Apps

Top AR apps to download for the holidays

How to make the most out of ARKit on the iPhone and iPad

Published

November 22, 2018

Chay Lazaro

The holidays are upon us and whether it’s time spent allotted for friends and family, for buying gifts, or for self-improvement, knowing how to maximize the tools you have can help you make the most out of the festivities. Thankfully, in 2018, everything is more convenient with technology, and with augmented reality features right in the palm of our hands, you can be more efficient, learn new skills, and have fun using the devices you already have.

Here’s a roundup of things you can try all throughout the holiday season using your existing iPhones and iPads:

1. Do your shopping online

There’s nothing more annoying than spending precious hours in traffic or in queues just to get the best gifts for our loved ones or for ourselves. There are shops like Magnolia, Pure Cycles, and Sephora that have ARKit integration, which makes the online shopping experience closer to being physically present at the store and seeing the products in real life.

Instead of buying gifts on impulse online, you can put a weekender bag in front of you using your iPhone and see whether it’s the size that your best friend needs, or try a new lipstick shade on to check if it suits your skin tone.

2. Play games with family

Celebrations won’t be a bore with your existing iOS devices. Whether it’s LEGO AR with your favorite brother or Kings of Pool with friends, you’ll never run out of games to play at the next family get-together now that multiplayer AR games are available on the App Store.

3. Learn a new language or hone existing skills

The holidays are the ultimate me time — the time you can spend to recover from the year that was and work on self-improvement. Apps like Memrise take learning to a different level using augmented reality. Aside from the usual flashcards, you can use the iPhone’s camera, point at everyday objects, and learn what they’re called in the language you want to learn. If you’re into basketball, HomeCourt can help you improve by using AR to track your shots, misses, and spots.

ARKit is available on devices that run iOS 11 and above, and an A9 processor or later — that’s the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or up, iPad 5th and 6th Gen, or any iPad Pro.

Are you trying a new activity this year using augmented reality? There are over 5,000 AR apps available on the App Store that you can choose from. Let us know in the comments what your favorite is!

Apps

The No-Nonsense guide to mid-year shopping

Let AI do the heavy lifting for you this Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale

Published

June 5, 2026

MJ Jucutan

The mid-year sale season is here, but the days of mindless impulse buying are over.

Shoppers are shifting toward intentional, value-driven decisions, focusing on quality, authenticity, and actual utility over flashy, low-quality gimmicks.

From 8:00 PM on June 5 until 11:59 PM on June 8, 2026, the Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale is dropping major discounts. But the real win is using the platform’s tools to maximize your budget.

Lock in the baseline discounts

Before diving into specific items, map out how to stack the core offers.

You can stretch your money by hunting down LazFlash Deals for up to 90% off, collecting up to PhP 3,000 in stackable vouchers, and ensuring every order qualifies for the free shipping offers available throughout the event.

True value comes from combining these three layers of savings on things you already need.

Jisulife: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Filter for authentic value

Shopping smart means avoiding the trap of “too good to be true” counterfeits that end up in the trash.

Data shows a massive consumer shift toward trusted quality, with LazMall growth vastly outperforming standard listings during major sales.

To ensure your money goes toward genuine products with real warranties, restrict your browsing to official, brand-certified stores.

If you are upgrading your tech, parenting gear, or wardrobe, look to trusted names anchoring the sale like UGREEN, JisuLife, ANTA, Maserati Watches, Momcozy, and O.TWO.O.

UGREEN: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Outsmart the noise with built-in tech

Don’t waste hours scrolling through endless listings or guessing which product is better.

The smartest way to navigate a massive mid-year event is to let the platform’s built-in features cut through choice paralysis.

Tools like AI Lazzie and AI Picks allow you to instantly compare similar items, analyze prices, and get personalized recommendations based on actual data rather than generic marketing hype.

Smart Shopper Tip: True value is a mix of the right price, verified authenticity, and a seamless return policy. Use this sale period to stock up on everyday essentials and high-quality upgrades rather than panic-buying items you’ll regret later.

Apps

Meta adds subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

Published

May 28, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Is your wallet buckling from the weight of so many subscription services? Well, Meta has a trio of new subscriptions for you to sink your hard-earned cash towards. If you have a few dollars, here’s Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus, and WhatsApp Plus.

All three subscriptions are designed to add new features which can enhance the experience for those who practically live on these apps. Among the three, Instagram Plus is the meatiest. It offers users the ability to view other people’s Stories without showing up as a viewer, create more tailored audiences outside of Close Friends, and extend the duration of a Story beyond 24 hours, among others.

View this post on Instagram

Since it shares similarities with Instagram, Facebook Plus offers much of the same features. WhatsApp Plus, however, offers more customization options including new themes, ringtones, and stickers.

If that’s not enough, Meta has also released a new subscription system for Meta AI. Though the basic use of the AI is still free, the new Meta One Plus and Meta One Premium plans offer more capacity and performance for power users. The company is also testing new creator-focused plans, Meta One Essential and Meta One Advanced.

Of course, the new AI-based plans are more focused on those who actually use the AI software. Meanwhile, the three app plans are more for regular users. Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus will cost US$ 3.99 per month. Meanwhile, WhatsApp Plus will cost US$ 2.99 per month.

Apps

Meta quietly launches Forum app for Facebook Groups

The app highlights discussions from Facebook Groups.

Published

May 22, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Since the rise of other platforms, Facebook Groups haven’t enjoyed as much popularity anymore. Despite this (or maybe even to help with this), Meta has unleashed an all-new app called Forum.

Designed specifically with Facebook Groups in mind, Forum collates discussions from Groups that the user might be interested in. Much like the websites of the same name from the 2000s, the app wants to feature conversations, rather than canned content that the algorithm shoves towards users on the main Facebook feed.

Users can also ask questions. Forum will sift through real discussions to find an answer. The closest analog today is searching Reddit for troubleshooting questions to get answers based on human experience. The main feed of the new app, however, feels more in tune with Quora’s concept.

That said, it’s a refreshing way to bring social media back to human-made feeds. It’s also a stark admission that the main Facebook feed (and, frankly, Instagram too) is just too inundated with content that users are not interested in.

Lately, Instagram also made the same admission by launching its own “lightweight” app called Instants. Like Forum, Instants was made to recapture the essence of Instagram before the rise of the almighty algorithm.

Forum, however, was launched with much less fanfare than Instants. There was no announcement. Rather, it’s just a casual drop from out of nowhere. The app is available now on the App Store and the Play Store.