Yes, my senior friends, whether we like it or not, there is an app for just about everything. I have a friend whose answer to nearly every question is “There’s an app for that.” Of course, he is a much younger friend! He is an early adopter. An early adopter is someone who just has to have the newest and latest digital do-dad. I used to be an early adopter. However, my enthusiasm started to wane 30 years ago when I paid $3,500 each for two HP LaserJet II printers. One for the home and one for the office. You can buy a similar printer at Wally world today for under $100. So much for my career as an early adopter. My friend had one of the first smartphones. He went all-in in a hurry. There weren’t many apps then. There are many, many more now.
What is an app?
Perhaps, I should answer the question “what is an app?” first. App is short for application. Application is a synonym for a program. So, an app is a computer program that runs on your Smart Phone. After all, the Smart Phone in your hand has more computing power the original Univac computer that was an entire warehouse full of vacuum tubes. Sadly, apps are an inevitable part of our daily lives now.
How many are there?
Too many! My best friend Google tells me that there are 2.1 million Android apps and 1.8 million Apple apps. I bet I’ve tried to install at least 1 million Android apps and promptly uninstalled them. The scary part is that the number is growing exponentially. Soon we will need an app to track the apps.
There is an app for that
- Level your motorhome? There’s an app for that!
- Work on genealogy? There’s an app for that!
- Plan your garden? There’s an app for that!
- Take your blood pressure? There’s an app for that!
- Track your calories? There’s an app for that!
- Plan dinner? There’s an app for that!
Best Apps for 2020
With that many apps, some have to be good and some have to be bad. Here are the 20 most popular apps for 2020:
- Facebook Messenger
- Snapchat
- UC Browser
- Uber
- YouTube
- SHAREit
- Bitmoji
- Google Search
- Gmail
- Google Play
- Google Maps
- iCloud
- Amazon Mobile
- Netflix app
- Google Pay (TEZ)
How many do you have? More importantly, how many do you really need? Probably not as many as you have.
What is the most useless app?
The Nothing app wins the award for the strangest, most useless app. When you launch it, it turns your screen grey and does nothing else. Nothing! Nada! Zip! If you want it for some strange reason, click here.
More useless apps
Here are a few more:
- S.M.T.H. or Send Me To Heaven – This is an app which you should use absolutely at your own risk. Basically, it is a game in which you throw your phone upwards and it calculates the height of the throw. What could go wrong with that?
- iShaverPro – You might have found a million different usages of your smartphone but did you know you could also shave using your phone? iShaver Pro lets you do just that, well, virtually at least. When you launch the app, you will see an electric razor in all its glory. It even buzzes and drops virtual hair clippings. Weird.
- Milk the Cow – lets you, well, milk the cow. If you ever had milking a cow on your bucket list, now is the time to cross it off.
- Paper Racing – Paper Racing lets you simply drag a roll of toilet paper as fast as you can. It’s just plain weird. Almost disturbing! With the multiplayer mode, you can also challenge other players and beat everyone else to be the fastest player.
- Fake Chat Conversation – This app does exactly what its name implies. You can use it to joke with your friends and trick them into believing that you are indeed chatting with someone.
Weird seems to come up a lot, doesn’t it? If you feel a burning desire to have one of the gems on your smartphone, you can download them at Google Play or the Apple App Store.
WARNING:: The time you waste may be your own! Besides, they take up valuable space on your smart device.
Sorry! No Apps
I think some very important apps have not been developed, as yet! Here is a short list:
- Naps? There’s not an app for that!
- Snow shoveling? There’s not for this either!
- Washing clothes? There’s not an app for that! But there is probably some end high washer and dryer that can be controlled by one.
No Smartphone
If you don’t have a Smartphone, I have some suggestions:
- Learn to talk to your family and friends
- Get outside
- Get a life
If you don’t have a smartphone, you just might be a Luddite! Congratulations! Click the link to my post about Luddites to see if it fits you.
At least that’s the way I see it!
Richard Elliott
The Senior Observer