2014 has been yet another hugely successful year for Apple, and there is no doubt that one of the contributing factors to this triumph has been the ever popular and growing App Store. The Apple App Store is still the envy of many other companies in the technology industry, and it remains a rich source of both entertainment and practical applications for people all over the world.
There are so many apps in the Apple App Store that it is inconceivable that anyone could be aware of the vast majority of them. So here are some of the best free and pay apps in the Apple App Store of which you may not be aware.
Apple Apps
Iconical ($1.99)
If there is one criticism of the iPhone series it is that it provides a uniform experience compared to Android platforms. Iconical aims to address this by bringing the sort of customization associated with Android devices to the iPhone. With Iconical it is possible to create custom icons for all of your apps, leading to a truly individual home screen.
Dark Sky ($3.99)
Dark Sky is an extremely nifty weather application, which utilizes state-of-the-art weather forecasting technology in order to predict when precipitation will fall. Nothing particularly new in that, except that Dark Sky makes predictions down to the minute. Global maps have been updated in this latest version of the software.
Sleep Time ($1.99)
Everyone wants to get the best night’s sleep possible, and Sleep Time has been created with this noble goal in mind. Sleep Time utilizes the accelerometer in the iPhone in order to analyse sleep patterns over a period of time, and then adjusts its internal alarm accordingly to ensure that you are never roused from a deep sleep cycle.
Horizon ($0.99)
Horizon has been created in order to enable iPhone users to get the best out of the smartphone’s acclaimed video recording capabilities. As the name would suggest, this app enables you to shoot videos in horizontal format; clearly a great improvement over holding the phone vertically. You can use Horizon to shoot in three aspect ratios (1:1, 16:9 or 4:3), and filters have also been included in the package to enable customization.
Minecraft Pocket Edition ($6.99)
One of the world’s most famous video games is available on the iOS platform. Minecraft has seduced gamers all over the world, and at $6.99 it certainly represents good value for money.
Dayre (Free)
Tubmlr has become an incredibly popular platform, and this free application intends to imitate that for the iPhone. Dayre enables you to record snippets of your every day life via photos, video and sound clips. These can then be published to an online site, with a personal URL to enable friends to follow your handiwork.
WeChat (Free)
WeChat has made a pretty big name for itself already, and is probably the most notorious application included in this list. The free WeChat app offers a sleek and intuitive platform for sending texts, making video and voice calls, leaving voice messages, and conducting group chats.
There are a multitude of other options built into this package, including a walkie-talkie feature that lets you tap to talk with up to forty friends. It is pretty much a no-brainer as a download given its free status.
Venmo (Free)
Venmo is a transaction system which is aimed at small transactions between friends in particular. Venmo enables you to charge your peers and receive payments, enabling the splitting of a bill at a restaurant, for example, to be handled smoothly and seamlessly. Not only is this a free application, but it will also connect with your bank accounts for no additional charge.
Wikitude (Free)
Augmented reality has been a buzz term over the last few years, and Wikitude attempts to tap into this trendy technology. Wikitude attempts to enhance your social life by enabling you to pull up information on bars, restaurants and landmarks in your immediate surroundings. This is achieved by geolocation based on information fed to the app by your camera. Games are also included in the package, just in case you get bored of seeking somewhere to eat.
Doorsteps Swipe (Free)
This application has been dubbed the Tinder for real estate, and is extremely valuable for anyone seeking a new place to live. Houses, apartments and rooms are presented within the app as a deck of cards, with simple left or right swiping carried out in order to save more pass on the opportunities offered.
Doorsteps Swipe also catalogs your behaviour using the application, in order to inform you of the sort of houses that you have a tendency to select. Various search parameters are also available, and overall the application does an excellent job of informing users regarding the real estate market.
