New apps for every platform
Hope Corrigan reviews the most interesting new apps for iOS and Android.
Basecamp 3 A GREAT WAY TO WORK.
Basecamp 3 is a workplace productivity suite designed for groups working remotely and from home. It’s a onestop place for messaging, boards, and projects for an organisation. If you’re familiar with Slack, Trello, and general email, combine them and you kind of get Basecamp 3. It has a few extra little touches like being able to set up check-in questions to encourage chatting outside of just the usual work drudge. The only downside to Basecamp 3 is navigating it can be confusing. This is getting better the more I use it and the more we find ways that work, plus there are helpful tutorials you can watch to get the most out of the program. It charges a flat rate for a whole team rather than per user, so though the price might feel a bit steep it can work out a lot cheaper especially given it’s so many things in one. There’s also a free trial and a free limited version so you can see if this system will work before committing the cash.
Fluid Simulation - Trippy Stress Reliever THE LIGHT FANTASTIC.
Many new phones have beautiful vivid high refresh rate screens. I know because I recently became the owner of one and I’m yet to find an app that shows it off better than Fluid. It’s a visual viscosity app, in that you use touch controls to draw beautiful light patterns made of smoke and water in darkness. You can change a bunch of the settings to customise how these look and work, but that’s essentially it. It’s not the first of it’s kind but I found it had more customisation than some others I’ve seen, and it’s on Google’s pass subscription as a bonus. You can even set it as a live wallpaper if you want, but I found that my general use didn’t activate it enough to feel worth the battery drain. Fluid is a show off app. You open it when you want to be reminded why your fancy phone costs so much money and to impress other people. For those purposes, it works.
Xbox Game Streaming (Preview) XBOX XPHONE.
If you have an Xbox One console and an Android phone, you can now use the Xbox Game Streaming app to play Xbox games on your phone and it’s really freaking cool. The app takes you through a connection process with your Xbox that gives you an idea of your bandwidth to stream. Then all you need on top is a wireless Bluetooth controller to pair with your phone, which many of the new Xbox controllers already are. My connection warned me I might not have the optimal experience but I’ve only noticed latency when also downloading. It also doesn’t support all games yet, but if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription you’ll have plenty to try. Other than that, it’s basically like I have a portable little Xbox in my hand now. Your mileage may vary depending on your home internet set up, your Xbox One, and your mobile device. But it’s totally free and likely to only get better.
Steamlink P(HONE)C.
Xbox on a phone is nice, but I hear the PC gamers cry out – “what about us?” and that’s where Steamlink comes in. It’s not a new app by any means but on today’s larger phones it makes a lot more sense. Steamlink is quite similar to the Xbox offering but instead it works with the popular PC gaming platform Steam. What’s quite useful about this is Steam lets you add games from other services on your PC so you can end up streaming a lot more than your Steam games. Steamlink also has a few options over the Xbox app like being able to place onscreen buttons to use as a controller. However, I also found the experience to also be a bit jankier. Menus especially had a low resolution and it seemed to have more connection issues. Again, a lot of this will depend on your home setup, including your connections, phone, and PC, but it’s super cool to have the option.
Pixaloop 3D - Photo Animator LOOP IT, ANIMATE IT...
I’m just going to be honest and admit that this app was advertised to me on Facebook and it worked. Pixaloop showed me an animated image with distorted edges that turn into shapes and bleed into the world around them. I’ve been making incredibly dumb moving pics with it ever since. The free version gives you a good peek at the tools and I managed to create a lot of fun moving pictures of things like my dogs with their outlines exploding into hearts, or a plant where the world swirls behind it yet it stays in focus. I was genuinely surprised by how much control I can have by anchoring points and moving others. Unfortunately, the paid version is entirely too expensive. It gives you a lot of cool extra options but many aren’t that different to the free effects and some are just boring stickers. You can also subscribe for a month if you want to try it like I did or want to make a one off.
Free, $4.99 to remove ads Android
Relay for reddit SMOOTH BRAIN.
This is another app that is by no means new, but does a really good job of bringing the best out of your new phone. Anyone browsing Reddit knows that the stock app is a bit wanting and those in the know use Relay. It allows you to create a home screen easily based on your subs, curate what you see and how it’s laid out, supports multiple accounts, and just looks much nicer. What I’m really appreciating now is how smooth it is. Scrolling through it on a high refresh rate screen is the nicest Reddit experience I’ve found. It also has really nice animations that I noticed in the past but never appreciated. On a larger screen all the options for how the feed looks combined with the smooth transitions are just a really good time. It’s still Reddit, and that comes with its own problems. However, if you are going to use Reddit, I can say it’s never looked as good as through Relay on a really nice phone.