Top 5 apps of the week: Strategize your life
This Saturday, we have picked out five apps that every Android or iOS user should try out! Unlike our list of free apps, we have tried the apps out for ourselves and will inform you if there are any in-app purchases or other additional costs. So sit back and download the app that you find exciting directly!
Every week we try to bring you the best possible apps that are not data traps or microtransaction nests. In addition to the editors finds, we also add the apps found by the NextPit community and shared on our forum.
From mobile games to productivity apps, here are the five free and paid Android/iOS apps from NextPit this week. We publish this selection every week, you can also check the Top 5 apps of last week.
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Pwned Report (Android)
You can never be too paranoid when it comes to security in this day and age, especially with our smartphones carrying so much personal data. So, how about having an app that actually does the dirty investigative work on your behalf? Pwned Report is an app that is so simple and lightweight in size, you would be remiss not to have it on your handset.
The user interface is simple enough—it comes with a single "Scan" button that you tap, where it will perform a sweep of your handset for any possible security breaches. I've tested it out, and thankfully, I'm not pwned!
All IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) are documented within a central repository where you can check, while opening the door for other security researchers to analyze and collaborate in enhancing the checks.
- Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account: Not required.
- Download Pwned Report on the Google Play Store.
Pokédexus (Android)
I know that apps are supposed to make life a whole lot easier in terms of management (be it time, health, finances—you name it), but here we are with the Pokédexus. This is a fan-made Pokédex app that offers a slew of unique features such as Pokémon caught, your quest completion checklist, battles with other trainers, and the ability to participate in live events as well as make your way up the leaderboard!
This is a completely free and ad-free app, and you do not have to worry about monetization! It is the perfect companion app for beginners as well as seasoned veterans alike who want to go through the different Pokémon types and think of which ways to have them work in synergy.
While there are plenty of tips and tricks in crafting the best possible Pokémon team online, there is nothing quite like having an 'encyclopedia' of sorts that is easily available right at your fingertips!
- Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account: Not required.
MicCheck (Android)
If you are a journalist like me, or simply love to indulge in soliloquy sessions, then you will find having a voice recording app to be a useful tool. MicCheck does far more than just record what you have said or someone whom you are interviewing—this is a modern audio recorder with a twist, since it is full well capable of organizing your voice recordings.
In keeping up with the times, MicCheck also supports Material You inspired UI, which is Android 12's dynamic theming so that you end up with a photo gallery-like parallel for audio recordings. I am not a musician, but having asked my musically-inclined friends, they love the idea of being able to record and play back ideas in an organized manner.
Creativity knows no bounds, and to have the ability to sort things out by tagging recordings by song, or compartmentalizing them into Groups, helps everything look and feel like an album in progress. Forget about tracking down recorded audio files via pesky filenames that are frankly, gibberish to the human eye. MicCheck simplifies your life for good.
- Price: Free (with an option to pay for Pro mode) / Advertising : None / In-app purchases: Yes / Account: Not required.
Quick Cursor: One-handed mode (Android)
The fourth app for this week has your convenience at the very heart of things as usual. Most modern-day smartphones are simply huge, too huge for many people to use with just one hand. With rumors of the iPhone 14 mini not making it to production lines because of poor sales of its predecessors, large monoliths you call smartphones are here to stay. Now here is a non-intrusive app that takes advantage of the bottom segment of your smartphone's screen to function as a 'trackpad' of sorts, allowing you to reach the upper screen using just your thumb.
It certainly worked well enough for me with a small tweak made to the Accessibility menu, although I did find it somewhat disorienting at the beginning since I use gestures instead of virtual buttons to navigate from screen to screen.
If you would like to enable other options in the Pro settings that allow you to change the cursor size, additional gesture support, customized appearance, and color as well as other visual effects and animations, a very small donation that costs less than a tall latte at Starbucks is welcome. Frankly, I found the Pro version to be far more useful and highly recommend that over the regular free version.
- Price: Free / Advertising : None / In-app purchases: Yes / Account: Not required.
Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus (iOS & Android)
Which mobile game should I indulge in this week? It is time for some tabletop gaming nostalgia in the form of turn-based strategy in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. You are a collector, and you are tasked with building a bunch of elite warriors who are up to any task. Make sure that they are well-equipped as the game progresses to make short work of the enemy. Typical strategy mainstays apply here - you deal more damage when you have the higher ground, and sometimes, it might be better to skip a turn to lure enemies into your attacking range.
The presence of ads does break the flow of the game once in a while, but if you are not one who simply must win every single game that you play, then this is all right since you can take your time. Of course, the P2W (Pay To Win) model remains popular in the realm of mobile gaming, but it is deemed by many to be a necessary evil.
If you are into the Warhammer 40,000 universe, then Tacticus is worth checking out over the weekend. Play until you feel that you are unable to progress any further without forking out money, where you might want to jump aboard the Discord channel to pick up tips from other gamers on how to maximize free stuff.
- Price: Free / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes / Account: Not required.
That's it—our top 5 apps of the week. A colorful mix, don't you think? If you have something to criticize or want to share your own suggestions, leave a comment section right below this article!
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