It’s the weekend again, and if you’ve found yourself looking for a way to fill the hours of a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of some great apps and games that were released this week, that we think are worth checking out.
Mosaic.
Baron Fig is well known for its line of simple, elegant notebooks, and it retains those traits in its first entry into the digital space with Mosaic.. The app is the epitome of a minimalistic notepad offering just a slim set of features, almost no settings and a simple gesture-based interface: tap and hold to reorganize your notes, swipe to delete them. Other notable attributes include the ability to add images to your notes, and the app’s well-polished design. This app is available for free.
Moleskin Timepage
Continuing the trend of notebook-makers-turned-developers is Moleskin, which launched a new app for iPhone and Apple Watch this week called Timepage. Moleskin describes Timepage as ” the most elegant calendar for your pocket and wrist,” and it includes a wide range of features. Among them are integrated weather forecasts, maps, and contacts for streamlined management, and a continuous timeline view that makes it easy to see your whole week at a glance. This app is available for $4.99.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
Oddly enough, the Geometry Wars franchise was born in 2003 as a minigame for Project Gotham Racing. Since then it has seen several iterations and made its way to mobile. The latest entry in the series, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, landed on iOS this week. It’s a loyal adaption of the game that was released last fall for PCs and consoles, and it offers strong features such as support for Metal and MFi controllers. If you’re a fan of dual-stick shooters, you have to check this out. This game is available for $4.99.
Google Cardboard
Among the many things Google announced at its I/O developer conference this week is that it launched an iOS version of its Google Cardboard app. The software uses technology that, when paired with a cardboard viewer, provides a 3D virtual reality experience. The app itself includes a few experiences to get you started, like Exhibit for viewing 3D museum objects, and Urban Hike, which enables you to walk through iconic cities around the world. Google is also releasing an SDK for Cardboard, so third-party developers can create apps and games. This app is available for free.
Lara Croft: Relic Run
It had to happen eventually, right? A Temple Run-like game starring archeologist-adventurer Lara Croft. That’s essentially what Relic Run is, which has you playing as Croft who must quickly make her way through beautiful environments by running, swinging, and sliding. There are quite a few add-ons here, though, including the ability to drive fast-paced vehicles like ATVs and motorcycles, and epic boss fights. Even non Tomb Raider fans may want to check this out as it seems like a solid endless runner. This game is available for free.
Pixelmator
This is technically an update to Pixelmator for iPad, but we just couldn’t leave out one of the biggest app releases of the week: Pixelmator for iPhone. The popular image editing app is now universal, supporting both Apple’s tablet and smartphone, and it packs a number of powerful features. Among those features is Paint, which offers more than 100 artist-designed brushes and erasers, and Advanced Photo Editing, which includes several templates, filters and other tools. This app is available for $4.99.
Google Photos
Another Google app in our iOS app roundup? Yup. Google caused a lot of commotion on Thursday when it announced a new cloud photo service called Google Photos for the web, iOS and Android. It has a lot in common with other photo services, such as automatic backups, quick editing and sharing tools, and the ability to sort by various metrics, but it has a handful of differentiating features like facial recognition and unlimited storage. That’s right, Google Photos will let you store an unlimited amount of photos (16mp or less) and videos (1080p or less) for no charge. That smashes the measly offerings of iCloud, Dropbox and others. Google Photos is available for free.
App Recaps
- App Recap for May 26
- App Recap for May 27
- App Recap for May 28
More apps you should check out
- Spark, gorgeous iPhone and Apple Watch email app to tame your inbox
- App Watch: game on
- Arcade puzzler ‘Hyper Square’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week
- The award-winning ‘Sky Guide’ is free right now within the Apple Store app
- Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night review – a sequel that beats its predecessor
- Todoist launches Apple Watch app with Inbox, Today view, Projects, Filters and Labels
- Google’s ‘Cardboard’ virtual reality app now available on iOS
- Pixelmator for iPhone now available as a free update to existing iPad app
These apps have been updated
- Google opens Inbox app to everyone: updated with Undo Send, Trip Bundles, new gesture options and more
- WWDC app receives Apple Watch support
- PayPal finally adds Touch ID protection to iPhone payment app
- Fleksy Keyboard introduces Imoji stickers, smart suggestions for GIFs and more
- Kindle update adds new font and a number of readability enhancements
- HBO GO for iPhone and iPad adds support for playback through HDMI output
- Pac-Man receives big update, goes on sale for 35th anniversary
- Google-owned Snapseed brings back Grunge filter, adds a couple improvements