App stores are crowded places these days, and because storage space on your phone is often at a premium, you’ll want to fill it with not only the best, but also the most helpful apps out there. Because they come and go quicker than the latest fashion trends, and digging through Google Play, the iTunes App Store, or any of the others is such a mission; a little nudge in the right direction is often very welcome. Here are the apps we think you need to check out this week.
Websites and user databases are often compromised, and can leave anyone with an account on the hacked service vulnerable. Plus if you use the same password for multiple accounts, attackers will be able to access just about anything you have behind the layer of flimsy protection. When it comes to your internet usage, having a good password is paramount.
That’s where Password Chef comes in. This method of password creation gives you the unique string of characters needed to meet stringent password requirements and make your code hard to crack. At the same time, it makes managing those passwords easy. Your complex passwords are stored in app, accessible only with a PIN code, giving you the ability to recall them on the go. The recipes as they’re referred to are stored only locally so no one will be able to crack the app’s servers and get your secret login—it exists only on your device.
Are you into the idea of the quantified self? It’s possible to track just about every bit of your activity, from how many steps you take a day to how much time you spend on your phone, and everything in between. Instead of having to jump back and forth between apps to track down your numbers, Instant puts it all in one place. It’s your very own personal dashboard to monitor your activity. Over time, it will generate statistics and analysis that will help you figure out exactly what your average day looks like.
Great music should be every bit as shareable as an awesome picture, but it’s lagged behind. Sounds aims to change that by invading other popular sharing services with a blast of the best tunes. Sounds lets you discover new music with curated lists from sources that know their stuff. When you hear something you like, you can easily share it via Snapchat, Instagram, Messenger, and Tinder with the built-in music keyboard.
We all stream music from our smartphones, but the devices aren’t great for playing those jams out loud—at least, not on their own. AmpMe lets you and your friends create a surround-sound effect anywhere you are by syncing up everyone’s device and playing the same song through each set of speakers. This creates a unified and amplified sound that lets you start a party on the fly and fill any space, from your car to your living room, with a wall of music.
College campuses are essentially condensed cities. There’s a lot going on any given night, and almost no way to keep track of it all. Bumpn aims to be the social network for your local campus. This location-driven app connects users with their campus community and shows what’s going on throughout the school. Share photos and videos to show your friends what you’re up to or meet new people when you see something interesting pop up on your feed.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.