These are the best apps for less stress

For some of us, the tensions in these equally exciting times sometimes run a bit too far. To get you a little relaxed again, we have listed a few relaxing apps for you.

There are plenty of apps in the app store of your device that are specially made for relaxation. But there are also many beautiful things to be found that, in our opinion, can also be used for this. And perhaps also has some other useful functions on board.

Frax

Take the app for example Frax for iOS / iPadOS. You can make hires fractals in an instant (and in real-time). At the same time, it is also a relaxing thing, because you can freely move about and zoom in and out on a fractal. A whole series of fractal settings is available via the menu, each of which produces its own end result. On-device you can already have very high resolutions calculated, via credits you can also have that done in even higher resolutions on an external server. Although it is fair to say that this is really only necessary if you want to print your fractal in football field size. Anyway: it is possible.

Note

By the way, a short intermezzo: it is fair to say that the best apps in this genre are definitely made for iOS and iPadOS. Too bad, but apparently there are more esoteric types among developers who work for those platforms. Fear not, we have also found some platform independent websites for you with also soothing demos on board!

XScreensaver

Screen savers and graphical demos are always good for relaxing a bit. In the app XScreensaver you will find a large collection of historical and more recent graphic art pieces. In fact, XScreensaver is the same program that comes standard with Linux and Unix systems and serves as the administrator and supplier of screensavers there. In the case of iOS, a screen saver makes little sense. But this app makes it possible to view all the beauty while leaning back. You can choose from a huge list of graphic highlights, many of which are also in 3D. If necessary, play some music in the background via your streaming app and you can disconnect from the world for a while.

Screen savers from the old and new box

The site is almost entirely platform-independent https://alteredqualia.com. The only requirement here to view the many graphical demos is an up-to-date web browser. Then it goes loose: you can see all kinds of beautiful pieces of art. Based on WebGL, it runs neatly in any self-respecting browser. The vast majority will run effortlessly on most systems. Occasionally something goes wrong, in which case the demo is not kept up to date, or your browser is not (yet). In any case, this is food for a lot of viewing pleasure without having to install a bit of software for it. Also (secretly) usable on the work PC. Provided it is equipped with a graphics card with some 3D options on board.

Lots of viewing pleasure in your browser

We’ll stick with browser-based entertainment for a while, simply because everyone can participate independently of the operating system. The website http://www.wab.com/ offers a variety of recoded demos for old and well-known home computers. Think of the Amiga or C64, for example. The only downside is that not all mobile browsers also produce the corresponding sound. If you want to, you must visit the said site via your PC or Mac browser. In any case, all the beauty there is good for a good while viewing and listening pleasure. And at the same time you dive into history, which may even evoke some nostalgic feelings from better times.

Generative music (and graphics)

You will find a specific category of apps under the heading generative. Generative music in particular produces an endless stream of music and graphics, both based on AI and – if all goes well – input from a composer of renown. One of the best known of these types of apps is undoubtedly EōN of Jean-Michel Jarre (for iOS and iPadOS). We are not going to waste a lot of words here, because there is already an article that focuses on this branch of sport, including this app. But still worth installing nonetheless.

Nature sounds

Wildfulness is one of many apps that produces soothing sounds to help you relax. There is a simple reason that we pick out exactly these. Many makers of calming apps (or apps that at least pretend to do that …) have become very popular during the Covid lockdowns. And so dollar / euro signs appeared in the eyes of more and more developers. In addition, the subscription model was embraced en masse, whereby the costs sometimes skyrocketed, up to several tens per year. In the end you get very different forms of stress. This app is just one from the one-time purchase category. Please note that this is still the case at the time you read this article (which of course applies to all apps presented here) to avoid disappointments and nasty surprises.

After installation, you have something that produces soothing sounds of nature on request. Swipe right across the screen to bring up the main menu and choose from a variety of sounds. It is also possible to have sound in the background, so when you are working from home on your iPad, for example. That works somewhat illogically: during a playing sound session, tap the screen and set a timer. Once regulated, the sound plays happily for the set time. This way you can still have the feeling of sitting on an alpine meadow on your busy city balcony. Use of headphones is recommended in that case.

Demos from yesteryear, in multiple

Finally, a lot of fun for all platforms; the following software runs in an in-browser emulator. So no installation and it works on both a (fast) tablet / smartphone and Mac or PC. Where it applies that the best experience – including sound – is obtained on the latter systems.

First a bit of background. You’ve probably heard of The Internet Archive. This is a project where everything that can be stored digitally is stored. And made accessible to anyone with a browser and an internet connection. So think of it as a gigantic digital library or – if you like – museum. One of the parts of the Archive is software.

Here you will find gems of old and almost forgotten software, good for hours, days and months of fun. If you want a quick kick, then there are demos for home computers and later also PCs. Golden times for this genre of software – where makers often achieved ‘impossible’ things with standard computers – were the eighties and nineties of the last century.

Via this link we’ve prepared a search for you that takes you straight to a seemingly endless stream of demos. You can download and install those things on an old system. But much more convenient is simply clicking on the ‘on / off button’ on the screen, after which the demo starts in an emulator running in the browser. No risks even on antique viruses or other exciting bugs. Just hang back and relax, what more could a person want?

Nothing prevents you from going through all the other categories of old software (click on the diskette at the top of the menu bar of the site). You can just start Windows 3.1 in your browser, or play an MS-DOS (or something for an even more exotic platform) game from the old box. The flames at the top of this article come from a 80s MS-DOS Demo.