Unique mobile apps are many, but most of them remain undiscovered. The following is a compilation of different apps that bring something new, something unique into your mobile experience. They’re not necessarily new, and there are no games here – we will be making a list of unique games on mobile, too. Without further ado, here they come.
1 Second EveryDay
There are many photo apps on mobile markets, and after 1 Second EveryDay launched, many apps tried to replicate its functionality. However, it was this app that made headlines when it launched thanks to its novel idea – make a 1 second video every day and stitch them when a year is over. You don’t necessarily need to wait for an entire year to make a video clip from your short videos. You can set whatever period you want to stitch, and you can keep multiple projects in an intuitive timeline. Say, you want to make a video of your daughter, one of your pet, and another one of your parents – 1 Second EveryDay is easy to use, and lets you create pretty awesome video snapshots of long periods of your life. It’s free, try it.
Capsule
Download from iOS
Great minds are forgetful, and need to be constantly reminded of trivial things. If you are a great mind, you most likely have trouble remembering to send your husband a shopping list when the end of the working day is near, or call your neighbor to remind him to feed your dog while you are away. Right? Capsule is basically a mobile time capsule you can seal in the 21st century to have it delivered to its recipient in the 25th. That was an exaggeration, of course, but the principle is clear – if you remember about your dog in the morning, and fear lest you should forget about it in the evening, create a capsule, customize the text and the recipient’s contact details, schedule the time when the message should be sent and relax – Capsule will send it when your pre-defined time comes. No more forgotten promises. You can add images and videos. If I am not mistaken, you can send capsules to yourself. It’s free to use, but has IAPs.
PhotoMath Camera Calculator
Math students, this one is for you. PhotoMath harnesses the power of your camera – snap that tricky formula with your camera and let the app solve the math problem. Moreover, tha pp will show you the step by step solution, so you can use it to, you know, study, not cheating. Students report this app to be a wonderful math tutor in a pocket. The app is quite comprehensive – arithmetic, decimal numbers, fractions, equation system, linear equations, logarithms. You can also use the in-built calculator to enter the math problems manually. More complex functions such as trigonometry, derivates and integrals are supported, too, but currently don’t have the detailed solutions. According to the developers, they’re coming soon. The app is free, with IAPs.
Arts & Culture
Developer: Google
Type: Education
Download it from Google Play | iTunes
We all know Google makes functional apps, but not many of us know Google can sometimes make apps that could make a human better. Why, art and culture are designed to evoke the best in people, to ignite the conversation about the truths and injustices of life, to give people food for thought and ground for emotional development. Google’s Art and Culture is an outstanding collection of the world’s artwork, artifacts and all sorts of art-related concepts organized into collections. The world’s finest museums’ works on display are included, as well as their archives, and worldwide art organizations. You can view, zoom in, take 360 panoramic tours of museums, heritage sites, landmarks, learn about the iconic artworks, explore and learn about the art and culture, and search for anything art-related by a variety of cool filters, like color and time period. The app is free, and I am happy to have discovered it.
Instant Heart Rate
Developer: Azumio Inc.
Type: Health & Fitness
Download from Google Play | iTunes | Windows Phone
There are many bogus apps on mobile that claim to measure your heart rate, blood sugar and whatnot, without any health tracking wearable device. Not the case with Instant Heart Rate. In fact, its principle is quite simple, so it works and you can rely on it to get your heart rate more or less accurate. What it does is it asks you to place your finger on your camera lens, and then flashes onto it, to read the miniscule color changes in your skin, that are directly linked to your pulse (same technique that medical pulse oximeters use). The app works best on devices with flash, but the devices without flash are supported, too. You will just need to place the camera against the light, and ensure the lighting is good. You can store the timeline of your readings, and keep track of your heart rate over time. It’s free and it works. You can also link it your Android Wear.
Tunity Hear any muted TV
Developer: AudioStreamTV Inc.
Type: Productivity
Download from Google Play | iTunes
Ever been in a bar, and felt like tuning in onto that news program running on a TV next to bartender instead of the ESPN on the bigger screen? Hospitals, gyms, libraries, universities, airports, restaurants – any public place that has a TV has a weird tendency to run it in mute. You know, the wallpaper mode. Tunity lets you tune into that channel and listen to the audio that goes live with the video on the TV using your smartphone. Scan the TV channel with your smartphone, and tune in. The app currently supports 100+ channels, so chances are your favorite MTV is included. Needless to say this is a savior for the hearing impaired users. Why, it’s a great concept and a pretty good implementation. We recommend it.
Glitch!
Developer: Luca Grillo
Type: Photography
Price: free, Offers in-app purchases
Download from Google Play
Personally, I am superstitious about portraits, but you may feel otherwise. The idea became popular thanks to the cyberpunks, and is that of toying with a photo, like a portrait, to distort it, make it unrecognizable artsy-style. Check Glitch by an Italian indie developer. I have browsed the photos on the developer’s website, and some are really impressive while others are utterly creepy or weird. The app lets you distort an original image using a number of filters, a random glitch generator, apply multiple effects and save your artwork to share. The app is quite easy to use, the only letdown is no Undo button, so be careful. Oh, it also lets you save your creations as MP4 or GIFs.
Planet Ocean
Developer: GoodPlanet Foundation
Type: Lifestyle
Download from Google Play | iTunes
Last, but perhaps by far the most important app on the list is Planet Ocean. It’s definitely a unique mobile app. Have you ever watched the movies of Yann Arthus-Bertrand? Home, Planet Ocean, Human? If not, I suggest you do. Not only are they exceptionally spectacular, and works of a genius, but most importantly, they depict the current state of things on our planet. Namely, we are rapidly killing off the biodiversity and exhausting our resources, so that our children will most likely have a painful shortage of many of them. Planet Ocean focuses on the marine life, and if you care what you eat, how that fish is caught, and how many of its population is left in the world, check it out. It lists the species that are ok to eat, and those that are disappearing rapidly due to the rapid and ruthless industrial fishing techniques. Some of them kill hundreds of marine species as a collateral damage, like turtles, and dolphins. The app explicitly names the countries that engage in barbaric fishing techniques, and suggests the consumers should avoid buying the produce of those countries, just to support the sustainable fishing. As a bonus, you get the movie Ocean Planet with some behind the scenes footage, and a list of suggested dishes. It’s a great app to raise awareness, especially if you have youngsters in the house, because the gorgeous visual footage make it a delight to behold.
What are your favorite unique apps?
That’s it for today. What are your favorite mobile apps that qualify as unique, or perhaps even magic? Share your suggestions in the comments below and don’t forget to follow PocketMeta for everything apps and games on mobile!
