Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Apple : macOS High Sierra news, updates and features

Apple : macOS High Sierra news, updates and features

macOS High Sierra news, updates and features

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:17 PM PDT

Apple’s macOS 10.13 High Sierra launched two years ago now, and is obviously not the current Mac operating system – that honor goes to macOS 10.14 Mojave. But, because Mojave increased the system requirements by a significant margin, many people will be using macOS High Sierra for years to come.

Not that we’re complaining: during its time in the sun, macOS grew to be one of the best versions of the Mac operating system to date – even if there were some security issues at launch. However, these days, not only have all of the launch issues been patched out, but Apple continues to provide security updates, even in the face of macOS Mojave.

And, while macOS did include some time-saving photo editing tools and a whole new file system, but macOS wasn’t immune from criticism at launch. Namely, it was criticized for simply iterating on Sierra – just like Mountain Lion did after Lion. Still, just because the improvements are relatively minor, doesn’t mean they aren’t there, so we’re going to explore everything there is to know about macOS High Sierra.  

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The 2017 edition of Apple’s Mac operating system, macOS
  • When is it out? Available to install now
  • What will it cost? macOS High Sierra is free to download

Image Credit: Apple

macOS 10.13 High Sierra release date

Apple revealed macOS 10.13 High Sierra at the WWDC 2017 keynote, which is no surprise, given Apple’s tradition of announcing the latest version of its Mac software at its annual developer event.

However, it wasn’t until September 12 that Apple revealed that High Sierra would launch little more than a week later, on September 25. There was a developer beta of the operating system you could enroll in leading to the final release, but that’s not necessary anymore – the final build of macOS 10.13 has been out in the wild for more than a year now.

The final build of macOS High Sierra, 10.13.6 is available right now. Beside a few bug fixes, it integrates Airplay 2 into iTunes – though you will need to update iTunes to take advantage of it. You can download the update from the Mac App Store. More importantly, this update contains the bug fix that stops the Core i9 MacBook Pro from thermal throttling. And, you can be sure that Apple will continue to release security updates for macOS High Sierra for years to come. 

Safari 12 is also available for macOS High Sierra users, which not only supports website icons in your tabs, but also has better security. Websites, for instance, won’t be able to track your specific Mac when using the native web browser.

If you’re ready to jump to the next version of macOS , you can download macOS Mojave today. And, fortunately, we can show you how to download and install macOS Mojave.  

Image Credit: Apple

macOS 10.13 High Sierra compatibility

Luckily, because macOS High Sierra doesn’t really shake things up, the barrier to entry didn’t change. In fact, macOS High Sierra has much more lenient requirements than Mojave, so it should be popular for a while. As long as you're on one of the following Mac models, you can upgrade to macOS High Sierra (if you haven’t done so already).

Bear in mind that if you want to take advantage of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) benefits posed by macOS High Sierra, you’ll need a Mac donning – at the very least – an Intel sixth-generation Skylake processor. Unfortunately, that discounts everything released prior to 2015, but on the bright side, everything else macOS High Sierra brings to the table is fair game.

macOS 10.13 High Sierra features

Beyond the Hackintosh users being reasonably worried about the newly enforced security checks on EFI firmware automatically implemented each week, Apple has revealed a number of awesome new features with macOS 10.13 High Sierra. 

The new and improved Safari is one of the most major improvements: it will stop ad-tracking and auto-playing videos in their tracks. But, macOS High Sierra also brings Spotlight Search to the Mail App, along with allowing the Mail app to display a split view for the compose window. And, as an added bonus, macOS High Sierra takes up 35% less storage space. 

Photos also sees improvements, with a better sorting tool. This is thanks to a better layout, improved facial recognition via neural networks, and improved syncing across all Apple devices. This all makes macOS High Sierra’s photo experience better than ever before.

Image Credit: Apple

Editing tools, too, have seen improvements, in turn making it easier than ever to enhance the quality of your photos without learning the ins and outs of Photoshop or Camera RAW. And of course, you can count on Instagram-like filters being a part of this.

One of the biggest changes that comes with macOS High Sierra is with the file system. It’s ditching the HFS – which Apple has used for around 30 years, and is now using the Apple File System (APFS) instead. 

Every Mac that has been upgraded to macOS High Sierra will receive these file system updates automatically with the exception of those sporting Fusion Drives and older HDDs. Similarly, all new Macs will ship pre-formatted for APFS.

To be exact, APFS is a 64-bit file system that supports native encryption and faster metadata operation. This may all sound a bit techy, but the bottom line is that this will make your Mac feel a lot faster, while also being more secure and more transparent about the nature of your files and folder contents. Unfortunately, this comes with the caveat of Apple’s confirmation that 32-bit apps will be discontinued in later versions of macOS High Sierra.

The update also brings HEVC, or H.265, video compression to the Mac. Apple claims that this new standard can compress video files 40% more than the previous-generation H.264 standard. The end result will be faster video streams at higher resolutions – ahem, 4K – and smaller video files sizes when stored locally.

Image Credit: Apple

VR finally comes to the Mac

One of the biggest bits of news surrounding macOS High Sierra is that it will finally bring support for virtual reality headsets officially. Namely, the HTC Vive and Steam VR will work with Macs running the new OS this autumn.

However to use such a device, you’ll need at least a 5K iMac or MacBook Pro – or, any Mac that can run the new OS with an external GPU solution. Support for such devices comes part and parcel with macOS High Sierra, but won’t be an active function until later this year.

The good news is that macOS High Sierra comes with a helping of refinements to its graphics API that make up for the scarce GPU support. Metal was a step forward for hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, but with Metal 2, Apple promises less strain on the CPU as well as proper machine learning and better Xcode profiling/debugging in macOS High Sierra.

Perhaps more important, though, is the fact that MoltenVK was recently brought to Mac by Khronos Group. An implementation of the open-source Vulkan API, it’s said to bring frame rate gains of up to 50% in Dota 2. As it’s cross-platform, too – being supported by Windows and Linux as well as Apple’s devices – MoltenVK is likely to be more widely adopted by creators.

Image Credit: Apple

  •  Images Credit: Apple 

Joe Osborne and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this report

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40 best PC games 2019: the must-play titles you don’t want to miss

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:15 PM PDT

Now that we have the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, and Intel has launched its Coffee Lake Refresh lineup that promises some of the best processors for gaming, 2019 is the perfect time  to dive into the best PC games. So, if you want to get in on the action that the top PC games 2019 have to offer, like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, then read on for our picks of the best PC games of 2019.

We here at TechRadar found the best PC games you can play right now, from beloved classics like the Orange Box to new hits like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Believe us when we say you’ll want to get all of these PC games installed for yourself. Plus, many of these games are available on consoles like the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, so you can play them even if you can’t afford one of the best gaming PCs.

If you’re a PC gaming newcomer, you picked the perfect time to jump in on the platform, and we’d love to extend you a warm welcome. While there are definitely elitist gatekeepers among the PC gaming community, we here at TechRadar believe in inclusivity. So, with that in mind, let’s dive into the best PC games you can play today.

Gabe Carey and Bill Thomas have also contributed to this article

Back in 2011, when Rage came out, it was one of the best looking games on the market, and pushed our PCs to the absolute edge. However, the gameplay and the story didn’t really sit well with a lot of people. So, when we first heard word of Rage 2, we were a little skeptical. 

However, now that we know that id Software is teaming up with Avalanche Studios, the minds behind the criminally underrated Mad Max, we have our hopes up once more. Instead of the grimdark mood of the first title, Rage 2 looks like it won’t take itself too seriously, and will let you wreak neon-colored havoc across the post-apocalyptic wasteland. 

If Doom 2016 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus have shown us anything, it’s that id Software is back on a roll. We can’t wait to get our hands on Rage 2 when it launches in May 2019. 

Expected: May 14, 2019

Look, we know that this game is starting to get old, but it is aging like fine wine. Even three years after its release it’s one of the most ambitious open world games that’s ever existed – combining Skyrim’s unabashed scale with Grand Theft Auto V’s insane depth. It’s such a jam-packed games, that it’s still one of the best PC games in 2018. Huge, beautiful and an absolute time sink – in a good way – The Witcher 3: Wild hunt isn’t just the best PC game in 2018, but it may be one of the best video games of all time. 

Dragon Age: Inquisition, while not perfect, puts you in the midst of a huge, vibrant world on a much larger scale than past Dragon Age titles. Packed with hours of engrossing story and a wealth of side content, Dragon Age: Inquisition brings the series to an open world setting in a smart and compelling way. It might not be a new game, but for this excellent blend of Elder Scrolls and Baldur’s Gate, it’s still one of the best PC games available in 2018. 

Assassin’s Creed is basically a household name among the best PC games in 2018. And, starting with last year’s Origins, Ubisoft has been making huge efforts to revitalize the aging franchise. Well, we’re happy to report that they’ve succeeded. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey feels like an improvement in every sense of the word over last years entry, feeling like a completely different game than older games in Ubisoft’s flagship series. 

This time around, despite the drama about microtransactions, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey places you in the shoes of Kassandra or Alexios, in the middle of the Peloponnesian War, as you look for your lost mother and father. And, while the main story – which will have you switching alliances between the Spartans and the Athenians – will likely get lost in the mix along the way, the world that Ubisoft has created is as rich and beautiful as ever before. 

Just make sure you have one of the best graphics cards before you even try to run Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at a higher resolution. 

If you’re looking for one of the best open world games on PC, you can’t go wrong here. So, join us in exploring ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.

Although it's arguably not as difficult as previous entries in the series, From Software's Dark Souls 3 takes everything you like about the Souls series and combines it with elements found in Bloodborne, the developer's more recent game for PS4.

We’re not going to lie – Dark Souls 3 isn’t easy. It still takes skill and, more importantly, patience to master its complex combat system, but it plays fair too, inviting more casual gamers to take part in its bleak, fantastical world. Plus, on the bright side, it brings remarkably better PC optimization than that of the first game. And, now that you can pick up Dark Souls: Remastered and see where this apocalyptic series got its start – there’s never been a better time to link the first flame.

Pillars of Eternity made a huge splash in the PC gaming scene when it launched a few years ago – Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire follows faithfully in its footsteps. Not only is this one of the best RPGs you can play today, but it’s also one of the best PC games 2018 has to offer. 

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire puts players in the middle of the Deadfire Archipelago in pursuit of an ancient god. Along the way you’ll find yourself immersed in a rich, dense and long story crafted by Obsidian Entertainment – arguably the masters of RPGs.

If you enjoy old school RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights, and long for a return to those storied days – do yourself a favor and don’t miss out on Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. It’s one of the best RPGs we’ve ever played. 

Do yourself a favor, though, and check out Pillars of Eternity first – it still holds up as one of the best PC games and your story will carry over to the sequel. 

Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most anticipated console ports to ever hit the PC. You probably didn't need telling twice to head back into Los Santos's hugely detailed and interactive world, but it's 10 times more fun with the PC's richer graphics and smooth 60 frames per second gameplay. After you’ve completed its 30-hour campaign, there’s an overflow of post-game content to enjoy here. Most recently that includes The Doomsday Heist in GTA Online and even a radio station hosted by Frank Ocean.

BioShock is a first-person shooter that takes concepts from Ayn Rand's Atlast Shrugged and tosses them underseas. To be exact, BioShock takes place in an underwater city called Rapture, free from government regulation, designed for artists and entrepreneurs to thrive. Of course, not all goes well in a city where the residents have all the power and, well, stop what you're doing and play it right now if you haven't already.

You're in for one of the great games if you play BioShock, one that balances story elements with horror nigh-perfectly. There's a remastered version out there now, too, which is free of charge if you own the original.

Set 15 years after the events of the first Alien film from 1979, Alien: Isolation is the suspense-packed game that fans of the franchise have been crying out for. Playing the role of Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, your mission is to track down and recover the flight recorder of the Nostromo spacecraft from the first Alien film which has been located aboard the Sevastopol space station. First and foremost a stealth game, Isolation ramps up the tension by providing you with minimal weaponry. Its excellent graphics shine on high-end PCs and clever AI helps ramp up the dread, leaving you to quiver when turning every corner.

Overwatch, if nothing else, completely changed the landscape away from the norm of gray-ish cover shooters in the realm of competitive gaming. Its bright, vibrant colors are complemented by likeable characters, each decorated with their own interesting backstories which, though not present in game, make for a collection of awesome webcomics and cinematics.

Overwatch is also one of the best PC games, because of how well it runs on all kinds of different hardware. Sure, it’s a bit old now, but even in 2018, it’s the best PC game for anyone looking for some competitive action. If somehow you’ve missed out on this game, do yourself a favor – sign in to your Battle.net account and take Overwatch, and its colorful cast of characters, for a spin today.

Even if it came out almost 6 years ago, Counter-Strike Global Offensive is still a fantastic update to a timeless classic that continues to thrive thanks to its vast online communities – it’s truly one of the best PC games. Global Offensive is a well-rounded tactical shooter that builds on the simple Terrorists vs Counter-Terrorists gameplay of Counter-Strike 1.6, by updating classic maps such as Italy and Dust – while also adding new modes in Arms Race and Demolition. Simpler than Battlefield, but more complex than Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a shooter for those who like to think – if only just a little bit. 

In a lot of ways, Far Cry 5 is the ultimate Far Cry game – combining all of the elements that has made the series successful, while cutting a lot of the fat (including the towers, thank god). And while on its own it doesn't do anything entirely new, it perfects the Far Cry formula to a point where Far Cry 5 is one of the best open world First Person Shooters you can play in 2018.

After a very heavy and intense intro, you’re dumped in the middle of rural Montana and given the task of dismantling the local cult. But, that quickly fades into the background as a myriad of activities – from hunting down aliens to taking out outposts – ultimately become your focus. But it’s precisely this focus on playing your own way that makes Far Cry 5 so special. 

Monster Hunter has been one of the biggest gaming franchises you’ve never heard of for years now. However, with Monster Hunter: World, the series broke into the mainstream, and it’s also come to the PC (finally). And, well, it’s one of the best PC games you can play today. 

Monster Hunter: World places you in the shoes of a, well, monster hunter, and you’ll hunt progressively bigger and nastier monsters, strip them for parts and craft bigger and badder armor. It’s a deceptively simple gameplay loop, that ends up being one of the most enthralling and rewarding PC games you can play today. 

There’s a never-ending onslaught of content in this game, and Capcom, the developers of this monster hunting hit, are dedicated to bringing a wealth of free DLC to the game. Not to mention a new frosty expansion in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. So, if you’re looking for an addictive, engaging and most importantly, fun game to play by yourself or with all your best friends cooperatively, check out Monster Hunter: World – it really is one of the best PC games you can buy today.

A 90s classic brought back to life (unlike its main protagonist), Grim Fandango Remastered is a successful attempt at reviving one of the PC's best adventure games of all time. Combining writing that matches the funniest dark comedies with clever puzzles and a still-impressive art style, Grim Fandango was the most entertaining work of art to take place in a Mexican setting for years until Breaking Bad came along. Now with updated graphics, sound and better controls, Manna Calavera's adventure has never looked so good.

Six years after its initial release, Skyrim is going as strong as ever thanks to a vast selection of mods and high-resolution texture packs. Even if you're only interested in playing the vanilla version of the RPG, it offers more than 100 hours of gameplay.

Throw in three action packs DLC expansion packs (Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn), and it lasts even longer. That Skyrim has been compared to graphically superior but similar RPG blockbuster The Witcher 3 is testament to its enduring popularity. Step into Skyrim and you too can be an adventurer - just try not to take an arrow in the knee.

And, if you’re looking for a more, well, special version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bethesda has you covered – it can’t seem to stop releasing and re-releasing Skyrim for every platform. You can even play it in VR.

From Software is essentially a household name among the best PC games these days. The minds behind the critically acclaimed Dark Souls series have brought PC gamers to some of the most desolate landscapes with some of the most challenging and rewarding gameplay. And, From Software is back again, with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Sekiro places you in the shoes of the Young Wolf, a shinobi tasked with rescuing his young master. The game will take you through 16th-century Japan, but things will get weird and supernatural: this is From Software we’re talking about. 

Don’t expect an easy time of it though, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an extremely difficult game to master. You’ll need quick reflexes to deflect enemy attacks, and you’ll need to master stealth. You won’t be able to hide behind a shield all day, like you were able to in Dark Souls III. 

The phrase "build it, and they will come" literally rings true when it comes to Minecraft, the survival-based sandbox RPG that has now been purchased more than 100 million times since its conception in 2009. In it, you can create your own worlds using resources you find in the wild or explore worlds created by other players online. 

In Minecraft, you can either limit yourself to the numerous tools and blocks provided by the developer, Mojang, or you can install mods to truly capitalize on your investment. What’s more, come 2018, you’ll be able to take part in the Super Duper Graphics Pack, an optional piece of DLC that adds more realistic lighting effects and textures to an already fantastic product.

The Orange Box may be showing its age, but it remains a must-play collection of games - particularly for FPS fans. Half-Life 2, technically still the most recent game in Valve's franchise (excluding its Episode 1 and 2 add-ons), remains a modern masterpiece and is famed for being the first game to intelligently apply physics to its puzzles and combat set-pieces.

The collection's other titles aren't too shabby either: Portal takes gravity-based puzzles to the extreme by equipping the player with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (also known as the Portal Gun), which places two portals for objects to pass through, while Team Fortress 2 continues to go from strength-to-strength thanks to the introduction of custom gear and well-balanced team combat.

Sometimes a game that’s been out for 10 years becomes temporarily free on Origin and you just have to play it. Dead Space is one of those games. A survival horror game by definition, this acclaimed piece of science fiction stars a fittingly named Isaac Clarke, whose name itself is a combination of the famous sci-fi authors Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Told from an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, Dead Space is a rescue mission story, wherein you (as Isaac) are tasked with investigating a mining ship mysteriously full of alien virus-infected dead bodies. All the while, you’ll have to stay on top of upgrading your futuristic ‘RIG’ suit too.   

Id Software's Doom was a phenomena for PC gamers in the 90s. The crudely rendered first-person shooter series was as controversial as it was beloved, largely thanks to its cutting-edge depictions of gore and violence that only a computer could deliver. Parents be damned, the franchise has made a comeback in 2016 with a fresh restart, appropriately titled Doom. Although the multiplayer might not appeal to shooter fans regardless of age, the single player campaign will pit you against demons in Hell for a lengthy experience that's as bloody as it is satisfying.

If Forza Horizon 3 is the racing game for newcomers to racing games, Asetto Corsa is the game for the grizzled experts. Its obtuse handling and insane difficulty straight from the get go makes it a toss up for one of the most realistic racing simulators of all time. And, even if you can get it on consoles, unlike Project Cars, this is a game that was developed for PC first. Everything about this game, from its demanding career mode to its deep seated driving mechanics – which basically require a racing wheel accessory – make it a joy for die-hard petrolheads, even if its difficulty curve is often just backbreaking. 

Capcom has been on a roll these last couple years. After coming out of seemingly nowhere with the fantastic Resident Evil 7, Capcom has been reinventing some of the most beloved franchises for the modern age. And, with Devil May Cry 5, Capcom has done it again. 

Devil May Cry has always been over the top, with high-octane character-driven action and cheesy one liners. Devil May Cry 5 takes this and turns it up to 11, with non-stop action as you fight your way through two characters’ stories in style. 

As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock many different weapons and combat moves, and you can combine them to write symphonies of bloodshed – and you’re encouraged to do so. It’s not really a question of surviving to the end of the level, it’s how cool you look while playing through it. And, that’s why Devil May Cry 5 is one of the best PC games. 

Among the best PC games, there’s this tendency to romanticize the apocalypse. Whether it’s zombies, like in Dead Rising or a nuclear wasteland like in Fallout 4, the apocalypse is oddly a place you want to visit. But, with Metro Exodus, that’s not the case. 

Metro Exodus takes a more dark and gritty approach to the apocalypse. The air is poison, the wildlife is all mutated, and the survivors are all at each other's throats. And, while past Metro titles have explored this darker post-apocalypse from underground, through the titular ‘Metro’, Metro Exodus takes things to the Surface.

You’ll set out on an Exodus across the nuclear wasteland in order to find a home, but along the way you’ll experience the horror and supernatural weirdness that the Metro series has become known for. 

And, as a bonus, it’s one of the most beautiful PC games on the market today, provided you have the graphical horsepower to back it up. 

Described as "achingly beautiful" by Unity Engine boss John Riccitiello, Ori and the Blind Forest borrows its game mechanics from old-school 2D games such as Metroid and Castlevania while adding a modern twist. If any word can describe Ori's atmospheric world, it's alive. You'll have to think fast and use new abilities gained along the way to bash, stop and manoeuvre your way through its gorgeous locations, and with no automatic saving system or easy difficulty level, it's no walk in the park. As satisfying to master as it is to look at, Ori and the Blind Forest will re-open your eyes to what 2D games still have to offer.

There aren’t many franchises that are as iconic as Resident Evil. Since the first game launched way back in 1996, it has served as a watermark of where Survival Horror is – even in its worst days (looking at you, Resident Evil 6). So, when Capcom finally announced the Resident Evil 2 remake, we instantly started paying attention. And, we have to say – it paid off. 

Resident Evil 2 isn’t just a remake of the best horror game ever made, but it might actually take the mantle altogether. Gone are the ancient tank controls that divided fans, giving way to the same over-the shoulder perspective introduced in Resident Evil 4. But, this time around, through the use of Resident Evil 7’s RE Engine, Capcom has transformed the ancient horror game into a title that’s terrifying by today’s post-Amnesia standards.

And, thanks to just how much you can customize how the game performs and looks, Resident Evil 2 will serve as a benchmark for the best PC games throughout 2019 – even if it doesn’t use as much VRAM as the settings menu says it does.

Beyond Final Fantasy, there isn’t another Japanese RPG (JRPG) franchise that carries as much weight as Dragon Quest. For decades, these have been the penultimate JRPGs for many – even inspiring modern classics like Pokemon. And, for the first time in 14 years, Dragon Quest has made its way to home consoles and, more importantly, to PC for the first time ever. 

Dragon Quest XI is a beautiful, colorful JRPG that’ll put you in the shoes of a young prince that’s set out to – save the world, obviously. You’ll get about 80-100 hours out of the game, and every moment will be memorable and magical. It even features art from Akira Toriyama, best known for his work on Dragon Ball – it’s easy to see why it’s one of the best PC games of 2018.  

Already familiar to millions before they've played a played a second of it, Rocket League turns the age old game of football (or soccer, depending) on its head. Played with rocket-propelled cars in futuristic low-gravity environments, the aim is simple: knock the ball into the opposing team's goal. Doing so is harder said than done because there could be up to three cars on the opposing team trying to steal the ball off you - or ram you into submission - at any one time. Gorgeous to look, simple to learn but difficult to master, Rocket League is the surprise smash hit of 2015 - and a wonderfully addictive one at that.

Read: 8 real-life footballers in Rocket League: which one are you?

Ubisoft’s Anno series has always been among the best PC games: rich, in-depth city builders with a historic flair. This entry in the venerated series will see players managing cities starting at the beginning of the Industrial Age. You’ll have to decide the fate of your city, whether you’re in a rich European setting or in the rainforests. 

Anno 1800 is one of the most in-depth city builders on the market right now, and for the right kind of gamer – you know who you are – it’s going to be one of the best PC games you can buy today. So, dive in and lead your city to prosperity or destitution, and try to navigate the perilous world of industrial-age politics. 

Metal Gear Solid V, the last Metal Game which will be helmed by Hideo Kojima after his forceful ejection from Konami, is a hugely ambitious title. Its massive open world setting allows you to tackle missions using stealth, but you’re still able to go in guns blazing if you prefer – though you won’t get as good a score.

Taking place nine years after the events of Ground Zeroes, The Phantom Pain’s story unravels through its main missions and more than 100 Side Ops tasks. The action is interspersed with beautiful cutscenes, and while you sometimes have to decode annoying pseudo-military babble to figure out what’s happening, TPP’s fast pacing and beautiful Afghanistan and African settings make sure the game never feels like a chore.

You can ask basically any veteran PC gamer, and they’ll tell you that Battlefield games have always been among the best PC games. And, with Battlefield V, the trend continues – it’s one of the best PC games 2018 has to offer, period. 

The core mechanics remain the same, drive, fly, or run to capture points on a map and defend them against the enemy team. However, this year’s offering refines the Operations mode from 2016’s Battlefield 1, and transforms it into, well, Grand Operations. This epic game mode takes place across up to 4 maps, and is meant to portray crucial battles of World War II. It’s an absolute blast, just make sure you have an hour to spare. 

Battlefield V is also one of the best PC games when it comes to visuals. Never before has war looks so terrifyingly real in a virtual space. The environments are more realistic than ever before, and if you’re rocking an Nvidia Turing card, like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, you can turn on ray tracing and experience out-of-this-world reflections. We’re not exaggerating when we say it’s the best PC game in 2018 for FPS fans.

The 2016 revival of Hitman was a revelation, a rebirth of a classic series that showed what Hitman could be. So, we went into Hitman 2 with high expectations – expectations that paid off. Hitman 2 puts players in even bigger environments, with more complicated missions that will test your creativity in deadly ways. 

What’s especially notable here though, is the new game modes on offer. You’ll have access to a new Sniper Assassin mode, and most importantly, a co-op game mode – a first for the Hitman series.

If you’re looking for an engaging stealth experience, you really can’t go wrong with Hitman 2 – it’s one of the best PC games of 2018, easy.

Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide was one of the best PC games for anyone who loves playing the best PC games with friends. And, we’re delighted to say that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 takes the deep co-operative gameplay of the original and improves on it in every conceivable way.

Although it technically allows you to form complex strategies with your teammates, the action often turns into chaos, where the only way you can survive is mindlessly bashing at enemies until you, and your teammates (preferably), are the only things left standing. And, because Vermintide 2 adds a wide range of Orc enemies on top of the familiar Skaven enemies, you’ll never run out of things to hack to pieces.

It's official: Fallout 4 has lived up to the hype. Despite feeling a little bit like Fallout 3 but with nicer graphics at times, its tighter shooting, in-depth crafting system and well-thought out story make it a wholly more enticing affair.

As the Sole Survivor (the first fully-voiced protagonist in the Fallout series) in Boston's post-apocalypse wasteland, you'll take on Feral Ghouls, Raiders, Syths and Bloodbugs and more with high-powered weaponry that includes the Fat Man mini nuke cannon and the fusion cell-powered Laser Musket.

If the Call of Duty series is the poison that dumbed down the FPS genre with its run-and-gun gameplay, then Rainbow Six: Siege is the antidote. Working as a team to out-wit the enemy, Siege plays out like a thinking man (or woman's) Counter-Strike that doesn't simply encourage cooperation if you want to win - it requires it.

When you're not peering down your gun's iron sights, you'll be laying traps, scouting ahead using drones, strategising with your teammates and building walls that could keep a herd of demented bulls at bay. While Siege's heavy reliance on tactical team-based gameplay can prove its biggest weakness if you're hoisted into a server with a particularly uncooperative bunch, when it does click, it provides a level of satisfaction rarely found in online multiplayer games.

After the rebooted Tomb Raider and its sublime sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, the seminal series has won its place among the best PC games with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Instead of simply porting over a console version and calling it good, Crystal Dynamics has created a technical masterpiece with Lara Croft’s latest adventure. 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider finds Lara heading down to South America to thwart a Mayan apocalypse. While the scenery isn’t as diverse as in previous titles, it’s still just as arrestingly beautiful throughout. And, with Nvidia’s RTX technology coming later this year, it’s going to be a great way to put the best graphics cards to the test while having some fun at the same time. 

Imagine a survival-based shooter where every match starts with your avatar being ejected from a cargo plane alongside 99 other players with no weapons or items. That’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or at least the solo, free for all mode. After spending the early minutes of the game digging for resources, you’ll soon be forced to reckon with your own mortality as the body count ticker at the top of the screen descends into desolation.

Abbreviated PUBG, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is based on another “last man standing” game released back in 2013: PlayerUnknown’s Battle Royale. It doesn’t require a copy of Arma III or H1Z1 to run, but you’ll need to keep your wits about you. There’s no respawning in PUBG, so it’s less about the precision of your aim as it is about your ability to scavenge quickly for weapons, first aid kits and clothing. 

Picking up immediately after the events of Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will inevitably be heralded as a classic. For some, it’s the punishing old-school gunplay that’s to thank for this. Even on the default difficulty, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will have you fretting for your life. 

Yet, for others, story reigns supreme. And, if The New Colossus serves as an interactive showcase for anything, it’s story, the most interesting parts of which are told through flashbacks. We won’t go as far as to spoil the plot, but what we will say is that B.J. Blazkowicz’s motives become a lot clearer in this iteration of Wolfenstein, not that he needs to justify killing Nazis.

When The Division first came out in March 2016, it was, well, divisive. However, Ubisoft put in a ton of work improving the game over the years. And, now, Ubisoft has released the Division 2, and it’s orders of magnitude better than the original. 

You’ll be unleashed in a collapsed Washington DC, fighting with other players to stabilize the city. While doing this, you’ll level up, get new loot and unlock more areas. It’s an addictive gameplay loop, and it will keep you engaged for hours on end. 

Plus, since it’s a live service game, you can be confident that Ubisoft will keep it updated with fresh content for a while to come.

X-Com 2 is one addictive game, and we still can't put it down. Following up from 2012's XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which reimagined the 1994 cult classic UFO: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2 has delivered everything we wanted in a sequel. Bigger, deeper, faster and even easier on the eyes, the turn-based tactics game takes place 20 years after its predecessor.

It pits you in control of the Avenger, a converted alien ship that serves as your mobile base of operations used to devise strategy and execute fight plans against otherworldly enemies. With a greater focus of stealth, more intelligent alien AI and deeper customization options, XCOM 2 is bound to end up one of our games of the year.

Anyone familiar with World of Warcraft knows that it's among the most successful and influential massively multiplayer online role-playing games (or MMORPGs) of all-time. Comprising nearly 14 years of content, with over thousands of hours just waiting to be invested, there are few better games to spend your money on than World of Warcraft.

In the new expansion, Battle For Azeroth, players explore two new continents – Kul Tiras for Alliance players and Zandalar for the Horde – though there’s something much more sinister hiding beneath the surface. Blizzard has kept the leveling system from Legion, too, meaning you can tackle the new zones in whatever order you want. This will of course come with the all-new raids and dungeons we’ve grown accustomed to over the years and a storyline that will see the two playable factions at each other’s throats in a major way. 

You’ll get hours upon hours of content to play through here, as is custom with World of Warcraft throughout its 14-year history. And, you can count on updates throughout the expansion, like the recently released Tides of Vengeance that add even more stuff to do.

From PlatinumGames and Square Enix, Nier: Automata is a sequel to the 2010 cult classic Nier, which itself is a spin-off of the Drakengard series. Technically an action role-playing game, Nier: Automata’s most gripping quality is that it never truly adheres to one particular genre. At times, it’s a 2.5D platformer and, at others, it’s a twin-stick shooter. It’s unpredictable and a breath of fresh air when compared to other PC games out on the market.

The story centers around a femme android by the name of 2B who is aided by a survey android called 9S, or Nines. With many questions being asked along the way, both of these characters are tasked with extricating Earth from alien machines that have engulfed the planet. Just be conscious of how you play because not only does Nier: Automata feature different endings, but with each new path comes vastly different gameplay. 

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Android Pie update, features, release date and phones list

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:15 PM PDT

Update: We've taken a deep dive into Android Pie's Digital Wellbeing feature, looking at what it offers and whether it's any good.

Google's Android Pie update launched in late 2018, improving the operating system to make your phone more personal, more efficient, and overall easier to use.

After plenty of testing, we've found Android Pie to be a splendid feature-filled operating system update with one big catch that will have you asking: when is the Android 9 Pie release date for my phone? 

Good news for some of you: the final software is on Pixel phones and the Essential Phone, as well as plenty of older flagships from Samsung, Nokia and LG. More will be added to the list – which we will update in detail below.

The truth is the Android Pie release date will be staggered for many people, with manufacturers like Samsung, LG and others (and in the US, the carriers) required to tweak the software. Many phones were updated by the end of 2018, but owners of some phones will have to wait later into 2019.

Expect noticable design changes, helpful shortcuts, and a big focus on AI through adaptive settings. We have a full Android Pie features list below, too, along with a phones list detailing which devices are compatible. 

Here's what you'll see with Android Pie when it comes to your phone.

Cut to the chase

  • What is Android Pie? It's Android 9, the newest version of Android
  • When can get you Android Pie? Right now on select phones, 2018-2019 for others
  • How much will Android Pie cost? It will be a free update

Android Pie release date

This... is complicated. 

Android Pie release date: rollout has started
You can download Android Pie today on Pixel phones via a free over-the-air update. It started 'rolling out' on Monday, August 6, according to Google. You should see it in the software update menu by now...if your phone is ready to update.

As expected, Google Pixel phones were the first to get the update, and all can be upgraded. The Essential Phone also got Android 9 Pie when it launched. 

Phones that have come out past Android Pie's launch date generally support the new OS out of the box – especially those that are launching in 2019. The big question is when older phones are getting updated. 

Here's which phones have already been updated, divvied up by manufacturer.

Asus:
- Asus Zenfone 5/5Z

HMD/Nokia:
 - Nokia 8/8 Sirocco
- Nokia 7.1/7 Plus
- Nokia 6/6.1
- Nokia 5/5.1/5.1 Plus
- Nokia 3.1/3.1 Plus
- Nokia 2.1 (Go edition)

Honor:
 - Honor View 10
- Honor 8X

HTC:
 - HTC U11 Life

Huawei:
- Huawei P20/P20 Pro
- Huawei Mate 10 Pro
- Huawei P10

LG:
- LG G7 One

Moto:
 - Moto Z3/Play
- Moto G6/G6 Play/G6 Plus
- Moto One/One Power
- Moto X4 Android One

OnePlus:
- OnePlus 6/6T
- OnePlus 5/5T

Oppo:
 - Oppo R15

Razer:
 - Razer Phone 2

Samsung:
- Galaxy S9/S9 Plus/S8/S8 Plus
- Galaxy Note 9/8
- Galaxy A8/A8 Plus/A8 Star

Sony:
- Xperia XZ2/XZ2 Premium/XZ2 Compact,
- Xperia XZ Premium/XZ1/XZ1 Compact

Vivo:
- Vivo X21/X21UD
- Vivo Nex S/Nex A

Android Pie release date: soon 

  • Sony
  • Xiaomi
  • HMD Global
  • Oppo
  • Vivo
  • OnePlus
  • Select Android One phones

Android Pie release date: later (2018-2019)
What about an Android Pie release date for Samsung, LG and other top phones? We expect many manufacturers to announce launch dates when their phones are updated, which may be later than was initially projected. This is typical of Android updates, especially in the US where carrier approval is required.

On to the major Android Pie features.

Adaptive battery life

Android Pie has been designed to give you a more consistent battery by using on-device machine learning to figure out which apps you'll use in the next few hours and which you won't use until later, if at all today.

With 30% reeducation in CPU app wake-ups for apps, adaptive battery helped us eke out a few more hours of device use when we tested it. And now the software is final, so it should be even better. 

Google partnered with Deep Mind to refine its deep learning algorithms and it's having a big effect on Android battery life, according to Dave Burke, Google's VP of Engineering for Android. Adaptive brightness is the most meaningful new Android Pe feature in our own deep minds.

Adaptive brightness

Current auto-brightness settings aren't good enough, according to Google, and that's why it's giving phone makers a more power efficient way to calibrate phone screen brightness based on both the environment and learned behavior.

Google calls this adaptive brightness and claims that 50% of users who tested this Android Pie feature have stopped manually adjusting the brightness because of it. Even if you still reach to manually adjust the brightness, overall, you should be doing it less. That's what we experiencing when running Android Pie on a Pixel 2.

App actions

Google is inserting more prediction tools into its app drawer. Previously, you'd see a top row of predicted apps, normally based on your usage history. That was helpful.

Android Pie goes a step further with app actions that predict what you'll do next, and these shortcuts sit in a row right underneath the predicted app icons. This boils down to shortcuts for calls, or a run routine based on the fact that you just plugged in headphones and run every day at this time with an app like Strava. It's like Android Pie is reading your mind.

App slices

You won't see app slices until later this year, but Google has issued an API to developers to create more shortcuts around its operating system interface. This is starting in search, of course (after all, this is Google, we're talking about).

The best example at Google IO was with the ride-hailing app, Lyft. Searching for 'Lyft' will provide the app as an answer, but also shortcuts to your top destinations, like work and home, each with a price already listed. It's saving you from having to go into the app menus in order to select these options.

App slices via the search bar can extend to Google Photos, too. If you look up Hawaii, you'll see photos from a vacation, for example, and checking into a hotel may soon be easier when you look up your hotel name. Instead of having to wade through the clunky third-party app, you may be able to just select 'check in'.

Android Pie navigation changes

Android Pie has a new system navigation interface in order to make multi-tasking easier to understand, with a single clean home button. It's very much an iPhone X horizontal bar to replace the typical home and recent buttons.

This is part of Google's plan to make the UI simpler and adapt to the all-screen phone designs out there. It's more approachable to new users, according Google.

You can swipe up from the bottom anywhere in the operating system to see recent open apps as well as five predicted app at the bottom of the screen to save you time. Swiping up a second time and you'll see your app drawer. With this one-two swipe gesture, Google has essentially combined the all-apps and overview spaces gesture into one.

You can do one better than Apple's iPhone interface. Android Pie will let you scroll through all of your apps very quickly by sliding right and left with the horizontal bar at the bottom. It's like a video you're scrubbing through, but for app selection.

Form our experience, it takes time to get used to the navigation changes (as do almost all software changes), but retraining your brain for Android Pie is worth it in the end. Everything feels intuitive. 

Volume slider and screen rotation fixed

The volume slider has moved again, and this time it's off to the right side near the volume rocker. That makes sense, but it does more than just get a new home.

Pressing the volume keys will now adjust the media volume instead of sometimes (but you're not quite sure when) controlling the ringer volume. The ringer can be turned on and off through a software toggle button when you adjust the volume. Your reaction may be like ours: "Why wasn't it always this way?!"

You can also now manually control screen orientation. This is done via a pop-up icon that appears when you rotate the screen. You won't have to rely on the phone to (often mistakenly) rotate the screen for you.

Android Pie 'Digital Wellbeing'

It's no secret that we use our smartphones too much, and you probably do, too (you are on a technology website, after all). But how much time?

Like a Fitbit tracker gauges for activity and informs to motivate you, Google's Android Pie update includes a 'Digital Wellbeing' dashboard to monitor how long you've been using your phone and specific apps.

Digital Wellbeing is supposed to aid you in understanding what you're spending too much time on so that you can adjust your behavior. 

It even comes with an app timer and to send you notifications when you cross a self-imposed threshold, and a new Shush feature is launching as a Do Not Disturb shortcut when you turn your phone over on its front face. In addition to silencing alarms, it won't even display visual notifications. 

Think of Google as eliminating both audible and visual noise from your life when these modes are enabled.

Digital Wellbeing is one of the biggest, most fundamental new features in Android Pie and we've already taken a deep-dive into it, explaining it in detail and giving an early verdict on it. 

Given that it's still in beta we were fairly impressed, but noted that it needs a degree of pro-activeness to get much from it and that it could really do with parental controls. You can find our full thoughts on it here:

Making room for more Android notch displays

Android Pie makes room for notched displays, and we've seen a lot of them on new Android phones in the last few months – pretty much everyone but Samsung.

The use of a notch cutout means that some of Android's standard interface staples have shifted.

Looking for the time? It's now on the top left corner of the screen. App notification icons pile next to it, which could get dicey if A.) you use a lot of apps, or B.) your next Android phone has a notch (Google has planned ahead for this, thankfully.)

Some other design changes we noticed: Text is more sharp, there's generally more color in the menus, transition animations have been touched up, and some stuff has been moved around. It looks and feels fresh, even in this very early software build.

The Pixel Launcher now has a rounded-off edge, matching the look of notification windows that you see when you wake up your phone. This is obviously a minor touch, but it plays into the overall look that Google is going for with Android Pie.

Ambient Display has been overhauled, at least compared to what came before it on Pixel XL and what currently exists on the latest Pixel 2 XL Oreo software. The date and day of week no longer display underneath the time, but it still displays app notification icons.

You'll have to squint to notice this welcome improvement

The biggest change here is that down at the screen's bottom, it displays the battery percentage, so that you don't have to wake it to know whether you need to plug in or not. We look forward to Google making more updates to Ambient Display as the dev preview continues.

  • We also have a wish list for Wear OS

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Windows 10 S Mode release date, news and features

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:11 PM PDT

Initially revealed as a standalone OS in May 2017, Windows 10 S faced some controversy at release. Still, the lightweight operating system has evolved since launching, helping Windows 10 reach a whopping 800 million devices, just in time for the end of Windows 7. A lot of the criticism faced by Windows 10 S Mode boils down to the fact that it restricts users from installing third-party programs. But, since you can easily switch out of Windows 10 S Mode – for free no less – it’s a much more attractive solution these days. 

In fact, Windows 10 S makes a lot of sense for the right users and devices. For instance, the Surface Go is an affordable alternative to the Surface Pro, rocking a Pentium Gold chip, so a lightweight version of Windows 10 is perfect. And, we’ve seen reports of Windows 10 running on a Raspberry Pi 3, which would be an even stronger case for Windows 10 S. We’ve also seen reports that Microsoft is working on “Windows Lite”, which should function similarly to Chrome OS.

Windows 10 S Mode will also be able to take advantage of any Windows 10 updates, like the October 2018 Update and the upcoming Windows 10 April 2019 Update – though it may be delayed .

That means you get neat features like the April Update’s “Light Mode” and useful storage space tools, not to mention the possibility of playing Xbox One games natively.

Windows 10 S Mode is a major component of the Windows 10 experience these days, so we thought it would be a good idea to dive in and explore everything the lightweight operating system can do. Be sure to keep this page bookmarked, and we’ll update it with any Windows 10 S news that shows up.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? Windows 10 without x86 and x64 apps
  • When is it out? Available now
  • What will it cost? Free to all schools using Windows 10 Pro

Windows 10 S release date

Windows 10 S originally launched on May 2, 2017, with devices using the OS trickling out over the next few months. Fast forward to 2019 and Windows 10 S is bigger than ever. These lower spec Windows 10 devices are more versatile now than ever before. 

Eventually, there will be a UI toggle that’ll let Windows 10 users switch in and out of S Mode, but that’s not available at the time of this writing. Fortunately, you can still get out of S Mode relatively easily – just head to the Windows Store on your device and search for ‘switch out of S Mode’. As for when we’ll see the switch go live, who knows? However, Microsoft may sneak it in at a later date – we don’t think it’ll appear in the April 2019 Update, though.

Now, as for the reveal of Windows 10 S itself – Microsoft’s event invitation was titled ‘#MicrosoftEDU’, making no misgivings about its aims with the new OS. While Windows 10 S is not for individual sale, it is issued to IT administrators in education as well as laptops found in stores and online.

It’s no coincidence that Windows 10 S is focused on the education sector, where Google’s Chromebooks are experiencing outlandish success.

Windows 10 S price

Windows 10 S is essentially free for users. Microsoft subsidizes the cost of the OS to hardware manufacturers, assuming they’re not getting Windows 10 S for free. Essentially, as a user, you don’t really pay for Windows 10 S Mode, instead you’re paying for the hardware running it. 

Save for premium devices like the original Surface Laptop, you can find devices running Windows 10 S Mode starting at just $189 (about £146, AU$251) and cap out around $299 (about £239, AU$396). PC makers across the board, including Dell, HP, Asus, Acer and Lenovo all have Windows 10 S Mode-powered devices in their stables.

But, now that Windows 10 S Mode is a thing, it’s a toggle that doesn’t cost anything extra. Both Windows 10 Home and Pro S Mode users are able to go to the Windows Store and opt out of S Mode, though the conversion only works one way – out of S Mode – right now. Though, there will be a switch in the settings app of a future build, that will let users go back and forth.  

What is Windows 10 S?

Microsoft intends Windows 10 S to serve as a lightweight, more secure version of Windows 10 for lower-end devices. While in “S Mode,” Windows 10 will only support apps that are downloaded from the Windows Store.

This talk of a version of Windows that can only download Microsoft-approved apps is familiar, isn’t it? Microsoft believes it has mastered this approach since the turbulent days of Windows 8 RT and Windows 8 with Bing – both of which tried to position Microsoft as the sole provider of apps through curation.

The good news is that this allows for a startup time of under 5 seconds as opposed to the 30 - 40 second startup time of Windows 10 Pro. Not only that, but configuring settings (such as Wi-Fi, webcam, etc.) across an entire classroom of students is as easy as inserting a USB stick in each of their laptops.

Being in competition with Google’s Chrome OS, Microsoft has, of course, also positioned Windows 10 S as a more secure PC operating system. However, its resilience to viruses is mostly a side-effect of the inability to install apps not approved by Microsoft. Historically, Windows viruses have tended to erupt from untrustworthy internet downloads.

Should you find a must-have app that isn't available in the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 S you can switch from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Home or Pro by just going to the Windows Store and searching for “switch out of S Mode”. Microsoft used to charge a fee for this service, but now it’s free for everyone.

Microsoft will also allow users that upgrade to Windows 10 Pro to move back down to Windows 10 S. And, now that Microsoft is rumored to be working on a Windows 10 Lean Mode, which will be even more lightweight and locked down. 

Oddly enough, the shiny new Surface Laptop 2 now ships with Windows 10 Home, not in S Mode like the previous.

That said, what can you expect to see included in devices running Windows 10 S? Well, the Edge browser, OneNote and Windows Ink are all givens. The standard Movies and Groove Music apps, as well as Maps and Mail and Calendar are shoo-ins, too. 

Of course, we won’t see x86/x64 program support on a Windows 10 cloud operating system until 2019 when the aforementioned Polaris is expected to touch down and implement a ‘virtualization container’ for each of your favorite legacy applications. That means that, yes, should everything work out perfectly, there will be a Windows 10 cloud OS that can emulate the .exe’s of the past.

Despite its constraints, Windows 10 S still features File Explorer, and although many of the laptops that come with the lightweight OS pre-installed may ship with smaller capacity SSDs, Microsoft’s forthcoming introduction of OneDrive Files On-Demand will make it so files can be stored in the cloud, but still viewed the same way as locally stored content.

All things considered, there are still questions looming around in regard to the viability of Windows 10 S. Fortunately, as new developments emerge to (hopefully) address those criticisms, you can count on us to cover them right here on this page.

  • Images Credit: Microsoft

Bill Thomas and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article

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Man City vs Tottenham live stream: how to watch today's Champions League online from anywhere

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:40 PM PDT

Quick! Don't waste another minute...the goals are flying in between Manchester City and Spurs at the Etihad in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg. The tie is on a knife-edge and we'll make sure that you don't miss out on a Man City vs Tottenham live stream, regardless of where in the world you are.

When the draw was made, all logic suggested that Manchester City were clear favorites entering into this Champions League football tie across the two legs.

It's been a phenomenal season for the sky blues, with the chance of an unprecedented quadruple still on the cards as City continue to go toe-to-toe against Liverpool for the Premier League title. And an attacking force that includes Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne is hard to resist for the best of teams.

But it was Spurs who came out on top at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a goal from the brilliant Son Heung-min, and they have the advantage as they head up the M1 to Manchester. Without talismanic striker Harry Kane, they'll be weakened in attack. But this one's all about defence - will centre backs Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen be able to keep a clean sheet?

Make your predictions and settle in for what could be an unforgettable night of European football. In this guide, TechRadar will tell you everything you need to know about how to live stream Man City vs Tottenham. And you can do so from anywhere you are.

Use a VPN to watch Champions League football outside your country

Try to watch your domestic coverage of tonight's Champions League game and you'll soon find that it's geo-blocked. It's annoying for sure, but if you're desperate to watch your home broadcast then there's a little trick you can try by using a VPN service. It's really easy to do as well, particularly if you use our number one recommended provider ExpressVPN.

How to watch Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur in the UK 

How to live stream Man City vs Tottenham soccer in US

How to live stream Champions League football in Canada

How to live stream Man City vs Tottenham in the Champions League: Australia

How to watch Champions League football in New Zealand

How to live stream the UEFA Champions League football in India

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The Samsung Galaxy Fold has a durability problem

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:23 PM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is an ambitious foldable phone, but one with mounting durability problems, according to a handful of press who got early access to it.

We've seen a total of five broken Fold screens – four in which it isn't working at all and one instance in which half of the 7.3-inch tablet-like display is flickering.

Reviewers and analysts from CNBC, Bloomberg, The Verge, Android Central and YouTube tweeted about their experience after one and two days with the phone.

In some but not all cases, Samsung has already replaced the broken review units. If problems persist, it may run into its other dilemma: a shortage of Fold units.

Don't remove the film

Not everyone we talked to has had a problem with the Samsung Galaxy Fold screen, so we wouldn't call this widespread. But, again, it's been two days – it's very early.

The biggest take away for soon-to-be-Fold-owners is this: don't remove what looks to be protective plastic film on the screen. It's actually supposed to be there, as some people have found out the hard way that doing so may break the display.

At least it's not on fire

The official Samsung Galaxy Fold launch is April 26 in the US and May 3 in the UK and Europe. There's not much time to correct the issue if it becomes more pervasive.

There are at least two good things for people who pre-ordered. Samsung is offering a one-year warranty in most markets when you purchase the Fold, and at least it's not catching on fire yet.

We'll continue to update this story as we hear more from the tech reviewer community.

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Android Q release date, features and rumors

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:07 PM PDT

The release of Android Q is one step closer now that Google has launched the first developer beta. Pixel phone owners will be the first to wave goodbye to last year's Android Pie and say hello to an early version of Android 10.

You can expect to download Android 10 Q in August, according to Google's official developer beta timeline. That's in case you don't want to install an unfinished beta and tinker with an operating system before it's been finalized. 

You can also expect new Android Q features to debut at Google IO 2019 on May 7 at the company's keynote in Mountain View, California (we'll be there covering it live). 

Before Google IO, we have a list of early Android Q features we know about already thanks to the ongoing beta, and an idea of when the software will roll out to various smartphones and tablets.

Right now, we're mostly answering these questions through historical data and leaks, and we'll know more concrete facts as Google IO 2019 approaches.

Cut to the chase

  • What is Android Q? It's the next version of Android
  • When can you get Android Q beta? Download the Android Q developer beta now
  • When will Android Q launch in full? Probably August  
  • How much will Android Q cost? It will (assumedly) be a free update

Android Q release date

  • March 13: The first Android 10 developer beta has launched
  • Early April: No joke, we'll get Android Q beta 2 on or around April 1
  • Early May: Android Q developer beta 3 is due near May 1
  • Early June: The final incremental update, beta 4, should land in June
  • July: Beta 5 and beta 6, release candidates, may land this month
  • August: The final release has routinely happened in August

Google's Android Q developer beta is already here – at least if you own a Pixel phone and are willing to test out an unfinished mobile operating system.

The Android 10 Q release date timeline (Image credit: Google)

Google has outlined six stages to its six-month-long beta process, including the initial release, three incremental updates, one update with final APIs and the official SDK, and then two release candidates. That's all before the final version of Android 10.

Its monthly updates should give us an official Android Q release date in August, and historically, that's when we've seen the final update launch in past Android versions. But that doesn't mean every Android phone will have Android Q by August. 

The roll out to other Android phones will happen throughout 2019 and even into 2020 as various manufacturers add their own features and interfaces to the operating system. There's a chance you'll have to wait months after the initial Android Q release before you see the OS update on your device.

That long rollout isn't guaranteed, though: Google's Project Treble has been working to make it easier for phonemakers to update to the latest version of Android (and do it faster). Part of that progress has lead Treble to invite more manufacturers to participate in the Android Q beta, one of the project's team leads revealed on a podcast.

Android Q features

With the public reveal of the first Android Q developer beta, Google officially confirmed a chunk of features coming in the full update. It's unclear if they're all available in the first release or which will be added in a later beta, but at least we know some of what's coming.

Of course, Google is keeping some of the fun new features close to the chest. Some of the more newsworthy ones will probably be revealed at Google IO 2019, while others will be unveiled with further beta versions. However, we may have a heads-up on which features to expect from Google's mobile operating update thanks to leaks.

But first, here are features that Google confirmed in its Android Developers Blog post.

Foldable support

The big feature for 2019 is support for "foldables and innovative new screens," as the Android Developers Blog post put it. This is more a feature for developers, with back-end changes that will help make their apps ready for the big, folding screens of the top-tier phones. But at least we know Google's making sure Android is ready for them.

System-wide dark mode

Android Q's first big leak was by the site XDA Developers, which allegedly got a hold of a January 2019 build of the new OS and showed off what might be coming – including an all-system dark mode, which tech expert Owen Williams confirmed was in the first developer beta.

Supposedly, you'll be able to toggle it on in Display Settings, and in the main interface, Settings and Files will turn a dark gray. Other parts like the Volume panel, Quick Settings and Notifications turn black to show up against the darker background. 

Developers will also get an option that seems to force apps without dark modes to switch to the nighttime-friendly color scheme.

Pressure-sensitive 'Deep Press'

Android Q may support a Force Touch-style feature (think 3D Touch in iPhones) in phones, per developer Till Kottman. You know the drill: press down on an app or icon and you'll trigger a different action than if you'd simply tapped the screen. In iPhones, this often brings up a contextual menu of alternate options.

Kottman wasn't sure if the alleged feature, called 'Deep Press,' would enable phones to measure pressure or if they'd use "some ML magic." Either way, it would add functionality to Android phones that iPhones and Apple Watches have had for years.

Privacy, privacy, privacy

The Android Developers Blog post announcing the developer beta confirmed a heavy emphasis on boosting privacy in Android Q.

Users will have more control over app access to location info, shared files and repositories like Photos and Videos. Another helpful change: instead of apps automatically switching focus when they have an Activity in the background (like an alarm or call), appmakers and opt to send high-priority notifications first. 

These might be some of the most onerous changes for developers in Android Q, which is why, as the Android Developers Blog post reads: "We are bringing these changes to you early, so you can have as much time as possible to prepare."

Developer tools for apps: system settings, connectivity, media and more

Developers will be able to show contextually-important system settings within their apps, which harnesses the 'Slices' feature that came in Android 9 Pie. So instead of having to navigate to Settings to switch on Airplane Mode or toggle Wi-Fi or Mobile Data on/off, say, you'll be able to do that right within your mobile browser.

There are also tweaks to connectivity, including 'adaptive Wi-Fi' that enables high performance/low latency modes, which would be useful for things like online gaming or voice calls.

Like all the depth and blur in Pixel camera software? In Android Q, apps can request depth data (JPEG + XMP metadata + depth and confidence map) to, say, offer "specialized blurs and bokeh options in your app," as the Android post suggests. "You can even use the data to create 3D images or support AR photography use-cases in the future."

Android Q will also support more multimedia codecs: AV1 to let media providers stream high-quality video, Opus for audio encoding, and HDR10+ for high dynamic range video "on devices that support it" – like, say, the Samsung Galaxy S10 family.

As for gaming, the Android Q beta enhances support for OpenGL along with bug fixes and more functionality. 

More permissions

XDA's leak also revealed a revamp of permissions, from the general to specific. 

Users can look at a broad overview of which apps they've given permission for certain things – like, say, location or microphone access. There's a search function that lets you filter by permission item, allowing you to quickly see which apps you've given access to your camera, contacts, location and so on.

You can also look at permissions each app has been granted and toggle them individually to set whether access is off, on, or only on while the app is open.

Developer tools

Android Q / Android 10

There are plenty of new developer tools described by the XDA leak, but it's not clear how all of them will function. 

Freeform windows return, which lets you enable them after pressing and holding an app icon in the recent apps overview. On the other hand, XDA also found a feature called "Game Updates Package Preference" whose purpose is a bit of a mystery. Another, titled "force desktop mode," seems like it would push Android to an external display, Samsung DeX-style.

Not all of the UI is finished, either, making some features – like screen recording – not totally comprehensible. 

Face ID-style authentication for logins and purchases

Another dive into the developer build XDA Developers acquired revealed the OS might get a feature iOS users have bragged about for awhile: Face ID. The next version of Android might support phones packing the hardware to use facial scans for authentication.

It's unclear just how it will work, or if it would combine sensor readings for a comprehensive scan of facial features. But we did get hints via error codes in one of the OS' APK, which variably tell the user to move the phone in different directions for the device to get a better look at their face. 

Other strings of code found by XDA are also promising, like one that blatantly informs users they can "Use your face to unlock your phone, authorize purchases, or sign in to apps."

Whether phones will be able to use Face ID is another story: they need to have the hardware installed – whether that's sensors or the right specs – for the feature to work. 

Goodbye back button, hello (only to) gesture controls

While recent Android phones from different brands have tried to push their own gesture controls for years, the OS has always kept its static three-button navigation as an option. Those days might be at an end as that XDA preview build showed only gesture controls, per Tom's Guide.

From the looks of it, users may only be able to use the navigation system present in the Google Pixel 3: a small pill at the bottom of the screen that you can swipe in the cardinal directions to get around. 

It's key to note that Android allows brands to develop their own navigation methods and systems to go along with their overlays, so it's very unlikely that this will be the only way to navigate. This build is also a bit out of date, so who knows if something as integral as OS movement would be finalized that far out.

Anything else?

There were a couple other additional Android 10 odds and ends from that XDA leak, including a pair of new accessibility settings.

Both apply to how long notification messages stay up, and seemingly apply to different kinds of notifications. The first are for "messages that ask you to take action," while the other apparently refers to notifications that pop up with simple reminders. You can toggle these to stay up between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. 

That's all we've seen for now, but new details will surely come up in the coming beta versions, at Google IO 2019 in May and from any leaks in between.

  • What's next for iPhone? Here's what we expect to see from iOS 13

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New Microsoft Surface Hub 2S finally replaces original model

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 11:55 AM PDT

Microsoft's update to the original Surface Hub is finally coming. The tech giant announced the new Surface Hub 2S in New York City today with a launch date that will be a little more than a year after the company first teased the Surface Hub 2.

The Surface Hub 2S will arrive in the US this June, with more markets to follow thereafter. Those additional markets will be ones where the original Hub was sold. The starting price in the US will be $8,999 (about £6,900, AU$12,680).

In addition to a new form factor and updated specs and features, the Surface Hub 2S was announced alongside two mobility accessories that will be sold separately. The first is a rolling mount made in partnership with office furniture maker Steelcase, and the second is the APC Charge Mobile Battery that allows the Surface Hub 2S to be used without a connection to a wall outlet.

What's new in the Surface Hub 2S

The new Surface Hub 2S will have a 50-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a 4K+ Pixel Sense display. The display will still be a touch panel with support for the Surface Hub 2 Pen, and it has an anti-glare coating. The display has narrow bezels, and has reduced its thickness by 60 percent compared to the original Surface Hub. It's also 40% lighter.

Eight beam-forming microphones, dual speakers and a dedicated subwoofer are built into the Surface Hub 2S. The Surface Hub 2 Camera and Surface Hub 2 Pen are both included and attach to the device, with eight magnetic mounting points for the Pen. The camera has a 4K resolution and 90-degree FOV.

The Surface Hub 2S is built around a computing core that includes an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD.

While the original Surface Hub models had display panels with 120Hz refresh rates and 100-point multi-touch, these details are currently missing from the Surface Hub 2S specs.

Just a starting point

The 50-inch Surface Hub 2S is just a starting point. A Surface Hub 2 Display is also coming that will not include it's own computing component. Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise configuration options are in the works as well. And, an 85-inch version of the Surface Hub 2S will go into testing in 2020.

The computing component of the Surface Hub 2S is modular, making the device both serviceable and upgradeable. Eventually, the device can be updated to the forthcoming Surface Hub 2X by swapping the computing core, which will allow a multi-unit "tile" setup with multiple devices oriented vertically and placed side-by-side. A second set of dormant speakers and another array of microphones will be activated when switched into the new setup.

However, the Surface Hub 2X – like the 85-inch Surface Hub 2S – will not be available until sometime in 2020.

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Porto vs Liverpool live stream: how to watch today's Champions League online from anywhere

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 11:43 AM PDT

With Liverpool 2-0 up on aggregate after their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, this tie is done and dusted...isn't it? Well a trip to Porto is never easy and two goal deficits can easily be overturned (just ask PSG!). With this TechRadar guide you can live stream Porto vs Liverpool no matter where you are in the world.

As you'd hope and expect from a last eight Champions League clash, these are two of world football's biggest names and they're no strangers to going a long way in this competition.

Who could forget Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul in 2005 when they won their most recent of five titles. And Porto's last was equally memorable, led there by a long-forgotten manager called Jose Mourinho, or something.

After easing through the first leg at Anfield 2-0, Liverpool are overwhelming favorites going in to this one. Juggling the two plates of Champions League and the Premier League title, Klopp's men could be just a few wins away from one of their most famous seasons. They'll be relying on their trio if attackers Salah, Mane and Firmino. Porto are involved in an equally exciting title race in the Premeira Liga against Benfica, but it will be a huge uphill battle if they want to make it to the semi-final.

It's poised to be a fascinating second leg of the Champions League last eight knockouts, so make sure you follow the instructions below for how to live stream Porto vs Liverpool from wherever you are in the world.

Use a VPN to watch Champions League football outside your country

If you're away from your country but are desperate to get around geo-blocking from your home broadcaster, don't sweat. Thanks to the tools provided to you by a VPN service, you can tune in no matter where you are in the world. And best of all, it's really easy to do, especially if you use our number one recommended provider ExpressVPN.

Stream the Liverpool game live in the UK 

How to watch Porto vs Liverpool: live stream in US

How to live stream Champions League football in Canada

How to live stream Liverpool vs Porto in the Champions League: Australia

How to watch Champions League football in New Zealand

How to live stream the UEFA Champions League football in India

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Here's your first official look at the OnePlus 7

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 10:28 AM PDT

OnePlus 7 has just been teased by founder and CEO, Pete Lau in a post on Twitter. Lau had earlier revealed April 17 as the date when he would reveal details about the next OnePlus product. All the details about the upcoming OnePlus product are encapsulated in the form of a 5-second video clip which Lau shared alongside a caption.

It reads, "Excited to share the next product from OnePlus will unleash a new era of Fast and Smooth. Especially Smooth! Smooth is more challenging than Fast - a true test of hardware and software.  The new product is just beautiful - I can't wait for you to see it!"

"Fast and Smoooth" 

The video shared by him focus on the term "Fast and Smoooth", but these are very generic hints to go by in the first place. We already know OnePlus is going to stay true to its philosophy of providing a slick experience and OxygenOS has time and again proven that claim.

A phone we believe to be the OnePlus 7 is displayed in the background of the video which when looked from a distance resembles the number 7. This indicates that the product CEO Lau is talking about is indeed the OnePlus 7. 

If one looks closely at the picture, the edges of the phone seem to curve around the corners. This curve seems slightly more than what we have seen on the OnePlus 6T and it is quite likely that it'll have a fresh design.

The three o's in the word "Smoooth" could hint at a possible three camera setup on the OnePlus 7. The rumours surrounding the phone claim that the company will be introducing at least two variants of the OnePlus 7 and the high-end model could very well feature three cameras while the regular model may only have dual cameras.

Additionally, a recent report claimed that the OnePlus 7 Pro is going to feature an upgraded QHD+ resolution screen which has a 90Hz refresh rate. We might be reading in between the lines a bit more than usual, but if the OnePlus 7 Pro does happen to feature a display with 90Hz refresh rate, then it could corroborate with the teaser tagline "Fast and Smoooth".

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SimpliSafe home security sale: save 15% and get a free camera

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:18 AM PDT

Secure your home and save money with this limited-time promotion from SimpliSafe. The home security company is offering 15% off several of its best pre-packaged or build-your-own security systems and includes a free SimpliCam. This week-long sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, April 23.

SimpliSafe is a well-known home security system that features 24/7 monitoring for your home or business. SimpliSafe allows you to build a system that's tailored to your space and needs or lets you select from several pre-configured security systems. There are no contracts with the wireless system that's built to withstand power outages, downed Wi-Fi, cut landlines, and anything else you can think of. You'll always feel secure with a 24/7 monitoring center that alerts police when your home needs help.

This promotion not only gives you a 15% discount, but also includes the top-rated SimpliCam for free. The security camera provides live 24/7 HD video that you can monitor from your smartphone or tablet. The SimpliCam alerts you the instant motion is detected, and the sensors can even distinguish the unique heat signature of humans.

Like we mentioned above, this promotion only lasts until Tuesday, so you should make sure to take advantage of this rare deal while you can. 

SimpliSafe Home Security Sale:

You can find more home security sales with the best cheap home security camera deals that are currently available.

You can also shop more smart home deals with the best cheap smart home devices and gadget deals.

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AMD Ryzen R1000 SoC to power the still-unreleased Atari VCS

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:11 AM PDT

AMD has updated its lineup of embedded systems-on-chip (SoC) with two new variants. Alongside that announcement comes news that Atari is going to use one of the new SoCs to power the upcoming Atari VCS gaming and entertainment console, Guru3D reports.

The new AMD Ryzen Embedded R-Series will come in two variants, the Ryzen R1606G and R1505G. Both are nearly identical, packing dual-core CPUs with four treads and three Vega GPU compute units. The R1606G has slightly higher base and boost clock speeds than the R1505G, but otherwise the core specs are the same.

Some of the other key aspects of the SoCs that were touted in a launch video from AMD include "dual 10-gigabit Ethernet," the ability to "drive billions of pixels" and run "3 simultaneous 4K displays." The SoCs are also low power, going as low as 12 watts, so manufacturers can build them into passively cooled systems. 

What they'll do for Atari

AMD offered up some comparisons to give a sense of how powerful the new R-Series SoCs will be, with up to three times more performance-per-watt than the AMD R-Series SOC RX-216GD in Cinebench R15 (CPU), and four times the performance-per-dollar compared to i3-7100U in Cinebench R15 and 3DMark 11 (CPU AND GPU). 

Sadly, that information doesn't give much of a basis for comparison in gaming performance for the Atari VCS. Without knowing the price of the R-Series chips, there's little to get out of a price-per-dollar comparison. But, we can draw some comparisons to the hardware we see in other popular gaming consoles.

Comparing the 2C/4T CPUs and 3 GPU compute units in the R-Series to the Xbox One X or PS4 Pro, and there's a large difference in core count and GPU compute units. And, by the time the Atari VCS comes out in December 2019 (if it's not delayed yet again), it could be looking at imminent competition from an even more powerful PlayStation 5 and Xbox Two.

Variety reported that Michael Arzt, COO of Atari Connected Devices, said the Atari VCS would be able to support "4K 60fps content" and will also allow users to install other operating systems. Language is important here, as "4K 60fps content" could very well be streamed video. The R-Series chips are not likely to push 4K 60fps in anything but the most basic games, which it may do for the retro games launching with the console.

One place the new chips could shine though is in game streaming. Because they support dual 10-Gigabit connection, they'll be able to easily support the bandwidth required for a quality game streaming experience. While that may make the Atari VCS a capable platform for Goolge's Stadia gaming streaming service, the $239 (about £180, AU$340) asking price for the console may be hard to justify for many gamers.

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Best PS4 games 2019: the PlayStation 4 games you need to play

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:10 AM PDT

The Sony PlayStation 4 is an incredible console, and possibly even Sony's greatest achievement to date (at least until the PlayStation 5 arrives). To make the most of it though, you need a library filled with the best PS4 games, and that's where we come in.

The PS4 is the only console on the market with the likes of Spider-Man, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Colossus and God of War, all of which are available right now, and upcoming games like The Last of Us Part 2, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima that are all expected to be released over the next few years. Not to mention the fantastic third-party games you'll still be able to play on the console.

So, to help you sort out which games are worth your while, we've compiled a list of the best PS4 games worth going out and playing today – and whether they support the PS4 Pro's enhanced resolution and detail in 4K and HDR.

We've done our best to include something from every genre – AAA and indie, RPG and sports sim, shooter and racer – to give you the best pickings from across the PS4 library. But if nothing here takes your fancy, check back in with us in a few weeks – with every new release we're updating and revising our choices! 

So without further ado, here are the best PlayStation 4 games...

PlayStation 4

Image credit: TechRadar

Best PS4 games FAQ: quick questions answered

What is the most popular PS4 game? Well, your tastes might not match everyone else's, but everything on the list below is on Game's bestseller list, so you know you're getting one of the top titles.

What's the best PS4 game to buy right now? Again, that'll depend on your tastes. For MCU lovers, Spider-Man is a no-brainer. FIFA 19 is our top pick for those who like playing football games, and God of War is a beautifully-made narrative RPG (with plenty of combat too). 

What are the best PS4 exclusives? In this list, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, God of War and Spider-Man are some of the top-ranking PS4 exclusives available right now, all appealing to a diverse range of gamers – if you're after an exclusive, there's something for everyone.

Is PlayStation better than Xbox? Good question. And it depends what your habits are and what you're looking for from a console. We've put the two consoles head-to-head in our PS4 vs Xbox One: which console is best comparison, where we cover everything you'd need to know about each console – though you can also see if our round-up of best Xbox games tempt you over the PS4 titles below.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Image credit: Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the most recent edition to the epic action RPG franchise. Odyssey is set during the Peloponnesian War and sees you stepping into the sandals of either Alexios or Kassandra as they try to uncover the truth about their history while navigating the turbulent world of Ancient Greece as a mercenary. 

Odyssey is a graphically stunning PS4 game which will take you to the heart of Ancient Greece – easily securing it a place in our collection of the best PlayStation 4 games. Just make sure you have the time to play it because there's over 100 hours of content to enjoy here.

Check out our Assassin's Creed Odyssey review diary for more.

PS4 Pro Support? PS4 Pro enhanced.

Battlefield 1

Battlefield 1

Image credit: Electronic Arts

In Battlefield 1 for the PlayStation 4, DICE takes players back in time to World War One and by doing so completely rejuvenates the once stagnating franchise. 

Battlefield 1's historical setting helps it to stand apart from the rest of the modern military shooters on the market, with all new weapons, vehicles, and level designs that feel fresh and capture the chaos and brutality of war.

The game offers a poignant and entertaining single-player campaign that sets a new standard for first-person shooter. Broken into six sections, each following a different character and front line location, the campaign never feels dull or repetitive.

The single player campaign even feeds neatly into Battlefield 1's multiplayer mode which, while familiar, also benefits from the much-needed breath of life that the change in setting gives.

Graphically impressive, entertaining, and sometimes touching, Battlefield 1 is a return to form for the series. 

PS4 Pro support? Increased resolution and detail. 

Bloodborne

Bloodborne

Image credit: Sony Computer Entertainment 

From Software's enigmatic and notoriously challenging Souls titles all hold critical and fan acclaim, but none are as stylistically interesting as the quasi-Industrial era Bloodborne.

It plays like an RPG set indelibly on a hidden difficulty mode with all the helpful text pop-ups removed – which is to say it requires more than a modicum of patience from the player.

But that's the point: in Bloodborne for the PS4, you get out what you put into it. Victory's all the more rewarding when you've watched your enemy, memorized his attack patterns, struck at the opportune moment and prevailed via the game's impeccable melee combat. 

PS4 Pro support? No.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Image credit: Activision

Crash Bandicoot is one of the classic gaming IPs and a revered figure on the PlayStation platform. We were absolutely delighted, then, when he made his debut in a PlayStation 4 game with the remaster of the N. Sane trilogy. 

If you like your nostalgia in big dollops, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane trilogy is a remaster well worth picking up. This is the same levels, gameplay, and the iconic music is still there but it's been given a lovely new lick of paint. At TechRadar we think it's a great example of the way classic games should be resurrected.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 1140p at 30fps.

FIFA 19

FIFA 19

Image credit: Electronic Arts

FIFA is, for many console owners, a highly anticipated annual event. The latest and arguably greatest instalment in the football sim series has arrived in the form of FIFA 19, and it's straight into our list of the best PS4 games.

Whether you're looking to play against others online, build up a management career on your own or play a cinematic story mode that'll give you an insight into the dramatic life of a premier league footballer, FIFA has a game mode just for you. 

The best thing is, there's always more than enough to throw yourself into and agonize over until the next game rolls around with further incremental improvements to convince you to upgrade.

You can read our full review of FIFA 19 right here and make sure you're the best on the pitch using our tips and tricks guide. 

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 4K and HDR.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Image credit: Square Enix

Final Fantasy 12 is one of the most under appreciated and anomalous Final Fantasy games, first released in 2006. With this remake, Square Enix gives players a chance to take a second look at the game, this time running much more smoothly, with fewer obvious faults and cracks.

In The Zodiac Age you'll find a beautiful game world, fast and exciting combat, and a sweeping storyline that's an example of the JRPG genre at its best. Whether you're a fan of Final Fantasy or not, 12 is enough of a series outlier that it's a good place to dip in and see what you might be missing. It's a PlayStation 4 exclusive, too.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 2560x1440 resolution.  

Fortnite Battle Royale

Fortnite Battle Royale

Image credit: Epic Games

Fortnite Battle Royale has had a meteoric rise since its release in 2017, and it's not hard to see why. The free-to-play battle royale PS4 game offers players an energetic and enjoyable online multiplayer experience , with a concept that pretty simple to get to grips with: just be the last person standing. 

Constant content updates keep Fortnite feeling fresh over a year since its launch so it easily gets a place on the best PlayStation 4 games list.

PS Pro support? Yes – 60 fps.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V

Image credit: Rockstar

Not only is it the best sandbox game on the PlayStation 4 platform, GTA V is also the best golf game, the best tennis sim, the undisputed virtual yoga champ, one of the best racers... it's even a pretty serviceable MMO.

We're used to scale and scope from Grand Theft Auto, but what Trevor, Franklin, and Michael bring us is a staggeringly well-realised city seen from three entirely different perspectives.

Trevor, the maniacal rampage killer whom we discover to be in all of us when we play a Rockstar game; Franklin, the classic rags-to-riches character with street smarts and the ability to pull off a bandana; and Michael, the troubled criminal with a dysfunctional family and a beer gut to show for his life of violence.

However you play GTA V – a multiplayer muckabout, a story-driven third-person actioner, a flight sim – it reveals itself to be the best game on both this generation and the last. One of the very best PS4 games.

PS4 Pro support? No.

God of War

God of War

Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment

One of the most highly anticipated PlayStation 4 exclusives of 2018, God of War has lived up to the hype. Taking Kratos from Greek to Norse mythology, making him a father, and focusing on narrative as well as completely revamping combat has made God of War a welcome refresh for the franchise.

In our full review, we called God of War "the best game in the series" for many reasons, but the stand-out is that this is a game with heart and it's not to be missed if you're interested in the best PS4 games.

PS4 Pro support?  Yes. 4K at 30 fps and HDR. 

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Image credit: Ninja Theory

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is developer Ninja Theory's first attempt at publishing its own game and it's quite an achievement. The game follows Senua, a Celtic warrior suffering from psychosis who travels to Hell to rescue her lost lover.

The game uses an interesting mix of binaural audio and innovative visual techniques to communicate Senua's experience with her psychosis to the player, resulting in a game that's likely to be quite different from anything else you've played recently. 

Disturbing, insightful and extremely enjoyable to play, this is a game worth taking a look at if you're interested in the best PS4 games.

You can read all about our experience with the motion capture tech behind Hellblade. 

PS4 Pro support?  Yes. Dynamic resolution adaption for stable frame rates. 

Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn

Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Horizon Zero Dawn is the first-party open-world game that Sony has desperately needed. While Uncharted and The Last of Us have long given PS4 players a fantastic linear experience, Horizon Zero Dawn – developed by Guerrilla Games – gives you the keys to a massive, detail-rich and utterly jaw-dropping open world.

Set in an aesthetically prehistoric post-apocalyptic environment inhabited by robot dinosaurs, the game puts players in the shoes of Aloy, who hunts these creatures and scraps them for parts. It's part Jurassic Park, part 10,000 B.C. and part Asimovian sci-fi epic all rolled into one.  

Once you get through the sprawling campaign, check out The Frozen Wilds DLC that sends Aloy up north to the frozen wastes of The Cut, the home of the Banuk Tribe. The Frozen Wilds elevates an already exceptional PS4 game and is well worth the price of entry.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 4K, 30fps and HDR support.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts 3

Image credit: Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally here. Just 14 years after Kingdom Hearts 2, Square Enix has blessed us with the latest core game in the franchise which sees Disney and Final Fantasy coming together in a fantasical and charming adventure. 

If you're a fan of a fun, action-packed RPG which doesn't take itself too seriously then Kingdom Hearts could be for you. But be prepared, the story can be a bit tricky to wrap your head around.

Still not convinced? Then check out our Kingdom Hearts 3 review.

PS4 Pro Support? Yes. HDR and 4K at 60fps.

Life is Strange 

Life is Strange

Life is Strange is an episodic graphic adventure which tells the story of Max, who moves back to her hometown and reunites with her best friend Chloe – someone who is a bit more rebellious than she remembers. 

On top of trying to navigate the difficulties of teenage life, Max discovers that she has the ability to rewind time at any moment and only she can prevent a storm on its way to destroy her hometown.

Rather than focusing on combat, the crux of Life is Strange is the choices Max (AKA you) makes and the effect these choices have on the overall story. 

A stunning PS4 game for those who appreciate an engaging story. The prequel, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, is equally mesmerizing. 

PS4 Pro support? No.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Image credit: Konami

Okay, so Hideo Kojima's last game for Konami – and his last ever Metal Gear game – might be a little tough for the MGS n00b to get to grips with, but it's still one of the best stealth-action games ever crafted. It's undoubtedly worth a spot on our list of the best PS4 games.

The open-world shenanigans will satisfy all your behind-enemy-lines / Rambo fantasies and probably confuse you with crazy plot twists and a million characters all with the same gravel-toned voices.

But hey, that's all part of its charm, right?

PS4 Pro support?  No.

Monster Hunter: World

Monster Hunter: World

Image Credit: Capcom

Monster Hunter is a classic franchise that's been going for a long time, but with its return to console it's been given a new lease of life and dragged kicking and screaming into 2018. 

Whether you want to play solo or team up with a group of up to three friends, this game has you enter a stunning game world that feels genuinely dynamic and alive in order to hunt down monsters. For research, of course. 

There's a learning curve here, and the Dark Souls-style combat has the potential to frustrate, but this is the most accessible Monster Hunter game we've seen in years. If you've been looking for a chance to break into the series, this is it. 

In our Monster Hunter World review we called the game "a bold and confident new chapter" and gave it a "play it now" recommendation. Thinking of becoming a Monster Hunter yourself? Make sure you check out our full survival guide. 

PS4 Pro support?  Yes. Can choose between 60 FPS, 4K resolution, or prioritized graphics. All with HDR support. 

NieR: Automata

NieR: Automata

Image Credit: Square Enix

If you want to play a game that will feel different to anything else you've played recently, we heartily recommend NieR: Automata as one of the best PS4 games right now.

Though it's a sequel to 2010 game Nier, you don't have to have played the first game to enjoy this one. Set in a dystopian future, the story of the game revolves around a war between machines created by alien invaders and the remnants of humanity. Humanity has fled Earth to seek refuge on the Moon, but has sent combat droids down to fight for them.

You play as one of these droids, 2B, accompanied by another droid called 9S. Combat in this game is intensely satisfying, the game world is stunning with a huge sense of scale, and the story is strange (sometimes to a fault) but incredibly entertaining. You won't be disappointed, trust us.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 1080p at 60 fps. 

Night In The Woods

Night In The Woods

Image credit: Infinite Fall

Night in the Woods is an unconventional side-scrolling adventure game that follows on 20 year-old Mae, who drops out of college to move back home with her parents. 

With a story based on dialogue choices and tasks, it's a classic coming-of-age tale, with stunning minimalist graphics and laugh-out-loud interactions that will leave you completely hooked on this charming indie game. 

PS4 Pro Support? No.

Overcooked 2

Overcooked 2

Image credit: Team17

Fans of the original Overcooked will not be disappointed by the second instalment in the chaotic couch co-op series, with all new challenges, recipes, and characters to take on with up to three other people.

This time your task is to defeat the 'Un-Bread' (zombie baked goods) that have taken over the Onion Kingdom, by battling through brand new recipes including sushi, pizza, and burgers in increasingly chaotic kitchens. To add to the frantic fun, you must battle obstacles including random fires, collapsing floors, and interfering passers by, all while getting your orders out to the pass in time. 

Things get complicated incredibly quickly, and relationships, friendships, and family bonds will be tested as you work together to complete your recipes on time, making it a fun and challenging couch co-op game that will make you truly understand the meaning of "too many cooks spoil the broth".

PS4 Pro support? No.

Overwatch

Overwatch

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch has without a doubt been one of our favorite games to come out in the past few years.

It's a classic team arena shooter from Blizzard, setting two six-person teams of wildly different characters against each other in a bright and cartoonish science fiction universe. 

Great graphics, tight maps, and a good roster of characters to enjoy playing. Overwatch is good old fashioned fun and we thoroughly recommend it.  

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 1080p with 60 fps. 4K UI overplay. 

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2

Image credit: Rockstar Games

Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 took 2018 by storm, giving us the gun-toting, western open-world we were hoping for. You play as Arthur Morgan, a gunslinger in the notorious Van Der Linde gang as he navigates the trials and tribulations of the changing west. 

Red Dead Redemption 2 is certainly game which will keep you busy. Between story missions, mini-games, activities and side quests, you will find yourself sinking plenty of hours into this title without even noticing it. And with Red Dead Online in beta testing it won't be long until players can properly team up with a posse of friends to play.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Image credit: Capcom

Your gaming collection isn't really complete if it doesn't have a quality horror title and if we had to suggest one for our best PS4 games list it'd be the newest instalment in the Resident Evil franchise. 

Resident Evil is the franchise that put survival-horror games on the map and though it lost its way slightly in later titles, the newest game is a return to form for Capcom. 

By going back to the survival-horror basics and getting them dead on, Capcom has made Resident Evil 7 a genuinely frightening and exhilarating gaming experience. If you have the stomach for the gore, it's absolutely worth playing.

The PlayStation 4 version of the game has an added bonus for PS VR owners – a virtual reality adaption of the game which Capcom has absolutely nailed. However, you'll need to be brave to play it all the way through. 

Don't miss our full Resident Evil 7 review.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 1080p supersampling and HDR. 

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Image credit: Capcom

Capcom's remake of survival horror classic Resident Evil 2 has gone down a storm with fans and newcomers alike, and it's no surprise. With gorgeous new graphics but the same brain-scratching puzzles and terrifying zombies, Resident Evil 2 is definitely a remake done right.

Check out our full Resident Evil 2 remake review.

PS4 Pro Support? Yes. 4K resolution at 30fps or a lower resolution at 60fps.

Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus

Image credit: Sony Computer Entertainment

Shadow of the Colossus is a classic PlayStation title, a game that performed graphical marvels when it was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005. Now it's been remastered with 4K and HDR support, and this time around the game world is more beautiful than ever, while keeping the original's emotional weight and gameplay.

It's an easy pick for our best PS4 games list.

For those looking for a gaming experience quite unlike any other, Shadow of the Colossus is a must-play. In our full review of the title we called it "a journey well worth taking once, and somehow even more worthwhile second time around"

PS4 Pro support?  Two modes: cinematic with 4K, HDR and 30 fps or performance with 60 fps. 

Marvel's Spider-Man

Marvel's Spider-Man

Image credit: Insomniac Games

Swinging its way onto our best PS4 games list, Marvel's Spider-Man is likely the best comic book-based video game in the entire PS4 library by a country mile (sorry, Batman: Return to Arkham). 

While Arkham did a great job bringing the brooding caped crusader to life on our home consoles, it failed to provide us any insight about Bruce Wayne's actual life when he takes off the cowl.

This is different, if only because it shows us two sides of the same hero – the affable Peter Parker and the heroic, self-sacrificing Spider-Man – in the same game. Tie into that the best traversal mechanics since Spider-Man 2 on the PS3, and you have all the markings of a spectacular (and dare we say AMAZING) Spider-Man game.

Don't miss our full Spider-Man review! 

PS4 Pro support? 4K HDR.

Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2

Image credit: Electronic Arts

The original Titanfall was a great game, but unfortunately it didn't come to the PlayStation. Fortunately, its sequel, Titanfall 2, improves on it every conceivable way: the motion is more fluid, there are more distinct titans to choose from and, hold onto your hats here, there's actually a single-player campaign that might take the cake for the best first-person shooter story of the year. 

This game's pedigree is inherited from one of this generation's smartest and most unusual shooters. The original Titanfall married ninja-fast on-foot combat to the gloriously thuggish thrill of piloting giant mechs, which are summoned from orbit a few minutes into each match.

The skill with which Respawn has balanced this mix of styles in the sequel is remarkable – Titans have firepower in excess but they're easy to hit, and maps offer plenty of places for infantry to hide. These ideas coalesce into one of this year's most remarkable entries in the genre and is well-deserving its own shot in the spotlight as well as a Game of the Year nomination.

PS4 Pro Support? Yes. Higher resolution and more stable frame rates.

The Last Of Us Remastered

The Last Of Us Remastered

Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment 

Many games have offered us post-apocalyptic visions of the future, but none have been as brutal, as believable, or as touching as Joel and Ellie's story.

It was near-perfect on PS3, but with current-gen's increased performance ceiling Naughty Dog found ways to ramp up the visual fidelity to 'drop the controller and stare' levels. A radical tonal departure from Uncharted's jovial treasure-hunting escapades, The Last Of Us Remastered demonstrates the California studio's ability to strike a darker mood, populating the overgrown ruins of its setting with a cast characterised by murky morals but still getting you to care for them like your own bessies.

If you love this one, make sure you keep an eye on all the latest news surrounding its sequel: The Last of Us Part 2. It's likely to be another cracking PlayStation 4 game.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. Choice of 4K at 30 fps or 1080p at 60 fps with HDR. 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Image credit: CD Projekt

Geralt didn't have the smoothest of entries to PS4, but after some heavy patching and a lot of angry words about visual downgrades, we're left with an RPG boasting tremendous scope and storytelling.

Oh, and combat. And don't forget Gwent, the in-game card game. And there's the crafting to get stuck into. And the alchemy.

You're rarely short of things to entertain yourself with in The Witcher 3's quasi-open world, then, and all the better that you're in a universe that involves the supernatural without leaning on the same old Tolkien fantasy tropes. It's invigorating stuff.

Netflix has announced it's working on a Witcher TV series with Henry Cavill taking on the role as Geralt, so if you haven't jumped into the fantasy RPG then now is the perfect time.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 4K resolution or improved performance at 1080p. 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Image credit: Sony Computer Entertainment

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was tasked with an impossible task by bringing a satisfying close to Naughty Dog's classic adventure series and delivered something well above our expectations. Exceptionally high production values, an engaging story about a wayward brother and an adventure to remember, Uncharted 4 has them all in spades.

Though Naughty Dog's Uncharted journey has finally reached its destination, you're guaranteed to treasure the memories it created forever.

If you're a PS4 owner, it would be criminal not to take this ride. It's undoubtedly one of the best PS4 games there is.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. 2560 x 1440 resolution with HDR and 30 fps in single-player. 

Wipeout Omega

Wipeout Omega

Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment

This bundle of anti-gravity goodness features some of the best versions of Wipeout from over the years. It's not an exhaustive collection of the different games, but it is a great, remastered trio of games that brings you the best of Wipeout racing and chaotic car combat. Multi-player mode is fantastic, but the game's AI improves as you do, meaning some of the later levels are eye-watering challenges. 

Here's some Wipeout Omega collection tips and tricks to get you started with this excellent PS4 game.

PS4 Pro support? Yes. HDR and 4K at 60fps.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Image credit: Bethesda Softworks

Looking for an incredible single-player shooter for PS4? Look no further than the 2017 wonder that was Wolfenstein II. Picking up from where the original game left off, this game is a timely social commentary and a superbly silly adventure all rolled into one well-written package.

With tight mechanics and a story worth caring about this is one of the most satisfying first-person shooters we've played in a long time. In our full review we called it "expertly crafted" and recommended that you play it now. 

PS4 Pro support?  Yes. 2560x1440p.

Trying to decide which PS4 set-up to get? Watch Jon and Gerald discuss the differences between the PS4, PS4 Pro and PS4 VR in the video below:

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The Nikola Wav is an electric jet ski with a 4K screen in the dash

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:55 AM PDT

Bouncing along the waves on a jet ski can be terribly dull, so electric vehicle company Nikola Corporation has come up with a solution: embed a waterproof 12-inch 4K display in the dash to distract you from all that tedious scenery.

The Nikola Wav (which The Verge reports is pronounced 'wave')  takes its inspiration from sports bikes, and features such unusual goodies as LED lights and cruise control. 

The Wav isn't just a concept either – Nikola is taking reservations (though it isn't divulging the price yet) and hopes to start shipping in the mid-2020s.

Meanwhile, on land...

The Wav was one of five zero-emission vehicles Nikola unveiled at an event in Arizona on Tuesday. The company also took the wraps off two semi-trucks (the Nikola Two and Tre) and the Reckless, a military ATV.

For those with a taste for fun, it also revealed an electric off-road vehicle called the NZT, which stands for Net Zero Toll and resembles a dune buggy crossed with a Smart car.

Like the other vehicles on show, the NZT is fully electric. It boasts a range of up to 150 miles, front and rear cameras, a low center of gravity for stability, 3,000lb towing capacity, and a 13-inch infotainment display for those dreary moments on the dunes.

The NZT is also fully waterproof, and can be safely submerged up to a meter, meaning it won't be troubled by snow or wet crossings on the trails.

It's available to reserve now with a starting price of $80,000 (about £60,000 / AU$112,000), and is expected to go into production in 2021, giving you a little time to save up.

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ExpressVPN inches closer to a 100% secure server with TrustedServer initiative

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:48 AM PDT

Popular VPN provider ExpressVPN has introduced a new server platform called TrustedServer, one which runs on system memory (Random Access Memory) without the need to have local storage (hard disk drives or solid state drives).

Doing so means that as soon as a computer is shut down, all the information on the server vanishes and cannot - in theory - be recovered. The next time the server is rebooted, a fresh version of the stack (the operating system and the VPN infrastructure running above it) is spawned, like a brand new PC.

This is an inhouse technology developed by ExpressVPN, an industry first for the market, but one that has proved popular in enterprise where in-memory computing (IMC) helps businesses speed up transactions- SAP HANA relational database management system being perhaps the most well known example.

A new dawn in privacy for VPN

The software stack has been deployed on the entire server range (3000+) that ExpressVPN operates and comes from a single cryptographically signed read-only image, which eliminates any risk associated with misconfigurations or obsolete/unpatched software.

This approach, ExpressVPN explains, is different from traditional containerization on bare metal servers as there’s no host OS to speak off as the stack integrates the host OS and is loaded every time.

The TrustedServer initiative brings the concept of a 100% secure server closer but is still - technically - vulnerable to Spectre-type vulnerabilities when an attacker uses a running program to access the system memory. But the chances of this happening are infinitesimal and would first require a catastrophic chain-of-events to happen.

ExpressVPN has confirmed that it will be releasing more details about TrustedServer and we will amend this article with relevant updates in due course.

  • ExpressVPN is currently ranked as the top VPN in our best VPN buyers guide and they've let us have a special offer just for TechRadar readers...

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10 best Android phones 2019: which should you buy?

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:44 AM PDT

If you're on the hunt for the best Android smartphone around, you've come to the right place. We've put all the major Google-powered handsets through their paces to give you our best Android phones round-down.

There's one key way in which Android is massively different from its Apple-branded smartphone competition - the number of phones out there running Google's hot mobile OS.

Update: The Huawei P30 Pro and Huawei P30 have all been through our in-depth review process and they've managed to nab a place in our best Android phone list. Read on to find out where they place.

The big names are all here. The many variations in screen size, processor power, software features and design makes finding the best Android phone for you extremely tough.

And it's set to get tougher, with the Nokia 9 PureView set for a full review soon, plus with the launch of the Sony Xperia 1, LG G8, LG G8S and V50 ThinQ our best Android phones list could witness more changes over the coming weeks.

To help find the most fitting Android phone for you, we've rounded up the best Android handsets out there today, rating the phones on hardware performance, OS upgrade potential and, of course, how shiny and nice they are to have and boast about to work colleagues.

So here they are - the best Android phones money can buy today.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is the best Android phone you can buy right now, packing the best of what Samsung has to offer.

It's a big phone that's designed for big hands - and it takes the very best of what's on the smartphone market and puts it together in a compelling package that we've loved testing.

The Super AMOLED 6.4-inch display has been measured as the very best around, with super colours, plus there's a fingerprint scanner embedded in the display.

Battery life is an improvement over the S9 Plus, thanks to the larger 4,100mAh battery inside and you also get Samsung's new Wireless PowerShare, allowing you to wirelessly charge other devices on the rear of the handset.

The trio of cameras on the rear of the Galaxy S10 Plus are among the best on the market, offering more features, shooting modes and overall clarity. 

Read more: Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus review

Best Android Phone

Image Credit: TechRadar

The Huawei P30 Pro could be the best Android phone we've used when it comes to photography. Its 5x and 10x zoom capabilities are staggeringly good. It also performs fantastically well in low light.

For those who really want to get up close to their subject, the P30 Pro also offers a 50x digital zoom, and although quality is reduced it's still impressive.

You also get plenty of power under the hood, an in-display fingerprint scanner, premium design and wireless charging with the ability to wireless charge other devices from the back of the P30 Pro.

It's a top, top Android phone and only narrowly misses out on top spot due to the Galaxy S10 Plus' overall slicker and more rounded smartphone experience.

Read more: Huawei P30 Pro review

Samsung Galaxy S10

Image Credit: TechRadar

It's close at the top, with Huawei snapping at Samsung's heels it's never been tougher for the South Korean firm, but the Galaxy S10 still manages to muscle its way into number three spot.

The bigger S10 Plus is by far Samsung's best phone, but the standard S10 backs almost all the same top-end features into a more compact form factor and slightly lower price tag (but still steep).

The Samsung Galaxy S10 gets proper under-the-hood upgrades. You’ll like all of these powerful features, while your friends will like the new Wireless PowerShare perk – it helps them out more than you. 

Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S10 review

Image Credit: TechRadar

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro offers up a heady mix of design, power and performance with a party piece in the form of an in-display fingerprint scanner thrown in too.

The Mate 20 Pro packs a huge 6.39-inch display giving you a lots of space for gaming and movies, and its QHD resolution and HDR10 support ensures everything looks great.

It also comes with three rear cameras, nabbing the excellent 40MP wide-angle and 8MP telephoto lenses from the P20 Pro - but the third sensor is new. It's an ultra-wide 16MP snapper allowing you to cram even more of your surroundings into each shot.

The Mate 20 Pro is a full-featured phone for a full-featured price - it even has a few tricks you won’t see elsewhere, and more powerful specs than most of its competitors.

Read more: Huawei Mate 20 Pro review

Best Android phones 2019

Image Credit: Samsung

The South Korean features again with Galaxy Note 9 in at five in our best Android phones lists.

The Galaxy Note 9 boasts a huge screen and a huge amount of power under the hood, plus there's the iconic S Pen stylus which slides into the body of the phone for safe keeping.

It means the Note 9 offers a huge array of productivity functions few phones can compete with, but the overall package isn't quite as finessed as the Galaxy S10 Plus - not to mention its high price tag.

For power users who want a phone that will doing pretty much anything they ask of it, the Galaxy Note 9 is a top choice.

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Image Credit: TechRadar

What's this? Another Huawei phone in the top ten? Your eyes do not deceive you, the Huawei P30 really is sixth in our best Android phone rundown.

It has a smaller screen than the P30 Pro, and makes do with just the three rear cameras (rather than four) and a maximum zoom of 30x, but it's still a great Android phone.

There's heaps of power, a handy headphone jack (something the Pro can't boast) and a more manageable form factor for one-handed use. And of course, it's a little cheaper too.

Read our full Huawei P30 review

Best Android phones 2019

Image Credit: TechRadar

If you're looking for a the best camera phone on the market, look no further. The single rear snapper on the Google Pixel 3 XL (and the smaller Pixel 3) is the best we've come across.

You also get a big screen, decent battery life and plenty of power under the hood, making the Google Pixel 3 XL a great all-round flagship smartphone.

The Google Pixel 3 XL marries the best camera phone we’ve ever tested with a sizable OLED screen. It’s the right fit for people who don’t mind the notch cut out at the top and have already adjusted their grip for bigger smartphones in the past.

Read more: Google Pixel 3 XL review

Image Credit: TechRadar

Like the look of the new S10 and S10 Plus, but not a fan of their lofty price tags? Well fear not, as Samsung has catered for you with the Galaxy S10e.

The Galaxy S10e has many of the flagship features of its pricier siblings, while offering a more palm-friendly size and a few compromises to help keep the cost down.

It’s hard not to recommend the S10e to anyone who prefers a smaller phone. Size queens, look elsewhere - this smartphone is for folks who want to text and browse apps one-handed without compromising performance.

Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S10e review

Best Android phones 2019

Image Credit: TechRadar

The price of flagship phones are rising every year, but you don't need to pay top dollar for a top-notch experience.

OnePlus offers flagship phones at a lower price point and while its first few handsets didn't trouble the established names, its more recent efforts have really pushed the likes of Samsung, Apple and co. 

You get the latest flagship power under the hood, a huge screen, dual rear cameras and an in-display fingerprint scanner included with the OnePlus 6T.

The OnePlus 6T is a good-looking and powerful smartphone that can compete with handsets from the larger and more established brands on the market while undercutting them in price.

Read more: OnePlus 6T review

The Honor View 20 is the best phone to come out of the Chinese brand, with a striking rear design (which may divide opinion), plenty of power under the hood, an impressive 48MP camera and a 'punch-hole' display which ushers in the post-notch revolution.

There's a huge 6.4-inch display on the View 20, giving you plenty of space to play with. It's the location of the front-facing, 25MP camera within the screen which is the real talking point though, as rather than appearing in a bezel or a notch which juts into the screen, it's surround by screen. 

The Honor View 20 has a big 4,000mAh and the result is a battery which will comfortably last through an entire day and into the next on a single charge. It's also the world's first smartphone to boast a 48MP rear camera, as the firm has used Sony's new sensor to provide a camera which really packs a punch.

An ultra-high-resolution camera and punch hole screen are the highlights on the Honor View 20, and they set a standard this year’s more expensive phones will need to match.

Read more: Honor View 20 review

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OnePlus 7 release date, price, news and rumors

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:31 AM PDT

The OnePlus 7 launch is edging ever closer, with more and more details about the upcoming handset (or is that handsets?) appearing online.

We've rounded up all the OnePlus 7 leaks below, to give you an idea of what you can expect from the firm's next flagship handset, which will compete with the best smartphones – and especially the best Android smartphones – coming out in 2019.

OnePlus has even told us one core feature about its next handset, the OnePlus 7 will likely be one of the first phones to support 5G. But it may not arrive on its own, with rumors pointing to a OnePlus 7 Pro as well as the standard OnePlus 7. 

We should learn more on April 17 as the company has teased it will be announcing something then.

Update: The OnePlus 7 Pro could have a QHD+ screen with a very high refresh rate, with the latter being both leaked and seemingly teased by OnePlus itself, while other specs of the phone have also been leaked and another leak has detailed many of the possible differences between the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Below you'll find everything that we've heard so far, and we’ll be sure to add any leaks and rumors on the OnePlus 7 to this page when we hear them.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The next numbered phone from OnePlus
  • When is it out? Likely mid-2019
  • What will it cost? Probably at least $549 / £499 / AU$599

OnePlus 7 release date and price

The OnePlus 7 will probably land sometime in the middle of 2019. The OnePlus 6 was announced on May 16 2018, so a OnePlus 7 launch date of May 2019 is a possibility.

That fits nicely with a OnePlus 7 launch date leak which pegs the device's arrival for May 14. That's a date that we've now heard more than once.

However, the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 3 arrived in June of their respective years, so June 2019 is also a possible launch period. 

We expect OnePlus to keep with May though, which means a OnePlus 7 release date of May 2019 is also very much on the cards.

There's no word on the OnePlus 7 price, but the OnePlus 6T - the most recent handset from the firm - launched at $549 / £499 / AU$599 and prices have been gradually creeping up since the range began, so we’d expect the OnePlus 7 will cost at least that much if not more.

If you want 5G though you might have to pay more. OnePlus has confirmed that it's working on a 5G phone and while it's not known whether the OnePlus 7 will support 5G, the company's CEO has said that its 5G handset will cost between $200 and $300 more than its next 4G device.

We know the company is working on both a 5G and a 4G phone, but it's not clear whether the 5G phone is a variant or a completely different model. Either way though you should be able to get a OnePlus 4G phone if you're not up for paying that much.

And in the US you might be able to buy it from a carrier for the first time, as this is something OnePlus has said it's looking into, so you might not have to pay the whole cost upfront.

OnePlus 7

Image Credit: TechRadar

OnePlus 7 news and rumors

We've seen numerous images seemingly showing the OnePlus 7, with the clearest look coming from the renders below, which show an almost bezel-free screen with a pop-up selfie camera, while the back has a triple-lens camera.

You can also see this design in some renders from a case-maker. The pop-up selfie camera isn't visible, but a cut-out in the cases to make space for it is. These images can be seen below.

That same design was suggested in leaked photos too, some of which show an all-screen design with no visible selfie camera, and one of which shows a raised section slightly above the screen, which could be part of the mechanism for a slide-out camera.

Since then we've seen other photos, but these supposedly show the 'OnePlus 7 Pro', which according to another source is one of three upcoming models - the other two being the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G.

The photos of the OnePlus 7 Pro can be seen below, showing a curved screen and no top bezel. The images also list the phone as having a 6.67-inch screen, a Snapdragon 855 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and three cameras, with 48MP, 16MP and 8MP lenses.

Image Credit: IT station (Weibo)

It seems that all of the images showing a phone with a pop-up camera might actually be the OnePlus 7 Pro though, according to a recent leak, which included renders supposedly showing the standard OnePlus 7.

You can see these below. They look a lot like the OnePlus 6T, with a teardrop notch rather than a pop-up camera and two rather than three rear cameras, though unlike the 6T the flash is inside the camera block, and the screen is apparently 6.2 inches (where the 6T is 6.41).

Since then we've heard more details about the possible specs of the OnePlus 7 Pro. According to a reliable source, the OnePlus 7 Pro has a QHD+ Super AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate.

That makes it higher resolution than any current OnePlus handset and with a higher refresh rate than most phones from any company. A high refresh rate can make interactions feel smoother.

While this is the first we've heard of such a high refresh rate, it looks likely to be the case, as the CEO of OnePlus has also tweeted a teaser saying that the next product from the company will not just be fast but also smooth.

The same source as those screen details above came from also says that the OnePlus 7 Pro has dual speakers, a 4,000mAh battery with 30W Warp Charge (a speedy charging tech), and a triple-lens rear camera, including both a telephoto lens and a wide-angle one.

And another source has outlined some of the possible differences between the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro.

They say that while the OnePlus 7 has a 6.4-inch flat screen, the 7 Pro has a 6.64-inch curved one, and that as the pictures above show the OnePlus 7 has a teardrop notch, while the Pro has a pop-up camera and no notch.

They also say that there are two rear cameras on the OnePlus 7, with one of them being 48MP. The OnePlus 7 Pro also apparently has a 48MP lens, but joined by two others - a telephoto one and an ultra-wide one.

They also mention the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, which sounds to have the same specs as the standard Pro model, just with 5G on board. That's believable, as the company has previously claimed that it will launch one of the first 5G phones this year. 

The OnePlus 7 isn't named, but that's possibly what they're talking about (though the company's first 5G-capable phone might end up being the next one released, the OnePlus 7T).

Likewise, the company announced it will release the first 5G phone in Europe. OnePlus is partnering with the UK network EE to bring said phone to the UK at some point in 2019.

A prototype of that phone has been shown off, complete with a Snapdragon 855 chipset and what appears to be a 21:9 screen - though elsewhere there are reports that the final device won't have a 21:9 screen, and nor will it have wireless charging.

But it's entirely possible that the OnePlus 7 won't be the 5G-connected phone the company has been talking about. Sources said that the 5G device will be the first in an entirely new line, and another rumor hinted that it may start at $649 (or $100 more than the 6T).

That said, as noted above, more than one source reckons the 5G phone will be called the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, suggesting it will be a version of the OnePlus 7.

We've also seen possible case renders for the 5G model, which you can see below. We'd take these with a huge side of salt though, as they look more like the OnePlus 6T than most of the OnePlus 7 leaks we're seeing. 

They do look similar to some renders above, supposedly showing the standard OnePlus 7, but we'd expect the 5G model to be more in line with the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Beyond all this, the OnePlus 7 will probably have a glass back, since OnePlus only recently switched to glass with the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T.

It’s likely to also have an alert slider, since previous handsets in the range do, and it’s sure to have the best Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset available - the Snapdragon 855.

The OnePlus 7 is sure to also have loads of RAM. The OnePlus 6T tops out at 8GB and the company has also launched OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition which has 10GB of RAM, so the OnePlus 7 may well match that.

Don’t expect a microSD card slot though based on past form and the screen resolution is very much a question mark – OnePlus has consistently stuck with Full HD resolutions, but that’s feeling ever more dated so sooner or later we’d expect a switch to QHD or higher.

Since the 6T got rid of the headphone jack, it's likely OnePlus won't bring it back for the 7.

What we want to see

We don’t know anything much about the OnePlus 7 yet but based on the OnePlus 6 and what’s going on in the rest of the phone world we know what we want from it.

1. A QHD screen

The OnePlus 6 has a good screen, but it could stand to be sharper

OnePlus always packs its phones full of cutting-edge specs and features, yet it always sticks with a Full HD screen, which isn’t a match for most of the top-end flagships.

That may well be keeping costs down, but it’s time the range made the jump to QHD, especially given that its screens are getting bigger, so we want to see that happen for the OnePlus 7.

2. A microSD card slot

You can get a decent amount of storage in the OnePlus 6 but you don’t get a microSD card slot, so if the amount it ships with isn’t enough you’ll have to start deleting things.

That’s not ideal and while the 256GB top size should be plenty for most people it won’t be for everyone – especially those who plan to pack their phone full of music, films and games. So adding a slot into the OnePlus 7 would be much appreciated.

3. Proper water resistance

The OnePlus 6 should survive a spill, but we want more of a guarantee from the OnePlus 7

The OnePlus 6 has some water resistance, but it doesn’t have an IP rating. So it should be able to survive a splash if you dry it off quickly but can’t really be put in the water.

Not that we’d advise doing that in general with most phones, but knowing that it would survive if you did – or if you use it in heavy rain - could give some real peace of mind that you don’t get with the OnePlus 6, so we’d like to see this improved for the OnePlus 7.

4. Stereo speakers

The OnePlus 6 has just a single speaker, and its placement at the base of the phone makes it easy to muffle, so we’d like to see it ideally moved and definitely doubled up for the OnePlus 7, with a second speaker allowing for loud stereo sound.

Sure, you’ll probably mostly use headphones anyway, but having a quality speaker setup can make all the difference when you just want to watch a YouTube video or listen to a podcast without plugging in.

5. No notch

For the OnePlus 7 we want no notch and no bezels

The OnePlus 6T is one of many recent phones to get a notch, and while it can be hidden if you prefer, what we’d really prefer for the OnePlus 7 is no notch at all.

But we don’t want a return to big bezels either. We’re starting to see phones like the Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X which have almost no bezel at all and we’d like the OnePlus 7 to join them. This isn’t out of the question, especially as Oppo is heavily linked with OnePlus. In fact, current leaks point in this direction.

6. Wireless charging

Despite having a glass back, the OnePlus 6 doesn’t support wireless charging, which seems like a major omission for a flagship phone.

This is probably a cost-cutting measure and, in a sense, seems reasonable, since we doubt wireless charging is a heavily used feature, but it would be nice to have.

7. An in-screen camera

Along with an all-screen design we’d like the OnePlus 7 to have an in-screen camera. Most leaks point in the direction of a pop-up solution, but an in-screen one would be so much more elegant.

We don't think this is likely for the OnePlus 7, but you never know. After all, just such a camera has been rumored for at least one phone.

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The cheapest Nintendo Switch bundles and deal prices in the April sales 2019

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:26 AM PDT

So you're into 2019 now and still haven't found any cheap Nintendo Switch bundles to suit you? Well, let's see what we can do about that as we scour the net for the hottest Nintendo Switch deal prices.

We're listing all of the best Nintendo Switch sales right here and we're always on the the lookout for the best bundles with extra games, controllers and other accessories so we can share them with you while they're hot. Scroll past the bundles on this page and we'll show you prices on extra Joy-Con and Pro controllers and Nintendo Switch memory cards too. If you want to play online multiplayer and get other benefits like free games you'll want to pick up a Nintendo Switch Online subscription deal too.

US Nintendo Switch bundles are small in number this week, but we've rounded up the best ones, including packs with extra games or accessories. In the UK you can find plenty with the best Nintendo Switch games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe and more all with a decent discount too. You'll find all the cheapest Nintendo Switch bundles from reliable retailers below.

If you're looking for another dose of Nintendo's handheld happiness then maybe you want to consider a cheap 3DS deal too. We have a dedicated page of Nintendo Switch prices for our Australian readers too.

The latest cheap Nintendo Switch deals

Want to know where to buy a Nintendo Switch? Check out our comparison charts and the latest bundle highlights with extra games and accessories below for the best deals. Don't forget, on its own, the MSRP/RRP Nintendo Switch price is $299/£279, so you don't want to pay more than that unless you're getting some extras.

We've highlighted our picks of the best and cheapest Nintendo Switch bundles below. Just be aware that many game bundles at quieter times of the year don't really offer much of a discount over buying the items separately. We'll steer you clear of console bundles that actively charge you more than the regular combined MSRP (not cool, guys!).

The UK scene for discounted Nintendo Switch deals is quite competitive thanks to the large number of retailers trying to get your business. We usually find a strong selection of bundles every week nowadays, even in those quieter times of year not particularly known for sales. So take a look below for discounts on packages with games, hardware and accessories.

As with any new console we imagine you're wanting to know a bit more about the console before you put any money down. So in addition to finding the best Nintendo Switch bundle deals, we're going to help bring in answers to the burning questions.

Nintendo Switch Joy-con controller deals

What are the Joy-Con controllers?

The Joy-Con controller is actually a pair of controllers that attach to the sides the the Nintendo Switch when not in use or when playing in tablet form away from the TV. When playing the Nintendo Switch on the TV, you can remove them and play with one in each hand. The left hand gets a controller with an analogue stick and d-pad, the right hand handles the one with a second analogue and the usual A, B, X and Y face buttons. Or you and a friend can use one each in multiplayer games with the d-pad doubling up as impromptu face buttons. 

You get a pair with the console, but you might want to buy more to allow extra players to get involved in games like Mario Kart 8, FIFA 18 and many more. Or maybe you just fancy some different colors for your own use.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Grip controller

What's the Joy-Con Grip controller?

The Joy-Con Grip is an additional accessory that joins the two Joy-Con controllers together, forming something something a bit more solid for you to hold thanks to the extended handles and plastic block between the two sides. The square dimension form-factor may remind older gamers of the Dreamcast controller, while everyone else will mainly be thinking how it resembles an odd-looking dog face. Nintendo is providing one in the box with the Nintendo Switch, so you won't have to buy one separately. This won't charge your controller though and doesn't have a battery pack.

Yes and it doesn't come with the console. But you won't actually need one to play any games, so don't feel pressured in to buying one. The Nintendo Switch Pro controller is a more traditional-style pad and launched alongside the Nintendo Switch. Prices aren't cheap though, starting around $69.99/£64.99. There's currently no sign of a Nintendo Switch Premium Edition console with one included.

Do I need to buy extra controllers for multiplayer on Nintendo Switch?

Possibly not! Remember how the Joy-Con controller splits in two? Turn them sideways and you get two basic controllers, each with their own analogue stick and face buttons - the d-pad acts as face functions on the left controller. So far we've seen 2K's NBA series, Snipper Clips and Mario Kart being used this way for local multiplayer in both docked and tablet modes. So you get multiplayer functionality straight out of the box with no additional purchase required.

However, if you want to play four-player games, then you're going to need to invest in an extra pair of Joy-Con controllers or some Pro controllers. We'd buy the Joy-Cons as a pair (see our comparison chart above) as you'll save a bit of cash over buying them separately. Better yet, if your friends own a Switch, ask them to bring their controllers to the party!

Super Mario Odyssey deals

This has been one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch so far and an absolute must for Mario and platforming fans. Like Zelda below though, this being a first-party Nintendo title, it's taking forever to go down in price. It's slowly happening though, so we've rounded up the cheapest Super Mario Odyssey prices for you below. If you're not getting this game in a bundle, we'd strongly advise picking it up separately as soon as possible.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild deals

The reviews have heaped huge praise upon this eagerly awaited launch title, making it an essential purchase for any Nintendo Switch buyer. As with any new console, the prices of the big games can be more expensive than usual. We've shopped around for you though and have found the best prices for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch. Take a look below.

With only 32GB of internal storage, you'll be wanting to pick up a cheap memory card or two for your new Nintendo Switch for any digital purchases or the inevitable game-fixing patches. Don't fret though, they're actually surprisingly cheap, with even 64GB ones coming in at under £20/$25.

What memory cards does the Nintendo Switch need? Those will be Micro SD cards also known as, depending on their size, as MicroSDHC (up to 32GB) or MicroSDXC (up to a huge 2TB soon). Nintendo also has their own branded cards, but you'll be paying more, just for a label. So for now, we'd take a look at this range of cheap MicroSDXC Nintendo Switch-friendly cards.

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Degoo offers 200GB free cloud storage to TechRadar readers

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:12 AM PDT

Cloud storage company, Degoo, is not a household name. But it has managed to carve itself a niche inside the busy cloud storage market with two offerings that have attracted more than 15 million users over the past seven years with an estimated 20,000 people joining Degoo every day.

The Swedish company has teamed up with TechRadar to deliver an even better deal - get 200GB free cloud storage for a year with no strings attached. After 12 months, this will revert back to its regular 100GB package which is still plenty for most. Note that the free version carries adverts in the feed on Android. 

One of the cheapest cloud storage offers

Even better, you can get a staggering 10TB for just $99.99 for two years. That’s a 58% saving off from the standard price of $9.99 per month and is exclusive to TechRadar. It's a price that's far less than the cloud storage competition. iDrive for example charges $149.25 for 5TB for two years while pCloud charges $170 for 2TB for two years. 

Unlike some competitors, there’s no file size limits and you don’t need another Degoo account to receive files. Uploaded files are encrypted in chunks (zero knowledge encryption) and spread out to data centers on four continents to eliminate the risk of having your account compromised.

Carl Hasselkog, CEO of Degoo, told TechRadar that its infrastructure is five times more efficient than Dropbox per stored byte. The free version has basic storage replication and no zero knowledge encryption plus a 90-day account inactivity limit.

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The best Android apps to download in 2019

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:05 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.

App Tiles

Free

If there are any apps that you pretty much live inside then App Tiles could be for you, as it makes accessing them even quicker and easier.

It does this by letting you add a shortcut to them on your notifications screen, just like you probably have shortcuts to various settings up there now.

App Tiles lets you assign up to six such shortcuts for any apps on your phone, so rather than returning to the home screen to launch one of them you can do so with a swipe and a tap.

This won’t always be faster, especially if you’re already on the relevant home screen, but it gives you one more way to get into them and is sure to save time on some occasions. We wouldn’t say this is essential for everyone, but it works perfectly in our tests and it’s totally free, so it’s well worth checking out if the idea appeals.

Opera Browser

Free

Opera Browser is nothing new, but it has had an update making it better than ever, with a free VPN built in.

This optional feature gives you greater privacy and security while browsing and is something you’d usually need a separate app and often a paid subscription for, so it’s a great addition.

Beyond that, this is mostly the same fast, slick browser it’s always been. It includes things like an ad blocker and a data saving mode, plus night and private modes and a personalized news feed, and it comes from a trusted name that’s been making browsers for years.

It can be tempting just to stick with Chrome, but if you’ve never tried Opera Browser there’s never been a better time to.

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.

Learn Java Pro

$3/£3

Learn Java Pro is one of many apps focused on teaching you to code – in this case in Java, but where most take you through bite-sized exercises, this has both a coding area (where you can practice your Java skills) and an extensive library of tutorials taking you through basic and advanced aspects of Java.

These tutorials aren’t interactive as such; they’re more like a textbook, which is the part of learning that’s missing from many other coding apps. But there’s a shortcut to the coding area at the top right corner of each tutorial, so you’re never more than a tap away from practicing what you’ve learnt.

There’s also a library of practice programs, plus various questions and answers related to all things Java. Learn Java Pro works offline so you can read and practice anywhere, and all of the content is available for the one low price listed above, so while it’s not free it’s still rather generous and a great learning tool.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Pocket Casts

$3.99/£3.99

Pocket Casts has long been our podcast player of choice, but it’s a very different beast today to what it once was, thanks to a major update bringing it to version 7.

It’s an update that’s mostly for the better in our opinion, but not without its critics. Love it or hate it though, it’s a big enough overhaul to warrant highlighting Pocket Casts again. It also makes the app worth revisiting if you tried it before but didn’t get on with the old version.

The changes include a whole new look and a wealth of new features, such as up-next syncing, listening history, the ability to play podcasts without subscribing, improved recommendations, the ability to search for specific episodes, new swipe controls, a draggable player and a whole lot more.

If you’re used to the old version of the app then version 7 will take some getting used to, but we reckon most people will come to love it.

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.

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.

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

Free + $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 genuinely useful and different twist on weather forecasts.

The only downside is that after a two-week free trial you have to either put up with ads or pay a subscription, which will cost you $3.99/£3.69 per year. We'd have preferred to see a one-off payment option, but if you use the app regularly it should be worth the outlay.

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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