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.
Free Games – Dinosaur Park
Create your own Jurassic Park
Application Blocker (Android)
AppBlocker is a digital wellbeing app that helps you better manage your screen time and blocks certain apps that distract or stress you out.
The app first analyzes your usage over the past 7 days before installing. It determines how much time you spend on your smartphone, on average, and which apps you spend that time on. You can then create a blocking profile by specifying the time period, the apps to block, the type of blocking (notification, startup).
You can even block the web version of some apps (like Twitter) so you don’t cheat through your browser. If you’re too lazy to create an entire profile, AppBlocker also offers a quick block mode. We also have a strict mode that prevents you from modifying the conditions of a block for a given period of time, just to force you to achieve your goal, even if you change your mind in the meantime.
The free version of the app is pretty complete. But it contains some ads that you can remove for a subscription fee of €4.99 per month. You’ll also unlock other features, such as a stats tab and screen time resources, and more.
- Price: Free / Ads: Yes / In-App Purchases: Yes (€4.99 per year) / Account: Not required / French: No
The AppBlock app helps better manage your screen time and block annoying apps / © kwgeek
Beautiful Mind Maps (Android)
This productivity app is a community find shared on our forums. It allows you to visualize and prioritize your ideas when working on large projects.
You can create trees (available in a variety of formats) to illustrate your ideas without getting lost. The interface is very minimalistic and I think it’s more relevant on a tablet. The app is free and contains no ads or in-app purchases.
You can create your own diagrams or choose from many templates as needed.
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Not Required / French: No
The Nice Mind Maps app is a great way to visualize your thoughts to organize and prioritize them / © kwgeek
Sound of Nature (Android)
Come on, we started with happiness, I broke the mood by continuing to be productive. So let’s calm down a bit more with this app that broadcasts celestial sounds.
Basically, these are white noises that want to immerse you in the soothing ambience of the space. The developer’s description is a bit like a salesman for healing crystals, as he claims that “sounds are based on mythological and astrological profiles of each planet, star, and other stellar bodies. We study the scientific characteristics and spiritual significance of planetary and space phenomena. We Custom sound profiles have also been created to keep you in tune with the energy of the planet.”
here and here. But hey, other than that, the interface of the app is pretty good, although it contains ads. Only the sounds of the planets of the solar system are free, to unlock the others you have to pay 2.99 euros for the pro version.
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: Yes (€2.99) / Account: Not required / French: No
The Celestial Sounds app features a gamified dimension of unlockable levels / © kwgeek
Free Games – Zoo 2
take care of all your animals
EggTimer (Android & iOS)
In my house, we don’t fiddle with hard-boiled eggs. It’s a subtle, profound and fundamental French art, like Proust’s Madeleine to me.
But hey, I’m also not going to give you a lyrical flight that ends up being just a basic timer to cook your eggs properly. The interface is beautiful and ergonomic, we have some useful settings for different types of cooking, and you don’t see ads or in-app purchases. The developers also offer a similar app for cooking steak.
But at this point I’m a lot less demanding – be prepared to insult me purists – I had a steak that was overcooked or not! Yes, I said it!
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Not Required / French: No
With the EggTimer app you’ll never miss a hard boiled egg / © kwgeek
Cryogenic (iOS)
We end with another application that is very important to your existence, no need to thank me. Cryo is a wellness app designed to help you mentally prepare for a cold shower.
The app gives you a timer to track the progress of this ordeal, which is obviously good for your health. And it also plays a countdown loudly because developers have to tell themselves after months of work that no one is actually holding their iPhone in the shower.
The app is free and ad-free, and the developers say it’s working on implementing voice commands so you can set and control timers without getting your precious iPhone wet.
- Price: Free / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: Yes (€21.99 per year) / Account: Not required / French: No
Do you take your iPhone with you in the shower? / © kwgeek
What do you think of our picks this week? Did you find any other cool apps or games on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store?