Readers’ App Reviews – April 2016

April is here, and that means WWDC has finally been announced! I can’t wait to see the new APIs available and what the fantastic raywenderlich.com community will build with them.

Luckily for us, we don’t need to wait to see great apps from our community. My inbox is packed with great apps just released by readers like you.

I receive more than an app a day from fellow readers, and although I don’t have time to write about every app that hits my inbox, hopefully the few I show inspires you to finish your app.

This month we have:

• A game where only one armadillo was harmed in the making
• A photo filter app that gives you more control than ever
• A guide for beer lovers in or visiting New York City
• And of course, much more!

Keep reading to see the the latest apps released by raywenderlich.com readers like you!

Armadillo Smash

Armadillo Smash is an addicting retro themed arcade style game, ready to be your new favorite.

Armadillo Smash kicks off with you launching the Armadillo star of the show into the air.

Keeping your Armadillo in the air is all about timing. Each bounce requires a carefully timed tap to make sure he rolls and performs a perfect bounce.

Armadillo Smash is fully universal offering iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. You can even play on your Apple Watch to influence the game for a second player on the iPhone, making it harder or easier for them to crack the high score.

• Author: Rudy Gomez @armadillosmash
• Most useful tutorial: How to Make a Game Like Flappy Bird video tutorial series
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Filteract

Filteract is a must have for those of your looking to make professional looking photos easy right on your iPhone.

Filteract allows you to carefully paint individual filters on your photos wherever your want. Want a black and white with a colorful element still popping? Or maybe you want to make the background tinted. Filteract can help with all of it.

All you have to do is select a filter, then you can paint it onto your photo in one of three ways:

1. You can paint freeform if you have a steady finger.
2. Or you can use a special paint-roller tool to fill shapes as you paint. The paint-roller will automatically detect shape edges as you paint and expand the paint for you.
3. Finally you can also use a magic-paint tool to select objects or fill shapes with a single touch. It works great on main subjects or brightly colored objects for quick flairs of color in a black and white photo.

• Author: Gary Bargary @filteract
• Most useful tutorial: Beginning OpenGL ES and GLKit video tutorial series
• App Store Link: Check it out!

K’s Challenge

We’ve all been addicted to the physics based puzzle games that exploded on the iPhone. But now you may never put your phone down again.

K’s Challenge is a simple game at the core. There is a yellow ball you need to connect to a yellow square. But how you get it there is by drawing your own objects that interact with the natural gravity of the space.

K’s Challenge is extremely addicting. Its tons of fun to interact with the game on such a fundamental level. Levels aren’t over after just one victory. Because the game offers unlimited creativity its fun to replay levels and try to solve them with different drawings.

• Author: Kei Sakaguchi
• Most useful tutorial: Sprite Kit Animations and Texture Atlases in Swift
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Abel – A ride you want to share

Abel is a ride sharing app ready to take on the likes of Uber and Lyft in their hometown Amsterdam and some surrounding areas.

Ride sharing is something Uber and Lyft are starting to dabble in. Rather than pay for a private car. You can pay less to share a car with fellow travelers on a similar route. It allows Abel to be up to 50% cheaper per ride than Uber X.

For you, Abel still works the same. There is a slick app to set your pickup location and pay the driver automatically. But behind the scenes Abel will group travelers heading to the same or nearby locations and help the driver pick passengers up in the right order at the right places.

Its great to see an indie app from the Ray Wenderlich community taking on the big dogs. If you live in Amsterdam or visit, download Abel and give it a try, it will save you a few bucks and give you a chance to meet some fellow travelers.

• Author: Steve Stomp @codeandcoding
• Most useful tutorial: Swift by Tutorials
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Zero G

Match 3 games are a dime a dozen. But Zero G is a unique take on them that increases the skill level and addictiveness equally.

Zero G rather than moving individual gems, operates like a sliding puzzle. You swipe to slide the entire board. Each gem pops in one at a time between each board swipe. You can see the next gem like a Tetris game so you can try to prepare for it.

It takes some skill and luck to align sets of 3 gems with precision and planning. And it is very rewarding to get a few sets at a time with this more challenging game play.

Of course, being a well made iOS game, Zero G has Game Center leaderboards and achievements as well as Facebook and Twitter sharing.

• Author: Carl Topham @designer023
• Most useful tutorial: How to Make a Game Like Candy Crush with Swift Tutorial: Part 1
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Muzzle Flash FX

Have you ever taken a video that needed a little more BANG!? You’re in luck!

Muzzle Flash FX is a special effects app that helps you add muzzle flashes, sparks, and bullet hits to your videos right on your iPhone. They have a library of effects covering handguns, sniper rifles, machine guns, and more.

All effects have full visual and audio and offer several angles to make sure its just right for your video. Muzzle Flash also lets you customize your sparks or hits with a full featured particle engine so you can get the sparks just right.

Muzzle Flash FX will definitely add some flair to your next home movie!

• Author: Felix Erpelding
• Most useful tutorial: Image Processing in iOS Part 1: Raw Bitmap Modification
• App Store Link: Check it out!