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The best iPhone keyboard apps in 2024

By admin March 29, 2024

The best iPhone keyboard apps in 2024, The iPhone’s default keyboard may not meet everyone’s needs. Its limited features may leave some users wanting more variety and flexibility, especially on larger devices like the iPhone 15 Pro Max or smaller models like the iPhone SE (2022).

We have conducted research and compiled a comprehensive list of the best third-party keyboards for iPhone, that can significantly enhance your texting experience. These keyboards offer a wide range of features and customization options, such as adjustable key size, swipe typing, themes, and easier access to emojis. Most of these keyboards are available for free, while some offer premium subscription options. Either way, you’ll easily be able to find a keyboard that suits your needs and preferences.

Microsoft SwiftKey AI Keyboard

Microsoft’s SwiftKey AI keyboard is a highly rated third-party keyboard that is favored by many people. The keyboard is powered by the company’s Copilot AI and is designed to learn your writing style. This allows it to recognize informal language, nicknames, and even your favorite emojis, which sets it apart from its competitors. The keyboard also offers various personalization options, including different themes, which enhance its appearance and appeal to the user.

DOWNLOAD SWIFTKEY

The best iPhone keyboard apps in 2024

Typewise Custom Keyboard

Typewise has a unique take on key shapes. The app keeps the QWERTY design but switches the traditional rectangle-shaped keys for hexagonal ones — which Typewise says creates more surface area so you can type more accurately. While there is a slight learning curve, Typewise includes a built-in game to practice typing. With swipe gestures, dark mode support, and autocorrect modification, this is a great alternative for those tired of the conventional iOS keyboard. Newer versions include automatic language detection, which switches the app between selected languages, an undo button, and text replacement for often-used phrases.

DOWNLOAD TYPEWISE

Grammarly

The Grammarly iOS keyboard app offers sophisticated grammar review that goes beyond the usual spell check to provide advice on punctuation, spelling context, and misused words. It also helps you build your vocabulary and offers synonyms, which makes it an ideal app for students or business people. Grammarly also has emoji, a smart autocorrect feature, and allows you to build your own dictionary. You also get features that include swipe typing, home screen widgets, and focus filters that mute vibrations and sound effects.

DOWNLOAD GRAMMARLY

Facemoji AI Emoji Keyboard

The Facemoji Emoji Keyboard is a free tool that allows you to add a touch of personality to text messages and social media posts. With a wide range of emojis, fonts, and stickers available, you can easily create unique and engaging content for platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram, Messenger, Facebook, Snapchat, and SMS. Whether you want to express your emotions through colorful emojis or add some flair to your text with stylish fonts, the Facemoji Emoji Keyboard has something for everyone.

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Phraseboard Keyboard

Phraseboard aims to take the pain out of the tedious job of typing the same responses and phrases repeatedly by allowing you to save them so you can select one of your prewritten answers to reply rapidly. You can create your own customized phrases and sort them by category. You can even quickly access the Phraseboard widget to create new phrases no matter what you’re doing with your iPhone. All your phrases sync with iCloud. The basic app costs $2, and subscriptions are available for some premium language and functionality features.

DOWNLOAD PHRASEBOARD

Gboard – the Google Keyboard

Gboard is a keyboard from Google and includes everything you’d ever want within a single app. Whether you’re sending GIFs or emojis, searching Google for information, sending directions, or anything else, Gboard has you covered. With Gboard, you can search and send anything from Google, including information on nearby restaurants, videos, images, weather forecasts, news, sports scores — you name it. The app also offers Glide Typing, which allows you to type messages faster and more accurately.

DOWNLOAD GBOARD

Fleksy- GIF, Web & Yelp Search

Fleksy offers users a fun and interactive way to type in their own style. You can customize your Fleksy keyboard with powerful extensions and more than 50 colorful themes. Some of the themes cost $1, but many are free. More than 800 emoji come with the app, and it also has its own built-in GIF search engine. The keyboard supports several languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Hebrew, and Dutch. It learns your typing habits as you go, enabling it to give you accurate predictions, which helps reduce typos.

DOWNLOAD FLEKSY

Fonts

Are you tired of sending your friends and family the same old boring messages? Spice things up with the Fonts keyboard app! You can customize your messages with a wide selection of fonts to fit your unique personality and style. Whether you’re feeling flirty, professional, or just plain silly, there’s a font for every mood. The Fonts keyboard works through iMessage, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, Clubhouse, TikTok, Telegram, Roblox, WhatsApp, Twitch, Discord, and more.

DOWNLOAD FONTS

Color Keyboard – Themes, Fonts

The king of keyboard customization is Color Keyboard. Sure, it gives you emoji and autocorrection and even allows you to tap and hold the space bar to move the cursor, but what really sets this keyboard apart is the option to change anything you want about the keyboard’s look. You can change the background using solid colors, gradients, textures, and even your own pictures.

You can also customize the buttons by changing the colors and borders, adding shadows, customizing the fonts, and changing the sounds. If your aim is customization, Color Keyboard takes things to the next level, but you have to subscribe to access everything, starting at $3 per week and rising for longer intervals and premium features.

DOWNLOAD COLOR KEYBOARD

Bitmoji

Bitstrips

Bitmoji, a popular keyboard app, is ideal if you want to send an emoji that resembles you rather than using standard emoji or text. Bitmoji allows you to customize and send a personalized emoji, all from your keyboard. Use Bitmoji with any of your favorite chat apps, like iMessage or Snapchat. It’s never been easier to adapt a dynamic avatar with an ever-changing collection of stickers and moods. You’ll need your Facebook login information to sign into Bitmoji and initiate the avatar creation process.

DOWNLOAD BITMOJI

GIF Keyboard

Tenor

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a GIF can truly help get your point across. Get access to the massive library of animated and musical GIFs for free. From there, you can search for specific GIFs or use keywords to find animations that suit your mood. The GIF keyboard app is compatible with WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, iMessage, and just about any other messaging app or social media site.

To send a GIF, press your finger on your chosen GIF and hold it down to browse options. Once you’ve found one, share its link, the GIF itself, or a video, or save the media to your photo library. You can also customize the tool to match your specifications and save your favorite GIFs using the keyboard.

DOWNLOAD GIF KEYBOARD

All Symbol Keyboard Fonts Aa

MelonSoup

For the visual among us, the All Symbol Keyboard is an exciting alternative to humdrum alphanumerics with all the custom fonts, symbols, fancy letters, special characters, and emoticons you could ever want — compatible with any app on your iPhone. It works with Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and many others. Whether you’re looking for high-impact symbols to enhance your keyboard, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter posts, or even your username, launch the app and start typing. Premium versions provide unlimited access to features like the All Symbol Keyboard (every single symbol) and Facemoji library, but there’s tons of free stuff to get you started.

DOWNLOAD ALL SYMBOL KEYBOARD

The best emoji keyboards for Android and iOS

Gone are the days when words were enough to fully express our thoughts and feelings. Emoji, a recently accepted form of pictographic communication that now serves as a kind of Esperanto for the internet age, plays a major role in interpersonal and international communications. Most major keyboards for both Android and iOS feature built-in support for emoji, but they are hardly front and center. If you’re looking for a keyboard to truly satisfy your emoji obsession, you may need a dedicated emoji keyboard to carry out the task of conveying your emotions visually via a text environment.

When you download a keyboard app in iOS, you must add it to your list of keyboards. To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboards. Then, scroll to the Third-Party Keyboards section and choose the keyboard app. Then, tap on the keyboard app and toggle on Allow Full Access. For Android 10, you can install your new keyboard directly via the Google Play Store to your Android phone, if it is compatible with the app, and then launch and follow any directions it has.

Here are a few of our favorite third-party keyboard apps for iOS and Android.

Gboard

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Gboard is a highly functional keyboard from Google that concentrates on handy features like emoji search, GIFs, stickers, and glide typing. Best of all, it has the Google search app integrated into the keyboard — no more switching apps. Just search for anything from the weather to your neighborhood bodega and send, all from this nifty keyboard.

Emoji>

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Emoji> offers a ton of emoji characters you can use via the keyboard, and they’re split into different categories, making it easy to find the emoji you’re looking for. The keyboard also provides animated stickers and the ability to set up specific emoji as favorites, so you can access them at a moment’s notice without having to search for the ones you want. Updates include compatibility with iOS 14 and all of its attendant emoji, including smiling face with tear, disguised face, ninja, pinched fingers, heart and lungs, black cat, polar bear, seal, dodo sandal, bubble tea, and toothbrush. New emoji widgets are also on hand.

Microsoft Swiftkey

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Swiftkey is not an emoji keyboard per se, but it is the next best thing — an excellent keyboard that comes pre-loaded with hundreds of emoji for you to use. Swiftkey is already a great favorite because of its valuable predictive typing, which can also be applied to emoji. When you type a word or phrase, for example, the app suggests emoji that you can quickly use. The most recent versions include renaming the app to Microsoft Swiftkey, a new Messaging Center on the keyboard toolbar, haptic feedback, one-handed mode, 400 new languages, and new language layouts.

ai.type Keyboard Plus

As its name implies, ai.type was developed around artificial intelligence, aiming to assist people in typing quickly and accurately. It also allows you to personalize the keyboard to fit your individual needs, enabling you to adjust the keyboard’s layout, theme, and color scheme. This means you can set an emoji front and center and select from an extensive inventory of more than 1,000 characters.

Similar to many other keyboard applications, the keyboard can also propose emojis depending on what you type. The most current versions are compatible with the new Emoji 12.1 for 2020 and 517 new emoji. Around 23 new gender-neutral emoji icons have been added. Some of these include a gender-neutral firefighter, astronaut, a person in a wheelchair, and a judge. You’ll also have access to fun emoji objects like an otter, ringed planet, beverage box, and pinching hand.

Fleksy

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you want to add a bit more fun and animation to your typing, Fleksy could be the keyboard that you’ve been looking for. Fleksy is compatible with a wide variety of extensions, letting you quickly add new features as necessary. Maybe the most remarkable thing about Fleksy is how simple it is to get to your emoji. You can browse through dozens of emoji in each section and change categories with a quick tap at the bottom of the keyboard.

Just like many keyboards, you can also establish a variety of attractive themes. Updated versions include features like Next Word Prediction, prepared in 28 languages, and Emoji Prediction so you can inspect the suggested emoji in regards to your conversation’s context.

Go Keyboard

Go Keyboard is a personalizable keyboard that permits you to put emoji, emoticons, stickers, and GIFs in noticeable areas. The app converts text into emoji and emoticons, and you can pick from over 1,000 emoji and stickers, plus over 10, 000 different themes. It supports over 60 other languages, too. If that’s not enough to impress you, you can also type with gestures and various fonts, as well as individualize your keyboard with your own personal photo theme. The Fancy Font feature gives you the opportunity to select your preferred keyboard font.

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Artificial Intelligence

The best AI image generators of 2024

By admin March 18, 2024

The best AI image generators of 2024, The best AI image generators to try right now AI image generators use text prompts to produce images within seconds. I tested the best AI image generators and found that DALL-E isn’t your only option.If you’ve ever searched Google high and low to find an image you needed to no avail, AI may be able to help.

With AI image generators, you can type in a prompt as detailed or vague as you’d like to fit an array of purposes and have the image you were thinking of pop up on your screen instantly. These tools can help with branding, social media content creation, vision boards, invitations, flyers, greeting cards, and more.

Even if you have no professional use for AI at the moment, don’t worry — the process is so fun that anyone can (and should) try it out.

OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 made a huge splash because of its advanced capabilities and because it was the first mainstream AI image generator. However, since its initial launch, there have been many developments in the space. Plenty of companies have released their own models that rival DALL-E 2, and OpenAI even released a more advanced model, DALL-E 3.

To help you figure out which models are the best for different tasks, I put the generators to the test by putting a version of the same prompt — “Two yorkies sitting on a beach that is covered in snow” — into each image generator. I included screenshots for your viewing pleasure and for you to make your own inferences.

While I found the best overall AI image generator to be the Image Creator from Microsoft Designer, due to its free-of-charge, high-quality results, other AI image generators perform better for specific needs. For the full round-up of the best AI image generators, keep reading below.

The best AI image generators of 2024

Image Creator from Microsoft Designer (formerly Bing Image Creator)

Best AI image generator overall

Image Creator from Microsoft Designer features: Powered by: DALL-E 3 | Access via: Copilot, browser, mobile | Output: 4 images per prompt | Price: Free

Image Creator from Microsoft Designer is powered by DALL-E 3, OpenAI’s most advanced image-generating model. As a result, it produces higher quality results than the free version of DALL-E while also remaining free to use. All you need to do to access the image generator is visit the Image Creator website and sign in with a Microsoft account.

The biggest perk about this AI generator is that you can also access it in the same place where you can access Microsoft’s AI chatbot, Copilot (formerly Bing Chat).

In addition to visiting Image Creator on its standalone site, you can ask it to generate images for you in Copilot. To get your image, all you have to do is conversationally ask Copilot to draw you any image you’d like.

This feature is so convenient because you can get all of your image-generating and AI chatting needs met in the same place. This facilitates tasks that could benefit from both image and text generation, such as party planning since you can ask the chatbot to generate themes for your party and then ask it to create images that follow the theme.

Shop now at Microsoft

DALL-E 2 by OpenAI

Best AI image generator if you want to experience the original

DALL-E 2 features: Powered by: DALL-E 2 by OpenAI | Access via: OpenAI website | Output: 4 images per credit | Price: Free if you registered before Apr. 6, $15 minimum if you register after | Credits: Free credit allowance replenishes every month for pre-April 6 users

OpenAI, the AI research company behind ChatGPT, launched DALL-E 2 November 2022, and it quickly became the most popular AI image generator on the market. Although it has been lapped by Image Creator by Designer, it is still a very capable image generator and the blueprint for all the models that followed.

The site is very intuitive and can produce results in seconds. All you have to do is type in whatever prompt you’d like, specifying as much detail as necessary to bring your vision to life, and then DALL-E 2 will generate four images from your prompt.

The credits situation can be a bit tricky because users who registered before April 6, 2023, get to keep the original terms, which included 15 free credits that replenish at the end of every month. Any new users have to buy a minimum of 115 credits for $15, which is a big con of using this AI image generator instead of Image Creator from Designer.

Since there are other free alternatives on the list that work just as well, I would encourage users to only pay for DALLE-2 if they really want to experience the original.

Shop now at OpenAI

ImageFX by Google

The best AI image generator for beginners

ImageFX from Google: Powered by: Imagen 2 | Access via: website | Output: four images | Price: free

Google’s ImageFX was a dark horse, entering the AI image generator space much later than its competition, over a year after DALL-E 2 launched. However, the generator’s performance seems to have been worth the wait. The image generator is capable of producing high-quality, realistic outputs, even for difficult objects to render, such as hands.

It boasts a unique feature–expressive chips–which make it easier to refine your prompt or generate new ones via dropdowns that highlight parts of your prior prompt and suggest different word changes to modify your output.

ImageFX also includes suggestions for the image style you’d like your image rendered in, such as photorealistic, 35mm film, minimal, sketch, handmade, and more. Both of these features combined make it perfect for beginners to begin experimenting.

Shop now at Google

DreamStudio by Stability AI

Best AI image generator for customization

DreamStudio features: Powered by: SDXL 1.0 by Stability AI | Access via: website | Output: 1 images per 1.8 credits | Price: $1 per 100 credits | Credits: 25 free credits when you open account, by purchase once you run out

Stability AI created the massively popular, open-sourced, text-to-image generator, Stable Diffusion. Users can download it and use it at no cost; however, this typically requires some technical skill.

To make the technology readily accessible to everyone (regardless of skill level), Stability AI created DreamStudio, which incorporates Stable Diffusion in a UI that is easy to understand and use.

One of the standouts of the platform is that it includes many different entries for customization including a “negative prompt” where you can delineate the specifics of what you’d like to avoid in the final image. You can also easily change the image ratio which is major since most AI image generators automatically deliver 1:1.

Shop now at DreamStudio

Dream by WOMBO

Best AI image generator for your phone

Dream by WOMBO features: Powered by: WOMBO AI’s machine learning algorithm | Access via: Mobile and desktop versions | Output: one image with a free version, four with a paid plan | Price: Free limited access

This app took the first-place spot for the best overall app in Google Play’s 2022 awards and it has five stars on Apple’s App Store with 141.6K ratings. With the app, you can create art and images with the simple input of a quick prompt.

An added plus about this AI image generator is that it allows you to pick different design styles such as realistic, expressionism, comic, abstract, fanatical, ink, and more.

In addition to the app, it has a free desktop mobile version that is simple to use. If you want to take your use of the app to the next level, you can pay $90 per year or $10 per month.

Shop now at Dream

Craiyon

Best no frills AI image generator

Craiyon features: Powered by: Their own model | Access via: Craiyon website | Output: Six images per prompt | Price: Free, unlimited prompts

Despite originally having the name DALL-E mini, this AI image generator is NOT affiliated with OpenAI or DALL-E 2. Rather, it is an open-source alternative. The name DALL-E 2 mini is somewhat fitting, however, as it does everything that DALL-E 2 does, just with less precise renditions.

Unlike DALL-E 2, the outputs from Craiyon lack a bit of quality and take just a bit longer to render, approximately a minute. The good thing? Because you have unlimited prompts, you can continue to tweak the prompt until you get exactly what you’re envisioning. The site is also so simple to use, making it perfect for someone wanting to experiment with AI image generators without the extra bells and whistles.

Shop now at Craiyon

Midjourney

Best AI image generator for highest-quality photos

Midjourney features: Powered by: Midjourney; utilizes Discord | Access via: Discord | Output: four images per prompt | Price: Starts at $10/month

I often play around with AI image generators because of how fun and easy creating digital artwork is. Despite all my experiences with different AI generators, nothing could have prepared me for Midjourney — in the best way.

The output of this image was so crystal clear that I had a hard time believing it wasn’t an actual image someone took of the prompt I put in. This software is so good that it has produced award-winning art.

The biggest con is that it is not user-friendly, and honestly confuses me every time. If you also need the extra direction, check out our step-by-step how-to here: How to use Midjourney to generate amazing images and art.

Another problem is that you may not be able to access it for free. When I just tried to render images, I was met with this error message, “Due to extreme demand we can’t provide a free trial right now. Please /subscribe to create images with Midjourney.”

To show you just how good the renditions can be, I included a close-up below from a prior time I tested the generator. At the time the prompt was: a baby Yorkie sitting on a comfy couch in front of the NYC skyline.

Shop now at Midjourney

Generative AI by Getty Images

Best AI Image Generator for businesses

Generative AI by Getty Images features: Powered by: NVIDIA Picasso | Access via: website | Output: 4 images per prompt | Price: Paid (price undisclosed, have to contact the team)

One of the biggest issues with AI image generators is that they typically train their generators on content from the entirety of the internet, which means that the generators use aspects of creators’ art without compensation. It also puts businesses at risk of copyright infringement.

Generative AI by Getty Images tackles that issue by generating images with content solely from Getty Images’ vast creative library with full indemnification for commercial use. The generated images will have Getty Images’ standard royalty-free license, assuring customers that their content is fair to use without fearing legal repercussions.

Another pro is that contributors whose content was used to train the models will be compensated for their inclusion in the training set. This is a great solution for businesses who want stock photos that match their creative vision but do not want to deal with copyright-related issues.

Shop now at Getty Images

What is the best AI image generator?

Image Creator from Microsoft Designer is the best overall AI image generator due to it being powered by OpenAI’s latest DALL-E technology. Like DALL-E 2, Image Creator from Microsoft Designer combines accuracy, speed, and cost-effectiveness and can generate high-quality images in just a matter of seconds. Because it is powered by a more advanced model, in most instances, the images are higher quality than DALL-E 2’s.

Whether you want to generate images of animals, objects, or even abstract concepts, Image Creator from Microsoft Designer is capable of producing accurate depictions that meet your expectations. It is highly efficient, user-friendly, and cost-effective.

Which is the right AI image generator for you?

Although I crowned Image Creator from Microsoft Designer the best AI image generator overall, other AI image generators perform better for specific needs. For example, suppose you are a professional using AI image generation for your business. In that case, you may need a tool like Generative AI by Getty Images which renders images safe for commercial use.

On the other hand, if you just want to play with AI art generating for entertainment purposes, Craiyon might be the best option because it’s free, unlimited, and easy to use.

Choose this AI image generator…	If you want…
Image Creator from Microsoft Designer	The best AI image generator overall. In Copilot, you can get all of your image-generating needs met while chatting with the bot and getting all of your questions answered. The image generator is reliable, quick, and accessible.
DALL-E 2	The original best AI image generator that combines accuracy, speed, and cost-effectiveness. It allows users to generate high-quality images quickly and easily, making it an ideal tool for artists, designers, and anyone looking to create unique and original content.
ImageFX by Google	The best AI image generators for beginners with multiple features that facilitate prompt writing, including expressive chips and style suggestions.
DreamStudio by Stability AI	The best customizable AI image generator that includes tools in its UI that make it easy to get the exact rendition you want. The fields include size, style, negative prompts, image prompts, and more.
Dream by WOMBO	The best AI image generator for your phone with multiple templates, realistic renditions, and a mobile app. It also has a free limited access version, making it a great option for those who don’t want to spend too much money.
Craiyon	The best no frills AI image generator with unlimited prompts and a straightforward interface.
Midjourney	The best AI image generator for high-quality renderings and crystal clear images with a Discord community, allowing you to share and view other users’ outputs.
Generative AI by Getty Images	The best AI image generator for business applications. It generates images with content from Getty Image’s vast creative library, making the images rendered commercially safe.

How did I choose these AI image generators?

To find the best AI image generators, I tested each generator listed and compared their performance. The factors that went into testing performance included UI/UX, image results, cost, speed, and availability. Each AI image generator had different strengths and weaknesses, making each one the ideal fit for different individuals as listed next to my picks.

What is an AI image generator?

An AI image generator refers to software that uses AI to create images from user text inputs, usually within seconds. The images vary in style depending on the capabilities of the software but can typically render an image in any style you want including 3D, 2D, cinematic, modern, Renaissance, and more.

How do AI image generators work?

Like any other AI model, AI image generators work on learned data they are trained with. Typically, these models are trained on billions of images, which it analyzes for characteristics. These insights are then used by the model to create new images.

Are there ethical implications with AI image generators?

AI image generators are trained on billions of images found throughout the internet. These images are often artwork that belongs to a specific artist, which is then reimagined and repurposed by AI art to generate your image. Although it’s not the same image, the new image has elements of artists’ original work which is not credited to them.

Are there DALL-E 2 alternatives worth considering?

Contrary to what you might think, there are so many AI image generators other than DALL-E 2 out there. Some produce even better results than OpenAI’s software. If you want to try something different, check out one of our alternatives listed above or the three additional options below.

Nightcafe

Nightcafe is a multi-purpose AI image generator that is worth trying becaus it allows users to create unique and original artwork by using different inputs and styles, including abstract, impressionism, expressionism, and more.

Shop now at Creator.nightcafe

Canva

Canva is a versatile and powerful AI image generator that offers a wide range of options. It allows users to create professional-looking designs for different marketing channels, including social media posts, ads, flyers, brochures, and more within its design platform.

Shop now at Canva

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Application

Best WhatsApp Alternative Apps You Can Use In 2024

By admin February 28, 2024

Best WhatsApp Alternative Apps You Can Use In 2024, Facebook-owned WhatsApp Messenger is the most popular messaging app on the planet. The company releases new features regularly to ensure it remains on top. However, people have different tastes and not everyone may like how WhatsApp works or looks both internally and externally.

Meta-owned WhatsApp has a policy and it makes it clear that the company collects lots of telemetry data from your device. Hence, if you are someone who wants to move on to a more personal or secure messaging app, here are the 12 best WhatsApp alternative apps you can use in 2024.

1. Telegram Messenger

Telegram Messenger has been known as the best WhatsApp competitor for a while now and nothing’s changed. The open-source messaging app is still the best WhatsApp alternative out there. Along with the usual messaging features that both WhatsApp and Telegram pack, the latter brings other features like supergroups of up to 100,000 people, public channels, usernames, the ability to share files of up to 2 GB, passcode lock, self-destructing messages and end-to-end encryption in secret chat among other things.

Then, there are Telegram Bots, which really enhance the experience. The bots not only bring you important info on the go but there are several game bots that let you play games inside the messaging app. Other than that, unlike WhatsApp, Telegram can be used on multiple platforms at once, so you can start texting on your phone and then continue it on your PC. I also love the voice call feature here which works quite well.

Availability: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web (Free)

2. Signal Private Messenger

Signal Foundation, the organization that powers the end-to-end encryption technology in WhatsApp Messenger and Facebook Messenger, offers its very own messaging app dubbed Signal Private Messenger. As you’d expect, Signal brings a number of security benefits when compared to WhatsApp. It offers self-destructing messages, screen security (prevents anyone from taking screenshots), and more.

Plus, Signal brings encryption to its backups, calls, group calls, and every other data in the app. Even the files that you send using Signal are protected. Furthermore, according to Apple’s App Store listing, Signal doesn’t link any data to your identity.

It’s a great app for anyone who wants to securely converse with other users. That’s why, Signal is quite popular with journalists. Signal Private Messenger is for people who are looking for a simple and secure messaging app and if you are looking for something like that, it is the best WhatsApp alternative for you.

Availability: Android, iOS (Free)

Best WhatsApp Alternative Apps You Can Use In 2024

Read More : 12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use

3. Discord

Discord is no longer just a platform for chatting with your fellow gamers. While you can explore a variety of Discord servers to engage with your interests, Discord’s DM functionality is often overlooked by many. You can use Discord’s personal messages feature to send messages, emojis, emotes (if you have Discord Nitro), GIFs, images, and even documents. Furthermore, you can make voice calls, video calls, or even browse together after sharing your screen.

Combined with neat integrations from Spotify, Twitch, YouTube, Battle.net, Steam, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Xbox Live, and GitHub, Discord has got you covered for all your messaging needs and is arguably better than WhatsApp.

You can also create group chats on Discord with a total of 10 members. If you need more capacity, you can always create a server. If you ask me, I’d recommend uninstalling WhatsApp right away and installing Discord. You will find the link to download Discord below and I can assure you that you won’t regret the decision.

Availability: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web (Free)

4. Messages by Google

This might be an odd one but hear us out! Google’s RCS messaging service has improved by leaps and bounds since it was first introduced. Although it may not be the most widely available service in the world and is limited to just Android users, almost every Android device should have this feature. Just download the Google Messages app, go to the settings, and enable RCS (Rich Communication Services).

RCS is a secure way of sending messages across devices; messages sent with RCS are encrypted and can carry more information across than SMS, and the Google Messages app comes tailored with lots of handy dandy features such as smart replies, stickers, GIFs, suggested actions, and integrates very well with GBoard. The one major con of RCS comes due to Apple not adapting the service despite multiple jabs from Google. This means if the party on the other side uses an iPhone, your messages would be sent as regular SMS.

Availability: Android, Windows, Web (Free)

5. Bridgefy

One of the main problems with online messaging apps like WhatsApp is that they rely on an internet connection to work. And if you are out camping in the woods even the normal text messaging apps will not work. That’s where offline messaging apps come into play. These apps don’t require a mobile network or internet connection to work.

Rather, they create a peer-to-peer Bluetooth mesh network or Wi-Fi direct-based network on your phone and allow you to send messages to your nearby friends. If you are looking for such an app then you should use Bridgefy. Bridgefy offers three main types of messaging services; Person-to-Person mode, Broadcast mode, and Mesh mode.

You can send messages to a friend, broadcast them to the entire group, and even use users as nodes to send messages to long distances. It is quite helpful during music festivals, sports events, natural disasters, and other such situations where you won’t be getting reliable mobile service.

In fact, Bridgefy and other such apps have become a bastion for protesters around the world as they allow them to evade internet censorship imposed by their governments. The app is free to download and use and is the best offline WhatsApp alternative in my opinion. You should check it out.

Install: Android (free), iOS (free)

6. Kik

Kik is a great messaging app for users who don’t want to use their number to operate a messaging application. While chat services like WhatsApp require users to use their number, I know many users who are not comfortable with sharing their personal numbers to these platforms.

For those users, Kik is a great service as it only requires you to use your email ID. Once you sign up for the service using your email ID, Kik will create a unique user name for you which you can share with other Kik users to chat.

The best part about using Kik is that you are not losing out on any messaging features. You still get access to all the important features including text messages, emojis, stickers, Gifs, photo sharing, video sharing, and group chats among other things.

Another unique feature of Kik is that it supports bots which is something that you do not get on WhatsApp. Using bots you can play quizzes, get fashion tips, the latest news, and more. That said, the main USP of Kik remains its non-requirement of a phone number and if that’s something you want, definitely check it out.

Availability: Android, iOS (Free)

7. Snapchat

While Snapchat technically is not just a messaging app but rather a social media app, I use it more and more as a messaging application thanks to some unique features that no other messaging application can offer. For example, I can send messages which can self-destruct after a set period of time. It also notifies me when someone takes a screenshot of my chats with them. Finally, it offers the best face mask collection of all the apps that I have ever used which makes this app fun to use.

Other messaging features are also here such as the ability to create group chats, voice calls, group voice calls, gifs, and more. I also love Snapchat because it is one of the most innovative chat services on the market. The features that users on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger normally enjoy are generally copied from Snapchat. So, if you want to access these cool features and be the first to receive the latest chat features, Snapchat is the app to use.

Availability: Android, iOS (Free)

8. Skype

Skype is without a doubt one of the best business chat applications out there that you can use right now. With the power of Microsoft behind it, Skype has left all the other business chat applications in the dust. However, that progress has worked against Skype when it comes to personal chats as the business moniker that it has earned keeps normal users away. But let me tell you that Skype is one of the best chatting applications on the market especially if you make a lot of video and voice calls.

I especially find Skype useful when I am using it to make overseas calls as the sound and video quality on Skype is far better than its competition. I also love Skype for its group video call functionality.

While most other apps don’t support group video calls, the ones that do often lag when you add more than three to four people. If you are someone who makes a ton of video calls with their friends and family, I can certainly recommend Skype over WhatsApp or any such chat application.

Availability: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web (Free)

9. Keybase

Keybase is an open-source secure chat application, which is great for users who want to communicate securely. Since this is an open-source app, there’s no private company that is looking at all your data. Anyways the data is end-to-end encrypted so at no point in time, the message is exposed to nefarious actors.

The app doesn’t even allow you to take the screenshot of the chats. The messaging app works more like Slack than WhatsApp, however, it’s not aimed at businesses. Rather, it is mainly targeting users who are concerned with their online privacy.

My favorite feature of Keybase is that you don’t need anyone’s number or email ID to connect with them. This allows you to remain in contact with users whom you don’t want to share your personal information with. Finally, this is one of the few messaging apps that offer a native application for the Linux operating system. If you value your privacy, you should definitely check it out.

Availability: Android, iOS, macOS, Linux, and Windows (Free)

10. Viber

Viber is another popular messaging and VoIP app that really stands toe-to-toe with WhatsApp when it comes to features. Firstly, the app offers end-to-end encryption in calls, messages, and shared media. Moreover, the messages saved on multiple devices are also encrypted, which brings us to the fact that the messaging apps pack in multi-device support, which WhatsApp lacks.

Like WhatsApp, Viber lets you make video and voice calls but the app goes one step ahead with its Viber Out feature, which lets you make international calls to non-Viber users at nominal rates.

Talking about the messaging features, Viber includes support for stickers, file sharing, last seen, voice & video messages, public accounts, backup to Google Drive, and more. There is also a sticker store and Viber games, which are basically games you can play inside Viber. If you consider everything, you’ll notice that Viber is an app that is very similar to WhatsApp. It packs in most of the features from WhatsApp and then some more.

Availability: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows (Free, with rates for Viber Out)

11. Session

Session is another great contender for one of the best WhatsApp alternatives if your priority is securing messaging. It is a privacy-focused messaging app that promises no metadata and only messages. The open-source app encrypts messaging as well as calls to ensure that nobody has access to your messages on the internet. Session uses Libsodium cryptography to encrypt your chats and its public keys are stored locally on your device.

You don’t need an email or mobile number to start using the messaging app. All the messages on the app are sent via a decentralized onion-routing network similar to Tor. Despite being a privacy-focused app, Session’s user interface is quite customizable with themes and dark mode. You get groups, video calls, voice messages, attachments, voice calls and even group calling functionality on this WhatsApp replacement app.

Availability: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux (Free)

12. LINE

Another WhatsApp alternative you can use is LINE, which is a highly popular cross-platform messaging app that packs in a ton of features. Like WhatsApp, the app features end-to-end encryption, support for voice and video calls & messages, and more.

It also brings quite a few unique features when compared to WhatsApp like LINE Out (lets you make international calls to non-LINE users), a sticker store, a cool Keep feature (lets you save your favorite messages, photos, etc.), and more. It also features a timeline in the app, where you can see any status updates and photo changes from your friends.

Other useful features of LINE include passcode lock, filter messages, themes, LINE Pay for payments, and more. There’s no doubt that LINE is a very capable and feature-rich messaging app, however, it does feel a little bloated. So, fans of WhatsApp’s simplicity might not like LINE much but if you aren’t bothered by that, you should give LINE a shot.

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Best free mouse cursors for Windows 2024

By admin February 7, 2024

Best free mouse cursors for Windows 2024, Are you bored with the Windows user interface? Are you tired of its default customization options? Then maybe it is time for you to make your desktop look unique by downloading, installing, and using a new mouse cursor theme. There are plenty of cool cursors available on the internet.

Most of the pointers are animated, some are excellent for gaming or inspired by games, others are simply well-designed and fresh. In this article, we are going to share with you thirty of the best free mouse pointer schemes for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Let’s get started.

NOTE: You can install and use the following custom cursors in Windows 11, Windows 10, as well as older versions. Here’s how to tell what Windows you have. To make sure that the files are safe, we scanned them with ESET Internet Security.

How to install custom mouse cursors in Windows

Mouse schemes downloaded from the internet can usually be installed with the help of a file that is included in the archive file that you download. This file has an INF extension, and it’s usually named install.inf. Once you have downloaded the custom mouse cursor pack (usually a ZIP or RAR file), extract the files to a temporary folder on your computer or device, then follow the instructions from these tutorials, depending on whether the pack includes an INF installer file

• If the mouse cursor pack includes an INF file: How to install custom mouse cursors in Windows

• If there is no INF file included in the archive, to install the new cursors manually, follow the directions found in this tutorial: How to use custom mouse cursors and pointers in Windows

•

Also, if all you want is to change the size or color of your mouse pointers, not necessarily install custom new ones, read this tutorial: How to change the mouse pointer size and color in Windows.

Now, let’s look at what we think are the best free mouse pointers out there:

1. Numix Cursors

This is our favorite set of custom mouse cursors for Windows PCs. Numix pointers are smooth, elegant, and look entirely professional. Furthermore, the pack includes both dark and light versions of the cursors, and also install.inf files that you can run to easily install the mouse cursor theme you prefer.

Mouse cursor download: Numix Cursors

Best free mouse cursors for Windows 2024

2. Oxygen Cursors

Created for KDE, this mouse cursor set was ported to Windows and is one of the most famous mouse pointer sets of all time on DeviantArt. The set contains 37 different color schemes.

Mouse cursor download: Oxygen Cursors

3. Breeze Cursors for Windows

KDE is one of the most popular and beautiful desktop environments for Linux. Therefore, it also has some of the best mouse cursor themes you can find. That’s what inspired the Breeze Cursors for Windows pack. It features gray pointers with white borders and some orange and blue variations. Take a look at them in the screenshot below and, if you like them, download and install them. Unfortunately, this pack does not have an INF file, so you have to set each of the cursors manually.

Mouse cursor download: Breeze Cursors for Windows

4. macOS cursor pack for Windows

Are you a fan of MacOS? Did you recently switch to a Windows PC? Maybe you’d like to use some cursors that resemble the ones on your Mac. That’s what macOS cursor pack for Windows gives you.

The mouse pointers look great, and there are different sizes and types to choose from.

To download the cursor pack, go to the following webpage, tap or click on the green Code button, then on Download ZIP: macOS-cursors-for-Windows: With 2 types and 3 different sizes.

5. Windows 11 Cursors Concept v2

Since we presented a cursor pack similar to the ones used on macOS, it seems fair to show you one made specifically for Windows 11. The cursors come in two packs, Dark and Light, and both packs feature a clean design that perfectly matches the refreshed interface of Windows 11.

Download the cursors here: Windows 11 Cursors Concept v2 by rosea92

6. Android Material Cursors (Blue)

If you are an Android fan and you love Google‘s material design a lot, maybe you would enjoy a taste of it on your Windows computer too, by using the Android Material Cursors scheme. Fortunately, it also comes with an INF file, so it is easy to install it.

Mouse cursor download: Android Material Cursors.

7. Overwatch Pointer

Overwatch is currently one of the most popular first-person shooter games, with over 60 million players around the world. If you’re one of them, or if you like gaming cursors, you’ll love the Overwatch Pointer cursor pack.

You can get the standard pack here: Overwatch Pointer, and the black version here: Blackwatch Pointer.

8. GTCC

GTCC is a custom cursor pack that offers clean and monochromatic pointers for Windows. The pointers are gray and have a curved appearance, unlike most other cursors in our list. Their shape has drawn our attention, and because we liked them, we believe some of you might too. Furthermore, you can easily install them on your Windows PC by running the install.inf file included in the pack.

Mouse cursor download: GTCC – cursor for Windows.

9. Opera Gx Cursor

Opera GX is a special version of the Opera browser, built specifically for gamers. The browser has some unique features: CPU, RAM, and Network limiters, Discord & Twitch sidebars and more. It also has a very particular design, which is now matched by this excellent cursor pack:

Mouse cursor download: Opera Gx Cursor

10. Volantes Dark Cursor Set

Here’s another dark cursor pack that we like. The archive includes standard-sized cursors, as well as smaller versions.

Mouse cursor download: Volantes-Dark.

11. Metro X1 Animated Cursors Set

Okay, too many dark cursors in the list, time to liven things up a little. The Metro X1 package has quite a few multi-colored cursors, if that’s your thing:

You can download the Metro X1 Cursor Set here: Metro X1 Animated Cursors Set.

12. Gant Cursor Pack

This cursor pack is based on the popular Gant icon set that is used for customizing Windows, Linux, etc. This pack of mouse cursors contains two color schemes: yellow and blue, and each of them has two cursor sets. In other words, there are a total of four sets of mouse cursors, located in four separate folders.

Mouse cursor download: Gant Cursor Pack

13. VS cursor (version 2.0)

This mouse cursor theme features a clean and simple design, with just enough color to keep it interesting. The archive contains two separate cursor packs, one with shadows and one without.

Mouse cursor download: VS cursor (version 2.0). The user who created this pack has also created quite a few other beautiful cursor packs. You can find all of them here: vladsukhetskyi – Interface Designer | DeviantArt.

14. Oxy-Neon Cursors

Do you want something more visible? Well, it doesn’t get much more visible than having neon-colored cursors. You have several colors to choose from: blue, orange, pink, red, white, and our favorite, ow-my-eyes green. Each set has its own installation file, so it’s super-easy to add the theme to your Windows device.

Download the mouse cursor theme here: Oxy-Neon Cursors.

15. Kuttu and Chinnu cursors

If you’re tired of the same ol’ designer cursors, with fluid design and macOS look, here’s a pointer pack that’s the complete opposite: made with free lines and hand drawing, without any design rules in mind. The creator of this pack also draws cartoon characters, and it shows:

Mouse cursor download location: cursors by anoop-pc.

16. Cursors Kawaii Cute Hello Kitty

For those who love the worldwide phenomenon that is Hello Kitty, here is a mouse cursor set featuring the cute Japanese icon. This cursor scheme does not contain an INF file. However, it can be used if you follow the recommendations shared in its description.

Mouse cursor download: Kawaii Cute Hello Kitty. Please note that you have to wait 35 seconds before the download begins if you don’t want to create an account on the website.

17. Direction

Here is Direction, a more unusual set of mouse pointers, which you might enjoy. You can see how they look in the picture below.

Mouse cursor download: Direction

18. Mario Gant

Here’s a set of high-quality custom cursors based on the Super Mario character. Pretty awesome, right?

Mouse cursor download: Mario Gant

19. UNDERSized

A set of simple and small-sized cursors for those who like tiny mouse pointers.

Mouse cursor download: UNDERSized

20. Krystall CS

A unique and colorful mouse pointer set. This cursor pack does not include an INF file for easy installation. However, it can be used if you follow the recommendations shared in its description to assign each custom mouse cursor manually.

Mouse cursor download: Krystall CS

21. Anathema Pink Cursor

How do you feel about the color pink? If you like it, here’s an excellent animated cursor pack by Anaidon-Aserra. The pack has a clean, modern design and contains 15 cursors (plus a few bonus ones).

The pack is available for download here: Anathema Pink Cursor. The good news is that if you like the design but dislike the color, you can also download the set in red, blue, and white.

22. Crystal Clear

Crystal Clear is a translucent mouse cursor set. If you want to see what is behind your mouse pointer, you should try this scheme. It uses material design and blends nicely with Windows’ flat UI.

Mouse cursor download: Crystal Clear v4.1

23. StartCraft 2

Are you a StarCraft fan? If the answer is yes, the StarCraft 2 mouse cursor theme is precisely what you might need to complete your StartCraft computer customization. The only downside is the fact that this theme does not offer any installer, so to get it on your computer, you have to follow the steps from its readme file.

Mouse cursor download: StartCraft 2

24. Radium 2

If you’re searching for a mouse cursor theme that’s intricate and simple at the same time, look no further, as Radium 2 is probably what you want. The detailed design and the beautiful shapes of the custom cursors will surely make you want them on your desktop. Radium 2 also includes an INF file that you can use to install the custom cursor theme on your computer.

Mouse cursor download: Radium 2

25. Vigyori 2

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like emoticons? Why not try some emoticon-based mouse cursors? What could be better than seeing a smiling face each morning when you turn your computer on? For a brighter and happier desktop, try Vigyori (which, by the way, means Smile in Hungarian). ?

Mouse cursor download: Vigyori (2nd version)

26. Cupcake

Have you ever wished for a mouse cursor pack that is so cute that your heart melts? OK, maybe not yours, if you are a tough guy, but your daughter’s might, if you get the Cupcake mouse cursors on her Windows device.

Mouse cursor download: Cupcake

27. Mickey Mouse

This is yet another cute cursor scheme designed primarily for children, but also for some nostalgic grown-ups. ? If your children love Mickey Mouse and everything about it, you can surprise them with these “cartoon mouse” cursors.

Mouse cursor download: Mickey Mouse

28. Hirochi Sunburst AWD Cursors

If you happen to be passionate about racing cars, you’ll recognize the cursors in this pack immediately. They are all based on the Subaru Impreza WRX, and their quality is excellent: the archive contains both standard and high-resolution cursor packs. You don’t get an installation file, but you can follow the tutorial presented in the introduction to this article to install them on your system.

Download the cursor pack here: Hirochi Sunburst AWD Cursors.

29. Warframe Cursor Pack 1

Warframe is a role-playing third-person shooter that has captivated the hearts and minds of many gamers. The game itself is free to play and features superb graphics, and these two features are also present on this cursor pack inspired by the game.

Mouse cursor download: Warframe Cursor Pack 1.

30. ASUS ROG Cursor Set

We end this list with a cursor pack made for fans of the ASUS ROG brand. The pack contains 17 cursors which can be installed manually on your computer.

Download the cursor pack from here: ASUS ROG Cursor Set.

What is your favorite mouse cursor pack?

To create this article, we tried lots of mouse cursor schemes, and we shared the best we could find. We hope that you have enjoyed this roundup. If you did, do not hesitate to share it with others. Also, if you feel like searching for more mouse cursor schemes, you should try the Windows Cursors section from DeviantArt. It is a great place to start your search.

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Software

Best AI art generators in 2024

By admin December 19, 2023

The top AI art generators in 2024

Every AI art generator you should consider using.

Best AI art generators in 2024, In just over a year, text-to-image AI art generators have gone from closed betas to being literally everywhere. What started with DALL·E 2 has grown into a huge cultural movement. AI-powered art generators that have been around for years are having a surge in popularity, and new apps with interesting takes are launching every week. It feels like pretty much everyone is generating amazing, hilarious, and downright weird images, just by typing in a prompt.

If you want to get in on the text-to-image action but aren’t sure where to start, this list will help you out. It’s a broader list than my picks for the best AI image generators in order to show off all the different angles that folks are taking with AI art generators.

Still, this isn’t an exhaustive list of every app that can make AI art. Instead, it shows off the text-to-image AI art generators that worked when I tested them, are accessible through a web app, and seem not to be scams.

The category is changing so fast that by the time you read this, there might be even more great apps available. But for now, it’s a pretty good overview of the biggest AI art apps available at the moment.

The top AI art generators

.	.	.
DALL·E 2	Prodia	StarryAI
Bing Image Creator	Leap AI	Fotor
DALL·E 3 (ChatGPT)	Craiyon	Vance AI Art Generator
DreamStudio	getimg.ai	Runway
Midjourney	Shutterstock	WOMBO Dream
Canva	Generative AI by Getty	Picsart
NightCafe	Deep Dream Generator	CF Spark Art
OpenArt	Artbreeder	Pixray
Adobe Firefly	Stablecog	Let’s Enhance
Jasper Art	DeepAI	.

How does AI art work?

The first time you enter a prompt into an AI art generator and it actually creates something that perfectly matches what you want, it feels like magic. But it turns out AI art generators don’t work using magic. They use computers, machine learning, powerful graphics cards, and a whole lot of data to do their thing.

Let’s break it down.

AI art generators take a text prompt and, as best they can, turn it into a matching image. Since your prompt can be anything, the first thing all these apps have to do is attempt to understand what you’re asking. To do this, the AI algorithms are trained on hundreds of thousands, millions, or even billions of image-text pairs. This allows them to learn the difference between dogs and cats, Vermeers and Picassos, and everything else. Different art generators have different levels of understanding of complex text, depending on the size of their training database, and some models are trained for specific purposes or only using licensed content, which affects the kinds of things they can generate.

The next step for the AI is to actually render the resulting image. There are two leading kinds of models:

• Diffusion models, like Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, Midjourney, and CLIP-Guided Diffusion, which work by starting with a random field of noise, and then editing it in a series of steps to match its understanding of the prompt.

• Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), like VQGAN-CLIP, BigGAN, and StyleGAN, which have been around for a few years longer.

Both kinds of models can produce great, realistic results, though diffusion models are generally better at producing weird or wild images.

Prompt: A parrot detective wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe.

While some apps are very open about which models they use, others obscure it. VQGAN-CLIP and Stable Diffusion, for example, are both open source, so there are a large number of apps that use them openly—and lots of others that don’t say anything. There are also other apps that use their own data to custom-train various open source models to give better results.

This means that many AI art generators are essentially just different user interface skins for the same art-generating algorithms. From a business point of view, this is somewhat understandable. Still, it’s annoying when you’re trying to choose which app to use (or write about them). Where possible, I’ve listed what models each app uses. When it isn’t declared, I’ve speculated, based on my experience with all these different generative AIs.

How to use AI image generation at work

Interested in AI, but not quite sure how you’d use it at work? Here are a few of the ways people are turning to AI image generation in their roles:

• Generating hero images for blog posts

• Creating social media posts

• Generating slide decks and storyboards

• Creating personalized images for customers

Learn more about how to use AI image generation at work.

29 AI art generators you can use right now

DALL·E 2

I made this with DALL·E 2 using the prompt “an impressionist oil painting of a Canadian man riding a moose through a forest of maple trees”

AI art models: DALL·E 2

Platform: Web

Pricing: $15 for 115 credits (1 credit = 1 prompt with 4 options)

DALL·E 2 is the AI art generator that kicked off this whole craze. While it no longer has a free trial, it’s still one of the most impressive apps out there. It’s simple to use and can produce great results. That’s why its API is used by so many of the other apps on this list.

That API also allows you to use DALL·E as part of your business workflows, by connecting it to thousands of other apps using Zapier. For example, you can create images based on Slack messages and send them back to Slack (or do the same in Discord) or create images for new Airtable records.

Bing Image Creator

AI art models: DALL·E 3

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free

Bing Image Creator is a result of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. It uses the latest DALL·E model, DALL·E 3, and it’s free (at least for now). The default styles are a little different, so it’s well worth a look, even if you’ve used DALL·E in the past.

DALL·E 3 (ChatGPT)

AI art models: DALL·E 3

Platform: Web (via ChatGPT)

Pricing: $20/month as part of ChatGPT Plus

DALL·E 3 is a serious upgrade over DALL·E 2, at least if you have a ChatGPT Plus account. Not only are the results significantly better, but controlling and instructing it through ChatGPT gives you a lot of control.

Instead of entering one prompt and having to accept the results you get, you can ask ChatGPT to make changes, add bits in, or otherwise mix things up. It makes it much simpler to get great images, even if ChatGPT doesn’t always perfectly understand your requests.

And when you connect ChatGPT to Zapier, you can add automation to your AI workflows. Learn more about how to automate ChatGPT, or get started with one of these templates.

Best AI art generators in 2024

DreamStudio (Stable Diffusion)

AI art models: Stable Diffusion

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 25 credits; $10 for 1,000 credits (enough for ~1,200 images with the default settings)

DreamStudio is the official Stable Diffusion web app. It’s pretty powerful, so you can set how many steps the AI takes, what random seed it uses, and loads of other customizations. It’s also got a free trial, which is nice.

(You can also check out Stable Diffusion through ClipDrop, which is free but watermarks your images.)

Midjourney

AI art models: Midjourney

Platform: Discord

Pricing: From $10 for 3.3 hours of GPU time per month (enough for ~200 prompts with 4 image options)

While Midjourney has one of the weirdest user interfaces—you access it through the chat app Discord—it reliably produces some of the best-looking, most realistic results. It’s my personal favorite AI art generator. Read the showdown with DALL·E: Midjourney vs. DALL·E.

Canva

AI art models: Stable Diffusion

Platform: Web, iOS, Android

Pricing: Free; from $12.99/month for Pro with more AI features

Canva recently added a text-to-image art generator. It integrates perfectly with the rest of the template-based design app, so you can add AI-generated art to anything from social media posts to birthday cards.

NightCafe

AI art models: Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, CLIP-Guided Diffusion, VQGAN-CLIP

Platform: Web

Pricing: From $6/month for 100 credits (enough for ~1,240 images per month)

NightCafe adds extra features like styles to DALL·E 2 and Stable Diffusion, as well as allowing you to use older generative art models. More importantly, NightCafe is a community for AI art enthusiasts that includes challenges, a Discord server, and a gallery.

OpenArt

AI art models: Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, and other open source models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 50 trial credits; from $10/month for 5,000 credits

Like NightCafe, OpenArt adds extra features to Stable Diffusion and DALL·E 2, as well as letting you use additional open source models and have more control over the specifics of the images you generate. OpenArt also has additional options like sketch-to-image and stock art transformer (which modifies stock images to better suit your needs).

It’s nice to use and its free credit allotment is generous, so it’s well worth a look.

Adobe Firefly

AI art models: Firefly

Platform: Web, Adobe Express, Adobe Photoshop, and other Adobe tools

Pricing: Free for 25 credits per month; from $5/month for 100 credits per month (and included with various Adobe subscriptions)

Adobe has been an AI company for over a decade, and it shows with its custom AI art generator called Firefly. While you can use it online, it’s now being integrated directly into Adobe products like Express and Photoshop.

Perhaps Firefly’s best feature is that you can use it to create custom text effects using a written prompt. AI art generators often struggle with text, and Firefly is really the only one that can do this right now.

Jasper Art

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but appears to be based on Stable Diffusion

Platform: Web

Pricing: From $39/month for unlimited images

Jasper is better known for being one of the best AI writing generators, but it also has a decent art generator as well. It’s more expensive than a lot of the other apps on this list, but if you already use Jasper, it’s worth a look.

Other AI writing tools, like Writesonic and Rytr, also offer AI-generated art, but Jasper’s is different in that it’s more of a standalone tool.

Prodia

AI art models: Stable Diffusion and other open source models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for unlimited images one at a time; from $4.99 for faster images two at a time

Another Stable Diffusion-based art generator, Prodia stands out by letting you try all its models without having to sign up for an account. Prodia also connects with Zapier, so you can automatically create an image on Prodia based on triggers in your other apps.

Leap AI

AI art models: Stable Diffusion and other open source models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 100 images and 1 model; then from $9/month for 250 images and 1 model

Leap AI is a great option if you want to train your own AI art models. While a lot of its features are aimed at developers, it’s easy enough to use that anyone can train their own AI. Plus, Leap AI integrates with Zapier, so you can do things like generate images based on new Discord messages or Google Sheets rows.

Craiyon

AI art models: Based on original DALL·E model (Not DALL·E 2)

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free; from $6/month for faster images and no watermark

Craiyon (previously DALL·E Mini) is based on the original DALL·E model. It’s significantly more basic than the latest art generators, but it’s free and fun to play around with.

getimg.ai

AI art models: Stable Diffusion and other open source models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 100 images per month; from $12/month for the Basic plan, with 3,000 images/month and the ability to train your own models

getting.ai is an AI art generator app with 20 open source models, including Stable Diffusion and models built from it, like OpenJourney. The biggest feature, though, is that with a paid plan, you can train your own models.

Shutterstock AI Image Generator

AI art models: DALL·E 2

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free to generate images; from $19/image to download

Stock image company Shutterstock obviously recognizes the existential threat that generative AI poses to its business—so instead of fighting, it’s partnered with OpenAI. The Shutterstock AI Image Generator is powered by DALL·E 2, and while it’s free to generate images, downloading them uses Shutterstock credits. If you have a Shutterstock plan, you should give it a try. Otherwise, it’s a very expensive way to use an AI art generator.

Generative AI by Getty Images

AI art models: Custom model developed with NVIDIA

Platform: Web

Pricing: Custom

Like Shutterstock, Getty Images has developed an AI art generator. Generative AI by Getty Images is trained on Getty’s collection of stock images. This makes it good for generating weirdly specific stock photos, but not as competent or creative at other things.

Best of all, though, Getty claims that its model is free from intellectual property issues, so you’re indemnified against any legal claims resulting from using the images you make with its tool. If your company has a legal department, it might be that AI art generator you need.

Deep Dream Generator

AI art models: Custom-trained models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 20 images with default settings; from $19/month for the Advanced plan, which allows for hundreds of images per month

Deep Dream Generator is one of the oldest AI art generators online. It was originally designed to use Google’s DeepDream algorithm but has added text-to-image algorithms that appear to be based on Stable Diffusion.

Artbreeder

AI art models: BigGAN and StyleGAN

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 3 credits per month and most features; from $8.99/month for 100 credits per month, which allow you to use more powerful features more often

Artbreeder (formerly Ganbreeder) launched in 2018 as a platform for experimenting with generative AIs. It’s still loose, experimental, and super art-focused. Its three main tools—Mixer, Collager, and Splicer—allow you to combine aspects of multiple images to create something unique.

Stablecog

AI art models: Stable Diffusion and other open source models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 100 images; from $10/month for the Starter plan with 1,750 images per month

Stablecog is another AI art generator based on Stable Diffusion and other similar models. It’s got a nice, easy-to-use web app and, perhaps best of all, a nice, easy-to-understand pricing structure.

DeepAI

AI art models: Custom models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free; from $5/month for 500 images

DeepAI is mostly an AI API for developers, but it has a free text-to-image art generator on its website to showcase what it does. You can also sign up for a paid plan, which gives you access to more styles and allows you to use the API.

StarryAI

AI art models: VQGAN-CLIP and CLIP-Guided Diffusion

Platform: Web, iOS, Android

Pricing: Free for 5 credits/day; from $11.99/month for 50 credits/month

StarryAI is another art generator that uses the older VQGAN-CLIP and CLIP-Guided Diffusion models. It’s free for five prompts and twenty images per day, so it’s one of the best free ways to try out generative models. There are also mobile apps, which is nice.

Fotor

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but probably based on Stable Diffusion

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 3 images; from $20 for 200 credits

Fotor is a popular online image editing app, and it’s recently added a text-to-image art generator that integrates with its editor.

Vance AI Art Generator

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but probably based on Stable Diffusion

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 3 images/month; from $5 for 100 credits

Vance AI offers a collection of AI tools, and it’s recently added a text-to-image art generator. It’s relatively limited, but its tools all use the same credit system. So, if you also want an image enhancer, upscaler, and background remover, it’s worth checking out.

Runway

AI art models: Appears to be Stable Diffusion, but you can train your own

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free trial; from $15/editor/month for the Standard plan, with 625 credits per month

Runway is a suite of art-generating tools for businesses. In addition to features like multiple seats and shared assets, you can train your own custom models.

WOMBO Dream

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but probably VQGAN-CLIP-based

Platform: Web, iOS, Android, Discord

Pricing: Free; from $9.99/month for premium features like making multiple outputs from one prompt

Dream by WOMBO is a freemium art generator with a large number of styles. Although it doesn’t say explicitly, it likely uses the older VQGAN-CLIP-based models to generate its images.

Picsart

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but probably Stable Diffusion-based

Platform: Web, iOS

Pricing: Free; from $13/month for no watermarks and premium features.

Picsart is another online image editing app. The AI art generator integrates with the rest of the editor, so you can combine AI-generated elements with text, stickers, and other images. Although it’s free to use, you have to pay to download images without a watermark.

CF Spark Art

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but probably VQGAN-CLIP-based

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free; from $9/month for faster generating and private downloads

Creative Fabrica is a digital assets marketplace that’s recently added an art generator. It’s free to use, but its best feature is that you’re able to browse hundreds of other AI creations.

Pixray

AI art models: VQGAN-CLIP-based models

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free

Pixray is an open source art generator that uses VQGAN-CLIP-based models. While there’s an API and Python implementation, there’s also a free demo on the website. The best thing is that you can play around with all the hidden settings that go into an AI art generator if you want to learn more and see how they work.

Let’s Enhance

AI art models: Doesn’t say, but appears to be Stable Diffusion-based

Platform: Web

Pricing: Free for 10 credits/month and watermarked images; from $12/month for 100 credits/month

Let’s Enhance is an AI-powered image upscaling app that recently added an art generator. It’s still in beta, so generating images doesn’t cost anything (though saving them costs one credit).

Other categories of AI art generators

This list is focused on text-to-image art generators, but there are entire other categories of AI art makers out there. Some examples:

• Lensa’s Magic Avatars and MyHeritage’s AI Time Machine both take a series of selfies and return AI-generated portraits.

• Many text-generating apps, like Writesonic and Rytr, also include AI art generators, so you can create images to go along with your copy.

• I was only looking at web apps in this list, but there are mobile-only art generators like ArtOut, if you just want something on your smartphone.

• And then there are others, like Palette, that can colorize photos.

And these are just the AI art generators that are available now. Other companies are certainly testing their own art generators, and you could always train your own using one of the apps I mentioned that allows for that.

Which AI art generator should you use?

With so many AI art generators to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start. So let me break it down:

• Midjourney is my favorite, though the free trial is temporarily paused, and using it through Discord is weird.

• DALL·E 2 is great, but it’s cheaper to access it through Bing Image Creator.

• Stable Diffusion is used in lots of different apps. The simplest way to access it is through its own app, DreamStudio.

• Firefly’s text effects are awesome, as is its integration with other Adobe tools.

• NightCafe and OpenArt are the best apps if you want to play around with different models, including some of the older GAN models.

• Deep Dream Generator is a great way to see how far art generators have come.

• Artbreeder is perhaps the weirdest art generator among a very weird series of art generators—and totally worth a look.

Otherwise, just scroll through the list and try whichever ones strike your fancy. You can’t go too far wrong.

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The best Android apps in 2023

By admin December 4, 2023

The best Android apps in 2023, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and even Motorola have been coming out with fast new Android phones that match a number of lifestyles and design tastes. And that means you’ll need apps that can take advantage of those larger screens and faster processors. They’re how we communicate with friends, watch movies, stay productive, and so much more. You can have the best Android phone on the market, but if you don’t also pair it with the best Android apps, you’re missing out.

There are millions of Android apps on the Play Store. Many of them are great, some are fine, and others are bogus. To help you sift through everything and focus on the apps you should actually care about, we’ve rounded up 50 of our favorite ones right here. If you’re looking for games, check out our list of the best Android games. And if you are in the market for a new Android phone, make sure to check out our latest smartphone reviews.

If you have an Apple iPhone, then check out these helpful guides: best iPhone apps and best iPhone games.

Android essentials

YouTube

It’s probably the Android app, so you likely have YouTube already — but that doesn’t make it any less essential. YouTube’s mobile app is sleek and intuitive, bringing the entirety of the video-sharing site to the palm of your hand. For those subscribed to YouTube Premium, you’ll have access to premium content, as well as special features like audio playback while the screen is off. But even when used as a free app, YouTube is essential.

GOOGLE PLAY

X (formerly Twitter)

Now that Elon Musk has purchased Twitter and renamed it “X,” there have been some interesting developments at the company. That little blue tick, which used to mean you were a bona fide and verified VIP, can now be purchased by anyone, and those who have been banned from the platform are welcomed back. But that doesn’t mean a lot of people are not using the popular platform.

Sometimes unfairly viewed as the lesser version of Facebook, X is the place where everything seems to happen instantly. Birthplace of the now now-ubiquitous internet facet, the hashtag, X is the best place to be if you like to be on top of the latest breaking news as it happens. Follow your favorite content creators, actors, or crazes, and follow all the news, impressions, and opinions as they roll in. Musk has big plans for X and aims to add voice calling and financial payments to the platform down the line, so it’s worth keeping an eye on regardless of how you feel about the recent changes.

GOOGLE PLAY

Google Home

There’s no time like the present to complete that connected-home project you always swore you’d do. If you are the proud owner of a Google Home device, then you already know the ins and outs of a digital assistant. The Google Home app takes this one step further, allowing you to control a plethora of connected smart home devices. It also serves as a command central for any native Google-connected device and your Google-connected accounts, like maps, contacts, calendars, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

The best Android apps in 2023

Movies and videos

JustWatch

It’s not a streaming service, but JustWatch is the app that tells you what to watch and where to watch it. So no more wondering where you can catch the latest season of The Boys or whether The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix — JustWatch will keep you right. The app also gives you personalized recommendations based on your streaming services and supports casting to your TV from your device. There are over 90,000 movies and TV shows listed, and you can check out trailers, cast details, and synopses before you watch. There’s even a handy timeline showing what’s coming to your favorite streaming services and when, plus you can create your own Watchlist.

GOOGLE PLAY

Netflix

Netflix isn’t just one of the best video-streaming services; it’s the video-streaming service. There’s a huge selection of Netflix movies and TV shows for subscribers, and the performance is silky smooth. It’s not just restricted to old favorites either, as Netflix has produced a huge amount of excellent exclusive content. If you’re anything like us, though, you’ll just put Seinfeld on again.

GOOGLE PLAY

Disney+

Disney holds possibly the largest library of film and television properties in the world, and they are all on Disney+. From Hamilton to The Mandalorian, you’ll find something for every member of the family. As theatergoers are slow to return all around the globe, Disney has begun using Disney+ for major blockbusters like Mulan and Soul. You’ll also have access to original television shows like Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

GOOGLE PLAY

Music and audio

YouTube Music

If you listen to as much music on YouTube as we do, then it’s a no-brainer to use YouTube Music. The music app is geared very well toward your tastes if you’ve spent much time watching and listening to music videos on YouTube, and the ability to listen with the screen off is very helpful, but the key element is being able to listen to any live performance or other alternative performance of a song.

GOOGLE PLAY

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts is one of the last podcast players left standing after the assault by music apps like Spotify, and the reason it’s still around is because it’s very, very good. You’ll find most of the popular podcasts here (as long as Spotify hasn’t signed an exclusivity deal with them, of course), and you can sort and arrange podcasts into folders and set up filters to find what you’re looking for even faster.

In episodes, you can speed up, slow down, and set the player to skip out periods of silence, and your listening progress and playlists sync across devices. If you want to take advantage of all it has to offer, like the web-based player, you’ll need to pay for the Plus service, which costs $40 a year or $4 a month.

GOOGLE PLAY

Spotify

Spotify is probably the first name that springs to mind when you think about music apps — and for good reason, as it’s one of the best streaming services out there. There’s a massive selection of music on offer, from the latest huge releases to up-and-coming acts. Spotify also now offers video support for some of the best podcasts on its platform.

There’s a free version if you want to try it out, but if you want ad-free listening and to download music, play any song, and have unlimited skips, then you’ll need to subscribe for $11 a month, though Spotify does offer a generous three-month free trial. Spotify also offers a family household plan for $17 a month, a student account at the reduced cost of $6 a month, and a Duo account covering two people in the same household for $15 a month.

GOOGLE PLAY

News

NewsBreak

It’s not hard to find news apps that cover national and international news, but what about more local events? NewsBreak specializes in digging out the news that’s local to you so you can stay updated with your personal community. It’s not just about the news, though — it also has safety alerts to show you nearby hazards and can help you find local experts to guide you around new areas if you’re visiting or want to know more about your home. Just make sure to add Digital Trends to your news feed!

GOOGLE PLAY

The Wall Street Journal

During these harrowing financial times and in a volatile macroeconomic environment, you’d be well served to stay up to date on the goings-on of our economy, markets, and financial news. The Wall Street Journal app places all this information in your pocket as well as the multifaceted award-winning journalism that’s been printed there since 1889.

GOOGLE PLAY

NPR News

The official app of National Public Radio provides a steady stream of straightforward reporting in both print and audio. Users can listen to news reports and various NPR staples such as All Things Considered and Radiolab.

GOOGLE PLAY

Sports

Fox Sports

Get the same industry-leading coverage you can expect from Fox Sports television right on your smartphone. Track your favorite teams, players, and leagues, and watch it all unfold live from inside the app. The Fox Sports app offers a complete experience with bonus cams and angles of the game you caught on television, as well as up-to-date sports news.

GOOGLE PLAY

ESPN

Having the official ESPN app installed is a no-brainer for any die-hard sports fan, especially if you have ESPN+. You can quickly get the latest news on your favorite teams and leagues, including MLB, NFL, NCAA, MLS, NHL, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

Social media

TikTok

Essentially Vine for a new generation, TikTok is the home of short videos that are amusing, meme-laden, and just generally fit for easy consumption. What started as the app Musical.ly, geared at miming songs while dancing, has bloomed into one of the fastest-growing social media apps in the world. Its algorithm has become legendary as it curates content for you based on what you like and interact with, and there is now content on the app for all generations, hobbies, backgrounds, and interests.

GOOGLE PLAY

Instagram

Instagram is ubiquitous in photography now, so you might as well have it on your phone. Owned by Facebook, the social network centered on photos offers great filters and connectivity with others. Instagram has also been angling for a younger market share with its TikTok competitor called Reels.

GOOGLE PLAY

Messaging

The Google Play Store has no shortage of messaging apps, but WhatsApp’s secure end-to-end encryption and feature-rich interface mark it as one of the best. This cross-platform app lets you send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and make video calls for free. A must-have for messaging addicts, travelers, and anyone with loved ones abroad.

GOOGLE PLAY

Discord

Hugely popular among PC gamers and office workers, Discord is a place for messaging, image sharing, and voice and video calls. It features an intuitive interface that makes it easy to communicate and share with friends and co-workers. Discord is also home to countless communities where members with shared interests can hang out digitally.

GOOGLE PLAY

Dating

Grindr

The largest social networking and dating app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people of all sorts, Grindr uses your phone’s location to put you in contact with other nearby members to chat, swap photos, or meet in person. Initially launched as a dating app, Grindr now has a much larger remit as a great chat and networking app.

GOOGLE PLAY

Hinge

Hinge is the app “designed to be deleted.” By highlighting our most personal values, future plans, wants, and needs, Hinge focuses on bringing people together looking for serious relationships. The company also enforces a zero-tolerance policy on harassment, abuse, or any untoward behavior against their terms of service. Hinge sets out to provide an alternative to the fast-casual nature of many other dating apps, and according to the company, four out of five users go on second dates.

GOOGLE PLAY

Reading

Kindle

Don’t worry if you don’t have a Kindle — you can still read your ebook directly on your smartphone. From best-sellers to the classics, it’s all here, with more than 900,000 titles in Amazon‘s store.

GOOGLE PLAY

Audible

Audible is the premier place to consume audiobooks on your Android device. There are thousands of audiobooks on offer, from classics to the most recent hits, and you get your first audiobook for free. A $15-per-month subscription gets you a credit per month to spend on any audiobook, and options for playback speed and cross-device syncing make listening even easier. There’s even a car mode for listening on the go.

GOOGLE PLAY

Gaming

Roblox

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Roblox deserves a spot as an essential app because it is so much more than just a game. With over 160 million active users and representing more than half of all children under age 16 in the United States on the platform, Roblox has ballooned into an online universe reminiscent of the “metaverse” that purports to be the future of online life and interaction. Roblox is itself a platform for game development and is responsible for millions of children gaining an interest in coding and software development.

GOOGLE PLAY

Twitch

While platforms like Facebook Gaming try their best to compete, Twitch remains the preeminent option for video game streaming and sports a growing roster of celebrity streamers. With the power of Amazon behind it, it’s unlikely Twitch will be dethroned anytime soon.

GOOGLE PLAY

Nutrition, cooking, and food

DoorDash

There are so many food delivery apps out there to choose from, but DoorDash is one of the most popular. That’s likely because not only can you order from your favorite restaurants — from Wendy’s to The Cheesecake Factory — but you can also get alcohol, fresh groceries, household goods, and more delivered to your doorstep with no minimum spend. Whether you forgot some ingredients for cooking, ran out of shampoo, or are craving sushi, DoorDash will deliver, and if you sign up for DashPass, there are zero delivery fees for your first month. You can also schedule deliveries for a future date, track orders in real-time, and pay via Apple Pay, Venmo, PayPal, or credit card.

GOOGLE PLAY

Yummly

There are plenty of recipe apps, but Yummly is one of the best. There are over2 million recipes stored in this app, but don’t be scared by the sheer number of choices, as Yummly uses AI to narrow down your list of options and presents them to you based on what you’ve made before. You can set up dietary requirements and filter by cooking time, ingredients, and other criteria. You can even set up a smart shopping list for your trip.

GOOGLE PLAY

Fitness and health

MyFitnessPal

Like it or loathe it, there’s little doubt about the effectiveness of calorie counting. But it can be tough to keep track of everything you’re eating, especially when you have to look up calorie counts for everything. Thankfully, MyFitnessPal can do it for you, with its enormous database of foodstuffs, bar code scanning, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

Caliber

Caliber is an all-in-one training app that includes strength training, nutrition tracking, and reminders to build healthy habits so you can focus on your fitness goals without having to juggle different apps for every aspect of your journey. A Caliber membership gets you personal coaching to ensure you’re hitting your personal goals, as well as supplies in-depth analysis, but you can also use the app for free and keep track of your activity, schedule workouts, and take short weekly lessons.

GOOGLE PLAY

GoodRx

GoodRx can help you save on your prescription medicine costs by helping you find coupons for your most important prescriptions accepted at most pharmacies. The app also offers a medicine tracker and pill reminder to help track your daily health routine. Before you pickup a prescription, check GoodRx to save some money.

GOOGLE PLAY

Finances and money

Acorns

Looking to save a little more money? Acorns helps you invest by rounding off your credit card or debit purchases to the nearest dollar. Once you’ve accumulated a little money, it’s easy to transfer the funds to your bank account. Acorns also offers retirement accounts like a Traditional IRA, so you can start saving for retirement now.

GOOGLE PLAY

Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments brings the power of the brokerage and financial services company Fidelity into your pocket. Open a retirement or taxable account and handle your trades and portfolio right from the app. Fidelity allows you to buy fractional shares, and execute trades with $0 commission fees on U.S equities or ETFs.

GOOGLE PLAY

Shopping

eBay

There’s very little that you can’t buy or sell on eBay. The app is full-featured and much easier to use than the website. Bid on items, track your orders, and sell all of your unwanted stuff right here.

GOOGLE PLAY

Amazon Shopping

There’s no more essential shopping app than Amazon. Practically anything you need, anywhere you live, and anytime you want, Amazon has it. With the Amazon app, you can order groceries through Amazon Fresh and all your essentials through Amazon Prime.

GOOGLE PLAY

PayPal

The easiest online checkout method is on your smartphone. You’ll be able to manage your PayPal account, send and receive payments, and more. The app can also notify you of transactions, offering handy reminders and alerts when you use PayPal as a payment method or have an upcoming bill due.

GOOGLE PLAY

Travel and events

Duolingo

The Duolingo owl is one of the most celebrated (and feared) app mascots around, and for good reason. Duolingo is an excellent way to learn a language, with a constantly updated learning track evaluated by experts and bite-sized lessons that you can complete in a matter of minutes. Learn as much or as little as you want, but keep in mind your hearts (mistakes) are limited on free accounts, and if you want completely limitless learning, you’ll need to subscribe to Duolingo Plus.

GOOGLE PLAY

Uber

If you need to get somewhere and don’t have wheels of your own, hop in someone else’s ride. Uber allows you to call upon a private driver in your city who will help you get to where you need to go. It’s all the ease of a taxi at a lower cost and without the fumbling for cash at the end.

GOOGLE PLAY

Airbnb

Forego the headache of trying to find and book a hotel and instead find an open room or home to stay at on your travels. Users can search for accommodations, communicate directly with hosts, and book, all without leaving the app.

GOOGLE PLAY

Going out

Overdrop

One thing you need to know before you head anywhere is what the weather’s got in store. Never get caught in an unexpected rain shower or snow flurry again with Overdrop, the app that gives you a live weather forecast powered by Dark Sky, Accuweather, and WeatherBit. There are over 60 widgets to choose from, a 96-hour radar map, severe-condition alerts, an air quality index, and seven themes to choose from. Get a 24-hour or seven-day forecast, and use colorful temperature, rain, and wind graphs to see what the weather will be like in advance.

GOOGLE PLAY

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is the ultimate going-out app, with millions of recommendations and reviews from people all around the world, covering the best things to do wherever you are. Plan ahead with Tripadvisor’s tools, allowing you to organize your hotel bookings, restaurant trips, and attractions. You can even book them from the app with Google Pay access. It’s also great when you’re traveling, thanks to support for mobile tickets and bookings.

GOOGLE PLAY

Waze

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Never get caught off guard by a car accident, broken traffic light, or speed trap again. Waze harnesses all the power of user-submitted information to help drivers avoid the common pitfalls of their daily commutes or long road trips. Waze is designed to get you where you’re going as quickly as possible by using up-to-the-minute live information to navigate. It will even help you find the cheapest gas along your route.

GOOGLE PLAY

Photo editing and management

Snapseed

Snapseed is the best option if you’re looking to edit a photo. Google’s photo editing app has tools for whether you’re quickly polishing up a snap or diving in really deep to dramatically change the details of a photo. Snapseed’s control method can take a little getting used to, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s intuitive and incredibly fast to use. Best of all, it’s absolutely free.

GOOGLE PLAY

Adobe Photoshop Express

Image used with permission by copyright holder

While not as feature-filled or extensive as the desktop version, Adobe Photoshop Express still offers an impressively wide array of tools for editing and creating images directly on your Android device.

GOOGLE PLAY

VSCO

One of the original players in the photo editing space, VSCO sparked an entire movement and brought an iconic photo aesthetic to a generation of social media users. The VSCO photo editor offers a variety of presets, vintage filters, and texture effects. VSCO also supports video editing for those longer video posts.

GOOGLE PLAY

Documents, web, and email

OfficeSuite

It’s one of the most downloaded apps on the Play Store, and that’s for a very good reason. OfficeSuite is a full-featured alternative for Microsoft Office, and includes tools to view, edit, and create Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents, as well as including support for various PDF operations. It’s an all-in-one solution for your document woes, and it’s free to get most of the features. OfficeSuite Premium gets you the ability to work on password-protected files, 50GB of cloud storage, the ability to export PDFs to other formats, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

Dropbox

Dropbox is another cloud storage service, and while you think you have that covered with Google Drive, Dropbox is still useful to download and use, because it often works with many third-party apps Drive doesn’t. It only gives you 2GB for free, but if you use it primarily for smaller files you should be okay with that amount.

GOOGLE PLAY

Grammarly

Grammarly has grown above and beyond its key use case of email writing assistance and has grown into an integrated extension and app offering grammar and spelling suggestions or corrections for not only emails, but across all apps on your smartphone. Whether you’re composing a LinkedIn message, a text, or a Yelp review, Grammarly will help you maintain composure by perfecting your composition.

GOOGLE PLAY

Productivity

Memorigi

Feel like you’re always ticking off an endless to-do list? Step up Memorigi. This colorful app acts as a daily planner, to-do list, and task manager — and actually makes staying organized more fun. The My Day feature focuses on today’s most important tasks, or you can add shopping lists, goal lists, or a simple to-do list, as well as create reminders for appointments and payments. The app also has cloud sync, making it easy to keep on top of things from any device. Upgrade to premium and you’ll get Google Calendar integration, progress tracking statistics, and the awesome Nag Me feature, designed to make procrastinating a thing of the past.

GOOGLE PLAY

BitWarden

BitWarden has been the password manager of choice for many since LastPass changed the way its free tier worked, making this app the best free choice for keeping your passwords safe and secure. Save your passwords to BitWarden’s vault and lock it up tight, and then access it on your smartphone or computer or generate super-secure passwords automatically. It can be set up to automatically fill recognized password fields or do it with a single click. It’s free, and the paid tier is incredibly cheap at less than $1 a month.

GOOGLE PLAY

Slack

Slack remains one of the biggest communication tools for businesses everywhere. Organize your teams and employees into channels to help with team productivity. Slack’s intuitive layout and ability to integrate workflows with other popular productivity apps such as Google Drive, Salesforce, and Dropbox make it a powerful tool to help get work done.

GOOGLE PLAY

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How to install custom mouse cursors in Windows

1. Numix Cursors

Best free mouse cursors for Windows 2024

2. Oxygen Cursors

3. Breeze Cursors for Windows

4. macOS cursor pack for Windows

5. Windows 11 Cursors Concept v2

6. Android Material Cursors (Blue)

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What is your favorite mouse cursor pack?

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