Like every weekend, we meet at kwgeek as I pick 5 free or paid mobile apps and games that caught my eye on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Every week I try to bring you the best apps that aren’t personal data traps or microtransaction dens. For my own discoveries, I’ve also added applications that the kwgeek community unearthed and shared on our forums, which I invite you to check out.
From mobile games to productivity apps, here are 5 free and paid Android/iOS apps from kwgeek this week. We post this pick every week, and you can also check out my 5 apps from last week.
Substack Reader (iOS and Android)
Finding information and content online that matches your preferences can be a daunting task, so why not let an app do it for you? The app can be described as an aggregator where you can subscribe to individual authors as well as newsletters.
Whenever a new article or story appears in your feed, you just read it without actively refreshing the site to see if there are new articles to explore. The interface is clean and minimalistic, with basic flows that can be scrolled through.
You will not be redirected to another app or website to read these articles as all articles can be read within the app itself. Currently, it is not possible to create “playlists”, but this may change in the future as Substack Reader is still in development and some issues may be fixed.
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Required
Collect all your favorite reads in one app. / © kwgeek
Plotter (Android)
Ploter is a cloud library for storing your eBook collection. You just need to install the .epub versions on your smartphone and upload them to Ploter. The app will then display your eBook collection in the main channel. You only need to download the book once, then you can read your ebook without worrying about where you are.
Progress is automatically synced between devices, and now with Kobo if you’re using the Windows app. With 500 MB of storage space provided, you can store more than 200 eBooks. This app is perfect for those who want to collect all their eBooks in one place.
The interface leaves a lot to be desired, but it’s intuitive enough. You can read in dark mode or normal mode, and adjust the font size to suit your reading comfort. Note that this app is still in early access and there is still a lot of work to be done.
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Required
Get all your eBooks in one place with Ploter / © kwgeek
Answer question! (Android)
Answer question! An ideal quiz game to pass the time. If the interface is extremely simple, the most important thing is the game content, which is very rich. Questions and answers come from the Open Trivia database, and there are many categories to choose from.
You can choose from general culture, literature, film, music, theatre, video games, science and nature, IT and many others. The number of categories is impressive. You can also choose a difficulty level, with a time limit of 30 seconds per question.
The only major downside to this free-to-play game is the ads, which interrupt the flow of the game after answering a series of questions before moving on to the next round.
- Price: Free / Ads: Yes / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Not Required
Let’s see how well you know Answer It! / © kwgeek
Flex: Multi-speed autoscrolling (Android)
Have you scrolled through Instagram or Facebook for hours so that your thumbs go numb? Flex means you don’t have to. You’ll be able to scroll through your news feed effortlessly. In addition to the viewing area, the scrolling speed can also be selected.
In addition to up and down, you can also scroll the page from left to right and vice versa. The on-screen cursor is on the side of the screen and isn’t too distracting. The slower speed has a different scale from the normal speed to compensate for the way our eyes work.
This application requires accessibility services. Therefore, before using it, you need to activate all the corresponding permissions for this application. You will be free to choose different apps on which you want to enjoy this feature.
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Not Required
Garfield, the laziest cat in the world, will love this app! / © kwgeek
Neko Golf – Anime Golf (iOS & Android)
Neko Golf Anime Golf is certainly a game that elevates the golf experience to a wacky level. Although the game is free and doesn’t require an account, you can boost your performance by making in-app purchases, like most new games today.
All the principles and basics of golf are there and you will enjoy beautiful graphics. Your player avatar is fully customizable. Designed for smartphones, touch controls are particularly intuitive. I can play comfortably even without a controller.
Players can tap and swipe to control, and it’s easy to pick up in an instant. It’s also easy to get caught up in games, especially those silly images. It really is a way to get outdoors without tanning or sweating.
- Price: Free (iOS & Android) / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: Yes / Account: Not Required