100 BEST APPS
DUET DISPLAY
This long-time iOS darling finally
rocked up on Android last year.
It transforms a black rectangle
you’ve got lying around – phone,
tablet, Chromebook – into an
extra display. Response times
are a touch variable, but this
is an excellent way to squeeze
extra value from kit that would
otherwise be doing nothing.
£9.49 / Android O £9.99 / iOSECOSIA
Do your bit for
the planet just by
jeffing about on
the internet. Ecosia,
like other search
engines, makes
money from ads;
but it uses that cash
to fund reforestation.
There’s a built-in
browser too, which
never tracks your
searches or grabs
your data, because
the only dirt Ecosia’s
interested in is
the stuff trees
are planted in.
£free / Android, iOSSPARK
Fed up with your
existing email app?
Spark invites you to
take control of your
inbox with a host of
tools that help you
focus on what’s
important, snooze
messages for later,
assign reminders,
and delegate when
you’re working with
a team. If you’ve
never made inbox
zero, Spark’s worth
a shot – and it’s free
for personal use.
from £free /
Android, iOSCARDHOP
Yes indeed, we’re
recommending a
contacts app. But
the devs behind this
one have managed
the impossible
and actually
made it fun to
use. Mostly that’s
down to Cardhop’s
superb design,
which surfaces
information when
you most need it,
through carefully
planned layout and
natural-language
input smarts.
£4.99 / iOSAPPLE MACBOOK AIR
In theory you could run your entire life from a phone,
especially when armed with a hardware keyboard or
using an external display with a Samsung DeX blower;
and iPads are also pretty nifty these days... but most
office types are still going to be happier with a laptop.
Apple’s most recent MacBook Air is our current
fave: a solid mix of power, looks, technology,
security and value. Anti-Mac? Try Microsoft’s
Surface Laptop 3 or Dell’s XPS 13 instead.
from £1099 / apple.comNOW
ADD
THISIf you also have
an iPhone and/or
iPad, many apps
will seamlessly
sync across.