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The 10 most beautiful apps, according to Apple

The 10 most beautiful apps, according to Apple

The 10 most beautiful apps, according to Apple

Say what you will of their business strategies, but there's no denying Apple makes some seriously attractive tech.

Who better, then, to judge the design merits of the applications, programs and software designed for their curvy, wafer thin, bank account ruiners? 

These are the winners of the annual Apple Design Awards, commending software that not only works, but that works beautifully.

Your desktop is about to get a lot prettier.

Shadowmatic

What is it?
A gorgeous puzzle game that sees apparently random objects float in mid-air in front of a projector. By rotating the object, players must discover the hidden silhouette hidden within. Sounds easy, until you're spiralling three perplexing objects around, screaming at your phone and upsetting everyone else on the bus.

Get it here


Metamorphabet

What is it?
An alphabet app. But stick with us - each of the letters contains beautiful animations, revealed only when they're touched in a certain way. An educational tool; if you've got a kid who keeps pestering you to play with your phone or tablet, this is the only app you'll need. 

Get it here


Robinhood

What is it?
Buy, buy, buy - no, SELL! That's the core use of this stock tracker, but in an undeniably attractive, easy-to-read package. It's clean, simple and makes for a straightforward introduction to the world of stocks and shares. 

Get it here


Affinity designer

What is it?
A slick piece of vector design software, Affinity Design lets you tweak any pixel-based image you fancy with some very nice tools indeed. Built with the Mac OS X in mind, you can zoom in on pieces by up to 1 million percent without visual loss. Which is a lot.

Get it here


Crossy Road

What is it?
Frogger by another, more attractive name, Crossy Road is a delightfully low-fi game that sees you hop your character across a variety of hazard-filled locations. Got a long flight coming up? It's worth a download just for that. 

Get it here


Fantastical 2

What is it?
All other Apple calendars wish they were this attractive - and functional. Grabbing information from just about every other app and software you might run, Fantastical 2 will make missing those post-work drinks you "accidentally" booked to clash with a dentist appointment near impossible.

Get it here 


Workflow

What is it?
Need a thing to do things? Workflow is where it's at - a bold, beautiful productivity manager that automates pretty much anything you can imagine: make PDFs; create GIFs; and, perhaps more importantly, get directions to the nearest coffee shop. By grabbing the central functions of all the other apps on your device (maps, music, social tools etc), Workflow acts as a neat hub to control and automate - well, basically anything you'd do with your phone.

Get it here


Does Not Commute

What is it?
Traffic chaos in a game, essentially. At first, your commutes through this gorgeous sixties-themed top-down world feels a touch too easy - but things soon get difficult as you begin racing against yourself with different cars on different journeys. So it's a case of, "Go left, no, the other left - no you, did that last time!" and repeat. 

Get it here


Vainglory

This is what the gaming-heads call a MOBA - a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Which, for the uninitiated, translates to a game where you take on a variety of real-life players from around the world in a battle to take control of a world. Three heroes take on three other heroes, with big guns, bigger swords and massive monsters. It's much, much better than Candy Crush.

Get it here


Pacemaker

What is it?
Mercifully, it's not an app control for nearby heart-assisting devices. Pacemaker lets you play DJ with your Spotify of iTunes playlist, allowing you to adjust a track's tempo, volume, and add effects like reverb, echo and 'passes' - seamlessly mixing tracks together without delay. A must for your next house party.

Get it here