It’s no secret that, for most of us, our cell phones are never far away. They help us stay in contact with friends and family, they help us manage our work schedules, they allow us to capture special moments, they even keep us grounded and relaxed when things are a little overwhelming.
But with around nine-million apps currently available, it can be hard to distinguish the value-adding masterpieces from the ones that just take up storage space.
It is much easier to trust a friend’s recommendation than to spend time scrolling through nine million apps. So consider the Naked team a friend that has the low-down on some of the most useful apps out there – after all, we do spend the majority of our days thinking about and developing a kickass app!
Grasshopper – A Google-created coding app that helps beginners learn to code for free
These days coding is becoming an essential skill in most jobs but how do we find the time to upskill? Grasshopper allows anyone to learn the fundamentals of writing real JavaScript in a fun and easy way while waiting in queues, commuting or during some downtime, right there on your phone.
“I try to do 10 minutes a day to hopefully one day understand what the devs do. The design could do with some work, but it's very fun and user-friendly. It has lots of five-minute lessons/tasks.” – Magdaleen, user experience (UX) designer
Namola – Safety apps for you and your loved ones
As beautiful as South Africa is, safety has become a concern for many, especially women and children. Namola is an app that allows you to know the whereabouts of your loved ones through a live location pin and it also allows them to alert you if they are in any danger. There’s not only that but if a user of the app feels like they are in some kind of danger, they can contact public emergency services like the South African Police Services (SAPS), security companies, fire and rescue, or an ambulance.
“I heard about this app right after the #AmINext protests in South Africa and feel much more empowered knowing I can act fast when I need to.” – Liezel, marketing
Vivino – An app that helps you choose your wine based on ratings, reviews and prices
Using Vivino to choose your wine will make sure you’re never drinking bad vino ever again. The app uses community data to suggest the best wines. All you have to do is snap a photo of the bottle or menu and the app will tell you all about the wine you’re about to drink (or not drink).
“My husband won't buy wine before checking Vivino these days. It’s the easiest way for us to agree on what to buy.” – Sumarie, co-founder
Waking Up with Sam Harris- Meditation app
There are lots of meditation apps out there but Sam Harris – renowned best-selling author, neuroscientist and philosopher – has released an app that is something different. The app combines guided meditation and mindfulness techniques with practical wisdom which is shared through his conversations with influential teachers and scholars – all in service of helping us to live a more balanced, fulfilling life.
“I’ve always been a big believer in meditation and the practice of mindfulness. Sam Harris has taught me a lot about both of these practices and has helped me in guiding my own meditation session with colleagues each morning since we all started working from home.” – Alex, co-founder
Discord - Allows you to easily talk or hang out with friends virtually
Discord is an app that allows you to chat via text, voice calls or video calls with up to 10 people including you. As the app was designed for gamers to chat mid-game it is far more efficient in terms of data and CPU usage when compared to applications like Skype.
“I use it to keep up with gamers, Covid-19 research, economic and disease-related statistics and confirmed data, and debated discussions.” – Jade, chief technology officer
22Seven - Free budgeting and investing app to help you manage your money
22Seven is an app that hosts all of your accounts and transactions. It tracks where your money is going each month by category, and sends you hints and nudges on how you can possibly save.
“22Seven has allowed me to track my financial net worth over time, create awesome budgets and maintain financial soundness.” – Arne, actuary
HappyCow – Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant guide
This app doesn’t just help you easily find the veggie and vegan restaurants in your town, but it also guides you to vegan-friendly B&Bs, hotels, cities around the world and even lets you connect with other vegans in the area you’re in. There’s also an array of information around veganism on the app/website that can come in handy if you’re looking at this type of lifestyle.
“I love going out for a good hearty meal and it’s even better when they’re vegan. Happy Cow helps me choose healthy, conscious restaurants to eat at.” – Emily, Scrum master
Splitwise – Expense/bill tracking app for roommates and friends
If you live in a digs or have to split expenses with a housemate or family, Splitwise is a great free tool to help you. It allows you to track bills and other shared expenses so that you can make sure you get paid back – even the small amounts. Some even use it when they go on holiday and need to keep track of what they’ve spent and who owes them what.
“This really makes your life easier in terms of payments when you live with housemates.” – Pieter, operations team
Strava - Instagram for athletes
Strava is a mobile app that allows you to record your workout on the app or upload it with a compatible GPS device. Your workout goes onto a feed where friends and family can follow you, give you kudos and see what routes you took. You’re also able to upload photos of your adventures – think of it as the social media for athletes and adventurists. And if you’re the competitive type, Strava marks popular stretches of road or trails (known as segments) and creates a leaderboard of the best times set by athletes who have done the route.
The beauty of it is, is you may never meet these fellow sports enthusiasts but you compete virtually for the same records on the same roads and trails.
“It’s just Instagram for runners but the nudges and mental effects are arguably more constructive than Instagram.” – Naadir, actuary
Goodreads – Allows you to track books you’ve read or want to read
An app that allows you to track the books you read and want to read. You can follow certain authors and add friends.
“It’s also a really nice place to go and read reviews of books you might be interested in to make sure they’re worth your time, but it’s also a good place to find recommendations of books. Goodreads starts to learn what types of genres you like and gives you recs based on that. It’s like Facebook but for books.” – Courtney, content writer
Tidal – Music streaming service
Tidal is an artist-owned streaming app to listen to your favourite music or discover new music. It allows artists to connect with fans on a more personal level as artists are allowed to share what they want, when and how they want to, directly with their fans. It’s also become a platform for young, up-and-coming artists to reach an audience they otherwise wouldn’t have in the real world.
“I use Tidal for music because it pays the artist more for their work than other platforms.” – Midas, web developer
We hope these apps help you in the same way they’ve helped us!
PS. If you’re wanting to check out one more great app that we think is really up there on the ‘great-app-ometer’, check out the Naked app where you can buy cover for your car or home contents! No call agent required!
