New apps for every platform
Hope Corrigan reviews the most interesting new apps for iOS and Android.
Access Dots
Ever swear your apps have to be listening to you or even using your camera without your permission? Well there are settings in pretty much all phones to limit this but sometimes it can be pretty difficult to tell. That’s where Access Dots comes in. This app will simply show you a dot on your screen whenever an app is using your camera or mic – much like iOS does natively. You can configure the colours and locations of these dots to stay out of your way or help catch your eye without paying a cent. Size and further customisations are behind a paywall but aren’t necessary. There’s even a log section which lets you see a history of apps accessing your mic and camera. This means if you don’t happen to catch them in the act but suspect later, as long as the app is installed they should show up. Because of the relatively light functionality, Access Dots is presented minimalistically, which makes it easy to use while still looking clean..
Watchworthy
There’s no denying that this pandemic has seen me fly through TV shows like never before. Many services like Netflix will recommend content based on your current shows but if you’re like me, you might be running a little dry. Watch Worthy aims to help you find your next binge by collating this information into a single app. It’s certainly not the first app to try something like this, but it is one of the newest. Simply start by telling it shows you did or didn’t like and you’ll get recommendations in kind. There are even curated selections based on other parameters. At first it showed me things I’d expect, based on my previous ratings but it did eventually open up into some more obscure choices. It was refreshing to find shows I’ve never heard of in the mix, and to be reminded of old forgotten favourites. I would recommend turning notifications for this one off, unless you’d like to be constantly reminded it exists.
NotificationHistory
Another way to solve those notification woes is with an app, and one of the newest gaining traction is Notification History. It bundles your notifications into a separate app. They’re still visible from the bar but potentially in less detail.
What I like about the Notification History app is exactly that – it saves your history. There’s a tab within the app that allows you to view past notifications already cleared. This is pretty handy if you’re like me and a bit quick to clear without looking properly. You can even save particular notifications if you want to check in on them later. Lastly, groups are a handy tool. This allows me to put things like my six different messaging apps all under the one umbrella. However, I’m not sold on the presentation. Notification History ignores my theme and dark mode settings. It also insists on keeping the icon visible at the top of the screen, which is bright orange and visibly jarring. Much like my last date, it’s just not nice enough looking to be a part of my every day. .
Keen
It is worth mentioning right off the bat this is an experimental app. So despite being made by Google, it has no guarantees when it comes to support, bugs, or longevity. This is unfortunate because Keen looks like a really cool tool that you’ll want to keep for the long haul. Keen is designed to help you focus on and curate your interests. It’s a lot like Pinterest, in that you create and curate boards based on a theme as well as follow other people’s. Keen stands out because it’s so crisp and easy to use. I can add links, pictures, images, text, whatever I like and it all looks fantastic and well organised. There’s also some seriously interesting boards where people are providing really helpful tools to learn about things like health and fitness, botany, and ancient Egyptian mummification practices. When I started using Keen I felt a sensation that this tool would help me sort my life out and explore my interests. That’s probably expecting far too much, but it’s worth downloading the app to find out.
Portal
Last issue I mentioned getting some Hue lights around my home and Portal is one of my favourite apps to go with them. Portal is essentially digital ambiance. It provides soundscapes of different natural environments and pairs your lights to go with them. You can be lost in a rainforest, chill by the seaside, or cozy up by the fire. The soundscapes are particularly good. Even after extensive listening while I noticed familiar sounds, I couldn’t pin-point a loop point. The lights are good as well, but I found myself adjusting them slightly to my preference – but the fact you can do that is great! There are also sleep timers, meditation settings, even the ability to run it alongside other apps like Spotify. You can listen to a podcast while still feeling transported to the mountains while rain falls around you. There’s a surprising amount of free content to try and if you like it, the paid extras are worth coughing up for. It’s also just super slick to use.
San Churro
I completely understand all of the immediate judgements that you have made about me for this inclusion, and let me just say you’re probably right. The dessert chain San Churro has recently changed over from their previous app, to this shiny new one. Given this one actually loads and lets me log in it seems infinitely better. It does what you’d want from a restaurant app. Shows you the menu, lets you make orders, and stores your loyalty details, like birthday rewards and accrued points. The release has come alongside some stores now doing dedicated delivery, so you can order that too if you don’t want to use another service. It’s nothing special but it’s pretty solid as far as your giant food chain apps go. The most notable thing is just how much better this one is than what they had before. The downside is it follows along with the rest of the rebrand in not using the old chocolate Jesus logo. Probably because people like me kept calling him Chocolate Jesus.