5 Best Apps of the Week: The Anti-Yelp, A Gorg New Game + More
Big week in app world, guys! MEERKAT, the little live streamer that could, is fighting back from under oppressor Periscope to be the first of the two to make it to Android. Huge news, but not the only exciting (yes, I think apps are exciting) update your smartphone should be clearing up space for in this week’s best app list. Warning: While I try to keep this app roundup filled with free downloads, this week I’m going to suggest a few that ask you to cough up the dough for the DL. I suggest watching this video, sucking it up and getting down on the following downloads:
1. HeyLets: I have probably mentioned a time or two that I moved from NYC to SF within the last yearish, and am always on the lookout for apps that will help show me around town. This social city + travel guide is angling to be a new-and-improved Yelp, “powered by locals” (yup) and “built on positivity” (oh, that’s new!). Select your interests from a long list of categories and read or recommend experiences, local hotspots and must-dos in the city you love. By steering you toward what you’re already into with people who like what you like, an app like this COULD be the anti-Yelp, inspiring people to write up the compliment vs. the complaint about a particular place they visit.
DL It: Free on iOS
2. Camera51: This app really wants you to take better photos, so it’s going to do a couple things to help you. When you bust it open, it will automatically detect and analyze whether you’re a face, place or thing, then it will guide you to line up the perfect shot every time. Forget filters and cropping tools in your other apps — amateur photogs can actually learn a lot from the pro tips this app employs. And, yes, there is a seriously stellar auto selfie setting for those of you who take the long-arm shots on occasion…
DL It: Free on Android and iOS
3. Rhythm Necklace: This app taps (pun!) into a whole new creative part of your brain — the one that likes music! And music theory! And, at the very least, gorgeously designed game-like apps! The name of this download might make you wish it was, perhaps, a bead store on a beach somewhere, but what it is is even better: a sequencer for composing rhythmic loops, aka an app that lets you make dreamy tunes with shapes. You don’t need a degree in geometric music theory to compose or even understand what you’re creating with this app, but if you do have one of those, tell.me.more.
DL It: $2.99 on iOS
4. Thred: Is there room for another social network? The creator of my very favorite time waster of yore knowing everything there was to know about Hanson SimCity says yes, and it is this slideshow-building snapper that combines what you love about Tumblr with what you love about Instagram. And lets you add stickers and fun filters to the whole thing. Create your own digital stories with photos you took or photos you found on the web, add links to favorite places and even share favorite “threds” you click across in the endless shuffle of everything from photo slideshows to memes, reviews, even tutorials.
DL It: Free on iOS
5. Flying With Kids: Whether we’ve been the ‘rents with the bouncing bundles of joy on the airplane or we’ve been the person sitting next to/nearby the screaming infant + talkative toddler combo… we’ve all been there. This must-DL for the ‘rents, especially those flying with little ones for the first time, will have your back before and during your flight. This app provides a checklist for what to do/bring/DL and has helpful in-flight entertainment options (mesmerizing animations!) that little ones will love. I have no idea what happens when you press the app’s “Panic button” though, and I would suggest finding out before you’re in the air.
DL It: $1.99 on iOS
What was the last app you DLed? Dish below!