The new iPhone SE is also known as the iPhone 8, but with the same Apple A13 Bionic chip as the current iPhone 11 Pro. With the new chip running in a ‘more’ affordable iPhone, I started wondering how to take advantage of it since it has the “fastest chip on a smartphone“.
Not only does the phone have the power of A13 Bionic chip for gaming, but it has a 4.7″ Retina HD display, and the integration with iOS 13 that enables powerful apps that make use of things like ARKIt and Core ML. Here are a few apps that show off the best of the iPhone SE.
Sky: Children of Light
From the creators behind ‘Journey’ (which won Game of The Year in 2013’s GDC), comes Sky: Children of Light. It consists of beautifully-animated kingdom waiting to be explored. You enter as one of the ‘Children of the Light’ as you explore 7 dreamlike realms to uncover the mystery and socialise with like-minded players from around the world.
The absolutely breathtaking imagery of this game made me wonder why this game is free. It had pretty easy mechanics and in about 5 minutes you’d be sucked into this built-in world. You’re also advised to wear headphones to really bask in the experience of the game but playing it without headphones in a quiet room works just as well.
You can download the app for free here. It offers in-app purchases, but you can still enjoy the game without them.
Pascal’s Wager
Said to be the ‘Dark Souls’ of mobile games, Pascal’s Wager provides its players a dim and mysterious world there they can “fight unbelievable enemies, confront epic bosses, and embrace overwhelming death and truth”. It offers more than 20 hours of content and a powerful sountrack.
Seeing as it’s RM29.90 to download, it might not be for everyone to try. However, if you’re into the idea of a more compact ‘Dark Souls’, at least the ‘Pay to Play’ app will promise no micro-transactions or ads to cheapen the experience.
You can check it out here for RM29.90.
Crossy Road Castle (Apple Arcade)
If you’ve signed up for Apple Arcade, this colourful platform game is fun for all ages. Crossy Road Castle can be played offline, so you can turn to this app whenever your internet connection’s down, and as well as playing solo, you can also play co-op with your friends.
You can try it out yourself here.
Spyder (Apple Arcade)
Have you ever wanted to be a teeny tiny spy in a movie? Spyder lets you play as Agent 8, a cute robot spider equipped with all the gadgets and gizmos—just like an eight legged James Bond.
In the game, you cut through panels, overload terminals, flip switches, and open valves as you scurry about sabotaging the heinous plans of evil doers. Just like in Sky, you will feel like you’ve been sucked into the retro spy world because of how great it looks on the phone. All you need to do to play this game is to have Apple Arcade.
Click here to check Spyder out.
Sneaky Sasquatch (Apple Arcade)
Sneaky Sasquatch, another Apple Arcade game, is described as a mixture of ‘Stardew Valley’, ‘Untitled Goose Game’ and ‘GTA’ all in one. As the sneaky sasquatch himself, you can do “everyday Sasquatch stuff” like sneak around campsites, disguise yourself in human clothing and even eventually work as an executive at a major corporation.
This is definitely a must-try if you’re into casual and hilarious game concepts. You can learn more about the game here.
All of the Apple Arcade games can be played with one subscription, costing RM19.90 per month and you’ll even get a one month free trial before you’ll need to pay.
Wonderscope
I enjoyed this app so much I spent way too much time on it when I should have been writing about it. Wonderscope might look like a kids’ app (and it is!) but everyone can have fun playing around with AR worlds created within it.
There are also plenty of different ‘worlds’ to choose from. From a ‘haunted mansion’ type game to stepping into space to learn about planets, you get to ‘talk’ to the characters with your own voice and interact with them.
All the AR stories available in the app are free, and even the premium ones are free until 1st June. Download the very fun Augmented Reality app here.
JigSpace
This funky app uses Augmented Reality to give you school lessons in 3 dimensions. You get to learn science topics like the layers of the Earth, planets, how headphones works, and even learn how a lightsaber works (you can hold out your hand to make it look like you’re holding a lightsaber).
JigSpace lets you and your kids learn how things work in several steps. You can even create your own ‘Jigs’ and even start a group presentation for anyone, which is great for teachers of science, geography and history when you need to teach kids online.
You can download the app for free here.
Night Sky
You can use your phone to scan through the sky, day or night, and look for the location of your favourite constellations, planets, stars, satellites and even the International Space Station. You can also download the macOS version along with Night Sky on your iOS/iPadOS device to bring a Sky Tours, Sky Notifications, Favourite Objects, and Moon Tours to the big screen of your Mac.
The app works for free, but if you want to access their premium features, you’ll need to pay RM12.90 per month with a 1 month free trial. You could also opt for an annual fee of RM89.90. You can click here to download the app.
Memrise
Think of this as a sort of FMV Duolingo, but with an AR camera that can teach you how each object around you is pronounced in the language you’re learning. The app teaches you the language you want to learn in small steps at a time but you get to learn as much as you want in a day. Memrise also filmed native speakers so you can copy their pronounciations. You’ll learn a few swear words, too.
The app is free for you to download, but you’ll need to pay for a subscription to access all courses and features. The subscription costs RM29.90 per month, RM124.90 per year, RM69.90 for 3 months, or RM499.90 for a one-time fee. You can check the app out here.
BeCasso
BeCasso is a photo editor that helps transform your photos into artwork. You can add in effects based on famous paintings like Van Gogh and Picasso, to style filters like pencil sketches and watercolours.
The qualm that I have with this app is that you can’t really do much with the app unless you get the premium version. Otherwise, painting effects like Van Gogh, retouch tools, and adjustable slides are unusable. The premium version is either RM15.90 per month, RM57.90 per year, or RM349 for a one-time fee.
You can try it out for yourself here.
From being able to use AR technology to teach online, to immersing yourself into a game’s graphics, there are some legitimately great apps to test out the capabilities of your iPhone SE, and even an iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Are there other apps you’ve found that highlighted the best of your iPhone SE? Let me know in the comments.
