Top 5 Apps of the Week: DailyBean, Auto Pirates & More!

Are you competitive? You'll love Auto Pirates, where your seafaring skills are tested against players worldwide. Looking for a simple journaling app? Try DailyBean. With Impact, every step you take supports charity. Android users can check out Shake It! and Sum Up AI Notification Summary, both solid picks!

All of these apps have been curated and reviewed by our editors to make sure that as far as possible, they are free from any kind of malicious microtransactions or irritating ads. If you feel that you prefer completely free apps and games, there is always our free apps of the week article that is published twice a week.

Auto Pirates: Captains Cup (Android & iOS)

Let's clear things up right off the bat: this is an auto-battler game with irresistibly cute graphics that will hook you from the start. You'll select a crew, each member with their own abilities, strengths, and of course, weaknesses, before heading into turn-based combat against other players.

Each time you win and make progress, you will be able to use your winnings to improve your chances in battle. Of course, having a superior crew means nothing if your opponent is more strategic than you in the skirmish. It is not all just brawn, but it requires brains as well.

It does take some getting used to when it concerns the game's mechanics. While the learning curve is not that steep, it is not something you can just launch and dive right in. However, it will take a bit of time for anyone to warm up to it.

• Price: Free / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: Yes ($12.99 — $26.99) / Account required: None

There is quite a degree of replayability for Auto Pirate: Captains Cup. However, after spending a fair amount of time with it, there are only very few options when it comes to having the best type of crew to help you conquer the seven seas.

• Download Auto Pirate: Captains Cup from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

DailyBean: Simplest Journal (Android & iOS)

Everyone's life is different, and some of us love to jot down our thoughts and journal whatever happened to us that particular day. DailyBean is a cute diary app that allows me the freedom to pen down my adventures easily through a tabbed system that is intuitive and simple to understand.

I love how the monthly calendar provides me with a quick glance at how I have been feeling the entire month. It gives a big picture update through five mood beans, where clicking on each bean will reveal the record that I wrote.

Apart from mood beans, there are also activity icons that help summarize what I've been doing throughout the day. Of course, if I want to dive into greater detail, I can always throw in a line of notes and a photo.

• Price: Free / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes ($0.99 — $29.99) / Account required: No (but recommended)

The presence of category blocks help me, well, categorize different events in my life in a jiffy. They are easily added and deleted anytime I like. I would say this app works best for those who find it difficult to write how they feel and how they are doing.

• Download DailyBean: Simplest Journal from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Impact — Steps Fitness Charity (Android & iOS)

Are you one of those who love walking 10,000 steps each day? If so, why not let your actions impact more lives as you get fitter and in shape? As the app's name suggests, Impact allows you to make a positive change with each step. You can use your phone, fitness tracker, or Apple Watch to keep track of your movement, be they walks, jogs, runs, or indoor workouts.

Companies will sponsor your steps via their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs as you sweat it out for a good cause. This way, non-profit organizations can receive money to ensure their existing projects have money to proceed. This is one app where each step counts!

Each 2,500 steps will raise approximately $0.10 to a social cause of your choice. Love the environment? Plant a tree by walking. Have a soft spot for kids? Feed them as you pound the pavement. There are numerous options to suit just about everyone.  

• Price: Free / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: Yes

Gamification is another interesting aspect, since you can earn badges and streaks to help you with consistency. After all, it is always nice to feel that you have achieved something, as you can only beat what is in front of you—which is you! 

• Download Impact — Steps Fitness Charity from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Shake it! (Android)

Having a gyro sensor in our smartphones has changed the way the smartphone is used. It can provide an estimate count of the number of steps taken each day, used to play games, or even perform other tasks by shaking the handset. Shake it! is a simple app that might be of interest to Android users. 

What does it do? Basically, you can assign an action or select and app with each shake of the device. This makes it easy to turn on your flashlight or access your camera with just a shake. Of course, I do believe that it might not be the best app to have if you are one who channels your nervous energy by shaking your legs at a social event. This would mean accidentally launching an assigned app!

• Price: Free / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: No

Thankfully, there is a sensitivity slider to select just how sensitive it is to detecting movement. You can use twist gestures, shake gestures, and even enable vibration for that added 'kick'. Overall, this is a simple app with a simple function, but most importantly, it works without any fuss in a clear user interface! 

• Download Shake it! from the Google Play Store.

Sum Up AI Notification Summary (Android)

Are there times when you feel overwhelmed with the number of chat groups you are in? Well, thankfully there is some respite with Sum Up AI Notification Summary. You can tell from the name of this app that AI is once again at the forefront, which will hopefully make life easier. You will need a Gemini API key first before getting started. 

This app will keep track of how many messages that come in through your various messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Slack, among others. You can choose this app to provide a quick summary from any of your associated messaging apps, as long as they receive anywhere from 3 to 7 messages before a quick summary is drawn up and displayed in your notification bar. 

• Price: $0.99 / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: No

While it will not work so well with memes and other kinds of stickers and animated GIFs, it does wonders with text. Of course, this functions best when the text is coherent. I did not have a chance to converse with a Gen Z or Gen Alpha using Sum Up, so I have no idea whether it is able to decipher terms like skibidi, mid, rizz, and fanum tax.

• Download Sum Up AI Notification Summary from the Google Play Store.

With that, we have come to the end of this week's Top 5 Apps of the Week. We do hope that our list this week jives with your app-etite! Get it? Tune in again next week for yet another list of five apps and games.