Apps

BeReal, Apex Legends Mobile win in Apple’s App Store Awards

With notable Cultural Impact Winners

Published

November 30, 2022

GadgetMatch

If you’ve been looking for new apps to download on your Apple device, then look no further. Apple has just announced winners of the 2022 App Store Awards. It’s a list filled with everything from productivity to gaming and everything else in between.

The winners were selected by Apple’s global App Store editorial team. They were chosen based on the app’s ability to deliver exceptional experiences as well as make a profound cultural impact.

2022 App Store Award Winners

Apps

BeReal — iPhone app of the Year

BeReal gives users an authentic look into the lives of their family and friends. The user is given a prompt and has a day to post a BeReal in order to see posts from friends. The posts are always only real-time and thus, can’t be curated unlike ones in existing social media apps.

GoodNotes 5 — iPad app of the Year

It’s a free form digital paper that lets users annotate PDFs, share notes with colleagues and more. The CEO and Founder had the idea after he realized he was wasting so much paper solving math equations — which is easier to do in handwriting — during his college years. It was around this time that the first iPad was released and he saw the potential for a truly digital writing solution with it.

Mac Family Tree 10 — Mac App of the Year

MacFamilyTree 10 sparks the exploration of genealogy through stunning visual family trees and collaboration with loved ones around the world.

Gentler Streak — Apple Watch app of the Year

Gentler Streak helps users balance fitness and rest to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Games

Apex Legends Mobile — iPhone Game of the Year
Moncage — iPad Game of the Year
Inscryption — Mac Game of the Year
El Hijo — Apple TV Game of the Year

Cultural Impact Winners

Apple also selected five Cultural Impact winners that have. These apps made a lasting impact on people’s lives and influenced culture.

How We Feel

We track steps, our weight, sleep, and what not. But what about tracking our feelings? That’s what the app How We Feel from the How We Feel Project, Inc. does. It starts with a four-color mood meter. Select which color best represents how you’re feeling and it’ll expand to more granular emotions. You’ll then be asked to write what caused you to feel that way.

The team behind the app are working off three core principles; Free and accessible, Accepting of all feelings, and Research backed strategies.

Other than tracking, they also provide instructional videos as well as strategies to help improve your mood in case you find yourself in a feelings pattern that isn’t healthy for both you and the people around you.

Dot’s Home

Dot’s Home from the Rise-Home Stories Project spotlights systemic housing injustices and the subsequent impact within communities of colour through a compelling and thoughtful time-traveling tale.

Locket Widget

Locket Widget from from Locket Labs, Inc. allows users to send live photos right to family and friends’ Home Screen, Locket Widget drives intimate connection between loved ones, free from traditional social media pressures.

Waterllama

Waterllama from Vitalii Mogylevets is probably the cutest way to monitor your liquid intake. Yes, not just water. Initially, the developers’ goal was just to track water intake. But the app has grown to taking note of hydration levels, taking into account every type of drink we take in.

There are even challenges in case you want to start drinking soda or coffee less. And they’re all presented in cute, bright packages featuring animals that are dressed to impress.

Inua – A Story in Ice and Time

Inua – A Story in Ice and Time from ARTE Experience provides an engaging, mystical adventure for users to explore historical events that weave in elements of Inuit traditions, folklore, and breathtaking tales.

Apps

Google Photos can now censor your kid’s face better

The new Redact feature can censor sensitive information.

Published

September 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Censoring photos is heavy work. Either you stick on random emojis or draw an indiscriminate splotch of doodles to cover sensitive information. It’s an imperfect art but an essential one to protect privacy. Today, Google Photos is getting a Redact feature which can censor sensitive bits with pixelated blocks.

An addition to the Markup tool, Redact acts like a nifty pen that can hide information that you don’t want seen. Unlike a ghastly emoji or a splotch, the censored bar mixes better with the surrounding elements. In the example that Google used, a censored license plate blends well with the car it’s attached to, making the photo look more cohesive. Besides license plates, it’s the perfect tool for covering other information like phone numbers, addresses, and the faces of your loved ones.

Google Photos is also rolling out Moods, a set of filters that give photos a nostalgic look, including a 2000s night digicam vibe that’s popular today. There are also 15 new Remix templates to add more creation options.

Both the Redact and the Moods features will roll out to Android users starting today. The new Remix templates, however, will be limited to some countries on both Android and iOS.

Apps

Smart launches LiveSmart App for exclusive deals

Exclusive deals, cashback, and bill payments in one app.

Published

September 18, 2026

GadgetMatch

Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and TNT have launched the LiveSmart App, a new platform that combines loading, bill payments, exclusive offers, and other everyday transactions in one app.

The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It is open to Smart, TNT, and subscribers of other mobile networks.

The LiveSmart App gives users access to exclusive deals and savings. These include cashback offers, discounted Smart and TNT data packages, and limited-time access to AI.Smart.

“Filipinos are becoming more deliberate about where they spend and how they can get more value from every peso,” said Lloyd R. Manaloto, FVP and OIC for Smart. “The LiveSmart App is designed to help make those everyday decisions a little smarter, by giving users convenient ways to load, pay bills, and access exclusive savings and offers in one place.”

Exclusive deals and perks

Smart and TNT are rolling out several offers on the LiveSmart App starting September 18.

Smart and TNT subscribers can get 5% cashback when they purchase load or pay their Smart Postpaid bill through the app.

The app also offers data packages at exclusive prices. Smart Prepaid subscribers can get Power All 109 for PHP 105, while TNT subscribers can get Saya All 109 for PHP 105.

Users who download the LiveSmart App may also receive limited-time free access to AI.Smart.

AI.Smart combines multiple AI models, including AWS Nova, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Thinking Machines, in one workspace. Users can use it to generate images, create presentations, draft documents and spreadsheets, and get help with schoolwork, content creation, and other projects.

To claim the free AI.Smart credits, users need to tap the AI.Smart banner in the LiveSmart App. They then need to create an AI.Smart account using their Smart or TNT number.

Smart says users can also expect more exclusive deals and perks from lifestyle partners as it expands the LiveSmart App.

Powered by Smart 5G

The LiveSmart App runs on Smart’s network. Smart 5G supports activities such as video streaming, gaming, and real-time social media sharing.

The company said Ookla recently recognized its network for the Best Mobile Video Experience in the Philippines for the first half of 2026. Smart recorded a Video Score of 72.82, which it said was the highest among mobile operators in the country.

The LiveSmart App is now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Users can learn more about the app through Smart’s website.

Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.