Each week, a new round of apps and app updates land in the iOS App Store. This week is no exception with the debut of Microsoft’s Halo Spartan Assault, Halo Spartan Strike and a huge update to Any.do for iOS and Mac. These titles are only a sampling of what is available. Read on for our picks of the best new apps and app updates this week that you shouldn’t miss.
New and notable apps
Sago Mini Toolbox [$2.99] Come build with the Sago Mini friends! Use a wrench, try a saw, or hammer some nails.
Halo: Spartan Strike [$5.99] Delve into 30 challenging missions through cities and jungles using a devastating arsenal of weapons, abilities and vehicles including the iconic Warthog against the Covenant and Promethean enemies.
Halo: Spartan Assault [$5.99] Battle your way through 30 action-packed missions against the Covenant as you explore the origin of the Spartan Ops program featured in Halo 4.
Lost Within [$6.99] From the developer of Prey — Survive a haunted asylum and its monstrous Inhabitants.
WWE 2K [$7.99] WWE 2K, the only authentic WWE in-ring mobile game, puts the power, intensity, and raw emotion of WWE wrestling in the palm of your hand.
Arcane Tower [$1.99] Evil reigns throughout the kingdom, darkness obscures the landscape. A brave wizard is determined to put an end to all of this. But there’s only one way. The Arcane Tower keeps the powers and secrets required to defeat all the evil.
Vox Player [$Fre] Say ‘Hello’ to a completely new listening experience! Listen to your favourite music, no matter where your music is – in a simple & powerful way.
Drylands [$2.99] In a ravaged world, where the “juice” is the only nutrient and most valuable resource, a prisoner teams up with the people of Serenity and so begins an adventure that will change the wastelands’ fate…
Cyclop iPad Edition [$24.99] Cyclop now available on the iPad – ready to unleash monstrous bass sounds to the mobile world.
Foldify Dinosaurs [$3.99] Foldify Dinosaurs takes the classic Foldify experience to the next level!
Fairy Fire [$0.99] Survive waves of evil creatures in this fantastic, fast paced side scroller.
Radiation Island [$2.99] Radiation Island is a survival adventure game where you craft your own destiny in a huge open world environment.
Updates you don’t want to miss
Fleksy + GiF Keyboard [Free] Fleksy is the most fun, customizable way to type, and officially the fastest keyboard in the world. . Version 5.4 includes the following changes:
- Support for new & diverse emoji!
- Integrated Riffsy GIF Keyboard! We have partnered with Riffsy to bring the premium GIF experience to Fleksy Keyboard.
- New gestures for Minimal layout!
- Color-changing Timelapse Theme Pack! The keyboard changes to different, beautiful colors over time!
Wikipedia Mobile [Free] Official Wikipedia App for iOS. Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia containing more than 32 million articles in 280 languages, and is the most comprehensive and widely used reference work humans have ever compiled.. Version 4.1.0 includes the following changes:
- Enhanced sharing! Tap the Share button, or highlight an interesting fact from an article and tap “Share” to create an image which can be shared to social networks and other platforms
- Search improvements: search now supports fulltext lookup and results now also have quick descriptions below them when available
- Lead images: experience Wikipedia like never before with a prominent, contextually-relevant image and description at the top of articles
- Image gallery: tap on images to view them full-screen. Swipe left or right to browse other images within the article
- Read more: suggestions for further reading at the bottom of articles
Snapseed [Free] Perfect your photos in a snap with the new Snapseed 2.0. This app brings to your mobile device the power and control of professional photo editing software, previously only available on the desktop.. Version 2.0 includes the following changes:
- Stacks allow you to re-edit any image
- Copy your edits from one image to another
- 5 new filters including Lens Blur, Tonal Contrast and Glamour Glow, previously a premium feature
- Lens blur that’s adjustable in all directions
- Brush tools to apply effects to sections of an image
- Spot Repair for detailed editing, healing, and retouching
- Transform adjusts perspective across vertical and horizontal axes, then fills in empty areas after rotations
MeteoEarth for iPad [Free] created by MeteoGroup, Europe’s leading private weather company; MeteoEarth truly brings the weather to life using high-end gaming technology and extraordinary graphics.. Version 2.0 includes the following changes:
- FREE premium features including the great option of combining multiple layers for the full weather experience
- Now also free: the water temperatures layer in climate view and the storm tracker
- Premium MeteoEarth users benefit from having an ad-free experience, viewing a forecast animation for 5 days ahead, and more.
- Greater zoom level – zoom in much deeper for extra detail
- Thanks to greater zoom, you can now view more live global webcams!
Photo Flashback: Photos Taken on This Day, App with Apple Watch app and Today Widget [$0.99] A simple app that shows all the photos on your iPhone or iPad and your iCloud Photo Library that were taken on this day throughout the years. Version 1.4 includes the following changes:
- This update includes support for your brand new Apple Watch!
- Now you can enjoy your memories on your wrist!
- When you tap on the photo in the Notification Center widget, the app will now open that photo.
- Tweaked the design of the app in order to focus more on your photos.
- Many, many improvements throughout the app.
- Fixed a crash when trying to share from iPad.
Topo Maps+ [Free] Dream Less, Adventure More! Download Topo maps for offline use while deep in the backcountry. Version 3.0 includes the following changes:
- Added Apple Watch support. Now you can view your offline maps and current location just by glancing down at your wrist. You no longer need to pull your iPhone out of your pack to check your position.
- Updated user interface to make features more accessible and downloading maps even easier.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft [Free] DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE. INSANELY FUN. Version 2.5.8416 includes the following changes:
- Hearthstone is now officially supported on iPhone and iPod touch! (Minimum requirements: iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 2 or better) Featuring an all-new intuitive interface hand-crafted for the mobile experience, it’s never been easier to take Hearthstone with you anywhere you want to play.
- Added an indicator to show if your connection is losing signal.
Any.do – To-Do List, Task Manager, Daily Reminders & Checklist Organizer [Free] Millions around the world use Any.do to capture everyday tasks, organize big projects and share lists with the people around them. . Version 3.0.0 includes the following changes:
- Complete design update and navigation overhaul
- List Sharing is finally here!
- Two brand new list filters (Date, Priority or original List)
- Rich, bold new themes to fully customize your Any.do experience
- Custom default list – choose exactly what list you want as your default
- Learn everything you need to know in a 5 second on-boarding experience
Workflow: Powerful Automation Made Simple [$2.99] Workflow is your personal automation tool, enabling you to drag and drop any combination of actions to create powerful workflows for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.. Version 1.2 includes the following changes:
- Workflow 1.2 introduces Workflow for Apple Watch, giving you the power of Workflow from your wrist!
- Added eight new actions, including Get Playlist, Post to Slack, Get Name of Emoji, and Generate QR Code
- Added AIFF option to Encode Media
- Added support for the Transit app to Show Directions
- Added sentence case to Change Case
- Improved Dropbox actions
- Fixed issues with Make Video from GIF
- Fixed making PDFs from files in Dropbox
- Fixed an issue with opening multiple URLs from the action extension on iOS 8.2+
Apple’s App of the Week
Pursuit of Light: Pursuit of Light is an action adventure game set in a mystery world. $0.99 → Free
Apple’s highlighted collections
Apple this week updated the iOS App Store and is now featuring apps for Earth Day, which is celebrated next week on April 22. The collections include a set of games to help you “Save the Earth” and a group of practical apps for going green.
Top iPhone and iPad Apps in the App store
- Minecraft – Pocket Edition (Top Paid iPhone and iPad) [$6.99] Minecraft is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures.
- Facebook Messenger (Top Free iPhone) [Free] Instantly reach the people in your life—for free. Messenger is just like texting, but you don’t have to pay for every message (it works with your data plan).
- Mortal Combat X (Top Free iPad) [Free]Experience the over-the-top, visceral fighting of MORTAL KOMBAT X!
- Clash of Clans (Top Grossing iPhone and iPad) [Free] From rage-filled Barbarians with glorious mustaches to pyromaniac wizards, raise your own army and lead your clan to victory! Build your village to fend off raiders, battle against millions of players worldwide, and forge a powerful clan with others to destroy enemy clans.
Know of a new app or app update that is not on the list? Then share your personal favorites in the comments.
