8 New Apps You Should Know

Instead of wading through the massive amount of new app releases searching for a few diamonds in the rough, just let us be your guide. This is a collection of our favorite new apps for both iOS and Android for your downloading pleasure.

Remember “The Dot Game” (aka Dots or Dots and Boxes) where you tried to beat your opponent with most boxes formed by connecting dots with lines? Black Blue is kind of like that except it’s far more interesting, pretty and addictive. Rather than turning dots into boxes, you turn them into the complex shape displayed at the top of the screen. Once you’ve picked all your dots, the minimal puzzle game completes the line to form the shapes and determines if blue or black has more of the field. With over 70 different levels, this puzzler will keep you busy for hours. iOS | Android

Google continues their quest to make online communication even more confusing with the addition of another slice of Hangouts being rolled out into a separate app. That small caveat aside, Hangouts Meet is a welcome addition to the G Suite Apps because it syncs with everything Google and means you won’t have to install WebEx or GoToMeeting every time you need to join a conference call. Alienating the old-school users isn’t an issue either because Hangouts Meet gives you a dial-in number for every meeting. iOS | Android

Ever since Mailbox went away we’ve been looking for the perfect multi-user/multi-domain e-mail client to replace it, and we think we might have found it in EasilyDo Mail. Whether you’re on Google, Yahoo!, Outlook or even AOL (why?), EasilyDo Mail puts all your inboxes in one easy to use, clean interface that’s fast as hell and packed with useful features. Customized swipe gestures. Intelligent email category sorting. Easy unsubscribe. Undo send. Block read receipts. Custom snooze options. TouchID security. Email on the go just got easier. iOS | Android | Website

Designed and built by The Studio at Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh to be a museum app that people will find useful every day, Dawn Chorus is quickly going to become the favorite alarm clock for all you nature lovers out there. Named for the natural phenomenon of the same name, Dawn Chorus wakes you up each day with birds singing instead of the infuriating bleeps and bloops that are likely to cause you to throw your phone across the room. In addition to being able to customize your alarms with up to 20 different birds, Dawn Chorus also gives you access to all kinds of educational information about the birds. iOS | Android | Website

On the surface, WeDo is a simple to-do list app with tracking, sub-tasks and easy navigation. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find a whole world of possibilities. Shared group tasks for grocery shopping and trip planning. Repetitive tasks. Notes and attachments. iMessage and Apple Watch support. Local service options to tackle all those things on the list that you can’t handle yourself. Habit tracking. Due dates. WeDo has all the “premium features” you’d find in other apps or services, but WeDo is free. iOS | Android | Desktop App

Learning a foreign language with everyone’s favorite learning card app is a great place to start, but the only way to really learn a language is to speak it. That’s where Verbling comes in. Verbling connects you with native speakers of 40 different languages through HD video chat for private language lessons that are about half the cost of lessons at most language schools. The app instantly connects you to a marketplace of teachers with styles, ratings, availability and scheduling. It’s so convenient you no longer have an excuse not to learn a new language. iOS | Android | Website

Most Blackberry news in recent memory has been about the downfall of their physical products, so people forget they have released some great apps over the years. Their latest Android app, BlackBerry Privacy Shade, does exactly what you think it does. Turn on Privacy Shade to block out the screen from prying eyes except for a small viewing area that you control the location of. It’s just like those privacy screens you’ll find on monitors in the office, but this doesn’t require any extra hardware and can be used wherever you want. Android

If you spend any amount of time meditating, you’re going to want to install Timeless immediately. Built by meditators, for meditators, Timeless focuses on improving your personal meditation through guided sessions with experts, multi-day courses, a simple interface and exceptional visuals. Whether you’re a beginner or a yogi, Timeless has everything you need to develop or improve a strong meditation practice. iOS