The following suggestions are some of the hottest apps for Summer 2015. All of them will help you to get the most out of your summer whether you’re chilling in the garden, at a festival, or on holiday in some gorgeous part of the world. Find the app for all occasions!
1. Layout (iOS & Android, free)
Brought to you by the people behind the Instagram social network, Layout is an app which allows you to create collage-style layouts for your photos. The main tool is the ability to combine photos into one photo meaning that you can create cute memory board-style mementos from fun days out or family events. It still allows for all of the usual filters and tools, and you’re given “complete artistic control” over the layout and appearance of your collage.
2. Festival Buddy (Android, free)
So this app’s design is not going to win any awards (it’s almost too simply presented giving it a cheap look) but it would be super useful at a festival or anywhere else that you might get lost. The idea is that you can ‘drop’ a geo tag at a certain location and then, should you get lost, the app will direct you back to where you need to be. Think field of tents, all of them looking the same, late night, a few sheets to the wind… are you seeing its use now? Could also be useful for car parking!
3. Pixelmator (iOS, £3.99)
This software has long been considered to be one of the best in the world of graphic design on Mac. Like its desktop-based predecessor, the app allows users to edit images through the use of layers and selections – an unusual and complicated addition to the sea of image editing apps available on the App Store. It also has plenty of retouching tools and effects that will enable you to make your images look as polished as possible. An exciting addition for many people!
4. GLP – Great Little Place (iOS, free)
This app makes an excellent addition to your iPhone whilst on holiday or visiting places. Whether you know the area or not, this app will enable you to discover relatively unknown bars, cafes, pubs and restaurants meaning that you’re more likely to experience the real place and rub shoulders with genuine locals rather than other tourists. For many, travelling is reliant on the guidebooks but this app opens up your destination and allows you to really expel your wanderlust.
5. Dark Sky (iOS, £2.99)
In Britain, the weather is often very unpredictable and, as such, summer days are often severely hampered by its outcome: picnics ruined by sudden showers, barbeques ruined by a chilly wind, and unexpected storms whilst walking along the seafront. This app gives you location-based weather updates that are incredibly accurate and provide you with info for the coming hour as well as the usual longer term forecasts. It also comes with notification centre abilities to ensure that you are suitably kept abreast of the latest predictions.
