The best apps of January 2023 in App Gemist

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What were the best iOS and Mac apps of the past month? iCulture lists the December 2022 harvest for you. You should definitely try this one!

Editors iCulture.nl – 29 January 2023, 13:00 whatsappfacebooktwittertelegramlinkedinmailprint

In the monthly App Gemist section you can read which apps from the past month are worth checking out. We always discuss about ten apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac. These could be apps that you may not have known about or that are useful or just fun to try. And they can also be veterans who have received a major update and therefore receive some extra attention.

Discussed on iCulture earlier this month:

  • Tapbots releases Mastodon app Ivory< /li>
  • Twitter now lets you use your own timeline again
  • Optimized WhatsApp app for Mac and Apple Silicon now as a public beta: faster and new design
  • Third-party Twitter apps now officially banned
  • Parkmobile becomes EasyPark: which EasyPark app do you need now?
  • First versions of the Apple Music and Apple TV app for Windows appeared

🇳& #127473; Dutch apps of the month December

Gola

Gola is a new Dutch app, made by Hidde van der Ploeg. This app was originally going to be called Hazi, but when the developer found out that Gola ‘growth’ means in Sepedi (one of South Africa's eleven official languages), it seemed like a better match. This app also originated from a personal need. Gola is a simple app to achieve and write down your goals so you can keep an eye on your progress. Choose from five different goals, such as a dream vacation, a health or sports goal, learning a new skill or something else. You can customize the app to six different themes and you get reminders to check if you're still on track. There are also widgets that randomly show your goals. There is also a Siri Shortcuts function.

 

More apps of the month of December

iCulture App of the Month: Ivory A lot of Mastodon apps have been released in recent weeks, but one was particularly eagerly awaited: Ivory. This app is made by Tapbots, who we have known for years from Tweetbot. Since Twitter no longer allows third-party apps, Tapbots has put all its attention into developing a new app that should make it as easy as possible for users to switch. And we succeeded: this app is correct on all points, although it is not yet completely finished. The makers have published a roadmap as many more features will be added in the coming weeks.

You can download Ivory for free, but if you want to use it you will have to pay for €1.99 per month. You save money if you immediately take out an annual subscription of €17.99. If you want to support the makers extra, you can also take out Ivory Premier at €29.99 per year, but that only gives you a good feeling and no extra functions.

  See also

Tapbots releases Mastodon app Ivory

Tweetbot has a successor! But you will have to switch to another social network, because Ivory from Tapbots is intended for Mastodon.

Band width for iPad

The Bandbreite app for managing your Apple Watch straps can now also be used on the iPad. This app has been around for quite some time and has had 17 updates in the meantime, with new functions all the time. For example, you can now share the information about a band with others, on a beautifully designed card. It is also useful that you can request detailed information about each band. If you see someone walking around with a nice strap, you can quickly find out the release date, model number and original price based on color and type.

What is new is that there are now also exclusive tapes in the catalog that have never been officially released. This concerns, for example, the Close Your Rings bracelets that are only provided to employees. The app is completely free and is made by an enthusiastic group of Apple Watch band collectors.

 

Lyd

Lyd is an Apple Watch app that lets you control your Sonos speakers. The app has been around for four years and fulfills a function that Sonos itself does not offer. Version 2.4.5 is again recommended, because the group of speakers that is currently active is immediately displayed when the app is started. The update also solves a few problems with the use of the Apple Watch Series 1, which is still running watchOS 6. With Lyd you can manage your Sonos speakers in groups and add and remove individual speakers. You can also adjust the volume per piece, start radio stations and much more. You also have quick access to night mode and voice amplification for movies and series. You pay a small amount for the app once and receive regular updates. Those who are enthusiastic about the app can pay a tip.

 

Morfic

Recently added to our list of the best wallpaper apps for iPhone: Morfic. Intended for people who would like a personal wallpaper instead of a ’typical’ photo. This app lets you adjust everything to the wallpapers they serve you. Isn't the color of that one detail in the corner beautiful? Then you just adjust it. Take your time if you want to get the perfect picture, because you can adjust almost every detail. This is how you make your home screen truly yours.

 

Near Message

What do you do if you want to chat with someone nearby, but you don't have an internet connection. For example, if you are on a plane or in a holiday home in the wilderness. Normally you have to take a text, screenshot or image and send it via AirDrop, but that is no longer necessary if you install this app. It allows you to chat when there is no Wi-Fi or mobile network. As soon as you open the app, it searches for other Near Message users nearby. You can also send photos and documents.

Near Message works without user accounts or central servers. You also don't need an online connection (obviously). Everything works locally and stably. A disadvantage is that the participants must have the Near Message app open in order to chat. You can do that on the Mac, but it's a lot more difficult on the iPhone.

 

OpenCore

OpenCore is a tool that allows you to run macOS Ventura on unsupported Macs. It is suitable for several models dating back to 2007. The tool was previously available as beta software, but with the arrival of OpenCore 6.0 it is now available for download for everyone. OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) already made it possible to use macOS Big Sur and Monterey on your older Mac, even if it is not supported by Apple. Since the release of Ventura, developers have been working to get this working as well. That wasn't easy, because Apple removed many old drivers for Intel CPUs, but it worked.

These Macs are suitable for macOS Ventura thanks to OpenCore:

  • MacBook 2008-2016
  • MacBook Air 2009-2017
  • MacBook Pro 2008-2016
  • Mac mini 2009-2017
  • iMac 2007-2017
  • Mac Pro 2008-2013

Do you have a newer Mac than on this list? Then there is a good chance that you can simply install Ventura, without a workaround.

More information about the OpenCore tool can be found on GitHub.

HiDock

This Mac app allows you to associate different settings of your Mac dock with different display settings. You can customize the Mac Dock in several ways, such as size and whether the icons are always visible. However, these settings are always the same whether you're looking at your MacBook screen or an external display. With HiDock from developer Rafa Conde you get more possibilities.

The free app gives you the option to choose different Dock settings and associate them with different screen configurations. As soon as you disconnect your external screen, you go to a different layout of your Dock. The app runs in the background and can be added to your Mac menu bar. Rafa made the app because he himself needed such a function. A few weeks ago, he also released Hand Mirror, another useful app.

HiDock can be downloaded for free from the developer's website.

Keka< /h3>

Keka is an app, born out of an open source project that has been around for almost 10 years. This app packs and unpacks files on the Mac and is now available on the iPhone, thanks to developer Jorge Garcia Armero. You pay 5 euros once for use on all supported platforms. With Keka, for example, you can save an archive with a password. In addition, the app can handle all kinds of less common archive formats. Keka compresses 7Z, ZIP, TAR, ZSTD, GZIP and BZIP2 and can extract the following formats, among others: 7Z, ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZIP, IPA and XIP. The app shows the contents of archive files and can extract only the parts you need. Handy if you need this regularly!