It’s hard to believe that fall is here, but it’s time to get back to school for some. And for others—especially lucky owners of the brand new iPhone—it’s time to have some fun! Mobile apps entertain us, help us communicate across the globe, and solve age-old problems. Smartphone users in 2016 are so used to our apps, it’s hard to think of what we did before.
I’ve come up with a list of the top five mobile interaction designs of September 2016 that are sure to delight you, inspire you, and hopefully not drain your battery too much. Check them out below.
1. Voter
Here in the US, the presidential election is upon us and voter turnout is as important as ever. With countless measures on ballots and many political seats up for grabs across the country, you might be a little torn about how you should vote this November. That’s where Voter comes in. It’s essentially matchmaking for politics. It asks you a few questions that you answer by swiping right or left, kind of like the Tinder for politics. Based on your answers it tells you which candidates share your beliefs, based on their track records. It then gives insight into who’s funding their campaign. For unbiased information on elections that will help you choose which side you’re on, check out Voter.
2. Craigslist App Concept
If you’re like me, posting or searching on Craigslist hurts your eyes a little bit. Sure, it works fine, but I think we can all agree the design is stuck in the past. Luckily Ivan Bjelajac gave us a taste of what life could be like if Craigslist released an app that put design first. His concept groups categories and once you tap through, it shows you top keywords within it, as well as recent listings with image thumbnails. While I wish this was a real thing, it’s just a side project for Bjelajac for now. One can dream!
3. Pocket
If you do a lot of reading on your phone or tablet, you know it’s hard to keep track of all of those links. Especially when you’ve stumbled up a fascinating article that you don’t have time to read right away. I always have a zillion tabs open (ok, maybe that’s more than iPhones allow) and it’s easy to forget where that cool article you read was from when you want to show it to a friend later on. Pocket solves that by letting you save articles for later. It also kicks this up a notch by recommending articles you might like. It syncs across all of your devices and allows you to come back to articles whenever and wherever, even when you’re offline. With unlimited storage, it’s hard to beat this highly customizable read it later app.
4. Rukkus
If you love going to concerts and live events like I do, then you know that where you sit is everything. Rukkus gets that and sells affordable tickets to sports games, concerts, and theater performances in a way that really improves the experience. It offers interactive seat maps and first-person seat views in VR with Seat360, so you don’t get to the stadium and have a pole obstructing your view the whole time. Another thing I love about this app is that they prize efficiency, boasting that you can buy tickets from the app in just two taps. In two taps on Ticketmaster, all you’ve accomplished is proved you aren’t a robot (you know I’m right!).
Get Rukkus on iOS.
5. Journey Concept
Journey is sure to activate your sense of wanderlust. This image heavy app would help you explore cities around the world. You can choose to look into top attractions in those cities or make sure you get in on the action with local event listings. I could see it being useful for both planning trips in advance, as well as helping you get a more authentic view of the city once you’re there and looking for something fun to do. Overall, the interface looks like it would be a breeze to interact with. I wouldn’t mind using it to plan my next adventure!
That’s it until next month. Did I miss some of your favorite mobile interaction designs? Feel free to tweet @Protoio or message us on Facebook with your suggestions!
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