While 2021 has been a weird year overall, it’s felt like a return to normalcy on the app front.
The endless attempts to reinvent video chat have quieted down. And while remote work tools remain in vast abundance, some of this year’s best apps have nothing to do with being productive.
As in previous years, this list focuses on apps that either launched in 2021 or saw substantial updates that warrant fresh consideration. It also tries to avoid obvious choices from major tech players in favor of those that could use a little more attention. With those qualifications in mind, here are the best new apps that 2021 had to offer.
Stay informed
A better forecast: What app roundup would be complete without a neat new weather app to try? Weather Strip is brilliant in its simplicity, presenting nothing but a series of line graphs for hour-by-hour temperature, cloudiness, chance of precipitation, and wind speeds. A secondary timeline lets you jump ahead up to seven days, which is really all you need. After a one-month trial, the app costs $2 per month or $9 per year, with no ads or tracking. [iOS]
Weather Strip
Read less, absorb more: Unless you have unlimited free time, you’ll never be able to consume everything that strikes your interest. Uptime provides a workaround, summarizing popular books, courses, and documentaries into five-minute “Knowledge Hacks” in either text or audio form. That way, you can glean the main takeaways and decide whether the full content is worth your precious time. The service costs $80 per year after a three-day trial, or there’s a free version that provides one curated Hack per day. [iOS, Android]
Moonbeam
Discover new podcasts: If you’re not deep into podcasting already, knowing where to start can be intimidating. Moonbeam will get you rolling by chopping podcasts into short samples and presenting them in a personalized feed. Just pick a few genres, then start swiping until you find something that sounds interesting. [iOS, Android]
Achieve your goals
Rip through your reading list: Feeling buried by all the articles you’ve saved in read-it-later apps like Pocket and Instapaper? Alfread will encourage you to block out some reading time with customizable reminders. Just set a weekly reading goal and a preferred reading time, and the app will suggest one article at a time through push notifications. A Tinder-like interface also lets you swipe through your queue, so you can easily archive articles you’ll probably never get to. …….
Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/90708692/best-apps-of-2021