The work week is over and the weekend is here. Here are the best new apps to check out this weekend, if you haven’t already.
Multi Platform Updates
Sonos Controller
Version 5.0 of Sonos’s free remote control app brings a fully revamped design with simple and easy navigation to pick the room, play mode, and song you want to hear, right from your smartphone. The new universal search lets you find the perfect song from any of the music survices you use, and deep integration of playback modes lets you tweak the sound on the fly. [Android] [iOS]
Swarm by Foursquare
Swarm takes Foursquare’s check-in setup and gears it to make it easy to find out who’s nearby and wants to hang. Open up the free app to see which of your friends are nearby, message your pals in the vicinity with a suggestion on what to do, and get to hangin’ out. And when you get to where you’re going, don’t forget to check in — maybe someone else will join you. [Android] [iOS]
Android
Dropcam
The companion app for your Dropcam surveillance camera lets you watch live video, receive motion or activity alerts, review cloud-stored footage, and turn cameras on and off remotely. This week’s update lets you view and filter stored videos based on activities, and includes a fast setup tutorial to get your camera ready to roll in no time. [Free]
Bright Weather
Sometimes you just wanna know how hot or cold it is outside. Other times, you’d like to know the exact forecast. Bright Weather lets you do both — from the basic, eye-pleasing basic forecast, you can expand each panel for more info, or set alerts for particular weather patterns (like snow or below-freezing temps). The basic version is add-supported, while a $2.79 in-app purchase banishes the ads. [Free]
Binbine!
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes it’s still not enough to get the thought across. Binbine is an easy app for making and sharing diptychs (that’s a two-panel piece of art, but you knew that, you fancy thing) with two of your smartphone pics and an optional caption. Share them on Binbine’s own network or via Facebook, explore other users’ work, and double your photo pleasure! [Free]
iOS
Podcasts
Apple’s stock podcast app just got revamped with a new Unplayed tab for the stuff you haven’t listened to yet, offline saving, Siri integration (where available), and CarPlay support. Never go without a good podcast again. [Free]
Tapsule
Social media can always use a little collaboration. Tapsule lets you create photos, videos and messages, then invite friends to add to the story. Share stories publicly or privately among a chosen group, send stories through the app or SMS, and explore the stories that other Tapsule users are creating and sharing. [Free]
Windows Phone
Spotify
This week brought a complete redesign to Spotify’s WinPhone app, including slick, fast navigation and adding Spotify radio (finally!). On-the-fly syncing and offline playback make sure you’ll never be without your sweet, sweet jams. [Free]
LocalEvents
Facebook is the one place where people keep their social plans, and LocalEvents helps you figure out what’s going on around you by uncovering, you guessed it, local events. See where your friends are going, share events, invite people you know, and get reminders about upcoming events. It’s a beta, but the more people sign up, the more robust it will be [Free]