Ever puzzled the way it felt wish to personal a fortress? Marvel no extra with The Elder Scrolls: Castles. In case you worth your privateness, then Startpage — Personal Browser is simply the factor for you. In search of a straightforward technique to monitor your hydration with a click on? Waterllama has you coated. Microsoft Designer means that you can conjure some snazzy-looking photographs in double fast time. Android customers can take a look at Notes: Notepad, a self-described note-taking app that’s easy but efficient sufficient in your note-taking wants.
Every of those apps has been rigorously reviewed by our editors to make sure they’re free from malicious microtransactions and annoying adverts. In case you favor fully free apps and video games, check out our “Free Apps of the Week” article, revealed twice-weekly.
The Elder Scrolls: Castles (Android & iOS)
Managing a fortress is not any small feat, and The Elder Scrolls: Castles gives a recent tackle gameplay with its fortress administration simulation. Not like the standard RPGs from The Elder Scrolls collection, this recreation focuses on constructing and operating your fortress whereas embarking on quests to collect loot and expertise.
Whereas managing your topics, I wanted there was an choice to banish and even execute troublemakers, particularly when dealing with inner plots. The choice is sending them on harmful missions, but it surely’s not as satisfying.
- Worth: Free / Promoting: None / In-app purchases: Sure ($2.99 — $19.99) / Account required: No
Whether or not you get pleasure from strategic administration, inside ornament, or coping with the totally different races in your fortress, this recreation has one thing for everybody. Finding out the conflicts and sustaining peace, even when pressured, is a part of the problem—and enjoyable.
Water tracker Waterllama (iOS & Apple Watch)
- App suggestion by Camila Rinaldi
I used to be in search of a easy, dependable technique to sync my water consumption with my well being apps, and since hydration is essential to any health routine, Waterllama was an ideal discover.
In brief, on iOS 18, you possibly can rapidly add water consumption immediately from the iPhone’s management heart. It additionally tracks different drinks like espresso, protein shakes, tea, and even alcohol, like wine and beer. In case you use an Apple Watch, it’s even simpler to log your consumption straight out of your wrist.
In case you’re like me, you may respect that the Well being app syncs the water tracker knowledge with different good units, just like the Whoop 4.0 (evaluation).
- Worth: Free / Promoting: Sure / In-app purchases: Sure ($0.99 — $24.99) / Account required: No (however advisable)
Waterllama is free, however many options require a subscription, with a 7-day free trial for these desirous to discover premium choices. I’m impressed by its wide selection of options and academic content material on how totally different drinks have an effect on hydration.
Startpage — Personal Browser (Android & iOS)
Startpage is a brand new contender in cell searching, branding itself as a Personal Browser. It feels light-weight and easy, very similar to Chrome did when it first launched. Startpage protects every search, deleting private knowledge and IP addresses each time.
One standout function is Nameless View, which helps you to go to web sites and see search outcomes with out revealing your location, IP, or DNS. You’ll be able to open and handle a number of non-public tabs securely with out fear.
The perfect half? No focused adverts. Utilizing Startpage looks like a return to the easier, ad-free days of the web.
- Worth: Free / Promoting: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: No
I suppose a longer-term use of Startpage would solely be truthful to gauge simply how good this app is by way of privateness. Thus far, the period of time I’ve spent with it was sufficient to make me maintain this app on my smartphone, which is one thing that I not often do.
Microsoft Designer (Android & iOS)
AI is in all places, and Microsoft isn’t lagging behind. With Microsoft Designer, you possibly can faucet into your creativity and design absolutely anything, powered by AI—particularly, generative AI. This software permits you to create beautiful designs proper out of your cellphone, whether or not it’s personalised birthday playing cards, vacation greetings, or customized wallpapers.
You’ll be able to even improve your chats with distinctive stickers, or use AI options like eradicating undesirable objects, blurring backgrounds, and resizing photos for social media.
For instance, I used the immediate “Cyclops firing an optic blast in a forest.” Out of 4 outcomes, three depicted Cyclops holding a pistol, however the fourth bought it proper.
- Worth: Free / Promoting: None / In-app purchases: Sure ($1.99 — $99.99) / Account required: Sure
Total, that is fairly the great app. For sure, the bigger the viewing actual property in your machine, the simpler it’s to make use of. That is solely logical. I discovered the generative erase perform to be lower than passable, and at instances, it’s onerous to inform what is chosen and what is not when utilizing AI object choose. Maybe such kinks will likely be ironed out sooner or later.
Notes: Notepad (Android)
I do know that note-taking apps are a dime a dozen, however right here is one more one which may simply be the fitting match for you if you’re nonetheless in search of the ‘good’ be aware app on Android. Notes: Notepad is easy to make use of, being a light-weight obtain that launches nearly instantaneously. It mainly permits you to jot down your ideas in be aware kind wherever you’re, with the power to incorporate photos for simpler reminiscence retention.
It’s also possible to have a just about limitless variety of classes that will help you higher arrange your notes. What I like about this app is how one can allow the password or biometric safety choice for chosen notes. By doing so, I’m able to stop prying eyes from trying out my most non-public ideas and maybe even passwords ought to I lose my handset.
- Worth: Free / Promoting: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: No
This app additionally helps emojis, so simply in case you can not keep in mind what you need to say, or need to say one thing in a sooner and extra economical method, simply throw in some emojis. Actually, when you might share your ideas in simply emojis, that might be a tremendous achievement!
Earlier than you already know it, the tip of this week’s Prime 5 Apps of the Week has come. Our fingers are crossed, hoping that the record right here is nice sufficient to grace your smartphone. Be a part of us subsequent week for one more record of 5 apps and video games.