App roundup: What’s new this month?
We’re always eager to see which new apps have made their way to the iOS store or Google Play. And this month, there were several great new ones hitting the market, plus some exciting feature updates to existing products.
Undeterred by the loss of Vine, the app’s Co-Founders have now launched their own live-streaming video service. Entitled Hype, the platform essentially adds extra interactive features to usual video-streaming. For instance, users can interact with these videos by answering questions, and voting in polls, as well as commenting. And those hosting can highlight comments in the videos, have creative freedom over how their video appears (whether that be in a different position or shape), and also add their own content onto the video at any time- this might be a GIF, video, song or image. Currently available for iOS, the app will soon be coming to Android too. It will be interesting to see whether the product takes off, as it would be a shame to see another live-video app bite the dust.
We love a great travel or location-based app, and recently launched Google Trips has got to be one of the best for its level of detail. Users simply enter the destination they want to visit, and the app then provides information with what to see and do, local recommendations, and even day-trip itineraries. There’s also a useful “Need to know” area housing contact details for local hospitals and other essential places should they be required. As Trips is a Google product, it also works in conjunction with Maps, making it great to use when on the go, as well as with the user’s Gmail should online bookings be made, for instance.
Surprisingly, McDonalds has often been late to catch up as far as its latest digital advancements are concerned. However, the company has just announced plans to add “order and pay” technology to its mobile app, which was launched back in 2015. Currently, the app only allows users to search for its nearby restaurants, view menus and receive deals, but interestingly does not yet accept mobile payments. Compare this with other food outlets such as Starbucks, and the app certainly has some catching up to do. This will likely be a huge boost for the company, as by 2018, McDonald’s has stated that its 25,000 stores worldwide would be able to make use of the system.
In terms of usefulness, this is one app we can’t believe has only just been created! The Passport Photo Creator app from Walgreens does exactly what it says on the tin- enables users to take passport-approved photos straight on their phone. To us this is a great idea, especially when we’ve found ourselves needing a set urgently, and struggling to find a nearby photo booth. For US users, images are then able to be processed via Walgreens, and picked up from store within the hour.
This is the newest iOS video messaging app to hit the market, promising easier instant communication amongst groups. Although on first inspection it seems as though we’ve seen similar apps to this time and time again, Tribe’s unique selling point is its prioritisation of video messaging. The app enables users to send each other 15 second video messages, and hold group video chats too. Communication is simply between contacts, and users can also share information with each other thanks to Tribe’s “Magic Words” feature- this lets you discover more about a certain topic, brand or celebrity when mentioned in a chat. It may not sound revolutionary, but the app was a finalist in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards this year, so perhaps we’ll be hearing a lot more about it in future.
Have you managed to test any of the above so far? And which apps have you been enjoying this past month? We’d love to hear your thoughts and top picks, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.