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5 apps worth downloading this week

Featuring Google’s answer to your photo woes, a guide to getting you started with exercises, and a rather classy way to organise your day.

EACH WEEK, WE highlight five apps that are worth downloading for your smartphone and tablet. There are a lot of apps released on a daily basis, but not all of them are worth paying attention to.

This week features Google’s answer to your photo woes, a guide to getting you started with exercises, and a rather classy way to organise your day.

Google Photos
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free

- This is a strange one. If you already have an Android device, you will have photos already (it’s an update), but it’s a pretty significant update so we’re placing it here.
- If you’re familiar with the layout of photos on iPhone, you’ll know what to expect here in terms of presentation, but there’s more to it than that.
- It’s able to recognise photos so you can search for them, even if it doesn’t have a description, and will detect what photos you’ve saved online so your phone always has space free.
- For those using only their phones to shoot photos, there’s unlimited storage for normal photos. Original photos (those from DSLRs) have 15GB of space to play around with.
- It’s far from perfect, but if you’re on Android, it’s a much-needed improvement.

Google Photos Google Photos / Google Play Google Photos / Google Play / Google Play

Pinpoint
For: iOS
Cost: Free

- Find yourself screenshotting your phone and sending them onto other people for whatever reason? This adds an extra layer to that concept.
- Pinpoint is a newer version of an old app called Bugshot but the concept is still the same, add extra annotations to any screenshots you take.
- Taking all of your screenshots together, you can add text, draw arrows and boxes and, blur out certain aspects before you save or send it.
- When you’re finished, you can get rid of the old screenshot so it doesn’t take up space.
- For those who want to give their screenshots more life.

Z Pinpoint / App Store Pinpoint / App Store / App Store

Moleskine Timepage 
For: iOS
Cost: €4.99

- There’s something about Moleskine’s notepads and journals that are classy, even if they aren’t necessarily better, and while that’s difficult to recreate on a smartphone screen, that isn’t stopping it from releasing its own app.
- Moleskin Timepage is a calendar app which is both minimalist and gorgeous to look at. Everything is bright, clear to look at and cleanly presented.
- It only displays a list of upcoming days, even days where you have nothing planned, which may put some people off, but for those who like to focus on each day as it comes.
- If you can get past that, it integrates weather, maps and contacts to create a more comprehensive scheduler.
- It’s expensive, but the benefits are worth it if you’re all about day-to-day management.

9k= Moleskine Timepage / App Store Moleskine Timepage / App Store / App Store

Perfect Workout
For: Windows Phone
Cost: Free

- Although summer hasn’t exactly arrived yet (in weather terms), it’s as good a time as any to start exercising more and get a routine going.
- Perfect Workout is all about that and provides more than 100 exercises included so you’re not stuck with the same routine.
- All exercises come with their own animations to show you how to perform them, taking the confusion out of them.
- If you need to focus on a specific area, there are twelve exercise packs to help you get started and you can keep track of all your activity through weekly graphs.
- For those who are unsure what exercises they should do, this is a good place to start.

9k= Perfect Workout / Windows Phone Perfect Workout / Windows Phone / Windows Phone

Sword of Xolan
For: iOS
Cost: €0.99

- The app stores are awash with pixel art games, but good looks do not equal a good game. It’s something many similar games falter with.
- Sword of Xolan, on the other hand, is a great action platformer which combines both style and gameplay effortlessly.
- The controls are precise, and it’s easy to pick up and play. There’s also a nice combination of virtual buttons and swipe gestures to help you navigate each level.
- The levels and obstacles you face show a lot of imagination and keeps things varied, yet the same can’t be said about the boss fights. Still, that’s a minor blip on what is an accomplished game
- One of the best action platform games you can get for iOS.

Alper Sarıkaya / YouTube

Read: 5 apps worth downloading this week – 23rd May >

Read: As it happened: What happened at Google’s biggest event of the year >

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