It’s OK, you survived, February is done (with an extra day, no less!) and March is upon us. The next Valentine’s Day is 350 days away.
Before you jump headfirst into almost-Spring though, there’s just time to check out nine of the best new and updated Android apps from February.
And as with last month, we’ve severely cut back on the number of apps that make it into these monthly roundups – so only the best new launches or most notable updates from the month get through.
Foodie
If the thought of taking photos of your food perplexes you, then you can skip straight along to the second item in this list. If not, read on to find out about Line’s new camera app for food photography fans.
Available for both Android and iOS, the (free) app has a couple of features designed to help you take better shots. Like, for example, letting you know when your phone is exactly horizontal over a plate of food by changing to a spirit level-like display.
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As well as aiding the perenially intoxicated in snapping level images of their dinner, the app also lets you easily apply a depth-of-field-like blur effect and a whole bunch of filters designed just for photographs of food.
➤ Foodie
Everalbum
Everalbum is one of the many photo apps out there trying to pull together all your images from Facebook, Instagram and other popular services to bring them all into one easily-accessed place.
Since November last year, it’s been doing exactly that for iOS users, but it was only last month that it launched for Android devices too.
You get all the same features as its iOS counterpart, including access to Everalbum Plus for paying members who want unlimited full-res storage and the option to print out your images and have them shipped directly.
OKDOTHIS
In confirmation that phone cameras were not designed solely for food and selfies, OKDOTHIS puts a fun spin to your shutterbug habit.
Instead of taking yet-another picture of a sunset or ‘artistic’ shot of a building, OKDOTHIS gets you to snap things of a certain theme – like ‘Trees in Winter.’
As a community-driven platform, it also lets you set up your own challenges for other people to complete.
All in all, if you like taking photos but are lacking a little inspiration, then OKDOTHIS is a fine place to start.
➤ OKDOTHIS
Microsoft Hub Keyboard
When Microsoft isn’t busy making iOS apps that can identify the breed of your dog from a photo, it sometimes puts its Garage team to work on things that might actually be useful.
Microsoft Hub Keyboard is one of those things.
In a nutshell, it puts your Office 365 files, clipboard contents, contacts and other productive shortcuts right on your keyboard to save you time.
Is it fun? No, probably not. But some things are just useful to have.
Playlist a Day
This is another multi-platform app in the list, but this one brings you a playlist of tracks you can start listening along to without any fuss.
In short, it delivers a push notification of the day’s playlist and that’s it. And that’s the point – it’s a deliberately minimal approach to functionality that’s designed to get you doing something (in this case listening to music) without further distraction.
If you’re looking for musical inspiration first thing in the morning, it’s not a bad place to start.
Manything
The Internet of Things is a big old tangled mess of different standards and devices, some of which are interoperable and some of which are not.
Manything sidesteps this by existing as an app that transforms your (old) phone into a security camera.
Now, it’s been updated for iOS and Android to include automatic video capture when something moves in front of the camera and to reduce latency if you’re viewing live from another device.
➤ Manything (beta)
1Password
1Password isn’t a new app, but it is a good one and last month’s update on Android brought a long overdue feature – biometric support.
That’s right, now you can use your fingerprint reader to log into 1Password and unlock items too.
As well as easing the log-in process, the update also ushered in a visual overhaul that brings the password manager more in line with Google’s Material Design guidelines.
Corgi for Feedly
If you’re the sort of person who wants to squeeze a widget, shortcut or icon onto every inch of your home screen, there’s a good chance that getting news and weather updates delivered to your lock screen is also pretty appealing.
Corgi for Feedly does just that on Android devices, neatly delivering all (or specific) updates from your synced Feedly and Instagram accounts.
News addicts will want to check this one out.
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