GOOGLE KEEP
Android/iOS
Freshly available on iOS after its Android debut, this is Google’s rival to the Evernote service: a useful tool for quickly tapping out notes to yourself, organising them, and sharing them with family, friends or colleagues.
KHAN ACADEMY
Android/iOS
This has been available on iOS for some time, but is new to Android. It’s an excellent educational tool with bite-sized video courses on everything from biology and economics to art history. The content is authoritative but rarely dry.
TOONSTV
Android/iOS
ToonsTV started life as a button within the Angry Birds games for children to watch the spin-off animations. It’s since developed into a Netflix-for-kids style video service with plenty of partners.
PAPER
iOS
iPad owners should know all about Paper: a beautifully-designed app for sketching and scribbling. Now it’s available on iPhone too, adding photos and text as well as drawings and graphs. A great way to keep track of your stray thoughts.
INKBOARD
Android/iOS
Inkboard is a fun communication tool for when emoji just aren’t good enough for what you want to say. It provides virtual pens, pencils and highlighting tools to create your own doodles to send, with the option to do it on top of your photos too.
SHELFIE
Android/iOS
Shelfie is a great idea: an app that gets you to take a photo of your bookshelf, then finds (when available) free ebook equivalents. It also recommends new books for you to read and can connect you with other users based on your collection.
ADIDAS SNAPSHOT
Android/iOS
This app may sound like a novelty, but if so, it’s using some clever technology. It tracks how fast you kick a football, using the camera to measure speed, angle and distance. You can even play back your shots in slow motion.
SEEDLING COMIC STUDIO
iOS
This is a marvellous app for parents and children to use together: taking photos, cartoon backgrounds and stickers and blending them into your own digital comic strips. Three themes are included with more available as IAP.
LRN
iOS
This is the latest app hoping to teach programming skills through mobile-friendly lessons. It’s all structured around short quizzes, with two languages currently included: JavaScript and Ruby. The perfect start for enthusiastic coding amateurs.
KIM KARDASHIAN WEST OFFICIAL APP
Android/iOS
Even if you’re not a fan of Kim, her app is an intriguing development in the way celebrities try to keep in touch with their fans. It promises live streams, makeup tutorials, product recommendations and more – but you have to subscribe for £2.29 a month.
PEWDIEPIE: LEGEND OF
THE BROFIST
Android/iOS
PewDiePie is one of the most popular stars on YouTube, with nearly 40 million subscribers to his channel. His first mobile game is no cash-in: it’s a very enjoyable platformer with plenty of nods to gaming history and YouTube culture along the way.
STAR WARS: UPRISING
Android/iOS
Can’t wait for the new Star Wars film? This may tide you over until The Force Awakens this December. It’s a satisfyingly deep roleplaying game that pitches you into the Star Wars universe, with co-operative play for friends.
CHAMP MAN 16
Android/iOS
On mobile, Champ Man remains in the shadow of the excellent Football Manager franchise. But it still plays well: this latest version’s training, tactics and transfers system is accessible, while IAP don’t spoil it.
DOWNTON ABBEY: MYSTERIES OF THE MANOR
Android/iOS
As Downton Abbey draws to a close, it’s getting an official mobile game. This falls into the “hidden objects” genre, as you try to solve a burglary at the abbey, while figuring out whodunnit. Fans of the show will enjoy this a lot.
FIFA 16 ULTIMATE TEAM
Android/iOS
The latest mobile FIFA game focuses solely on its ultimate team mode, where you build a squad by earning and buying virtual “packs” of players. An acquired taste, but the match action is pretty good: with excellent graphics and un-fiddly controls.
SPL-T
iOS
SPL-T is a puzzle game that looks simple: you tap the screen to create lines dividing up the space. But it’s one of the most absorbing mobile puzzlers in recent memory, giving your grey cells a thorough workout as you figure out its strategy.
PUZZLE & GLORY
Android/iOS
This is the latest in the popular match-three/RPG genre on mobile, where you match coloured gems to battle enemies. There’s plenty of depth to this, as you upgrade your team of heroes, form guilds with friends, and take on weekly quests set by the developer.
ORDER & CHAOS 2: REDEMPTION
Android/iOS
If you’re a fan of multiplayer online RPGs like World of Warcraft, you may be sceptical that the genre can work on mobile. Order & Chaos 2 shows that it can: a polished blend of questing and character-upgrading with room to grow in future updates .
NEED FOR SPEED: NO LIMITS
Android/iOS
This latest mobile Need for Speed is the best yet, developed by the team that previously made the marvellous Real Racing 3. As ever, the focus is on street-racing and pimping your cars to high heaven, with impressive graphics, handling and (of course) speed.
THE DEER GOD
Android/iOS
A beautiful pixel-art adventure with a unique pitch: “Live as a deer. Survive as a deer.” Note, the latter is very hard: the game’s difficulty level isn’t for the faint-hearted. A few bugs have niggled early players, but they’re being fixed.
