Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Here are 5 mobile apps you should download this week

Huawei P8
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
App stores are crowded places these days, and because storage space on your phone is often at a premium, you’ll want to find and 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.

Google Photos

GooglePhotosGoogle Plus , as a social network, hasn’t been entirely successful. But like many of Google’s experiments, that doesn’t really matter. Even if the whole fails, parts often find a way to succeed. That’s how one of Google Plus’s best kept secrets has turned into its own stand-alone product. Google Photos is the tool for digital photography that you’ve been wanting all along, even if you didn’t know it.

Google Photos has a heavy emphasis on organization, one of the sore spots of managing digital photos given the sheer massive amounts of snapshots we take. The Google machine identifies faces and locations and sorts your photos for you, making them searchable and easy to navigate. Even if you don’t care about those features, there’s another strong selling point: Google Photos offers free unlimited storage (provided your videos are no higher than 1080p and images no higher than 16MP).

Available at: iTunes Google Play

Recommended Videos

Pixelmator

Pixelmator

With Photoshop Touch pulled from the App Store, you might be looking for a new option when it comes to touching up your pictures. Enter Pixelmator, sliding in just in time to snag all the Adobe refugees. The popular and powerful photo editing tool is packed with features for layer-based editing, making it easy to do everything from simple touchups to complete overhauls. Designed to give you desktop editing power on the go, the app is an ideal tool to make your photos look their best before posting.

Available at: iTunes

Unicorns

Screen Shot 2015-06-04 at 5.27.07 PM


We are living in a livestreaming age, and things could not get more weird. It would all seem so invasive if we weren’t voluntarily taking part in it. Unicorns is the latest way to give people a glimpse into your life, but it’s a bit different than the rest. With Unicorns, you just stream your phone’s screen. That’s it. Other people can watch what you’re doing on your device in real time. You’ll have to install the app on your Mac then hook up your device, but as soon as you do, you can begin broadcasting browsing through app menus.

Available for: iOS

The Branch

thebranch
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When it comes to making mobile games, developer Ketchapp knows what its doing. Makers of the unbelievably addictive 2048 and a variety of other chart-toppers, the hitmakers apply their formula of challenging, fun, and beautiful simplicity to their latest creation The Branch. The concept is, as always, incredibly simple: stay on the branch as long as you can. It’s engaging, entertaining, and like many of the best quick-play games, you can play the game using one-hand.

Available at: iTunes

Hitman: Sniper

HitmanSniper
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The popular Hitman franchise made its name on consoles and PC, and now it’s on your smartphone in the form of Hitman: Sniper. The game continues the killer legacy and puts you behind the scope of a high-powered rifle as you take aim at targets who stand in your way. About more than just hitting your target, Hitman: Sniper encourages finding creative solutions to taking down your enemies and rewards replaying levels with a leaderboard that will challenge you to up your score.

Available at: iTunes

AJ Dellinger
AJ Dellinger is a freelance reporter from Madison, Wisconsin with an affinity for all things tech. He has been published by…
Apple quietly nixed this Apple Intelligence feature from iOS 18.2
Image Playground on iPad.

One of the most highly anticipated features of Apple Intelligence, Image Playground, has finally launched in the iOS 18.2 developer and public betas. This artificial intelligence tool, announced in June, enables users to create cartoon-like images from text descriptions. Unfortunately, at least in the beta version, one of Image Playground's announced features is missing.

As first noted on X (formerly Twitter) by @nicolas09f9 (via MacRumors), Image Playground was once expected to feature three design styles: Animation, Illustration, and Sketch. For whatever reason, the latter isn't a choice in the beta.

Read more
iOS 18.2 may make charging your iPhone even easier. Here’s how
A close-up view of the App Library page on the iPhone 16.

We've all been in a situation where we need to charge our phone quickly, but it can be hard to gauge just how much time it needs to spend on the charger before it gets a usable amount of juice. A feature coming to iOS 18.2 will tell you how much more time your phone needs, although we aren't quite sure yet when it will be released.

On Monday, iOS 18.2 beta 2 was released to developers. 9to5Mac spotted the codebase for this feature in their breakdown, stating that it will calculate the amount of time needed to reach a certain charge threshold based on how powerful the charger is. The framework was dubbed "BatteryIntelligence" within the code, but although it was present, the feature isn't finished. That likely means it has been added in for testing purposes, but won't be ready for full deployment for some time yet.

Read more
There’s an easy way to follow election results on your iPhone. Here’s how
Screenshot of Apple News on an iPhone.

It’s Election Day in the U.S., and Apple is making it easier for people to check real-time results. The Apple News app will have a Live Activity feature that starts displaying results on your device as they come in tonight. The Live Activity on iPhone will appear on the Dynamic Island (if your iPhone has it) and the lock screen.

For the election, the Live Activity feature will provide up-to-date information, eliminating the need to refresh the Apple News app. You can expect results for the presidential, Senate, and House races to be posted.

Read more