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.
Knives and Forks – Recipes (iOS and Android)
Do you only eat vegetables in your daily diet? Or you want to reduce meat consumption but you don’t know any good recipes? Forks Plant-Based Recipes is the must-have recipe app from the creators of the acclaimed Forks Over Knives movie.
In this app you will be able to discover over 600 delicious dishes from over 50 top chefs. For a one-time payment of €4.99, you’ll also receive new recipes every week for free!
It’s definitely better than any food magazine subscription and you could even save the planet. In fact, you’ll eat more vegetables and reduce your ecological footprint because there won’t be prints in your mailbox! Each recipe corresponds to a vegan lifestyle recommended by a growing number of health experts. It does prevent chronic diseases like heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
- Price: EUR 4.99 / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Not Required / French Version: No
Enjoy over 600 plant-based recipes at affordable prices and start eating healthier today. / © kwgeek
Monefy Pro – Budget Manager (Android)
Manage your finances and you’ll always have peace of mind. No matter how much money you have now, if you manage your money well, your life will be more organized and enjoyable. Here’s an app that helps you get there and see where every dollar goes. The job of this organizer and financial tracker is very simple: every time you make a purchase or pay a bill, you just need to keep track of your expenses.
With one click, you just need to enter the amount. What used to be a chore, is now a lot easier. Data can be securely synced to your own Google Drive or Dropbox account for easy access.
Password protection keeps your personal information and data safe, and multiple accounts can also be tracked. If you want to add or subtract numbers, you will no longer need to launch the calculator app on your phone. In fact, Monefy Pro has its own built-in calculator!
- Price: 2.49 EUR / Ads: No / In-App Purchases: No / Account: Not Required
Monefy looks great and it helps manage your finances! / © kwgeek
Blinker (Android)
We are all busy and time is a precious commodity. However, we feel the need to constantly train ourselves. One of the best ways is to read. But how good would it be to be able to extract the most important information directly from different books? Or better yet, if there was an app that would allow you to do that?
Blinkist does just that, allowing you to read or listen to the most important insights from 5,000 best-selling professional books and podcasts in minutes! For starters, there’s a 7-day free trial that lets you listen and play the audio version on the go, and use key insights from 27 different categories.
Even better, the inclusion of an offline mode makes it possible to enjoy your favorite books even without an internet connection. Integration with Kindle and Evernote provides additional benefits for advanced users.
- Price: Free (7-day trial) / Ads: No / In-app purchases: Yes (from €4.99 to €79.99 per item) / Account: Required
Blinkist includes titles in multiple languages. / © Blinkist / Screenshot: kwgeek
Focus Task (Android)
Ironic: an app for smartphone addiction! Focus Quest is a productivity RPG that claims to help you with your quests. Additionally, it is believed to improve your productivity, self-control, and ability to focus. In short, it seems like a great app.
Focus Quest wants to help you with gamification. Indeed, if you focus, your heroes will train and you can craft more powerful gear. Little by little, you will level up, fight monsters and save Focusland.
The app is also used as a meditation game along with ADHD therapy. Developers are currently working on a Pomodoro timer that can increase productivity.
- Price: Free / Ads: Yes / In-App Purchases: Yes / Account: Required
Focus tasks look beautiful! / © kwgeek
Dead Cells (Android and iOS)
Many of us think that death is the end. But in Dead Cells, she’s not. Indeed, death is only the beginning. You fall into the role of a failed alchemy experiment. To do so, you’ll need to explore this huge, ever-changing castle to find out what’s going on on this grim-looking island! What would a game without combat be? Fight through the island’s guardians as you delve deeper and deeper into the island’s secrets.
In this Roguevania action platformer from Motion Twin, you’ll have to use multiple weapons and skills in fast-paced 2D combat against an intelligent AI that tries to slow you down every step of the way.
I found this game to be really fun and smooth to play. I highly recommend using a physical controller to play it rather than just relying on touchscreen controls. Nothing beats the haptic feedback of a game. As with any self-respecting game, you need to learn certain enemy patterns in order to survive. Of course, you may have to die many times to get better.
We can’t help but love the game’s non-linear progression, as it’s a breath of fresh air compared to most current start-to-finish games.
- Price: € 5.99 / Ads: No / In-app purchases: Yes (€ 3.99 per item) / Account: Not required