Software & AI

Rough storyline and menus, but technically one of the most advanced mobile games available.

A brilliant shared AR laser-tag concept, but the single-player is uninspiring and multiplayer needs a $30 attachment.

A demanding but rewarding Final Fantasy game with satisfying combat, a good story and flashy spell effects.

A Call of Duty-like multiplayer shooter that is more impressive because it runs on a phone.

A brilliant 3DS RPG that arrives on Android complete and runs at 60fps, though it is not cheap.

A neat but fairly generic shooter that looks good, with slow-motion kills and a 60fps option.

A simple 2D side-scroller with serene, clean visuals that runs well on almost any phone.

Console-like characters and animation, but a lazy-feeling port with weak resolution and no settings options.

A card-based launcher that puts notifications front and centre and is hard to find on the Play Store.

A sideloadable launcher he thinks is one of the better-looking and faster ones available.

His favourite of the list, a mood-based launcher that is overwhelming at first but adapts to what you are doing.

A fairly standard launcher, but with a few welcome new ideas and fast, responsive gestures.

Easy-to-navigate bubble layout, but customisation is too limited to rank higher.

A practical text-only launcher that is fast once learned and kind to battery life.

Makes most decisions for you, so customisation is thin but everything works out of the box.

A very good all-in-one search bar that learns from you and creates useful shortcuts.

An unusual type-to-search launcher that can be the fastest way to navigate for some people.

Not the prettiest app drawer, but almost certainly the most functional and full of useful extras.

A fun live-concert playground, held back by a very limited music selection.

A deep VR drawing app where you can walk around other artists' 3D creations.

Impressed him more than expected, with customisable and incredibly relaxing sessions.

Feels like a tech demo, but the physics are high quality and he spent ages playing with it.

A dream theme park in VR that surprised him with its immersion.

Better than expected, a soothing VR app built from the ground up, despite some pop-in.