Planet of the Apps was not exactly met with a warm reception. But a few good ideas and apps have emerged from it. We list them.
Planet of the Apps apps
Apple’s first TV series received notably negative reviews. We were also not immediately impressed in our Planet of the Apps review. The complete series is now on Apple Music and the apps that made it are in the App Store.
We took a look at the featured apps from the series and picked the currants out of the porridge. Although the creators of Planet of the Apps probably also regret that the real golden egg was not found during the series, there are a few good ideas.
Companion
Companion ensures that you never have to go all alone on the street. With the app you put together a network of friends and family who can let you know where you are. As a user you enter a destination and select contacts as ‘Companions’. They can see where you are live on a map and receive notifications when you are there.
The app recognizes it if the user suddenly starts running, falls or arrives late, for example. If nothing is wrong, you can indicate this in the app within 15 seconds, otherwise contacts will be notified.
→ Download Companion from the App Store (free)
Poncho
A weather app that takes a slightly different approach to its competitors. Poncho is the name of the cat in the app, which sends you a personalized weather report every day. It does that with funny gifs and fun animations. You can check the weather forecast for the next few hours or the next five days. There is also a UV index and even a weather forecast for your hairstyle. A hip app and fun as an alternative to more serious weather apps.
→ Download Poncho from the App Store (free)
Stop, Breathe & Think
A mindfulness app that ensures that you take a moment of rest in time. That should make you feel better in the end. Stop, Breathe & Think offers different packages for different situations. You can learn to meditate, but there are also sessions for breathing, yoga, sleep and pregnancy.
Most sessions require a paid premium account, but free classes are also available. In addition to sessions in audio form, there are also videos that explain, for example, how to adopt the best posture. There is a version for adults, but also one app for kids who takes a more playful approach.
→ Download Stop, Breathe & Think in the App Store (free)
Guardian Circle
The need for apps that make us feel safer is evident from the fact that there are two apps in this list that respond to this. Yet Guardian Circle is different from Companion. With the app you can immediately indicate if an emergency occurs. So it is not only about someone who is with you during a walk, but also if you are harassed in a cafe or if you have to work overtime and therefore cannot pick up your child from school.
There are options for sending a notification to contacts for a wide variety of situations. You indicate yourself whether it is a test, a question or something that is under pressure. By using the app with a group, you look forward to each other.
→ Download Guardian Circle from the App Store (free)
Planet of the Apps yielded little
Apple’s TV series consists of ten episodes in which multiple ideas have come up. Yet we only come to four apps that are worthwhile. That is a bad score, especially when you know that Apple itself has 45 apps that it has highlighted in the App Store.
We have not tested many of these, by the way, because they were too focused on the United States. Others seemed like a nice idea, like Walc, with which you are given direction on routes via recognizable buildings, but of which the app was ultimately poorly developed. That also applies to the app Dials Calendar, where we couldn’t even register because we ran into errors.
You can expect a lot more for a program that revolves around good ideas and that was promoted by Apple like that.
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