Our top 5 Android and iOS apps of the week
Every weekend, we meet on NextPit to check out my selection of five free or paid mobile apps and games that caught my eye on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Every week, I try my best to bring you the greatest fresh apps that are not data mining monsters or endless microtransaction hells. In addition to my own discoveries, I have also included gems unearthed by the NextPit community which were then shared with us on the forum of which I gladly invite you to check out when you have the time.
From mobile games to productivity apps, here are NextPit's 5 free and paid Android/iOS apps this week.
Material You Clock
You can enjoy the new look of Android 12 's Material You clock app on your Android 11 smartphone. Currently in a beta form, you can download the APK for the 7th version of the app and install it in place of your current clock (or in place of nothing at all, if you're using a smartphone that doesn't use make use of Google tools much). Once that's done, it should work just fine, sporting its gigantic round pause button.
The only flaw with this app is that it doesn't show off new widgets on your home screen. You will experience the new Material You interface in the app itself, but the widgets don't change. That's just too bad.
- Price: Free / Ads: None / In-app purchases: None / Account: Not required
You can download the Material You Clock APK from APKMirror
Opera Football
Opera, the web browser developer, is now looking into sports results and in particular, European football. The Opera Football application allows you to follow the scores in real-time, covering over 10,000 matches across 1,000 leagues. You can subscribe to your favorite clubs and leagues and not miss out on a single result.
You can also get notifications, news (this feature doesn't seem to work very well), kickoff times, match statistics, etc. I don't really use such apps but the interface is pretty neat although it might seem to be rather simple to some. There is no need to create an account, and this is an ad-free experience without pestering you for money via in-app purchases.
- Price: Free / Ads: None / In-app purchases: None / Account: Not required
You can download the Opera Football app from the Google Play Store
Workout Interval Timer
It's ok, summer is already over which means you do not have to have a chiseled body for the beach. But if you're like me, you want to start all over again on a good footing for the upcoming new year, perhaps WIT (Workout Interval Timer) can motivate you.
WIT allows you to create your own exercises and even to share them via a link. The application accompanies you with a vocal "coach" to pace your sessions so that you do not have to use the application in the foreground all the time. The robotic voice is a little too authoritative for my taste, but the interface is rather complete. Presets of typical exercises are proposed by default which makes the creation of its own sessions more intuitive.
There is no need to create an account, and the application is free and contains no ads or in-app purchases whatsoever with foreign language support.
- Price: Free / Ads: None / In-app purchases: None / Account: Not required
You can download the Workout Interval Timer app from the Google Play Store
HabitCoin
HabitCoin wants to inspire you to keep your resolutions or simply motivate you to pursue a recurring goal in your daily life. If you want to eat healthier or read more frequently, you can set the goal of your choice and specify just how difficult it is to accomplish and how often you want to accomplish it each week.
The application will then send you reminders to motivate you. A reward and "punishment" system are there to gamify the process. You can "block" an amount of virtual money (not real money) in a totally theoretical environment, and tell yourself that if you don't accomplish a goal, you will spend this amount on a not very pleasant but if possibly productive activity. Conversely, if you follow your program, you can decide to allocate a certain amount of that theoretical money to treat yourself.
The app is free, doesn't require an account, and doesn't come with in-app purchases. However, it does have banner ads at the bottom of the screen.
- Price: Free / Ads: Yes / In-app purchases: None / Account: Not required
You can download the HabitCoin app from the Google Play Store
Murders on Budapest
This is the latest game from Buff Studio which specializes in point-and-click games. It's a kind of interactive thriller that focuses more on the narrative than the gameplay.
Doyle is lost in the mountains during a blizzard, but thankfully, he manages to stumble upon a group of hikers. The lost hikers are then offered room and board on a large property. But when they try to leave, one of them is found dead.
I like such games because they are single-player titles, work offline, and there is no learning curve to master the gameplay. It's typically the kind of game you can play anywhere whenever you don't feel like reading a book or doing something else.
The game contains no ads or in-app purchases. It is currently available on a special offer on the Google Play Store for $2.99 instead of the regular $6.99 price. There is also a free version that is replete with ads and in-app purchases if you want to test the game out before eventually purchasing it.
What do you think of this week's selection? Have you already tried any of the apps on this list? What would be your apps of the week? Share your opinions and your tips in the comments! If you're looking for a particular type of application, don't hesitate to let me know so I can orient my research and selection according to your needs!
