Best new apps

Hope Corrigan reviews the most interesting new apps for iOS and Android.

Recolour the Reef ONE DOWNLOAD AT A TIME.

Android/iOS, Free

According to the app listing, every download of Recolour the Reef over the next couple of months will donate some amount to conservation efforts for the great Barrier Reef. After a bit of research it seems legit and is backed by big brand Oppo, so yeah, definitely download this app. From there you’ll get a small AR experience where you can use a slider to watch the reef die. The further you move the slider into global warming and pollution the less coral and fish you see. It’s pretty basic and was quite slow and clunky on my quite powerful phone. It might be a cool explainer for kids, but other than that the app is pretty pointless. There’s a few other pages with some information but it does feel pretty bare bones. Still worth downloading it to support the reef though. Just wouldn’t bother too much with actually using it.

Rock Identifier ROCK ID.

Android, Free

I think after trying enough plant identification apps, the internet finally decided to throw Rock Identifier app into my path. The first thing I did after downloading the app was take a photo of a crinkled tissue, the app identified it as a quartz. Next my dog, and the app picked a white fluffy looking crystal and you know, fair. I tried some actual rocks outside but they all came back as petrified wood. One was a river pebble, another was just a big random rock. I don’t think any were actually petrified wood. I then tried a few different more gem style rocks. Tiger eye, jade, and the likes. The hit rate for these was much higher though still a few incorrect answers. I don’t think this app will be much help in identifying random rocks you see in the wild, but it might give you some insight into any slightly more collectible specimens.

Bitwarden KEEPER OF THE KEYS.

Android/iOS, Free/subs

Password manager apps are always a good idea, so long as they’re a good app. They should securely keep your passwords so that you don’t have to remember them. This allows you to be more unique and creative with your passwords, which is better for security, while not needing to remember every goddamned one of them. Last Pass was king of the hill but has since moved most options to a paid model. This has pushed tonnes of users to Bitwarden and after checking it out, I can see why. It’s easy to import your passwords from another app or Chrome, appears to have good security measures, and it works. After toggling some settings I can use this to autofill passwords all over my device with one touch. It’s also giving me a good system to go through and update some of my passwords, which lets face it, we should all be doing much more often.

Lake: Colouring Books ACTUAL COLOURING.

iOS, Free/ $59.99 per year

After finally discovering the lameness that is most digital colouring in book apps, I’ve come across Lake. It has a far wider range of styles and subject matter than most of these apps I’ve seen. It was cool to browse collections based on things like architecture, with tonnes of different styles. But what’s really nice is it actually feels a bit more like colouring in than most apps I’ve tried. As the colourist, you get to pick the colours – which is a refreshing change. You are often provided with premade pallets which are generally quite nice but you can also change them. There’s different digital tools too so you can create different effects in your colouring. You can even do multiple colours and shades on the same object, or you can just click about to fully colour things in. I’m still not sold that digital colouring in books are for me, but if any have come close, so far it’s Lake.

Typewise Custom Keyboard - Big Keys, Emoji & Fonts DO WE REALLY NEED IT?

Android/iOS, Free/$38.99

I bet you’re sick of regular phone and tablet keyboards that work totally fine and want to learn an entirely new experience. Well good news because Typewise may actually make it worth your while. Typewise is a keyboard that’s main and first goal is privacy, so if you want to move away from another keyboard that maybe doesn’t respect that so much it’s a decent choice. However, it goes a bit further, a bit weirder, and a bit cooler than that. Typewise has a specially developed hexagon keyboard that is said to improve typing speeds. It takes some learning but it has a cute tutorial and even a browser-based game you can play to get better. It also has a regular keyboard configuration if you want to keep things simple. What I really enjoy so far is the gesture support.

Drops Language Learning & Vocabulary App by Kahoot DROP SOME KNOWLEDGE.

iOS/Android, Free/subs

There’s quite a few different language learning apps around, and as Drops was in a recommended list I figured it was worth a try. It hosts a plethora of different languages to choose from, and then teaches them to you using a drag and drop method. It’s very simple and nicely tactile with clear instructions. Most of the motions are larger sweeping ones rather than needing any fine controls, so it feels like an app that will be accessible to many. I also enjoy the way it breaks up languages into topics so you can specifically learn about something that might be relevant to you. I started with Japanese, and the main complaint I have is it felt like most words were loaner English, which is common but doesn’t feel like you’re learning all that much.