App Focus: Best Apps 2014 Edition

These days, I am not that much into apps. Not that I don't try out new ones, it's just that I've started practicing what's called the mobile cleanse, stripping down my phone to the barest essentials and keeping only those apps which I find genuinely useful. And ever since I made the switch from iOS back to Android last month, I have not even downloaded one single extra app from the Play Store. That's probably why you will perhaps notice a profusion of Google apps in the list of best apps below (and they are good too, to be honest). So shall we start?

Google Now for iOS

Google Now/Google Search: Android/iOS - A no-brainer inclusion I guess, but what stuns me every time I use Google Now is its uncanny ability to act as my do-anything virtual personal assistant. The iOS app's recent Material Design makeover is even more beautiful, although the bottom navigation bar is highly reminiscent of the Android Police rumours that were floating around back in May.

Inbox: Android/iOS/Web (invite only) - Inbox is Google's Gmail on steroids, offering a more efficient way of organising your emails, in addition to letting you set reminders, snooze emails (or reminders) and whatnot in a gorgeous Material Design-themed interface.

Microsoft Office: Android/iOS - Want to read or edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the go? The best productivity solution from Microsoft went free (for Android and iOS) for personal use last month, and frankly, what more do you need?

Acompli: Android/iOS - Yet another powerhouse of an email cum calendar app, so much, in fact, that Microsoft snapped it up for a cool 200 million USD early this month. Not only it works with all sorts of email accounts, it also throws in cloud integration (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive and Box) into the mix for easy file attachment to emails.

Monument Valley: Android/iOS (paid) - A work of art and hands down one of the most beautifully designed games ever!

Hyperlapse: iOS only - While Instagram's new parent Facebook has steadily (and forcefully) separated its core functions into several standalone apps like Facebook Messenger (which invited a much publicised backlash with several users leaving one star reviews), Facebook Groups, the anonymous chatrooms app Facebook Rooms, the Snapchat-like Slingshot and the bizarre Stickered app that lets you add stickers to photos and share them with your friends, Hyperlapse is a simple, yet easy way to record jerk-free time-lapse videos. That it doesn't even require a Facebook or Instagram account is a big plus!

Citymapper: Android/iOS - Looking for a good way to get around the city of New York, London or Paris? Then look no further than Citymapper, a comprehensive transit app that lets you plan your journey with perfect accuracy. The only bummer is perhaps that it's available only in a select few cities.

FireChat: Android/iOS - Open Garden's chat app FireChat is very unique in that you can "chat with everyone around you, even when there's no Internet connection available" through a technology called mesh networking. That users can also create chat rooms and communicate anonymously has made it tremendously useful in organising the recent wave of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and Russia.

Link Bubble Browser: Android - Patiently waiting for a web page to load after you've clicked on an external link you came across in Twitter or Google+ or any other app for that matter? If the answer is in the affirmative, check out Link Bubble Browser, which loads the pages in the background, while allowing you to continue using the app you are in, and later view them on a floating web browser window right on top of the app itself when done. Pretty neat!

Workflow: iOS only (Paid) - Workflow is the IFTTT for your phone taken to extremes, letting you automate all the stuff that you do with your phone, right from say, taking pictures and sharing them on Facebook, or taking three images, converting it into a GIF and then posting it on Twitter, or just about anything you can think of. Awesome don't you think?

Editorial: iOS only (Paid) - A really good Markdown powered text editor with a built-in browser and advanced automation features (requires that you know a bit of Python programming) for text editing, research and easier inter-app communication. To get a deep-dive, I recommend you read this piece from Macstories. It's brilliant!

Circa: Android/iOS - I have written about Circa before and I will say it again. It's by far the best ever news app that I've come across. Eagerly anticipating its Web version, which is expected to come out soon!

Google+/Google Play Newsstand: Android/iOS - Google may have taken down its RSS reader service, but Google+ and Newsstand are solid replacements to catch up on news and your personal interests from your mobile device.

Read more of the best apps here, here and here.