There are many lesser-known yet awesome apps waiting to be discovered and downloaded onto our mobile devices. The coolest apps, however, usually tend to be fun, entertaining, or uniquely helpful. After searching for a bit, we found several apps that reflect some or all of those same qualities.
Here is our list of nine really cool apps you’ve never heard of.
Learn to Code in Your Spare Time: Programming Hub
With lessons broken down into easy-to-understand steps and its consistently encouraging feedback, Programming Hub is a great app for those who want to learn a programming language at their own pace. There are over 20 programming languages to choose from, including HTML, Python, Java, and C programming.
Text-to-Speech feature allows for an immersive experience.
Over 20 programming languages.
Free for iOS and Android.
Your progress goes unsaved if you quit mid-lesson.
Premium features require a subscription.
Programming Hub is free to download for iOS and Android devices, but premium features such as no ads, offline mode, and unlimited access to all courses require a subscription.
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Explore the Night Sky: Stellarium Mobile Sky Map
Perfect for astronomy buffs, the Stellarium Mobile Sky Map app helps you explore the night sky to learn about stars, constellations, and planets with a swipe and a tap. There’s even a GPS feature, allowing you to navigate the stars by waving your phone in different directions.
Illustrations for each mythical creature by constellation.
Built-in GPS feature.
Details provided for stars and planets, not constellations.
No free tier of the app for iOS.
You can download the Stellarium Mobile Sky Map app for free on Android devices and for a one-time fee on iOS devices.
Spice up Your Social Media Posts: Adobe Creative Cloud Express
Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Spark Post) is a graphic design app with loads of ready-to-use, customizable design templates. The app comes with numerous customization options, including image filters, resizing, recoloring with different color palettes, and layout choices. CCE also offers access to an extensive collection of free-to-use stock photos for use within the app.
A seemingly endless amount of templates.
Designs and layouts are professional-looking.
Templates are easy to customize.
The image editor has a minimal workspace.
There’s no zooming feature while editing.
Once you create your desired image, you can save it, share it on your social media accounts, email it, or text it. It’s free to download and use on both Android and iOS mobile devices.
Help out With Cancer Research While You Sleep: DreamLab
DreamLab helps further a cause that’s incredibly important: the search for a cure for cancer.
Control the amount of data DreamLab uses.
Benefits cancer research.
Reported device overheating with prolonged use.
DreamLab supports cancer research by allowing your phone to help conduct the research. By harnessing your phone’s processing power to process calculations for a cancer research project, the research speeds up, inching the world closer to a cure and better cancer treatments; and it’s all done while your phone’s charging.
Once the app completes its calculations, the data goes to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. DreamLab is free to use and download on both Android and iOS devices.
Read Your Favorite Comic Books: Comics
With the Comics app by comiXology, you can purchase, read, and store your favorite comic books and graphic novels on your mobile device.
- View preview pages before purchasing.
- Store purchased items on an SD card.
The Comics app has a vast collection of comic books, graphic novels, and manga, including titles from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, IDW, Image Comics, and Dark Horse. Other features of the Comics app include storing your purchased comics on an SD card and offline reading.
The Comics app by comiXology is free to download for Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire devices, but the app charges varying prices per book. Another payment option is the comiXology Unlimited monthly subscription, allowing you to read any of their content for a monthly fee.
Avoid Tourist Traps When You Travel: Spotted by Locals
The Spotted By Locals app lives up to its name. It’s a travel app that recommends places to visit within your desired destination based on curations from people who live in and around the area.
City guides suggest landmarks, small restaurants, and parks.
Locals provide the suggestions and tips.
Travel guides are accessible offline.
Free preview of each city.
Complete city guides require purchasing.
Challenging to know if guides are worth buying.
Instead of visiting the most popular places for tourists, you can experience the area like a local. The travel guides within the app are accessible offline, and you’ll have continuous access to updated information.
The Spotted By Locals app is free to download, but city guides require a purchase. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Create Fun Short Animations Right: PicsArt Animator
PicsArt Animator is a fun, creative app that lets you make short, shareable videos, animations, and GIFs on your mobile device. It offers numerous creation tools, including frame-by-frame animations and editing, drawing and sketching tools, and the ability to record voiceovers.
Brief yet helpful tutorials.
Tools include animations, sketching, and voiceover.
Free to download and use.
Unintuitive interface.
There aren’t enough tutorials to cover all the app’s features.
PicsArt Animator is completely free for Android, iOS, and Windows devices.
DIY Your Very Own Podcast: Anchor
The Anchor app lets you record, edit, and publish your podcast using your mobile device. Your show’s analytics are also accessible, so you can keep track of how many people listen to which segments of your podcast.
Record directly to your phone.
Add people to a recording session by sharing a link.
View analytics about the number of listeners you have.
Only allows 15-second fast-forwarding or rewinding.
Anchor is free to use and available for both Android and iOS devices.
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