Stuff - UK (2020-02)

100 BEST APPS

NOW

ADD

THIS

PENNA

You could go for
any old Bluetooth
keyboard, connect
it to your device and
get into some deep
customisation and
coding larks... but
we’re rather fond
of the Penna range.
They resemble
vintage typewriters,
sync with up to
three devices
simultaneously,
and have carriage
return levers that
are used to record
and trigger macros.
from $199 /
elretron.com

Whoever made your phone would

like to think it’s perfect out of the

box... but it isn’t, so customise

it with these apps

TWEAK

1BLOCKER OUT

When you’re browsing on your

iPhone or iPad, you don’t want

your data or time being eaten

by webpage annoyances. With

1Blocker in place, you can hide

offending elements for good.

But also, if you want to support

a site you can whitelist its ads;

and if you want to go all-in

geeky, it’s possible to write

your own custom CSS.

£14.99/year / iOS

CERI

LAUNCHER

Android launchers

are often hugely

customisable

but also a little

baffling. Ceri takes

a very different

approach, stripping

things right back.

You get a clock, a

bunch of icons to

launch your apps,

and a super-sleek

search bar. Sure,

others might give

you ‘more’, but this

one gives you all

you actually need.

from £free / Android

There’s going to

come a point when

Xcode rocks up

on iPad. Until then,

Codea gives you

the chance to

create interactive

apps and games

on your tablet.

There are loads

of examples you

can fiddle with, or

you can kick right

off with a blank

canvas. And yes,

apps made with

Codea do exist

on the App Store.

£14.99 / iOS

CODEA LAUNCHER

WITH

MULTIPLE

WIDGETS

Apple’s iOS is far

more locked down

than Android, but

this download

still gives you

a smattering of

customisation.

‘Today view’

widgets integrate

with Shortcuts,

provide deep links

into Settings, and

can fire off web

launchers in your

browser of choice.

£4.99 / iOS

FLICK

LAUNCHER

You might greet

Flick Launcher to

thoughts of ‘more

of the same’; but

this 2019 arrival

has more than just

a dock search bar,

custom gestures

and the means

to get at Google

Now with a swipe.

Mostly that’s down

to its API, Nigel,

which aims to give

you the app you’re

after before you

even know it.

from £free / Android