It’s time for our weekly roundup of the best new iPhone and iPad apps and games to have emerged on Apple’s App Store.
As ever, prices are correct at the time of writing, but may have changed by the time you read this. (Free + IAP) means in-app purchases are used within the app.
Want more apps? Browse previous Best iPhone and iPad apps roundups on The Guardian. And if you’re looking for Android apps instead, browse the archives of the weekly Best Android Apps roundups.
APPS
Star Walk 2 (£1.99 + IAP) [1]
The original Star Walk remains one of the most fascinating mobile apps: more than 10m people have used it to get more information on the stars above, apparently. This sequel is even better: you can use it to identify stars, but now it also has 3D planetary nebulae to browse. Great for stargazers of all ages and experience.
iPhone / iPad
Gruffalo: Games (£2.99) [2]
This could be in the games section, but as a children’s app that includes sliding-puzzles and sums, it also fits here. It’s the first official app based on the Gruffalo books and films, with six mini-games and activities aimed at 3-7 year-olds. Terribly good fun.
iPhone / iPad
Hyperlapse from Instagram (Free) [3]
This is Instagram’s new thing: a completely separate app that shoots video footage and turns it into time-lapse videos at up to 12x speed, while also applying (very impressive) stabilisation tech to fix your shaky camera-hand. The resulting videos are saved to your camera roll, but can (naturally) be shared on Instagram and Facebook.
iPhone / iPad
Google Slides (Free) [4]
Google Slides has been offering people an online alternative to Microsoft’s PowerPoint for some time now. This week, it’s giving Apple’s Keynote a run for its money on iOS too. The free app helps you create, edit and collaborate on presentations with colleagues, as well as downloading them for offline access.
iPhone / iPad
Endomondo Life (Free) [5]
Earlier this year, fitness app RunKeeper got a spin-off activity-tracking app called Breeze, for iPhone 5s. Now RunKeeper rival Endomondo has followed suit with Life: also exclusive to the 5s, it tracks your steps and calories burnt, helping you hit your daily goals.
iPhone
Forks Over Knives - The Recipes (£2.99) [6]
There’s a growing stable of slick apps on iOS that may leave your cookbooks gathering dust on the shelves. Forks Over Knives is the latest: a collection of more than 130 recipes (with the promise of more to come) with a healthy focus, clear instructions and plenty of variety.
iPhone
Photo Sphere Camera (Free) [7]
Another Google app, as the company ports across some of its popular Android apps to iOS. Photo Sphere is a photography app for creating 360-degree images, which you can then upload to Google Maps for others to see. A bit novelty, but still clever.
iPhone
Product Hunt (Free) [8]
Product Hunt is currently a mini-craze in Silicon Valley circles: a way to share and comment on the latest apps and startups. Its iPhone app makes it easy to flick through the latest additions, and get an early glimpse at new services that might â€" stress the might â€" get popular in the coming months.
iPhone
Learn by Incident (Free) [9]
This is a bit of a niche, given that you need one of Incident Technologies’ gTar instruments to use it. But it’s an interesting example of how music tuition is developing: a series of lessons teaching you chords and songs on the digital guitar.
iPhone
[10]
Grabble: The Fashion Finder (Free) [11]
There have been plenty of apps promising to help you find clothes to buy, but few have made a lasting impact. Can Grabble buck the trend? It looks good: capable of browsing UK retailers including Top Shop, ASOS and Net-a-Porter, with a simple, accessible interface.
iPhone
GAMES
Bioshock (£10.49) [12]
Quite a price, but Bioshock remains quite a game: a supremely-creepy first-person shooter that sees you blasting away at genetically-modified nasties, while messing with your own biology to power up your abilities. And in answer to the obvious question: yes, the controls do work on a touchscreen.
iPhone / iPad
Tiny Tower Vegas (Free + IAP) [13]
The two previous Tiny Tower games â€" Tiny Tower and Star Wars: Tiny Death Star â€" were both brilliant. This one is pretty good too, at first glance: you build a pixelly hotel and casino, filling its floors with gambling, and then popping in to play yourself.
iPhone / iPad
The Nightmare Cooperative (£2.49) [14]
It’s a good week for creative indie games on iOS â€" yes, you can say that of most weeks at the moment â€" with The Nightmare Cooperative particularly worth your attention. It’s a clever “roguelike†adventure, where you have to guide a group of heroes to gather as much gold as possible. Full of character.
iPhone / iPad
They Need To Be Fed 3 (£1.49) [15]
The previous They Need To Be Fed games were fab, and this continues the trend: a beautifully-crafted platform adventure with a “360-degree†schtick that means you’re not restricted from going in one direction. Excellent stuff.
iPhone / iPad
Madden NFL Mobile (Free + IAP) [16]
EA’s American football franchise returns for a new season, in its recently-adopted guise as a free-to-play game. Expect official players and teams, deep tactical depth, and an improving interface for touchscreens.
iPhone / iPad
Swing Copters (Free + IAP) [17]
Yes, the sequel to Flappy Bird, from developer Dong Nguyen. This time, instead of flapping a bird horizontally while avoiding pipes, you’re zig-zagging a propeller-headed character upwards between platforms and swinging hammers. Manages the dubiously-impressive feat of being even more difficult and frustrating than its predecessor.
iPhone / iPad
Assassin’s Creed Memories (Free + IAP) [18]
Assassin’s Creed as a card-battling freemium game? A bold idea, and one that works pretty well, although early App Store reviews indicate it’s a bit Marmitey in its appeal. You build up your assassin and its kit, then join online guilds for 20-on-20 multiplayer battles. It certainly has potential.
iPhone / iPad
Pac-Man Friends (£2.99 + IAP) [19]
If the thought of Pac-Man re-imagined in a freemium game borrowing its level structure from Candy Crush Saga bothers you, avoid this. But if not, you may wish to give Pac-Man’s latest mobile comeback a try: it’s a new spin on the traditional ghost-chasing pill-chomping action.
iPhone / iPad
Epic Eric (£0.69) [20]
Another indie title worth your money: this is a physics-based platform game with lots of leaping and swinging, as you work your way through 45 levels as one of two heroes: knight Eric or princess Erica. It’s very well put together, with some fun secrets to discover en route.
iPhone / iPad
Stunt Gal (£0.69) [21]
Ninjas, squirrels, pirates and more in this fun arcade game, as you try to escape a collapsing building with the help (or, more frequently, hindrance) of its cast of characters and obstacles.
iPhone / iPad
Those are our picks, but what have you been enjoying on iOS this week? Post your recommendations (or feedback on these) in the comments section.
Links
- ^ Star Walk 2 (£1.99 + IAP) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Gruffalo: Games (£2.99) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Hyperlapse from Instagram (Free) (itunes.apple .com)
- ^ Google Slides (Free) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Endomondo Life (Free) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Forks Over Knives - The Recipes (£2.99) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Photo Sphere Camera (Free) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Product Hunt (Free) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Learn by Incident (Free) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ gTar (www.incidentgtar.com)
- ^ Grabble: The Fashion Finder (Free) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Bioshock (£10.49) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Tiny Tower Vegas (Free + IAP) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ The Nightmare Cooperative (£2.49) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ They Need To Be Fed 3 (£1.49) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Madden NFL Mobile (Free + IAP) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Swing Copters (Free + IAP) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Assassin’s Creed Memories (Free + IAP) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Pac-Man Friends (£2.99 + IAP) (itunes.apple.com)< /small>
- ^ Epic Eric (£0.69) (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Stunt Gal (£0.69) (itunes.apple.com)
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