Crazy Phones: November 2017

Thursday, 30 November 2017

The best iPhone 7 plans and prices in Australia compared

Google Home Mini crashes at high volumes

If you want to rock out with the Google Home Mini, you should be able to do so. But nope, some users find their device crashing.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/12/01/google-home-mini-crashes-at-high-volumes

OnePlus 5T insurance not available, may be hard to get

Protecting your OnePlus 5T makes sense and it seemed like OnePlus was about to offer insurance on it. But it's not available yet.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/oneplus-5t-insurance-not-available-hard-to-get

Designed obsolescence: Jony Ive calls iPhone 7 Plus “disconnected”

The Chief Design Officer for the winningest coporate office in the world took some recoil after looking at one of his pieces of work from a year ago.

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Apple could design its own power management chips for future iPhones

Apple apparently isn't too happy with the power management chips it uses for the iPhone, and so as early as next year, it could take matters into its own hands.

Apple is reportedly considering plans to ditch its relationship with designer Dialog Semiconductor, according to Nikkei, and instead design the chips on its own, much as it already does with its A-series central processors. If Apple takes this course of action, Taiwan Semiconductor will continue to actually make the chips, much as it already does for Dialog. In that regard, at least, this is a clear case of cutting out the middleman.

In the most hopeful case (for Apple), around half of the power management chips in the 2018 iPhones could be designed by Apple itself, says one source.

Must-read: iPhone X review

There's a chance the chips might not actually be available until 2019, according to one of the sources, but even so, the market hasn't been too kind to Dialog in the wake of the news. Shares of Dialog stock were down almost 18% as of the time of writing, no doubt in large part because Apple's chips were responsible for around 74% of Dialog's revenue last year.

The sources claim that Apple's power management chips will be the most advanced in the industry, but of course we won't know that for sure until we actually see them in action in future phones (and iPads and Apple Watches). At the very least we'll almost certainly get better battery life, but how much is anyone's guess at the moment.

Apple has slowly been bringing most of its component design in-house over the course of the last decade, which naturally has been disastrous for old suppliers like Imagination Technologies (who used to make Apple's graphics chips), but if the gradual improvement of Apple's own devices serves as any indication, it's been a smart move for Apple itself.

How to fix macOS High Sierra problems

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/apple-could-design-its-own-power-management-chips-for-future-iphones

Datally is Google’s newest Android app for metering your usage

You can find Wi-Fi hotspots near you and completely cut out any data use from certain apps or all of them. Perfect for those without unlimited data plans.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/datally-is-googles-newest-android-app-for-metering-your-usage

Best Buy listing claims Google Home Max out December 11

But what does Best Buy know, anyways? It took that date off the product page it published way too early. Well, it sounds like a good ballpark.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/best-buy-listing-claims-google-home-max-out-december-11

Qualcomm seeks to ban iPhone X sales in the US with new lawsuit

Hot on the heels of Apple announcing its lawsuit against Qualcomm in an ever-growing legal battle, the Snapdragon chip maker has filed its own legal complaint that could see iPhone X sales banned in the United States.

Qualcomm levied a complaint to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) noting that several of Apple’s smartphones – ranging from the iPhone 7 to iPhone X – violate five of its patent.

That’s far fewer than the 16 patent violations Qualcomm raised against Apple in its November 29 lawsuit, but they still cover a gamut of technologies including radio-frequency transceivers, depth-based imagery, an energy saving memory array and even on-off power phases.

Depending on the ITC decision to act on Qualcomm’s complaint, imports, and thus sales, of the iPhone X and other Apple products could be banned in the US. If Qualcomm were to win, a victory might cause the company to take further action against Apple with other agencies around the world – which we have already seen a similar call for iPhone X bans in China.

That said, this isn’t the first time Qualcomm has raised an ITC complaint against Apple. Earlier this August, the Snapdragon creator raised issue with six patent violations that led to an investigation, but nothing else thus far.

With this in mind it could take weeks before an investigation begins and months for action on the complaint.

Via Engadget

Meanwhile, Qualcomm is raising the fare on its ongoing partners

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/qualcomm-seeks-to-ban-iphone-x-with-its-latest-legal-action

Eve V flash sale starts December 4 with a $50 doorbuster discount

The base model runs for $799 while the glitziest costs $1,999. This discount should cover the costs of shipping and duties.

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LG overhauls mobile team

You know things are getting sticky at a company when it’s felt necessary to have a wholesale clearout of executives. That’s the radical action that LG is taking, in response to a series of poor sales figures for its mobile division.

In some ways, LG is an interesting company. Often, poor results are predicated on a range of poor products but, in this case, LG has garnered a set of more than respectable reviews. This summer’s launch, the G6 was singled out for its stylish design, while the LVG 30 gathered plenty of plaudits too - so it’s not the technology that’s proving to be flawed.

But the figures don’t lie. The Mobile Communications company recorded an operating loss of 2.81 trillion won (£1.83 billion) in the last quarter, an improvement of 13% on the third quarter last year, but a loss all the same. In the past two years, the only quarter that mobile phones have shown a profit was the first quarter of this year.

If it’s not the products, the only answer is that must be people, starting from top. That means that the president, Juno Cho, has been moved into a new role in the LG parent company.

New president

The new president and CEO, Hwang Jeong-hwan, has had a long career in R&D, and was part of the team that developed one of LG’s first smartphones. The new CTO is Dr Park Il-pyung, formerly head of the company’s software center, while the current CTO, Dr Skott Ahn also being moved to a more corporate role.

Perhaps more interestingly, given that the company is not failing on its products, there’s a new head of worldwide marketing, Han Chang-hee, who has come from the appliance side of the business – while the mobile division has been struggling, it’s the appliance revenues that are keeping the company healthy.

The company is also looking to explore new markets, with the news that it’s setting up a new B2B division. There’s certainly a need to do something to maintain a foothold in such a competitive market.

Best mobile phone deals of sales season 2017

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/lg-overhauls-mobile-team

Cricket offering four lines of unlimited data for $100 a month, but there’s a catch

Four lines of data for $100 or two lines for $80. But you'll have to make a big compromise on speed to live with this deal.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/unlimited-cricket-2-offering-four-lines-for-100-a-month

Fighting Qualcomm, Apple may make its own power management chips

The two companies are mired in legal disputes over patents on many internal components going into smartphones. But this is more than just about Qualcomm.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/fighting-qualcomm-apple-may-make-its-own-power-management-chips

Learn to build Android apps with this special limited time offer

Get yourself The Complete Android Oreo with Kotlin Bundle today. The original sale price was $49, but you can get an additional 70% off when you use discount code CYBER70 at checkout.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/build-android-apps-deal

Sony Xperia XZ Premium 2: what we want to see

AliveCor’s KardiaBand is the first FDA-approved Apple Watch medical accessory

Probably the most groundbreaking Apple Watch accessory yet comes from a little company called AliveCor, serving EKG readings in 30 seconds.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/alivecor-kardiaband-first-fda-approved-apple-watch-medical-accessory

Can the Apple Watch work without an iPhone?

Update: With the cellular Apple Watch 3 available you can now do more than ever without tethering your Watch to your iPhone, but even without Apple's latest wearable there are plenty of phone-free Apple Watch features.

With the arguable exception of the cellular version of the Apple Watch 3, the Apple Watch isn't designed to replace your iPhone just yet. In fact, it depends on it.

Many Apple Watch apps are really just displays for things running on your iPhone, and some key features aren't available if you aren't paired to an iOS device.

For example, the original Watch doesn't have a GPS receiver, so if your phone isn't around you can't track the distance you've travelled beyond measuring steps.

GPS has been included in the Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 3, but even they don't have their own cameras, so while you can use them as a viewfinder for your phone they don't have the ability to snap anything by themselves.

Apple Watch

That doesn't mean the Apple Watch is a dumb terminal, though. It has its own processor, sensors and on-board storage, and we're increasingly seeing stacks of innovative apps as developers are discovering the possibilities.

Here are the key things you can do with any Apple Watch model, even when there's no iPhone for it to talk to - after the initial setup on the handset is complete that is.

Pay for stuff

Once you've set up Apple Pay via the Apple Watch app, you'll be able to use the Watch to pay for things in shops.

The app creates a unique token that's stored on the Watch to use as a card number - allowing you use Apple Pay even when you're away from your phone. To pay, simply wave your watch at the Apple Pay-compatible terminal and let the built-in NFC (near-field communication) radio do its thing.

Get on planes or go to the movies

Apple Watch

Apple Wallet is on the Apple Watch, so anything already stored in it - aeroplane boarding passes, electronic tickets and anything else scannable - should work just fine without your iPhone.

Sadly, not all firms have embraced this, so we're still often wandering around with pockets and purses full of plastic, but we're gradually seeing more things go digital.

Listen to music, audiobooks or podcasts

Apple Watch

The Watch has its own storage space, some of which is available for music - so you can use the Watch's built-in Bluetooth to pair with a pair of wireless headphones and get music on the move.

Naturally you won't be able to stream music from the likes of Spotify or Apple Music without an internet connection, which means being in Wi-Fi range or using an Apple Watch 3 cellular model, but there's more than enough internal storage for a run, a workout or a short commute.

Open doors

One of the smoothest features we saw at the Apple Watch launch event was SPG Keyless, a feature that enables Apple Watch users to unlock Starwood hotel rooms without anything as old-fashioned as a key.

According to Starwood, the keys work via Bluetooth Low Energy and are popped up by the iPhone app as push notifications the day before you check in.

The same idea could of course work with any other kind of Bluetooth-enabled smart lock, so it's possible we'll see Apple Watch-compatible locks for your home, garage or gym locker.

Track your fitness

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch doesn't need to be paired with your phone to monitor your heart rate or workout: it can store that data and sync it to the Health app when you get back from your run, cycle or trip to the gym. There are also various third-party fitness apps available, such as Strava.

Control your Apple TV

Apple Watch

Apple's Remote app has been ported to the Watch, and like its iOS sibling it enables you to control your Apple TV via the magic of wireless radio.

You can also use it to control iTunes on your computer.

Do watch things

Apple Watch

Hardly a surprise, this, but time-related functions such as the alarm, stopwatch and timer don't need a phone to function.

What iPhone-free features do you think we'll see from app developers? Let us know in the comments.

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/wearables/can-the-apple-watch-work-without-an-iphone-1288140

LG appoints new mobile division president and CEO in bid to turn its business around

The long-struggling LG Mobile Communications Company officially has a new skipper in charge with reviving the popularity of the chaebol's smartphones.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/lg-new-mobile-division-president-ceo-turn-business-around

The best EE phone deals in November 2017

The best O2 phone deals in November 2017

The best Three mobile deals in November 2017

Unlocked HTC U11 Life scores official Android 8.0 Oreo update

The unlocked, non-Android One version of the HTC U11 Life is the Taiwanese OEM's second "old" phone to be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/unlocked-htc-u11-life-android-8-0-oreo-update

Nokia 8 just got updated to Android Oreo, adding speed and new features

Following a beta last month, the finished version of Android Oreo has now landed on the Nokia 8, bringing with it a number of improvements and new features.

The update, which we’ve had confirmation is live in the UK, will presumably be coming to the rest of the world soon if it hasn’t already, and highlights include a new picture-in-picture mode, which lets you watch a video while using another app.

That’s a feature you’ll find on most handsets rocking Android Oreo, but there’s also some stuff exclusive to Nokia handsets, such as ‘Dual-Sight’, which uses the front and back cameras simultaneously when shooting video, so you can stream your reaction to events on social media.

Fast and free of bloat

The Nokia 8 should also now power up faster and its battery might last longer, thanks to a feature that limits the background activity of the apps you use least.

And speaking of apps, there’s no bloat here, with no unnecessary apps added as part of the Android Oreo update. But what you do get is over 60 new emoji, plus new designs for the existing ones.

There’s also good news if you have a Nokia 6 or other Nokia handset, as you shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for Android Oreo, with HMD Global – the company behind recent Nokia phones – claiming that Oreo is coming to other Nokia handsets soon.

We're already dreaming of Android P

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/nokia-8-just-got-updated-to-android-oreo-adding-speed-and-features

Sketchy Sony H8541 spec sheet could anticipate Xperia XZ Premium sequel disappointment

Sony's redesigned Xperia XZ Premium follow-up is expected to significantly slim down the bezels, but retain a rapidly aging Snapdragon 835 SoC.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/sony-h8541-xperia-xz-premium-sequel-spec-sheet

Sony Xperia XZ Premium 2 could have a 5.7-inch 4K screen and slimline design

Xiaomi Redmi 5A expands to India, Redmi 5 and 5 Plus confirmed for December 7 launch

Xiaomi just launched the crazy affordable, ultra-low-end Redmi 5A in India, also gearing up for the China announcement of the mid-range Redmi 5 and 5 Plus.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/xiaomi-redmi-5a-india-redmi-5-redmi-5-plus-china

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Verizon 5G home internet service going live in up to five markets in 2018

Big Red won't have mobile 5G anytime soon, but it will have some homes served starting next year in the capital of California.

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from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/30/verizon-5g-home-internet-2018

Samsung graphene battery revolution, Pixel Visual Core extends & more – Pocketnow Daily

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the rumored Samsung graphene battery revolution, Pixel Visual Core extends & more

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TechRadar's best tech 2017

Choosing the right gift for your special someone (or yourself) is hard. We've sifted through many excellent products to bring you only the best gift ideas.

Whether it's a new laptop, smartphone, wearable, smart home accessory or a set of headphones you're after, you'll find our take on what's the very best below.

Google Pixel 2

An all-around fantastic phone with an all-star camera
The cool factor of your phone ultimately comes down to one question: does it take good photos? In the case of the Google Pixel 2, the results speak for the phone. This is a phone that, beyond just being an excellent all-around option for enthusiasts and newbies alike, is basically a DSLR replacement.

Oculus Rift

The first VR headset remains the best
Now at an all-time-low price, Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset remains the best of bunch both when it comes to value and support, with a now sizable library of games of all genres. It’s not the most technologically advanced VR headset around, but it has all of the basic ingredients for a fun time immersed in another world, thanks to built-in headphones and optional Oculus Touch controllers. Though, just make sure you or your loved one has a PC that supports the device before picking one up – luckily, the hardware requirements aren’t even that extreme.

iPhone X

The iPhone you’ve been wanting for over 10 years
The new iPhone is one of the best, and maybe also the hardest gifts, to find in 2017. But it’s well worth the effort and the $99 starting price if you want Apple’s redesigned 10th anniversary smartphone. It has an all-screen design, wireless charging, and bigger screen yet smaller body than the iPhone 8 Plus. Oh, and it does Animojis.

DJI Spark

The little drone for everyone
The DJI Spark is the best compact drone you can buy for anyone. It's portable, agile and all so easy to fly for beginners. You'll even be able to launch it from your hand and control it with a wave of your palm like a Jedi.

Apple iPad Pro 10.5-inch

The perfect iPad to replace your laptop
The “perfect” tablet size debate rages on, but at 10.5 inches, this iteration of Apple’s iPad Pro might just hit the sweet spot. The goods are all here - great audio, awesome video feedback, and, thanks to iOS 11, some serious laptop-rivalling capabilities, at a starting price of $649. Giving an iPad as a gift is a guaranteed win. Giving the iPad Pro 10.5 is a slam dunk.

Nintendo Switch Holiday Bundle

Bring Mario, Link and with you anywhere
Nintendo’s latest system is a gorgeous mobile-console hybrid that’s just as comfortable hanging out with you at a park playing a game like Super Mario Odyssey, as it is sitting on your shelf at home hooked up to your TV. With a plethora of great games already available for the system (including TWO Game of the Year contenders, including Super Mario Odyssey that comes with this bundle) the Switch is too good of a system to pass up.

URB-E Sport

The foldable electric scooter of your dreams
Mashing together a moped and scooter, the URB-E Sport is the ultimate portable electric vehicle. It reaches a top speed of 14mph and goes a fair distance of 16 miles thanks to its electric motor and yet it’s just as maneuverable and portable as an actual scooter thanks to its tight frame.

TCL 55P607 (Roku TV)

The best budget TV of the year, bar none
The problem with buying TV is that, most often, you either have to spend a lot of money to get something that’s going to last you and look great, or grab something at a discount only for the picture to look less-than-perfect for the next two years before it breaks down. TCL’s 55-inch P-Series is the answer we’ve long been searching for: It’s a 4K HDR TV with Dolby Vision, a 120Hz native resolution and a 10-bit panel, and costs just under $600. It’s the perfect compromise between price and performance.

The new iPad

The already-great iPad gets even better
We’re picky reviewers at TechRadar, so when a product earns a perfect score of five stars, it means we really liked the product. That’s the case with the iPad 2017. Not only is it the cheapest of the full-size iPads at $329, it’s simply a fantastic device with a gorgeous screen and great design.

Sony Alpha A6500

The ultimate powerhouse mirrorless camera
Whether you want to shoot 4K movies, high-speed sports or just take a pretty picture, the Sony Alpha A6500 can do it all. This mirrorless camera is a powerhouse offering the highest specs in its category and impeccable image quality.

Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

The best Mac that money can buy
Meet the best Mac you can buy to date, now with faster processors – not to mention its headline feature: the Touch Bar. This is a thin OLED touchscreen at the top of the keyboard, replacing the function row for a slew of new tasks, like auto-suggesting words as you type, or allowing you to log in with just your fingerprint via Touch ID. While there are Windows laptops out there that offer more hardware for less, steadfast Apple diehards will be well-pleased by this gorgeous and versatile machine.

D.Va Peripheral Suite

Dress up as the undisputed best Overwatch character
As D.Va would say “alright, gameface on.” And you’ll be able to do quite literally that with Razer’s new D.Va Peripheral Suite. While most of this set includes reskinned gaming peripherals, D.Va’s iconic MEKA headset has been lovingly brought to life as a functional analog on-ear headset with integrated mic. It’s a must have item for fans of Overwatch, D.Va lovers, cosplayers and everyone who just wants a cool set of headphones.

Apple Watch Series 3

Apple’s smartest smartwatch can ditch the iPhone
The new Apple Watch 3 comes in two flavors, one with that has a faster processor, battery life and enables Siri to speak from the watch, and one that does all of that and has the bonus of connecting to LTE. This means you don’t need you smartwatch to receive calls and data if you include the Apple Watch 3 LTE as part of your phone plan (for an extra $10). Workouts become 100% easier without a Plus-sized phone jiggling in your pocket.

Dell XPS Tower Special Edition

A VR-capable desktop PC for the everyman
The Dell XPS Tower might look as boring as any old office computer, but beneath it simple, silver veneer is the heart of a gaming PC. Even with the starting model you’re going to get a hexa-core processor with a GPU good enough to get you started on the road to becoming an eSports legend. Thanks to an internal design that folds into itself, this gaming PC is uniquely bigger on the inside a lot like the Doctor’s Tardis.

Hyperice Vyper 2.0 High-Intensity Vibrating Fitness Roller

No time (or money) for a chiropractor? No problem
File this in the “hurts so good” category. If you’ve ever used a roller you know how well they work at kneading out sore muscles. Throw three-setting vibrations in the mix, like the Hypervice Vyper 2.0 does, and you’re looking at maximum muscle relief. Get this $199 roller for the fitness fanatic in your life. Trust us - they’ll thank you.

Canon EOS M100

The perfect mirrorless camera for selifes
In case Animoji and portrait mode selifes aren’t cutting it, the Canon EOS M100 will give you the high-res selifes you and your friends crave. Of course, this camera can do much more than that what with its 24MP sensor and growing family of lenses. It’s far more compact than Canon’s DSLRs and yet offers the same if not better image quality, making it one of the best cameras to buy as a gift.

SNES Classic Mini

Re-live your gaming glory days with this excellent retro console
If you’re anything like us, you probably have some fond memories of the Super Nintendo. Whether you were A Link to the Past lover, Final Fantasy III fanatic or Super Mario World maniac, the Super Nintendo offered some of the greatest experiences (and memories) we’ve ever known. If you want a one-way ticket back to the land of nostalgia, SNES Classic Mini is a holiday season must-have.

GoPro Hero6 Black

The best action camera. Period.
Another year another GoPro is what you might think, but the Hero6 Black is easily the company’s most impressive camera yet. With the ability to shoot at 4K 60fps and Full HD at 120fps, it’s the perfect camera for capture high-speed action at a great resolution.

GorillaPod Magnetic 325

The perfect go anywhere mini tripod
Between its bendy arms and magnetic feet, there’s practically nowhere you can’t mount the GorillaPod Magnetic 325. Carrying around a traditional tripod can be a major pain and ridiculous if you just have a tiny point-and-shoot camera or an action camera. That’s where this pocketable and extremely versatile camera tripod comes to save the day.

Samsung Gear 360

A sleek, affordable 360-degree camera perfect for total immersion
Recording a video is a great way to cement a memory in motion. But as nice as it is, you can do better. The Samsung Gear 360 records footage in a full 360-degrees – perfect for viewing in a virtual reality headset – and best of all, it does it on the cheap. This way, every little detail (even you holding the camera) is captured, letting you look around the frame at things you hadn’t noticed that passed you by when you were in the moment.

Peak Design Everyday Backpack

The ultimate backpack for everyone's everyday
Whether you have a dozen lenses, four camera bodies or a hundred accessories, this Peak Design can hold it all. With two large side opening and a ton of other smart design choices, you can easily access all your gear without even having to take the bag off. Beyond camera gear, this bag has been really designed to be an Everyday Pack for everyone to use and look stylish at the same time.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

Hey Android fans, this is the best tablet that isn’t an iPad
If you prefer Android, this is the best tablet for you. It has a beautiful HDR screen and has four powerful speakers, so it’s fit for multimedia. Productivity? It does that, too. The S Pen is its big headline feature and there’s an option keyboard cover for a clutch 2-in-1 form factor. Yes, the keyboard is extra, but this tablet is now cheaper than the iPad Pro.

Destiny 2

Loot your way through space with this frenetic first-person shooter
When Bungie announced that it would leave the Halo franchise behind, we had our concerns. Halo had to be the pinnacle of what space-themed first-person shooters could be, right? Wrong. Destiny 2 takes the fast-paced gameplay from Halo, sure, but adds in fun RPG-lite mechanics that help make each guardian feel like your own unique avatar on the ever-evolving battlefield.

Star Wars Battlefront 2

Fight your way through the cinematic Star Wars universe
Who would win in a fight between Yoda and Darth Maul? Could Rey ever have escaped from Boba Fett? If Chewbacca had to square up with Emperor Palpatine … well, you get the idea. Star Wars Battlefront II lets you live out your fantasy match-ups in epic 8-on-8, 12-on-12 and even 20-on-20 multiplayer matches.

Call of Duty WWII

COD returns to its roots with authentic battles, weapons and locals
If you like your video games with a little more, uh, historical accuracy, check out the latest Call of Duty game from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software. After steering the franchise away from the far-flung future, Call of Duty returns to its roots: historically accurate battles set within the greatest conflicts of our time. Add in some addicting multiplayer modes - and the not-totally-accurate Zombies Mode - and you have all the makings of a war hero.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

A homicidal history lesson with the latest Assassin’s Creed game
History isn’t the most peaceful subject - in fact, study it for a few minutes and you’re bound to run into some bloodshed. That being said, Assassin’s Creed takes the idea of sanguine history to a whole new level. The latest installment of the franchise takes us way back to one of the first recorded civilizations - Ancient Egypt. Here you’ll guide Bayek and his wife Aya as they forge the beginnings of the titular Assassin Order.

Super Mario Odyssey

Mario’s latest adventure is his greatest of all-time
Until this year, the award for the best Super Mario game ever made was a tie between Super Mario World on Super Nintendo and Mario Galaxy on the Wii. Why? Both games leveraged the technological advantages of their new platforms to do something fresh, bold and different than anything before it. Super Mario Odyssey does all that and somehow even more. In our opinion, it’s the greatest Mario game ever made.

Nokia Body+ Scale

You need a smart scale more than you think
A smart scale might seem like it’s outside of your needs, but it’s more helpful than it seems. For instance, the Nokia+ Body Scale knows who’s stepping on it based on their weight, body fat percentage and blood pressure reading. Additionally, this smart Wi-Fi enabled scale can integrate with IFTTT, and with some tweaks, can do things like map out trends around your weight loss (or gain) progress automatically in a Google Sheet.

Acer Windows Mixed Reality HMD

The top PC VR experience on the cheap
Not looking to spend what’s still a small fortune on an Oculus Rift? Then, look no further than Acer’s first-ever VR headset for Windows 10 PCs. With its very own position tracking system built-in and custom motion controllers – not to mention an easy-as-pie, USB-based connection to your PC – Acer makes it easier than ever to dive into another world. Plus, even games in Steam’s VR library support the headset, making this one to watch for an affordable VR gaming gift.

Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB

A great entry-level turntable for your favorite vinyl enthusiast
The vinyl revival warms our once-cold digital hearts. And while we’re happy to see so many people getting back into analog, we’re just a hair concerned at the players most folks are picking up at places like Urban Outfitters. Not only are these turntables bad at conveying the intricate grooves of a record, but over time they’ll actually chew up your favorite LPs. Your safest bet? The Audio-Technica AT-LP 120-USB. Not only will it save your collection from utter destruction, but you can even transfer recordings from the player to your PC to preserve that warm analog sound you’ve come to love.

Microsoft Surface Pro

The best tablet is also a laptop
The Surface Pro is in its fifth iteration this year, and Microsoft’s flagship tablet just keeps getting better. Not only does this version maintain a super sharp and color-rich screen, it also continues to run full Windows 10 natively. Better yet, the latest model sees battery life improve by as much as 32% and improved performance through a new Intel processor. Grab the optional Surface Pen stylus and Touch Cover keyboard, and you have one of the most versatile pieces of computing gear around.

Tile

Never lose your keys (or your phone) again.
If you’re looking for some affordable tech for the holidays that can make your life measurably better, look no further than Tile. Latch it onto your keychain and you’ll no longer need to worry about lost keys, or for that matter, a lost phone. Just tap Tile to find a misplaced phone or if you lost your keys, you’ll be able to easily find them via the Tile app.

TiVo Bolt Vox

The DVR of the future
It was probably pretty difficult to improve upon the TiVo Bolt, the DVR that not only recorded shows, but automatically could cut out commercials with the tap of a button. And yet, somehow, TiVo did just that with the new Bolt Vox. The Vox comes in three different configurations - each of which at least pack four separate tuners that can record four shows at once. The top-tier model sports six tuners and a 3TB hard drive that can store 450+ hours of TV. If you’ve got a cable binge-watcher on your list - the TiVo Bolt Vox will be their dream come true.

Google Wifi

The future of wireless networking is cheap
The mission to eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots in the home has gotten easier than ever, thanks in part to Google. Its Google Wifi wireless mesh systems is, frankly, future of routers. Google Wifi’s premise is easy: buy a three-pack set of ‘points’ and place them throughout your house where you use Wi-Fi the most. Then, you simply scan a QR code to set them all up and – boom – you’ve got strong Wi-Fi throughout the house!

Fitbit Charge 2

A reliable, comfortable wearable that’s easy to recommend
Fitbit’s successor to the classic Charge fitness tracker brings several subtle enhancements, as well as a few major ones to the table – er, wrist. First off, the Charge HR 2 features a display that puts this affordable wearable more in the smartwatch ballpark.

Seagate Game Drive for Xbox - Xbox Game Pass Special Edition

Download ‘ALL’ the games with this Xbox One upgrade
The Xbox One is a great console no matter what iteration you might have or be interested in getting, but its biggest shortcoming is storage. Luckily, you can run games off an external hard drive just as quickly as if you were playing them off the internal storage. While you can plug in any external drive you have on hand including a dollar store thumb drive, you should get something more reliable and nothing’s going to work more perfectly than the official Xbox Game Drive from Seagate.

Samsung T5 Portable SSD

One of the fastest external storage drives
If you’re already on the USB-C bandwagon with one of 2017’s fancy new laptops or tablets, then you ought to treat yourself or a loved one to its biggest benefit: crazy fast data transfer speeds. Samsung’s T5 Portable SSD delivers that in spades, with speeds of up to 540 megabytes per second – that’s a gigabyte of data every two seconds! If you’ve been stuck with a lame external hard drive all these years, grab something that’s 4.9 times faster. It’s worth the cost.

WD MyPassport Hard Drive

High capacity, high style
Looking to give the gift of even more storage. Western Digital's MyPassport hard drives offer an incredible capacity upgrade in a fashionable package. With a ton of color choices and the options between 500GB to 4TB drives, these portable HDD are the perfect stuffing stock for all your friends.

Logitech G903

The ultimate wireless gaming mouse
You won’t find a finer wireless gaming mouse than the Logitech G903. It features a Lightspeed Wireless system that’s faster and more reliable than even some wired peripherals. Then it only gets even better if you also purchase the Logitech Powerplay wireless charging mouse pad, which makes it so you can run this wireless gaming mouse indefinitely.

Samsung Chromebook Pro

A premium Chromebook for less
One of the first Chromebooks to release with Google’s vision for a laptop with Android apps, the Samsung Chromebook Pro is a primo laptop for a decent price. With a 12.3-inch, beyond-HD touchscreen with a 360-degree hinge, this laptop-meets-tablet is lauded for its built-in stylus – a first for a Chromebook. For these reasons, this device ousts not only a majority of laptops in its category, but it’s better than most Android tablets to boot.

Xbox One X

Meet the world’s most powerful console
If you’re after a console powerful enough to process 4K HDR signals like they’re nothing, the Xbox One X needs to be on your radar this holiday season. With 6Tflops of raw power, a 1TB hard drive and a built-in 4K Blu-ray player, the Xbox One X stands second to none in terms of sheer unabashed power. Oh, and yeah, it’s pretty fun to play, too.

Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream 2

The best mobile virtual reality headsets available
Own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or a Google Pixel? There’s an excellent virtual reality headset that’s just waiting for you to jump into. Depending on which phone you have, the offering, both in terms of software and hardware, are a bit different. However, each come recommended given their relatively low asking prices and steadily-increasing catalogs of virtual reality experiences.

MSI Trident 3

The gaming PC that was made for your livingroom
The MSI Trident 3 is basically the little gaming PC that could. Although it’s about as compact as the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, it’s substantially more powerful thanks to its quad-core CPU and Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics card. It’s a tantalizing package that comes at a reasonable price, which makes it the perfect gaming PC to have in your living room.

Moto G5S Plus

A fully-featured mid-range phone that doesn’t compromise on style
There’s no shame in wanting to save a buck (or hundreds) when buying a smartphone. Thankfully, there’s also zero shame in donning the Moto G5s Plus, Motorola’s affordable mid-range phone that has all of the style and most of the performance of a flagship, but for less.

Google Pixel Buds

Who knew that earbuds could be so smart?
Google’s new wireless headphones are the perfect complement to the Pixel 2 and other new Android smartphones. They come equipped with Google Assistant, which can handle everything from telling you tomorrow’s weather to texting back your loved ones – all with just your voice. They can even translate foreign languages without blowing up your spot, which is seriously a game-changer.

Dell XPS 13

TechRadar’s best laptop two years running
Thin, feathery, fast and gorgeous, the Dell XPS 13 is the best laptop in the world for 2017 – its second year on top of TechRadar’s buying guides. Come for the ‘Infinity Edge’ display, cramming a 13.3-inch screen into an 11-inch frame with wafer-thin bezels, stay for new quad-core Intel Kaby Lake processors inside. Not only that, but the port selection is equally on point, with USB-C 3.1 as well as USB 3.0 along with the elusive SD card slot. Topping it all off is your choice between an FHD display or a super-sharp touchscreen.

Sonos One

The Sonos One combines Alexa’s smarts with Sonos’ audio prowess
The Sonos One truly is the perfect marriage between two very odd bedfellows. On one hand, it’s a tried-and-true Sonos speaker that’s designed similarly to the Sonos Play:1 and integrates easily into any Sonos system you already have. On the other, it comes stocked with Alexa, the same smart assistant that makes the Amazon Echo such a wonderful, unique gadget. If you’re looking for a speaker that’s smart and sounds like something twice its price, Sonos One deserves a spot on your shopping list

Dell Inspiron Gaming 15 7000

The top gaming laptop for cash-strapped PC gamers
If you want PC gaming on the go and don’t have the scratch for super-thin, super-powered aluminum laptops, the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop is your best option. This notebook is priced well under half of most high-end gaming laptops, offering fantastic value for the money. The Nvidia GeForce GTX-provided graphics inside are easily enough to push the pixels behind the built-in 1080p display, while overall performance in Windows 10 is super smooth, thanks to your choice of an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor – all within a stately, matte plastic frame.

Philips Hue

Let the best smart lightbulb light up your holidays
Hate getting up to turn off the lights when you’re ready to turn in for the night? We’ve been there before - as have hundreds of thousands of people looking for a solution to their lighting conundrum. Cue the Philips Hue Smart Light System. With it, you’ll be able to control your lights either via an app for iOS or Android, or if you’ve invested in one of those smart speakers we’ve been talking about, with the intonation of a few simple words. It’s not a huge time-saver, but it is the pinnacle of convenience.

Polaroid OneStep 2

Party like it 1988 all over again
This instant film camera not only looks like an old-school Polaroid camera, it also instantly spits out any photo you take. The prints look just as vintage as the camera itself with a mix of off colors, low contrast and other imperfections seen in the camera. If you and your friends aren’t sticklers for perfect image quality, it’s the perfect fun shooting camera for parties and little get togethers.

Roku Ultra

4K streaming without the forced ecosystem
For years, Roku has been our go-to streaming video player. While other players strongarm you into using their streaming services (cough, Amazon Fire TV) the Roku Ultra wants you to use whatever streaming service you feel the most comfortable with. If you’re an Amazon Videos person, great. If you’re a Netflix subscriber or would rather hole up with Hulu, that’s fine too. Roku supports all these services and some several thousand more. It’s egalitarian video streaming that lets you pursue cutting the cord however you’d like.

Canon TS9120 Wireless AIO

Making printers sexy again
Printers are no longer clunky paperweights. The Canon TS9120 Wireless AIO is a sleek yet capable system that wirelessly connects to a smartphone or tablet. Whether printing candid vacation snaps or an important document, you can count on Canon’s creation to deliver quality every time it’s used. At $149.99 (on sale on Amazon), it’s a great value, too.

Roku Ultra

Manfrotto Befree Advanced

A serious tripod for both novice and pro photographers
So you need a serious tripod for your serious camera, but at the same time you don’t need a massive support system project to just support it. This is why the Manfrotto Befree Advanced is the perfect choice for photographers who need a stable, flexible and ultimately portable system. From hunching down to the ground to giving you a slightly overhead perspective, this tripod does it all and it’s folds up into an incredible compact package too.

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/best-tech

Apple counters Qualcomm battery patent infringement claims with its own

Qualcomm accused Apple of violating its battery patents. Apple denied those claims and then came back with accusations of its own.

The post Apple counters Qualcomm battery patent infringement claims with its own appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/apple-counters-qualcomm-battery-patent-infringement-claims-with-its-own

Honor nearly doubles shipments to India from 2016

More importantly, in a bid to drive even further growth, Honor India is looking to launch the V10 sooner than it had previous such devices.

The post Honor nearly doubles shipments to India from 2016 appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/honor-nearly-doubles-shipments-to-india-from-2016

Snapchat to revamp app to divide “social” from “media”

Content from publishers will have a clearer delineation away from the special moments that friends share with users, CEO Evan Spiegel says.

The post Snapchat to revamp app to divide “social” from “media” appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/snapchat-revamps-app-to-divide-social-from-media

EE Hawk announced with fast 4G and a low price

EE has just unveiled the Hawk, a phone that seems built around speed, as the network is highlighting its CAT 6 capabilities, which means it theoretically supports 4G speeds of up to 300Mbps, and it has reached 238Mbps on EE's network at Wembley Stadium.

Most of the time you won't get speeds close to that, but it does mean the EE Hawk should be more future-proofed in one way than some budget phones.

With a price tag of £149.99 (or from £14.99 per month on contract) this most definitely is a budget phone, especially as you also get a pair of JBL headphones thrown in.

So what else do you get for your money? Well, the EE Hawk has a 5-inch 720 x 1280 screen, 1.5GHz MediaTek 6750 octa-core chipset, 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing camera, 16GB of storage and a microSD card slot.

It also has a 2,500mAh battery which EE reckons will see you through 10 hours of use, a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, NFC and runs Android 7.1.

Pixel-like design

What’s perhaps more interesting is the design, as the EE Hawk features toughened Gorilla Glass on both the front and back, and from the front it looks a lot like the original Google Pixel.

That includes the Pixel's large bezels, but bezels aside it looks to have a more premium finish than some sub-£200 phones.

The Hawk also supports both Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling, so you should be able to make the most of EE’s network, and it’s out on December 1.

Whether it will be worth buying, we can’t say, but EE's own brand phones such as the EE Harrier and EE Kestrel have generally been fairly accomplished, though we were less impressed by the EE Rook.

These are the best cheap phones

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/ee-hawk-announced-with-fast-4g-and-a-low-price

The best value Australian SIM-only deals in December 2017

A SIM-only deal is a mobile phone plan that offers calls, texts and data in return for a monthly fee, but doesn't come bundled with a phone. Leaving the phone out of the equation means SIM-only deals can be much cheaper than general mobile phone deals which makes them ideal if you already have a handset or are eyeing up a SIM-free phone.

To make things easy for you, we've gone through and combed through all of Australia’s available SIM-only plans to picks the ones we think offer the most bang for your buck. Our choices start from $16 per month for a basic plan, but we've also looked at more expensive plans at $40 and $60, and there are some great options for power users who need loads of data.

Discover our picks for the best outright mobile phones on the planet

Below, you'll find the very best SIM-only deals in Australia as of December 2017. Whether you’re after the cheapest plan possible, want to dig out the best-value big data SIM plan or just want an all-round great deal but don’t know how much to spend, you should find a recommendation here that suits your needs.

Best SIM-only deals for under $25 a month

With its new SIM-only, pay-as-you-go plans, Amaysim is offering terrific value when it comes to data, talk and text. $20 will get you 2.5GB of data, unlimited national talk and text, all on the Optus 4G Network.

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A deal that offers terrific value, Vaya's Unlimited S plan offers unlimited national calls and texts with 1GB of data for just $16 per month. Best of all, there are no contracts involved, so your minimum cost is the initial monthly payment. Also, if you purchase the plan before June 16, 2017, you get a free 5GB data-only SIM to use as you see fit.

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For just a few dollars more than the last SIM only plan, you can get an extra gig of data from Yomojo. Like the Vaya plan, you get unlimited calls and texts within Australia and there are no lock in contracts. It also works off the Optus 4G network, though you won't get any bonus data for signing up immediately.

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Best SIM-only deals for under $40 a month

A fantastic package on a pay-as-you-go plans, Amaysim is offering 15GB data, plus unlimited national talk and text. You'll also get unlimited international calls to 10 specific countries, and 300 minutes to a further 22 countries. Amazing value for only $40 per 28 days.

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With Vaya's Unlimited XL plan, you get a whopping 10GB of monthly data and unlimited national calls and texts for just $36 per month. While the plan doesn't offer unlimited international calls, you can add 200 minutes of overseas calls to 100 select countries for just $2 extra per month.

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Though this plan requires you to sign up to a 12-month contract, there's an awful lot of value included here for just $40 per month. You get 12GB of monthly data, as well as $300 worth of international calls to select countries. Technically this is a 10GB plan, though you get 2GB bonus data if you sign up before June 4, 2017.

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Best SIM-only deals for under $60 a month

Another terrific pay-as-you-go plans from Amaysim gives you 250GB data, plus unlimited national talk and text. You'll also get unlimited international calls to 10 specific countries, and 300 minutes to a further 22 countries. Unbeatable value at $50 per 28 days.

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Offering a huge amount of data at an appealing price, Virgin Mobile's $60 SIM only plan is great value for power users. You get a whopping 18GB of monthly data (which rolls over to the next month) and $500 worth of standard international calls and text.

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Similar to the previous option, the difference with this $60 per month Virgin Mobile plan is that there's no contracts to sign. That said, there is a downside in that it only offers 11GB of data per month rather than 18GB. Still, if that sounds like more than enough data for you, then this is a great choice for people who hate contracts.

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Should I go SIM-only?

If you a) want to save some money; b) don't want to be tied into a lengthy contract; or c) both of the above, then going SIM-only is well worth considering. In fact, you're probably in one of two situations if your thoughts are turning to a SIM-only mobile plan:

You're coming to the end of your contract and your network is calling you a million times a day to get you to upgrade. Well if your phone is dying a death or you just fancy a change, head to our best mobile phones deal page to see what bargains are lurking, but otherwise going SIM only on your current phone is a no-brainer. You'll wind up paying much less than you are under contract, and you can stick to a rolling 30 day contract so that if your circumstances change, you can get out of the arrangement tout suite.
It's time for a shiny new smartphone and you want to get the best value humanly possible. You'll have to find a few hundred bucks up front for the handset (be sure to check our SIM free comparison chart) but box clever and you'll end up paying less over the next 24 months (see below). Plus, if you're a commitment-phobe, most SIM-only plans don't require you to sign up for two years like you would with a normal contract.

What SIM card size do I need?

There are three sizes of SIM card that you can get for your phone, and the one you need will depend on your handset. It's been a while since the traditional, so-called standard SIM (15 x 25mm) has genuinely been the staple in new phones. Instead, any phone you've bought within the last five or so years is much more likely to require a micro (12 x 15mm) or nano (8.8 x 12.3mm) SIM – the iPhone 5 was Apple's first mobile with a nano SIM, while Samsung began using the smallest size in its Galaxy S6.

Before you purchase your new SIM, double-check the manufacturer's website to see what size you require. And if you're simply not sure, most networks now simply send out a triple SIM, so you'll get one of each size.

What contract length should I get?

Unlike with a contract, there's a lot more flexibility available when it comes to how long your SIM-only plan will last. Two year commitments are virtually unheard of, with the norm being either one year or rolling one month contracts for ultimate flexibility. You can often get better prices if you tie yourself in for 12 months, especially on larger data tariffs. But sticking to one month at a time means that you can effectively hand pick a new plan to suit you every 30 days or so.

How much data do I need?

Because you can change your plan up more regularly than a normal, lengthier contract, it's less crucial to get this nailed from the start. But if you're thinking of grabbing a 12-monther or just put a personal pride on getting things right first time, then we'll help you pick out the sweet spot of data for you.

Firstly, check your phone to see how much data you've been using to date, and whether you have the tendency to use more than your current allowance every month. Then, if you're still unsure, check out our guidance:

0-1GB Tiny amounts of data on SIM only deals could be a blessing or a curse. If you're putting it in a rarely used phone that will scarcely be away from wi-fi then you're quids in. But if you end up with one because your head's turned by the incredible price, then you could end up paying more if you continually go over your allowance.
2-3GB For anybody who needs data for little more than the occasional Google Maps route planning, 2GB and 3GB plans come cheap and give you much more freedom to check the football scores and scroll Facebook away from the wi-fi without danger.
4-8GB If you can't leave the house without having a music streaming service like Spotify pouring into your ears, then it might be worth paying for some extra GBs of data.
10-16GB This is a significant amount of data and some networks offer it for a very appetising price. Whether streaming music, downloading podcasts, watching social media videos, or all three is your thing - you should be covered.
20-30GB Only smartphone junkies that need regular (and hefty) data fixes need bother with this avalanche of GBs. You'll be able to rinse Netflix, Spotify and online games without too much fear of topping out.

Do I need unlimited calls and texts?

Call it practicality, call it greediness, call it what you want - it's human nature to want 'unlimited' anything if offered. But you should think genuinely about whether you really need it in a world where the likes of WhatsApp and Skype let you call and text for free over wi-fi or 4G. If you decide that a few thousand monthly minutes and texts should do you, then you could shave off some cash from your bill.

The SIM-only deals on this page are checked regularly, so make sure you visit often if you want to get the most up-to-date information on the deals that are currently available!

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-value-australian-sim-only-deals

Qualcomm ups the ante on royalty payments

Mobile phone vendors looking to use Qualcomm components in their equipment, look like they’re going to be forking out heavily for the privilege. The chip maker has released a statement with its terms for royalty payments for handsets, looking for sums in excess of other chip vendors’ demands.

The company is looking at a royalty rate of 2.275% of the selling price of branded single-mode 5G handsets; and a rate of 3.25% of the selling price of branded multi-mode (3G/4G/5G) handsets. For a $500 handset that’s £16.25 in royalty fees.

Contrast this to the statement put out by Ericsson earlier this year in which it said it would charge just $5 per handset “in order to encourage the adoption of the standardized technology”, the company was even prepared to go $2.50 per device, if the circumstances warranted it – in other words, to kick-start a particular market.

IP claims

Best Android phones of 2017

This is just another chapter in Qualcomm’s battles to protect its intellectual property. It is already fighting a lawsuit with Apple (to be strictly accurate, it’s fighting two – one as plaintiff, one as defendant) and is engaged in a takeover battle with Broadcom.

The Qualcomm demands for royalties will have a familiar ring about it: in its lawsuit, Apple claimed that “Qualcomm charged at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.” It remains to be seen how Qualcomm’s demands will be met in this particular case or what will happen to them if the Broadcom takeover succeeds.

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/qualcomm-ups-the-ante-on-royalty-payments

Galaxy S8 Android Oreo beta resumes with third update

It took a couple weeks before major fixes could be applied to the US Android 8.0 beta. Galaxy S8 users are now able to head back into the experience.

The post Galaxy S8 Android Oreo beta resumes with third update appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/galaxy-s8-android-oreo-beta-resumes-with-third-update

AT&T tries to sweeten ZTE Axon M purchase with $100 gift card

How much does $100 do for you for owning a phone with a second screen that folds out? AT&T's hoping it'll do something for you.

The post AT&T tries to sweeten ZTE Axon M purchase with $100 gift card appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/att-tries-to-sweeten-zte-axon-m-purchase-with-100-gift-card

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL problems: how to fix them

T-Mobile prepares to donate millions with help from your broken phone

The wireless operator is donating $1 million and is looking for some help from anyone who's willing to bring a broken phone or tablet to its stores.

The post T-Mobile prepares to donate millions with help from your broken phone appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/t-mobile-phone-drive

Big is best for smartphones

Everything is going to be just phab in the future. We all love our smartphones but we love our phablets even more.

According to new figures from IDC, the market for smartphones with screen sizes of 5.5 inches to 7+ inches, the so-called phablet, is set to boom – with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1%. In contrast, smaller smartphones are set for a period of decline, with a CAGR of minus 7.4%. Consequently, total smartphone growth will be 3%.

The growth is particularly strong in China – China was responsible for 50% of the phablet sales in 2016, the country is expected to see a CAGR of 12.6%

One of the factors that has driven this growth is the arrival of Apple in a market that had been dominated by Android devices. IDC expects its Plus and X devices to account for 41.2% of its shipment volume in 2017 and 50% or more of Apple's iPhone shipments in 2018.

Android domination

However, Android still accounts for the bulk of all smartphone sales, racking up 85% of total sales. Despite this high penetration, the market is expected to grow even further, with worldwide volumes of Android devices set to rise from 1.3 billion in 2017 to 1.5 billion in 2021, a five-year CAGR of 3.2%. One of the interesting growth area is in the rise of Chinese OEMs, a phenomenon that has hampered Samsung’s dominance of this area.

"In 2012, phablets were just 1% of smartphone shipments and now they are approaching 50% of the market just a few years later," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "Consumers continue to consume more video entertainment, gaming, social media, and other data-heavy applications on their smartphones making the display size and type a critical factor in smartphone buying decisions."

Best Android phones of 2017

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/big-is-best-for-smartphones

Possible Nokia 5 sequel gets benchmarked with 1080p screen, SD630, 4GB RAM

It's almost time for HMD Global to unveil a mid-range Nokia 5 follow-up, and a pre-release benchmark suggests substantially upgraded specs are coming.

The post Possible Nokia 5 sequel gets benchmarked with 1080p screen, SD630, 4GB RAM appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/possible-nokia-5-sequel-benchmark-specs-features

Save big with a special deal on Windscribe VPN

Unlike other VPNs that have confusing settings and option menus, Windscribe VPN is simplistic, elegant, and effective.

The post Save big with a special deal on Windscribe VPN appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/windscribe-vpn-deal-3

Andy Rubin takes Essential leave of absence as ‘inappropriate relationship’ at Google transpires

Andy Rubin is taking a break from his Essential involvement after reports surfaced of an "inappropriate relationship" with a Google employee in the past.

The post Andy Rubin takes Essential leave of absence as ‘inappropriate relationship’ at Google transpires appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/andy-rubin-essential-leave-google-inappropriate-relationship

This is why the iPhone X is Apple's first handset with an OLED display

If you’re on macOS High Sierra, you need to set a root password ASAP to dodge security flaw

If you don't set a root password for your computer running macOS High Sierra right now, you risk someone else breaking in without one.

The post If you’re on macOS High Sierra, you need to set a root password ASAP to dodge security flaw appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/macos-high-sierra-major-security-flaw-root-password

All’s right with the world, as Google brings the correct burger emoji to Android 8.1

The cheese goes on top of the meat patty for the redesigned burger emoji in Android 8.1 Oreo Developer Preview 2, and we can all be at peace again.

The post All’s right with the world, as Google brings the correct burger emoji to Android 8.1 appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/google-fixes-burger-emoji-android-8-1-developer-preview

Amaysim announces great value 100GB SIM-only mobile plan

If you're constantly going over your mobile data allowance, you may want to consider one of Amaysim's newly-announced SIM-only plans, with the carrier offering up to 100GB of data per 28 days for only $70.

Don't need quite that much data per month? Amaysim's $40 and $50 plans might be more your speed, offering 15GB and 20GB respectively over its standard 28-day cycle.

Each of these plans also offers unlimited national talk and text, unlimited international calls (to 10 specific countries) and 300 minutes of international calls to a further 22 countries.

Amaysim now selling phones & tablets outright

Along with these high data plans, Amaysim has also announced some impressively affordable mobile plans for those customers who don't spend as much time streaming video on their phones.

Amaysim's 1GB plan comes with unlimited talk and text and is just $10 per 28 days, while $20 will get you 2.5GB of data over the same period. For $30, you can get 5GB of data along with unlimited talk, text and international calls to 10 countries.

You can find out more about Amaysim's new mobile plans at the carrier's website.

The best value Australian SIM-only deals

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/amaysim-announces-great-value-100gb-sim-only-mobile-plan

Unreleased Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) and A5 (2018) show off striking designs again

Nothing's certain until it's certain, but the Galaxy A7 (2018) and A5 (2018) are very likely to be Samsung's first "Infinity Display" mid-rangers.

The post Unreleased Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) and A5 (2018) show off striking designs again appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/samsung-galaxy-a7-2018-galaxy-a5-2018-case-renders

ZTE Axon 7 purportedly discontinued in the US, Axon 8 hopes linger on

While we continue to wait for an already long overdue Axon 8, a prospective ZTE Axon 7 buyer has been told the 2016 phone is out of production.

The post ZTE Axon 7 purportedly discontinued in the US, Axon 8 hopes linger on appeared first on Pocketnow.

from Pocketnow http://pocketnow.com/2017/11/29/zte-axon-7-purportedly-discontinued-us

Best iPad games: the top free and paid-for titles around

No-one predicted the meteoric rise of gaming on iOS, and we're not sure anyone knew what the iPad was for at all when it first appeared.

However, Apple's tablet has become a very able gaming platform. With more screen space than the iPhone, games have the means to be more immersive. The iPad's therefore a perfect platform for adventure games, strategy titles and puzzlers.

Not sure which iPad is best? We've got them listed on our best iPad ranking - or you can check out the best tablets list to see the full range available now.

But, just like the iPhone, there are so many iPad games that it's tough to unearth the gems and avoid the dross. That's our mission here - to bring you the very best iPad games, mixing traditional fare with titles that could only have appeared on a capable and modern multi-touch device.

New: Flower ($4.99/£4.99/AU$7.99)

Flower is a game that revels in bombing along as a petal on the wind, scything your way through fields of lush grassland, and soaring into the air above mountains and windmills.

Each environment starts with you playing as an individual petal. As you collide with other flowers, they bloom and offer a petal of their own to join yours, which soon becomes a spinning, swooping conga of color, wheeling above Flower’s tiny, beautiful worlds.

There’s a smattering of exploration and light puzzling in Flower, primarily to unlock more parts of each level, and discover secrets. But mostly this game is about enjoying an immediate, accessible, beautiful journey that has an emotional core and an exhilarating edge.

PUSH comes across a bit like a set of logic tests plonked in front of you by aliens aboard a minimalist UFO. Each of the game’s challenges takes the form of a small device that hovers before you. Each of these devices has a number of buttons, and some have other features, too, such as the ability to rotate when a glowing pink button is prodded.

Every puzzle’s objective is identical: all of the buttons must be pushed. The trick is in figuring out precisely how this is achieved. It’s hardly a spoiler to note that in the earliest levels, you’re mostly finding pairs.

But later on, the game’s sense of logic becomes a mite more complex as it develops a playfulness that nicely contrasts with the rigid visual forms of the puzzles themselves.

FROST is a thoughtful, tactile game that feels like a living piece of art. Across dozens of scenes, sparks and barriers scythe across the screen while you direct flocking neon creatures towards orbs. Once the orbs fill, you can move on to the next challenge.

Ultimately, FROST is a path-finding puzzler. You use logic to understand the conditions before you, and how to meet your goal. But FROST feels very different from its contemporaries. The abstract visuals are exciting and fresh, but also it really wants you to play, experiment and discover.

Most of the puzzles tend to be simple, and you could probably blaze through the entire game in a few hours. But doing so would miss the point, because FROST is an iPad experience to bask in and savor.

cityglitch is a puzzle game set in a world of haunted cities. These are ‘glitching out’, and need the powers of a flying witch. She scoots about, avoiding spooks and skittering things, and lighting the runes that release the glitch.

This all plays out in turn-based fashion on a five-by-five grid. Success in solving any given puzzle often depends on figuring out how obstacles and foes behave, and countering their effects by moving appropriately. An optional moves indicator helps – it’s especially handy when you realize you’ve made 47 moves on a puzzle that’s beatable in five.

Given the diminutive size of the play area and its overtly old-school CRT stylings, you’d think cityglitch an ideal iPhone game. But somehow it works better on iPad, with a fantastic mix of bold, brash visuals, tactile puzzling, and the way it regularly shakes up the complexity of the challenges you face.

Freeways explores interchange design for autonomous vehicles, which sounds deathly dull. It isn’t. Just as Mini Metro coaxed something gorgeous and essential from underground railway maps, so too does Freeways create a hugely entertaining game from the drudgery of urban planning.

Each map sector provides you with highways that must be connected to each other. Hold a sign and you get an idea of traffic flow and the links you must make. You then scribble roads down, adding overpasses and increasingly complex routes when the realization dawns about how tough this task can be.

The drawing tools and visuals are crude, and there’s no undo – mess up and you must start that particular section of the map from scratch. But the underlying gameplay is enthralling, not least when you tap ‘simulate’ to watch your layout’s traffic move in fast forward, hoping to avoid a dreaded traffic jam.

Active Soccer 2 DX is a love letter to classic soccer videogames. Eschewing photo-realism and semi-scripted canned goals, this one’s all about pitting the dexterity of your thumbs against a tough computer AI, with tiny players darting about a massive pitch.

At first, it can feel a bit like pinball, as you’re mercilessly thrashed again and again. But spend time mastering the controls and tweaking the setup to your liking (there are several viewpoints, for example), and there’s a lot to like here.

You can play quick one-off games, or immerse yourself in an expansive career mode. And while it all feels a bit rough and ready compared to the games playing in the big leagues, it’s an awful lot more fun on iPad than mobile takes on FIFA or PES, providing a lovely level of replay-ability even after multiple sessions.

Space Junk is what happens when someone rethinks classic arcade blaster Asteroids and goes all-out, souping it up for the iPad. The basics remain: you’re floating in space, blowing everything around you to smithereens. Big things, when blasted, split into smaller things. UFOs take occasional pot-shots. Anything that hits you kills you.

But everything’s handled with such grace and good humor that you can’t help but be enthralled. The controls – despite being dreaded virtual buttons – work nicely, aided by subtle inertia on your little spaceman.

For those who prefer precision over random blasting, there’s a bonus for careful shots. And even the varied level names and themes raise a smile, such as ‘So Long, Space Shuttle’ (blowing NASA’s finest to bits) and ‘Victorians Got Here’, with its steampunk space stations.

Neo Angle is an engaging puzzle game set in a minimal world of neon grids suspended in space. The aim is to reach a goal, but because you’re moving a triangle, the pivot point shifts depending on the direction you’re moving in.

At first, this makes little odds – early challenges are essentially tutorials to help you understand the basics. But the game then lobs fuel cells, switches, and gates into the mix – along with a twist that when you reach a milestone, you can’t backtrack.

Because you also can’t cross tiles you’ve already trundled over, Neo Angle quickly shifts from casual noodly puzzler to brain-teaser. You’ll end up staring at the screen, several restarts later, swearing blind you can’t thread your way around a particular level peppered with teleporters and switches. As ever, it’s all about finding the right angle.

Standby is a brutally tough yet rewarding platform game. Your little hero darts about angular levels, sliding along while shooting doors, and bounding about like a hyperactive flea.

You’ll die many times before reaching your goal, and then learn the entire successful journey took a mere handful of seconds. To add insult to injury, the game will point out even that was way beyond the target.

This one’s an ego-checker, then, and just – barely – on the right side of the maddeningly frustrating/‘one more go’ divide.

Mostly, it’s the breakneck pace combined with short levels that make Standby ideal fodder for picking up at any point, to take another crack at a level that’s killed you dozens of times already. But it also looks and sounds great, and boasts smart, finger-twisting level design.

An iPad’s a must, too – given the split-second timing required, Standby really isn’t a game to be squinting at on a tiny screen.

Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 is a racing management game without boring bits. Whereas many management simulations tend to be glorified spreadsheets, this game gives you just enough control, before hurling you into the action – surprisingly tense and exciting top-down races. (This being surprising because you’re essentially watching numbered discs scoot about circuits.)

You can get a feel for how things work in one-off races, where you fiddle with car set-ups during qualifying, and then strategize regarding pit-stops and tyre types in the main race. But the meat of the game is a full-on championship, where you’re juggling cars and drivers, sponsors and money, and sporadic problems that crop up.

Like the cars it features, Motorsport Manager Mobile 2 is streamlined and slick. There’s admittedly not too much depth, but if you fancy delving into an accessible, immediately rewarding management sim, this game takes the checkered flag.

Reckless Racing HD is a top-down racer that first graced the App Store way back in 2012. It’s different from its contemporaries in having you coax battered vehicles around ramshackle tracks.

There’s no slick tarmac – bar a mall parking lot that forms part of a course. More often, you’re zooming about the likes of a wrecker’s yard, or dirt roads near an old church that rises majestically out of the screen like it’s about to poke you in the eye.

Given a 64-bit reprieve in mid-2017, Reckless Racing HD is a fantastic blast from the past. The cars have a great sense of weight – the physics when racing is just about perfect. And although it now looks a bit rough and ready, it’s decidedly more reckless (and fun) than its overly polished sequel, and includes the online multiplayer that the most recent entry in the series lacks.

Osmos for iPad is an ‘ambient’ arcade game, and although it started life on PC, it’s a game that only really makes sense on a touchscreen.

Across eight distinct worlds, you control a tiny ‘mote’, propelled by ejecting pieces of itself, its direction of travel determined by your taps. Collide with a smaller mote and it’s absorbed. Your aim is to ‘become the biggest’.

When other motes are stationary, victory’s relatively easy – although very crowded levels require careful taps and judicious use of a time-warp slow-down feature.

But when levels feature ferocious motes intent on your demise, or the game shifts from microscopic warfare to motes speeding around a central giant – like celestial bodies orbiting a sun – brains and fingers alike will suddenly find Osmos a much sterner test.

At every point in the journey, Osmos is magnificent. Convince a friend to buy the game and engaging multiplayer arenas await too.

Mos Speedrun is an engaging speed-run Mario-ish platform game, featuring a little bug zooming through 25 hand-crafted levels. The crude visuals feel decidedly old-school, featuring the usual floating platforms and patrolling enemies that mostly lack even the slightest hint of intelligence.

But Mos Speedrun turns out to be one of the finest games of its kind on iPad.

First, the level design is really smart, forcing you to learn the precise position of every platform, gap, and enemy, if you want to beat the speed-run target. Secondly, each level has alternate targets – finding a hidden skull, and collecting all the loot – that boost replay value, but also force you to shake up your approach.

Finally, Mos Speedrun amusingly subverts the idea of ‘ghost’ replays. Die a lot and you end up battling your way through a level alongside the spirits of the fallen from your previous failures. It’s bonkers – and humbling – when dozens of the things are skittering about.

Fowlst is a high-octane two-thumb arcade game featuring an owl cast into hell. Quite what the owl did to deserve such a fate, we’ve no idea (and the game’s not telling), but the result is a deliriously ridiculous and frenetic smash ’em up.

You control the damned bird by tapping the left or right of the screen. Each tap has the bird perform a brief upwards thrust, before gravity does its thing. Your aim: smash into angry red demons, avoiding both their projectiles, and also local hazards (deadly saw blades; speed-sapping water).

Defeat all demons in one room, and you can move on to the next – while hoping it won’t house a gigantic owl-killing boss.

A special power button is annoyingly placed at the top-right of the screen, but otherwise this game feels well suited to iPad, because your thumbs don’t cover the action. And, believe us, there’s a lot of action to be had here – and an awful lot of owl death. Turns out it’s not easy to survive in hell.

Kalimba is an inventive and compelling platform game for people bored with controlling just one character at once. Here, you help two colored totem pieces avoid deadly pits and roaming enemies – and you control both simultaneously.

Initially, you’re eased in by way of a split-screen set-up where the totems don’t meet. At all times, you must be mindful that when one totem’s on safe ground, the other may be seconds from doom. And then the game really starts shaking things up.

You’re soon faced with color barriers that force you to repeatedly swap the totems around, the prospect of ‘stacking’ and double-jumping to reach gems, gravity flipping, totems that fly through the air while their partners very much don’t, and chase sequences featuring massive, terrifying bosses.

If it’s all a bit much alone, there’s a superb two-player single-device mode – although how much actual co-operation there’ll be when you’re juggling four totems and your friend hurls you into a lava pit, it’s hard to say.

Mobile gaming’s early days featured all manner of straightforward shooters that had you desperately fending off hordes of aggressors coming from above. No Stick Shooter recalls Space Invaders, in enemies heading downwards towards your defenses, but also Missile Command, in that your weapon’s rooted to the spot, and success depends on precision shooting.

However, unlike those games, No Stick Shooter is a resolutely modern affair. On selecting a weapon, shots are unleashed by tapping the display. For a very brief period, this is quite a leisurely process, picking off asteroids.

But the game soon bares its teeth, flinging all manner of neon foes your way, which must be defeated by deft fingerwork and tactical weapon selection, including crackling lightning and gigantic red laser beams.

On an iPhone this is a terrible game because it’s too fiddly; but on an iPad, No Stick Shooter is a wonderful, vibrant, thrilling shoot ’em up that’s not to be missed.

The iPad’s no stranger to multiplayer gaming, but more often than not, modern multiplayer happens online. The idea with Bloop is not only to get several participants in the same room, but also crowded round a single device, and then – horrors – invading each other’s personal space.

The game itself is extremely simple. Up to four players select a color, and they then seek out and tap ‘their’ squares as quickly as they can. Across several rounds, the squares gradually get smaller, and the tapping gets more frenzied, with hand collisions aplenty. At the end of the game, Bloop tots up the score and that’s your lot.

It’s simple, but that’s the point - Bloop is a game anyone can learn in seconds. But its straightforward nature combined with bold colors and retro sound effects makes for a fast-paced and amusing party game.

Steredenn is an endless horizontal shooter, infused with the beating heart of the best retro blasters around, topped off with a head-nodding guitar-laden soundtrack.

Unlike most games of its ilk, it works brilliantly on iPad. The responsive controls have you drag the left of the screen to move your ship, and tap the right to fire at incoming waves of enemies. A flick of your right thumb switches weapons, and if your ship darts beneath a digit, crosshairs pinpoint its position.

And you’ll need that knowledge at all times, because enemies come thick and fast in all their chunky-pixel glory. But so too do power-ups – and learning the effectiveness of weapons against specific opponents boosts your long(er)-term survival.

Well, that and sometimes bolting a massive whirling saw blade to your ship, like some kind of space lunatic. It’s superb, raucous, shooty fun.

It takes quite a lot to make a solitaire game tense, but Card Thief manages, mostly by smashing dealing out cards into turn-based stealth-oriented puzzling.

As the titular villain, you map out pathways across the cards on the screen, figuring out how to grab loot without losing too many stealth points, which are depleted on battling adversaries.

Repeat play is rewarded by improving your strategies, unlocking new kit to help increase your score, and eventually finding your way to new missions with different foes.

Like any take on solitaire, Card Thief does get a bit repetitive, but this is also a game you’ll be able to happily play a round of a day for many weeks, gradually improving your ability to sneak about and become a master pickpocket.

Online multiplayer is increasingly commonplace, whether battling a live opponent, or playing against a recorded ‘ghost’ lurking in the system. But Mucho Party reasons it’s a lot of fun to play a game against someone in the same room as you – and in this case, on the same device.

After setting things up with a few mug-shots (which then appear within your on-screen avatar), you partake in a randomized selection of mini-games. These range from fairly typical sports efforts, such as hurdles, to wackier battles where you must rapidly silence a pile of blaring cellphones.

It all comes across like a colorful multiplayer take on WarioWare, and is a perfect fit for iPad - at least if you pay the IAP to unlock all 44 games rather than being stuck with the miserly 5 you get for free.

This fast-paced platform game is brutal and brilliant. Your little pixelated hero auto-runs through vibrantly colored environments, which you must learn how to traverse by way of jump and action buttons.

The difficulty level recalls the sadistic beating hearts of Super Hexagon and RunGunJumpGun, but Miles & Kilo’s charm is such you’ll keep returning for more, even as the game constantly showcases your lack of gaming prowess.

Much of this is down to the sheer variety on offer. This is a game that never sits still, whether having you leap about colorful islands, careen along in a minecart, perform Sonic-style targeted attacks, or hold onto your dog’s lead as he belts after a fleeing cat.

But also, each level is brief - just 30 seconds long. You therefore always think you’re within spitting distance of the finish line, even when that line may take dozens of attempts to reach.

If you’ve played a game based on just clicking before, you’ll be aware they’re barely games. You click (or tap) away, earning points to spend on upgrades that automatically click on your behalf – until you end up with an absurd number of clicks per second, to pay for yet more upgrades.

Through minimal imagery, a gorgeous soundtrack, and quite a lot of madness, Spaceplan just about manages to subvert the genre and become something different... something better.

Really, Spaceplan is a semi-interactive story; the clicker bit’s an excuse to string things out for pacing purposes. To say too much would spoil things, but it involves a planet, a “total misunderstanding of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time”, and quite a lot of technology powered by potatoes.

It also has an ending. Have it run on your screen over a few days for a rewarding - if brief - take on a gaming genre that’s usually entirely forgettable.

Monument Valley 2 echoes its predecessor in having you explore isometric Escher-like worlds packed full of optical illusions. The aim in each level is to reach a goal, which is often achieved by manipulating the landscape, creating pathways that in the real world simply could not exist.

It’s a visually stunning game, with tiny levels crammed with vibrancy and details, making it ideal for the iPad’s larger display. The narrative featuring a mother and daughter also satisfies, but is careful to leave the experience with a sense of mystery. The levels are diverse in feel, demands, and structure.

If there’s any downside it’s that Monument Valley 2 is short and largely bereft of challenge. But treat it as a couple of hours immersed in a unique and beautiful universe and you’ll find it’s well worth the outlay.

It says something about Euclidean Lands that it feels like a proper turn-based quest, despite taking place on the faces of minimal cubes suspended in space.

You must plan ahead, responding to enemy movements and the squares they defend. Carefully position yourself to bump them off, much like in Hitman GO. Rinse and repeat.

Only here, the entire game world shifts and changes as you rearrange the landscape, as if it were a giant Rubik’s Cube. Also, the puzzles are frequently deviously clever, and they vary throughout the game’s five chapters.

No sooner do you think you’ve got the game sussed than it hurls another brain-twister your way, or shakes things up with a boss battle where you no longer have control over the cube.

The game’s sheer quality is also evident when you consider that although it riffs off of Hitman GO and Monument Valley, it doesn’t come off as a pastiche; at the very least, Euclidean Lands is the equal to either of those classic titles. Buy it.

Zombies have taken over the USA, and so it’s road trip time in Death Road to Canada, the aim being to flee to the safety of the land of the moose. The tiny snag: the aforementioned zombies, and the fact you start out in Florida.

The game itself is an action-oriented role-playing title, switching between top-down shooting/scavenging scenes, choose-your-own-adventure text sections, and claustrophobic and downright terrifying sieges that lock you for a set time in a confined space with hundreds of the undead.

Actually, it’s not that terrifying, given that Death Road to Canada looks like a game from the 1990s. But it is excellent fun, despite some slightly slippy virtual controls. (If you’ve an Made for iPhone controller, use that to boost your zombie-killing prowess.)

In the inky blackness of space, humans have started mining massive space rocks, and it turns out aliens have a big problem with that.

Enter: the hero of Darkside, who has to blow up said aliens and, for some reason, all the rocks the humans are supposed to be mining. Videogame logic!

It all comes across like someone gleefully mashed together two classic arcade titles – Asteroids (shoot rocks until they’re tiny enough to obliterate) and Robotron (the original twin-stick shooter) – and wrapped the result around beautifully rendered planetoids.

Although there’s a free version, splash out for the paid release and you get smart bombs in the arcade mode, and two extra modes to try: one being mission-based, and the other being a tough endless mode for cocky veterans.

The end result is tons of shooty fun that’s accessible enough for newcomers, but that provides a stern test for even the swiftest of trigger fingers.

The notion of mashing up golf with a side-on platform game might seem odd. But with Golf Zero, the end result is positively psychotic, given that the platforming bit echoes super-tricky twitch titles like Super Meat Boy.

Each side-on course finds you majestically leaping about tiny islands, trying hard to not end up in the water or impaled on a spike. On finding the hole, you smack your balls in its general direction, hoping for the best.

Mercifully, it goes all slo-mo – Matrix-style – when you’ve got your club out. Even so, success can be elusive, and you’ll likely keep hitting restart in a frenzied manner until you nail a hole.

At least that’s the case if you pay the one-off IAP to nuke the ads, which derail momentum in what’s otherwise a compelling and fun – if sometimes murderously challenging – slice of arcade craziness.

In The Big Journey, rotund cat Mr. Whiskers is on a mission to locate the maker of the dumplings he loves to scoff. His journey takes place across colorful landscapes packed with hills and tunnels to traverse, bugs to munch, hostile critters to avoid, and dumplings that make him instantly fatter.

The game plays out as a sort-of platformer. It brings to mind lost iOS classic Rolando and PSP hit LocoRoco, in utilizing a tilt-based mechanic to make the protagonist move, and then prodding the touchscreen to make him leap into the air.

But The Big Journey is a comparatively sedate affair compared to many of its contemporaries – a pleasant title that encourages exploration and drinking in its visuals rather than a breakneck dash to the finish line.

It turns out the way to make sliding puzzles interesting again is to combine them with 1980s horror flicks – and then combine that with chunky Crossy Road-style visuals.

In Slayaway Camp, then, the mechanics are familiar: swipe to make your character slide until it hits something; repeat (tactically) to hit several targets and then finally reach a goal. But the way everything’s portrayed is decidedly oddball, with lashings of chunky retro gore.

The combination of ‘twisted’ and ‘oddly adorable’ provides a great hook, but it’s the puzzles that keep you playing. Well, unless you get a bit too much into the blood-curdling screams – in which case, please seek help.

Many path-finding puzzlers have you use arrow tiles to direct auto-running critters to goals. (Long-time gamers may fondly remember ChuChu Rocket! as a shining example).

Causality is in similar territory, only you also get to control time itself, by dragging up and down the screen.

Early on, this primarily allows you to fix errors – going back to try again when a sprinting astronaut is eaten, or when you run out of your limited number of steps. Before long, though, you’re hurling people through time portals, so they can assist their past selves.

It’s mind-bending stuff, but also one of the finest puzzle games of modern times. It’s also perfect for iPad, due to its visually dazzling and tactile nature.

Evergrow is one of those rare titles that can only really work on the iPad. It stars a grinning square floating in space whose only goal in life is to grow. In the void, other squares lurk. Like-colored ones can be attached; collisions with wrong-colored ones cause damage. Grow enough and you head to the next level.

When things get hectic, multi-touch allows you to manage several squares simultaneously. But the game’s well-suited to the iPad in other areas, too: the large display is ideal for interaction, and the squarish aspect ratio allows you to see incoming hazards more easily than on a widescreen iPhone.

It’s a simple idea, well-executed. And what might have been a gimmicky game has plenty of staying power, too, since Evernote regularly lobs new ideas, weapons and foes into the mix.

There’s something gleefully classic about SpellTower. It marries very old-school word games – in the sense of paper-based crosswords and word searches – with much-loved arcade puzzlers. The result is the best word game on iOS.

Tower mode has you face a stack of letters, tapping out snaking words that disappear when submitted, the tiles above then falling into the gaps. A keen sense of planning is required to balance letter stacks and ensure tiles aren’t left stranded.

Additional modes soon open up: Puzzle adds a new row of letters for every word you submit; Rush throws in a timer; and Debate pits two players against each other. iPad Pro owners also get Super Tower mode, offering a colossal 432 tiles and the potential for blockbuster scores – if you can find the right words lurking within the jumble.

Described by its creator as a literary RPG, Voyageur mixes text adventure with space trading. Imagine seminal classic Elite combined with Lifeline and you’re on the right track.

The story begins with you having bolted an alien ‘Descent Device’ to your ship, enabling faster-than-light travel – but only towards the center of the galaxy. You embark on a one-way journey, stopping off on planets to trade, explore, and become embroiled in side quests.

With the game being text-oriented and algorithmically generated, descriptions and events tend to repeat quite often. Still, if you at any point feel you’ve seen a planet before, you can leave with a few taps – and there are always new things waiting to be found. For anyone armed with an imagination, Voyageur becomes a unique, captivating experience.

Hidden object games are often dull and can be heavy on the pocket, demanding you spend lots of money on IAP. Hidden Folks isn’t either of those things, and has the added bonus of being hugely charming.

You’re presented with hand-drawn scenes, each of which has a strip across the bottom, depicting objects to find. You can tap any of them for a clue, but the scene can also be interacted with, for example to rustle bushes to find someone lurking behind them.

Cute mouth-originated sound effects pepper proceedings, and the pace is varied with differing map sizes, and the odd playable scene, such as helping someone to a destination by adjusting the landscape.

Thus, with its wit and smarts, Hidden Folks very much stands out from the crowd – unlike some of the tiny critters it tasks you with locating.

The basic mechanics of Splitter Critters resemble 1990s arcade puzzler Lemmings, in that you guide marching creatures to a goal. But whereas you armed lemmings with tools, Splitter Critters has you slice up the screen with a finger, so you can adjust the landscape to create new pathways.

This is clever, but Splitter Critters isn’t done. The undo button reverts your last cut, but not the position of critters. Undo therefore becomes a device vital for completing levels, rather than merely a means of reverting errors.

Throughout its length, the game keeps adding new elements, such as ocean worlds and a grim underground base full of critter-frying lasers. And although the challenge never rises above slight, the charm and tactile nature of Splitter Critters makes it a joyful journey, especially on the iPad’s larger display.

Twisted Lines is another great iOS puzzler with simple rules, but also level design seemingly created to drive you to despair. Each of the 100 levels involves you directing a little colored block that leaves a trail of two colors, but should you cross over the trail, your block changes color to match the first line it hits.

This is pretty important, given that your task is to scoop up colored blocks littered about claustrophobic, deviously designed single-screen puzzles. From the start, Twisted Lines is a pleasingly tricky challenge, and it keeps adding further complications – trail erasers; teleporters – to keep you on your toes.

If there’s any drawback to the game, it’s the strict linear unlock of levels (presumably, this is designed to urge you to grab hint IAPs if you get stuck). But other than that niggle, Twisted Lines is a brain-teaser among the very best on iPad.

Although there’s a hint of Limbo about the silhouette-heavy imagery in Yuri, this is a much sunnier – and speedier – affair. An exploration-oriented platform game, Yuri finds the titular protagonist belting about on a skateboard-like bed.

Visually, the game resembles a living papercraft project, with cut-out creatures milling about, and subtle textures providing depth, but it’s the feel of the game that draws you in.

This is a world where every nook and cranny begs to be scrutinized and, because you get endless lives, there’s little frustration when you zoom along at Sonic speeds and suddenly find yourself at the bottom of a ravine. You can just try again – perhaps knocking back the speed a touch.

Old-hands might gripe Yuri is a bit simplistic and shallow, because there’s little to do beyond exploration. But then that’s the point, and so if you fancy delving into an interesting arty world on your iPad, Yuri’s a good bet.

This old-school adventure game is all the more impressive when you realize it’s the work of one man. From the delicate pixel art to the smart story – all delivered in rhyme – you’d think a team of clever people had beavered away on Milkmaid of the Milky Way rather than a sole individual.

The star of the show is Ruth. Her tools have vanished in a storm, and she needs to make cheese and butter to sell. It’s all very slow and relaxing – until a spaceship abruptly shows up and rudely steals her cows, propelling her into a rather more out-of-this-world experience.

If you’ve played this kind of game before, you’ll know what to expect – explore your surroundings, find objects, and figure out where to use them.

But the difficulty curve is gentle enough to snare newcomers, while the feel and polish of the game should help it appeal to anyone who spent years taking on Lucasfilm fare on a PC.

First appearances aren’t everything. Initially, Super Gridland looks much like any other match game. You swap tiles, try to match three or more, and with a little luck initiate cascades that further your cause.

From the off, though, there’s something odd about Super Gridland. You’re collecting resources, and building structures rather than gaining points. And as the sun sinks below the horizon, everything goes dark, the tiles spin, and you find yourself fending off all manner of horrors.

Much of the magic in Super Gridland is in figuring out how everything works, and so we won’t spoil things.

Suffice to say: this is a clever, distinctive entry in a packed match game genre. And while the journey itself is quite short, it’ll make you think far more than contemporaries only interested in how fast you can swap tiles.

There are games that scream for attention and then there are creations like Klocki. This somewhat minimal puzzler is as relaxed as they come, with its lack of a time limit and serene soundtrack that bubbles away as you play. The tasks also – initially at least – border on the meditative, early puzzles being very simple to complete.

The basic aim is to fashion complete lines, which is achieved by manipulating tiles on the surfaces of 3D shapes. At first, this is just a case of swapping a few tiles around, but later levels become quite devious in adding new ideas and challenges to trip you up.

Even so, Klocki never becomes frustrating. This is a no-stress puzzler, ideal for winding down rather than being a game that will wind you up. But even if you typically prefer tougher fare, give Klocki a go, because its tiny isometric worlds prove rewarding and mesmerizing in equal measure.

You might balk at Pac-Man appearing in a best-of list for iPad games, but this isn’t your father’s arcade game. Sure, the basics remain: scoot about a maze, eating dots, avoiding ghosts, and turning the tables on them on eating a power pill. But Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is significantly faster, has neon-clad mazes and a thumping soundtrack, and the gameplay’s evolved in key areas.

First, the maze is split in two. Clear one side and a special object appears on the other, which refills the cleared side when eaten. Secondly, snoozing ghosts can be brushed past to fashion a spectral conga to shepherd, contain, and not blunder into – until you eat a power pill, reverse course, and eat your pursuers to amass huge points.

In short, this game is superb, transforming an ancient classic into something fresh and exciting. And importantly, it works best on the large iPad display, because your fingers don’t get in the way of your frenetic dot-gobbling.

In the future, it turns out people have tired of racers zooming about circuits on the ground. In AG Drive, tracks soar into the air – akin to massive roller-coasters along which daredevil racers of the day speed, gunning for the checkered flag.

This is a pure racing game – all about learning the twists and turns of every circuit, and the thrill of breakneck speed. The only weapons you have available are strategy and skill. And this suits the kind of stripped-back controls that work best on iPad – tilting to steer, and using thumbs to accelerate, brake, and trigger a turbo.

Also, while some slightly irksome IAP lurks, there’s little need to splash out. The game’s difficulty curve is such that you can gradually improve your skills and ship, working your way through varied events until you become an out-of-this-world racing legend. (Or, if you’re a bit rubbish, an ugly stain on the side of a massive metal building.)

Most city building games are about micro-management – juggling budgets, people’s demands, and limited space. But Concrete Jungle rethinks the genre as a brilliant brain-bending puzzler. And here, restrictions regarding where you can build are of paramount importance.

At any point, you have seven rows with six lots where you can place a building. Said buildings are served semi-randomly from a card deck. Each column needs to have enough housing points for it to vanish and unlock more space on which to build. The snag: other buildings boost or reduce the points allocated to adjacent lots.

You must therefore take great care to place your factories (bad) and parks (good), realizing that any complacency may be severely punished several moves down the line, when you suddenly find yourself faced with a slum of your own making.

Treasure Buster comes from the Angry Birds school of game design – at least in terms of its insanely simple controls. You drag back on a little dungeoneer, who upon release bounces about the screen, scooping up loot and smashing into enemies. Clear a room and you venture further into the dungeon, unearthing new adversaries that try to kill you in excitingly varied ways.

Chances are your tactics won’t vary a great deal – these kinds of titles (which take influence from Japanese pachinko, a style of mechanical arcade game) often devolve into firing at maximum strength and hoping for the best.

But there is at least some nuance here, in locating or buying new powers, and defeating bosses by way of amazing pool-like rebound shots.

And at any rate, Treasure Hunter looks superb on the iPad screen, with an immediacy and energy that’s compelling enough to counter any lack of depth.

Although it's almost 13 years old, Rome: Total War is one of the best games of 2017 thanks to its re-release on iPad.

You can now rule an empire from your Apple slate in this strategy game that defined the genre. You start the game as one of six factions, aiming to throttle enemies and conquer the known world. This historical simulator will force you to wield your tactical brain, as well as demonstrating your diplomatic and fighting skills.

You may not think this complicated battle simulator would work on iPad, but Feral Interactive have reworked the game enough that it works brilliantly with a touchscreen. You’ll want a larger iPad to play this though, as you’ll need to do a lot of reading within the menus.

But if you have a sizeable slate this is essential, and the Barbarian Invasion expansion is coming to iPad very soon as well, so there's a lot of life in this game.

It’s ‘maniacally yet methodically skidding through dirt tracks time’ in Go Rally, an overhead arcade-oriented take on zooming along like a lunatic, against the clock.

Aside from some nicely rendered courses, Go Rally’s a winner through its controls, solid physics, and relatively short tracks. Playing doesn’t feel like an ordeal to be overcome – instead, the brevity of the courses makes Go Rally akin to a Trials title, where you can conceivably master every turn.

The career mode eases you in gently, gradually unlocking access to new cars and tougher races. And if you get fed up with what the game throws at you, it’s even possible to scribble on your iPad’s screen to fashion new tracks of your own. The tracks of your dreams – and everyone else’s nightmares – can then be inflicted on the world at large.

Coming across like the mutant offspring of ALONE… and Jetpack Joyride, RunGunJumpGun is a murderously difficult yet gripping auto runner/shooter.

You blast your way through 120 levels set across three unique worlds, but even endless ammunition and lives don’t help, because every level is packed full of spikes, projectiles and massive saw blades – plus, the protagonist is a massive idiot.

Instead of carefully picking his way through the carnage, he belts along, using his gun to blast ahead (whereupon he loses altitude) or downwards (in order to gain height). You’re therefore charged with juggling these minimal controls while figuring out a route, getting the timing precisely right so you’re not killed and catapulted back to the start – repeatedly.

If that’s not quite enough for you, each level includes collectables, designed as a “gift to self-hating completionists” by the game’s creator. Masochistic? Quite possibly. Ingenious fun-infused havoc? Definitely.

Traveling on underground railways can be a fairly hideous experience, which is perhaps why Mini Metro is such a pleasant surprise. The game is all about designing and managing a subway, using an interface akin to a minimal take on the schematics usually found hanging on subway walls. And it’s glorious.

Periodically, new stations appear. You drag lines between them, and position trains on them, in order to shepherd passengers to their stops. All the while, movement generates a hypnotic, ambient soundtrack.

Over time, things admittedly become more fraught than during these relaxing beginnings. The demands of an increasing number of passengers forces you to juggle trains and rearrange lines until you’re inevitably overwhelmed. But the nature of the game is such that this never frustrates – instead, you’ll want to take another journey - hugely unlike when suffering the real thing.

From the creators of Machinarium and Botanicula, Samorost 3 is an eye-dazzlingly gorgeous old-school point-and-tap puzzler.

It follows the adventures of a gnome who sets out to search the cosmos and defeat a deranged monk who's smashed up a load of planets by attacking them with a steampunk hydra.

The wordless tale primarily involves poking about the landscape, revealing snatches of audio that transform into dreamlike animations hinting at what you should do next.

Although occasionally opaque, the puzzles are frequently clever, and the game revels in the joy of exploration and play. It's also full of heart – a rare enchanting title that gives your soul a little lift.

RPG combat games usually involve doddering about dungeons with a massive stick, walloping goblins. But in Solitairica, cards are your weapon; or, more accurately, cards are the means by which you come by weapons.

Your aim is to trudge to a castle, defeating enemies along the way. You do so in a simplified solitaire, where you string together combos by removing cards one higher or lower than your current card. Doing so collects energies used to unleash defensive or offensive spells.

Unfortunately, your enemies also have skills, and survival requires a mix of luck and planning to defeat them.

This involves managing your inventory so you're always armed with the best capabilities, while probably simultaneously wondering why the hero didn't arm themselves with a bloody great sword rather than a deck of cards.

One time darling of Sony handhelds, Lumines barges its way on to iOS by way of Lumines Puzzle & Music. If you've not played any games in the series before, we're very much in Tetris-style block-falling territory, only Lumines has a thumping beat at its core.

As you drop blocks into the well – each comprising up to two colors – you aim to craft solid slabs at least two-by-two squares in size; these are then wiped when the playhead moves over them.

Time it right and you get combos, high scores, and a giddy sense of smugness; mess up and you'll merely be taunted with a premature game over, while sadly nodding your head to the beat.

High-octane card games don’t seem the greatest fit for iPad gaming, but Exploding Kittens perfectly captures the manic chaos of the Oatmeal-illustrated original. As per that version, this is Russian roulette with detonating cats.

Players take turns to grab a card, and if they get an exploding kitten, they must defuse it or very abruptly find themselves out of the game.

Strategy comes by way of action cards, which enable you to peek at the deck, skip a turn, steal cards from an opponent, and draw from the bottom of the deck “like the baby you are”.

Local and online multiplayer is supported, timers stop people from dawdling, and a ‘chance of kitten’ meter helps everyone keep track of the odds. Large hands of cards rather irritatingly require quite a bit of swiping to peruse (although cards can be reordered), but otherwise this is first-rate and amusingly deranged multiplayer mayhem.

By the 1990s, pinball games had come a long way from their roots, and Timeshock! has long been regarded as something of a classic.

The basic plot involves unlocking and then traveling between time zones, achieving further goals by winning various prizes scattered throughout the ages.

Of course, this all comes by way of smacking a metal ball about the place, racking up points by successfully hitting ramps and targets.

Fast forward to 2016 and the original creators have had a couple of cracks at Kickstarter to bring back their game, the second of which succeeded.

But rather than a straight port, this new edition of Pro Pinball is reimagined for modern devices, with eye-popping graphics, lush lighting and remastered audio.

You only get one table, which might seem miserly in a world of Zen Pinball and Pinball Arcade, but it’s one of the best – and certainly the best-looking – pinball tables you’re going to find on an iPad.

There’s some seriously black humor lurking at the heart of 60 Seconds! Atomic Adventure. The game begins as a frantic collect ’em up, your chunky dad bounding around his home trying to grab whatever he can in order to survive an imminent nuclear strike.

The controls and physics are bouncy and elicit a sense of panic as you choose between shotguns, food, family members, maps, and radios.

Assuming you make it underground, the game switches to a Choose Your Own Adventure of sorts, with a smattering of resource management.

You dish out provisions, send your kid out into a probable nuclear winter, armed only with a torch and your best wishes, and attempt to eke out an existence before everyone inevitably dies of starvation.

It’s a bleak end of the world story as written by a satirical cartoonist: equally chilling, compelling and – due to the breezily-written narration – oddly entertaining.

One of the things the iPad’s been really great at is reimagining books. From textbooks to stories, interactive tomes have brought new life to literature and education alike.

Burly Men at Sea sits halfway between game and storybook, and features three chunky sailors with hugely impressive beards, keen on setting out to sea on an exciting adventure.

Being that this is a videogame, they’re of course instantly eaten by a whale, after which point you direct their progress by dragging the screen and tapping items to interact with them.

The story is short, but you end up in a kind of nautical Groundhog Day, retracing steps and attempting to locate further pathways to explore.

The branches are limited in number compared to the complexity found in the likes of 80 Days, but Burly Men at Sea remains essential nonetheless, due to its charm, polish and sheer artistry.

It might have the word 'deep' in its title and be about digging, but Dig Deep! isn't a game about depth. Instead, this is a frantic auto-runner/digger, a bit like Doug dug. on fast-forward.

As your little miner burrows into an alien world, you must avoid being blown up by buried explosives, eaten by alien monsters, or impaled on spikes some idiot carelessly left lying around.

All you can do is move left or right, dashing (by way of swipes) to scoot faster when necessary, and hope a pick-up (shields; super-fast digging boosters) shows up when you're in a tough spot.

This might all seem suited to iPhone, but Dig Deep! works far better on an iPad resting on a table. The larger display makes it easier to spot incoming hazards, and the seat-of-the-pants nature of Dig Deep! gives you more of a fighting chance when you're not covering half the display with two thumbs.

Although a fairly simple game to play, there's a lot to unpack in Severed. It features a one-armed woman attempting to save her family from a hell populated by hideous-looking beasts.

She roams dungeons, slicing enemies to bits and then - equally ingeniously and horrifically - uses their severed parts to level-up her own skills and powers.

There's no gore, though - Severed resembles Infinity Blade as reimagined by a graphic designer. The visuals are all sleek 2D planes, lines and tasteful gradients. But the battles are exciting, comprising frantic swordplay and careful parries.

Often, you find yourself surrounded, rhythmically flicking between monsters, figuring out which to kill first and those you can cope with absorbing a few blows from.

The repetitive nature of such skirmishes may pall a little over the game's length, but there's enough here to keep touchscreen swordplay fans occupied for hours. And the story that underpins the adventure has the kind of heart that provides an emotional center that's frequently lacking on mobile.

There's a strangeness at the core of Road Not Taken that will be familiar to anyone who's experienced Spry Fox's other top-notch mobile puzzler Triple Town. Road Not Taken is a more expansive title than its forebear, featuring a ranger attempting to rescue children lost in the woods during a harsh winter. Said younglings must be reunited with their parents, but that's easier said than done.

The frosty woods are full of horrors, and you have limited energy, sapped by moving when holding items, or when blasted by a blizzard.

You must therefore figure out the most efficient way to get the kids back to safety, making use of the game's quirky way of manipulating objects: tap and you hurl everything you're holding in a straight line away from you, until it hits something; combine several of a specific item and you'll sometimes be nicely surprised by what they transform into.

There is something of a take-no-prisoners aspect to Road Not Taken - it'll be a while before you fully understand its many nuances. But if you're after a game with depth, charm, and intrigue, this snowy puzzler won't leave you cold.

When playing Linia, you feel like a hunter, waiting to strike. Only instead of lobbing a spear at a wild beast, your prey is abstract shapes that shift and morph in cycles.

Your target is displayed at the top of the screen as a row of colored discs. You must then drag a line through shapes that match the provided series of target colors. Hit a wrong color – even if you only slice a bit too far – and you'll need to try again.

The mechanic is, of course, Fruit Ninja – and every other slicing game you've ever played; but the stark visuals and rhythmic nature of the targets results in something fresh and vibrant. And you'll need a strong sense of observation along with excellent timing and reactions to succeed, not least when shapes start revolving, pulsating, hiding, overlapping and changing before your very eyes.

From the minds behind World of Goo and Little Inferno comes this decidedly oddball puzzler. Human Resource Machine, in a non-too-subtle satirical dig at workers, finds a little employee as a cog in a corporate machine.

Actions (moving and sorting boxes) are 'automated' by way of programming inputs - loops and routines constructed by dragging and dropping commands.

This might seem daunting, but the learning curve isn't too harsh, and a distinct sense of personality permeates the entire production, smoothing things over when the mechanics are threatening to make your brain steam.

If there's a criticism, the story seems slight compared to the team's previous work, but it is nonetheless oddly affecting to see your little automaton age as you work your way through the game.

For people of a certain age, Day of the Tentacle will need no introduction. This pioneering work set the standard for point-and-click adventures in the early 1990s, through its mix of smart scripting, eye-popping visuals and devious puzzles.

On iPad, you get the original title more or less intact, along with a remastered edition, with all-new high-res art and audio. (You can instantly switch between the two using pinch gestures.)

Chances are the puzzles and pace might initially throw newcomers, but players old and new will find much to love trying to stop the nefarious purple tentacle taking over the world, along with delving into the importance of hamsters, and figuring out how to best utilize items to assist people stuck in three different time zones.

(And if you're very old and wondering if they included Maniac Mansion in the PC, it's there, in full!)

If you find golf a bit dull, Super Stickman Golf 3 offers a decidedly different take on the sport. Instead of rolling greens, a sprinkling of trees and the odd sandpit, golfers in this bizarre world pit their wits against gravity-free space-stations, floating islands, and dank caverns with glue-like surfaces.

The game's side-on charms echo Angry Birds in its artillery core, in the sense that careful aiming is the order of the day. But this is a far smarter and more polished title, with some excellent and imaginative level design.

With this third entry, you also get the chance to spin the ball, opening up the possibility of otherwise impossible shots. And once you're done with the solo mode, you can go online with asynchronous turn-based play and frenetic live races.

In Telepaint, a semi-sentient wandering paint pot wants nothing more than to be reunited with a brush. The tiny snag: it appears to be stuck in a world of brain-bending maze-like tests, comprising single screens of platforms and teleporters. Your goal is to figure out a route, avoiding pot-puncturing spikes and a clingy magnetic 'friend' - a task that becomes increasingly baffling and complex.

You're helped along a little by VCR-style controls that let you pause for breath, and these often become key to solving puzzles, enabling you to switch teleport triggers while everything else on-screen remains static. Even then, the going's tough.

Still, while Telepaint has the propensity to make your head hurt like having a paint can dropped on it, this is a colorful, unique and enjoyable iOS puzzling classic that's not to be missed.

One of the earliest 3D games was Battlezone, a tank warfare title at the time so realistic the US military commissioned a version from Atari to train gunners. iOS tribute Vector Tanks was subsequently gunned down by Atari lawyers, but its DNA survives in Tanks! - Seek & Destroy.

Like Battlezone, Tanks pits you against an endless number of vector tanks, on a sparse battlefield. But this is a much faster, tougher game, with tilt-and-tap controls that put you more in mind of console racing games than a stodgy tank 'em up. The result is a relentlessly thrilling 3D shooter that marries the best of old-school smarts and modern mobile gaming.

Pinball games tend to either ape real-world tables or go full-on videogame, with highly animated content that would be impossible on a real table. INKS. tries something different, boasting a modern 'flat design' aesthetic, and having coloured targets on each table that emit an ink explosion when hit with the ball.

Each of the dozens of tables therefore becomes a mix of canvas and puzzle as you try to hit targets while simultaneously creating a work of art. Neatly, as the ball rolls through ink splats, it creates paths across the table, which is visually appealing and also shows when your aim is off.

Because each level is short — usually possible to complete in a minute or so — INKS. manages to be both approachable enough for newcomers and different enough for experts to get some enjoyment out of.

Nintendo fans probably wonder why the big N hasn't yet brought the superb Advance Wars to iPad, but Warbits now scratches that particular itch. However, although Warbits is influenced by Nintendo's turn-based strategy title, it isn't a copy — the iOS game brings plenty of new thinking to the table and is very much optimised for the iPad.

Working with 16 varied units, you conquer a series of battlefields by directing your troops, making careful note of your strengths and the enemy's relevant weaknesses. All the while, Warbits merrily has you and your opponent trading barbs, often about subjects such as whether tomatoes are fruit, because that's the kind of thing you'd go to war over.

Finish the 20-mission campaign and you'll have a decent grasp of Warbits, and can then venture online to take on other human players across dozens of different maps. With superb visuals, enough new ideas over the game that inspired it, and a single one-off price-tag, Warbits is a must-buy for any iPad-owning strategy nut.

Traditional platform games often fare poorly on iPad, but Traps n' Gemstones bucks the trend. Its approach is resolutely old-school, from the on-screen controls to the Metroid-style gameplay that involves exploring a huge interconnected world, opening up new passageways by finding and correctly using objects.

The theme, though, is more Indiana Jones. A little chap, armed with a whip and with a fedora on his head, leaps about a pyramid, grabs loot, and gives mummies and snakes a good whipping. Interestingly, the game simultaneously manages to appeal to casual and hardcore gamers.

Progress doesn't reset, meaning you can keep getting killed but gradually work your way into the bowels of the pyramid. But your score reverts to zero when you come a cropper; getting into the thousands is therefore a big challenge for those who want to take it.

Love You to Bits has a heart as big as a thousand iPads. It's a tap-based adventure that finds a little space explorer trying to retrieve pieces of his android girlfriend that have been scattered across the galaxy.

The mechanics are right out of classic point-and-click gaming, essentially having you amble about 2D locations, unearth items and then drop them in the right spot.

But the game is so relentlessly creative and inventive with its environments — full of dazzling visuals, references to movies and other games, and increasingly clever mechanics and ideas — that you can't help but love it to bits yourself.

The little monster at the heart of A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build, wants some friends, and so sets about making them from crisp snow covering the ground. But as the game's title states, making snowman is hard — largely because of strict rules governing the monster's universe. Snowmen must comprise precisely three balls of gradually decreasing size, and any snowball rolled in the snow quickly grows. A Good Snowman therefore becomes a series of brain-bending puzzles - part Soko-Ban, part Towers of Hanoi - as you figure out how to manipulate balls of snow to build icy friends for a monster to hug.

You get the feeling creators of classic vertically scrolling shooters would sit in front of AirAttack 2 in a daze, dumbfounded at what's possible on modern home-computing devices. That's not down to the gameplay, though: like its predecessor, AirAttack 2 is a straightforward shooter - you're piloting a fighter in World War II, downing enemies while optionally yelling "tally ho" at an annoyingly loud volume.

But this World War II is decidedly different from the one that occurred in our reality: Germans own limitless squadrons and building-sized tanks (versus the Allies, seemingly relying on a single nutcase in a plane to win the war). It's the jaw-dropping visuals that really dazzle, effortlessly displaying swarms of enemies to down, colossal bosses to defeat, and a destructible environment to take out your frustrations on. For the low price (not least given that there's no IAP whatsoever), it's an insane bargain.

The first Badland combined the simplicity of one-thumb 'copter'/flappy games with the repeating hell of Limbo. It was a stunning, compelling title, pitting a little winged protagonist against all kinds of crazy ordeals in a forest that had clearly gone very wrong.

In Badland 2, the wrongness has been amplified considerably. Now, levels scroll in all directions, traps are deadlier, puzzles are tougher, and the cruelty meted out on the little winged beast is beyond compare. Still, all is not lost - the hero can now flap left and right. We're sure that comes as a huge consolation when it's sawn in half for the hundredth time.

We mention The Room and its sequel elsewhere in this list, but The Room Three is the best entry in the series yet. Again, this is a somewhat Myst-like game of exploration and puzzle-solving, figuring out how to escape your environment by utilising everything around you.

But there's more freedom this time round, with multi-room locations, surreal and deeply strange moments that find you sucked into the very puzzles you're trying to solve, and the creeping menace of The Craftsman, a malevolent nutcase who initially leaves you locked in a dungeon, and then tasks you with freeing yourself from the confines of the remote island on which you're stranded. One to play in the dark, with rain pouring down outside - if you dare.

This single-screen platformer initially resembles a tribute to arcade classics Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros., but Drop Wizard is a very different beast. It's part auto-runner, which might infuriate retro-gamers, but this proves to be a brilliant limitation in practice. Your little wizard never stops running, and emits a blast of magic each time he lands. You must therefore time leaps to blast roaming foes, and then boot the dazed creatures during a second pass. It's vibrant, fast-paced, engaging, and — since you only need to move left or right — nicely optimised for iPad play.

Since it rebooted Robotron-style twin-stick blasting, the Geometry Wars series has been the go-to game for a session of duffing up hordes of neon ships. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved takes the basic concept and wraps it around 3D shapes lurching and spinning in space.

It disorients but brings a new dimension (pun intended) to the genre, and is one of the prettiest and noisiest games on the system. If you're armed with an iPad Pro, you even get a co-op mode, where two people play on the same screen.

A murder mystery inside a rickety old PC, itself inside your iPad, Her Story is one of the most intriguing titles around. It plonks you in front of the L.O.G.I.C. Database, a creaky old system that returns snippets of police interviews in relation to search terms. Helpfully, you can only access five at once, even if there are many more results (the joys of 1990s interface design!), but this forces you to delve deeper. Before long, you'll be scribbling notes, eking out clues from every other sentence, and realising there's more to every mystery than meets the eye.

One of the most beautiful games we've ever seen, Icycle: On Thin Ice also has a penchant for the surreal. It features naked hero Dennis, peddling through a strange and deadly post-apocalyptic frozen wonderland. Each level feels like a scene from a Gilliamesque animation, but on venturing further into madness, you'll note how tight the level design is — any failures are down to your fingers rather than the game. At the tail end of 2015, seven new locations arrived, so you could discover what happens at the end of the end of the world.

Much in the same way Hitman GO reworked a much-loved franchise for mobile, Lara Croft GO transforms Tomb Raider into a dinky turn-based boardgame of sorts. It shouldn't work, but the result is wonderful — all minimal, breathtaking visuals, and smart puzzles that present a challenge but rarely stop you for too long in continuing your journey. Most amazingly, it feels like a proper Tomb Raider game, with moments of wonder, and palpable tension when you mull over whether your next move will send Lara tumbling into the abyss.

Because of the nature of touchscreen controls, there's a tendency to slow things down on iOS. ALONE… throws such caution to the wind, flinging you along at Retina-searing speed as you try in vain to save a little ship hurtling through rocky caverns of doom.

This is a game that's properly exciting, and where every narrow escape feels like a victory; that all you're doing is dragging a finger up and down, trying in vain to avoid the many projectiles sent your way, is testament to you not needing a gamepad and complex controls to create a game that genuinely thrills.

It turns out the future will involve hoverboards, only it'll be robots piloting them. In Power Hover, all the humans are gone, but so too are the batteries that power your robot village. So you hop on your flying board and pursue a thief through 30 varied and visually stunning levels.

Whether scything curved paths across a gorgeous sun-drenched sea or picking your way through a grey and dead human city, Power Hover will have you glued to the screen until you reach the end of the journey. And although it's initially tricky to get to grips with, you'll soon discover the board's floaty physics and controls are perfectly balanced.

A love letter to trees. A game about the beauty and joy of cultivation. These aren't words that would usually scream 'amazing game'. But Prune is a unique and frequently remarkable experience. It starts simply, teaching you how to prune a tiny branch, so a plant can grow to reach the sunlight and blossom. Before long, you're responsible for cultivating huge trees that arc past poisonous floating orbs, dealing with fragile foliage in unforgiving cities, and coaxing unruly underground weeds towards their prize.

This fantastic platform puzzler stars a bug who's oddly averse to flying. Instead, he gets about 2D levels by rolling around in boxes full of platforms. Beyond Ynth HD hangs on a quest, but each level forms a devious test, where you must figure out precisely how to reach the end via careful use of boxes, switches and even environmental hazards.

And for anyone wanting an even sterner test, cunningly placed jewels are there to find in each stage, requiring all kinds of trickery and box manipulation to reach.

Blek is akin to shepherding semi-sentient calligraphy through a series of dexterity tests. Each sparse screen has one or more dots that need collecting, which is achieved by drawing a squiggle that's then set in motion. To say the game can be opaque is putting it lightly, but as a voyage of discovery, there are few touchscreen games that come close.

In what we assume is a totally accurate representation of what boffins in Geneva get up to, Boson X finds scientists sprinting inside colliders, running over energy panels and then discovering particles by leaping into the abyss.

Initially, at least, said abyss is quite tricky to avoid; but learn the patterns in each collider and you'll have a fighting chance of success in this addictive mash-up of Super Hexagon, Tempest and Canabalt.

CRUSH! is deceptive. At first, it appears to be little more than a collapse game, where you prod a coloured tile, only for the rest to collapse into the now empty space. But subtle changes to the formula elevate this title to greatness: the tiles wrap around, and each removal sees your pile jump towards a line of death. So even when tiles are moving at speed, you must carefully consider each tap.

Some variation is provided by the three different modes (which affect block speed and surges), and power-ups, which blast away colors and blocks in specific ways you can take advantage of.

Device 6 is first and foremost a story — a mystery into which protagonist Anna finds herself propelled. She awakes on an island, but where is she? How did she get there? Why can't she remember anything? The game fuses literature with adventuring, the very words forming corridors you travel along, integrated puzzles being dotted about for you to investigate.

It's a truly inspiring experience, an imaginative, ambitious and brilliantly realised creation that showcases how iOS can be the home for something unique and wonderful. It's also extremely tough at times. Our advice: pay attention, jot down notes, and mull away from the screen if you get stuck.

Eliss was the first game to truly take advantage of iOS's multi-touch capabilities, with you combining and tearing apart planets to fling into like-coloured and suitably-sized wormholes. This semi-sequel brings the original's levels into glorious Retina and adds a totally bonkers endless mode. Unique, challenging and fun, this is a game that defines the platform.

It's great to see Square Enix do something entirely different with Hitman GO, rather than simply converting its free-roaming 3D game to touchscreens. Although still echoing the original series, this touchscreen title is presented as a board game of sorts, with turn-based actions against clockwork opposition.

You must figure out your way to the prize, without getting knocked off (the board). It's an oddly adorable take on assassination, and one of the best iOS puzzlers. There's also extra replay value in the various challenges (such as grabbing a briefcase or not killing guards), each of which requires an alternate solution to be found.

A roller-coaster ribbon of road winds through space, and your only aim is to stay on it and reach the highest-numbered gate. But Impossible Road is sneaky: the winding track is one you can leave and rejoin, if you've enough skill, 'cheating' your way to higher scores. It's like the distillation of Super Monkey Ball, Rainbow Road and queue-jumping, all bundled up in a stark, razor-sharp package.

A boy awakens in hell, and must work his way through a deadly forest. Gruesome deaths and trial and error gradually lead to progress, as he forces his way deeper into the gloom and greater mystery.

Originating on the Xbox, Limbo fares surprisingly well on iOS, with smartly designed controls that feel entirely at home on the iPad. But mostly it's Limbo's eerie beauty and intriguing environments that captivate, ensuring the game remains hypnotic throughout.

Racing games are all very well, but too many aim for simulation rather than evoking the glorious feeling of speeding along like a maniac. Most Wanted absolutely nails the fun side of arcade racing, and is reminiscent of classic console title OutRun 2 in enabling you to drift effortlessly for miles. Add to that varied city streets on which to best rivals and avoid (or smash) the cops, and you've got a tremendous iOS racer.

The iPhone's a bit small for pinball, but the larger iPad screen is perfect for a bit of ball-spanging. Pinball Arcade is the go-to app for realistic pinball, because it lovingly and accurately recreates a huge number of classic tables.

Tales of the Arabian Nights is bundled for free, and the likes of Twilight Zone, Black Knight, Bride of PinBot and Star Trek: The Next Generation are available via in-app purchase. On exploring the various tables (you can demo all of them for free), it rapidly becomes apparent just how diverse and deep pinball games can be.

Ah, Super Hexagon. We remember that first game, which must have lasted all of three seconds. Much like the next — and the next. But then we recognised patterns in the walls that closed in on our tiny ship, and learned to react and dodge. Then you threw increasingly tough difficulty levels at us, and we've been smitten ever since.

That said, we suspect only if you're superhuman will you ever get to see the hallowed final screen that appears when you survive 60 seconds in every Super Hexagon mode.

Apple's mobile platform has become an unlikely home for traditional point-and-click adventures. Sword & Sworcery has long been a favourite, with its sense of mystery, palpable atmosphere, gorgeous pixel art and an evocative soundtrack.

Exploratory in nature, this is a true adventure in the real sense of the word, and it's not to be missed. (To say anything more would spoil the many surprises within. Just trust us on this one, grab a copy, don some headphones, and immerse yourself in a gorgeous virtual world.)

Threes! is all about matching numbered cards. 1s and 2s merge to make 3s, and then pairs of identical cards can subsequently be merged, doubling their face value. With each swipe, a new card enters the tiny grid, forcing you to carefully manage your growing collection and think many moves ahead. The ingenious mix of risk and reward makes it hugely frustrating when you're a fraction from an elusive 1536 card, but so addictive you'll immediately want another go.

This sweet, endless title stars a bird who loves to fly but doesn't have the wings for it. Instead, she uses gravity, sliding down hills and then propelling herself into the air from the top of adjacent slopes. Meanwhile, in another mode, her offspring are happily racing, bounding over lakes, eager to earn the biggest fish from their mother. Whichever route you take, Tiny Wings is a vibrant, warm and friendly experience.

You can almost see the development process behind this one: "Hey, fingers look a bit like legs, so if we put a skateboard underneath…" And so arrived one of the finest iOS sports titles, with you using your fingers to roam urban locations and perform gnarly stunts. Admittedly, this game is tricky to master, but it's hugely rewarding when you do so, and video highlights can be shared with your friends. The game's also a great example of touchscreen-oriented innovation — Touchgrind Skate just wouldn't be the same with a traditional controller.

Ever since cop-in-a-coma Rick awoke to find himself in a post-apocalyptic world filled with the undead, Walking Dead has captured the imagination of comic-book readers and TV viewers alike. The interactive version follows a new set of characters, but the threats facing them are no less terrifying.

As with creator Telltale's other titles, Walking Dead comes across like a mash-up of comic strip and adventure, with palpable moments of tension, and a game experience that changes depending on your actions. The first part of the story is free, and you can then buy new episodes; if you survive, season 2 is also available.

It didn't begin life on the iPad, but World of Goo certainly makes sense on it. A bewitching game of physics puzzles and bridge building, the title also has real heart at its core. The basics are disarmingly simple: use semi-sentient blobs to create structures that enable unused goo to access 'goo heaven' (by way of an industrial-looking pipe).

But through powerful and frequently surreal imagery, haunting audio and the odd moment of poignancy, you find yourself actually caring about little blobs of goo, rather than merely storming through the game's many levels.

At the heart of Year Walk is something dark and horrifying. This daring game is a first-person adventure of sorts, but it presents itself as a kind of living picture book. You begin in a sparse forest, snow crunching underfoot.

Gradually, a story is revealed that is unsettling, clever, distinctive and beautifully crafted — much like the game itself. You won't rest until the story's told, but getting to the end will mean facing many moments of horror in one of the iPad's most unmissable and original creations.

Pinball games tend to be divided into two camps. One aims for a kind of realism, aping real-world tables. The other takes a more arcade-oriented approach. Zen Pinball is somewhere in-between, marrying realistic physics with tables that come to life with animated 3D figures.

Loads of tables are available via IAP, including some excellent Star Wars and Marvel efforts. But for free you get access to the bright and breezy Sorcerer's Lair, which, aside from some dodgy voice acting, is a hugely compelling and fast-paced table with plenty of missions and challenges to discover.

Want more? Here are the best iPhone games around

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