Here at Icreon, a mobile app development company, we’re always looking out for the latest and greatest ways that apps are getting creative with UX and design to build high-quality apps. Over the past month, we’ve gotten up-close-and-personal with everything from creative iOS 8 keyboard apps, to ambitious new attempts to revolutionize the word processor. So here they are, the eight apps that have given us some great food for thought—and that we hope will inspire some ideas for you as well.

1. Apps
that

2. Platform: iOS, Windows, Android
PhotoMath
PhotoMath is one of those apps whose function
is totally apparent after just one look. Take a
picture of a math problem with your phone’s
camera, and PhotoMath solves it for you.
While PhotoMath might come off as a dream
tool for cheating in high school, it actually serves
well as an educational tool, as it also has the
ability to guide students step-by-step through
any solution it offers.
PhotoMath currently works best for solving
simple algebraic expressions, but is constantly
being improved. Maybe someday this thing will
be able to take on calculus.

3. Platform: iOS, Windows, Android
Skype Qik
It’s no secret that we at Icreon are fascinated
by the potential applications of ephemeral
apps. We’ve even argued that someday,
enterprise technology may take influence
from these kinds of applications!
Skype Qik is a brand new addition to the
ephemeral software lexicon, employing video
message snippets through the Skype
platform. Qik separates itself from its
competitors by providing a new angle at
ephemeral messaging—messages auto-
expire after two weeks, but if you delete a
message, it also deletes the message from
everyone you’ve shared it with.

4. Platform: iOS
MonSense
MonSense, from Two Fish Interactive, is a
personal finance management app that
employs clean design to streamline user
budgets.
We love its data visualization offerings – you
can see your budgets in pie chart form, or
even export it to a spreadsheet to keep all
that information close at hand.

5. Platform: iOS
Drafts
From the Texas-based studio Agile Tortoise
comes Drafts 4, a text editor that uses one
simple workflow: Open up the app and just
start typing. Drafts revolves around the idea
that when we’re stricken by inspiration to write
something, it’s best to just press a button and
be able to write it down.
Every draft that’s written is saved, and every
draft can be emailed, posted to social media,
posted to Dropbox, Evernote or Google Drive.
We love the way Drafts minimizes the space
between the user and the text, and re-frames
the entire workflow of digital word processing.

6. Platform: iOS
Code School
Code School has been around for years now,
and it’s already proven itself as a simple way
to learn code on the internet. Now, with
their new iOS app, aspiring developers can
take their learning on the road. Code School
offers classes for HTML and CSS, Ruby,
Javascript, and even iOS.
Personally, we appreciate the way Code
School’s layout provides a great example of
clean design for students who may want to
make an app like this in the future.

7. Platform: iOS
Translator Keyboard
Since iOS 8’s release, we’ve been keeping an eye out
for new and creative ways that people are using the
new customizable keyboard opportunities that Apple
has made available.
At the moment, Translator Keyboard is displaying the
most ambition in this area, as you might be able to
tell from the name alone. Type a message into the
Translator Keyboard, and it’ll translate your text into
whatever language you select.
It’s clean, it’s simple, and it’s constantly being
upgraded—a great tool for connecting with any
international friends you might otherwise have
trouble communicating with.

8. Offtime aims to let users “Unplug… in a
hyperconnected world.” By limiting calls,
messages and connectivity to your phone
during certain scheduled times, it allows
you to disconnect from the internet in ways
that are constructive for your own personal
well-being.
The app also gives you analytics about
phone and app usage, which is great for
self-monitoring. We’ve gone over the
possibilities of “technological diets” before,
and Offtime is a great potential arbiter for
these kinds of disconnection efforts.
Platform: Android
Offtime

9. Platform: Android
A Soft Murmur
Gabriel Martin, the designer and developer behind
the new “A Soft Murmur” app, says on his site that
he created the app for himself. It’s not a thing a
developer would usually admit to, but it’s probably
our favorite thing about this ambient noise-
generator: It feels extremely intimate and personal.
The UX is simple and icon-oriented. There’s a
minimal space between user and the sounds that the
app generates. Best of all, however, is the app’s
customizability. Whether it’s a gentle breeze, a
crackling campfire or a gentle coffee shop
conversation, the sonic escapes that A Soft Murmur
provides are completely customizable.

10. Have you spotted any
inspiring apps that
deserve a spot on
next month’s “Apps
That Inspire” list?
Let us Know
@icreontech