[ WWW.TECHLIFE.NET ] [ 033 ]
[] BEST NEW APPSWe reviewed Overcast in May 2016, but its
recent makeover makes it worthy of a revisit.
For newcomers, Overcast is an iOS podcast
hub with a search function that turns up a
seemingly endless number of productions.
It also clumps podcasts by genre, but it also has
a ‘most recommended’ section, where you’re
guaranteed to find something you like. The
user interface is simple and easy to navigate,
but its recent 3.0 update makes it even better.
Importantly, the Now Playing view has been
redesigned, allowing you to swipe left for more
info on an episode and swipe right to adjust
the volume settings. Another thing that’s
changed is that the Now Playing, settings,
recommendations and downloads screens now
adopt stacks, sliding up from the bottom of the
screen. You can access options for episodes
more quickly by tapping on one in a list, giving
you the option to share, add to queue, delete or
play. There’s a new widget for the home screen
to play with and new 3D touch abilities give
you quick access to episode contents. Another
welcome addition is the new design of the
Watch companion app and the ability to now
view what’s next in your queue. This is still our
favourite third-party podcast app for iOS.
[ CARMEL SEALEY ]Bitesnap does something different to standard
calorie counting apps in that it estimates your
energy intake based on a photo of your meal
or snack. The theory is excellent: remove
boring data input by relying on a visual
medium. Anyone who takes artsy photos of
their food is one step ahead. Bitesnap asks
for your height, weight, age, weight goals and
levels of activity and spits out a Body Mass
Index, a rough and ready number that
indicates whether you’re in a healthy weight
range or not (as an aside, don’t put too much
stock into that number, there are plenty of
athletic people who are technically
overweight). You’re then allocated a
recommended amount of calories with
macronutrient (carbs, fat and protein)
proportions. It’s a great theory, though
there’s a lot of room for improvement,
and we acknowledge Bitesnap is in beta.
Measurements are predominantly imperial
and you have to go digging to find metric.
It struggles with recognising complicated
meals, meaning you spend a lot of time
manually entering the types of food and
quantities, which negates the point of the
whole thing. Limited, but loaded with promise.
[ PAUL TAYLOR ]
Bitesnap | in beta
CALORIE-O-GRAPH
Free | getbitesnap.comOvercast
PODCASTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Free with IAP | overcast.fmZara is here to help you get fit and feel great,
but only if you pay for the premium
subscription, otherwise she’s at your service
only once a day. Once set up, the app ‘gets to
know you’. Choose your favourite fitness
activity from cardio, stretching, running,
walking and strength, and then you’ll be asked
to link the app to Apple Health and your
Motion and Fitness Activity information. Zara
will then conversationally come up with your
daily average distance and steps, suggest you
subscribe to the premium version, then allow
you to get started on your first workout. Since
it piggybacks on Apple’s data, it’ll be able to
paint a more accurate picture of you and what
you need to do to reach your goals. Zova can
even notify you when you’re being lazy. You’re
given an Activity Score that amalgamates all
your various fitness data into a single
easy-to-manage number, which is good if all
the individual figures confuse you. If you do
upgrade to the Premium version, you’re given
unlimited workouts a day and activities are
tailored to suit your specific goal. It even has
tvOS and watchOS versions of the app to make
sure it can follow you wherever you go!
[ CARMEL SEALEY ]Zova
YOUR OWN DIGITAL FITNESS TRAINER
Free; premium subscription $7.99/month
zova.com