Whether you’re looking for something to keep you entertained during a long road trip or are just looking to kill time on your commute to and from work, smartphone apps offer the perfect solution for idle hands. Here’s our pick of the best, all available for free on Apple and Android devices.
Happy Color
Colouring in has been shown to relieve stress and encourages mindfulness, but lugging art supplies is not exactly practical when travelling. Enter Color by Numbers, an app that lets you colour in vibrant paint-by-number puzzles just by tapping your fingers on your phone screen. With 20 000 digital designs to choose from – including landscapes, flowers, and Disney and Marvel characters – and with varying degrees of complexity, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Pocket Casts
Listening is the new reading, and podcasts have taken the world by storm in recent years. However, with so many different podcast players available today, it can be hard to decide on one dedicated podcast app. In addition to that, you might find that your go-to app doesn’t even host all the podcasts you want to listen to in one place.
Pocket Casts is a third-party podcast app that covers a wide range of genres – from news and politics to entertainment and lifestyle – and suggests new podcasts based on your listening habits. The app interface is smart, intuitive and categorises podcasts by icon, so you won’t have to wade through endless playlists or audiobooks to find what you want. Plus, the filter function allows you to choose a podcast based on your mood.
Headspace
If you’ve ever wanted to get into meditation but don’t know where to start, science-backed app Headspace will provide the perfect introduction. Finding the time to clear your head can be difficult even on a weekend, but this app makes meditation much more accessible and is easy to slot into your daily routine.
You can choose one that’s as short as five minutes. Or you can choose a meditation according to your current mode – so whether you need help with reducing daily stress, falling asleep or focusing better to meet work deadlines, there is a solution for you. Bonus? The meditations and soundscapes can be downloaded when connected to WiFi and played offline.
How often do you click on a link to an article with the intention of reading it later, only to find it’s been lost in the ether? Pocket lets you curate your own content space filled with only the topics you care about. On top of that, the app strips web pages of all the usual embellishments that distract from the content, such as images and ads, so all you’re left with is the actual text – which is perfect for people who lead a fast-paced lifestyle and want to get to the crux of a piece in the shortest time possible.
Words with Friends
Those with a competitive streak and fans of brain teasers such as crossword puzzles will love this collaborative word game. Based on the popular word-building board game Scrabble, Words with Friends allows players to take turns forming words on a game board by placing tiles with letters on them. You can choose from up to 30 games to play with family and friends – or anyone around the world – to train your brain and keep your mind sharp.
