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.
Tidal
If you haven’t hopped on board with a streaming music service yet, it’s hard to imagine what would convince you to do so. There’s dozens of options out there, broadcasting millions of songs with nothing more than a cheap monthly fee required for access. Spotify is the biggest name, but services like Pandora and SoundCloud have their own offerings. Like music itself, there are plenty of niches within the streaming market.
If your thing is high quality audio, then Tidal might be the service that finally converts you. Brought forward by Jay-Z and a collection of his most famous friends, Tidal serves up songs at a quality that captures the full production value. With a $20 monthly price tag, it’s a bit steeper than most of its competitors. But Tidal does have a handy trump card in its back pocket: Taylor Swift, who pulled all her music from Spotify last year. Don’t like it? Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate.
VaporChat
Security is quickly becoming the most sought after feature in mobile messaging. As Snapchat shores up its service to keep spammers and hackers out and other apps have embraced encryption and temporary messages, VaporChat may be the best when it comes to private messages. The app keeps the message under the control of the sender at all times, meaning they can revoke a message, photo, or entire conversation. Nothing can be copied, screenshotted, or stored without permission and knowledge.
Caviar
It’s a Friday evening and you’re in the mood for your favorite dish but you’d rather not leave the house and have to eat out at a busy restaurant. That’s where Caviar comes in. From the app, you can browse local restaurant menus and place an order. Once you’ve picked what you’ll be dining on, Caviar makes sure it gets to you. It’s a delivery service for your favorite local joints. It’s only available in certain markets for the time being, but you’ll have no problem putting it to use once it’s in your city.
Flashgap
If there are two things that almost never go well together, it’s alcohol and social media. If the first thing you do after a night out is reach for your phone and send off messages to your friends to ask them what happened, then you’ll welcome Flashgap. The app serves to fill in the blank spots in your memory from your night on the town. It’s disappearing photo album that you and your friends can contribute to, only to have it re-appear in the morning so you can see all the regrettable things you did.
Stickman Rush
In the Stickman Rush universe, the world is in a perpetual traffic jam. No-one would wish for life to be like that, but it turns out it makes a pretty solid gaming experience. Stickman doesn’t have time to be stuck behind slow moving vehicles and it’s your job to make sure he gets to his destination. Change lanes, dodge obstacles, jump cars, and collect coins. The intuitive controls and fun art style make the game an addictive experience.
