Note, if you’re looking for something a little more lightweight – you can also get fitness trackers for children. These can be found in our best fitness trackers for kids guide.

There’s a growing amount of smartwatches out there now that are built specifically for the wrists of children of all ages but there are some good and not-so-good ones. We’ve picked out the best smartwatches for kids that we think are worth considering. So whether you don’t want to dish out a smartphone just yet or you like the idea of some of the safety features that these wearables offer, these are the top children’s smartwatches to take a look at.

What’s the best smartwatch for kids?

We think the Spacetalk Adventurer (buy now) is the best smartwatch for kids. The Adventurer offers a good mix of safety and fun smarts to make it appealing to both kids and parents as well.

Other kids smartwatch recommendations

The best kids’ smartwatches you can buy today:

1. Spacetalk Adventurer

The Spacetalk Adventurer is our favourite full-featured kids’ smartwatch. It can handle taking calls, help parents know their child is safe and there are some smarts to have fun with too.

All of those features are packed into a design that offers some resistance against water with the OLED touchscreen display firmed up with some Gorilla Glass to give it an extra layer of protection. We think it feels pretty well made.

For parents, it can be used as a GPS tracker to monitor the location of the wearer along with creating safe zones they can stay inside of, with 4G connectivity and the ability to send text messages also supported.

For the kids, there’s a 5-megapixel camera to snap pics with, a heart rate monitor and a step counter to keep active, plus a school mode that strips back those features so they can only be distracted by checking in on the time.

2. NickWatch

NickWatch, from everyone’s favourite kids’ brand Nickelodeon, has all the features you’d expect of a connected kids’ smartwatch, including GPS tracking, two-way messaging, calling, and a camera. But, we love about the NickWatch is that it’s plastered with Nickelodeon characters and colourful icons throughout the whole operating system.

Beloved characters such as Spongebob Squarepants, The Loud House and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles star in regularly updated games and promote creativity, independence and physical activity. This, we think, is an amazing feature that will make children actually want to wear the watch.

NickWatch comes equipped with a USB-C cable for charging and two easily changeable velcro watch bands: the grey Simple Strap and the Snazzy Strap printed with Nickelodeon characters. 

3. Vtech Kidizoom Smart Watch D

Vtech’s smartwatch sits at the more fun end of the kids’ watch spectrum and is aimed at users aged 4-12 and comes in your pick of just pink or blue case looks.

That case is only splashproof, so not fit to go for a dip in the water but does host a good-sized, 1.44-inch LCD display that is the touchscreen kind little fingers can prod at.

The fun stuff includes a dual camera to drop effects onto images and videos, playing augmented reality games and being able to personalise watch faces. There’s even some onboard memory for a voice recorder feature.

We are disappointed it lacks big safety features found on other smartwatches but does include the ability to track daily activity if that’s something that’s important to you. Ultimately though, this is a smartwatch that’s a good pick for much younger users who want something on their wrist that has a more playful feel.

4. Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is primarily designed for adults, but with the addition of Apple’s new Family Setup feature, we think it’s one that can feasibly work for older kids too as opposed to the ones that are still running rings around you.

Using that Family Setup means an adult can let their child use the Watch to receive notifications, make calls and share location, putting some of its typical features off limits in the process.

If you’re worried they might go on an App Store spending spree you can set it up so you have approval on app and game purchases and when they wander to school with it you can set up the Schooltime mode to stop them from being pestered by notifications until they’re out of the school gates at the end of the day.

So they get one of the best smartwatches available and you can keep in control of the big Watch features they’re using and when they’re using them.

5. Xplora X6 Play

Another kids smartwatch that aims to offer plenty of grown-up smartwatch features along with one’s parents can put to good use from afar, the R1 is equipped with 4G/LTE connectivity to handle calls and uses that onboard connectivity along with GPS to locate the position of the wearer and includes a class mode to turn off distracting features.

We like the raised edge design to help protect the display from damage, has a splashproof as opposed to a swim-friendly design and does let you change the straps if they start to get a bit grubby.

You can snap pictures with a 2-megapixel camera, pile on up to 500 songs to turn it into a music player and include fitness tracker smarts to help make sure your little ones are not sitting staring at a screen for most of the day. It’s a good-looking kids’ smartwatch with plenty of strong features that inevitably push the price up.

How to buy the best smartwatch for your child

When buying a smartwatch for your child there are several things you’ll want to keep in mind to ensure it’s a suitable and safe choice.

The first and most important thing you want to think about is what age the smartwatch is designed for. Different watches cater to various age groups, with some designed for younger kids with simpler features and others better suited for older children with more advanced capabilities. We’ve included a range to suit all age groups in this list.

Of course, when it comes to children, safety and privacy are paramount. You’ll want to get a smartwatch that prioritises these aspects, ensuring that any data collected is encrypted and stored securely. Robust security measures are crucial to safeguard your child’s information.

While we’re on the topic of privacy, you’ll also want to consider whether the smartwatch you get includes GPS. The inclusion of GPS tracking is useful for parents to locate and keep a digital eye on their children. However, it can also be seen as an invasion of privacy. If you do opt for a watch with GPS, ensure that the tracking features are accurate and reliable.

You’ll also want some form of parental control on the smartwatch. Look for devices that allow you to manage settings, contacts, and other functionalities remotely.

Most kids’ smartwatches also have some form of activity tracking, allowing you to keep an eye on their activity levels and encouraging them to be more active. Smartwatches offer extended capabilities, such as calling and messaging, games, educational apps, and even cameras. If you’re only interested in fitness tracking, then you could consider one of the best fitness trackers for kids instead.

You’ll want the smartwatch to be durable, as many children have active lifestyles (and aren’t very careful when it comes to tech). Durability is key here, opt for a smartwatch that is built to endure rough handling, and has some form of water resistance.

As with all technology, battery life is another essential aspect. The smartwatch should ideally last a few days without needing recharging.

Of course, as children will be using these, ease of use is essential. You’ll want a smartwatch with a user-friendly interface that ensures your child can use the watch’s features without any assistance.

Finally, it’s crucial that the watch is comfortable to wear and fits well, otherwise, your child won’t want to wear it.

Oh, and if you’re shopping for an adult, don’t forget to check out our lists of the best smartwatch overall as well as the best GPS watches.

What age should a child get a smartwatch?

Like many things when it comes to raising children, determining the right age for a child to have a smartwatch depends on several factors. You have to take maturity, features, and parental goals into account. Typically, ages 5-7 might benefit from basic safety features like GPS tracking. Ages 8-10 can handle more functions with parental guidance. Pre-teens aged 11-13 can use more advanced features responsibly.

Consider the child’s maturity level and level of parental supervision when introducing a smartwatch. Younger children need more oversight. Start with basic models and gradually introduce more features. Set clear rules on usage and privacy and regularly monitor their activities.

Ultimately, there’s no definitive age, starting with simpler models and progressing to more complex ones as children mature and demonstrate responsibility is a sensible approach.

• Read more: Apple iPhone 16: what upgraded features will appear later this year?

According to a report from The Information, Apple is working on making the iPhone 17 “significantly thinner”. It will reportedly be priced higher than the Pro Max model – perhaps as the iPhone Ultra, that’s been rumoured for a while. We can expect the thinner smartphone to arrive in 2025 alongside the iPhone 17.

But just how thin will it get? Currently, the iPhone 15 Pro is 8.25mm thick – which is still pretty slim. With the report mentioning the device getting significantly slimmer, we should expect a big reduction here. With the M4 iPad Pro billed as Apple’s thinnest device at 5.1mm, this is likely a target for Apple to match or beat. A slimmer iPhone makes more sense than a thin iPad, since it’s the device you carry around all the time.

2025 is still a while off, and Apple is testing multiple designs – so things may change. In the meantime, we can look forward to the iPhone 16 arriving later this year. We can expect new camera lenses, a new chipset inside, and maybe even another new button on this upcoming smartphone.

• Related: Next iPhone launch date: when are the 2024 iPhones out?

The moment AirTags hit the shelves, they became popular with customers. So popular, in fact, that Apple is tallying up how many AirTags it sells before considering a second generation.

• Read more: The best Apple AirTag accessories to buy today

When might a second-gen AirTag appear?

We first heard mumblings of an AirTag 2 back in 2022. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the second-gen tracker could be on the table, depending on the current version’s sales numbers. Kuo predicts Apple will release a second generation if AirTags continue to grow in popularity. The trackers are already outperforming Apple’s estimates, with an estimated 35 million shipments this year.

Considering most Apple devices receive a second generation, this didn’t seem out of the question. Plus, Apple has now flown threw these shipment targets. So it looks like we’re set up for the second-gen to arrive. And Apple analyst Mark Gurman agrees! Recently, he shared in his newsletter for Bloomberg that we can expect the next AirTag to arrive in the middle of 2025. It’s already in production testing, apparently.

Gurman reckons Apple is going to improve the chip inside for better location tracking. But what else could Apple do with AirTag 2? There’s not all that much you can do with a Bluetooth tracker, after all. We predict Apple will work on making the device more compact, specifically thinner. The current version is thicker than alternatives at 0.31-inches, so we’d expect this would be a priority.

Whatever Apple decides to do, it sounds like we’ve got a little while to wait. For now, you can safely keep AirTagging everything in sight, so you never lose it. Or maybe just the essential stuff.

• Related: I own eight AirTags, but might buy twice as many of Groov-e’s new Bluetooth trackers

So welcome to our guide to the best free iPhone and iPad apps.

But what can you get when unwilling to spend anything at all? Actually, loads; as our selection shows, iOS and iPadOS apps are available for all manner of tasks, from sprucing up photos and composing music to keeping fit and exploring the world.

Our guide to the top free iPhone and iPad apps

Get an instant fix with the best free iOS and iPadOS app tickling our fancy right now.

RetroArch

With Apple having spent more than a decade squashing emulators, it’s quite something to now have RetroArch on an iPhone. While Delta is a far more usable app – and our recommendation for emulating old Nintendo systems – RetroArch is packed with so many emulation cores and options that it’s the essential install for anyone who fancies exploring gaming’s wider history on iPhone.

If you’ve used RetroArch before, it’s almost all here. (A few cores are absent, due to Apple policy still being more rigid than Google’s.) And it works well, including with physical game controllers. If you’ve not used RetroArch before… you’re probably going to need a setup guide. Yes, homework. But put in the time and RetroArch is unlike anything else out there for revisiting the classics.

Get RetroArch

Once you’re done with that app, try these…

Travel and weather apps

Söka

When the first item on your bucket list is ‘make a bucket list’, you probably need Söka. The app helps you organise your wish list into categories and keep track of what you’ve done. Or if you’re too lazy to think of your own ideas, it’ll churn out a bucket list via the magic of AI – hopefully not ‘hallucinating’ too many things along the way.

For free, you get three bucket lists with up to 30 items, and can generate up to five AI lists. Which is plenty. But if your to-dos cannot be contained by such confines, Söka+ ($8.99/£8.99 per year or $29.99/£29.99 lifetime) removes all limits and also lets you record countries you’ve visited on an interactive map as you go.

Get Söka

Weatherian

The trouble with weather sources is they disagree. One will predict a blast of sun, only for you to venture outside and get soaked. Weatherian gets around this by giving you all sources and data at once. You select providers you’re interested in and their details are then simultaneously displayed on a chart of wiggly lines and coloured bars.

You’d expect cacophony and chaos, but instead Weatherian’s output is more like an average. And if one source is too often an outlier where you live, it’s easy to spot and remove. Beyond that, there’s a handy rainfall map and daylight times. 

Simple and to the point, then, but a welcome dose of data density in an ongoing storm of apps that initially reveal little and make you scroll until your pointer finger screams.

Get Weatherian

Atlas Obscura

Most travel guides lead you to the same old sights. Atlas Obscura, as its name suggests, wants you gawping at more unique things. Load up the app and it’ll figure out where you are and draw from 22,000 crowdsourced curiosities to find those that are nearby.

In each case, you can dig into the details a little before you visit, and save the place to a list if you fancy going. Stats help you track where you’ve been, and if you chance upon something amazing that isn’t yet in the app, you can upload some info. Just make sure it actually is interesting – a fairly weird-looking tree in your garden just isn’t going to cut it.

Download Atlas Obscura

Air Matters

Many weather apps include air quality readings. The snag is they tend to be tucked behind sign that says ‘beware of the leopard’. Air Matters flips all that around: AQI and allergen information is front and centre, and it’s the weather forecast that takes a back seat, being relegated to a few icons detailing current conditions.

But you’re not here to find out whether it’ll rain next Tuesday, rather to see if you’re going to have trouble breathing. And for that, this app excels. You get readings for a range of pollutants and separate data on allergens, including alder, birch, grasses and mugwort. There’s an Apple Watch app to get all that on your wrist, and the entire thing’s free – unless you fancy splashing out a piffling $0.99/79p per year to remove the unobtrusive ads.

Download Air Matters

Google Maps

Apple initially made a mess of its own maps solution, and even today it’s imperfect. The Apple Maps app is pretty good for driving directions, but it’s not great on foot and it remains poor for locating points of interest.

Fortunately, Google’s alternative is excellent, accurate, and also bundles the useful Street View, for checking out routes before a long and unfamiliar journey. Smartly, it’ll also work offline, too, if you download chunks of map to your device.

Download Google Maps

In the city: Citymapper

When roaming about somewhere Citymapper covers, it’s a superb alternative to Google Maps. The app lists transit options and costs, along with telling you how long journeys will be – and how many calories you’ll burn if you put in some legwork yourself, rather than taking the easy option.

XE Currency

When you’re grappling with unfamiliar currency, the last thing you need is for an app to make things difficult, resulting in you accidentally spending your entire life savings on a sponge. XE currency might not be the prettiest app around, but it’s straightforward and usable.

You concoct a custom list of currencies, and prod any of them to make it the main one. Tap the calculator to enter a value and conversions happen instantaneously. If you’re offline, the app retains the most recent rates it downloaded. You can also compare the rates you get at a cashpoint or bureau de change to see how much you just got ripped off.

Download XE Currency

Google Translate

Google has a habit of injecting its apps with a little slice of magic, and Google Translate is no exception. The app will happily translate between over 100 languages (and can handle over 50 of those offline), and translate bi-lingual conversations on the fly.

The best bit, though, is when you’re ambling about somewhere, looking at strange signs and menus, and then point Google Translate’s camera at them. In an instant, it translates everything, like a Babel fish for your eyes. And although some live translations can be a little, um, fishy (sorry), it’s a much more efficient way to translate than laboriously tapping out words, or hiring 50 translators to follow you about wherever you go.

Download Google Translate

Health and wellbeing apps

EZ Meditation Timer

Fancy centring yourself with a spot of mindfulness? Then you probably don’t want an app raiding your piggy bank. Fortunately, EZ Meditation Timer differentiates itself from frequently skeevy contemporaries through ditching a price tag, eradicating cruft, and making good on everything else.

The timer’s easy to set off and use, and you get a range of background noises to help you block out the world during sessions. Whether you stop the timer early or not, the app encourages you with a congratulatory message. Post-meditation, you can dip into a sessions log to see how often you’re using the app, or join a community of like-minded souls and compare stats. No-nonsense stuff, then. Other wellbeing apps, take note.

Download EZ Meditation

In the moment: Smiling Mind

Should you need guidance for meditation, Smiling Mind should set you on your way. It includes programmes for children and adults alike, and sessions for different times and places. If you just need a moment, there are breathing exercises, and you can track sessions too.

RunKeeper

The developers of this app call it a ‘personal trainer in your pocket’. If you opt for RunKeeper’s premium version ($9.99/£7.99 monthly), that might be the case; for everyone else, it’s instead a free, efficient means of logging your hikes, runs and bike rides, and taking a quick gander at the exercise your friends are doing (or not). Routes are mapped, stats are stored, and if you feel really tired half-way through a run, you can procrastinate for a few seconds by taking a photo from inside the app.

Download RunKeeper

Oak – Meditation & Breathing

STRESS! ANXIETY! MORE STRESS! If your heart’s now thumping, Oak can help you unwind.

Breathing exercises have you hold your breath until a circle fills, wait a bit, and breathe out. (Three are provided, covering calming, concentrating, and alertness.) Guided meditations boost awareness, and a guided breath courses helps you unwind when trying to sleep. Use the app often and you get badges with pictures of trees and mountains.

All of which perhaps makes you think Stuff is now helmed by hippies (man). But here’s the thing: Oak really works. Try it. Relax. And be briefly at one with the world, until some idiot does something to annoy you.

Download Oak

Kitchen Stories

Cookery apps tend to make assumptions about your ability, and abandon you with an ingredients list, some brief instructions, and a single photo to show what the dish you’re making should look like.

Kitchen Stories is different. It might lack the recipe numbers of some competing apps, but everything it presents looks mouthwateringly yummy.

More importantly, this app wants to help you cook. Never chopped an onion? Watch a tutorial video. Halfway through a recipe and wondering if you’re on track? Compare your efforts with the current step’s photo. Good enough to eat? Steady on: glass and metal isn’t tasty – unlike whatever you’ll create using this app.

Download Kitchen Stories

Photography apps

Snapseed

For creative enhancements to photographs, it’s hard to beat Snapseed.

The app includes a slew of tools, from basic tuning and adjustments through to advanced filters, all controlled using a gestural interface. Dragging on the screen defines focal points and the strength of effects, ensuring Snapseed is intuitive and fun to use.

Brilliantly, edits are non-destructive, meaning you can at any point go back and adjust the settings for any given step. And if you happen upon an especially pleasing combination of edits and effects, that can be saved as a custom filter.

Download Snapseed

Retrica

The iOS Camera app has live filters, but Retrica’s selection is much larger, drawing on decades of photographic styles. Other tools further boost creativity, including vignettes, blurs and borders.

Our favourite feature, though, is the interval timer, which takes a number of consecutive photos and stitches them together in a user-defined layout, and plays them as an animation you can share.

Download Retrica

Retrospecs

Remember the good old days of computing? Angry that your shiny new iPhone X captures every blemish when taking selfies? Then use Retrospecs to go truly retro.

Any snap or pic can be transformed into the output of a Game Boy, Amstrad CPC or ancient PC. If that’s not enough, go full ASCII with Commodore PET emulation. (Many more systems can be unlocked with a $3.99/£3.99 IAP.)

Then mess about with dithering, scanlines and glitch videos, before sharing your masterpiece and making friends wonder why you now look like Max Headroom’s great grandfather.

Download Retrospecs

Sketchbook

For a good long while, Sketchbook was after your money, but now it just wants you to create. From that blank canvas you start off with, there’s scope to make all manner of compositions, from photorealistic digital paintings to initial stabs at designing the next must-have digital gadget.

The app is packed with features – tons of brushes; layers; grids and perspective guides; curve rulers; Pencil support on iPad. All it lacks is a price tag, meaning that if you’re a scribbler, an iOS fan, and someone who doesn’t have enough cash knocking around for a top-notch sketching app, you no longer need worry. Just grab this one, because it’s fab.

Download Sketchbook

Clarity

On launch, this app was resolutely focussed on helping you make sleek, minimal wallpapers. Welding a scrolling ‘magazine’ of backgrounds has eroded some of this, uh, clarity; even so, it’s a good bet for iPhone wallpapers.

For free, you can create blurs and masks based on your own photos, or choose from a selection of gradients. Whatever you pick can be tested against a Home screen preview, to make sure it doesn’t offend your eyes.

Lob IAP the dev’s way and you open up more editing and download options; but even for free, you won’t find anything better for snazzing up Home and Lock screens – and in a manner even Mr Ive would probably approve of.

Download Clarity

PicsArt Animator

Much like our former favourite Animatic, PicsArt Animator is an app that makes it easy to get into animation. It’s a virtual flip-book of sorts, with onion-skinning smarts: you draw each frame, and see previous ones beneath in faded form. This ensures smooth transitions in your miniature movie, rather than something resembling an explosion in a fly factory.

But delve into the menus and PicsArt takes things further, with varied brushes, a layers system, and the ability to import a photo and scribble all over it. Want to Roobarb and Custard your own face? Now’s your chance.

Download PicsArt Animated Gif & Video Animator

Clips

Unlike Apple’s own iMovie, Clips doesn’t want to be a full-fledged video editor. Instead, it’s about capturing moments, and doing something interesting with them.

Recorded shots can be slathered in filters and stickers, have live titles applied, and be set alongside editable ‘posters’ that sort of work like title cards. And if you’ve an iPhone X, Selfie Scenes can transport you to an immersive neon cityscape, fine-art landscape, or Star Wars spaceships. Really good app, it is.

Download Clips

Music making and audio apps

musicLabe

We’ve seen many pianos on iPhone and iPad, but none of them ever looked like this one. musicLabe has a bunch of interconnected coloured panels you prod, whereupon a piano or guitar noise is emitted from your device. A metronome can be fired up to keep you in time, and a basic looper lets you record overlaid melodies.

Given that the app’s based around scales, selected from the side of the screen, it’s hard to play a bum note. The vibe is meditative and relaxing – ideal for newcomers who like the idea of making music but feel intimidated by traditional fare. Yet there’s scope here for even seasoned musicians, with the unique interface sparking ideas through forcing you to approach composition in a new way.

Download musicLabe

GarageBand

It was already hugely ambitious when first released, but GarageBand has since grown to become a hugely capable app. Newcomers can tap out tunes on a loops grid, experiment with a drum machine, and always play in tune with smart piano strips. Within an hour or two, it’s genuinely possible to end up with something approximating a chart hit.

For pros, there’s a ton of added depth awaiting discovery: multi-track and multi-take recording, a slew of effects, and the mightily impressive Alchemy synth. GarageBand can also act as a hub for a range of other iOS music apps, given that it supports Audiobus, Inter-App Audio and Audio Units. For 20 quid, GarageBand would be a bargain. For free, it’s unmissable, unless you absolutely hate the idea of making music on your iPhone or iPad.

Download GarageBand

Animoog Z

The original Animoog was a pioneering iPad synth, combining classic Moog sounds, eye-popping visuals, and a touchscreen interface that let anyone make an amazing noise without knowing the first thing about playing a keyboard. Animoog Z adds a new dimension to proceedings.

We mean that literally – sounds now exist across three axes. As you play the tactile scale-locked keyboard, tiny neon comets dart about in a 3D visualiser. IAP unlocks pro-grade features, but for free you can still twiddle some knobs, burn through a slew of presets, and save custom sounds – all while aiming to become the next Brian Eno.

Download Animoog Z

Chart topper: AudioKit Synth One

A more conventional synth, AudioKit Synth One is nonetheless borderline ludicrous for a freebie. It’s packed with presets and knobs to twiddle, and there’s an excellent built-in sequencer. With Audiobus and IAA support, about all it can’t do is point your fingers at the right keys to craft a perfect pop hit.

Novation Launchpad

Launchpad is absurdly fun and manages that tricky proposition of appealing to music newbs and pros alike. It’s essentially a board of pads, which you prod to trigger pre-set loops. These are organised into genre-based sets, such as House and Dubstep, and it’s almost impossible to play something that doesn’t make you want to get up and dance about like a loon.

For anyone who’s hankering for a little more depth, IAPs exist for new sounds and the means to import your own audio; additionally, you can record sessions and edit the sounds triggered by each pad.

Download Novation Launchpad

djay

If you fancy yourself a top deck-spinner, but lack any actual decks to spin, djay is the next best thing. For free, you get a classic two-deck set-up, with vinyl controls, a mixer slider, scrolling waveforms, and live effects to faff about with.

Even on iPhone, it can be a lot of fun smashing together tracks from your Spotify or iTunes collections. On iPad, the app’s something else, the large display giving you plenty of creative potential as you UNCH UNCH UNCH into the wee small hours.

And when you decide you’re the next David Guetta, subscription IAP unlocks a slew of pro features, including a four-deck view, video mixing, MIDI, and 1GB of samples.

Download djay

MusicHarbor

The problem with Apple Music when it comes to new releases is that the service shows you whatever it feels like, based on the whims of editors and algorithms you have no control over. By contrast, MusicHarbor acts like a stripped-back discovery engine for bands and record labels you care about.

Choose your favourites and you can then peruse latest and upcoming releases, in case a single’s sneaked out without you noticing. Pop-up menus let you play any item on Apple Music or add it to your library for later. Beyond that, you can gawp at music videos and throw the developer six quid to unlock filtering, appecarance settings, and any future paid features.

Download MusicHarbor

Entertainment and reading apps

Arc Browser

Whereas Safari impresses by attempting to squish everything from a desktop web browser into your iPhone, Arc Browser strips everything right back. The three-button interface provides access to existing tabs (explored like an app switcher), a search button, and details and actions for the current page (URL, reader mode, find, share…)

It’s efficient, then, but Arc goes beyond removing cruft by injecting smarts into search. Although you can still use a standard search engine, you probably shouldn’t, because ‘Browse for Me’ takes things further, serving up an overview of facts and links about your search term. It’s a useful time-saver, and makes it tempting to plump for Arc as your default browser, reserving Safari for deeper dives and moments when integration with other Apple devices is of paramount importance.

Get Arc Search

Albums

Streaming media has marginalised the album, transforming tens of millions of tracks into a colossal virtual jukebox. Albums wants to counter this trend, helping you to appreciate albums and rediscover your music library.

In its free incarnation, the main view randomly lists your albums – and you simply prod one to play it. But the app has nuance too – the Search tab lists recent additions and releases; tapping a band name lists what’s in your collection – and other relevant albums on Apple Music.

Splash out on a subscription and you can take things further, with insights into listening habits, a release feed, and powerful sort and filter options. Either way, the app comes recommended. 

Download Albums

Barcodes

If you had to cart about all the cards foisted on you by organisations from shops to gyms, you’d have no room left in your trousers. Barcodes provides a handier route, by letting you shove these cards inside your iPhone instead.

In the free ad-supported version, you can save up to three items. The app imports barcodes and QR codes using your camera, and each can have a name, icon, colour and notes assigned. In testing, the app worked as expected in supermarkets and even with the clunky scanners at a local library.

There’s also an Apple Watch app, widgets and cross-device iCloud sync. And if you pay ($1.99/£1.99 per month or $14.99/£14.99 ‘lifetime’), ads and card limitations vanish, and you can sync supported cards with Wallet. 

Download Barcodes

Overcast

Previously a paid podcasts app, Overcast’s now on an optional patronage model, meaning you can get your mitts on it for nothing. On using the app, you’ll appreciate the developer’s generosity – Overcast is great for discovering new shows to listen to, organising your podcasts, and for playback.

When it comes to management, you can create smart playlists and per-podcast priorities, to make sense of a deluge of episodes. During playback is where Overcast truly excels, though, with superb smart speed adjustment and voice boost tools that none of the competition – paid or otherwise – have fully matched.

Download Overcast

NetNewsWire

We’re subjected to a daily deluge of information, and so it’s easy to miss stories from sources that matter to you. NetNewsWire draws on a decidedly unfashionable technology, yet one that remains essential to allow you to focus on news and other reports that matter: RSS.

You subscribe in-app to websites and headlines subsequently show up in your feed. Tap on an article and its text and images are pulled into NetNewsWire; alternatively, you can opt to read articles using the built-in browser.

With support for iCloud and popular RSS engines, a simple yet flexible interface, keyboard shortcuts on iPad, Home screen widgets and unread/today smart feeds, NetNewsWire cements its place as an essential download for anyone who wants to keep track of what’s published on their favourite websites.

Download NetNewsWire

Alfread

We elsewhere in this list mention Pocket, which lets you save web pages to read later. The snag: Pocket (or the similar Instapaper) can become a bottomless pit of abandoned articles you never read. Alfread aims to change that.

It links to your account and presents articles as a stack of cards. Echoing Tinder, you swipe left to remove an article (whereupon it’s archived) or right to return it to your queue. Tap an article and it loads in a distraction-free interface.

This elegant approach gets you into the groove of regular reading, rather than amassing an ever-growing queue. Progress is tracked, so you can build a streak, and the app can auto-archive anything you’ve not read after a month. After all, at that point, you probably never will.

Download Alfread

Letterboxd

Watch enough films and they all blur into one, at which point you run the risk of accidentally watching something by Michael Bay. Save yourself by using Letterboxd to make a record of the films you love.

Tracking can be as simple as providing a quick thumbs-up or star rating. All your films can then be browsed in a grid that can be filtered by various criteria. To take things further, you can write reviews and delve into the social side of the app, thereby becoming a virtual mix of Mark Kermode, Roger Ebert, and an angry person on Twitter.

Download Letterboxd

Chunky

There are quite a few comic readers available for iPad, and Chunky rarely gets a mention – which is bizarre when you consider it’s free and astonishingly good. The app will happily grab comics from a range of cloud services, but splash out on the single $3.99/£3.99 IAP and you also gain access to Mac/Windows shared folders and Chunky’s own web server.

When reading, settings enable you to adjust aspects of panning, page turns and rendering, including upscaling; the last of those things ensures comics in Chunky look stunning on the Retina display – even if the source material isn’t of the highest quality.

Download Chunky Comic Reader

Bookshelf

If you’re a big reader, you’ve likely got piles of books awaiting your attention – whether they’re paper tomes on creaking shelves or digital volumes in the cloud. With Bookshelf, you can get properly organised, scanning in books or adding them via a web search, and then placing them on virtual shelves.

That might sound like busywork, but in getting a full overview of your entire collection, you can better see what you own. The app keeps you honest, by keeping track of your reading habits – at least if you regularly check in to tell it how far you’ve got in any given book. And if you loan a book to a friend, it’ll keep track of that as well.

Download Bookshelf

The next chapter: Serial Reader

If you’ve never made time for the classics, try Serial Reader. It serves up everything from Frankenstein to War and Peace in manageable daily ‘issues’ that take ten minutes to read. You can even serialise your own EPUBs. Go pro ($2.99/£2.99) for cross-device sync and other goodies.

Educational apps

Modulart Studio

There are two ways to approach this app. One is with your maths hat on, having it provide a quick way to craft graphs based on modular arithmetic. Or, if anything beyond basic algebra makes your head hurt, you can lob that hat into the sea and make geometric art. 

The interface is dead simple: you either adjust parameters (colours; angles; line widths) or properties (the numbers being fed into the graph). When you’re done, you can export your work as a high-res still image or an animated GIF. 

Modulart Studio sets out to do one thing, and it does it well. This app is as sharp and minimal as the visuals it creates.

Download Modulart Studio

Swift Playgrounds

If the notion of learning to code fills you with terror, Apple’s iPad-only app aims to put a friendly face on the process. Rather than hurling you deep into a sea of code, it splits the screen in two. On the left sits your work in progress. On the right, there’s an interactive 3D world you control by way of your typed commands.

This might sound a bit ‘My First Programming App’, but Apple’s on to something here. Swift Playgrounds is immediate, intuitive and approachable. There’s a good reason it’s also used by the likes of Lego, Sphero and Parrot for helping you work with their technology to take over the world (or at least your living room).

Download Swift Playgrounds

Night Sky

The galaxy in your hands might sound like hyperbole, but that’s what Night Sky offers – of a sort. Using the app, you can wave your device in front of your face, to see what celestial bodies and satellites are in that direction, or drag about the virtual sky with a digit.

Although some of the apps more dazzling moments (notably the AR orrery) lurk behind IAP, you do for nothing also get events notifications, an astrophotography camera, and a Night Sky Tonight animation, outlining which planets you’ll be able to gawp at once the sun scarpers.

Download Night Sky

Yousician

It’s fun pretending to rock out with a tiny plastic guitar with colourful buttons, and learning to play a real guitar can be tedious. Enter Yousician, which spins Guitar Hero 90 degrees and has you play along with a real guitar, aiming to get your timing right as coloured notes and chords work their way leftwards. The instant feedback and slight difficulty curve work wonders, and every lesson is free. The only caveat is freeloaders get limited play time every day.

Download Yousician

Work and studying apps

Unhabit

Mindful tech use is a great thing. The flip side of that – unthinkingly visiting the same old websites, and wasting hours on them – is not. Unhabit aims to break such bad routines, by blocking you from sites you want to spend less time on.

Trigger the Safari extension on a website and during further visits you’ll be confronted by a cooldown timer that’ll make you think twice about proceeding. Handily, the Unhabit app lets you change the duration of each site’s timer, along with turning off the block on specific days. It’s like a souped-up Screen Time, designed specifically for websites, entirely for free.

Download Unhabit

Highlighted

Sure, you can ruin all your precious books by scrawling over them with fluorescent markers, or gumming up the pages with sticky notes. But that won’t help you easily reference things in future. By contrast, Highlighted will.

As you browse a book, you point the app at interesting pages. It automatically scans the text, and you highlight the bit you want, which is then imported. Each note you save can be tagged and have a page number assigned, so you can easily find it in context later.

With powerful search and export functionality, this is an ideal freebie for remembering the important bits from your books, from brain-smashing nuggets in academic texts to countless infuriatingly clever bits in a Terry Pratchett tome.

Download Highlighted

Shortcuts

The thinking behind Shortcuts is to lighten your iOS workload, primarily by having it automate tasks that would otherwise require loads of taps and switching between multiple apps.

In the Gallery, you can choose from dozens of pre-defined workflows, which can be added to your Home screen, welded to Today view, or each given a vocal command you can use as a trigger by bellowing at Siri.

The best bit – at least for irreverent tinkerers – is that workflows can be duplicated, pulled apart, and experimented on. Or you can make your own using a straightforward, flexible interface. Rare is the iOS app that’ll save you loads of time rather than eat into it – but this is one of them.

Download Shortcuts

Drafts 5

This app bills itself as the place where text starts. That’s quite the claim, but Drafts 5 has the toolset to back it up. If you’re just tapping out notes, they’re stashed in a searchable inbox. For structure and editing, there are a bunch of Markdown and formatting tools, quickly accessible from a customisable keyboard row.

When it actually comes to doing something with your writing, Drafts 5 is packed full of useful sharing actions, which integrate with a huge range of apps and services. Splash out for the subscription IAP and you can get your code on and create your own. But even for free, Drafts is a top-notch text editor whether you’re rocking an iPhone or an iPad.

Download Drafts 5

Cloud Battery

If your life was centred around a single Apple device, you’d know when it needed plugging in. But most Stuff readers own a bunch of kit. Fortunately, Cloud Battery lets you keep tabs on how thirsty everything is.

Install the app on iPhones, iPads and your Apple Watch and as long as it’s running in the background you’ll get regular updates on other devices. A Mac app performs the same duties, even adding keyboard and trackpad charge levels to the mix.

Within the app, you can optionally set notifications, handily having the app bug you when one’s about to run out of juice, because you’ve been unsportingly paying more attention to another for hours.

Download Cloud Battery

PCalc Lite

For reasons that baffle us, Apple still doesn’t provide a calculator with the iPad. PCalc Lite is the best of the freebies, boasting an elegant interface, RPN mode, alternate themes, and conversions for length, speed, volume and weight. If you require more features, themes, layouts or conversion options, IAP enables you to bolt on bits of the app’s commercial sibling, the suitably named PCalc. (And the app’s great on the iPhone, too, bettering Apple’s built-in equivalent.)

Download PCalc Lite

• Which iPad should you buy? Pro vs Air vs Mini vs iPad 10.2

There are thousands of apps for Apple Watch. The tiny snag is that most of them aren’t much cop. Some misunderstand how a wearable is best used, and demand you spend too long with your wrist in front of your face, while others only briefly impress. And some apps have arrived on Apple Watch to great fanfare, only for them to meekly disappear after a while.

That’s not good enough for us. We want apps that are clever and well-designed – and also that we return to on a regular basis. That, then, is what this list is all about: the best Apple Watch apps we’re actively using.

The best new Apple Watch app

Get an instant fix with the Apple Watch app tickling our fancy right now.

Gentler Streak

We’ve grumbled before about Apple’s approach to streaks. Gentler Streak has a more human sensibility, urging you on a daily basis to remain within a fitness ‘range’ – and even suggesting you have a break if it thinks you’re over-exerting yourself.

On the watch, there’s no fancy wibbly graphs, but you can check out the day’s efforts or start a workout – including a ‘gentler’ one, when you only need a small boost. And when you’re exercising the multi-pane interface feels more useful than Apple’s regarding stats and fast access to audio playback.

• Price: free or $7.99/£7.99 per month or $54.99/£54.99 per year or $179.99/£179.99 lifetime
• Works on: watchOS 9.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Gentler Streak Workout Tracker

The best Apple Watch exercise and health apps

Get fitter through Apple’s little helper having you work out, run, and sleep more soundly.

Streaks Workout

This app broke a couple of the Stuff team, but we nonetheless heartedly recommend it for a quick calorie burn. All you need is your Apple Watch – Streaks Workout functions independently of the iOS app – and the will to work up a bit of a sweat.

You choose from four workout lengths (the 30-minutes one suitably being dubbed ‘extreme’), and the app strings together simple exercises. When you’re done with a set of reps, you tap the screen. Easy. Except when your entire body is screaming at you for not initially going for the six-minute option.

• Price: $4.99/£4.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Streaks Workout

Runance

You might question an indie taking on the terrifying might of the Runkeepers of this world, but Runance deserves a slot on your Apple Watch – at least if you prize privacy and don’t care about leaderboards and the like.

Kick off a workout on your watch and you can gawp at live metrics as you huff and puff, switch between rolling and average tempos, and control music. Back on iPhone, you can dig into your workout history and maps. There’s no login – and no data is shared with third parties. 

• Price: free
• Works on: watchOS 10.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Runance

WorkOutDoors

There are loads of workout apps for Apple Watch, but WorkOutDoors does something the others don’t: maps. On your wrist, you get a vector-based map that can be zoomed, panned or rotated. It’s like someone stuck a tiny iPhone in an Apple Watch case.

And its ambition doesn’t stop there. There are loads of features that show what can be done when you’re aiming to make more than an iPhone app’s sidekick: breadcrumb trails; multi-coloured speed/elevation/heart-rate trails; alternate layouts and zones; compass support; tons of data options; and POIs to help you navigate your way to the nearest pub. (Well, you need a reward after all that exercise, right?)

• Price: $6.99/£6.99
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download WorkOutDoors

Strava

Rather simpler in scope than WorkOutDoors, Strava goes for a more traditional companion app. You get a giant ‘start’ button, and then stats (time/distance/heart-rate) as you blaze about the place on your bike or on foot.

Given that Strava’s been able to work without an Apple Watch for some time now, it’s one of the more reliable efforts on the platform. The tiny snag is that it might give your battery a bit of a kicking. Still, all the more reason for you to pick up the pace a bit.

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Strava

Watch to 5K

Getting your bum off the sofa is one thing. Being able to jog 5K without your knees collapsing is another. Watch to 5K eases you towards that goal. You do three runs a week, gradually building up how long sessions are and reducing how much walking time’s involved. In the end, you’ll be able to run 5km in under half an hour. All the number crunching happens right on your Apple Watch, meaning you don’t have to lug your iPhone around or figure out how to shove it inside your day-glo lycra running gear.

• Price: $3.99/£3.49
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Watch to 5K

Moodistory

Your Apple Watch encourages you to track and protect your health — steps; stands; hearing. But Moodistory tries something different, inviting you to keep tabs on your mood.

Naturally, this is quite subjective, but the app keeps things simple, asking you to rate how you’re feeling, thereby gradually building up a picture of your mood over time.

It’s possible, even on Apple Watch, to add basic notes to entries, and check how your mood’s changed during the past two weeks. On iPhone, you can dig deeper into your data.

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 6.2 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Moodistory

Standland

If you feel your Apple Watch telling you to get off your behind once every hour isn’t sufficient motivation, you might enjoy Standland. The app has similar intent to Apple’s nagging, but rewards your heroic activity by dishing out adorable collectable creatures.

Any activity lasting at least one minute during an hour is counted, maxing out at 24 per day. Before long, you’ll have a tiny owl or little bunny to gawp at, which can romp around 3D AR environments back on your iPhone. Just take care to not die of a cute overdose.

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 6.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Standland

Heart Analyzer

There’s a Heart Rate app built right into your Apple Watch, but Heart Analyzer allows you to dig deeper into your thumpiest of organs.

After you’ve performed a bout of exercise, you can peruse wiggly lines, showing how your heart rate changed over time. The app logs averages over the past week, and you can even set a massive graph as a complication.

Overkill? For some. But if you’re sporty, Heart Analyzer seems a good bet for keeping track of what your ticker’s up to.

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Heart Analyzer

Wakeout

You’re at your desk and feel achy. But there’s no way you can exercise, right? Wrong! Wakeout’s cunning plan is to inject tiny bouts of physical activity into your day. On iPhone, you’ll get a schedule. On Apple Watch, it’s more about selecting a context, watching a brief animation of a randomly selected relevant exercise, and performing it for a short period until your wrist buzzes and tells you to stop.

At north of 50 bucks per year, Wakeout is a hefty investment. It’s disappointing there’s no reasonable monthly offer (that’s a whopping $12.99/£11.49), and the Apple Watch app alone might not convince you to subscribe. But as a complete package, it’s a useful tool to fight aches and pains that come from sedentary behaviour – and you do get a seven-day trial to make up your mind.

• Price: $12.99/£11.49 or $59.99/£52.99 per year
• Works on: watchOS 8.5 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Wakeout

The best Apple Watch essentials and travel apps

Everyday essentials you need to install, along with apps that ensure you won’t get lost at home or abroad.

Reward Card Wallet – Barcodes

Be rid of awkward moments where you fish through every pocket to find the barcodes you need to access your gym/loan books from a library/earn tiny bonuses on groceries. This app puts them right on your wrist.

Barcodes are managed on your iPhone, where you add branded visuals, organise cards into groups, and share them with family members over iCloud. On the Apple Watch, the interface is far superior to Wallet’s, making it a cinch to browse barcodes and get them ready for scanning machine beepage.

You can try three cards for free. Want more? Subscribe or pay the one-off lifetime IAP. 

• Price: free or $1.99/£1.99 per month or $14.99/£14.99 lifetime
• Works on: watchOS 9.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Reward Card Wallet

Carrot Weather

Apple’s weather app places forecast data around a dial. It doesn’t scan well. Carrot does a lot better, with a minimalist take on its superb iPhone app, delivering data-dense forecasts with a dollop of snark. You’ll helpfully be told it “sucks to be you” if it’s about to chuck it down – or that it’s “a bit moony” on a cold, clear night.

The big plus of Carrot Weather, though, is its customisation capabilities. On iPhone, this means you can rework the interface however you see fit. On Apple Watch, its power is in complications, with you being able to have it take over a face, like a wrist-based combination of Siân Lloyd and HAL 9000. You’ll need subscription IAP for a bunch of the Apple Watch features, note – but it’s well worth splashing out.

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 17+
• Download Carrot Weather

Solstice

Designed for people who look forward to brighter days, Solstice keeps tabs on daylight levels. Along with providing sunrise and sunset times, it outlines how much more (or less) daylight there is on any given day compared to the previous one.

There are complication options, including a large one with a graph and sunrise/sunset times. And you can also set up notifications on your iPhone that’ll appear on your Apple Watch, which for SAD sufferers can be limited to days when daylight’s increasing.

• Price: free
• Works on: watchOS 9.1 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Solstice

Citymapper

On the iPhone, Citymapper is fantastic, giving you point-to-point directions for a range of supported cities, and location-based public transport details and alerts. The Apple Watch app is equally good, offering rapid access to favourite places, and information about nearby trains, buses, ferries and more.

Journey steps are clearly outlined, providing all the assistance you need, such as times of upcoming trains, stops on your route, and tiny maps that link through to Apple’s Maps app. We just wish it could somehow magically work for every town and city in the world rather than just the handful of (mainly) capitals it’s currently set up for.

• Price: free
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Citymapper

Foursquare

The Foursquare mobile app long ago pivoted from telling the entire world where you were to finding out great places to go – far more useful. But when you’re hungry and in a strange city, you probably don’t want to be waggling your expensive smartphone about.

Fortunately, Foursquare for Apple Watch does the business. You can quickly get at the best tips for your current location, search for other options, and get at salient details regarding whatever you’re currently looking at. And if you don’t want to miss somewhere special, have the app ping you a notification when you’re passing by.

• Price: free
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Foursquare

Phone Buddy Lost Phone Alert for Watch

Apple’s Find My is great, but a better bet would be to avoid losing your gadgets in the first place. With PB (‘Phone Buddy’), you can define alerts that have your iPhone shriek for its life should you wander off and abandon it – and the same for your Apple Watch.

Fortunately, there are plenty of set-up options, meaning you can define how far you must go before everything starts blaring, and turn off alerts when on home Wi-Fi, so your iPhone doesn’t deafen everyone nearby when you head to the kitchen for a biscuit.

• Price: $4.99/£4.99
• Works on: watchOS 6.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Phone Buddy

Elk Currency Converter

When you’re overseas, it’s never good when you get currency conversions wrong and later discover you spent a month’s wages on a pair of socks. Elk puts conversions right on your wrist, reducing the likelihood of expensive mistakes.

Even better: this app’s properly thought about how you interact with Apple Watch. There’s no fiddly keypad for entering data – instead, you twiddle the Digital Crown to adjust numbers, and swipe to increment available digits.

• Price: free + $12.99/£12.99
• Works on: watchOS 3.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Elk Currency Converter

MultiTimer

Although Apple’s Timer has a moniker in the singular, it does in fact store multiple timers – including custom ones. However, they’re devoid of context, and you can only run one at once. Not so with MultiTimer.

Set up your timers in the iPhone app, and each is then displayed on your Apple Watch with a colour, label and icon. You can run as many timers as you like, and their progress is seamlessly synced across devices.

• Price: free + or $1.99/£1.99 per month or $14.99/£14.99 lifetime
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download MultiTimer

Countdowns (Free + IAP)

Calendars and reminder apps are fine, but Countdowns gives you a bespoke space to house important dates – and how long away they are (for things like anniversaries) or how long it’s been since they happened (such as if you’re trying to quit smoking).

You edit the list on your iPhone, and there are loads of customisation options. Those vital dates can then be in your face forever, by way of Apple Watch complications. You’ll never miss a date again – unless you forget to add it to the app. So… don’t do that.

• Price: free + or $0.99/99p per month or $19.99/£19.99 lifetime
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Countdowns

The best Apple Watch productivity apps

You won’t be firing up Office on your wrist any time soon, but your Apple Watch can still help you work.

Cloud Battery (Free or IAP)

On your iPhone, iPad or Mac, Cloud Battery lets you add devices to the app’s ongoing list, along with accessories like trackpads and Apple Pencil. On iPhone/iPad, you can define when you get charge alerts, such as when battery levels fall below 25%.

The Apple Watch app is a mere monitor, but that still proves useful. You can at a glance – either in the app or by way of a complication – see which of your devices needs plugging in. Much better than rocking up to it later and finding only a black screen.

• Price: free + or $4.99/£4.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Cloud Battery

Cheatsheet

If you fancy quick access to bite-sized notes (such as Wi-Fi passwords and door combinations) and it doesn’t matter too much if other people see them, Cheatsheet is an excellent download. Each tiny information nugget comprises a piece of text and custom icon. Cheats can be synced from the iPhone app too, aassuming you buy the one-off ‘unlock everything’ IAP.

You can also edit, create and organise (into folders) new cheats directly on Apple Watch (by way of dictation), along with using one of these notes as a complication. Just don’t make it your credit card PIN, eh?

• Price: free + $5.99/£5.99
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Cheatsheet

Drafts

Weirdly, Notes has yet to make its way across to Apple Watch, but fortunately Drafts ably fills that particular void. The app enables you to capture new notes by dictation, which are then hurled into your Drafts inbox. Alternatively, you can append or prepend whatever you input to an existing note – for example, to update a diary or shopping list.

If you don’t fancy talking at your Apple Watch, you can use the watchOS Scribble feature to write notes instead. Also, your inbox is browsable and your notes are readable on you Apple Watch, saving you from having to keep heading to your iPhone.

• Price: free or $1.99/£1.79 per month or $19.99/£17.49 per year
• Works on: watchOS 8.5 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Drafts

Halide Mark II

If you’re a serious iPhone photographer, you’ve probably already got Halide installed. If not, you should have – it’s a superb, premium, feature-rich app that unlocks the full potential of your Apple smartphone’s snapper.

Naturally, the Apple Watch app can’t magic up an Apple Watch camera. But it can provide a live preview of what your iPhone’s camera can see – useful when taking a photo with your arm stretched aloft, or when using the main camera for a selfie. Prod the shutter button to take a snap, or set off the timer to give everyone a few seconds to get their best smile on.

• Price: $2.99/£2.49 per month or $59.99/£59.99 lifetime
• Works on: watchOS 4.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Halide Mark II

Streaks

Streaks wants to infuse habits into your daily routine. However, unlike a great many of its ilk, this is a pay-once app – not one with a subscription. It also has a kind of ruthless efficiency that many of its rivals lack.

Here, you’re encouraged to limit yourself to just six habits (although up to 24 are supported). The interface is restricted to icons depicting your habits, which you prod when a task is completed – unless it’s a timer, in which case a tap sets it going. Reminders can also be sent your way as relevant.

It might seem reductive at first, but the app’s blunt nature works, keeping you focused on your tasks.

• Price: $5.99/£5.99
• Works on: watchOS 9.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Streaks

BFT – Bear Focus Timer

On iPhone, Bear Focus Timer is superb for keeping focused on tasks by breaking the day into work and break sprints. The Apple Watch app puts a similar system right on your wrist.

By default, you get 25 minutes to work and five to rest, whereupon a motivational bear picture is shown. Every four sprint pairs, you get a longer break, and all these values can be defined in-app. To further aid concentration you can also have noise loops piped into your lugholes — assuming you’ve connected some wireless headphones.

• Price: $1.99/£1.99
• Works on: watchOS 6.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download BFT – Bear Focus Timer

PCalc

If you’ve fond memories of calculator watches, you’re probably a) quite old and b) not going to be convinced about using a calculator app on Apple Watch. Because frankly, doing so is a mite fiddly.

Still, PCalc is the best of them. The buttons are chunky, and operators can be got at with a long tap or prodded on a second screen. The app also includes a handy third screen for conversions. It defaults to tips, but you can spin the Digital Crown to get at units for all kinds of things, including functions.

Note that freebie PCalc Lite offers similar functionality to massive cheapskates.

• Price: $9.99/£9.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download PCalc

Morpho Converter

On iPhone, this conversions app is all about efficiency and speed. You define a bunch of conversions, tap out a number and then see all of the answers at once. On Apple Watch, you cannot add any new conversions to your favourites, but you do get your existing iPhone list right on your wrist.

A calculator interface lets you punch in new figures, colours usefully differentiate unit types, a ‘reverse’ button enables you to instantly swap converted units around, and there’s a complication to put a specific conversion on your favourite watch face. For free, you’re limited to a handful of custom list items. That restriction can be removed with a subscription or one-off payment.

• Price: free or $0.99/79p per month or $19.99/£19.99 lifetime IAP
• Works on: watchOS 9.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Morpho Converter

Clicker – Count Anything

The original Clicker was an app with a big number on the screen that incremented when prodded. Then it gained – horrors! – complexity. Fortunately Clicker’s by The Iconfactory – and those guys know what they’re doing. (In short, all the options are hidden behind a little cog button.)

The first add-on was a goal setting. Reach it and you then see how far beyond it you are. More recently, the app gained new colour options, data sync, and inclement by a custom value. Just the thing for working on your 173 times table, thereby working up the skills to be the next ‘numbers game’ host on Countdown.

• Price: free
• Works on: watchOS 9.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Clicker

The best Apple Watch entertainment apps and games

When it’s time to unwind, make use of that thing on your wrist. Some Apple Watch games are surprisingly good, too.

OneFootball

On mobile, OneFootball is a a one-stop-shop for all things footie, offering news, telly, scores, results, and enough stats to choke the entire Match of the Day research team. On Apple Watch, it’s mostly a wrist-based companion to fill you with anticipation and terror when it goes ‘ding’.

This is because goal alerts are fed to your Apple Watch, meaning if you’re not able to sit in front of the telly when your favourite team’s playing, you can at least keep up with how well – or badly – things are going.

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 6.0 or later
• Age: 9+
• Download OneFootball

Sundial

Many apps advise when the sun and moon are due to make an appearance. Sundial gives you the finer details by way of multiple pages (‘widgets’) you swipe between. You get solar dials, pages that focus on the sun or moon, and an events page that manages to be an info dump and yet retain total clarity.

Everything’s customisable. You can add/remove widgets and rearrange their order, along with tweaking what information’s shown. And for when you don’t fancy delving into the app, Sundial provides a bunch of great-looking complications for your watch face.

• Price: free + $12.99/£12.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Sundial Solar & Lunar Time

Overcast

Apple’s Podcasts is on Apple Watch, enabling iPhone-free podcast bliss. But if you prefer using the iPhone’s best podcast app, Overcast, you’ll love its own Apple Watch app. It can act as a remote for whatever’s playing on your iPhone, but there’s a standalone mode as well, for podcasts Overcast syncs to your watch based on criteria you define.

The app’s design is refined and minimal, packing a lot into a small space. The main view provides fast access to settings and your podcasts list. When playing something, you can also use the Apple Watch app to adjust speed and skip chapters, thereby blazing past any boring bits. Bonus!

• Price: free
• Works on: watchOS 9.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Overcast

WatchFunk

This app bravely bridges the gap between ambitious and ridiculous by attempting to put a music studio right on your wrist. It’s not exactly GarageBand, but a fiver gets you a dinky one-octave keyboard for smashing out riffs during dull moments.

Buttons let you change the octave you’re playing, and if the default piano sound doesn’t suit, you can switch to seven alternatives, including a synth and a trumpet. Should you be more rhythmically inclined, a final option is a six-pad drum kit.

WatchFunk isn’t going to make you the next Daft Punk, but it’s fun, usable and a better use of your time than trying to work through your emails on the Apple Watch’s tiny display.

• Price: $4.99/£4.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download WatchFunk

Hit The Island

On iPhone, Hit The Island amusingly makes a game out of Dynamic Island. Apple Watch doesn’t have one of those, so the game bungs a fake one at the top of the screen and have you move a bat left and right to deflect a ball at the lozenge.

In short, then, it’s Pong. And if you’re of a certain vintage, you’ll enjoy twiddling the Digital Crown to play, as if you were a giant manipulating an old-school paddle. Well, at least until your own incompetence lands you with a single-figure score for the umpteenth time. (Gnash.)

• Price: free + IAP
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Hit The Island

Deep Golf

If you’re of the opinion golf would be much better if only you didn’t have to deal with all those other people on the course, Deep Golf might be the solution. First, it’s right there on your watch – no need for expensive clubs. Also, it’s set deep underground.

So as you thwack balls about the side-on 2D view, it’ll ricochet off cave walls, stick to terrifying purple goop, smash up bones, and bounce off of giant subterranean mushrooms. There’s little sound to speak of, but that merely aids with the solitude.

• Price: free or $1.99/£1.99
• Works on: watchOS 8.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Deep Golf

Tiny Armies

Turn-based strategy on a PC with a big display makes sense. Your eyes might narrow a bit at the prospect of such games on a phone. But on an Apple Watch? Hang on a minute.

But Tiny Armies has a go anyway, and it’s surprisingly great with its stripped-back, lightning-fast battles on little chequerboard arenas enveloped in a fog of war.

The AI’s not exactly like a savage Civilization, but for some quickfire turn-based larks on your wrist, Tiny Armies does the job admirably.

• Price: $0.99/99p
• Works on: watchOS 3.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Tiny Armies

Star Duster

Star Duster isn’t just our favourite Apple Watch game – it’s a good game, full stop. It echoes old-school LCD titles, with you twiddling the Digital Crown to have your servicebot zoom around the display, collecting space junk.

It looks and sounds lovely, like you’ve accidentally invoked a time travel app and been zapped back to 1982. But Star Duster isn’t done, because it does a lot with a little, providing real challenge as it ramps up the difficulty level with blocking walls and other service bot-worrying hazards. Games are swift, but when you’re defeated you’ll immediately want another blast – a rarity with an Apple Watch game.

• Price: $1.99/£1.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.1 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Star Duster

Asteroid Commando

A classic arcade cabinet on your wrist? Not quite, but Asteroid Commandoisn’t far off. It takes the classic Asteroids (obliterate space rocks; shoot deadly alien ships) and fashions something around the Digital Crown.

Twiddle that dial and your auto-firing ship spins. Power-ups occasionally appear, giving you a fighting chance of getting to the next level. One hit and you’re dead — and even ancient arcade games weren’t that harsh! Still, you do get two themes (classic and modern) and punchy sound effects when you fancy another go.

• Price: $1.99/£1.99
• Works on: watchOS 5.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Asteroid Commando

Dice by PCalc

Instead of playing a game on your watch, Dice by PCalc helps you play games in the real-world, by way of lobbing virtual dice across a virtual table. From a visual standpoint, this is impressive stuff on Apple Watch, but flexibility is the real win.

In the options screen, you choose from a wide range of dice types – or complete sets to roll with a single tap. Your table can be cleared at any point, or you can gradually throw additional dice, while the app tots up what you’ve thrown and the overall score. Cheats can’t prosper here.

• Price: $1.99/£1.99
• Works on: watchOS 7.0 or later
• Age: 4+
• Download Dice by PCalc

• Now read: our guide to the best iPhone and iPad apps money can buy

Just plug one of these into one of the best 4K TVs, load up one of the best streaming services, sit back and get ready to stream to your heart’s content.

See, binge-watching has come on a long way from the days of Blu-ray box sets. Between gripping Netflix originals, remastered classics on Amazon Prime and blockbuster series on Now TV, entertaining yourself has never been easier. But with so many streams to pick between, what’s the best way to get fresh shows on your screen?

Whether you want a simple stick for easy 4K streaming or a top-notch content box with voice control smarts, the list below features our pick of the best streaming kit – all comprehensively tested by the Stuff team from the comfort of the Stuff sofa.

What is the best streaming device?

We think the Chromecast with Google TV (buy now) is the best streaming device you can buy. You can ‘cast’ video from your phone, or select shows straight from Google TV’s home screen. The interface is slick and the streaming quality is excellent, with no buffering and impressively sharp 4K HDR at up to 60fps.

Other streaming device recommendations

If the Google Chromecast isn’t quite right for you, here are four more recommendations:

The best streaming devices you can buy today:

1. Chromecast with Google TV

Google’s Chromecast has gone from a passive receiver to a full-fat streaming hub. You can still ‘cast’ video from thousands of compatible Android and iOS apps. The latest version, however, also allows you to select shows straight from Google TV’s home screen.

Bringing together content from your favourite platforms on a single page, you’ll see personalised recommendations from different subscription services – although we found it can take some time for the recommendations to actually match your tastes. We like how the shows are displayed with a helpful Rotten Tomatoes score, as well as platform and rental info.

The interface is pretty slick, even if there’s sometimes a delay after pressing the home button. And with more than 6500 apps supported, you’ll rarely come up short for content. We found navigation is easier than ever, thanks to the remote that now comes bundled in. Dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix make it easy to dive right in, while the Google Assistant shortcut puts voice control just a press away.

Streaming quality is slick, with no buffering and impressively sharp 4K HDR at up to 60fps. Despite its plug-and-play simplicity, support for Dolby Atmos, as well as Dolby Vision and HDR10+, means the Chromecast has the skills to suit any cinema room.

• Read more: Chromecast with Google TV review

2. Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Roku’s latest streaming device doesn’t reinvent the formula. It’s a plastic stick that slots into an HDMI port on your TV, connects to your Wi-Fi and gives you access to a catalogue of content services. But it is slicker and more powerful than any Roku before it, at a very accessible price tag.

We scored it top marks for usability: the voice control remote is straightforward, with handy shortcuts for mainstream platforms, plus the option to request shows via the built-in mic. It’s not exactly premium, but it’s well-built and gets the job done. You can also use the tidy Roku app for easier typing.

We found setup to be a cinch: just stick it in, connect to the Wi-Fi and you’re away. And Wi-Fi is one of the key improvements, courtesy of upgraded hardware. Roku promises a longer range and faster connectivity – and we didn’t have any buffering issues.

You won’t struggle for entertainment either. As with other Roku devices, just about all the major video streaming apps are covered – from Prime Video to BritBox to BT Sport – plus a number of lesser-known names.

Picture quality will ultimately depend on your TV, but the Streaming Stick 4K still trumps its predecessor’s Dolby Vision support, alongside HLG and HDR10/10+, plus DTS Digital Surround. If you’ve got a proper home cinema setup, this stick will help you make the most of it.

• Read more: Roku Streaming Stick 4K review

3. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max

Amazon’s streaming dongles are known for being affordable, reliable and versatile. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max continues that tradition. It offers faster performance, improved Wi-Fi and a few more buttons on the remote – all for a price that remains the right side of reasonable.

Styled like the Fire TV Stick 4K that came before it, Amazon’s streamer won’t win design awards. But given that it lives behind your TV, it doesn’t need to. The remote is still a functional plastic number, albeit with the addition of four new shortcut buttons for Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Music.

We found the setup straightforward, with an easy on-screen walkthrough. Once you’re online and signed in, you’ll find the Fire TV Stick 4K Max features a zippy interface. This is helped by additional RAM and processing power. The service selection is properly comprehensive, including Apple TV+, NowTV and even a full YouTube app. Prime Video is still given top priority, although the home screen can be rearranged pretty easily.

With good content to work with, we found the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max delivers: besides 4K, there’s support for Dolby Vision, HLG and HDR10/10+, as well as Dolby Atmos audio. Wi-Fi 6 also ensures speedy connectivity with supported routers, so you can enjoy your home cinema without stuttering. Alexa’s still around as well, improving all the while. Besides using your voice to locate content across all your apps (which you’ll sometimes need to specify), the digital helper can also be used to control connected smart home kit.

• Read more: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review

4. Nvidia Shield TV

Nvidia’s aluminium streaming cylinder sits quietly beneath your TV. More distinctive is its Toblerone remote, with a triangular design that stands apart from other plasticky zappers. It feels good in the hand and features all the physical buttons we needed. We think the absence of a 3.5mm headphone port is a shame, though.

Powerful processor specs make streaming 4K content a stutter-free experience. Support for HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos means the Shield TV plays nice with swanky home cinema systems, serving up stunningly detailed content. It doesn’t work with HLG though, so 4K HDR from BBC iPlayer poses problems.

Feed in 1080p content from a variety of sources – such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or YouTube – and the Shield TV will use AI to enhance the detail in a scene. We found it’s very effective at boosting quality for high-res displays, though you may need to tweak sensitivity to avoid over-sharpening.

It also does a cracking job as a gaming machine. Thanks to its Android TV interface, you can play Android games natively on the Shield itself, but you can also bring your rig into the mix. Streaming from Steam works well, though results vary depending on your network speed and graphics card.

If all you need is easy streaming, the Shield TV is overkill. But if you have the TV and audio setup to take advantage of its Dolby Vision and Atmos support – plus a decent PC and internet connection for gaming – Nvidia’s plug-in stick is a compellingly versatile streaming solution.

• Read more: Nvidia Shield TV review

5. Apple TV 4K

Apple’s updated 4K TV box is only an incremental improvement over the original, but that still makes it one of the best streamers you can buy. Its chip is zippy, while an HDMI 2.1 port boosts 4K HDR frame rates to a slicker 60fps. Wi-Fi 6 improves connectivity too, with a noticeable bump in speed and stability.

We like the refreshed Siri Remote, which is beefier than before but remains a polished controller. It also comes complete with a universal power button that can zap both your TV and your home cinema.

When it comes to content, all your favourite apps are there – from Netflix to Prime Video to Disney+. And they all support 4K HDR, Dolby Vision and Atmos. Apple Music’s Spatial Audio works well, too. Watchers with AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro or AirPods Max can also enjoy Atmos content with dynamic head tracking.

We found the picture quality to be excellent, even in definitions lower than 4K. Full HD shows get help from HDR processing. The Colour Balance feature, meanwhile, uses your iPhone’s camera and light sensor to optimise your screen’s saturation against ‘industry standards’. It’s not Dolby Vision, but it’s neat.

The Apple TV 4K is undeniably pricier than most streaming devices. But Apple fans won’t find a more convenient 4K media hub: from Apple Arcade to iTunes to AirPlay, the box brings it all together seamlessly.

If you do opt for the Apple TV, make sure to check out Stuff‘s guide to the best Apple TV apps you’ll actually use.

• Read more: Apple TV 4K review

6. Roku Express 4K

For a tenner less than Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K, the Express 4K is an impressive yet accessible way to consume 4K content. It’s feature-packed, yet undercuts every 4K streamer in this list.

Not one to hide behind your box, the dinky domed receiver goes beneath your TV. While its plastic finish reflects the price tag, setup is a cinch. We found Roku OS 10’s tile-based interface is clean and responsive, with a wealth of watching options. The app list is comprehensive, featuring every major streaming platform, including Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+ and more. All that’s missing is a proper content hub. While ‘My Feed’ allows you to follow your favourite shows, it doesn’t pull together suggestions as seamlessly as some rivals.

Navigation is straightforward with the simple remote, which features four channel shortcuts. What UK users don’t get is a volume rocker. Nor does it have a built-in microphone for voice control, unlike the zapper shipped with the Streaming Stick 4K. That said, you can talk to your Roku via the free smartphone app. Voice functionality isn’t as smart as the likes of Alexa, but it’s useful for swiftly loading shows.

Provided your TV has an HDMI 2.2 port, the Express 4K can serve up 4K HDR video at 60fps. It also plays nice with HDR10/10+ and HLG for maximum streaming compatibility. Quality is reliably excellent: vibrant, detailed and lag-free. With Apple AirPlay compatibility and Dolby Atmos passthrough for cinematic sound, the Roku Express 4K delivers outstanding bang for buck.

7. Amazon Fire TV Stick

Whether your Wi-Fi is fettered or your TV tops out at 1080p, not everyone needs a 4K streamer. And for Full HD streaming, Amazon’s standard Fire TV Stick is a stellar all-rounder. It’s not the cheapest stick in the Fire TV family: that honour goes to the Lite version, which costs a little less. But the extra tenner gets you TV controls and Dolby Atmos support, which make the Fire TV Stick Amazon’s Goldilocks option.

Slightly smaller than the 4K-flavoured version, the Fire TV Stick is likewise a plug-and-play streamer that belongs in one of your TV’s HDMI ports. It’s 50% faster than the previous generation – and 50% more power efficient.

We like the familiar interface, which is neat and easy to navigate, albeit dominated by Amazon content – not necessarily a bad thing, provided you’re a Prime subscriber. You also get access to all of the usual apps, including Netflix and Disney+, although there’s no Now TV.

Alexa integration is better than ever, with voice control proving a genuine time-saver. The updated remote also features four platform shortcuts, plus a clearer Alexa button and an additional layer of dedicated controls for powering on and adjusting the volume of compatible A/V equipment.

4K might be off the menu, but Full HD streaming looks lovely. Pictures are ace at 60fps, with no lag or buffering issues. HDR support is a nice touch, boosting colour and contrast for a more realistic picture, while Dolby Atmos will be a welcome bonus for streamers with a home cinema setup.

• Read more: Amazon Fire TV Stick review

8. Sky Stream

The satellite TV is dead, long live the set-top box. Sky has hinted that it could be phasing out the humble satellite dish as the company transitions to set-top box and its dedicated streaming service, Sky Stream.

Sky Stream launched as a rival to Roku and an all-in-one home for entertainment, sports and more. It includes Sky Entertainment and a Netflix membership included in the £24 per month subscription, available when signing up for an 18-month contract.

Sky Stream comes with a ‘puck’, which is a small square device that fits in the palm of a hand. Set-up is easy, with the puck plugging into any TV with an HDMI port to access the same features that come with a Sky Glass set. That includes Sky Entertainment, Netflix originals and up to 150 live channels such as BBC and ITV. Sky also has a deal with HBO to exclusively air their TV shows in the UK until 2025. That includes Game of Thrones, Euphoria, Succession and The Last of Us TV adaptation, all shown through Sky Atlantic.

We found extra costs can easily add up when it comes to Sky, though. Sport costs extra, of course, with access to 11 Sky Sports channels available for £44 a month. Want to skip the adverts? That’s an extra £5. Want to view in Sky Ultra HD and with Dolby Atmos? That’s another fiver. Compared to the Netflixes and Amazon Primes of this world, that’s a pricey meatball.

• Read more: Sky Stream review

9. Amazon Fire TV Cube 3rd Gen

Technically a cuboid, Amazon’s binge-watching box is a winner for high-res TV addicts, and it’s the most powerful, fastest iteration yet, thanks to a faster octa-core processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.

Specs aside, we find it visually more appealing too, with a soft fabric covering that’s easier on the eyes than its predecessor’s raw plastic finish. And while we’ve yet to review it (watch this space), we expect visuals to shine. As with all streaming devices, it won’t match the level of detail you’d get from 4K Blu-ray, mind, but material streamed from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video on the previous model look stunning, so we have high hopes. Support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ also means you get the very latest visuals, too – as long as your Wi-Fi is quick enough.

On that note, the third-generation Fire TV Cube also has Wi-Fi 6E, for even faster network speeds. You’ll need a newer Wi-Fi 6 router to take advantage of it of course, but even if you don’t have one yet, it’s always nice to have a little built-in futureproofing. Round the back, connectivity is taken care of with a built-in ethernet port, along with both an HDMI input and output, with the former letting you control third-party equipment with your voice.

Forever losing the remote? With Alexa built into the box, one vocal request is all it takes to load up a show, navigate apps and even control your smart home. Certain functions won’t work with every set – such as input-switching with a Philips TV – and Alexa can’t dig out content from the likes of BBC iPlayer. All the same, the ability to control the television with your voice transforms the experience and makes the new Fire TV Cube into a true entertainment hub.

How to choose the best streaming device

Want to stream movies and TV but don’t know where to start? When buying a streaming device there are several things you’ll need to think about to make sure the streamer suits your needs and preferences.

The most important aspect you’ll want to consider is what content is available on that device. If you’ve got Netflix, Apple TV+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, or one of the many other streaming services, you have to make sure it’s available on the device you get, as some devices may not have access to certain platforms.

For more information on this check out Stuff‘s guide to the best streaming service in the UK.

Likewise, if you are already invested in a particular ecosystem, such as Apple or Android, you should get a streaming device that complements your existing devices and services. So, for example, if you’ve got an iPhone, Apple TV+ and Apple Music then an Apple TV makes perfect sense for seamless integration.

If you’re kitting out a home theatre, then you’ll obviously want the best resolution and performance. Many streaming sticks now pump out 4K Ultra HD, although some more affordable ones top out at Full HD (1080p). Of course, if you’re after the ultimate in performance, then you’ll also want a streamer with HDR10/10+ (for enhanced contrast and colour) and Dolby Atmos (for improved audio).

We’ve reviewed all of the streaming devices above and found all of the user interfaces intuitive and easy to navigate, but you might want to think about how you navigate the UI. Do you want another remote laying around, or are you happy to cast everything from your smartphone?

Some streaming devices also come with app support, allowing you to install news apps, games, and other types of entertainment. While this is nice to have, we found we rarely use these, so don’t make it a key deciding factor.

However, some streaming devices also have built-in voice assistants, which makes searching for content much easier, and Bluetooth, so you can turn your television into a Bluetooth speaker. We think these are definitely features worth looking out for.

• Read more: Apple iOS 18 free upgrade preview: release date, features, and everything we know so far

The biggest of the new features has got to be Eye Tracking. Apple is giving us the power to control iPads and iPhones just by looking at them. It’s been designed primarily for users with physical disabilities. This feature uses the front-facing camera to track where you’re looking, letting you command your device without lifting a finger.

Then there’s Music Haptics, which feels like turning your favourite jams into a vibrating symphony. If you’re deaf or hard of hearing, this feature will let you experience music through vibrations of the iPhone’s Taptic Engine. Vocal Shortcuts are here to make Siri even more useful (or at least try to). By setting up custom sounds or phrases, users can get Siri to perform tasks. It’s a nifty trick, especially for folks with speech variations.

For anyone who turns a bit green in cars, Vehicle Motion Cues might be your new best mate. This feature uses animated dots to sync with the motion of your ride, aiming to reduce the clash between what your eyes see and your body feels.

Apple’s not stopping at mobile devices, either. The accessibility love is spreading to CarPlay and visionOS. CarPlay will now listen out for sirens and honks for those with hearing difficulties. And visionOS is set to introduce Live Captions for everything from FaceTime chats to video streams.

Expect iOS 18 to debut at Apple’s WWDC 2024 developers conference in June, before it rolls out to everyone in September. It’s thought that the next version of the iPhone’s software is going to pack a number of new AI-powered features, potentially including a revamped Siri. The design is also set to get a major refresh. With so many changes, making this update as broad as possible can only be a good thing – giving users an extra reason to keep their iPhone. And upgrade to the next one, naturally.

• Related: iOS 18 rumoured system requirements: will it run on your iPhone?

Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s Ultra Retina XDR displays.

• Read more: iPad Pro M4 (2024) vs iPad Air M2 (2024): which should you pick?

What is an Ultra Retina XDR display?

The Ultra Retina XDR display is debuting on the iPad Pro (M4). Apple claims it’s the best OLED display ever shipped in a device of its kind. A normal Retina display is any Apple screen that has a pixel density high enough that you can’t see the pixels. Meanwhile, a Retina XDR display is a Retina display that supports extreme dynamic range (XDR). So what warrants the new “Ultra” in front?

The Ultra Retina XDR display promises rich, vibrant colours thanks to its wide colour gamut. The display uses OLED technology, which emits light through each pixel for higher contrast and resolution without the need for a backlight. Apple’s gone a step further with a Tandem OLED design, which uses two OLED panels to crank up the brightness and maintain colour accuracy across the entire screen. It’s like an OLED Retina XDR display on steroids – hence the new “Ultra” moniker.

Apple’s Ultra Retina XDR display still supports XDR and HDR, meaning it delivers a wide range of dark and light areas in photos and videos. Deep blacks, bright whites, and all those juicy nuances in between. So, whether you’re binge-watching your favourite series or editing photos, it should look pretty spectacular.

ProMotion and True Tone are not exactly new but still worth a mention. ProMotion gives you that silky smooth 120Hz refresh rate, which is a godsend for scrolling and gaming. True Tone adjusts the display to match the lighting of your environment, making the viewing experience more natural and easier on the eyes. Handy for when you’re burning the midnight oil.

• Related: What is Apple ProMotion? The 120Hz display tech explained

While Apple has officially revealed the new iPad Pro and iPad Air, in 11in and 13in screen sizes, there are still plenty of other rumours to peruse…

• Best iPad: Which is the ideal Apple tablet for you?

iPad

The state of play: In October 2022, Apple released the 10th-gen iPad. It resembled a less powerful iPad Air with a reflective screen (boo) but had Apple’s first sensible selfie camera placement (yay). The ninth iteration of the iPad lurked quietly in the line-up, with its old-school charms of a Home button, a chunky screen bezel and a headphone port.

What’s next: The next iteration of the iPad is due, especially since we didn’t get one last year. In fact, 2023 was the first year since 2017 during which the standard iPad doesn’t get an update. So surely it’s coming this year – but reportedly it won’t be early this year and it’ll be later in 2024.

When we do get an 11th-gen, expect a minor spec bump with new colours and an A15 chip. Ideally, we’d prefer 2nd-gen Apple Pencil support and finally being rid of the reflective screen too, but suspect that’s unlikely. What is unlikely is the 9th-gen sticking around as a low-cost iPad, even when the 11th-gen shows up – the 10th will move down to fill that gap.

Stuff says: The 9th-gen iPad is charitably best described as ‘classic’ and ‘familiar’. Buy if the other models are out of your budget. The 10th-gen is a bit pricey and infuriatingly uses the old Apple Pencil. But it’s powerful and worth the outlay if you want an iPad that’ll last.

iPad Mini

The state of play: The iPad Mini has long been an enigma regarding release frequency and positioning. But Apple vastly improved its tiniest iPad with September 2021’s 6th-gen, more or less transforming it into an iPad Air Mini. There’s an A15 inside that tiny frame – but scrolling can be jiggly in portrait. Tsk.

What’s next: The main rumour that’s been swirling around forever now is the 7th-gen iPad Mini getting a 120Hz ProMotion display, which will handily boot ‘jelly scrolling’ concerns into the sun. No-one’s prediction parrot has parped precisely when this’ll rock up, mind. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reckons that the iPad Mini refresh will land later on this year, following the expected release of the new iPad Pro and Air models in the second week of May.

Stuff says: Removing the most overt flaw from the iPad Mini would be good. But who knows when it’ll happen? So if you want one, buy it now. Just be aware even in the Mini’s inconsistent release schedule, the 6th-gen is definitely more mid-cycle than long in the tooth.

iPad Air

The state of play: Apple has officially released its latest-gen iPad Air, complete with a faster M2 processor and new 13in screen-sized variant.

What’s next: It’s too early for the Apple rumour mill to have swung its focus on the future iPad Air, but we’ll be updating this piece with the latest news, as soon as it comes in.

Stuff says: The M2 processor should be more than enough for most people’s needs, so the current-gen iPad Air is worth a punt if you don’t need the bells and whistles that the new iPad Pro offers.

iPad Pro

The state of play: The new iPad Pro, complete with the rumoured OLED display, terrifyingly fast M4 processor, and support for the new Apple Pencil Pro, is officially here. We’ve even reviewed it.

What’s next: Given that the new iPad Pro has just been released, we don’t expect to hear much in the way of the next-gen iPad Pro for quite some time. We’ll be sure to update this piece with the inevitable rumours as soon as they start flying around however.

Stuff says: If you’re after an iPad Pro, you might as well get the current M4 version that’s just come out, given that it took two years for a refresh last time.

• You couldn’t Mac them up: The latest MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, iMac and Mac Pro rumours

• Read more: Apple iPad Pro review (M4, 7th gen): super powered, super bright

In the UK, you can get the new iPad Pro and Air on EE for a monthly price. The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at £67.50 per month, while the larger 13-inch model goes for £81 per month. The new iPad Pro is for the hardcore users who demand the best performance and display. Its new Ultra Retina XDR screen, adaptive flash, and advanced M4 chip ensure it can handle high-end workflows like 4K video editing and graphic design without breaking a sweat.

If you don’t need as much power, the new iPad Air gets you the powerful M2 chip, vibrant display, and wide colour options make it a sensible choice. The 11-inch Air starts at £45 per month, or you can go for the 13-inch model from £54 per month.

With the launch of the new iPad Air and Pro, Apple slashed the price of the 10th-gen iPad. During Apple’s “Let Loose” launch event, the tech giant revealed that the 10th-gen iPad is getting a big discount. Its price is now $100/£100 lower than before – and that’s the new retail price. You can now buy the tablet for $349/£349 directly from Apple or other retailers. It’s the cheapest Apple tablet on offer, and it might be the best value buy.

If you don’t mind sticking with an older-generation tablet, there’s some serious money to be saved. The 9th-generation iPad (10.2in) with 64GB of storage is currently $221 compared to the previous $330 asking price. While Apple no longer offers this device, it’s one of the most affordable ways into Apple’s tablet ecosystem. You won’t get the most powerful processor and the design isn’t quite as cutting-edge, but it’ll still run the latest version of iOS perfectly smoothly.

If you like your tech to be as compact as possible, the iPad Mini is a great bet. Get a 6th-generation model with 64GB for £470 on Amazon right now – that’s £30 off the previous £500 asking price. It’s powered by an A15 Bionic processor, has Touch ID for biometric security and payments, and up to 10 hours of battery life. USB-C connectivity and support for the second-gen Apple Pencil are very nice to have, too.

• Read more: Best iPad 2024: Which is the ideal Apple tablet for you?