We'll continue adding the best cheap laptop deals in the latest sales as we find them. Up next, you'll find the latest prices on some of the most popular laptops around along with a list of retailers who often have a great selection of laptop sales if nothing else takes your fancy here.

  • Amazon: retail giant is often the cheapest in the UK.
  • AO: lots of cheap laptops at this growing electronics specialist.
  • Argos: home delivery or pick up a cheap laptop locally today.
  • John Lewis: models come with at least two-year guarantee.
  • Very: often has plenty of voucher codes or 'buy now pay later' options.
  • ebuyer: the UK computing specialists have some great promotions.
  • Laptops Direct: specialist UK store has a huge selection of laptop deals.
  • Dell: get a great laptop deal direct from Dell.
  • Currys: the retailer that's seemingly always having a laptop sale.

The cheapest laptop deals on these popular picks

cheap laptop deals prices sales

On release, the Chromebook Flip reached new heights for the Windows-free laptops as it came rocking a proper Intel Core processor along with a HD screen. Most models nowadays come with 64GB of storage instead of the 32GB which is plenty for running apps and storing regular documents and a fair few media files - you can always use a USB drive for more space. For most users, the newer PixelBook is what we'd call 'overkill', not to mention considerably more expensive, so we'd recommend this model if you just need something for work, browsing the net and so on. The Chrome OS works beautifully in this 2-in-1 laptop's tablet mode too.

Plenty of stores still stock the very user-friendly Chromebook R11 and most have models in for a decent price, making it a strong alternative to similarly-priced Windows laptops. Unlike other cheap Chromebooks the R11 has a much more solid build that doesn't feel like tacky cheap plastic, so you certainly won't be embarrassed to be caught using it away from home or the office. And with a battery life that'll get you about eight hours on a single charge, you're all set to leave the charger at home each day. On-board storage is a little light, but there's plenty of free cloud storage available with Chromebooks nowadays if you have lots of media files you need access to regularly.

HP Stream 14

At around £200 and with a range of colourful models, the HP Stream 14 has been a popular pick as a first ever laptop or for those after something to cover the basics like web browsing or document editing. If you're going to use this quite regularly you may want to skip the 32GB model and look out for the 64GB version instead. Budget Windows laptops with just 32GB of storage tend to struggle with future system updates and some users report there's not enough space after accommodating the OS itself to continue updating it for long even if they've not installed any extra apps or store media files on it. If you can't find any decent 64GB prices, we'd consider a Chromebook instead for this price, as they can handle updates even if they have a small 32GB hard drive.

Acer Nitro 5

As one of the cheapest gaming laptops that will still run games at decent settings, the Acer Nitro 5 is well worth a look if you're wanting to get into PC gaming and play modern games too (just don't expect to be running Battlefield V on ultra settings ok?). The design is a bit too 'plastic' and there's no SSD on the cheapest models, but given the low price and the power of the internal spec inside we're more than willing to look past that to get our gaming fix on the go or even as an introduction to PC gaming without investing in a desktop rig.

HP Pavilion 15

A sturdy choice for a study laptop for school/college/uni. The HP Pavilion 15 has plenty of power for the average student's needs while keeping the costs sensible. There are plenty of configurations available too. Some favour speedy SSDs, while other go for larger regular hard drives, so it all depends on what you're going to need more really. Faster loading or more space for storing media files and downloads.

Asus Transformer Mini T102HA

The Asus Transformer Mini series is one of the most reliable brands of 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrids on the market. This upgrade includes a fingerprint sensor and double the RAM at 4GB for speedier performance compared to the older models. For your money, this is one of the most impressive two-in-one transformer models out there. Available in orange/white as seen above, or in a traditional grey steel colour.

cheap laptop deals prices sales

Ready to stretch that budget a bit (ok, maybe a lot) further? Then be sure to check out our selection of the very best laptops money can buy as we've used our dedicated price comparison technology to find the cheapest prices for them too. You can always come back to this page if they seem a bit overpowered (and over-expensive) for what you need.

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Facebook app data exposed by third-party developers

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 01:00 PM PDT

While Facebook may be responsible for securing user data on its own site, what happens when third-party developers fail to do so on their end?

New research from UpGuard has discovered that this was exactly the case regarding two third-party developed Facebook app datasets that have been found exposed to the public internet.

The first leak originates from the Mexico-based media company, Cultura Colectiva, which left 146GB of data containing over 540m records unsecured online. 

The information contained in the dataset includes account names, Facebook IDs, comments, likes, reactions and more which could make it particularly attractive to cybercriminals looking to take over consumer accounts.

Unsecured backups

A Facebook-integrated app called “At the Pool” was also found to have exposed a backup of its user data to the public internet via an Amazon S3 bucket.

Following its investigation into the leak, UpGuard discovered that this database backup contained a bevy of Facebook user information as well as their passwords. While the Cultura Colectiva dataset may be larger, the At the Pool discovery contains plaintext Facebook passwords for 22,000 users.

At the Pool closed its doors back in 2014 and even its parent company's website is no longer available. This should help assuage the fears of users whose names, passwords, email addresses, Facebook IDs and other details were exposed online for an unknown period of time.

Both the Cultura Colectiva and At the Pool datasets were stored in their own Amazon S3 buckets that were configured to allow their contents to be downloaded publicly.

UpGuard's discovery may not gain as much attention as a data breach at Facebook proper but it still shines a light on the problem of mass data collection which the social network notoriously helped popularize.

  • We've also highlighted the best VPN to help you protect your data on the go

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Google Duplex now headed to non-Pixel phones and iPhones

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 12:59 PM PDT

Google Duplex, the Google Assistant extension that calls restaurants and businesses for you to make appointments or reservations, is starting its planned rollout to non-Pixel phones and iPhones, according to XDA Developers. 

The feature was introduced on the Google IO 2018 stage before officially debuting on Pixel phones toward the end of last year. Even then, however, it was only available to a limited amount of users in four US cities. 

Google has since announced they would open the feature to non-Pixel Android and iOS phones in early March as well as expand its availability to users in 43 states.

While it’s still unclear which phones Duplex will expand to first, XDA Developers happened to notice Duplex functionality was live in one of its Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus phones. 

How's it work?


The feature works like this: ask Google Assistant to look up a business or restaurant and it will ask if it can call on your behalf to make an appointment or reservation. After asking for all the important info (party size, reservation time, etc), Assistant will make a call for you using text-to-speak with some eerily human ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs’ to simulate human speech. 

Even back when it was introduced in May 2018, we found the AI hard to trick, so we presume it’s only gotten more refined since.


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Moto Z3 is officially the first 5G phone in the world, beating Samsung by 2 days

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:53 AM PDT

Verizon had planned to turn on its 5G mobile service in parts of two cities (Chicago and Minneapolis) on April 11, but suddenly activated it a week early, the telecom announced. 

Now, the telecom’s customers who have 5G-capable phones can enjoy the promised fast speeds of its next-gen network - and the only one available is the Motorola Moto Z3, which was released last August, equipped with a 5G Moto Mod, which is being released today.

The Mod had been up for preorder on Motorola’s site but - as of this writing - isn’t available there just yet. Verizon announced its availability in stores and on the telecom’s site for $199 (around £151, AU$279) discount, which is typically $349 retail. But you'll have to be a Verizon subscriber to even purchase a 5G mod, it seems.

While 5G has been hyped to achieve up to 1 Gpbs download speeds, Verizon is lowering that expectation by promising average speeds of up to 450 Mbps, though that may improve as the telecom’s network matures. 

Customers with any Verizon unlimited plan (Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited or Above Unlimited) can access 5G networks for an additional $10 per month, and the first three months of 5G data are free.

 So where can I use it? 

Per Verizon’s site, customers with a compatible phone can access 5G coverage today in these Chicago neighborhoods/areas: The Loop, Magnificent Mile, The Gold Coast, River North, and Old Town. Customers in Minneapolis can access 5G in Downtown West, Downtown East, and Elliot Park.

Once someone moves beyond those 5G zones, their phones will automatically switch to Verizon’s 4G LTE network.  

Verizon is planning to expand its 5G service to over 30 cities in 2019. 

Which phones can I to use on Verizon’s 5G network? 

As far as the list of Verizon 5G compatible phones goes, only the Moto Z3 with the attached 5G Moto Mod is available now. Later this quarter (in ‘spring’), Verizon will be the first carrier to sell the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone. 

While that flagship device is expected to have far better performance than the Moto Z3, it’s also expected to cost a lot - and while we don’t have a price yet, the S10 Plus starts at $999 / £899 (about AU$1,398) and the 5G version has superior specs.

The LG V50 ThinQ will also be available on Verizon’s 5G network later in 2019. While that phone looks almost identical to the LG V40 released last year, it’ll pack the latest Snapdragon 855 processor, a larger 4,000mAh battery and a vapor chamber to keep the phone cool during intensive sessions.

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Apple's new Powerbeats Pro are Airpods that will stay in when working out

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:06 AM PDT

After weeks of rumors and a leak or two, Apple has finally unveiled the new true wireless - and water-resistant - Powerbeats Pro. 

The marquee features of the new Powerbeats are that they’re 23% smaller and 17% smaller than previous Beats workout earphones, plus an adjusted design that gives a better, more comfortable fit. There have also been a number of improvements to the in-house driver that Apple says will bring  “incredibly low distortion and great dynamic range across the entire frequency curve.” 

Like the new-and-improved Apple AirPods (2019), the Powerbeats Pro use the Apple H1 Chip for hands-free Siri and will in turn offer improved connectivity and a faster connection time. They also use two beam-forming microphones on each earbud to filter out external sounds such as wind and ambient noise as well as a speech-detecting accelerometer that’s used to enhance speech recognition.

In terms of battery life, Apple says that you can expect around nine hours from the headphones themselves, and around 24 hours of battery life when combined with the charging case. The headphones will automatically go into rest mode after a short period of inactivity to preserve battery life, and will automatically turn off when they’re put back into their case.

Retro-fit for fitness

While the Beats series of headphones have always focused on fitness, the Powerbeats Pro seem to have corrected a lot of issues with the past models - these should sound better thanks to the new acoustic housing and sound better when taking phone calls. They'll also last longer than before, too.

The other feature that the fitness crowd might appreciate are that the headphones offer an hour-and-a-half playback from a 5-minute charge, and over four hours of playback from 15 minutes on the charger - perfect if you plan on working out but forgot to charge your headphones after your last gym session.

Like some other fitness-focused headphones on the market, the the Powerbeats Pro have optical sensors that can automatically play/pause your music when the earphones are placed in or removed from your ears and allow you to quickly say a few words to your running mate without messing up your flow. 

The Powerbeats Pro are coming in May in four colors (Black, Ivory, Moss and Navy) and are expected to cost $249/£219 (around AU$349). 

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£75 pre-paid Mastercard offer makes Plusnet the cheapest broadband deal in UK

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 09:30 AM PDT

Doing what it does best, Plusnet is back once again to offer the public what is effectively the cheapest broadband deal in the UK right now.

This deal doesn't start off as the cheapest option out there, in fact it gets topped by a few other cheap competitors such as Onestream and the Post Office. But when you take into account the massive £75 pre-paid Mastercards Plusnet is offering with its internet packages, the price drops to an effective £12.74 a month - the cheapest offer out there. 

So If you're keen to have cheap internet bills (who isn't?) and spend the next year paying such a low price (who wouldn't?), scroll down to see this deal in full. Or if the idea of faffing about with a pre-paid Mastercard sounds like more effort than its worth to save on your home internet, check out our best broadband deals page for all your other options.

This new Plusnet broadband deal in full:

Want something a bit faster from your broadband?

When it comes to cheap ADSL broadband, this is one of the best options out there. If you just want the cheapest broadband deal without Mastercards, Onestream is your best bet - currently the UK's cheapest option at £13.99 a month. Or for another well known name in internet, TalkTalk has a £17 ADSL offer that could be more up your street.

But if you need something a bit faster, a fibre broadband deal perhaps? Then there really is no beating BT right now. It starts with monthly costs of £29.99 but then dampens that price with a £30 pre-paid Mastercard and the offer of a free Google Home Mini - in terms of overall value, its hard to beat this offer.

For our pick of the most affordable fibre we would offer up Vodafone. With average speeds of 35Mb, no upfront costs and monthly payments of just £21, this is a great fibre package for those looking to spend a smaller price. 

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Amazon smart home deals: save on TP-Link light bulbs, smart plugs and more

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 08:45 AM PDT

If you're interested in upgrading your space into a smart home, then today is your day. Amazon is having a one-day sale on TP-Link devices that include smart plugs, lighting bulbs, power strips and more. All of the products we've listed work with Amazon Alexa and can make day-to-day tasks more manageable.

A standout deal from today's sale is the Kasa smart light switch that's available for $39.99. That's a $20 discount and the lowest price we've seen for the 3-way switch. The Kasa kit includes two smart switches specially designed to work with 3-way switch wiring. Once installed and connected to your Wi-Fi your lighting can be controlled from anywhere using the Kasa App. The light switch also works with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant so you can manage your lighting with the command of your voice. Another convenient feature is the ability to set schedules. You can personalize your lighting to turn off and on at specific times during the day and will even adjust automatically to sunset and sunrise times.

Shop more of TP-Link's smart home device deals below and remember the discounts are only valid today (Wednesday, April 3).

TP-Link deals available today only:

Shop more smart home deals with the best cheap smart home devices and gadget deals that are currently going on.

You can also shop best cheap Amazon Echo prices, deals and sales and we also have the best Ring Doorbell deals.

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Panasonic to launch Lumix S1 and S1R full-frame mirrorless cameras in India on April 15

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 08:12 AM PDT

Panasonic has teased the impending launch of its first full-frame mirrorless camera range with Lumix S1 and Lumix S1R in India. The company is hosting an event in the capital on April 15 where it will announce the two full-frame cameras with 35mm CMOS sensor. The main difference between the two is in the kind of sensor that's been used. While the S1 has a 24.2MP sensor, the S1R is outfitted with a 47.3MP sensor making it the first full-frame camera to offer that resolution. 

Both the cameras are crafted from a magnesium alloy and are dust and splash resistant. The electronic viewfinder is based on a 5.76 million-dot OLED screen making it the world's highest resolution viewfinder. In addition to this, the Lumix S1 and S1R feature a 3.2-inch LCD display which supports touch input and is packed with 2.1 million pixels.

Powering the new cameras is the Venus processing engine which enables different shooting modes like burst shoot at 9 frames per second (fps) and continuous shooting mode at 6fps. The Lumix S1 and S1R can record 4K videos in 60fps/50fps.

The Lumix S1 and S1R support L-mount lenses as Panasonic ditched Micro Four Thirds optics. Alongside the new cameras, the company has also launched three L-mount lenses in other markets and it is very likely that they are announced in India as well. These are the Lumix S Pro 50mm fixed focal length lens, 70-200mm telephoto lens and a 24-105mm standard lens with macro support.

We expect Panasonic to price the Lumix S1 and S1R between Rs 2,50,000 and Rs 4,00,000 with lens when the two cameras launch officially in India on April 15.

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Best Apple Watch: the ultimate guide to pick your next iPhone compatible watch

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 07:54 AM PDT

Donning an Apple Watch in 2019 is a little more tempting because of new deals, fresh features, the watchOS 5 update and a higher app count. It's a fantastic smartwatch series, as long as you're expecting an iPhone-tied convenience gadget, not a life-changing piece of technology. 

Why? Two versions of the watch makes our best smartwatch list, but smartwatches aren't a game changer or revolutionary like smartphones from ten years ago. They're just an everyday awesome add-on; truly an accessory.

Apple never ended up calling this the 'iWatch', but it really is "my watch" - with all its iterations the company has proved it's the Apple's most personal and customizable gadget yet.

We've put together the guide below to talk you through the differences between all five iterations of the Apple Watch. There's the original Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch Series 2, Apple Watch Series 3 and now the Apple Watch Series 4.

It's a complicated mix of smartwatches now with over 100 different flavors with the variety of case materials, colors, sizes and interchangeable Apple Watch bands too, so there are a bunch of a tough decisions to make.

What Apple Watch models are there?

It's best to think of the Apple Watch in five distinct generations, so far. There was the original device that was released under the name Apple Watch in April 2015, but you'll struggle to find retailers selling this device now and you'll probably only be able to get it second hand.

We wouldn't recommend buying that watch now as it won't be able to run with the latest watchOS 5 software and will miss out on the latest features, so you're better off buying a more recently released Apple Watch.

It was replaced by the Apple Watch Series 1 in September 2016, which is largely the same device but with Bluetooth 4.2 technology and a faster dual-core chipset. The original Apple Watch is now referred to as Series 0, but you probably shouldn't worry about that if you're buying a new watch as it's difficult to find it.

The Apple Watch Series 1 is easier to find through third-party retailers, but Apple has now stopped selling the device.

Alongside the Series 1, Apple announced the Watch Series 2 (which we refer to as the Apple Watch 2 to make things a little simpler). This brought new technology like built-in GPS and water resistance and a slightly larger battery.

Apple is no longer selling the Watch Series 2, but you can buy find this from a limited number of third-party retailers.

2017's smartwatch is called the Apple Watch Series 3 and it comes with LTE technology (if you want it) as well as a variety of fitness features and improved GPS.

Then there's the most recent version - the Apple Watch Series 4 - that comes with a larger display than the other versions and some new heart rate features too. If you're after the very best Apple Watch, this is currently it.

Apple Watch price comparison

Largely the pricing for the Apple Watch works by how old the product is. If you want the Apple Watch Series 1, you'll be able to find that for a lot less money than the Apple Watch 4.

Below we've got a live widget that will show you the latest deals for all the versions of the Apple Watch if you want to see the exact price right now. Bear in mind you can also get the Apple Watch 4 or 3 on a contract because of the LTE features, and you can't do that for the other two devices.

Apple Watch vs Apple Watch 3 vs Apple Watch 4

  • Original Apple Watch is cheapest, but it's very difficult to find
  • Apple Watch Series 1 is faster, but lacks Watch 2 features
  • Apple Watch 2 has GPS, a brighter screen and is water-resistant
  • Apple Watch 3 has a faster chipset and optional LTE
  • Apple Watch 4 has a larger screen and an improved heart rate tracker

You can't buy the original Apple Watch easily anymore, so here we're going to break down the differences between the watches referred to as the Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch 2, Apple Watch 3 and the Apple Watch 4.

Design

Until the Apple Watch 4, the series has been very similar in terms of design. There have been a few minor changes, but the Apple Watch 4 marks the first time you can buy it in 40mm or 44mm variants. That allows for a slightly larger screen, plus there's haptic feedback on the digital crown too.

The Apple Watch 3 and below come in either 38mm or 42mm versions. Only the Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 3 are waterproof though, so don't try taking the original watch in the pool with you.

Display

All generations of the Apple Watch feature square displays, but the technology used differs. The Apple Watch featured an OLED Retina display with Force Touch at 450 nits, while the latter models have an improved technology that runs at 1000 nits. The Apple Watch 4 comes with a larger display too.

Performance

You don't need a huge amount of power in the Apple Watch, but each passing generation has been a little snappier. The Series 1 features an Apple S1P system on a chip, while the Series 2, Series 3 and Series 4 feature an S2, S3 or S4 in that order. 

Each watch has featured 512MB of RAM, apart from the Apple Watch 3, which features 768MB. We don't yet know how much RAM is in the Apple Watch 4.

Fitness

All versions of the Apple Watch feature a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, gyroscope and ambient light sensor. The Apple Watch 3 was the first time the device sported an Altimeter though, and the Apple Watch 4 has ECG features for the first time.

You can currently only use these in the US, but it's thought the feature will be introduced to other watches in the next year or so.

For GPS, you will get that on the Apple Watch 2 and an improved version of the tech including Galileo and QZSS features is on the third iteration. The Apple Watch 2, 3 and 4 feature swimming modes.

Battery

The battery life of the Apple Watch has remained largely unchanged. If you go for the versions it'll have a smaller battery inside than the larger one, but that's largely because of the difference in case size.

Connectivity

Each version of the watch has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology built-in, but the Apple Watch 3 and 4 have a cellular option. This means you can use an optional eSIM to give yourself a connection when on the move.

What iPhone do you need to use an Apple Watch?

Unlike Google's Wear OS devices, the Apple Watch only works with one type of phone. You'll need to have at least an iPhone 5 running iOS 10 or later to be able to use an Apple Watch or Apple Watch 2.

If you want an Apple Watch 3, you'll need to have at least an iPhone 5S running iOS 11 software for the non-LTE version or an iPhone 6 to be able to use the LTE variant.

Apple Watch colors and sizes

A big change for the Apple Watch 4 is the size, so now it comes in 40mm or 44mm options.

All of the other models of the Apple Watch come in either 38mm or 42mm versions. Some color options are limited to certain size watches, but our simple advice here is go for the larger version if you want a watch with a bigger screen and you don't mind spending a touch more.

It's difficult to get the difference in size across here, but if you're uncertain on size it's worth trying each on in the shop to be sure. Below we've got three examples showing off the four different sizes, as well as a comparison of the screen sizes.

You've then also got to choose the color of your watch as well as what material you want it to be made of. The Apple Watch 4 comes in gold, space grey or silver if you want it to be made of aluminum, and the same colors come in stainless steel too.

White and grey are also color options if you choose the ceramic version of the Apple Watch 3, but these are much more expensive and are called the Apple Watch Series 3 Edition. These are now hard to come by as Apple doesn't officially sell them.

There's also the Apple Watch Nike+, which is the same device as the Apple Watch 3 but comes with exclusive watch faces, the Nike+ Run Club app pre-loaded and a choice of lots of Nike branded sports bands.

That's not all though. If you like the idea of a handcrafted leather strap, you may like the look of the Apple Watch Hermès. Again, it's the Apple Watch 4. but here you get an exclusive watch face using the Hermès Carrick font as well as high-end leather straps for your wrist.

The Apple Watch Series 1 is only available in aluminum in space grey or silver.

Apple Watch bands and straps

Apple Watch Hermès with the Double Tour strap (Image Credit: Apple)

There are dozens of straps sold by Apple that offer a huge variety of styles for your wrist. When you first buy your Apple Watch you'll have a strap included, but you can buy and easily switch out different straps that you buy separately.

There are material and color options available including woven nylon, Nike sport, leather, bracelets and much more. Any Apple Watch strap works with any Apple Watch, as long as you've got the right smaller or larger size watch.

Plus there are lots of third-party bands available too, but make sure you get the right size as it won't support all watch straps.

Apple Watch software updates

Image Credit: Apple

Apple's watchOS 5 update gave every model a boost apart from the original Apple Watch. If you've got the older model, you'll be stuck at watchOS 4 as the company doesn't plan to give it anymore updates.

It's worth looking at the features within watchOS 5, and if you get an Apple Watch be sure to update it as soon as possible to make full use of all the new features.

Apple Watch apps and watch faces

Image Credit: TechRadar

Since the original Apple Watch, we've seen the company grow its titles that you can use on the watch as well as the amount of watch faces you can switch around to give the screen a different look.

For a full guide to our favorite bits of software on the wearable, check out our best Apple Watch apps guide as well as best Apple Watch games and best Apple Watch faces.

What's next for the Apple Watch?

If you're planning to buy an Apple Watch soon, now is the perfect time. The Apple Watch 4 launched in early September 2018 - so we expect it to be at least a year later until we hear about an Apple Watch 5.

It may be even longer too, so if you're to set buy a new watch in the coming months, you're sure to be having it for the longest lifespan possible. It also means the price of the Apple Watch Series 3 and some of the other models has dropped too, so it's well worth upgrading soon if you're certain it's a device made for you.

Got your Apple Watch? Learn how to use it

Below are a selection of the how to guides we have at TechRadar to help you understand some of the complicated parts of setting up, customizing and using your new smartwatch.

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Canon introduces seven Sumire Prime PL-mount lenses

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 07:44 AM PDT

Canon has introduced seven cine-focused optics in a new Sumire Prime lens series. 

Dubbed as lenses that "merge the art and science of cinematography", the seven are the first from the company to arrive in the PL mount. This makes them compatible with 16mm and 35mm cameras developed by Arri in addition to Canon's own EOS C700 FF, EOS C300 Mark II and EOS C200 models, as well as selected cameras from Sony, BlackMagic and others.

The seven lenses are the CN-E14mm T3.1 FP X, CN-E20mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E24mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E35mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E50mm T1.3 FP X, CN-E85mm T1.3 FP X and CN-E135mm T2.2 FP X. 

From left to right: CN-E14mm T3.1 FP X, CN-E20mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E24mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E35mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E50mm T1.3 FP X, CN-E85mm T1.3 FP X and the CN-E135mm T2.2 FP X. Image credit: Canon

The lenses are said to achieve a uniform color balance across the range, which should help to reduce the need for additional grading when using different lenses on the same shoot. 

Canon also claims the lenses offer a unique artistically pleasing look, with subtle skin tones and smooth bokeh, thanks in part to an 11-blade diaphragm common to each one. Also shared between the range is a 300-degree focus rotation angle, with the same gear position across the line for further convenience.

Canon currently offers EF-Mount Cinema prime lenses, and this new range is said to match them for ruggedness and minimal focus breathing. Canon is also offering to cover the mounts of the new lenses to its own EF mount for videographers wishing to use them in conjunction with EF-mount bodies.

Canon says the CN-E24mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E35mm T1.5 FP X, CN-E50mm T1.3 FP X and CN-E85mm T1.3 FP X lenses are set for release in the summer – so June-August, while the CN-E14mm T3.1 FP X lens will follow later in the year. The CN-E20mm T1.5 FP X and CN-E135mm T2.2 FP X lenses, meanwhile, will be available towards the end of the year or at the start or 2020. Pricing has yet to be announced.

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Is it worth insuring my laptop or Macbook?

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 07:35 AM PDT

The second you leave your home with a gadget it's immediately more at risk from theft and breakages. And when that particular piece of hardware happens to be a pricey laptop, it makes sense that you're thinking about gadget insurance.

Whether you've got a Windows laptop PC or an Apple MacBook, you've probably spent enough on it so that the thought of it being lost, stolen or broken leaves you with an aching in the wallet region. So is it actually worth insuring your laptop or MacBook?

The short answer is likely yes. Of course there are caveats, like if you buy a secondhand or old laptop that's not actually worth that much - then the cost of insurance ends up being a waste. If you could just replace the laptop for the same amount, then you might as well skip the insurance faff and buy a new one outright. For everyone else, which is likely most people, a laptop is an expense which needs cover. 

If you think you might misplace your laptop, potentially have it stolen or have it break from a drop, a knock or even mechanical breakdown, then insurance can help. But which is best for you and what do you need to know? You can check out our general guide to the best gadget insurance here. Then read on to set your mind at rest as you place your portable computer under the protection of the cover that's right for you. 

 What does laptop insurance cover?

The main things that laptop insurance cover are exactly the type of events that are most likely to end up leaving you without a working version of your notebook. The big one here is accidental damage and yes, that usually will include water damage, (but be sure to check that's on there, just in case). 

Mechanical failure and repair are also usually covered, meaning if any component goes wrong and you are outside of your warranty period, you can still get it mended without shelling out for a new machine.

Theft is the other big problem where you can end up totally laptop-less. This is covered here where you will usually either get a replacement new version of the laptop or the money sent to you so you can buy it, or an upgrade, yourself.

Accessory cover is also a usual inclusion which is nice if you've splashed out on a fancy laptop case. Also check you've got the usual international cover so you're also protected for when you go away with work or on holiday.

 Will my home insurance cover laptops?

Usually yes - double check your policy documents to make sure - but there is a caveat that applies to all home insurance, and the clue is in the name. The second you leave your home the device will no longer be covered. So it's fine for damage inside the home, but not outside or for theft. Also be sure that your home insurance policy will cover that particular laptop as most policies have a limit on the value covered.

Also you may need to actually register your laptop as a product in order for it to be covered. So this is worth checking too, rather than just presuming you're covered and ending up with a nasty surprise when it comes to crunch time.

How much does it cost to insure laptops?

The cost of laptop insurance will vary depending on the type of laptop you have or, more to the point, its value. So a low-end budget Chromebook isn't going to cost you nearly as much to insure as, say, a new Macbook.

For cover of machines under the £1,000 mark you're looking at an annual cost of between £50 and £100. But step over that £1,000 mark, up to £2,000 and you're likely to shell out around £100 to £150 for the year. Once you go over the £2,000 laptop value you're going to have to spend a good £150 or higher.

Can I include laptops in other gadget insurance policies?

You certainly can include laptops in other insurance policies. In fact it's often a good idea to get a multi-gadget insurance policy as you can end up saving a lot of money. The only catch here is that if you know you're going to lose a phone or break it – you know who you are – then this will put the premium up so you pay more on your laptop. That said, it still might be cheaper than a separate laptop policy. 

Multi-gadget policies can include mobiles, iPhone insurance, cameras, headphones and more so if you have that sort of kit and go out and about with it often this kind of cover might be for you.

Decided that cover for your laptop is a good idea? Then head over to our dedicated guide to the best gadget insurance in order to learn more and get the perfect policy.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Windows 10 is now used by more than two-thirds of Steam gamers

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 07:34 AM PDT

More than two-thirds of gamers are now running Windows 10, with Windows 7 usage dwindling to ever-smaller numbers, according to the latest stats from Steam.

Steam’s latest hardware and software survey – which checks what its users are running on their PCs in terms of CPU, GPU, operating system and more – found that 66.92% are using Windows 10 64-bit, with a further 0.23% on the 32-bit version of the OS, to make a total of 67.15%. That’s up just over 2% on the previous month.

As for Windows 7, that’s now on 25.1% (with 23.79% running 64-bit), a drop of almost 2.2% since last month, roughly corresponding to the gain made by Windows 10.

Windows 8 remained static on 3.54%, while outside of Windows versions, 3.27% of Steam gamers are using macOS, with 0.82% on Linux (a quarter of the latter are running Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS 64-bit).

Inevitable decline

These sorts of stats are always interesting to see, particularly as Windows 10 has just crept over the two-thirds mark, poaching users from Windows 7.

With Windows 7 down to just a quarter of gamers on Steam, and end-of-life (when support is discontinued by Microsoft) looming for the older OS in less than a year, it seems inevitable that sizable monthly declines are likely to continue, with the pace of them quite possibly increasing as Windows 7 becomes an increasingly marginalized choice for gamers.

However, in broader usage, looking at the operating system picture across all desktop PCs, things are far less clear-cut. Indeed, Windows 10 only overtook Windows 7 in terms of overall desktop market share in January of this year, according to one analytics firm (Netmarketshare).

In the last report from Netmarketshare, for the month of March, Windows 10 climbed up to 43.6%, with Windows 7 on 36.5%, while rival analytics firm StatCounter has Windows 10 on over 55%, with Windows 7 trailing on 33% – but neither of those stats are as impressive as Windows 10’s level of adoption by the gaming population, of course.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

The best Android apps to download in 2019

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 07:17 AM PDT

There's never been a better time to get into Android apps, as the Google Play store has exploded in recent years, with a proliferation of titles that can cater to your every need.

The problem is: there are just too many of them, even with Editors' Choice, Featured and Best Selling, Top Paid and Top Free categories there to help.

You can filter, see Google's lists or read the reviews - but the easiest (and best) way to find top quality apps is to have someone else do the searching for you.

That's where we come in. Like you, we want the best apps for our Android phones. The apps that are going to revolutionize functionality or, at the very least, offer something so great that it becomes one of the must-have apps that has to be downloaded whenever you get a new handset.

The following apps will be constantly updated and are a mixture of paid and free ones that have been chosen by our Android experts. So, even if you do dip into actual cash for one of these apps, you can be safe in the knowledge it's a worthwhile purchase.

We’ve also sorted them into categories, so you can find what you’re looking for more easily. Click through to the following pages for those or check out the best Android apps of the week below.

Best Android apps of the week

These are the two apps that we've chosen to highlight each week. They're usually new apps or apps that have recently received a major update, but occasionally hidden gems and other essentials will also be highlighted.

Mobile Observatory 3 Pro – Astronomy

$5.49/£4.99

Mobile Observatory 3 Pro – Astronomy is a comprehensive astronomy tool, letting you see details of the sky as it appears from your location. You can use it to check names and descriptions of celestial bodies that should be visible at the current time, or you can change to a different time or day.

You can also get notifications warning you of celestial events that you should be able to see, and there are all sorts of other tools, such as a 3D view of the solar system, and the ability to see the sky in augmented reality with the details of what you’re looking at overlaid.

There are tens of thousands of stars and planets included, along with information on moon phases, eclipses and plenty more besides. Although this isn’t a free app, given how much content there is it still feels very generous given that you get the whole app for one $5.49/£4.99 payment.

Learn Spanish with Lirica

Free + $9.99/£8.99 monthly subscription

Learn Spanish with Lirica takes a novel approach to language learning, as it attempts to teach you Spanish through songs.

The app lets you listen to a number of Spanish-language songs (many of which are famous) and has you learn the words that are used in them.

You can watch the music video with the words appearing underneath, with or without an English translation, and then you can go through a song verse by verse, answering questions about what you’ve heard.

There are a few different exercises, such as rearranging lyrics so that they’re in the right order or selecting the word that was used in the song, and as you go you can earn points and achievements.

Lirica is more than just a gimmick. Songs are often catchy and memorable, so they make sense as a way to learn a language. There are two downsides to the app though. The first is that it only teaches you Spanish, and the second is that much of the content is hidden behind a fairly pricey subscription.

But there’s enough free stuff to be getting started with it and if you like what you hear then a subscription could be worthwhile.

The best Android camera apps and photo editors

Our favorite Android apps for shooting, sorting and editing photos and videos.

Photo Watermark

Free + $0.99/£0.89 monthly subscription

Photo Watermark does exactly what the name suggests – it lets you add watermarks to photos – but the types of watermarks you can add are quite varied.

Not only can you add custom text as a watermark (including changing the font, size and color), you can also use your signature (or any other hand-written text) as a watermark by writing on the screen.

You can also apply stickers, a timestamp, a location, a mosaic effect, or ‘graffiti’ (which basically just lets you go wild on your images with a digital paintbrush). Whether you want to protect your photo or just log when and where it was taken, there should be a tool here to suit.

Photo Watermark is free, but it’s quite heavy on adverts. For $0.99/£0.89 per month you can get rid of them, but unless you’re adding watermarks to a ton of images it’s probably not worth it.

StoryZ Photo Motion & Cinemagraph

Free + $1.99/£1.79 monthly subscription

StoryZ Photo Motion & Cinemagraph is a photo editing app in two parts. The first of these is ‘Ripple’, a mode which lets you add motion to a static image by drawing the area and direction that you want the motion to happen.

This can be an effective way to make it look like water or smoke is moving for example, or simply to add a slightly trippy effect to things that you might expect to be static.

The ‘Motion’ mode, which lets you blend a video with a photo, leaves you with an ‘image’ that’s partially static and partially in motion.

In both cases it can be hard to make the effect look convincing, but it’s doable, as evidenced by all the impressive public submissions shared on the app. StoryZ also holds contests with specific themes, such as ‘stairs’ or ‘sand’, which you can enter by submitting a relevant creation. The best ones will be featured on the home page and competition page of the app.

You can use StoryZ for free, but if you find that you have more of a talent for it than we do then there’s also StoryZ Premium, which for a monthly subscription removes adverts and watermarks, increases the allowable length of videos in Motion mode, improves the toolset in Ripple mode and lets you save and share in high resolution.

KineMaster

Free + £2.91 (roughly $3.70) monthly subscription

KineMaster is probably one of the most powerful video editors on Android, but it’s also intuitive enough that anyone could enjoy using it.

The app lets you add audio and visual filters to footage, add text, stickers and other overlays, alter and trim videos frame-by-frame, adjust the speed, add transition effects and a whole lot more. You can also record videos straight from the KineMaster app. It can feel a little cramped on a phone screen, but otherwise everything works well.

You can use KineMaster for free, but all your videos will have a KineMaster watermark and you can’t use them commercially. To remove the watermarks, allow commercial use and unlock additional assets (such as effects and overlays) you have to pay a subscription, but at £2.91 (roughly $3.70) per month it remains affordable.

Moment – Pro Camera

$1.99/£1.79

A truly great camera app arguably needs to both avoid clutter and be packed full of manual controls, so you can capture an image exactly as you want it, but that’s a tough balance to strike, and few manage. Moment – Pro Cameraarguably does though.

It gives you full manual control, including RAW shooting, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, exposure compensation and focus. There’s also tap to focus, a timer, a grid and several different lenses. It’s an impressive toolkit, with the app focusing more on powerful utilities than gimmicky filters, but it all has a very clean, minimalist look.

And it’s designed with ease of use in mind. You can double tap any setting to return it to auto or double tap the viewfinder to turn everything back to auto and all the controls are within easy reach.

The main downside of Moment is that it can’t currently shoot videos, but for photos there’s a good chance you’ll want to replace your current camera app with this, and video is apparently in the works.

IGTV

Free

IGTV is a new app from Instagram that’s focused on long-form video content. Rather than the one-minute videos of old, you can now make and watch videos up to an hour in length. Videos are in full-screen portrait format, which is unusual for longer content, but makes it easy to hold your phone while watching.

If you already have an Instagram account you can simply sign in to instantly see content from people and brands that you already follow. You can also like and comment on videos, view popular ones and browse and search for content beyond the stuff that the app already highlights to you.

Technically, you don’t need the IGTV app to access all this stuff, as it’s also been added to the main Instagram app, but if long-form video content is the main thing you’re interested in rather than photos or shorter videos, then the IGTV app is the best way to get it.

PhotoDirector

Free + optional subscription

Your phone might have a powerful camera, but chances are it doesn’t come with much in the way of photo editing tools. Fortunately, PhotoDirector can fill in the gaps.

This app lets you adjust the tone, saturation, white balance and colors of photos you’ve previously taken, as well as adding filters and effects, which you can adjust the strength of and apply to all or just part of an image.

You can also add text, stickers, frames, change the perspective, mirror the image, cut sections and a whole lot more.

There are lots of tools, but PhotoDirector is easy to navigate and you can always undo your changes, so you’re safe to experiment.

And that’s just the editing part of the app. There’s also a built-in camera, which lets you shoot new photos with various effects and see live through the viewfinder how they will affect the image.

PhotoDirector is largely free, but if you want to direct to your best there’s a premium version that costs £2.59 (around US$3.70) per month, with discounts if you commit for three months or a year. This unlocks additional tools, boosts the output quality and removes adverts.

Lens Distortions

Free + $0.99/£0.99 monthly subscription

“The best effects are the ones no one knows you added.” So says the intro video to Lens Distortions, and it has a point.

Rather than flashy, gimmicky effects and photo filters, Lens Distortions has a selection of natural, true to life ones that look like they could have been captured by the camera itself.

These include sunlight, rain, snow and fog effects, so tend to be most suited to outdoor shots, but they look convincing and there’s a selection of different looks in each category.

Once you’ve applied a filter you can tweak it by adjusting the brightness, saturation, contrast and more, and add extra layers so you can apply more than one filter at a time.

The interface is slick and intuitive, and your edited photos can be saved to your phone or shared with various social media and cloud storage apps.

You get 40 filters for free at time of writing, but for a $0.99/£0.99 monthly subscription you can unlock additional filter packs and 215 premium filters. As a one-off purchase it would have been easy to recommend, but as a subscription it’s probably only worth it if you find yourself using Lens Distortions a lot. Either way though the free version is well worth a download.

LightX Photo Editor

Free + $3.69/£3.49 IAP

If you want an all-in-one photo editor for Android then LightX Photo Editor is a good choice, not least because most of the features are free.

You can merge photos, add effects and filters, selectively apply colors to regions of an image, adjust the color balance, smooth and sharpen images, crop them, rotate them, draw on them, add frames and stickers, add text, create collages and a whole lot more.

That’s all handled through an intuitive interface; bring up the main menu with a tap, select the category of edits you want to make (filters or frames, for example) and you’ll be taken to a menu with all the relevant options.

Most of it is fairly self-explanatory, but there are also tutorial videos for if you get stuck, and for a one-off $3.69/£3.49 IAP you can get rid of adverts, unlock additional stickers and frames, and add the ability to save images in PNG format.

8Bit Photo Lab

Free + IAP

8Bit Photo Lab is a photo filter app that takes you back to simpler times. Times when games didn’t have near-photo-realistic graphics and Android was just a glint in Andy Rubin’s eye.

Simply snap or import a picture and pick a color palette from over 50 options, such as Game Boy or Commodore 64. Your photo will then instantly transform into something you might have seen on a screen from that era.

But that’s just the beginning, you can also add effects such as noise and checkerboard patterns, change the resolution and aspect ratio, tweak the contrast, saturation and brightness, and add 8-bit stickers, such as a mouse cursor, or little characters that look like they’ve come straight out of a game from the late 80s.

Essentially, 8Bit Photo Lab is like Prisma for anyone who prefers old-school video games to modern art, but it’s a well thought-through app.

Once you’ve tweaked an image to perfection you can add exactly the same filter to other photos with a swipe, for example, and while you get plenty for free, you can unlock lots of extra options with an IAP, including the ability to turn your creations into animated wallpapers.

TouchRetouch

$1.99/£1.99

No matter how good your smartphone camera is your images can still be ruined by unwanted additions, be it people in the background, a trash can in your landscape or blemishes on your own face.

TouchRetouch is here to help, by removing anything that you don’t want in your shot. You can get rid of unwanted objects by highlighting or circling them, and simply tap a blemish to remove it.

There are additional tools to clone or mirror parts of the image, and video tutorials to help you get more out of the app – though most of the features are fairly self-explanatory.

Results aren’t always perfect, with the app trying but not always entirely succeeding to hide the seams when you cut someone out, but you don’t have to save any changes you’re unhappy with and it generally does a surprisingly good job, all with only a few taps from you.

SKRWT

$1.49/£1.39

There are plenty of photo editing apps, but while most offer filters and effects few allow you to alter the perspective of a photo in the way SKRWT does.

There are no stickers here, no makeup modes and no real effects. Instead there are tools to shift the perspective, change the ratio and correct lens distortion.

You can also flip, rotate, mirror and crop images, but SKRWT isn't interested so much in modifying photos in unnatural ways, as in making them look exactly as you envisioned when you took them.

It's a professional tool, but it's easy to use and you can always undo your changes if you don't like them.

Our favorite Android apps for painting, drawing, sketching, design and animation.

Houzz

Free

Houzz is a one-stop app for decorating and furnishing your home. The app has numerous different sections, including a database of over 16 million photos to give you decor ideas, which can be filtered based on style, room and other things. These images can also be sketched on and shared.

Houzz lets you buy millions of products (such as furniture) and materials from within the app, and there’s a tool that lets you use augmented reality to see how a product would look in your home.

There are articles and videos related to remodelling and improving your home, too. You can find and hire interior decorators, architects and other professionals within the app, and there’s a community where users can ask and answer questions.

Houzz isn’t an app that everyone needs on their phone, but it is one that’s definitely worth looking at if you’re considering redecorating or making other home improvements.

Over

Free + $59.99/£54.99 per year

Over is designed primarily for adding text to images, which you might want to do if you’re making a poster or Instagram post, for example.

The app lets you select from a wide range of canvas sizes, including some created specifically for different social media purposes, such as Facebook cover photos. Then you can add images, text and graphics.

For images you can adjust the exposure, contrast and various other things; for text you can choose from a range of fonts, alignments and colors; and for graphics you can select from a range of pre-made designs, then adjust color, position and the like.

Projects can have multiple layers, and when you’re done you can save the result as a JPG or PNG, or share it.

It’s a handy app and everything that we’ve described so far is free, but for an admittedly hefty $59.99/£54.99 per year you get access to an ever-growing library of templates, hundreds of extra fonts, far more graphics and the promise of additional features in future.

For the average user this probably isn’t necessary, but if you’re using it for work or need to combine images and text regularly then it could be worth the outlay.

Draw.ai

Free + various IAP

Digital devices seem an ideal fit for drawing tutorials, yet few drawing apps seem to take advantage of them. Instead they often assume you already know what you’re doing or will learn outside the app, while many of the ones that do teach you rely on static images and text, but Draw.ai is more interactive.

While not a comprehensive guide to drawing, it offers a large assortment of images and guides you towards recreating each one step by step, one line at a time. By which we mean the app will draw a line or two from the image, then make it appear faint so you can draw the same thing over it.

This continues until the image is complete, after which you’re free to color it (without a guide). Once you’re finished, Draw.ai will show a short video of the entire process you went through.

The actual drawing tools are more limited than some apps, but there is at least a handy undo button that erases the last line you drew or change you made – something beginners will be making use of a lot.

Many of the images are free and more are added all the time, but to access everything you’ll have to pay a $5.99/£5.49 weekly subscription (with big discounts available if you pay monthly or yearly instead – you can get a full year for $59.99/£52.99).

Sketch - Draw & Paint

Free + various IAP

Sketch – Draw & Paint is a photo editor, sketching app and art community all in one, and while it’s not the deepest option for any of those things, it’s fun and easy to use.

On the sketching side you get a variety of different pen and brush types of different sizes and colors, along with the ability to add text and stickers and some basic tools, such as a ruler and layers.

You can either start with a blank canvas or take or import a photo, which brings us to the photo editing aspect of Sketch, an aspect which relies on the same set of tools.

As for the community, Sketch lets you upload your creations and share them with other Sketch users, as you can also browse through people’s artworks. There are categories for this, including ‘trending’ and ‘newcomers’, or you can just search for something specific.

You can comment on or like any of the shared artworks, and follow their creator so you can more easily keep track of any other work they produce. The actual quality of work in the community is varied, but that means it should be less intimidating to share your own.

Sketch – Draw & Paint is mostly free, but you can buy extra sticker packs or for £0.99 (around US$1.30) per month subscribe to Sketch Premium to unlock all the stickers, remove adverts, get a transparent background and be able to use a custom canvas size.

SketchBook

Free

You’ve probably come across SketchBook before – if not on Android then on iOS or desktop. This Autodesk sketching tool has been around for a long time and is one of the bigger names in the space, but it’s worth a second look because it’s now completely free, whereas many of the features were previously behind a paywall.

That means you can access loads of preset brushes, import images in any quality, customize the canvas size, and do many other things that previously you’d have had to pay for.

And, of course, you can sketch, with all the tools combining to make SketchBook one of the most powerful mobile options around.

You’ll need a tablet or at least a large phone to make the most of it, but as it’s now totally free there’s nothing to lose in downloading it and giving it a try, even if you have a smaller device.

Desygner

Free + $7.49/£5.99 subscription

Desygner lets you unleash your inner graphic designer on your phone or tablet, but with an intuitive interface and thousands of templates it’s simple enough for beginners to use.

You can combine text, shapes, images, stickers, backgrounds and more to create logos, posters, adverts, PowerPoint-like presentations, postcards or any number of other things where images and typography are important.

Each component of your design can be moved, resized, rotated, flipped, duplicated or have its color changed, and you can work with multiple layers. Results can then be saved to your device to be used wherever you want.

We suspect it might be a bit limited for professional graphic designers, who may want more freedom to completely create designs from scratch, but for everyone else Desygner is a great way to make something that looks professional.

The basic app is free but certain features, as well as the majority of the templates, require a monthly subscription which costs $7.49/£5.99. That’s probably worth it if you’re going to use the app semi-regularly, but if you just want to design something as a one-off you might find the free version good enough.

Infinite Painter

$7.99/£6.99

There’s no shortage of apps for digital artists, but Infinite Painter is one of the most feature-packed, with dozens of brush presets and the ability to create your own, along with layers, blending, editing tools and more, plus the option to export your images as JPEG, PNG, PSD or ZIP.

But as well as being packed full of features, Infinite Painter also takes the time to show you how they all work, with detailed tutorials and guides, although the interface is so simple that you should be able to muddle your way through most things anyway.

A lot of the features are hidden behind a paywall, with it costing $7.99/£6.99 to unlock everything, but the app includes a free seven-day trial, letting you try everything out before you decide whether you want to put money down, which if you’re a fan of digital art you probably will, because you get a lot for your money.

Our favorite Android apps for learning new things, from history to music to coding and beyond.

Shepard Fairey AR – DAMAGED

$4.99/£4.59

We’ve not always been entirely convinced by digital versions of real-world exhibits, but Shepard Fairey AR – DAMAGED does it right.

The app is a digital version of Shepard Fairey’s DAMAGED exhibit and it’s a great option for anyone who can’t make it to the real show in Los Angeles.

The app lets you walk around the exhibit with taps and swipes, or you can set it so that rotating your phone also changes your view in the exhibit. Or go even further and use an augmented reality mode that lets you physically walk around the exhibit, using your phone as a window into it.

It’s not just the exhibit, either – you also get over 100 minutes of narration from Fairey explaining the various artworks, which combined show that the world – and especially the US – is in a state of crisis, but that much of the damage can be repaired. 

MasterClass

From $89.99/£84.99

MasterClass gives you lessons in various skills, from cookery to acting to creative writing and a whole lot more, but how it really stands out is that these lessons are all taught by some of the best in the business.

You can learn cookery from Gordon Ramsay for example, filmmaking from Martin Scorsese, tennis from Serena Williams or photography from Annie Leibovitz.

Of course, this is an app, not a face to face lesson, so you’re not interacting with these people, but they’ve created video lessons and various other materials – such as workbooks – for MasterClass.

This content isn’t free; in fact it’s quite expensive, coming in at $89.99/£84.99 for a single course or $179.99/£169.99 for an ‘all access pass’, letting you access every course for a year. That’s steep, but it could be worth it if you’re serious about learning and want some top-class tuition. You can also explore the app and see video previews of any of the courses before paying.

Scripts

Free + $10.99/£10.49 per month

Learning to speak a language is only half the battle. To become fluent in a new language you also need to be able to read and write in it, and in the case of Japanese, Chinese and Korean that can be a daunting prospect, since they have their own unique alphabets.

Scripts can help though, as it gives you various bite-sized exercises designed to teach you their alphabets and get you practice at actually writing out the letters.

It starts by having you essentially trace or fill in a letter on the screen, then moves on to having you repeat the shape without a guide. These exercises and variations on them are repeated a number of times to drill the letter into you.

And if that sounds tedious, well, it’s not. The app is nicely designed and for free you only get to use it for five minutes each day, which isn’t long enough to get bored but is long enough to make progress.

If you want more you can pay $10.99/£10.49 per month to unlock unlimited time, get rid of adverts and even get full access to Drops, which is another language learning app by the same company. 

Gweek

$6.99/£6.49 monthly subscription

Ever wish you could speak more clearly? Or just wonder how clear a communicator you actually are? Gweek can help with the first of those things and answer the second.

Simply launch the app and talk into your phone for between one and two minutes about anything you want, then Gweek will analyze your speech, give you a score out of 100, tell you how to improve and show where you rank compared to various famous people.

When you’re ready you can try speaking for another one to two minutes, taking the advice on board, and see how your score changes.

You can also see things like how many filler words you use and how much you stutter, and there are additional tools to help you improve, such as guides to speech patterns and eye movements, and audio and visual examples.

Gweek could genuinely make you a better communicator, which could help in all parts of your life, from your relationships to advancing professionally and even gaining confidence.

However, to use it beyond getting your initial score you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription of $6.99/£6.49. That seems steep, but it’s a genuinely useful app and does something we’ve not come across before.

Toca Nature

$3.99/£3.99

If you have mixed feelings about letting your kid loose on a smartphone then Toca Nature could be a compromise, making them just as interested in the great outdoors as the screen in front of their face.

The app gives you a mostly empty expanse of grass that you can build mountains, lakes, rivers and forests on – all by selecting what you want and then swiping your finger across the part of the landscape where you want it to appear.

This interaction is wonderfully tactile, with mountains rising as you rub repeatedly across the same area and trees sprouting when you glide your finger.

Once you’re done creating your landscape it’s time to explore, with the app letting you zoom in, wander around and even interact with the animals that have made this space their home, feeding them various treats and hunting out more across the landscape. You can take photos of your world and there’s even a day and night cycle.

While Toca Nature is designed for young children it’s a testament to how good it is that it could appeal to all ages – though older users will probably tire of the limited toolset quickly.

Drops

Free + $10/£8.99 monthly subscription

Apps have revolutionized language learning, but there’s more than one way to learn from an app, and while some focus on typing and speaking, Drops leans into the strengths of a smartphone by making all interactions swipe- and tap-based.

Drops gives you a series of exercises to carry out each time you use it, taking various forms. One asks you to swipe a word to its corresponding picture, another asks you to tap pairs of words and pictures, and one breaks up a word or phrase into several parts and has you tap them in the correct order.

There are others too, and Drops has a lot of content covering all sorts of categories from food to plants and even politics in a variety of languages. Impressively, it also feels as slick and polished as Duolingo, without imitating it.

Drops gives you five minutes of language learning each day for free, but the app is designed to be bite-sized and the makers claim this is enough to make progress.

If you do want more though you can pay for unlimited access at a price of $10/£8.99, with discounts available if you pay for a year upfront.

Mimo: Learn to Code

Free + $9.99/£8.99 monthly subscription

The first step in learning to code is deciding what coding language to learn, and that can be a tough decision, as there are a lot of options.

Mimo helps with that, first asking you a series of questions in an attempt to find out why you want to code, then creating a curriculum for you, focusing on the language and skills that are more relevant to your needs.

The lessons are bite-sized and fun, so you can easily and enjoyably fit them into your day, and while we doubt you’ll become an expert from the app alone, it’s a great way to get started or to supplement other coding classes.

You can get started for free, but to unlock the bulk of the content you need to upgrade to premium, at a cost of $9.99/£8.99 per month. Though currently you can get a big discount if you pay for a year upfront, making it a whole lot cheaper.

Blinkist

Free + various subscriptions

Few of us have time to read all the books we want to, but Blinkist can give you a fighting chance by distilling the key information in books down into something that only takes around 15 minutes to read.

Obviously, this only works for nonfiction, and you will be missing a lot, but you can genuinely take away many of the core points and messages, so it’s great for books that you’re only semi-interested in and would never read otherwise.

There’s a lot of choice, with over 2,500 books included in the app, though to access most of them you have to pay a monthly subscription (which starts at $6.67/£5 per month if you pay for a year upfront but is $12.99/£13.49 if you pay monthly). This also lets you listen to the distilled versions, so you can consume them even when you can’t or don’t want to read.

If you stick with the free version of Blinkist you get one book per day and the app chooses which one. It’s still well worth having on your phone, but if you get into it then the subscription is probably worthwhile.

DailyArt

Free + $4.99/£4.69 IAP

DailyArt shows you a new artwork every day – mostly paintings, but sometimes other forms of art such as sculpture too.

It includes classic, modern and contemporary artworks, accompanied by information on the work and artist, so you can see and learn something new every day.

You can also favorite, share and download artworks, get notifications when a new daily one appears, and get information on where you can see each of the works in the flesh.

The core DailyArt app is free, but for a one-time IAP you can unlock access to the entire database, which currently includes around 4,000 artworks from 1,000 artists, so if you want to go beyond one artwork each day you’ll have a whole trove of them to dive into.

Rosetta Stone

Free + various IAP

Rosetta Stone has been teaching people languages since before smartphones were a thing, and its Android app is one of the best ways to learn.

You can select from 24 different languages, then go through a variety of lessons that combine words and images so you can learn visually. All the phrases are spoken, so you also get to hear the pronunciation.

There are a variety of different lesson types. Some show you several pictures and ask you to tap the one that matches a word or phrase, while some ask you to repeat the word or phrase, then use Rosetta Stone’s speech recognition technology to tell you how close you got.

There are stories that you can read or have read to you in the language you’re learning, and you can download lessons, so you can learn even when there’s no internet connection.

If you’ve ever used something like Duolingo then this app will feel somewhat familiar, but Rosetta Stone seems to put more of a focus on having you speak words aloud.

Unlike Duolingo, most of Rosetta Stone isn’t free, but you can get some basic lessons without paying to begin learning the foundations of a language. Then, if you want to take it further, you can subscribe for anywhere from three months to a year, or buy lifetime access to a language course.

Prices vary depending on what you choose, but this isn’t cheap, costing for example $79/£42.99 for three months of access. Still, it’s potentially more affordable than a real-world course.

Guitar Lessons by Fender Play

$9.99/£8.99 monthly subscription

While taking guitar lessons is probably advisable if you want to learn, it’s perfectly possible to teach yourself, and Guitar Lessons by Fender Play is probably one of the strongest tools for that.

Starting with the absolute basics, the app lets you choose the style of music you want to focus on and whether you’re playing electric or acoustic guitar, then it takes you through a series of video lessons, teaching you chords, riffs and songs.

Many of the videos are short, so you can learn in bite-sized chunks, and information is often also written out for you below the video.

You can also jump ahead to later lessons if you’re more advanced or just not interested in certain tutorials, and there are hundreds of different songs and lessons in total, so there’s plenty to sink your teeth into.

Guitar Lessons by Fender Play costs US$9.99/£8.99 every month, but that’s still a lot less than you’d spend on a weekly lesson, and you get the first month free.

Our favorite Android apps for having fun on your phone or tablet, through watching videos, reading, socializing and more.

Depop

Free

Depop is a bit like eBay, but with a real focus on second-hand and vintage clothing, which is a refreshing change in a world where fashion is often seen as disposable despite the clothing industry’s massive negative impact on the environment.

There’s a large selection of items often at low prices and while clothing is the focus that’s not all you’ll find. There’s also tech, books, jewelry, music, art, films, magazines, sports equipment and a few other categories.

As with eBay, you can sell as well as buy, and the app allows you to set up and manage your own store, as well as browsing other people’s. If you’ve got some clothes to clear out or just want to shop a bargain – while doing your bit for the environment – then Depop is a good place to start.

VLC for Android

Free

You’ve probably come across VLC before, but if not you really, really should, because it’s one of the very best video player apps on Android. Even if you have tried it before, it could be worth revisiting, as it’s received several recent updates.

This completely free app has almost everything you might want from a video player, including extensive file support (such as MKV, MP4, AVI, MOV, Ogg, FLAC, TS, M2TS, Wv and AAC), support for DVD ISOs, network streams and network shares, the ability to add and display subtitles, adjust the aspect ratio, and alter the look and sound with an equalizer and filters.

And those are just the headline features. There’s plenty more to dig into beyond this. We’re not the biggest fans of VLC’s distinctive orange color scheme, but that’s about the only thing we can find to complain about, and it can be partially hidden if you switch to the black theme.

Soon

Free

Soon is an app for keeping track of all the movies and shows you want to watch, the music you want to listen to, the bars and restaurants you want to visit, the books you want to read, and various other things.

Simply tap on the relevant category (‘books’ for example) then type the name of the thing you want to remember. Soon will populate the entry with relevant details if it can find any. These might include the address if it’s a place, or the cast and crew if it’s a film, for example.

In this way you can build up lists and have them all in one place, so you’ll never lose track of them. If you’re planning a trip you can also create a list of the things you want to do on it, and even collaborate on the list with other people.

Each of the list categories also has a second screen where anything that you’ve marked as ‘done’ appears, so it doesn’t clutter up the main list, but so you can still easily check if you have watched, read or visited the thing, in case you can’t remember for sure. You also get a chance to rate the thing when you mark it as done, so you’ll have a record of what you thought of everything too.

RAM and Game Booster

$0.99/£0.59

Some smartphone makers have put a big focus on gaming modes, such as Huawei with its GPU Turbo feature, but if you don’t have a handset with these sorts of features there are still things that can help, such as RAM and Game Booster.

It helps by freeing up RAM, which it can do on-demand or when specific games are launched.

You can also set RAM and Game Booster to free up RAM when RAM usage reaches a set percentage, after a set period, or when the app judges that the device requires it.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an app aimed at freeing up RAM, but the various settings for when it happens are more comprehensive here than on most rival apps. This still won’t turn a low-end phone into a gaming powerhouse, but it could make a small difference to performance.

Pocket

Free + $4.99/£4.49 monthly subscription

Pocket isn’t a new app, but it does have some new features and a new look.

For those who don’t already know, Pocket is an app that lets you save articles so that you can read them later. That both means you can read them offline and allows you to keep a list of content you plan to read so you won’t forget about it. And as Pocket works on a variety of devices, including Android and iOS phones and tablets as well as PCs, you can read what you’ve saved anywhere.

Thanks to a recent update you can also now listen to saved articles, with Pocket reading them out to you, so you can devour them even when you’re busy doing something else. The company is also planning to add Alexa integration, meaning you’ll be able to listen to articles through any device that has Alexa built in.

And the interface now has multiple themes, as well as a general overhaul designed to make reading for long periods more comfortable.

It’s good stuff, and it’s mostly free, but subscribing to Pocket Premium for $4.99/£4.49 per month gets rid of adverts, unlocks a powerful search tool, and ensures your saved articles won’t be lost even if they’re taken off the web.

Google Home

Free

One of the problems with smart homes today is that your devices are typically made by a variety of different companies and, as such, they’re all managed by different apps. It’s a messy and not particularly smart situation, but an update to Google Home aims to address that.

The app now lets you manage most smart devices from within it, whether they’re made by Google or not. Thousands of devices from hundreds of brands are supported; it’s just a case of finding yours and logging into them from the Google Home app, thereby giving it permission to manage them. You can then create groups of smart devices based on what room they’re in and manage everything from lights to thermostats to coffee makers all in one place.

Some devices still aren’t supported, and you don’t always have full control – for example, we can turn our LIFX lights on and off and adjust the brightness from Google Home, but can’t change the colors.

Still, for basic interactions with most of your smart devices, Google Home is a slick, streamlined option.

MTV Play UK

£3.99 per month

If you’re in the US you could have been enjoying MTV content on your Android phone or tablet for years, but the app has only just come to the UK.

For £3.99 per month (following a free seven-day trial) you get access to box sets of a variety of MTV shows, such as Geordie Shore and Ex on the Beach, plus the ability to catch up on the latest episodes, and new content added all the time.

There are also extras, such as behind the scenes footage, and there’s a daily MTV news bulletin providing news focused on the entertainment industry.

As streaming apps go MTV Play UK is pretty basic – there’s no Chromecast support currently for example, or the option to download content, but if you like MTV and don’t like being a slave to TV schedules then it’s still a near essential app. 

Mubi Go

£7.99 per month

You might have come across Mubi before – it’s a streaming film service that gives subscribers access to a new film every day, with a focus on independent and world films. Mubi Go is essentially that for the cinema.

The service selects one new cinema release each week and gives you a free ticket to it. Or rather, it gives you a QR code that can be scanned at select cinemas in exchange for a ticket.

There seems anecdotally to be quite a good range of cinemas, including big chains like Vue, though Mubi Go tends to select quite niche films which don’t have a wide release, so if you’re not in a big city your mileage may vary.

The service is included with a standard Mubi subscription, so if you’re already subscribed to that you can download the Mubi Go app and have instant access.

However, while Mubi itself is available in both the US and UK, Mubi Go is currently only a UK service. We wouldn’t be surprised if that changes one day, but in the meantime US users always have the superficially similar MoviePass. 

Compass News

Free + $0.99/£0.99 monthly subscription

Compass News is a slick, speedy way to get to the heart of the day’s most important news stories. The main screen contains a list of the biggest headlines of the day and tapping on them provides a brief summary of the story, no more than a few paragraphs long.

For free, that’s all you really get, but take out a subscription and you can access another feed that has more stories – though still only reports judged to be the biggest and most important. Here, each contains an even shorter 30-second summary, along with a separate tab providing background and context, which again is done in a few short paragraphs.

If you want the full story you can tap on it to be taken to its host site and read it in full - these sites are major sources such as The Guardian and The New York Times. There are over 25 different publishers in total, all of which are judged to be among the best and most trusted, so there’s no risk of fake news. The sources also encompass both the left and right of the political spectrum, to provide a more rounded look at the news.

You can favorite stories in order to access them offline, and browse topics if you’re only interested in certain news sections, but that’s all the app offers. It’s light on options by design, keeping things simple so catching up with the news doesn’t become a chore.

Letterboxd

Free

Letterboxd bills itself as a social network for film lovers and that’s about right, but its focus is primarily on tracking what you’ve seen, planning what you want to see, and discovering films you didn’t even know about.

That discovery part comes mostly through themed lists created by other users, with titles such as 'Japanese films that will blow your mind' and 'When you’re feeling a little lost'.

You can read reviews of films from other users and follow people to receive updates on their activity in Letterboxd. The app also invites you to write your own reviews and create your own collections, as well as building up a list of films you’ve watched, ones you like and ones you want to watch.

Each movie has its own page, complete with user reviews and ratings, a description, often a trailer, and list of a cast and crew that you can tap through to find out more about people and what they’ve done.

All of this is very nicely laid out, with lots of images, and Letterboxd is accessible from the web and iOS devices as well as Android.

Readly

$9.99/£7.99 per month

In the age of the web, magazines can feel like a dated concept, but Readly does a decent job of bringing them up to date by offering a Netflix-like subscription service.

We say Netflix-like, but while most of the content on there is far from brand new, you have access to the latest issues of thousands of magazines on Readly, all in digital form and with unlimited access for $9.99/£7.99 per month.

You can read content from not just your own country but various others too and the selection is strong, with plenty of big names on offer, along with more niche magazines.

Readly is accessible on phone, tablet and computer, so you can access your magazines almost anywhere with a screen, and even download them for offline reading.

You also have access to back issues, and navigation is a breeze, handled by intuitive swipes and taps. Readly even supports crosswords and other puzzle content, so you can do just about everything you could with a paper version.

Our favorite Android apps for working out, reducing stress and crafting meals.

Breeze

Free + £4.79 (around $6.35) monthly subscription

Breeze is a relaxation app that packs in so many features, it can easily replace several others on your phone.

It offers various guided meditations and relaxation exercises, as well as soothing audio of numerous kinds, including ASMR and nature sounds, all of which can be set to play for a duration of your choice.

There are even bedtime stories here, which will probably mostly be of interest to younger listeners, given that the books chosen are things like The Little Prince and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

You can also have Breeze automatically wake you up to soothing sounds and set it to remind you to take a break during the day.

There’s a lot here and much of it is free, but for the full selection of sounds, meditations and stories, and to remove adverts, you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription. This usually costs £4.79 (around $6.35), but the first month is half price.

We’d say that if you’re mostly interested in just one particular part of Breeze – say the meditations or soothing sounds, then you can find better or cheaper options elsewhere, but if you like the bulk of what Breeze has to offer then the subscription should be worthwhile.

Shine – Self-Care & Meditation

Free or $9.99/£9.49 per month / $53.99/£50.99 per year

Shine is a self-care app that combines a number of things other apps specialize in.

You can start by ‘checking in’ every day, saying something that you’re grateful for and something that you’re doing to make yourself happy. This is a small thing, but by thinking about what’s good in our lives we really can feel better about them.

Shine will also send you a motivational text every week day, but the bulk of the app is a selection of articles and audio tracks covering a variety of topics. Some of these are meditations, but there’s also content on everything from improving sleep to avoiding burn out.

As with many self-help apps, much of this is hidden behind a paywall, with Shine costing $9.99/£9.49 per month or $53.99/£50.99 per year to unlock everything. That’s not cheap, but there’s quite a lot of content, including seven-day audio challenges that provide a deep dive on a specific topic.

QuitNow!

Free + $3.95/£3.95

Quitting smoking is always going to be hard, but there are tools to help, including QuitNow!. The app first asks you how many cigarettes you smoke a day, how long ago you had your last one, how long you’ve been smoking, and a few other things.

It then shows you a dashboard, complete with the amount of time since your last cigarette, which constantly counts up in seconds. You can also see how many cigarettes you’ve avoided and how much money you’ve saved based on that.

A second screen shows how close you are to achieving certain health milestones, such as a lowered risk of sudden death and improved physical condition (all of which is based on World Health Organization data).

There are also achievements to unlock, such as one for going without a cigarette for two days, and a community page, where you can post your progress and encourage others.

That’s all free, but for a one-off fee of $3.95/£3.95 you can access 55 more achievements, a better community chat screen, custom achievements and more, as well as getting rid of adverts. If you’re serious about quitting and the app is helping, then that’s probably a price worth paying.

Cocktail Flow

Free + $5/£4.49 per month

Most drinks you simply pour, but cocktails you craft, and if you want a little aid and inspiration then Cocktail Flow is a good place to start.

The app has a large library of cocktails, complete with ingredient lists, equipment lists and instructions, plus the ability to choose what measurement units you want to use and how many servings you want to make.

You can browse cocktails based on the type, base spirit or country of origin and you can favorite the ones you like so they’re easy to return to later.

There’s also a small library of tips to help you get better at making them. These include things like how to layer drinks and how to dry shake.

Much of the content is free, but for $5/£4.49 per month you can upgrade to premium, which unlocks hundreds of additional recipes with new ones added each week. It also lets you add your own cocktail recipes to the app and save notes, detailing tweaks that you like to make to cocktails.

These are genuinely useful features, but we’d be much happier with a one-off payment than a subscription to access them. Still, if you’re a mixologist in the making it should be worthwhile.

Paprika Recipe Manager

Free or $4.99/£4.69

Paprika Recipe Manager isn’t a typical recipe app. In fact, it doesn’t house any recipes at all - at least, not when you first download it.

Rather, Paprika includes a web browser that you can use to search for recipes and import them into the app. Paprika will attempt to save all the details, including ingredients, instructions and anything else included in the recipe, and generally it does a good job, but if it misses anything or if you want to tweak the recipe you can make manual edits.

In this way you can build up a recipe book of all your favorite recipes from the web, rather than being limited to a single database as you are with most recipe apps.

You can also add ingredients to an in-app shopping list, use a calendar in the app for meal planning and – if you upgrade to the full version for $4.99/£4.69 – sync your recipes to the cloud and save an unlimited number (up from 50 recipes in the free version of the app).

Our only issue with Paprika is that the look of the app is functional rather than stylish, but overall this is well worth having whether you stick with the free version or shell out for the full app.

Endomondo

Free + £9.99 (roughly $13) monthly subscription

If you run, cycle or even like to track your walks then there’s a good chance you’ve come across Endomondo before. As one of the oldest, biggest and best apps in the business - it stays that way thanks to regular updates; at the time of writing the app was updated less than two weeks ago.

Even if you don’t run or cycle you might still want to check out Endomondo, as - despite its GPS-tracking specialities - it can also track more than 60 other sports, such as golf, climbing and ice skating.

Alongside route and distance tracking, Endomondo can also track your speed, pace, calories and more. Ff you’re doing a sport that can’t be tracked with GPS then you can manually enter your workout, so you’ve still got a log of your achievements.

Additionally, you can link Endomondo to heart rate monitors and cadence sensors to incorporate their data into your records. The app can also be connected to auxiliary fitness accounts such as Google Fit, Garmin Connect and Polar Flow, so all your health and fitness data will be in sync.

Endomondo also lets you create goals for individual workouts or for your week, so you have targets to hit - the app will even alert you when you achieve a personal best. Plus, you can create and participate in challenges against friends and other users of the app.

And if all that isn’t enough then you can also subscribe to Endomondo Premium, which adds heart rate zone analysis, interval training, personal training plans, access to advanced statistics (such as how far you’ve run in total each month), and more.

SnoreLab

Free + $6.99/£5.99 IAP

Ever wondered how much you really snore or want to get your snoring under control? SnoreLab can help.

Simply set the app to run while you sleep and it will record snippets of your snoring throughout the night, telling you how loud you snore and giving you a ‘snore score’.

You can also play back the recordings, compare your snoring over multiple nights and log any factors that might be making it worse (such as alcohol) or any remedies you’re trying (such as nasal spray) to see how much difference they really make.

Doing this you can both see first hand how bad your snoring really is and more effectively work out what makes it better or worse.

The core app is free, but there’s a one-off IAP to access your full history and additional features, such as soothing sounds to help you get to sleep.

Seven – 7 Minute Workout Training Challenge

Free + $9.99/£9.99 monthly subscription

Seven – 7 Minute Workout Training Challenge is an exercise app for busy people who only have a few minutes to work out, or those who just don’t fancy spending longer than that building up a sweat.

There are a lot of apps with a similar focus, but Seven stands out in a number of ways, from its polished interface to its various achievements, which reward you for sticking with it. There’s even a ‘7 Month Challenge’, which tasks you with working out every day for seven months and causes you to lose one of your three ‘hearts’ for every day that you skip.

The core app has a range of exercises, none of which require any equipment, and there are specific training plans that give you different workouts depending on your goal, be it losing weight, building strength, or a number of other things. You can also create and save your own workouts.

Much of the content is free, but for US$9.99/£9.99 per month you can get additional workouts and exercises (with over 200 available in total), and get personal workout plans that are adapted to your fitness level. The price might sound steep, but it’s still a lot cheaper than most gym memberships.

Shleep

Free + $11.99/£10.49 monthly subscription

There are all sorts of apps and gadgets for monitoring your sleep, but few of them give much feedback on how to actually sleep better. That’s what Shleep is for.

When you first start the app, it asks a short series of questions to gauge the general quality and quantity of sleep you’re getting. It will then coach you towards better sleep through short daily videos (or just audio if you prefer), which highlight things that can help and then give you specific things you can try doing – or not doing as the case may be.

These include removing associations with anything other than sleep from your bedroom, only going to bed when you’re actually tired, staying away from screens late at night, and finding effective ways to unwind before you doze off.

Some of these suggestions are obvious and others are less so, but putting them into practice can make a real difference.

Shleep will ask how you slept each night, so you can build up a picture of your sleep quality and whether it’s improving. There are also handy tools like a sleep debt calculator and the option to have daily tips and exercises emailed to you to refer back to later.

You don’t get access to every sleep video for free, but there’s plenty to make a start. If you feel it’s making a difference, there are subscriptions available per month (£10.49/$11.99) or per year (£74.99, roughly $105). You can also unlock everything permanently for a steep one-off fee of £299.99/$389.99. Not cheap, but can you really put a price on not being constantly tired?

Fitbit Coach

Free + $7.99/£6.30 monthly subscription

Fitbit Coach is the new name for Fitstar, so it’s not a new app as such but it is worth highlighting.

Packed full of workouts and exercise plans, Fitbit Coach has a wide range of content with things suited for most abilities, most of which doesn’t require a gym membership.

There are dozens of bodyweight workouts, plus guided walks and runs and at the time of writing 24 different treadmill workouts, each of which has a duration and an estimated calorie burn that you can see before you start.

There are also various ‘programs’ which have you work through a selection of workouts each week.

Most workouts are videos, which you can cast to your TV if you prefer, but there are also audio ones for runs and walks.

The app aims to keep the workout variety up, which - along with built-in soundtracks from Fitbit Radio - should help keep you motivated, and despite the Fitbit branding there’s no requirement to have a Fitbit in order to use it.

The only problem is that most of this stuff is hidden behind a monthly subscription, but you can access a handful of workouts for free to get a taste of the app before putting any money down.

Box Breathing

$4.99/£4.49

Box breathing is a breathing technique used by the Navy Seals, sports professionals and others, which involves taking long deep breaths and holding them.

It has a number of supposed benefits, from reducing stress and anxiety, to improving blood flow, awareness, focus and attention.

While we’re not sure how sound the science is for all of that, it can certainly serve as a calming influence, and the Box Breathing app helps you get started.

It contains an instructional video to help you get the technique down, and then can guide you through the required breaths, with words or sound effects and visual indicators to tell you when to breathe in and out.

You can work through a number of levels, which adjust how deep a breath to take and how long to hold it, or just stick with the basics, and Box Breathing also keeps a log of your breathing practice and can be set to remind you to do it daily.

There are even gamification features, with new ranks handed out for practicing a number of consecutive days. And all in all, the app is about as comprehensive as possible for such a simple technique, and justifies its price tag.

Simple Habit

Free + $9.99/£9.99 monthly subscription 

Meditation apps are meant, among other things, to relax and de-stress us, but if you’re anything like us they run the risk of doing the opposite, becoming chores that we feel guilty for neglecting.

Simple Habit doesn’t completely solve that problem, but it gets some way there, by offering short 5-minute meditations, that you can easily fit in at any point during your day.

Other meditation apps have short sessions too, but there are usually only a few of them, mixed in with longer meditations, while they’re all short in Simple Habit (though we do have to point out some stretch beyond 5 minutes to cater for those that do want a bit more relaxation).

Simple Habit also has a variety of different teachers to guide you, so if you don’t get on with one (or just get bored of their voice) there are plenty of others to choose from.

The rest of the app is as you’d expect, with meditations designed around specific life circumstances, goals or moods, and a simple interface that doesn’t get in the way.

Like Headspace, most of the meditations are locked behind a subscription, but you can listen to a handful for free to see if Simple Habit is for you.

Our favorite Android apps for making music, listening to music, finding podcasts and everything else to do with audio.

Serial Box

Free + various IAP

Serial Box sits somewhere between Audible and a podcast player, as it delivers fiction stories that you can either read or listen to (and in the latter case they’re read by someone – no dodgy computer readings here). But they’re delivered in weekly bite-sized chunks, like a podcast.

You have to pay for the stories, but you get to listen to the first episode of each of them for free, so you can get an idea of whether you want to pay, and you get both the written and spoken version for one payment. You can also choose to pay episode by episode or for the whole story upfront.

Most of the content is also currently exclusive to Serial Box, so you won’t find it anywhere else. And because you can choose to either read or listen – and can access stories on all of your devices – it’s a lot more versatile than most methods of engaging with fiction.

Poweramp Music Player

$3.99/£3.39

Poweramp is an old favorite in the world of music player apps, but a massive overhaul has brought it to version three, complete with a new audio engine which supports hi-res output and additional file formats, including opus, tak, mka, dsd, and dsf/dff.

The overhaul also added tempo controls and a reverb effect, updated the UI to make it a whole lot more modern (complete with light and dark themes) and made navigation more intuitive.

That’s all building on top of an already brilliant app that has a 10-band graphic equalizer, support for most audio file formats, and all sorts of tools and options, such as gapless playback and crossfade.

The app can display lyrics and download missing album artwork, and there are widgets, a tag editor, and numerous additional themes available to download.

Few apps match Poweramp for features, and as of V3 it’s one of the best-looking music players on Android too. It’s well worth the price tag if you play much local audio, but it comes with a 15-day free trial, so you can try it out before paying.

Stellio Player

Free + $2.99/£2.69 IAP

Stellio Player is a ridiculously full-featured music player which has everything you’d expect and more, such as widgets, support for multiple audio formats (including lossless ones such as FLAC), lock screen music controls, and the ability to sort by album, artist, genre or folder.

Additionally, Stellio Player lets you control music through your notification shade, has a sleep timer, and gives rich control over the sound, with a 12-band equalizer with complementary effect controls such as echo and reverb. Further features include gapless playback, crossfade, and the ability to change track with a long press of a volume button.

The player is stylish and can change color to match the album art of the track you’re listening to, or you can select from a number of other themes to further customize it.

Android Wear users will appreciate Stellio’s Wear OS support, so you can control your music from your wrist too.

All of this is free, but for a one-off payment of $2.99/£2.69 you can remove adverts (which are unobtrusive anyway) and access a new theme.

YouTube Music

Free + optional $9.99/£9.99 monthly subscription

YouTube Music is a YouTube app that puts the shows and shorts to one side and is all about the music. It’s all here, presented with personalized recommendations and a constantly updated ‘hotlist’ of trending tracks. There are also numerous playlists, and you can create your own.

That’s all free, but to get the most out of YouTube Music you need to pay for YouTube Music Premium, which costs US$9.99/£9.99 per month and lets you listen offline, with your screen off, or while using other apps. It also gets rid of the adverts.

However, if that sounds appealing you’re probably best off paying for YouTube Premium. This subscription costs slightly more at US$11.99/£11.99 per month, but also gives you access to the main YouTube site and apps ad-free, lets you watch YouTube originals, enables you to play videos in the background, and more besides.

Loffee

Free

Loffee is a gorgeous app that provides a curated collection of lo-fi music ideal for putting on in the background.

Current playlists include ‘morning coffee’, ‘late night vibe’ and ‘rainy days’ among others. Each one is designed around a certain mood or time of day, and contains a selection of fitting tracks.

Unless you’re seriously into lo-fi sounds you probably won’t have heard much if any of it, but that’s all the better because there’s some great stuff here waiting to be discovered. It’s all served up alongside nicely done artworks, making the app itself pleasant to navigate.

Loffee is limited in a lot of ways – the selection of music is fairly small for example and you can’t cast it to speakers, but just about everything that is here – from the music to the app design – is great.

TaoMix 2

Free + various IAP

TaoMix 2 is an ambient noise app designed to drown out the outside world and help you relax, sleep or focus.

There are lots of sounds to choose from, such as birds chirping, rain, waves, wind, a fireplace, a thunderstorm and many more. But you’re not limited to one sound – you can build a soundscape by selecting several at once.

Each of these sounds appears as a circle on your screen and there’s another circle which can be made to move around the screen, and which makes each sound more prominent when it overlaps with them, so the soundscapes vary over time based on the movements of this circle.

You can save any soundscape you make to easily return to it later and you can set a timer, so the soundscape will automatically turn off after a set period of time. You can even record your own sounds.

The core app is free, but to get the most out of TaoMix 2 you’ll want to invest in some of the sound packs to bulk up the available selection. These start at £0.69/US$0.99.

Ringtone Maker Pro

$3.99/£3.29

Got a song that you want to use as a ringtone but want to cut it down first? Ringtone Maker Pro will get the job done.

It supports MP3, FLAC, OGG, WAV, AAC, M4A, MP4 and 3GPP/AMR files, and should be able to find any audio file on your device when you hit the scan button. Select the one you want to edit, then choose a start and end point for the ringtone right down to the millisecond.

There’s scope for more complex editing too; you can cut parts of the song, copy and paste sections, or paste together parts of multiple audio files.

You’re not limited to the music that’s already on your phone either – you can also record your own ringtone using your voice or any other noise you can create.

The app is fairly straightforward to use and in this form it comes free of adverts, but if you’d rather have the adverts and not have to pay there’s also a free version available.

Bandcamp

Free

The Bandcamp app is brilliant whether you’ve bought music from the site before, or you’re just interested in discovering new songs.

It houses loads of music from loads of artists – mostly but not exclusively independents, so they’re ones you’re less likely to have heard on the radio.

You can browse music by genre or search for specific artists, but Bandcamp will also highlight music in its featured feed, and if you favorite any artists you’ll see releases from them in your music feed.

You can listen to much of the music for free, and access streams and downloads of any music you’ve bought from Bandcamp. There’s even a weekly podcast highlighting interesting music you might not have heard.

Shuttle+ Music Player

$2.49/£2.69

Shuttle+ Music Player has been around for ages, and it’s long been one of the best players for anyone who prefers owning music to streaming it from the likes of Spotify or Google Play Music.

Shuttle+ is now better than ever thanks to a recent update bringing it to version 2.0. The app’s interface has undergone a major overhaul, making it more intuitive than ever. The update has also added new features, including the ability to shuffle albums as well as songs, and dynamic themes, which change to match the album artwork of what you’re listening to.

Beyond the new additions and refreshed interface this is the same impressive app it’s always been, packed full of features including a six-band equalizer, gapless playback, a sleep timer, widgets, Chromecast support, automatic album artwork downloads and a whole lot more.

There’s also a free version, but it lacks certain features such as Chromecast support, and the paid version is more than worth the money if you listen to a lot of locally stored music.

Nebula Alarm Clock

Free + $2.49/£2.09 IAP

If you have trouble getting up in the morning, or just want some extra incentive to do so, then Nebula Alarm Clock could be the answer.

Every night the app will grow a star, which you can collect in the morning and eventually use to build constellations.

The catch is that you only have a few minutes to claim your star, and to do so you have to turn the alarm off, which means no snoozing. It can optionally involve having to solve a challenge too, such as scanning a barcode or completing a brain teaser.

If you fail to collect the star, not only do you lose it, but the supernova will break any constellation you’ve been working on, so you could lose several nights’ work if you don’t get up in time.

There are other features too, such as having soothing sound effects play for a set amount of time when you go to bed, choosing between various alarm sounds, deciding how much time you have to claim your star in the morning, and setting the alarm to gradually get louder.

There are rewards for completing constellations too, such as unlocking new sound effects to send you off to sleep.

The core app is free, but for additional alarms and sounds and to remove adverts you can pay for a $2.49/£2.09 one-off IAP.

Our favorite Android apps for taking notes, writing and editing documents and generally working on the move.

JotterPad

Free + various IAP

If you have an Android tablet with a keyboard you might be considering doing some serious writing, and if you’re considering that then you should definitely consider using JotterPad.

This isn’t a new app; rather, it’s an old favorite of many that’s regularly updated, ensuring it remains one of the best options for writing on Android.

The core of the app is a distraction-free text editor, but dig into the menus and there are all sorts of tools and options. There’s Markdown support for example, a word count, cloud storage, a phrase search, a built-in dictionary, a dark theme, a rhyming dictionary, numerous fonts, and more.

Some of this stuff is hidden behind IAP, the main one being ‘Pro’, which costs $14.99/£12.99. That might seem steep, but it’s a one-off payment and if you’re writing an essay or novel on JotterPad then you should easily get your money’s worth.

Writer Tools

Free + $4.99/£4.99 monthly subscription

Writer Tools is a set of tools for anyone who’s setting out to write a novel. The app makes this daunting task a bit more manageable by letting you create characters and locations.

These sections store these details so they’re always readily available, and help you flesh them out. For example, the character creator lets you fill out all sorts of optional details such as their greatest fear and best memory.

Writer Tools also has a built-in thesaurus, lets you jot down ideas and notes, create timelines, set quarterly writing goals, and more. You can also back-up your work to the cloud, so you’ll never lose it.

This is all free, but for a monthly subscription you can get rid of adverts, access all your historic backups, add images to your characters and locations, switch to a night mode, and more. There’s a lot there, which goes some way to justifying the price, but many users will be fine with the free version.

OfficeSuite

Free + £8.49 (around $11.10) IAP

If you’re looking for office software on Android there are really only a handful of options, and OfficeSuite is one of the best, thanks largely to how feature-packed it is.

You can create documents, spreadsheets, presentations or PDFs, and you can start from scratch or use one of numerous templates as a jumping off point.

You can share documents and message contributors, save work to the cloud, open two documents and work on them both at once in split-screen, cast presentations across multiple devices, and a whole lot more.

Most of the features in OfficeSuite are totally free, but if you’re using it a lot it’s probably worth upgrading to OfficeSuite Premium, which, among other things, lets you save files in more formats and unlocks more PDF tools, such as the ability to convert PDFs to Word or Excel format, and create and use digital signatures.

Microsoft Word

Free + $6.99/£5.99 monthly subscription

Microsoft Word probably needs no introduction, but if you do much word processing on your tablet (or even your phone) and haven’t tried the Android app then you really should.

You essentially get the full version, allowing you to view, create and edit documents of various styles, including newsletters, brochures and more.

You can change the font, text color, margins, add bullet points and most other things possible from the desktop version of Word, via a slick, polished interface that’s pleasingly minimal most of the time. You can also save your documents to OneDrive, so they’re accessible from other devices.

Many of the features are free, but you’ll need an Office 365 subscription (which starts at US$6.99/£5.99 per month) to unlock the likes of page and section breaks, columns, different page orientations, and the ability to track and review changes.

Otter Voice Notes

Free + optional subscription

Sometimes you don’t have time to take notes. Recording audio can come in handy, but often means spending time transcribing it later. Not so with Otter Voice Notes.

The app will automatically transcribe what’s spoken using AI, and you can teach it to recognize your voice so it can differentiate between speakers.

Once the audio is transcribed you can read it and correct any mistakes manually. The audio is also recorded, so you can listen back to the recording as well.

The really clever bit though is that Otter will detect keywords automatically, so you can search for a word and the app will find where it appears in any of your recordings. It’s a great feature that makes it easy to find specific information, even if you’ve recorded hours of audio.

You can also create groups, allowing you to share recordings with others, and all of your recordings are stored in the cloud so you can access them on any device and they won’t take up space on your phone.

The only two problems we’ve found so far is that longer recordings can take a while to be transcribed, and the transcription isn’t always perfect. It’s usually good enough that you can tell what it means though, and you can correct any errors so it’s not a big deal.

Grammarly Keyboard

Free

Grammarly Keyboard goes far beyond just auto-correcting typos; it will also check your grammar and punctuation, explain any mistakes and correct them.

Start typing and Grammarly will check the text automatically, flagging any issues. You can tap on a correction to apply it, or on an icon to the left for an explanation of why what you’ve written is wrong, which can help you avoid making the same mistake again.

That aside, Grammarly is a fairly standard touchscreen keyboard, with a handful of settings, such as whether or not you want the keys to vibrate when pressed, and whether you want the first letter of a sentence to be capitalized automatically. It works well and feels as accurate as most other Android keyboards – just with the addition of extra grammar checks.

It isn’t perfect – it missed when we wrote the same word twice in a row and didn’t seem too picky about where commas were placed – but it flags more than most keyboards will, so if you care about the accuracy of what you type it’s well worth checking out.

Chambers Thesaurus

$4.99/£2.99

There are a number of thesaurus apps on Google Play and some are free, but if you’re regularly writing – or looking words up – on your Android device, then Chambers Thesaurus is one of the best options, and worth the outlay.

It has entries for almost 40,000 words, along with around 400,000 synonyms and antonyms, and they’re browsable alphabetically so you can read through the thesaurus if you want, rather than simply searching for a word.

When you do search, you’ll get results as soon as you start typing, and not just for words that fit the spelling, but also similarly spelt words, those that sound similar, and those that are often confused for one another.

You can also bookmark entries and cross reference with the Chambers Dictionary or WordWeb apps (if you have them), or look the words up on Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Google, all with a tap from Chambers Thesaurus.

Data is stored locally, so you don’t need an internet connection to use the Chambers Thesaurus app itself, and there are all sorts of customization options, letting you change the color scheme, font size and more.

Our favorite Android apps for improving productivity, whether through to-do lists, focus timers or other tools.

MyScript Calculator 2

$2.99 / £2.69

At times, MyScript Calculator 2 feels a bit like magic. It lets you write out a calculation by hand, so you’re not reliant on calculator buttons, then its turns it into neat text and solves it for you. In our tests – with our exceedingly messy handwriting – it knew what we were writing every time.

It goes way beyond the basics too, with support for brackets, logarithms, constants, roots, trigonometry, and more.

It also lets you write calculations over multiple lines, scribble out mistakes (or hit the undo button), and drag and drop elements of the calculation to move them around, updating the answer as you do so.It saves previous calculations so you can always return to them, and lets you share your sums with other apps.

The only problem our maths-muddled brain faced was remembering how to write complex sums in the first place, but if you know how to write them, MyScript Calculator 2 is sure to know how to solve them.

Newton Mail

$49.99/£47.99 per year

Newton Mail was for a long time one of the best email apps available, but then for some reason it was discontinued. Thankfully, that decision has now been reversed, and Newton Mail is now back and just as good as ever.

It works with most email accounts and is packed full of features, such as read receipts, the ability to schedule and snooze emails, undo sent emails, save attachments to common cloud storage services, get push notifications and a whole lot more.

Newton Mail also works across most devices, including phones, tablets, Wear OS, PCs and Macs, and it has got a slick, intuitive interface.

It’s one of the most powerful email apps around but it comes at a cost – after a 14-day free trial you’ll have to pay $49.99/£47.99 per year. That’s too steep for us to recommend it to everyone, but if you live in your email then it’s definitely worth the outlay.

ActionDash

Free + $6.99/£4.49 IAP

ActionDash is a way of visualizing which apps you use and how often. It’s not alone in doing this – Android itself even now has a similar feature baked in, but it’s not available on all phones and in any case, ActionDash does a very good job of it.

The app shows you a daily and weekly pie chart, highlighting which apps you’ve used the most, as well as telling you how many times you unlocked your device and how many notifications you received that day or week.

You can also see graphs for daily and hourly screen time, along with a list of apps and how much screen time they each individually got. There are similar charts and lists for app launches, notifications and device unlocks.

That’s all free and attractively presented, but if you upgrade to ActionDash Plus for a one-time IAP you’ll also be able access your full usage history (whereas it’s limited to seven days in the free version). This IAP also unlocks a dark mode, deeper usage insights and more, as well as removing adverts and adding the ability to back up and restore your data.

If the information in ActionDash interests you then it’s a price that’s probably worth paying, but even the free version is well worth a download.

Cube Call Recorder ACR

Free + $1.99/£1.79 for three months of premium

Cube Call Recorder ACR is – as you probably guessed – an app for recording calls. But not just phone calls; it also allows for the recording of calls on Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook and many other apps, assuming you have a phone that supports VoIP call recording.

There are a lot of features here. You can set Cube Call Recorder ACR to automatically record all calls, to automatically record calls from certain numbers, or to not record calls from certain numbers.

You can record part or all of a conversation by tapping a button that pops up whenever you make or receive a call, and you can choose to add a geotag to calls (saying where you were when you made or received them) and star important recordings so they’re easy to find in future.

That’s all free, but for $1.99/£1.79 every three months you can also unlock a whole bunch of premium features, such as the ability to back up recordings in the cloud, save recordings in different formats, add a PIN code to the app, save recordings to a microSD card, automatically delete old recordings, exclude short calls from being recorded and more.

We wish this was a one-off purchase rather than a subscription, as these features are genuinely useful but maybe not enough to justify the subscription price unless you plan to record a lot of calls.

Be aware that laws around call recording vary from country to country, so make sure you know what is and isn’t legal before you start.

App Usage Tracker

$0.99/£0.99

Google’s Digital Wellbeing app does a good job of helping you monitor your smartphone usage, but it’s not currently available for a lot of phones, so App Usage Tracker makes for a handy alternative.

It will tell you how long you’ve spent in total using apps each day, which apps you’ve used and how long you’ve used each of them for.

As well as numbers, there are also pie charts and graphs showing your most used apps, as well as a ‘pattern’ chart, which shows the times at which you most use your phone.

There are also tools allowing you to hide certain apps from usage tracking and it’s overall just a great way to get a clear overview of how much you use your phone, when, and what for.

Our only real issue with App Usage Tracker is that in our tests the app seemed surprisingly sluggish, but that could be an issue with our device or a quirk that will be fixed in an update.

InboxIt

Free + $0.99/£0.99 IAP

InboxIt is a simple but potentially very useful app, especially if you ever email things to yourself, as rather than having to manually attach content to an email and enter the address to send it to, you can just share the content with InboxIt.

Once shared, the content will automatically be sent to your Gmail inbox, and the app supports lots of different content types, including images, website links, text and just about anything else that works with the Android ‘Share’ function. You can also send yourself reminders from within the InboxIt app.

For example, perhaps you want to access an image or file that’s stored on your phone from another device. There are other ways to do that and depending on what other apps and services you use they might in some cases be even more seamless. Google Photos, for example, gives you constant access to all your images on all your internet-connected devices, but we certainly still find occasion to email ourselves, and if you do too then InboxIt is essential.

Everything we’ve detailed so far is completely free, but you can also upgrade to Premium with a one-off $0.99/£0.99 IAP, which lets you set a custom recipient (the free version only supports Gmail), set a custom email subject prefix (the default being ‘Inboxed’), and use Gmail labels.

Three.do

Free + $10/£6.99 yearly subscription

Three.do is an app that aims to make setting reminders as speedy and simple as possible. It does this by condensing any reminder to three taps.

First, you select the ‘who’, which is the person to whom the reminder relates - for example you, a family member or a friend. Simply tap a box containing the most relevant one and you’ll get to the ‘what’.

Here you get a series of verbs like ‘call’, ‘write’ or ‘meet’. Tap on one of those and finally you get the ‘when’, with boxes for a range of times from five minutes to tomorrow. Alternatively, you can tap the ‘on’ box to bring up a calendar. Once all three boxes have been filled, the reminder is set and the app automatically closes itself, saving you a fourth tap.

Of course, as you’ve probably realized, this is only good for setting very vague reminders, but Three.do’s developer acknowledges that. It also argues that we don’t usually forget the specifics, but rather need reminding do something at all. So if you need to buy pet food, for example, then a reminder to ‘buy something’ may well be all you need.

That said, it is possible to enter more details, as rather than tapping a box you can enter text, though at this point the app won’t be much faster than a standard calendar or reminder app.

Three.do is mostly free, but you can subscribe to the pro version for $10/£6.99 per year, which will let you do things like save reminders to Google Calendar, set up repeating reminders and create your own ‘who’/’what’ options.

FX File Explorer

Free + $2.99/£2.79 IAP

FX File Explorer isn’t new – in fact, at the time of writing it’s recently been updated to version 7 – but that just shows you how well-supported it is, and it’s worth being aware of if you’re not already, especially as the version 7 update improves it significantly.

It’s a powerful file explorer and manager, with all the tools you’d expect, such as the ability to browse your files and folders, move or copy them, rename them, create new ones, sort them by their name or date and see which things are taking up the most space on your phone.

It goes beyond many rivals, offering things like a split-screen mode, which lets you view multiple folders at once. There are also gesture controls, customizable themes and more.

Most of the features in FX File Explorer are free too, but for US$2.99/£2.79 you can connect your cloud storage accounts and networked computers, create and explore encrypted ZIP files, and manage playlists for audio files.

Our favorite Android apps for customizing your device and improving its security.

Resplash

Free

Resplash is a wallpaper app that uses content from Unsplash – a site full of stock photography that you can use for free, for anything.

As it’s using content from such a well-established site, Resplash has a massive library, with over 100,000 images, but it’s still easy to find specific styles of photo by searching or browsing by category.

As well as downloading images or setting them straight to your wallpaper, you can also favorite them, so you’ll always be able to find them again, even from a different device. Resplash offers a surprising amount of personalization too, letting you change the theme and the way images are displayed (as a list or a grid, for example).

You can also choose the quality of images when you download them or set them as a wallpaper, with options ranging from ‘thumb’ to ‘raw’. Best of all, it’s completely free, though if you do feel like supporting the makers of the app there is an option to donate.

SAFE

Free

SAFE is an app that’s designed to, well, help you ensure your phone is safe. It guards against intrusion - whether it’s from hackers, viruses or nosy eyes.

It does this by giving your device four scores. One for its configuration, one for connectivity, one for apps and one for the operating system. Each of these scores is out of five, with higher being better and suggesting a greater level of security.

But you get more than just a number. You also get a breakdown of everything that affected the score, with positives in green and negatives in red. If you tap on any of these you can get additional information, complete with help in solving the problem if it’s a red thing.

Bear in mind that you might disagree with SAFE as to what is and isn’t a problem. For example, it will flag having Bluetooth or NFC on as security issues, which technically they are, but they’re also useful (and essential in some circumstances). You probably won’t want to fix everything, but SAFE could end up highlighting some issues you didn’t know about and making your device safer in the process.

Widget Drawer

$0.99/£0.89

Widgets are a potentially great feature of Android phones, but they can take up a lot of space and leave your home screens feeling cluttered. So, what if you could hide them, but in a place where they’re never more than a swipe away? That’s the concept of Widget Drawer.

The app places a ‘handle’ on your screen, which is basically just a narrow colored line running part way down one edge, and if you swipe it you can see a screen full of widgets.

You can choose which widgets to put on that screen, resize them and move them around. The handle itself is accessible just about everywhere other than your lock screen, so you can even access your widgets when inside other apps.

You can customize the size and color of the handle, and when in the Widget Drawer you can return to the screen underneath either by hitting the cross at the bottom or just tapping any empty space.

It’s the sort of useful app that you might end up wondering how you ever lived without. Or at least it will be with a bit more polish. At the moment resizing widgets feels a bit more clunky than it needs to be and we can’t find a way to remove widgets from the drawer without reinstalling the app. There might be one, but it’s either not obvious or not working for us.

However, that’s not such a surprise, as Widget Drawer is still in early access, so we’d expect it will improve over time.

Blur

Free + $39.99 (around £24) per year

Blur is essentially a one stop app for privacy and security online. As you might expect then, it has a number of different features, but the most interesting is perhaps Masked Cards, which lets you shop online without ever entering or exposing your real credit card information.

This works through the creation of disposable virtual credit cards through Blur, so essentially you give retailers a temporary card number that will only work for that one transaction. You can mask your phone number and email in similar ways.

Blur also includes a password manager, so you can create and store passwords in the app and have them auto-filled when you go to a login page for other apps or sites.

Masked emails are free, but most of the other features require a subscription, costing $39.99 (around £24) per year, with discounts available if you commit for two or three years. Note also that the card masking element only works in the US, but Blur is working on making it more widely available.

Google Family Link

Free

Google Family Link is an app aimed at helping you keep an eye on your child’s smartphone or tablet use.

The service, which actually requires two apps – one (Google Family Link for Parents) installed on your device, and the other (Google Family Link for Children and Teenagers) installed on your child’s – gives you all sorts of tools.

For one thing, you can choose which apps your child can access and install, either blocking specific ones or just preventing them from installing anything that you haven’t authorized. You can also see what apps they’re using at any given time, set screen time limits and lock the device when you don’t want them using it.

There’s also a feature that’s more about safety than monitoring, as you can also use Family Link to locate your child’s device at any time, so as long as they’re with it you’ll also have located them. There are other apps and services with a similar set of tools but few if any that are free while also being as feature-packed and polished as this.

Bouncer – Temporary App Permissions

$0.99/£0.79

Some Android apps ask for a worrying number of permissions, and while you generally have to grant them in order to get full functionality, you might not want them to retain those permissions once you’re done using them.

Usually removing the permissions again would mean digging into your settings screen, but with Bouncer, any time an app requests a permission – say for your location, or microphone access – Bouncer will ask whether you want it to be able to keep the permission, have it removed as soon as you exit the app or have it removed after a certain amount of time.

It makes revoking permissions a lot less hassle, and next time you use the app you’ll get asked for the relevant permissions again and Bouncer will again ask what you want to do, meaning you can make full use of any app while adding and removing permissions almost seamless.

Ava Lockscreen

Free + $2.99/£2.19 IAP

Considering how customizable Android is in general, we’re constantly surprised by how few lock screen replacement apps there are, but Ava Lockscreen is a new and fairly accomplished option.

It lets you add widgets and custom shortcuts to your lock screen, reply to notifications from the lock screen, and customize various elements of it, such as the clock and notification style.

Much of the content is free, but for a one-off IAP you can unlock additional features, such as the ability to set more than two custom shortcuts and use more advanced widgets.

Ava also supports Android security, so you don’t have to disable your fingerprint scanner, PIN or whatever else to use it.

Malwarebytes Security

Free + $1.49/£1.19 monthly subscription

While there are various security features already built into Android, you can’t be too careful, so it’s well worth considering adding Malwarebytes Security to your app arsenal.

Malwarebytes can scan your device for viruses, adware and malware, but it also offers proactive protection, with real-time ransomware shields, protection from phishing URLs when using Chrome, alerts when there’s a malicious link in a text message, and the ability to block unwanted calls.

Malwarebytes can also conduct a privacy audit on your phone, showing you at a glance what privileges your apps have.

Most of these features are only available in the premium version, which costs $1.49/£1.19 per month or $11.99/£10.99 for a year, but you get a 30-day free trial and if you don’t want to pay you can still scan and clean your phone with the free version.

OnePlus Gestures – Gesture Control

$1.49/£1.39

Some phones have gesture controls, but if yours doesn’t you can add them with OnePlus Gestures.

This app (which is inspired by the gestures on OnePlus phones, but not made by OnePlus) lets you toggle up to eight different gestures, each of which involves swiping up, left or right in a certain area of the screen to act as a shortcut to an app or function of your choice.

You could, for example, launch the camera by swiping from the bottom of the screen halfway up and holding, or switch to your recent apps screen by swiping up from the center.

In our tests the gestures were easy to trigger, but if you’re having issues with them you can tweak the swiping distance and hold time, the size of the activation area (where you need to start the swipe from), and even make the activation area visible.

We’d like to see an even wider assortments of possible gestures, but what’s here works well, and can genuinely save you time when navigating your phone.

RememBear

Free or $35.99/£32.49 per year

There are plenty of password managers, but most of them don’t have bears. RememBear (by the makers of TunnelBear) puts a friendlier, less dry spin on password management, but it’s good where it counts too, offering end-to-end encryption and autofill, so you can securely store all your passwords in the app and never have to remember or type them.

The app itself is secured with a master password, with the option to add a fingerprint. It’s not just for logins either - you can also store credit card details.

Struggling to think up a secure password for a new login? RememBear can do that for you. It’s also got a web browser for an extra layer of security when you’re browsing the net.

RememBear is also available on PC, Mac and iOS, and the core app is free, but to sync your data across devices you'll need to subscribe to RememBear Premium for $35.99/£32.49 per year. Handily it comes with a 30-day free trial.

Cerberus Personal Safety

€5 (around $6.20/£4.50) per year

Cerberus Personal Safety (also known as Persona) is a simple but potentially very useful app. It allows you to share your real-time location with friends or family, letting them see where you are and optionally also your destination for as long as you want.

Send your contacts a link via email, text, Twitter or Facebook and they’ll be able to see where you are on a map. The map opens in a web browser, so they don’t need the app installed to use it.

You can share links with individual contacts or with groups, and set up home screen widgets to share your location with a single tap – which could be ideal if you get in an accident and need to quickly tell people where you are. You can also share your location via Android Wear, and anyone viewing your location can message you from the map screen.

When you don’t want to share your location any more, you can disable it, though it also stops automatically after a duration set by you.

Cerberus Personal Security comes with a one week free trial, after which it costs €5 (around $6.20/£4.50) per year, but that includes access to the powerful Cerberus Anti Theft app, which we’ve written about before, so Cerberus Personal Safety is essentially free if you already have a subscription to that.

ProtonVPN

Free + various subscriptions

There are loads of VPN services available for Android, but ProtonVPN stands out in a few key ways, starting with the fact that you can use it for free, with no bandwidth limits.

It also puts more focus on security and privacy than some – it doesn’t track or record your activity, it offers hundreds of servers all over the world, and its ‘Secure Core’ maintains your privacy is even if a VPN endpoint server is compromised. It’s also easy to use, letting you connect to a server with just a few taps. It might sound too good to be true, but as far as we can tell it’s not.

There are also paid plans that offer even more. For $4/€4 (around £3.50) per month, a basic subscription increases the speed, unlocks servers in all countries and lets you use the app with two devices, while for $8/€8 (roughly £7) you can use ProtonVPN with up to five devices at maximum speeds.

Our favorite Android apps for planning a holiday, checking the weather and getting around without getting lost.

Atmosphere Weather

$3.99/£3.69 annual subscription

Atmosphere Weather aims to stand out from the weather-watching crowd by presenting the forecast like a 24-hour clock. Each hour of weather is presented by a segment on the clock face, giving you a clear way to instantly see the hour-by-hour weather for the next day at a glance.

As well as seeing written temperatures on each hour, there’s also color-coding to represent the different temperatures and how clear the sky is.

You can even get calendar events displayed on the weather clock, and away from that screen there’s also a radar view, complete with wind speeds and directions.

The clock is the main feature though and it’s a generally useful and different twist on weather forecasts. The only downside is that you have to pay a subscription, which will cost you $3.99/£3.69 per year, but there is a two-week free trial before you have to pay.

Fog of World

$4.99/£4.49

Fog of World is a new, fun take on mapping apps, as it’s inspired by the ‘fog of war’ that you get in some video games (that being fog that obscures areas of a map that you’ve not been to yet) but applies it to the real world.

The app gives you a detailed world map, but applies fog to it. Unlike most games the fog doesn’t actually hide the map, it just dulls it a bit. When you’ve been somewhere the fog is removed, so over time you can see all the places you’ve been on a single world map, based on which bits don’t have fog.

To make it more interesting you can level up as you make progress and unlock various achievements, such as for visiting a certain number of countries or crossing the equator. You can also sync your data so it’s available on other devices.

Fog of World isn’t going to replace Google Maps for your navigation needs, but it’s a fun, visual way to see where you’ve been, covering everything from a trip to the local store to your various holidays.

CARROT Weather

Free + optional $3.99/£3.39 yearly subscription

After a long stint on iOS, CARROT Weather has finally come to Android, and if you like a dose of snark with your forecast it’s worth getting excited about.

Because as well as providing accurate forecasts powered by Dark Sky, CARROT Weather is home to an ‘AI’ that insults you and revels in your weather-related misery. This takes the form of more than 6,000 lines of dialogue, each of which can optionally be spoken aloud by its synthetic voice.

With cute illustrations as well and even a game that sees you following clues to hunt down secret locations, CARROT Weather has more personality than any rival app.

It’s also good for the important matter of telling you the forecast, as you can see hourly and daily forecasts, complete with humidity, UV Index, wind speed and more.

The core app is free, but for US$3.99/£3.39 per year (or US$0.99/£0.89 per month) you can unlock a customizable widget, animated satellite maps, and get rid of adverts.

Moovit

Free

Moovit isn’t new, but if you ever use public transport it’s well worth knowing about. Simply type a destination and Moovit will give you a selection of ways to get there, using all the public transport routes available.

Tap on a route to get full directions or even a map with live navigation (complete with alerts telling you when to get off the transport you’re on), or further filter your results to minimize walking, use the least number of transfers or cut out certain transport types entirely.

There are also handy features like the ability to save regular destinations and favorite the bus and train lines you use a lot, so you can quickly see their timetables.

Transport timings are real-time where available, so you’ll know if the train or bus is running late, and you can download various maps for offline use. You can also use Moovit all over the world, with transport details for new cities regularly added.

All in all, it’s one of the slickest, most feature-packed public transport navigation apps you can get.

Zomato

Free

Ever need some inspiration for where to eat? If so, Zomato has you covered.

The app can show you nearby restaurants in a list or on a map, and you can filter results in numerous ways. Only want to see Chinese restaurants? No problem. Need somewhere that accepts bookings? You can do that. After outdoor seating? That’s fine too. And those are just a few examples of the many filters on offer.

There are also ‘collections’, which highlight restaurants that fit a specific theme, such as ‘great breakfasts’ or ‘celebrity chefs’, and when you’ve found somewhere of interest you can get loads more information by tapping on it.

You can see the opening times, pictures, reviews and ratings from other users of Zomato, menus, average costs, recommended dishes, contact details and a list of pros and cons.

From here you can also add your own review, rating or photos, call the restaurant or bookmark it so you don’t forget about it.

There’s also a social side to Zomato; you can follow other users, allowing you to see when they review a restaurant or say that they’ve visited it. Zomato has a lot to offer, and it could help you get out of your culinary comfort zone.

Day One Journal

Free + $24.99/£22.49 yearly subscription

Digital journaling is clearly popular considering the number of apps that let you do just that, and Day One Journal is one of the best.

It’s a recent Android arrival, but benefits from a long stint on iOS, where it’s had time to develop a high level of polish.

Its developers have recognized that there should be as few obstacles to journaling as possible. With a paper journal you just open it and start writing, and with Day One Journal you simply tap the big plus symbol on the main screen and start typing – or if you want to start with an image you can tap the camera instead.

All your entries are automatically tagged with the time, date, location and current weather, and you can later find them either on a calendar view, letting you search by date, or on a world map, with pins in locations where you’ve previously written an entry.

There’s also a gallery view, so you can browse the images in your journals, and you can star your favorites or add keywords for easy filtering.

Struggling to remember to write in your journal? Daily reminders can prod you. Want to look back on past entries but not sure where to start? Day One Journal can highlight entries you’ve made in nearby locations or on this day in previous years.

You can also keep your journals secure with a fingerprint or passcode, and if you pay the subscription for the premium version they’ll also be uploaded to the cloud so they’ll never be lost and are accessible from any device.

That optional $24.99/£22.49 yearly subscription also gets you the ability to keep multiple journals and store an unlimited number of photos. Worth it if you’re a daily journaler.

Hitlist

Free

Hitlist is another flight comparison tool, but it’s not just another flight comparison tool. It will search through millions of flight prices to find the best deals, as you’d expect, but it’s also focused on helping inspire you.

Because as well as being able to pick a specific date and destination there are also loads of categories shown off by the app, such as ‘weekend getaways’ and ‘unbelievable islands’, as well as events, such as ‘Alba Truffle Festival’.

The app also highlights low prices on last minute getaways in case you want to take a trip at short notice, and you can save locations if you want to be notified when prices drop.

All of which makes Hitlist decent if you just want to find low prices, and great if you also want some help deciding where to go.

Climendo

$3.99/£3.49 

The problem with weather apps is that, for the most part, they only use one source for their data, but Climendo uses lots, and then works out what the most likely weather at any given time is.

The complete selection of weather providers that it uses includes AccuWeather, Weather Underground, NOAA, Met Office, Foreca, Dark Sky, SMHI, YR and World Weather Online – though only the most accurate ones for your location will be used.

You can see hourly or ten day forecasts, complete with the likelihood of each being accurate, or you can dig down to the individual forecasts from each weather provider, to see how they vary.

Climendo lacks some of the more detailed information found in other apps – such as humidity and UV index -  but if you just want accurate information on whether or not you need an umbrella then this app is up there with the best.

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Borderlands 3: release date, news and trailers for the next Borderlands game

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:45 AM PDT

Borderlands 3 has finally been announced, with a firm release date for us to count down the days. 

After a number of teasing tweets from developer Gearbox, a formal trailer was shown at PAX East, showing off some of the new characters, environments, and guns making their way to the next entry in the shoot 'n' loot franchise.

It's been over six years since Borderlands 2, though we haven't exactly been short on Borderlands in the meantime – there have been VR ports, additional DLC expansions, and a 'Pre-Sequel' follow-up to keep our trigger fingers busy. But fans have been clamoring for another fully-fledged entry in the series, and it looks like Borderlands 3 is finally on the way.

With larger-than-life characters, a lively and colorful alien planet to explore, tons of absurd weapons, and a wisecracking sense of humor, Borderlands has managed to blow some fresh air into an FPS genre that often sticks to 'gritty' visuals and dull urban environments.

There's little to go on, as Gearbox is no doubt saving a bigger reveal for this year's E3 2019 convention in June. But what do we know about the newly-announced game so far, and when will it be landing on PC and consoles?

Borderlands 3

Image Credit: Gearbox

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The third numbered game in the first-person shoot and loot franchise
  • When can I play it? September 13, 2019
  • What can I play it on? PS4, Xbox One and PC 

Borderlands 3 release date

Gearbox has now revealed a release date of September 13, 2019.

That fits with what we learnt from publisher Take-Two's investor call last year, when Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said a “highly anticipated new title from one of 2K’s biggest franchises” was in development for the fiscal year of 2019 – which runs between October 2018 and September 2019.

The release date had technically been leaked through some leaked cover art (spotted by Wario64), but we know now straight from the horse's mouth.

Image Credit: Gearbox

Borderlands 3

Borderlands 3 trailers

While we wait for the game to land, we do have a number of new trailers to pore over. Gearbox took to the stage at PAX East (March 28-30) to show off the the formal announcement trailer below. You get a good look at the new villains of the series (a brother and sister?), new shiny cities and creaking scrapyards, and series-favorite robot Claptrap doing some breakdancing.

It looks... pretty much the same as any Borderlands game before it, which is both reassuring for fans and a bit disappointing for those looking for a new spin on the series. It's too early to judge before we've seen more, though. 

What we know for sure is that there'll be a lot of guns (over one billion, and even one with little machine legs) and a whole lot of looting in expansive sandbox environments. Oh, and a saxophone solo – because why not?

There's also a separate announcement trailer for the release date, which also names the four vault hunters and the name of the villains: the Calypso Twins...

The official announcement came only days after a 'Mask of Mayhem' teaser you can see below. It's packed with little clues and hints of the game to come, including everything from a morse code to braille, and what seems to be a broken-up redeem code (C35TB - WS6ST - TXBRK - JJH6H - TTTJT) that we imagine will be usable for some sort of DLC reward or exclusive skin for eagle-eyed viewers.

Borderlands 3 news and rumors

Epic Games Store exclusive – to start

While Borderlands 3 will launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC, the PC version will start as an Epic Games Store exclusive, before joining the Steam Store six months on.

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford hinted at this back in December, when he voiced his support for the new marketplace. Epic has been courting various exclusives for its store, including Metro Exodus and The Division 2, so we're not overly surprised.

Vault Hunter names

The release date trailer also gave us the names of the four vault hunters, which offer their own spins on the traditional four classes. We have a Gunner weapons expert (Moze), a Siren with floating fists at the ready (Amara), an android Beastmaster (Fl4x), and a suave, stealthy Operative (Zane). We also got the names of the entry's villains: the very evil-looking Calypso Twins (not identical).

Borderlands 3 confirmed

Gearbox gave us the announcement we wanted on March 28, at PAX East in Boston. The showcase was hit with technical difficulties – like a lot – and for some reason included a really long magic trick. But we got our first look at the anticipated title, as well as a tie-in board-game called Borderlands: Tiny Tina’s Robot Tea Party. 

Borderlands 3

Image Credit: Gearbox

4K remasters (for free!)

Good news for anyone with a copy of Borderlands 1, 2, or the Pre-Sequel: Gearbox is releasing enhanced 4K remasters of the previous games, and anyone who already owns them will get to download the remastered version for free. You'll need a 4K ready console or PC to make the most of it, but it's wonderful fan service for those who do.

All coming up PAX

The rumor mill has been turning pretty fast these past few weeks. Earlier in March, the official Gearbox Twitter account posted a photo hinting at the upcoming PAX East indie games conference – and another pixellated still of Borderlands 2, teasing the 4K remasters that were announced alongside the new game.

A tweet the following day shared an image of a half-built robot on some sort of operating table, with a caption stating "Time to tease another game for PAX!" – which now seems to have been DLC for We Happy Few, launching on April 4.

The Flamethrower

A interaction between Randy Pitchford and Elon Musk in early 2019 threw yet more weight behind the rumor that a new Borderlands game is in development. 

After Tesla CEO and all-round benevolent billionaire Elon Musk released a 'Boring Company' flamethrower for sale as a reward for the community having purchased 50,000 hats, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford got in contact to see if he could put the gun in the "next Borderlands game."

To everyone's surprise, Musk agreed to the bizarre request – making the Boring Company Flamethrower the first confirmed weapon in the unannounced game.

Hints, lots of hints

At PAX West 2017, Pitchford announced during a panel that 90% of the Gearbox team is “working on the thing I think most of you guys want us to be working on.”

Pitchford also took part in an IGN Unfiltered interview around the same time, when he said that if another Borderlands game were to be made, it would be more of a true sequel as opposed to another Pre-Sequel spin-off. 

Caught in the act

And in April 2017, Pitchford took to Twitter to post a picture of himself wearing a motion capture suit with the caption “Doing a shoot... I may or may not be a psycho bandit in a video game we may or may not be working on. Also, happy Bulletstorm launch day!” 

Given that Psychos are a Borderlands enemy we’d say this tweet can be read with a fairly large nudge and wink.

The GDC presentation

Before all of this Pitchford took to the stage during Epic Games’ Unreal presentation at GDC in March 2017, where he showed off new rendering tech that “may be used in a future Gearbox game.” He explicitly said the footage shown was not from a video game but what was shown was highly reminiscent of Borderlands. 

He also revealed that this new tech is capable of simulating different physics depending on a planet’s properties. Specifically he said “there might be different physics and the sun and the moons might be in different positions than what we’re used to on Pandora.”

That seems to have been pretty prophetic – as we know Borderlands 3 will be making use of some new environments beyond what we saw on Pandora in the previous games.

Some changes

Borderlands regular Mikey Neumann won't be writing on the new game, as he was unfortunately forced to resign from the project due to health complications. The lead writer on Borderlands 2, Anthony Burch, has also since left the company. There’s been no hint with regards to who’ll be taking up the pen after their departures. 

Another change is that the voice behind Claptrap, David Eddings, has left Gearbox for Rooster Teeth so it’s unlikely he’ll be taking up the role again. 

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Okta Ventures will fund the next generation of identity startups

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:30 AM PDT

At this year's Oktane19, Okta announced the launch of its new $50m investment fund, Okta Ventures which will help solve challenges across the modern technology landscape with an emphasis on identity, security and privacy.

The company's new fund will focus on investing in businesses that are building innovative solutions using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain. Okta Ventures will seek out startups which share its vision of enabling organizations to use any technology.

In addition to investing in these companies financially, the fund will provide them with access to Okta's software, SDK and API design partnerships as well as co-marketing opportunities.

Okta Ventures will emphasize modern identity architecture design and adoption with its portfolio companies who will also make contributions to the Okta ecosystem which will help bolster the value of the Okta Integration Network.

Trusted Key

Blockchain-based digital identity company, Trusted Key is a perfect example of the kind of company Okta Ventures is looking for which is why Okta also announced its first investment in the firm at Oktane19.

COO and Co-Founder of Okta, Frederic Kerrest explained how Okta Ventures will help extend its platform, further, saying:

“Okta’s vision is to enable any organization to use any technology, and with Okta Ventures, we’ll invest in the growing ecosystem of startups focused on tackling issues like identity, security, and privacy in innovative ways. Not only will our partnerships with the companies we invest in extend our platform, but we will also provide significant value to companies solving hard problems across the technology landscape. And we will fund and support organizations that work in ways that are consistent with Okta’s values. Trusted Key is a perfect example of one of those companies, and we look forward to collaborating to continue to shape the future of identity.”

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Borderlands 3 launches in September – as an Epic Games Store exclusive

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:10 AM PDT

Borderlands 3, the highly-anticipated sandbox shooter from Gearbox Software, finally has a release date – and it's landing on September 13 this year

The official Borderlands 3 Twitter account formally announced the date for the shooter, which is launching on Xbox One, PS4, and PC – though the PC version will be an Epic Games Store exclusive for the first six months on sale, before also landing on Steam.

It's now available to pre-order from the Borderlands website, with a special 'Gold Weapons Skins Pack' for those who do.

There had been a few rumors about the release from leaker Wario64, which turned out to be pretty accurate, and we know we'll hear more on Gearbox's May 1 reveal event – but you can see the official announcement and accompanying trailer below.

Get into gear

We don't learn much from the new trailer, which comes after Gearbox took to the stage at PAX East to show off the the formal announcement trailer at the end of March.

We do, however, get the names of the four vault hunter classes (Moze the Gunner, Fl4K the Beastmaster, Amara the Siren, and Zane the Operative) as well as the name of the title's villains, the Calypso Twins.

There seems to possibly be more of a focus on vehicular combat than previous entries, but for now all we know is more Borderlands is on the way, and that's enough to get us excited.

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Google Assistant now lets you converse with John Legend

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 05:45 AM PDT

If you've ever dreamed that you would one day wake up to John Legend giving you the weather report, you could be in luck; Google has announced that John Legend's voice is now available "as a cameo on the Google Assistant for a limited time in the US".

You can activate the special voice by asking your Google Home speaker questions like "are you John Legend?" and "what's your favorite type of music?", or by asking Google Assistant to tell you a joke.

Google says that other responses will "continue to be in one of the regular Assistant voices". As well as asking some of the aforementioned questions, you can also open up the Google Assistant Android or iOS app and change your Assistant voice settings to hear John Legend speak. 

Easter eggs

Google has hinted that you may be in for a few surprises once you activate John Legend's voice, and suggests that you try saying "Hey Google, serenade me" or "Hey Google, are we just ordinary people?"

A spokesperson for Google said in an email sent out to TechRadar and other press that "there are quite a few fun Easter Eggs out there", so it's probably worth exploring what your Google Home speaker can do. 

It doesn't matter which Google Assistant device you have; Google says that "John’s voice is available as a cameo on all devices that have the Google Assistant, including Google Home speakers and Smart Displays, and on mobile for Android and iOS".

Google hasn't said whether other territories like the UK and Australia will be getting their own celebrity cameos for Google Assistant, saying that the John Legend cameo is only "available in English" for users in the US. 

The company also hasn't confirmed how long the feature will be available for, so if you want to try it out, it's worth doing soon. 

google assistant

The Google Home (Image credit: Google)

If the news of John Legend's voice cameo sounds familiar, that's because the feature was accidentally leaked after a bug caused the voice to go live in late March.

Google Assistant isn't the only voice assistant to have been given a new voice. Earlier this year, Amazon rolled out a fresh new speaking style to Alexa users in the US, modeled on the way newscasters deliver the news. 

Alexa's 'newscaster voice' is designed to have clearer intonation and to emphasize words in a way that sounds less robotic than Alexa's default voice.

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5G set to deliver £15.7bn in business revenue by 2025

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 05:19 AM PDT

The arrival of 5G networks in the UK later this year could result in £15.7 billion in additional business revenue for the economy by 2025 – but only if organisations gain greater awareness and understanding of the potential of the technology.

A report from Barclays says it is optimistic that this can be achieved, citing the fact that all four mobile operators have committed to launching 2019, and says at the current pace of development and rollout, the figure will be closer to £13 billion.

However, it has warned that unless more is done, the opportunity could be much lower at £8.3 billion.

UK 5G predictions

Half of all UK businesses benefit from 4G and ultrafast broadband to work across disparate locations, better communicate with customers, and to connect multiple machines and devices. But just 39 per cent of business decision makers know how they can make the most of 5G.

5G networks will offer ultrafast speeds, high capacity, and ultra-low latency, making them ideal for business applications such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and autonomous vehicles. Meanwhile, the growth in revenue would extend beyond traditional metropolitan areas and benefit the entire country.

Awareness also tends to fluctuate according to industry. In the Technology, Media and Technology (TMT), logistics, business services and manufacturing sectors, as many as a third of businesses are investing or plan to invest in 5G. However, it is distribution (£3.6 billion), manufacturing (£2 billion) and professional services (£1.1 billion) that stand to gain the most.

“The rollout of 5G offers a huge opportunity for the UK. We’re seeing massive potential for business growth, which ultimately delivers a positive knock-on effect for the whole economy,” said Sean Duffy, head of TMT at Barclays.

“While the Government and network providers are already working hard to introduce 5G in the UK, we found that businesses do not yet have enough clarity about how they will benefit in the long-run. What’s more, nearly four in ten business leaders still aren’t entirely sure what 5G is.

  • The Mobile Industry Awards 2019 return on 6th June! To enter the awards visit www.mobileindustryawards.com Entry Deadline: 5pm on 4 April 2019  

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The best Android games

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 05:18 AM PDT

There are loads of great games available for Android, but how can you pick out the gems from the dross, and amazing touchscreen experiences from botched console ports? With our lists, that’s how!

We cover the best titles on Android right now, including the finest racers, puzzlers, adventure games, arcade titles and more.

We've tried these games out, and looked to see where the costs come in - there might be a free sticker added to some of these in the Google Play Store, but sometimes you'll need an in app purchase (IAP) to get the real benefit - so we'll make sure you know about that ahead of the download.

Check back every week for a new game, and click through to the following pages to see the best of the best divided into the genres that best represent what people are playing right now.

Android game of the week: Thumper: Pocket Edition ($4.99/£4.59/AU$7.49)

Thumper: Pocket Edition is a bit like Guitar Hero crossed with a roller-coaster, set in some kind of horrific Lovecraftian hell where everything is encased in metal. And if the thought of that breaks your mind, wait until you play the game.

You careen along a track. Keeping your metal bug alive relies on performing gestures and taps at precisely the right moments, in time with an ominous and booming tribal soundtrack. If that wasn’t hard enough (and it really is), bosses sporadically show up, threatening you with their massive teeth and plentiful tentacles.

Thumper isn’t for the faint-hearted, and it’s easy to become frustrated with the sometimes brutal difficulty. But there’s no doubting this is one of the most polished and arresting games of its kind that’s ever come to mobile.

The best racing games for Android

Our favorite Android top-down, 3D and retro racers.

Horizon Chase (free + $2.99/£2.79/AU$4.09 IAP)

If you're fed up with racing games paying more attention to whether the tarmac looks photorealistic rather than how much fun it should be to zoom along at insane speeds, check out Horizon Chase. This tribute to old-school arcade titles is all about the sheer joy of racing, rather than boring realism.

The visuals are vibrant, the soundtrack is jolly and cheesy, and the racing finds you constantly battling your way to the front of an aggressive pack.

If you fondly recall Lotus Turbo Esprit Challenge and Top Gear, don't miss this one. (Note that Horizon Chase gives you five tracks for free. To unlock the rest, there's a single £2.29/US$2.99 IAP.)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted ($4.99/£4.99/AU$7.99)

Anyone expecting the kind of free-roaming racing from the console versions of this title are going to be miffed, but Need for Speed: Most Wanted is nonetheless one of the finest games of its kind on Android. Yes, the tracks are linear, with only the odd shortcut, but the actual racing bit is superb.

You belt along the seedy streets of a drab, gray city, trying to win events that will boost your ego and reputation alike. Wins swell your coffers, enabling you to buy new vehicles for entering special events.

The game looks gorgeous on Android and has a high-octane soundtrack to urge you onwards. But mostly, this one’s about the controls – a slick combination of responsive tilt and effortless drifting that makes everything feel closer to OutRun 2 than typically sub-optimal mobile racing fare.

Riptide GP: Renegade  ($2.99/£2.99/AU$3.99)

The first two Riptide games had you zoom along undulating watery circuits surrounded by gleaming metal towers. Riptide GP: Renegade offers another slice of splashy futuristic racing, but this time finds you immersed in the seedy underbelly of the sport.

As with the previous games, you’re still piloting a hydrofoil, and racing involves not only going very, very fast, but also being a massive show-off at every available opportunity.

If you hit a ramp or wave that hurls you into the air, you’d best fling your ride about or do a handstand, in order to get turbo-boost on landing. Sensible racers get nothing.

The career mode finds you earning cash, upgrading your ride, and probably ignoring the slightly tiresome story bits. The racing, though, is superb – an exhilarating mix of old-school arcade thrills and modern mobile touchscreen smarts.

Mini Motor Racing ($2.99/£3.19/AU$4.49)

Mini Motor Racing is a frenetic top-down racer that finds tiny vehicles darting about claustrophobic circuits that twist and turn in a clear effort to have you repeatedly drive into walls. The cars handle more like remote control cars than real fare, meaning that races are typically tight – and easily lost if you glance away from the screen for just a moment.

There’s a ton of content here – many dozens of races set across a wide range of environments. You zoom through ruins, and scoot about beachside tracks. The AI’s sometimes a bit too aggressive, but with savvy car upgrades, and nitro boost usage when racing, you’ll be taking more than the occasional checkered flag.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit ($4.99/£4.99/AU$7.99)

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit exists in a world where the police seem to think it’s perfectly okay to use their extremely expensive cars to ram fleeing criminals into submission. And when they’re not doing that, they belt along the streets, racing each other to (presumably) decide who pays for the day’s doughnuts.

It’s a fairly simple racer – you’re basically weaving your way through the landscape, smashing into other cars, and triggering the odd trap – but it’s exhilarating, breezy fun that echoes classic racers like Chase H.Q.

And once you’ve had your fill of being one of the nitro-happy fuzz, you can play out a career as the pursued as well, getting stuck into the kind of cop-smashing criminal antics that totally won’t be covered by your car manufacturer’s warranty.

Final Freeway 2R ($0.99/79p/AU$0.99)

Final Freeway 2R is a retro racing game, quite blatantly inspired by Sega’s classic OutRun. You belt along in a red car, tearing up a road where everyone’s rather suspiciously driving in the same direction. Every now and again, you hit a fork, allowing you to select your route. All the while, cheesy music blares out of your device’s speakers.

For old hands, you’ll be in a kind of gaming heaven. And arguably, this game’s better than the one that inspired it, feeling more fluid and nuanced. If you’re used to more realistic fare, give Final Freeway 2R a go – you might find yourself converted by its breezy attitude, colorful visuals, and need for truly insane speed.

Rush Rally 2 ($1.49/99p/AU$1.99)

Rush Rally 2 is a curious rally racer, in part because it at first comes across as an unforgiving and simulation-oriented affair. It initially feels too easy to crash, and you too often find yourself pointing the wrong way or rather inconveniently having embedded your car in a tree.

As ever, though, Rush Rally 2 is about clicking with the feel of the game. Slow down a bit and take a touch more care and you’ll figure out how the physics works, and the layout of the courses.

The game will reveal its fun side – an arcade edge that won’t allow you to zoom along without ever using the brake pedal, but that nonetheless is quite happy for you to use other cars in rally cross skirmishes for slowing down instead. For the tiny outlay, it’s a bargain.

Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 ($3.99/£3.99/AU$6.49)

Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 is a racing management game without the boring bits. Rather than sitting you in front of a glorified spreadsheet, the game is a well-balanced mix of accessibility and depth, enabling you to delve into the nitty gritty of teams, sponsors, mechanics, and even livery.

When you’re all set, you get to watch surprisingly tense and exciting top-down racing. (This being surprising because you’re largely watching numbered discs zoom around circuits.) One-off races give you a feel for things, but the real meat is starting from the bottom of the pile in the career mode, with the ultimate aim of becoming a winner.

It’s all streamlined, slick, and mobile-friendly, and a big leap on from the relatively simplistic original Motorsport Manager Mobile.

The best Android adventure games

Our favorite Android point and click games, RPGs, narrative stories, choose your own adventures and room escape games.

The Wolf Among Us (free + IAP)

Telltale has made a name for itself with story-driven episodic games and The Wolf Among Us is one of its best. Essentially a hard boiled fairy tale, you control the big bad wolf as he hunts a murderer through the mean streets of Fabletown.

Don't let the fairy tale setting fool you, this is a violent, mature game and it's one where your decisions have consequences, impacting not only what the other characters think of you but also who lives and who dies. Episode One is free but the remaining four will set you back a steep £9.59 / $14.99 / around AU$18. Trust us though, you'll want to see how this story ends.

80 Days ($4.99/£3.99/AU$5.99)

Of all the attempts to play with the conventions of novels and story-led gaming on mobile, 80 Days is the most fun. It takes place in an 1872 with a decidedly steampunk twist, but where Phileas Fogg remains the same old braggart. As his trusty valet, you must help Fogg make good on a wager to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. This involves managing/trading belongings and carefully selecting routes.

Mostly, though, interaction comes by way of a pacey, frequently exciting branched narrative, like a Choose Your Own Adventure book on fast-forward.

A late-2015 content update added 150,000 words, two new plots and 30 cities to an adventure that already boasted plenty of replay value — not least when you've experienced the joys of underwater trains and colossal mechanical elephants in India, and wonder what other marvels await discovery in this world of wonders.

Her Story ($2.99/£2.69/AU$3.99)

In Her Story, you find yourself facing a creaky computer terminal with software designed by a sadist. It soon becomes clear the so-called L.O.G.I.C. database houses police interviews of a woman charged with murder.

But the tape's been hacked to bits and is accessible only by keywords; 'helpfully', the system only displays five search results at once.

Naturally, these contrivances exist to force you to play detective, eking out clues from video snippets to work out what to search for next, slowly piecing together the mystery in your brain.

A unique and captivating experience, Her Story will keep even the most remotely curious Android gamer gripped until the enigma is solved.

Oceanhorn (free + $5.49/£4.99/AU$6.99 IAP)

There’s more than a hint of Zelda about Oceanhorn, but that’s not a bad thing when it means embarking on one of the finest arcade adventures on mobile.

You awake to find a letter from your father, who it turns out has gone from your life. You’re merely left with his notebook and a necklace. Thanks, Dad!

Being that this is a videogame, you reason it’s time to get questy, exploring the islands of the Uncharted Seas, chatting with folks, stabbing hostile wildlife, uncovering secrets and mysteries, and trying very hard to not get killed.

You get a chapter for free, to test how the game works on your device (its visual clout means fairly powerful Android devices are recommended); a single IAP unlocks the rest. The entire quest takes a dozen hours or so – which will likely be some of the best gaming you’ll experience on Android.

Milkmaid of the Milky Way ($4.49/£3.39/AU$5.99)

Initial moments in point-and-click adventure Milkmaid of the Milky Way are so sedate the game’s in danger of falling over. You play as Ruth, a young woman living on a remote farm in a 1920s Norwegian fjord. She makes dairy products, sold to a town several hours away. Then, without warning, a massive gold spaceship descends, stealing her cows.

Fortunately, Ruth decides she’s having none of that, leaps aboard the spaceship, and finds herself embroiled in a tale of intergalactic struggles. To say much more would spoil things, but we can say that this old-school adventure is a very pleasant way to spend a few hours.

The puzzles are logical yet satisfying; the visuals are gorgeous; and the game amusingly provides all of its narrative in rhyme, which is pleasingly quaint and nicely different.

Samorost 3 ($4.99/£3.99/AU$6.49)

Samorost 3 is a love letter to classic point-and-click adventure games. You explore your surroundings, unearth objects, and then figure out where best to use them. Straightforward stuff, then (at least in theory – many puzzles are decidedly cryptic), but what sets Samorost 3 apart is that it’s unrelentingly gorgeous, and full of heart.

The storyline is bonkers, involving a mad monk who used a massive mechanical hydra to smash up a load of planetoids. You, as an ambitious space-obsessed gnome, must figure out how to set things right.

The game is packed with gorgeous details that delight, from the twitch of an insect’s antennae to a scene where the protagonist successfully encourages nearby creatures to sing, and starts fist-punching the air while dancing with glee. Just two magical moments among many in one of the finest examples of adventuring on Android.

Love You To Bits ($3.99/£3.79/AU$5.99)

Love You To Bits is a visually dazzling and relentlessly inventive point-and-click puzzler. It features Kosmo, a space explorer searching for the scattered pieces of his robot girlfriend, bar the lifeless head that’s still in his clutches. Which is a bit icky.

Don’t think about that too much, though, because this game is gorgeous. Through its many varied scenes, it plays fast and loose with pop culture references, challenging you to beat a 2D Monument Valley, sending up Star Wars, and at one point dumping you on a planet of apes.

Now and again, you’ll need to make a leap of logic to complete a task, and puzzles mostly involve picking things up and using them in the right place – hardly the height of innovation. But this game’s so endearing and smartly designed you’d have to be lifeless yourself to fail to love it at least a little.

Thimbleweed Park ($9.99/£8.99/AU$13.99)

Thimbleweed Park is an adventure that sends you back to the halcyon days of 1987. Mainly because that’s when it’s set, in the titular Thimbleweed Park, and there’s been a murder. But also, this game recalls classic PC point-and-clicker Maniac Mansion, in everything from visual style to interface.

That doesn’t mean this is a crusty old relic. Industry veterans Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick have written a winning script (which gets increasingly weird as you play), and come up with dozens of cunning, tricky puzzles to keep your brain fizzing throughout the game’s 15-to-20-hour length.

Now and again, it perhaps gets a bit too obtuse. But mostly, this is a game that knows it’s a game - and that also wants you to know it’s a take-no-prisoners puzzle title. One that features plumbers who are also paranormal investigators, dressed as pigeons. (We did say it was weird.)

Bury Me, My Love ($2.99/£2.99/AU$4.99)

Bury Me, My Love is another game in the Lifeline mold – a branching narrative akin to a Choose Your Own Adventure book, which plays out in real time.

What’s different is this game’s narrative draws from the real-life stories of Syrian refugees. You play Majd, whose wife Nour is trying to reach Europe. She contacts you via a messaging app, and you respond with advice – which may have a very big impact.

This kind of adventure can be tense, leaking into your real life as you await responses, but Bury Me, My Love takes this to the extreme – for example, when it’s been 24 hours since you heard from Nour, who was heading to a heavily armed border.

This kind of topical subject matter won’t be for everyone, but if you want a game that will make you think a bit, it comes recommended.

Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery ($3.99/£3.49/AU$5.49)

Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery is an adventure game that’s about discovery and exploration. It’s a relentlessly beautiful experience, with rich retro-infused artwork and a lush soundtrack. The game encourages you to breathe everything in, take your time, and work at your own pace.

Unlike most adventures, which tend to be obsessed with inventories, Sworcery is mostly concerned with puzzles that are confined to one screen. Solutions are frequently abstract, involving manipulating your environment or even time itself. You may free woodland spirits with musical prowess, or discover a solution requires playing at set points during the lunar calendar.

It might come across as a bit worthy at times, and there are some missteps, such as the awkward, ungainly combat, but Sworcery is evocative and expressive, and full of pay-offs that tend towards the magical, unless you happen to be dead inside.

Minecraft ($6.99/£6.99/AU$10.99)

Minecraft on Android is the hugely popular sandbox PC game based around virtual blocks, right in the palm of your hand. Sort of.

In effect, it’s a stripped-back take on the desktop version, although you still get different ways to play. In creative mode, you explore and can immediately start crafting a virtual world. With survival mode come the added complications of gathering and managing resources during the day – and then battling against enemies during the night.

Although it’s a mite more limited than the full desktop release, Minecraft on Android still gives you plenty to do, and the randomly generated nature of the world provides potentially limitless gaming experiences. It’s certainly more than just a load of blocks.

The Room: Old Sins ($4.99/£4.99/AU$8.49)

The Room: Old Sins finds you investigating the disappearance of an engineer and his wife. The trail leads you to a spooky attic. On getting the lights working, you see a strange dollhouse, which then sucks you inside.

You discover the toy is in fact a full reconstruction of a mansion, with a side order of Lovecraftian horror. Unraveling the mystery at the heart of the game and its impossible world then happens by way of devious, complex, tactile logic puzzles.

Old Sins looks and sounds great, and moving around is swift – there’s none of the dull trudging you find in the likes of Myst. Of course, if you’ve played The Room, The Room Two, and The Room Three, you’ll know all this already. If you haven’t, grab Old Sins immediately – and its predecessors, too. They’re some of the finest games on Android.

The best arcade games for Android

Our favorite Android arcade titles, fighting games, pinball games and retro games.

Power Hover (free + IAP)

There's a great sense of freedom from the second you immerse yourself in the strange and futuristic world of Power Hover. The robot protagonist has been charged with pursuing a thief who's stolen batteries that power the city.

The droid therefore grabs a hoverboard and scythes across gorgeous minimal landscapes, such as deserts filled with colossal marching automatons, glittering blue oceans, and a dead grey human city.

In lesser hands, Power Hover could have been utterly forgettable. After all, you're basically tapping left and right to change the direction of a hoverboard, in order to collect batteries and avoid obstacles. But the production values here are stunning.

Power Hover is a visual treat, boasts a fantastic soundtrack, and gives mere hints of a story, enabling your imagination to run wild. Best of all, the floaty controls are perfect; you might fight them at first, but once they click, Power Hover becomes a hugely rewarding experience.

(On Android, Power Hover is a free download; to play beyond the first eight levels requires a one-off IAP.)

Forget-Me-Not ($2.49/£2.39/AU$3.89)

At its core, Forget-Me-Not is Pac-Man mixed with Rogue. You scoot about algorithmically generated single-screen mazes, gobbling down flowers, grabbing a key, and then making a break for the exit.

But what makes Forget-Me-Not essential is how alive its tiny dungeons feel. Your enemies don't just gun for you, but are also out to obliterate each other and, frequently, the walls of the dungeon, reshaping it as you play.

There are tons of superb details to find buried within the game's many modes, and cheapskates can even get on board with the free version, although that locks much of its content away until you've munched enough flowers.

If there was any justice, Forget-Me-Not would have a permanent place at the top of the Google Play charts. It is one of the finest arcade experiences around, not just on Android, but on any platform - old or new.

Captain Cowboy ($0.99/£1.09/AU$1.39)

Coming across like a sandbox-oriented chill-out ‘zen’ take on seminal classic Boulder Dash, Captain Cowboy has your little space-faring hero exploring a massive handcrafted world peppered with walls, hero-squashing boulders, and plenty of bling.

Much like Boulder Dash, Captain Cowboy is mostly about not being crushed by massive rocks – you dig paths through dirt, aiming to strategically use boulders to take out threats rather than your own head. But everything here is played out without stress (due to endless continues) and sometimes in slow motion (when floating through zero-gravity sections of space).

The result feels very different from the title that inspired it, but it’s no less compelling. Tension is replaced by exploration, and single-screen arcade thrills are sacrificed for a longer game. As you dig deeper into Captain Cowboy’s world, there are plenty of things awaiting discovery, and even tackling the next screen of dirt and stones always proves enjoyable. 

Edge ($2.99/£1.99/AU$2.99)

There’s a distinct sense of minimalism at the heart of Edge, along with a knowing nod to a few arcade classics of old. Bereft of a story, the game simply tasks you with guiding a trundling cube to the end of each blocky level. Along the way, you grab tiny glowing cubes. On reaching the goal, you get graded on your abilities.

This admittedly doesn’t sound like much on paper, but Edge is a superb arcade game. The isometric visuals are sharp, and the head-bobbing soundtrack urges you onwards. The level design is the real star, though, with surprisingly imaginative objectives and hazards hewn from the isometric landscape.

And even when you’ve picked your way to the very end, there’s still those grades to improve by shaving the odd second off of your times.

Still not sure? Try out the 12-level demo. Eager for more? Grab Edge Extended, which is every bit as good as the original.

Super Samurai Rampage ($1.99/£1.69/AU$2.79)

Super Samurai Rampage is a manic swipe-based high-score chaser, featuring a samurai who has - for some reason - been provoked into a relentless rampage.

Said rampage is dependent on you swiping. Swipe left and you lunge in that direction, slicing your sword through the air. Swipe up and you majestically leap, whereupon you can repeatedly swipe every which way, fashioning a flurry of airborne destruction akin to the most outlandish of martial arts movies.

Along with dishing out death, you must ensure you don’t come a cropper yourself. And attack is your only form of defense, because when you’re moving, you’re also deflecting incoming projectiles. You’re also likely racking up quite the body count, which accumulates in bloody retro-pixel form at the foot of the screen.

It’s of course entirely absurd, and without much nuance; but Super Samurai Rampage is an arcade thrill that’s entertaining, and where repeat play is rewarded with gradual mastery – or at least lasting a few seconds longer before your inevitable demise.

Part Time UFO ($3.99/£3.99/AU$5.99)

Part Time UFO is a physics-based stacking game featuring a cute UFO that has crash-landed on Earth and now has to eke out a living. That’s right – in this era, aliens aren’t sent to Area 51, and instead scour job ads to earn some cash.

Fortunately, this little UFO is made of stern stuff and has a massive claw to pick things up. This proves handy for part time jobs, doing everything from stacking deliveries on a truck, to assisting a circus elephant’s grand finale – balancing on a tightrope, with five animals precariously plonked on a pole.

Since Part Time UFO embraces the frustration of claw machines, it can infuriate – not least when you topple a structure as the clock ticks down. Mostly, though, this is a charming and very silly game that’s loads of fun.

Pumped BMX 3 ($3.99/£3.49/AU$5.49)

Pumped BMX 3 might initially give you the wrong impression. Colorful visuals and basic controls have it initially come across as a casual take on a BMX trials outing. But pretty rapidly, it bucks any complacency from the saddle and leaves it a shattered mess on the floor.

Whereas Pumped BMX 2 (also recommended) went for a more relaxed take on hurling a BMX into the air with merry abandon, this sequel is all about mastery. Try to wing it and you’ll be crushed, but properly learn course layouts and timings, and you’ll gradually work your way through each level.

That’s rewarding enough, but with confidence you can start peppering your runs with stunts to boost your scores, with routines that would make even seasoned BMX pros break out in hearty applause.

Holedown ($3.99/£3.99/AU$5.99)

Holedown is an arcade shooter that has you blast strings of balls at numbered blocks. When blocks are hit enough times, they blow up, allowing you to dig deeper. Some blocks hold up others, and should be prioritized – as should grabbing gems that allow you to upgrade your kit (more balls; new levels; a bigger gem bag) when you run out of shots and return to the surface.

The mechanics are nothing new on Android – there are loads of similar ball bouncers. What is new is the sense of personality, polish and fun Holedown brings to this style of game. This is a premium title and a labor of love. There’s still repetition at its core, but Holedown feels hypnotic and encouraging, rather than giving you the feeling that it’s digging into your wallet – in contrast to its freebie contemporaries.

Osmos HD ($2.49/£2.19/AU$3.39)

Osmos HD is a rare arcade game about patience and subtlety. Each unique level has you guide a ‘mote’, which moves by expelling tiny pieces of itself. Initially, it moves within microscopic goop, eating smaller motes, to expand and reign supreme.

At first, other motes don’t fight back, but the game soon immerses you in petri dish warfare, as motes tear whatever amounts to each-other's faces off. Then there’s the odd curveball, as challenges find you dealing with gravity as planet-like motes orbit deadly floating 'stars'.

It’s a beautiful, captivating game, with perfect touchscreen controls. And if you can convince a friend to join in, you can battle it out over Wi-Fi across six distinct arenas.

PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX ($1.99/£1.79/AU$3.09)

Since Pac-Man graced arcades in the early 1980s, titles featuring the rotund dot-muncher have typically been split between careful iterations on the original, and mostly duff attempts to shoe-horn the character into other genres. Championship Edition DX is ostensibly the former, although the changes made from the original radically transform the game, making it easily the best Pac-Man to date.

Here, the maze is split in two. Eat all the dots from one half and a special object appears on the other; eat that and the original half's dots are refilled in a new configuration.

All the while, dozing ghosts you brush past join a spectral conga that follows your every move. The result is an intoxicating speedrun take on a seminal arcade classic, combined with the even more ancient Snake; somehow, this combination ends up being fresh, exciting and essential.

The best endless runners for Android

Our favorite Android games where you hoverboard, jump, sprint, or even pinball to a high score – or a sudden end.

Boson X ($2.99/£1.92/AU$3.66)

Boson X is an endless runner that features scientists sprinting at insane speeds inside particle accelerators in order to generate the high-speed collisions required to discover strange new particles. And if you’re thinking that’s probably not entirely scientifically accurate, that’s true; fortunately, Boson X gets away with this by virtue of being breezy and intoxicating fun. 

It comes across like Canabalt in 3D, mixed with Super Hexagon, as you leap between platforms, rotating the collider to ensure you don’t plunge into the void or smack into a wall. From the off, this isn’t exactly easy, but later colliders are truly bonkers – abstract and terrifying contraptions that shift and morph before your very eyes. Brilliant stuff.

ALONE... ($1.99/£1.49/$2.63)

People who today play mobile classic Canabalt and consider it lacking due to its simplicity don't understand what the game is trying to do. Canabalt is all about speed — the thrill of being barely in control, and of affording the player only the simplest controls for survival. ALONE… takes that basic premise and straps a rocket booster to it.

Instead of leaping between buildings, you're flying through deadly caverns, a single digit nudging your tiny craft up and down. Occasional moments of generosity — warnings about incoming projectiles; your ship surviving minor collisions and slowly regenerating — are offset by the relentlessly demanding pressure of simply staying alive and not slamming into a wall. It's an intoxicating combination, and one that, unlike most games in this genre, matches Canabalt in being genuinely exciting to play.

Doug Dug ($0.99/83p/AU$1.39)

This one's all about the bling - and also the not being crushed to death by falling rocks and dirt. Doug Dug riffs off of Mr Driller, Boulder Dash and Dig Dug, the dwarf protagonist digging deep under the earth on an endless quest for shimmering gems. Cave-ins aren't the only threat, though - the bowels of the earth happen to be home to a surprising array of deadly monsters.

Some can be squashed and smacked with Doug's spade (goodbye, creepy spider!), but others are made of sterner stuff (TROLL! RUN AWAY!). Endlessly replayable and full of character, Doug Dug's also surprisingly relaxing - until the dwarf ends up under 150 tonnes of rubble.

FOTONICA ($2.99/£2.59/AU$3.99)

One of the most gorgeous games around, FOTONICA at its core echoes one-thumb leapy game Canabalt. The difference is FOTONICA has you move through a surreal and delicate Rez-like 3D vector landscape, holding the screen to gain speed, and only soaring into the air when you lift a finger.

Smartly, FOTONICA offers eight very different and finite challenges, enabling you to learn their various multi-level pathways and seek out bonuses to ramp up your high scores. Get to grips with this dreamlike runner and you can then pit your wits (and thumbs) against three slowly mutating endless zones.

Impossible Road ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.33)

One of the most exhilarating games on mobile, Impossible Road finds a featureless white ball barreling along a ribbon-like track that twists and turns into the distance. The aim is survival – and the more gates you pass through, the higher your score.

The snag is that Impossible Road is fast, and the track bucks and turns like the unholy marriage of a furious unbroken stallion and a vicious roller-coaster.

Once the physics click, however, you’ll figure out the risks you can take, how best to corner, and what to do when hurled into the air by a surprise bump in the road.

The game also rewards ‘cheats’. Leave the track, hurtle through space for a bit, and rejoin – you’ll get a score for your airborne antics, and no penalty for any gates missed. Don’t spend too long aloft though - a few seconds is enough for your ball to be absorbed into the surrounding nothingness.

Run A Whale ($0.99/99p/AU$1.49)

Run-A-Whale is a sweet-natured endless runner. Well, endless swimmer, given that its protagonist is a friendly whale giving a lift/thrill ride to a shipwrecked pirate.

There’s no tapping to leap here, though; in Run-A-Whale, you hold the screen to make the whale dive. When you let go and he breaks the surface, he soars (very) briefly into the air, before returning to the water with a splash.

As ever, the aim in Run-A-Whale is survival – and that in itself isn’t simple. The game’s one failing is it sometimes makes it really tough to avoid hazards, which can include whale-stopping walls someone’s carelessly built beneath the waves.

Mostly, though, this one’s a gorgeous romp through beautiful landscapes, grabbing coins, occasionally being fired into the sky by a cannon, and regularly fending off giant crabs and octopodes.

Super Hexagon ($2.99/£2.39/AU$3.79)

Super Hexagon is an endless survival game that mercilessly laughs at your incompetence. It begins with a tiny spaceship at the center of the screen, and walls rapidly closing in. All you need to do is move left and right to nip through the gaps.

Unfortunately for you, the walls keep shifting and changing, the screen pulses to the chiptune soundtrack, and the entire experience whirls and jolts like you’re inside a particularly violent washing machine. It seems impossible, but you soon start to recognize patterns in the walls.

String together some deft moves, survive a minute by the skin of your teeth, and you briefly feel like a boss as new arenas are unlocked. And although complacency is wiped from your face the instant you venture near them, Super Hexagon has an intoxicating, compelling nature to offset its mile-long sadistic streak.

Ridiculous Fishing ($2.49/£2.49/AU$3.69)

Ridiculous Fishing is appropriately named, in that it’s – vaguely – about fishing, and it’s certainly ridiculous.

The game begins with you bobbing about in your open-topped boat, casting a line into the inky depths. You then tilt your phone to guide your hook, scooping up fish, and avoiding hazards. When you reel everything in, it’s hurled into the air, whereupon – for some reason – you blast it with a shotgun.

It’s all very silly, and there’s a smart compulsion loop: over time, you buy longer lines, and higher-powered weaponry, and can therefore snag more fish. And the more you shoot, the more cash you make. Clearly, in this world there’s a big market for seafood that has been airborne and almost atomized. As we said: ridiculous!

The best platform games for Android

Our favorite Android platform games, including side-scrolling 2D efforts, exploration games and console-style adventures.

Oddmar (free + $4.99/£3.69/AU$6.49)

Oddmar is a mobile platform game good enough to rub shoulders with console-originated equivalents. It features the titular Oddmar, a buffoonish Viking shunned by his fellows, but when they disappear and he snarfs some magic mushrooms (really), he becomes a hero, out to save his kin.

The basics are as you’d expect – run, jump, grab bling, and try not to get killed  –  but Oddmar is far from predictable. The visuals are dazzling to the point it often looks like an interactive cartoon; the pacing is frequently shaken up as you battle giant bosses and tackle auto-scrolling maze-like levels; and although traditional controls are available, the gestural defaults are pitch-perfect.

In short, Oddmar sets a new standard for platform games on mobile; and on Android, you even get to play the first few levels for free.

see/saw ($2.99/£2.59/AU$4.29)

see/saw hints at the troubles ahead for its protagonists in a note from the professor running a series of tests: “Die to succeed.”

The subjects probably shouldn’t have signed up for these trials, frankly, given that they’re sealed in rooms packed with massive spikes and saw blades, and tasked with collecting coins. Black humor abounds when you realize some can only be reached by killing the subject and cunningly hurling their corpse in the appropriate direction.

The controls are superb – two thumbs are all you need – and the game feels perfect as well. So whether you’ll crack all 150 levels is mostly down to your dexterity, and whether your inner vicious streak will figure out how to chop and impale your character in a manner that will – posthumously – allow them to achieve their goal.

Spitkiss ($1.99/£1.99/AU$3.69)

Spitkiss is a mashup of arcade shooty larks and platforming action, where you aim to get the bodily fluids of one Spitkiss to another. That might sound a bit grim, but this is actually a sweet-natured game played primarily in cartoonish silhouette.

Even so, your emission, once it’s hurled through the air and gone splat on a platform, starts to gloop downwards. You can then make it leap again, and – several hops later – splatter on your intended love.

Especially on larger screens, Spitkiss works really nicely. The visuals are vibrant, and the basics are easy to grasp. But as you get deeper into the game’s 80 levels, the twists and turns required to win get tougher to pull off – even when you hold down the screen for much-needed Matrix-style slo-mo.

HoPiKo ($1.99/£1.49/AU$2.09)

If you've played Laser Dog's previous efforts, PUK and ALONE…, you'll know what you're in for with HoPiKo. This game takes no prisoners. If it did take them, it'd repeatedly punch them in the face before casually discarding them. HoPiKo, then, is not a game to be messed with. Instead, it feels more like a fight. In each of the dozens of hand-crafted tiny levels, you leap from platform to platform via deft drags and taps, attempting to avoid death.

Only, death is everywhere and very easy to meet. The five-stage level sets are designed to be completed in mere seconds, but also to break your brain and trouble your fingers. It's just on the right side of hellishly frustrating, meaning you'll stop short of flinging your device at the wall, emerging from your temporary red rage foolishly determined that you can in fact beat the game on your next go.

Limbo ($4.99/£3.88/AU$6.85)

The term 'masterpiece' is perhaps bandied about too often in gaming circles, but Limbo undoubtedly deserves such high praise. It features a boy picking his way through a creepy monochrome world, looking for his sister. At its core, Limbo is a fairly simple platform game with a smattering of puzzles, but its stark visuals, eerie ambience, and superb level design transforms it into something else entirely.

You'll get a chill the first time a chittering figure sneaks off in the distance, and your heart will pump when being chased by a giant arachnid, intent on spearing your tiny frame with one of its colossal spiked legs. That death is never the end — each scene can be played unlimited times until you progress — only adds to Limbo's disturbing nature.

Leo's Fortune ($4.99/£4.89/AU$7.49)

The bar's set so low in modern mobile gaming that the word 'premium' has become almost meaningless. But Leo's Fortune bucks the trend, and truly deserves the term. It's a somewhat old-school side-on platform game, featuring a gruff furball hunting down the thief who stole his gold (and then, as is always the way, dropped coins at precise, regular intervals along a lengthy, perilous pathway).

The game is visually stunning, from the protagonist's animation through to the lush, varied backdrops. The game also frequently shakes things up, varying its pace from Sonic-style loops to precise pixel-perfect leaps.

It at times perhaps pushes you a bit too far — late on, we found some sections a bit too finicky and demanding. But you can have as many cracks at a section as you please, and if you master the entire thing, there's a hardcore speedrun mode that challenges you to complete the entire journey without dying.

Rayman Fiesta Run ($2.99/£2.79/AU$4.09)

There are varied mobile takes on limbless wonder Rayman's platform gaming exploits. The 1995 original once existed on Android, but was ill-suited to touchscreens and has mercifully vanished from Google Play; and Rayman Adventures dabbles in freemium to the point it leaves a bad taste.

But Rayman Jungle Run and Rayman Fiesta Run get things right.

They rethink console-oriented platformers as auto-runners – which might sound reductive. However, this is more about distillation and focus than outright simplification.

Tight level design and an emphasis on timing regarding when to jump, rebound and attack forces you to learn layouts and the perfect moment to trigger actions, in order to get the in-game bling you need to progress.

Both titles are sublime, but Fiesta Run is marginally the better of the two - a clever take on platforming that fizzes with energy, looks fantastic, and feels like it was made for Android rather than a 20-year-old console.

Traps n' Gemstones ($4.99/£3.99/AU$4.99)

Harking back to classic side-on platformers, Traps n' Gemstones dumps an Indiana Jones wannabe into a massive pyramid, filled with mummies, spiders and traps; from here he must figure out how to steal all the bling, uncover all the secrets, and then finally escape.

Beyond having you leap about, grab diamonds, and keep indigenous explorer-killing critters at bay, Traps n' Gemstones is keen to have you explore. Work your way deeper into the pyramid and you’ll find objects that when placed somewhere specific open up new pathways.

But although this one’s happy to hurl you back to gaming’s halcyon days, it’s a mite kinder to newcomers than the games that inspired it.

Get killed and you can carry on from where you left off. More of a hardcore player? Death wipes your score, so to doff your fedora in a truly smug manner, you’ll have to complete the entire thing without falling to the game’s difficult challenges.

Chameleon Run ($1.99/£2.09/AU$3.09)

You might have played enough automatic runners to last several lifetimes, but Chameleon Run nonetheless deserves to be on your Android device. And although the basics might initially seem overly familiar (tap to jump and ensure your sprinting chap doesn’t fall down a hole), there’s in fact a lot going on here.

Each level has been meticulously designed, which elevates Chameleon Run beyond its algorithmically generated contemporaries. Like the best platform games, you must commit every platform and gap to memory to succeed. But also, color-switching and ‘head jumps’ open up new possibilities for route-finding – and failure.

In the former case, you must ensure you’re the right color before landing on colored platforms. With the latter, you can smash your head into a platform above to give you one more chance to leap forward and not tumble into the void.

Super Mario Run (free + $9.99/£9.99/AU$14.99 IAP)

Anyone who thought Nintendo would convert a standard handheld take on Mario to Android was always on a hiding to nothing. But that’s probably just as well – Nintendo’s classic platformers are reliant on tight controls, rather than you fumbling about on a slippy glass surface.

Super Mario Run tries a different tack, infusing plenty of ‘Marioness’ into an auto-runner, where you guide the mustachioed plumber by tapping the screen to have him perform actions.

You might consider this reductive; also, Super Mario Run is a touch short, and the ‘kingdom builder’ sub-game alongside the main act falls flat. Still, really smart level design wins the day, and completists will have fun replaying the world tour mode time and again to collect the many hard-to-reach coins.

iCycle ($2.99/£2.99/AU$4.49)

Hero of the hour Dennis finds himself unicycling naked in this gorgeous platform game best described as flat-out nuts. In iCycle, you dodder left or right, leap over obstacles, and break your fall with a handy umbrella, all the while attempting to grab ice as surreal landscapes collapse and morph around you.

The mission feels like a journey into what might happen if Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam were let loose on game design. One minute, you’re entering a top-hatted gent’s ear to find and kiss a ‘reverse mermaid’ on a levitating bike; the next you’re in a terrifying silhouette funfair that might have burst forth from a fevered mind during a particularly unpleasant nightmare.

Some of the levels are tough, and there’s a bit of grinding to unlock new outfits. But if you want something a bit more creative on your Android, you can’t do much better than iCycle.

The Big Journey ($1.99/£1.89/AU$2.69)

In platform adventure The Big Journey, fat cat Mr. Whiskers is on a mission. The chef behind his favorite dumplings has disappeared, and so the brave feline sets out to find him. The journey finds the chubby kitty rolling and leaping across – and through – all kinds of vibrant landscapes, packed with hills, tunnels, and enemies.

The game comes across a lot like PSP classic LocoRoco, in you tilting the screen to move, the protagonist’s rotundness increasing over time, and several of the landscape interactions (oddball elevators; smashing through fragile barriers).

But The Big Journey very much has its own character, not least in the knowing humor peppered throughout what might otherwise have been a saccharine child-like storyline about a gluttonous cartoon cat.

As it is, The Big Journey isn’t terribly challenging, but it is enjoyable, whether you drink the visuals in and just dodder to the end, or simultaneously try to find every collectible and beat the speed-run time limits.

Mushroom 11 ($4.99/£4.89/AU$6.49)

Mushroom 11 finds you exploring the decaying ruins of a devastated world. And you do so as a blob of green goo. Movement comes by way of you ‘erasing’ chunks of this creature with a circular ‘brush’. Over time, you learn how this can urge the blob to move in certain ways, or how you can split it in two, so half can flick a switch, while the other half moves onward.

This probably sounds a bit weird – and it is. But Mushroom 11 is perfectly suited to the touchscreen. The tactile way you interact with the protagonist feels just right, and although your surroundings are desolate, they’re also oddly beautiful, augmented by a superb ethereal soundtrack.

There are moments of frustration – the odd difficulty wall. But with regular restart points, and countless ingenious obstacles and puzzles, Mushroom 11 is a strange creature you should immediately squeeze into whatever space exists on your Android device.

Sonic Runners Adventure ($2.99/£2.99/AU$4.49)

Sonic Runners Adventure tries to pull the same trick as Super Mario Run, distilling the essence of a much-loved traditional console platform game into a one-thumb auto-runner. The difference with Sonic is that he blazes along at breakneck pace, resulting in a colorful effort that has more in common with Canabalt than the precision leapy nature of Nintendo’s game.

That’s not to say there’s no case for care and accuracy though. Sonic Runners Adventure features carefully designed multi-level landscapes, each with its own rhythm.

Crack the choreography and you’ll grab the rings, bonk the monsters on the head and give the evil Dr Eggman a serious kicking. If not, you can at least take solace that this game’s mobile-friendly levels aren’t terribly expansive, and so are geared towards immediately having another go.

The best puzzle games for Android

Our favorite Android logic tests, path-finding games, match puzzlers and brain-teasers.

Marching Order ($1.99/£1.99/AU$3.39)

Marching Order features the most demanding marching band imaginable, and you’re the stressed-out band-leader bunny who has to keep them all happy. Your ongoing task is to respond appropriately to all the messages the bunny receives on his phone. Each one states where a specific band member wants to be placed within the queue of musically talented anthropomorphic animal critters.

Working with the various oddly specific demands – “I perform best when somewhere behind animals with feathers”; “I prefer to stand directly next to the flag” – you must drag and drop the animals, tap the big MARCH! button, and hope you get the marching order right. If not, everyone falls over. Otherwise it’s on to bigger bands – and the option to do all this endearingly bonkers swapping against the clock.

G30 - A Memory Maze ($3.99/£3.99/AU$5.99)

G30 - A Memory Maze is a puzzler that works on multiple levels. At first, it feels like you’re merely playing with dials, to make overlapping shapes resemble each level’s title. But underlying this is a story about memories, someone wistfully – sometimes painfully – battling to recall their past.

As you spin dials, the narrative shifts and changes, like thoughts lurking just out of reach. Single words morph into commands, poetry, or reasons to be fearful, giving you a glimpse into the strange and sometimes terrifying world of a cognitive disorder.

Where G30 really clicks is with its pitch-perfect balance. The puzzling is fun, and the narrative is meaningful and engaging. The game says something important, while not forgetting it is a game. Like the shapes you play with, G30 is far more than it initially appears.

Slydris 2 ($1.99/£1.79/AU$2.99)

Slydris 2 may remind you of Tetris, in that you drop blocks into a well, and aim to create solid lines that vanish, thereby freeing up space for more blocks. However, whereas Tetris on touchscreens is slippery and finicky, Slydris 2 wisely rethinks and revamps the concept as a turn-based puzzler.

During each round, several new pieces hover menacingly above the well. You can horizontally slide just one – or a piece that’s already fallen. You must engage your chess brain if you are to survive, thinking several moves ahead to make chain reactions that obliterate many blocks at once. Special blocks that smash shapes into their component parts add further potential for strategy – and luck.

It looks, sounds, and plays wonderfully. In short, it’s one of the finest puzzlers on mobile.

Where Shadows Slumber ($4.99/£4.59/AU$7.49)

Where Shadows Slumber pulls no punches – and that’s literally the case for the protagonist, who early on finds himself horribly assaulted by nasty bipedal animal creatures who want his lamp. It’s a surprising event – not least given that you might initially assume this will be a sedate puzzler along the lines of Monument Valley.

Between the cutscenes, Where Shadows Slumber dials down the unease and engages your brain. You must figure out pathways to exits, often forging them by casting shadows that refashion the very landscape. It’s a clever conceit, and one that never really grows old. Nor does the game’s visual clout, sense of pacing, and ability to surprise with its mix of beauty and darkness. 

Gorogoa ($4.99/£3.79/AU$6.49)

Gorogoa is a puzzler designed to break your mind. It takes the form of a beautifully illustrated animated picture book, with individual panels telling some sort of story – and yet they don’t appear to be obviously related at a glance.

You must find links between everything to literally move the protagonist through the narrative. Early on, this might just require rearranging some panels, but as you head deeper into the game, you end up laying panels over others, or zooming into and out of scenes.

To say it’s perplexing is putting it mildly. Gorogoa is also frequently deeply weird. Most importantly, though, it’s a marvel: a wonderfully realized, tactile, unique game that makes you feel absurdly smart when you crack its challenges.

Chuchel ($4.99/£4.49/AU$6.99)

Chuchel is an exploratory puzzler that when played comes across like you’re watching a series of a distinctly weird cartoon. The titular protagonist, a ball of fluff, wants nothing more than to get a cherry – but it’s cruelly snatched away the second he gets near. Each single-screen challenge therefore tasks you with finding the convoluted route to Chuchel’s goal.

Packed with the heart, humor, and animated smarts evident in previous Amanita Design games, Chuchel is a joy to watch as you tap hot-spots, make decisions, and watch events play out.

Some canned animations are lengthy, and logic isn’t always prized, which means it can sometimes get tedious to trudge through a section until you nail the precise sequence to finish it. Still, this is more than offset by a game that frequently surprises and delights.

Persephone ($3.90/£3.60/AU$5.95)

Persephone is a puzzle game set in tiny isometric worlds, packed with clockwork hazards, such as spikes and poison darts. Your aim in each is to reach the exit. Often, that involves triggering switches and pushing objects around. Persephone, though, has a rather unconventional take on how these things are achieved.

If you get killed, your corpse remains on the screen and you are reincarnated at the most recently accessed restart point. You can have up to three corpses available at any one time, unceremoniously using them to cross spiked pits, or shoving them into switches so to avoid being shot by a nearby projectile. It’s an amusingly dark comic twist, and one that makes Persephone stand out among a slew of ostensibly similar puzzlers.

Threes! ($5.99/£5.49/AU$8.49)

The sort of silly maths game you might've played in your head before mobile phones emerged to absorb all our thought processes, Threes! really does take less than 30 seconds to learn.

You bash numbers about until they form multiples of three and disappear. That's it. There are stacks of free clones available, but if you won't spare the price of one massive bar of chocolate to pay for a lovely little game like this that'll amuse you for week, you're part of the problem and deserve to rot in a freemium hell where it costs 50p to do a wee.

Prune ($3.99/£3.79/AU$4.99)

It's not often you see a game about the "joy of cultivation", and Prune is unlike anything you've ever played before. Apparently evolving from an experimental tree-generation script, the game has you swipe to shape and grow a plant towards sunlight by tactically cutting off specific branches.

That sounds easy, but the trees, shrubs and weeds in Prune don't hang around. When they're growing at speed and you find yourself faced with poisonous red orbs to avoid, or structures that damage fragile branches, you'll be swiping in a frantic race towards sunlight.

And all it takes is one dodgy swipe from a sausage finger to see your carefully managed plant very suddenly find itself being sliced in two.

You Must Build a Boat ($2.99/£2.39/AU$4.19)

This is one of those 'rub your stomach, pat your head' titles that has you play two games at once. At the top of the screen, it's an endless runner, with your little bloke battling all manner of monsters, and pilfering loot. The rest of the display houses what's essentially a Bejeweled-style gem-swapper. The key is in matching items so that the running bit goes well - like five swords when you want to get all stabby.

Also, there's the building a boat bit. Once a run ends, you return to your watery home, which gradually acquires new rooms and residents. Some merely power up your next sprint, but others help you amass powerful weaponry. Resolutely indie and hugely compelling, You Must Build a Boat will keep you busily swiping for hours.

A Good Snowman ($4.99/£3.99/AU$6.99)

It turns out what makes a good snowman is three very precisely rolled balls of snow stacked on top of each other. And that's the core of this adorable puzzle game, which has more than a few hints of Towers of Hanoi and Sokoban about it as your little monster goes about building icy friends to hug.

What sets A Good Snowman apart from its many puzzle-game contemporaries on Android is a truly premium nature. You feel that the developer went to great efforts to polish every aspect of the production, from the wonderful animation to puzzles that grow in complexity and deviousness, without you really noticing — until you get stuck on a particularly ferocious one several hours in.

Snakebird ($4.71/£3.74/AU$6.44)

You probably need to be a bit of a masochist to get the most out of Snakebird, which is one of the most brain-smashingly devious puzzlers we've ever set eyes on. It doesn't really look or sound the part, frankly - all vibrant colors and strange cartoon 'snakebirds' that make odd noises.

But the claustrophobic floating islands the birds must crawl through, supporting each other (often literally) in their quest for fruit, are designed very precisely to make you think you've got a way forward, only to thwart you time and time again.

The result is a surprisingly arduous game, but one that's hugely rewarding when you crack a particularly tough level, at which point you'll (probably rightly) consider yourself some kind of gaming genius.

Human Resource Machine ($4.99/£4.59/AU$6.99)

Some people argue programming is perhaps the best ‘game’ of all – and a brilliant puzzle. Those might be people you’d sooner avoid at parties, but Human Resource Machine suggests they could have a point. In this compelling and unique puzzle game, you control the actions of a worker drone by way of programming-like sequences.

The premise is to complete tasks by converting items in your inbox to whatever’s required in the outbox – for example, only sending zeroes. Like much programming, success often relies on logic, with you fashioning loops, and using actions such as ‘jump’, ‘if’ statements, and ‘copy’. These are arranged via drag and drop on a board at the right-hand side of the screen.

That might all sound impenetrable, but Human Resource Machine is in fact elegant, friendly, and approachable, not least due to developer Tomorrow Corporation’s penchant for infusing games with personality and heart.

Shadowmatic (free + $2.99/£2.99/AU$3.99 IAP)

That game where you cast a shadow on the wall and attempt to make a vaguely recognizable rabbit? That’s Shadowmatic, only instead of your hands, you manipulate all kinds of levitating detritus, spinning and twisting things until you abruptly – and magically – fashion a silhouette resembling anything from a seahorse to an old-school telephone.

The game looks gorgeous, with stunning lighting effects and objects that look genuinely real as they dangle in the air. Mostly though, this is a game about tactility and contemplation – it begs to be explored, and to make use of your digits in a way virtual D-pads could never hope to compete with.

Linelight ($1.99/£1.79/AU$2.89)

Linelight is a gorgeous, minimal puzzler that pits you against the rhythmic denizens of a network of lines levitating above a colored haze. Your aim is simply to progress, inching your way along the network, triggering gates and switches, and collecting golden gems.

Early puzzles are content to let you get to grips with the virtual stick (one of the best on Android). Soon, you’re faced with adversaries that kill with a single touch. But these foes aren’t merely to be avoided – they must also be manipulated into position to trigger switches that open pathways that enable you to continue.

Now and again, new mechanics keep things fresh, as do abrupt changes in pace, such as a memorable several-screens-long pursuit/dance with an enemy towards the end of the game’s first section. In all, Linelight’s an enchanting, vibrant, superbly designed experience – an essential purchase for your Android device.

Monument Valley 2 ($4.99/£4.99/AU$7.99)

Monument Valley 2 is the follow-up to landscape-bending puzzler Monument Valley. As in its predecessor, you fashion impossible pathways by manipulating Escher-like constructions in order to reach goals.

This is a gorgeous game. The minimalist architecture is dotted with optical illusions. Imagination abounds throughout, and the color palette dazzles, half making you wish you could print every level out as a massive poster to stick on the wall.

The actual puzzles are slight and the game itself has been criticized for being short, but thoughts of brevity evaporate when you’re confronted by one of Monument Valley 2’s many spectacular, beautiful moments, such as a side-on level that resembles modern art and a section where trees explode from pots when bathed in sunlight. In short, this is a mobile experience to savor.

Framed 2 ($4.99/£4.49/AU$7.49)

Framed 2 follows in the footsteps of Framed – a puzzle game based around rearranging panels of an animated comic book.

The story features a mysterious ship, smuggling, and quite a lot of sneaky spies. As you play a scene, something inevitably goes horribly wrong for the protagonist and you must swap frames around to make things play out differently. Like the original, this is all wonderfully tactile, but the puzzles are better this time around, with more emphasis on reusing panels.

It’s even fun when it goes wrong. You don’t often get to be entertained when failing in a puzzle game, but here you’ll want to fail each level if you succeed first time, just to see what amusing japes Framed 2’s cast would have got into otherwise.

Zenge ($0.99/£0.59/AU$0.99)

Zenge is a sliding puzzle game whose early levels almost insult your intelligence, merely asking you to slide a few shapes into place. Don’t be fooled, though – Zenge is devious in a way that should make even the most jaded puzzle game fan grin.

At first, it’s just the cut of the shapes that thwarts efforts to shove them into place, but every now and again, new mechanics enter the mix, such as pieces that stick to each other, or buttons that flip shapes over.

All this plays out within a no-stress environment. There are no timers, move limits, shops, points or stars - it’s just you and the puzzles. Zenge’s purity alone would make it interesting, but the quality of the puzzles makes it a must-have.

Hidden Folks ($3.49/£2.99/AU$6.49)

Hidden Folks is a hidden object game with a soul. It’s reminiscent of those mass-produced posters where you scour a massive, cluttered scene, trying to find the one person with a silly hat. The difference is that everything here has been made with love and care, from the hand-drawn interactive illustrations to the amusing oral sound effects.

The basics are admittedly much as you’d expect: scour the screen to find specific objects or characters, and move on when complete.

We realize that might not sound like much, but there’s a charm and humor to Hidden Folks that sets it apart from any of its contemporaries. On a larger Android phone or a tablet, this is a particularly relaxing, absorbing game to lose yourself in for a few hours.

.projekt ($1.99/£1.59/AU$2.59)

.projekt is a relaxing and brilliantly designed minimal puzzler that twists your brain by forcing you to think in two and three dimensions simultaneously. At the center of the screen is a five-by-five grid, which you tap to build blocky structures from cubes. The aim is to have the shadows they project match patterns on two visible walls.

At first, this is simple stuff, but .projekt subtly ramps up the challenge as you move through its levels. You’re forced to spin the canvas multiple times, and often to destroy your structure and rebuild as an approach turns out to be a dead end.

Never does .projekt become a frustrating experience, however. You’re not on the clock, there are no move limits, and there are no IAP lurking. It’s just about you and the blocks, and imagining how an object looks from two points of view.

ELOH ($2.99/£2.99/AU$4.49)

ELOH is a puzzle game that wants you to experiment. It’s based around a strict grid that features masks, loudspeakers that emit colored blobs, and goals. The idea is to get the blobs to the goals, ensuring they’re the right color by bouncing them off of relevant masks along the way.

That might sound chaotic, but ELOH has a clockwork setup. Everything bounces at precise right angles, and shots are fired to the rhythm of a background soundtrack. But your approach to solving challenges can be like sculpting: set the blobs on their way and you can move puzzle pieces live, just to see what happens.

ELOH is therefore a pressure-free but engaging title – there’s no clock, and there are no ads. It’s just you, over 80 puzzles, and some cracking visuals and audio.

Layton: Curious Village in HD ($9.99/£9.99/AU$14.99)

Layton: Curious Village in HD (US/RoW) is a slice of gaming history. Originally released for the Nintendo DS, Curious Village was the first Layton game; it sold over 17 million copies, and launched what’s since become a beloved series.

Lesser developers would have done a straight port to mobile and be done with it, but Level-5 acknowledges technology has moved on – and the clue is in the title. All of the game’s visuals have been spruced up for modern displays, and augmented with new animations.

Of course, the puzzles remain the real draw – and even some of the early ones are proper brain-thumpers. Add to this an engaging story (despite the iffy voice work) and Curious Village is a superb update, one that you should take time with and savor.

In The Dog House ($3.99/£2.99/AU$5.49)

In The Dog House is a sweet-natured puzzler featuring a ravenous pooch and a bizarre house with moving rooms, floors, and corridors. Unfortunately for the dog, its dinner’s on the other side of said house, and you need to figure out how to get over there.

The mechanics of the game are a classic sliding puzzler, with a few twists. The house’s components can be slid and sometimes rotated, but you also need to use a bone to urge the dog toward the goal. The snag is any room the pooch is planted in cannot be moved.

In The Dog House rapidly becomes quite the brain-smasher, and it’s irritating that there’s no level-skip option when you’re stuck. Still, perseverance reaps rewards, because after the more arduous tests you’ll feel like a champ when you reach that bowl.

Dissembler ($2.99/£2.99/AU$4.49)

Dissembler is a match-three game with a difference. Instead of presenting you with a wall of gems that’s replenished when you make matches, Dissembler levels are akin to modern art – abstract creations comprising colored tiles.

You still swap two elements to try and match three (or more), but here matches vanish. The idea is to end up with a blank canvas. At first, this is easy, but Dissembler soon serves up challenges where you end up isolating tiles unless you’re very careful.

This shifts the game more heavily into strategic puzzling territory – and it’s all the better for it. You’ll feel like the smartest person around on figuring out the precise sequence of moves to clear the later levels. And even when you’ve finished them all, there’s a daily puzzle and endless mode to keep you occupied.

The best shooting games for Android

Our favorite Android FPS titles, twin-stick shooters, scrolling retro shoot ’em ups and artillery games.

Backfire ($2.99/£2.79/AU$4.59)

Backfire is an old-school arena shooter with a difference. In fact, it has lots of differences, but the main one is pretty big: your little ship fires from its behind. Surrounded by terrifying neon foes, you’re robbed of a twin-stick shooter’s ability to spray bullets everywhere, or even being able to blast laser death in the direction that you’re facing.

At first, you fight the game, your muscle memory slamming up against years of traditional shooty larks. Soon, though, it begins to click. You dart around, making use of a slo-mo effect as you approach enemies that emit hideous guttural growls. You scoop up souls to later upgrade your ship. And then you’re horribly killed by a massive, ferocious boss.

Backfire is far from easy, but persevere and you’ll have many happy hours with this backwards but brilliant shooter.

Hyper Sentinel ($2.49/£1.99/AU$3.49)

Hyper Sentinel finds you zooming back and forth across a giant dreadnought, blowing up its gun turrets, and weaving between the various ships it sends in your general direction with murderous intent.

This is a zippy game – and a vibrant one – which feels and looks rather old-school in nature. That’s perhaps no surprise, as its roots go all the way back to Uridium, a 1986(!) hit on the Commodore 64 home computer.

Fortunately, Hyper Sentinel isn’t as punishing as that old game – although that doesn’t mean you have things easy. There are 60 medals to win across its dozen stages, and hard-as-nails bosses to beat. Depth? Nuance? Well, there’s not much of those things, but who needs them when you’re immersed in a dazzling, pumping bout of pure arcade blasting?

Downwell ($2.99/£2.69/$4.19)

A young boy hurls himself down a massive well, with only his ‘gunboots’ for protection. There are so many questions there (not least: what parent would buy their kid boots that are also guns?), but it sets the scene for a superb arcade shooter with surprising smarts and depth.

At first in Downwell, you’ll probably be tempted to blast everything, but ammo soon runs out. On discovering you reload on landing, you’ll then start to jump about a lot. But further exploration of the game’s mechanics reaps all kinds of rewards, leading to you bounding on monsters, venturing into tunnels to find bonus bling, and getting huge scores once you crack the secrets behind combos.

The game might look like it’s arrived on your Android device from a ZX Spectrum, but this is a thoroughly modern and hugely engaging blaster.

Arkanoid vs Space Invaders ($4.99/£4.99/AU$7.99)

In the late 1970s, Space Invaders invited you to blast rows of invaders. In the mid-1980s, Arkanoid revamped Breakout, having you use a bat-like spaceship to belt a ball at space bricks. Now, Arkanoid vs Space Invaders mashes the two titles together – and, surprisingly, it works very nicely.

Instead of a ball, you’re deflecting the invaders’ bullets back at them, to remove bricks and the invaders themselves. Now and again, Arkanoid is recalled more directly in a special attack that has you belt a ball around the place after firing it into action using a massive space bow.

Increasingly, though, the game is laced with strategy, since your real enemy is time. A couple of dozen levels in, you must carefully utilize powerful invaders’ blasts and onscreen bonuses to emerge victorious – not easy when neon is flying everywhere and the clock’s ticking down.

No Stick Shooter ($1.99/£1.99/AU$2.89)

No Stick Shooter is a single-screen shoot ’em up that marries the best of old-school retro blasters with modern touchscreen controls.

As its name suggests, there are no virtual D-pads to contend with. Instead, as the aliens menacingly descend towards your planet, you tap their general location to fling something destructive their way.

The key to victory doesn’t involve tapping the screen like a lunatic, though. Your weapons need time to recharge, and specific armaments work well against certain foes. In a sense, it all plays out like a strategy-laced precision shooter on fast-forward, with you clocking incoming hostiles, quickly switching to the best weapon, and tapping or swiping to blow them away.

There are just 30 levels in all, but only the very best arcade veterans are likely to blaze through them at any speed – and even then, getting all the achievements is a tough ask.

Death Road to Canada ($9.99/£8.99/AU$14.99)

Death Road to Canada is a zombie movie smashed into a classic retro game. Little pixelated heroes dodder about a dystopian world, bashing zombies with whatever comes to hand, looting houses, and trying to not get eaten.

The road trip is staccato in nature. The game constantly tries to derail your rhythm and momentum. In Choose Your Own Adventure-style text bits, the wrong decision may find you savaged by a moose. Elsewhere, intense ‘siege’ challenges dump you in a confined space with zombie hordes, often armed only with a stick. Handy.

These abrupt elements can grate – as can the slightly slippy controls that aren’t always quite tight enough; but otherwise this is an ambitious mash-up of RPG and arcade gaming, with generous dollops of black humor – and BRAIINNZZZ.

ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun ($2.99/£3.19/AU$4.29)

ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun finds a nutcase blasting his way through corridors of extremely angry, heavily armed aliens, while he himself is only armed with a really big gun. That might sound fine, until you realize the gun is also his means of staying aloft.

This means to go higher, he must blast downward, temporarily becoming vulnerable to incoming fire. If he shoots forward, he starts to plummet towards the hard, deadly ground. ATOMIK therefore becomes a manic, high-octane balancing act of finger gymnastics, with the potential to get killed very frequently.

On every death, the game rewinds the level so you can try again, and wallow in your failure to complete challenges that are a mere 20 seconds long without dying dozens of times first. But when you crack one, you really do feel like a boss.

Super Crossfighter ($0.99/89p/AU$1.49)

Super Crossfighter is essentially a neon Space Invaders played at breakneck pace. Your little craft sits at the foot of the screen, darting left and right, blasting the aliens above. But the foes you face aren’t doddering critters from 1970s gaming – they come armed to the teeth, hurling all manner of instant laser death and bullet hell your way.

Fortunately, you’re not wanting for firepower either. Your speedy craft can leap from the bottom to the top of the screen, scooping up gems that can subsequently be used to upgrade the ship in an in-game shop. There’s no IAP, note, for extra cash – this intense blaster is all about the skill you have in your thumbs, and your ability to survive wave after wave of neon-infused shooty action.

Jydge ($9.99/£8.49/AU$14.99)

Jydge riffs off of Robocop and Judge Dredd, having you control the titular cybernetic law enforcer, eradicating crime in the megacity of Edenbyrg.

The game’s no-nonsense approach is typified by the ‘Gavel’ in this case being a massive gun. Jydge’s approach to dealing with bad guys mostly involves stomping about, shooting enemies, pilfering bling, and rescuing unfortunate hostages caught in the crossfire.

Initially, something about the game’s visuals and approach may make you play as if entering a neon-soaked outing that’s escaped from stealth shooter master and X-Com creator Julian Gollop’s brain, but really Jydge mostly plays out like a frantic twin-stick shooter. Tactics only really enter the equation when you realize you can nip back to earlier missions and tackle them again with new kit or approaches, in order to meet tricky challenges. Either way, it’s ballsy fun.

Implosion - Never Lose Hope (free + $9.99/£9.99/AU$14.99)

Implosion finds Earth having been given a beating by nasty aliens, leaving humans on the brink of extinction. As this is a videogame, humans have pinned all their hopes on you and your natty battlesuit.

Fortunately, said suit can dish out serious damage. As you stomp about Implosion’s gleaming environments, you blast, slash, and dash your way through hordes of identikit alien drones. Occasional boss battles then shake things up in terms of pacing and challenge. Between levels, you customize your suit, to unlock new combos.

The game’s creators call Implosion a AAA console-style title, and it looks superb and feels the part. Even the complex controls (for a touchscreen game) work well. A sticking point for some might be the price, but you can play six missions for nothing. If you then balk at a one-off IAP for a premium title, don’t subsequently wonder why we can’t have nice things.

Lichtspeer ($3.99/£3.49/AU$5.49)

Lichtspeer is a trippy take on tower defense – like a single-lane Plants vs Zombies, only you’re fending off deranged futuristic Nordic and Germanic foes, are armed with an endless supply of glowing javelins (the titular Lichtspeer), and act under the watchful eye of an angry, demanding heavy metal god.

So, yes, this one has a veneer of weird, but the underlying mechanics are straightforward enough: aim your spear Angry Birds-style, lob and repeat. Get in some headshots, and the game rewards you. Miss too often and the god’s wrath briefly freezes you, making you temporarily vulnerable.

The main downsides to the game are repetition and brevity. However, gradually acquired special moves shake things up (and are a godsend on packed levels), and when you’re in the neon Lichtspeer zone, it has a focused, hypnotic quality – along with a pleasing dash of madness.

The best sports games for Android

Our favorite Android soccer, tennis, golf and management games.

Football Manager Touch 2019 ($19.99/£19.99/AU$30.99)

Football Manager Touch 2019 is one of the most ambitious games on Android, aiming to cram as much of the desktop PC soccer management game into your device as possible. Although a streamlined take on the original computer game, this is still fully-fledged management, enabling you to delve into all kinds of leagues, teams, tactics and set-ups.

There is a smattering of automation for people who can’t spend the equivalent of an entire soccer season playing the game; and pre-set tactical styles give you a leg-up to success. Make sure you examine the compatibility list prior to buying; if your device isn’t up to scratch, or you just prefer something simpler, be mindful the impressive Football Manager 2019 Mobile also exists. 

Touchgrind Skate 2 (free + IAP)

You might narrow your eyes at so-called 'realism' in mobile sports titles, given that this usually means 'a game that looks a bit like when you watch telly'. But Touchgrind Skate 2 somehow manages to evoke the feel of skateboarding, your fingers becoming tiny legs that urge the board about the screen.

There's a lot going on in Touchgrind Skate 2, and the control system is responsive and intricate, enabling you to perform all manner of tricks. It's not the most immediate of titles - you really need to not only run through the tutorial but fully master and memorize each step before moving on.

Get to grips with your miniature skateboard and you'll find one of the most fluid and rewarding experiences on mobile. Note that for free you get one park to scoot about in, but others are available via IAP.

Table Tennis Touch ($3.49/£2.99/AU$4.79)

Table Tennis Touch brings the glory of ping pong to your Android device. You can partake in mini-games for training, or a full career mode, where you aim to smack a tiny white ball past the usual eerily floating bats of your opponents.

Visually, the game’s a treat with its gorgeously rendered locations. Most importantly, it feels great, recreating the high-octane nature of the sport, even if you do perhaps eventually get to the point where many matches are won by smashing super-fast shots diagonally across the table.

Even so, when you do get that winning point, at the end of a game where the lead’s shifted back and forth between you and an opponent, the game’s never less than invigorating.

Desert Golfing ($1.99/£1.39/AU$2.29)

Desert Golfing is an almost brutally minimalist take on golf. You start out in a side-on landscape, featuring a ball and a hole. You drag to aim, let go to smack the ball, and hope your aim is true. One or more shots later, the hole becomes the next tee, and a new challenge is presented.

That is basically the entire game. You get a score, although when you’re 50 holes in, it’s hard to know whether the number is meaningful. But the actual playing takes golf to a strangely relaxing and zen place. If you want realism or action, this one’s perhaps not for you; but if you fancy something golf-like to chill out with, Desert Golfing is great.

Football Manager Touch 2018 ($19.99/£19.99/AU$30.99)

Football Manager Touch 2018 is an ambitious mobile title, in that it attempts to bring the full-fat Football Manager experience from PC to your Android tablet. (Sorry, phone users – you’ll have to make do with the cut-down Football Manager Mobile).

The good news is that this is a hugely detailed, feature-rich game, enabling you to delve into every aspect of your team, watch matches, and get very angry when your team blows a two-goal lead deep into stoppage time.

The bad news is that this is a game that will demand many hours of your time. After all, you’re not going to finish and win an entire league during a 30-minute bus ride. A single game in your ongoing campaign, however…

Kevin Toms Football * Manager ($3.49/£2.99/AU$4.89)

Kevin Toms Football * Manager is what happens when the man who created the original Football Manager game (the one released in 1982 for computers with 16k of RAM) brings the same pick-up-and-play ethos to Android. It’s crude. It’s simplistic. It’s also – as it turns out – an awful lot of fun.

Ultimately, the game mostly involves basic team selection/management, a smattering of tactics, and tense match highlights. It might seem prehistoric to anyone who cut their teeth on modern football management games, but it’s a delight for anyone hankering after immediacy from a management game, rather than something with so much depth it threatens to take over their life.

The best strategy games for Android

Our favorite Android real-time strategy and turn-based games, board games, card games and map-making games.

Kingdom Rush: Vengeance ($4.99/£4.69/AU$7.99)

Kingdom Rush: Vengeance is a tower defense game with a twist. Rather than fending off evil attackers, you are the evil attacker – a wizard out for revenge on those who’ve previously thwarted his cunning plans.

This involves plonking down towers, unleashing special attacks, and directing a gigantic hero in order to wipe out waves of enemies. The logical oddness in you using tower defense to attack foes isn’t addressed; presumably, you advance off-camera once you’re done pummeling the enemy.

Still, this is all good stuff. The animation is superb, with dinky characters darting about. There’s plenty of variety and scope for shaking up tactics. Sadly, there’s also a slice of actual evil in the game hiding some tower and hero types behind IAP, but Vengeance nonetheless ends up a best-in-class title.

Twinfold ($3.99/£3.79/AU$5.99)

Twinfold takes the basic tile-merging mechanic of mobile puzzling classic Threes!, adds a massive dollop of dungeon crawling, and then drops the result into a procedurally generated maze. This mixture shouldn’t work, but it’s fantastic.

As you move, so do golden idols and enemies. Munch idols and they replenish your energy, but merge them and they grow in value – all the better for your XP when they’re finally eaten. But removing both in either case causes the entire maze to be redrawn.

With regularly spawning monsters and the very landscape being upended on a regular basis, Twinfold certainly keeps you on your toes. And although it can grate when the randomness leaves you in a terrible position, the potential for devising strategies – not least when you roll in regularly supplied power-ups – and longevity is immense.  

Lara Croft GO ($4.99/£3.99/AU$6.49)

Lara Croft games have landed on Android to rather variable results. The original Tomb Raider just doesn't work on touchscreens, and although Lara Croft: Relic Run is enjoyable enough, it's essentially a reskinned Temple Run.

Lara Croft GO is far more ambitious and seriously impressive. It rethinks Tomb Raider in much the same way Hitman GO reimagined the Hitman series.

Croft's adventures become turn-based puzzles, set in a world half-way between board game and gorgeous isometric minimalism. It shouldn't really work, but somehow Lara Croft GO feels like a Tomb Raider game, not least because of the wonderful sense of atmosphere, regular moments of tension, and superb level design.

Concrete Jungle ($4.99/£4.79/AU$6.49)

A massive upgrade over the developer’s own superb but broadly overlooked MegaCity, Concrete Jungle is a mash-up of puzzler, city management and deck builder.

The basics involve the strategic placement of buildings on a grid, with you aiming to rack up enough points to hit a row’s target. At that point, the row vanishes, and more building space scrolls into view.

Much of the strategy lies in clever use of cards, which affect nearby squares – a factory reduces the value of nearby land, for example, but an observatory boosts the local area. You quickly learn plonking down units without much thought messes up your future prospects.

Instead, you must plan in a chess-like manner – even more so when facing off against the computer opponent in brutally difficult head-to-head modes. But while Concrete Jungle is tough, it’s also fair – the more hours you put in, the better your chances. And it’s worth giving this modern classic plenty of your time.

Mini Metro ($4.99/£4.29/AU$7.49)

There’s a disarmingly hypnotic and almost meditative quality to the early stages of Mini Metro. You sit before a blank underground map of a major metropolis, and drag out lines between stations that periodically appear.

Little trains then cart passengers about, automatically routing them to their stop, their very movements building a pleasing plinky plonky generative soundtrack.

As your underground grows, though, so does the tension. You’re forced to choose between upgrades, balance where trains run, and make swift adjustments to your lines. Should a station become overcrowded, your entire network is closed. (So...not very like the real world, then.)

Do well enough and you unlock new cities, with unique challenges. But even failure isn’t frustrating, and nor is the game’s repetitive nature a problem, given that Mini Metro is such a joy to play.

Hitman GO ($4.99/£3.99/AU$6.99)

The original and best of the GO games, Hitman GO should never have worked. It reimagines the console stealth shooter as a dinky clockwork boardgame. Agent 47 scoots about, aiming to literally knock enemies off the board, and then reach and bump off his primary target.

Visually, it’s stunning – oddly adorable, but boasting the kind of clarity that’s essential for a game where a single wrong move could spell disaster. And the puzzles are well designed, too, with distinct objectives that often require multiple solutions to be found.

If you’re a fan of Agent 47’s exploits on consoles, you might be a bit nonplussed by Hitman GO, but despite its diorama stylings, it nonetheless manages to evoke some of the atmosphere and tension from the console titles, while also being entirely suited to mobile play.

Solitairica (free or $3.99/£3.49/AU$5.49)

In the fantasy world of Solitairica, battles are fought to the death by way of cards. The foes barring the way to your quest’s goal set up walls of cards before them, which you smash through by matching those one higher or lower than the one you hold.

Then there are spells you cast by way of collected energies. Meanwhile, the creatures strike back with their own unique attacks, from strange worm-like beings nibbling your head, to grumpy forest dwellers making your cards grow beards.

In short, then, a modicum of fantasy role-playing wrapped around an entertaining and approachable card game. And on Android, you have the advantage of the game being free – a one-off IAP only figures if you want to avoid watching adverts, and have access to alternate decks to try your luck as a different character.

Card Thief (free + $2.99/£2.99/AU$4.99 IAP)

If you never thought a solitaire-like card game was an ideal framework for a tense stealth title, you’re probably not alone. But somehow Card Thief cleverly mashes up cards and sneaking about.

The game takes place on a three-by-three grid of cards. For each move, you plan a route to avoid getting duffed up by guards (although pickpocketing them on the way past is fair game, obviously), loot a chest, and make for an exit.

Card Thief is not the easiest game to get into, with its lengthy tutorial and weird spin on cards. But this is a game with plenty of nuance and depth that becomes increasingly rewarding the more you play, gradually unlocking its secrets. It’s well worth the effort.

First Strike 1.3 ($1.99/£1.99/AU$2.69)

First Strike is an oddball combination of territory-snagging board game Risk, and classic defense arcade title Missile Command. You pick a nuclear power and set about building missiles, researching technologies, annexing adjacent states, and – when it comes to it – blowing the living daylights out of your enemies.

The high-tech interface balances speed and accessibility, although games tend to be surprisingly lengthy – and initially sedate, as you gradually increase your arsenal, and shore up your defenses.

Eventually, all hell breaks lose, including terrifying first strikes, where enemies lob their entire cache of missiles at an unlucky target. If that’s you and your defenses aren’t strong enough, prepare more for ‘the end’ than ‘game over’ as the screen shakes amid all the destruction.

It’s thoughtful and clever (and often chilling), but First Strike never forgets it’s a game – and a really good one for real-time strategy fans.

Miracle Merchant (free + $2.99/£2.99/AU$4.99 IAP)

Miracle Merchant has you mix potions for thirsty adventurers, fashioned from stacks of colored cards. Each customer asks for a specific ingredient, and mentions another they like. Across 13 rounds, you must manage your deck to ensure everyone goes away happy. Fail once and your game ends.

Decisions must be made carefully, because once cards are placed, they can’t be moved. Combinations prove vital for success: pairs of cards boost your score, as does matching cards to the colored icons found on those already in play. There are also ‘evil’ cards with negative values to overcome.

The game doesn’t feel as refined as the developer’s own Card Thief, but we enjoyed its elegance. There’s no messing about with special powers and leveling up – it’s just you, cards, and a set of rules. There’s perhaps a touch too much reliance on card counting and luck, but Miracle Merchant’s nonetheless a simple, engaging, unique stab on solitaire.

Card Crawl (free + $2.99/£2.99/AU$4.39 IAP)

Card Crawl mixes solitaire and dungeon crawling, and does an awful lot with a four-by-two grid of cards.

In each round, an armor-clad ogre deals four cards, which may include monsters, weaponry, potions, and spells. Beneath sits your adventurer’s card, two spots for items to hold, and one to stash a card for later.

To progress to the next draw, you must use three of the cards dealt to you. For example, you might grab a sword, use that to kill a demonic crow, and then quaff a potion.

Getting through the entire deck requires strategy more than luck. For example, down health potions when you don’t need to, and you may not survive later when weaponless and battling multiple enemies.

Generously, the basic game is free; but we recommend buying the one-off IAP to unlock the full set of cards and game modes.

Freeways ($3.99/£2.89/AU$4.49)

Freeways is one of those games that doesn’t look like much in stills, but proves ridiculously compelling from the moment you fire it up. In short, it’s all about designing roadways for autonomous vehicles.

It comes across a bit like a mash-up of Mini Metro and Flight Control. You link roads together, often by designing monstrous spaghetti junctions, only you’re armed with tools that make you feel like an urban planner drawing with chunky crayons while wearing boxing gloves.

The game’s crude nature is part of its charm. It’s more about speed and immediacy than precision, a feeling cemented when you realize there’s no undo. When your road system gets jammed, your only option is to start from scratch and try something new.

In truth, the inability to remove even tiny errors can irk, not least when roads don’t connect as you’d expect. Otherwise, Freeways is a blast.

Meteorfall ($2.99/£2.59/AU$4.09)

Meteorfall is a ‘roguelike’ role-playing adventure masquerading as a card game. You choose a hero, and then set out on a semi-randomized journey, which largely involves hacking your way through a horde of monsters. Only instead of swiping a trusty sword, or moving about a turn-based grid, your actions, attacks and strategy all revolve around cards.

With each card you’re dealt, you choose, Tinder-style, to swipe left or right. Each direction has its own outcome, which may involve smacking your foe in the face, or replenishing energy. Over time, you build up your deck, gradually increasing your strength and skills – until the moment you overstretch and are horribly killed.

Given the simple interface, there’s loads of depth here. And with every game being unique, Meteorfall is an Android title that should keep you playing for months.

Reigns: Game of Thrones ($3.99/£3.79/AU$5.99)

Reigns: Game of Thrones follows Reigns and Reigns: Her Majesty in marrying kingdom management with swipe-based interaction borrowed from Tinder. Only this time, there’s a massively popular TV show fused to its core.

You plonk your behind on the Iron Throne, as one of several major characters from the TV series, and set about imposing your will on the Seven Kingdoms. As you swipe left and right to make decisions, your fortunes with the people, army, church and bank fluctuate. Fill or deplete any one meter, and your reign will come to an abrupt – and likely bloody – end.

Given the basic interface, Reigns: Game of Thrones has surprising depth. It also has great writing, loads of content to find, and plenty of puzzles to solve, making it ideal mobile gaming fodder.

The best word games for Android

Our favorite Android games that involve anagrams, crosswords and doing clever things with letters.

Sidewords ($2.99/£2.89/AU$4.39)

Sidewords is a rare word game that isn’t ripping off Scrabble or crosswords. Instead, you get blank grids with words along two edges. You must use at least one letter from each edge to make new words of three or more letters. Each selected letter blasts a line across the grid; where lines meet become solid areas filled with your word. The aim is to fill the grid.

On smaller levels, this is simple, but larger grids can be challenging – especially when you realize a massive word (that on discovery made you feel like a genius) leaves spaces that are impossible to fill. Fortunately, Sidewords encourages experimentation, and so you can remove/replace words at will.

It’s clever and a bit different; and if you tire of the main game, you can fire up mini-game Quads, which marries word-building and Threes!-style sliding tiles. Two for the price of one, then – and both games alone are worth the outlay.

Dropwords 2 ($0.99/69p/AU$1.25)

Dropwords 2 mixes up well-based match games like Bejeweled and word games like Boggle. You’re faced with a grid of letters and must drag out words that snake across the board. When submitting a word, its letters disappear, and new tiles fall into the well to fill the gaps.

As ever in this kind of game, speed is of the essence. But also, you can gain extra seconds by submitting longer words – something that becomes increasingly important as you get deeper into the game.

Smartly, much of the game can be customized, including the board’s theme; and if you want to just chill, rather than be hassled by a relentless game-ending countdown, there are untimed modes too.

Blackbar ($1.99/£1.22/AU$2.23)

Blackbar is fundamentally a game about guessing words. Yet it’s also a chilling commentary on the dangers of a dystopian surveillance society.

The game begins with you receiving letters from a friend who’s started work at the Department of Communication. Anything from them considered controversial or negative is censored – a ‘blackbar’ – which you must correctly guess to continue.

Over the course of a number of communications, the story escalates in a frightening manner, and you find yourself feeling like you’re beating the system (man), despite ultimately just tapping in words to best a basic logic test.

If nothing else, this showcases the power of great storytelling; and filling in Blackbar’s blanks feels a lot more fulfilling than chucking more hours at a run-of-the-mill Scrabble clone.

Letterpress (free or $4.99/£4.59/AU$6.99)

Letterpress merges Boggle-like finding words within a pile of letters with Risk-like land grabs. You and an opponent (an online human or computer players of varying skill levels) take turns to tap out words on the five-by-five grid. Letters you use turn your color – and those you surround cannot be flipped by the other player during their next turn.

Winning therefore isn’t just about big words – not least if its letters are scattered about. Instead, you must carefully protect your territory and gradually eat into your opponent’s land. Battles can become tense and thrilling – not usually concepts associated with a word game. But then Letterpress is no ordinary word game – it’s much better than that.

Supertype ($1.99/£1.69/AU$2.79)

Supertype is a word game more concerned with the shape of letters than the words they might create. Each hand-designed level finds you staring at a setup of lines, dots, and empty spaces in which to type. Tap out some letters, press the tick mark, and everything starts to move.

The aim is to get the letters you type to the dots. In some cases, the solution may be fairly obvious – for example, placing a lowercase l on each ‘step’ towards an out of reach dot at the top of a staircase, then having a p at the start tip over to set everything in motion. More often, you’ll be scratching your head, experimenting, trying new approaches, and then grinning ear to ear on cracking a solution.

Typeshift (free + IAP)

Typeshift rethinks word searches and crosswords. You get a tactile interface of jumbled letters within draggable columns. Your aim is to change the color of every tile – and tiles only change when they’re part of a word you make in the central row.

The game occasionally heads further into traditional crossword territory, adding clues to the mix, which you must match to the words you find. Either way, it’s a brain-smashing touch-optimized word-game experience.

There are joyful animated and audio touches throughout, too, and everything feels hand-crafted, rather than you being sent endless algorithmically generated puzzles. Naturally, such polish costs money – beyond the free download, you pay for packs of puzzles. But they’re worth every penny.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Best gaming laptops 2019 in the UAE: the 10 top gaming laptops we've reviewed

Posted: 03 Apr 2019 05:11 AM PDT

 If you're looking for the best gaming laptop of 2019, then you've come to the right place, as on this page we've listed the top gaming notebooks no matter what your budget is.

A lot has changed in the last few years, and gaming laptops are now more powerful than ever before, able to push high resolutions at steady framerates. Plus, the best gaming laptops come in every shape and size. Because it’s harder than ever to find the best gaming laptops, we’ve picked out a few of our favorite devices. 

And, while plenty of gaming laptops look like ordinary office devices, you shouldn’t ignore them. Thanks to Nvidia Turing Max-Q graphics for laptops, revealed at CES 2019, the best gaming laptops are stealthy – like the aptly named MSI GS65 Stealth. Don’t worry, though, there are still huge desktop replacement laptops like the MSI GT75 Titan if that’s more your style.

So, whether you’re on the market for a thicc desktop replacement, packed with an RTX graphics card that can handle Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the Division 2 with all the settings cranked, or if you want something thin and light so you can play games on the move, you’ll find the best gaming laptop here. We even found some cheaper options like the Dell G3. And, don’t worry, we’ve tested these gaming laptops ourselves, so you know they’ll be up to snuff.

These days, many gaming laptop manufacturers seem to be locked into a race to see who can craft the thinnest gaming laptop that doesn’t compromise on power. And, right now, the crown might have to go to the Asus ROG Zephyrus GX701. At just 0.7 inches thick, this monster of a laptop houses an Intel Coffee Lake Core i7 chip, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics and 16GB of RAM. That means you can crank any PC game under the sun to max settings, and take it with you wherever you go. And, of course, it’s packed with RGB lighting that’ll dazzle anyone that looks at it.

Read the full review: Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 

If you want to play some of the best PC games on the move, but you don’t want everyone to know you’re playing games, the MSI GS65 Stealth is the best gaming laptop for you. Coming in at just .69 inches thick and featuring impressive hardware like Intel Coffee Lake processors and Nvidia GeForce GTX 10-series – refreshed with RTX 20-series graphics at CES – the MSI GS65 Stealth packs a ton of power into a very svelte package. There’s nothing you won’t be able to throw at this thing that’ll slow it down. And, thanks to the subdued design, you’ll be able to bring this beefy rig everywhere you go, making it the best gaming laptop on the market right now.

Read the full review: MSI GS65 Stealth 

For a few years now, the Razer Blade has been among the best gaming laptops on the market, filled with powerful components, beautiful displays and an elegant chassis. That’s all true for the 2019 model, too, which now rocks up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080. That is, frankly, a ton of power for a laptop this thin and light. Plus, even if that’s not enough GPU horsepower for you, you can use the Razer Core for future expansion. It’s an expensive device, but it might be worth it if style and power are equally as important to you.

Read the full review: Razer Blade

Some gaming laptops just don’t pull any punches, enabling you to run any game you can imagine without breaking a sweat – and the MSI GT75 Titan is one of these laptops. It’s a titanic desktop replacement packing 6-core Intel Coffee Lake processors, plenty of RAM and powerful Nvidia Pascal graphics. You’re not going to be able to carry it around with you, and it’s not going to be something you’ll be caught with in a coffee shop, but if raw power is what you’re after, look no further. Just be ready to break open your piggy bank. 

Read the full review: MSI GT75 Titan

Thin and light gaming laptops are everywhere right now, but if you don’t care about that, and want a thick, heavy and monstrous laptop that can demolish any game you throw at it – the Asus ROG G703GI is for you. This is a massive – and expensive – laptop, but it justifies its size and price with gaming performance that rivals the best gaming PCs. Just don’t think you’ll be able to haul it along with you to your local coffee shop without its two power bricks – or awkward stares.

Read the full review: Asus ROG G703GI 

If you want one of the best gaming laptops, but don’t want to miss out on the ultra-portable craze, you need to consider the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1. Packed with an Intel Kaby Lake G-series processor, this gaming laptop can keep up with its competitors rocking a GTX 1050 without featuring truly discrete graphics. And, when you combine that gaming horsepower with a chassis that looks this good, it’s a total win – even if you have to endure some fan noise to get there. 

Read the full review: Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 

When you’re setting out to buy one of the best gaming laptops, one of the first things you’ll likely notice is how expensive they can get. Luckily, the Dell G3 15 is not just extremely affordable, but it punches above its weight class with great 1080p gaming performance. With up to an Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, you’ll be able to play all the latest games at 1080p without breaking a sweat, even if it’s not at max settings all the time. And, that blue on black color combo is quite a looker, if that’s your aesthetic. 

Read the full review: Dell G3 15 

Ever since Intel unveiled its i9-8950HK, we just knew that it would find its way behind the best gaming laptops 2018 had to offer, and we’ve been proven right heading into 2019. The Alienware 17 R5 is a beast of a gaming laptop with the aforementioned CPU and an overclocked GTX 1080. If you’re willing to get an absolute tank of a laptop that weighs nearly 10 pounds, this hulking computer will demolish any and all games you throw at it. Just don’t expect to throw it in a bag without some severe back pain.

Read the full review: Alienware 17 R5

best gaming laptops

 The Lenovo Legion Y720 looks to be a solid choice for a mid-range gaming laptop. While we’ve seen plenty of laptops break the bank for the best specs and performance, this 15.6-inch option starts at a refreshingly affordable AED 5,699  – and users on a tighter budget may want to consider the lower-end Legion Y520 that starts at AED 3,699. 

Read our hands-on preview:  Lenovo Legion Y720

Buy now from AED 6,088

The MSI GT73VR Titan Pro crams top-of-the-line tech and a gorgeous 120Hz display into one sleek design – but top-tier power demands an equally top-tier price tag.

Read the full review: MSI GT73VR Titan Pro

Buy now from Let's Tango at AED 13,543

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