5 Android and iOS applications to install on your smartphone without hesitation

This top 5 is not like our selections of free applications that we offer you twice a week. Here, we install the applications on our own smartphones and test them. We check if there are not too many in-app purchases, ads and if the applications respect your personal data more or less.

We try to select useful applications, whether for productivity, personalization of your interface or digital well-being. And, our top 5 always includes at least one mobile game. Applications can be free or paid, with or without a subscription. But, it will always be indicated!

We take issues related to in-app purchases and advertisements seriously. This is why we mention them in the descriptions of the affected applications.

Perplexity (Android and iOS)

Want a mix of Google and ChatGPT for searching? Perplexity is the app for you! The app combines different AI models with voice recognition, image recognition and web search functions to give you access to every topic imaginable. It works so well that recent Apple takeover rumors are not surprising.

The huge advantage over a ChatGPT search is that Perplexity provides sources for all facts and unlike a normal Google search you will be able to chat with the search results and search for additional information in a targeted manner. Additionally, Perplexity provides images and other media for suitable searches.

In the free version of Perplexity, you will only have a limited number of accurate “pro searches” and you do not have access to the most advanced AI models, ChatGPT 4 Turbo and Claude 3. The pro version costs you choice of 22 euros per month or 229 euros per year. Perplexity offers a one-week trial.

• Price: Free / Advertising: No / In-app purchases: Yes (€22/month, €229/year) / Account required: Yes

Photomath (Android and iOS)

Did you know that you can earn up to a million US dollars if you are really good at math? Photomath is not designed to solve millennial problems, but it allows you to photograph mathematical formulas and the application shows you not only the solution, but also the corresponding solution method.

The operation of the application is very simple. If you’ve discovered a math problem somewhere, simply launch the app and take a photo of the equation. In addition to a simple solution, you can then follow the different steps of the calculation. Even the most complex equations pose no problem. Only text problems cannot (yet) be solved by the application.

In addition to just taking photos, you can also do it yourself. The built-in calculator has different mathematical settings, such as sine/cosine calculation or logarithmic determination. But if you want to know exactly how to solve a formula, you need to purchase the Premium version. This is a subscription model that costs you 7.99 euros per month. However, in most cases the free version of the application is already sufficient.

• Price: Free (subscription model possible) / Advertising: No / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: No

CD-ROMantic (Android)

The CD-ROMantic application is a godsend for vaporwave music lovers and Windows nerds. It is indeed a tool that allows you to add vaporwave effects to your audio files, while making them look like an old version of Windows.

For those unfamiliar with the genre, Vaporwave involves taking sound clips from old pop songs, as well as commercials, video games and the like, looping them and placing them in a new context. This is exactly what you can do with this application.

So you take a song you have on your Android smartphone, add effects like echo and slow down the tuning, and you can then save the fun directly to MP3 format. Also fun is that a random GIF is selected and loops with the song, allowing you to save your track as a video.

The application is not paid, but you will only be able to benefit from additional effects and the absence of advertising if you opt for the Pro version, the price of which is 1.29 euros. If you wish, you can also create and save your own effects.

• Price: Free (Pro version: €1.29) / Advertising: Yes / In-app purchases: No / Account required: No

Hades (iOS)

Are you a Netflix subscriber? Then we have a real treat for you with Hades. In this dungeon crawler game, you play as Zagreus, prince of the Underworld and son of Hades, the master of the Underworld. The game offers a rich and varied story. Zagreus has had enough of his life and vows to escape Hell and return to the mortal world to find his mother.

This seems easier than done though, as you die a lot. Very often, because dungeon levels contain many treacherous enemies with different abilities. But don’t worry, your character becomes stronger with each new escape attempt. Additionally, you will receive help in the form of divine blessings offered by the gods of Olympus.

Additionally, you will discover your character’s story as you progress through the game. Yes, Hades works perfectly with touch controllers and Bluetooth. You will be able to play the game at no extra cost and without any fees or in-app purchases. So what are you waiting for? On to the fight!

• Price: Free / Advertising: No / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: Netflix subscription

Remyn (Android and iOS)

There are tens of thousands of applications designed to remind you of your appointments or other things. How can you still get noticed with your own app? Perhaps by not adding a cornucopia of features and bloating the tool such that the first reminder set is the one that reminds you of the course you need to understand the reminder app in question.

This is exactly what Remyn, which is an incredibly lightweight and simple application, tries to do. You give your reminder a name, you indicate the date or you choose intervals or a specific day of the week. You can then indicate whether the appointment repeats, choose icons and a color and that’s it!

If you opt for the Pro version, you won’t have to put up with advertising, you can configure as many reminders as you want and you will have more choice in icons. In the future, widgets will also be available in the Pro version. I don’t need to spend money, because Remyn is as simple as I want it to be and is more than enough in its free version.

• Price: Free / Advertising: No / In-app purchases: Yes (€1.09/month, €5.49/year, 14.99 one-time) / Account required: No

What do you think of the list of applications presented this week? Did you like any of our recommendations? Is there another app you’re dying to share with the rest of the world? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments!