Give your smartphone that happy bloated feeling by downloading some sweet new apps. We’ve got a whole bunch!
Android
Duolingo
Knowledge should be free, right? Duolingo sticks to that ideal with a cost-free and ad-free language learning tool that’s just been completely revamped. Teaching you Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and English in a fun, game-based way, the newest app has smoother graphics and, at 5MB, takes up 1/3rd the space of the old version. [Free]
SidePlayer
If you’re on a device that hasn’t gotten Android 4.4 KitKat just yet, you probably can’t swipe your audio controls into a fullscreen game or app. SidePlayer gives you an easy-to-access toolbar to adjust volume, pause or change tracks on a variety of music players. Upgrade to the Pro Version for $US1.75 t0 unlock custom positioning and animation. [Free]
Doctor Who: Legacy
Hot on the heels of the Free]
iOS
TimeShutter
Time lapses are a ton of fun, but the best ones are the most painstakingly crafted labors of love. TimeShutter makes it easy with tools to help you align, crop and overlay frames with a few finger swipes. You can even export the final product in video or GIF format, so nobody will be without your time-bending genius. [Free]
Reeder 2
Reeder’s handy client for newsfeeds including Feedbin, Feedly and Readability updates with new themes, an expanded list of sharing services and smoother, cleaner navigation. With new ways to sort subscriptions and the ability to work with your Safari Reading List, Reeder makes sure you’ll never be without something interesting to read. [$5]
Tweetbot 3
Beloved among diehard tweeters, Tweetbot updated this week with a new Night Theme that manually or automatically switches for low light reading. Version 3.2 also brings easy, single-swipe account switching for those with multiple Twitter personalities, and the iOS 7 design looks as good as ever. [$3]
Yonder
Sort of like Yelp for outdoor adventuring, Yonder helps you find great places to hike, kayak, camp, mountain bike and more, with geolocated images and videos chronicling over 20,000 destinations worldwide. The complete iOS 7 redesign gives slick, streamlined design, and the social side lets you follow the activities of fellow outdoor enthusiasts and shares directly to Facebook and Twitter. [Free]
Windows Phone
6snap
This sharp looking Snapchat app for WP does all the things you expect from Snapchat, sending self-destructing pics and videos to friends and letting you build a storyline. It also adds a fun live tile to your screen, and takes great advantage of Windows Phone’s photo muscle. [Free]
Super 8
The Start menu is a hallmark Windows feature, and Super 8 brings it to your Windows Phone. When you’ve got quick one-touch access to your apps, tools and settings, you’ll spend less time swiping around your live tiles and more time doing whatever else it is you do with your phone. [Free]
Lockmix
Lockmix brings livetile-style widget buttons to your lock screen. You can arrange, resize and configure the widgets the same way you do on your start screen, and they’ll automatically update with new info. With an ever-expanding list of widgets, you can customise your lock screen to your heart’s content. [Free]