Hound, Thumb Drift, and other awesome apps of the week

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Have an 'appy weekend all!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’re looking to unwind this fine Sunday by sampling the latest App Store delectables for your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, look no further: Cult of Mac has your hookup!

Whether you’re on the hunt for a fun racing game, a new and surprisingly great alternative to Siri, or a promising photo and video-editing app created by a 16-year-old dev, we’ve got what you’re searching for.

Check out our picks below. You won’t be disappointed.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Quite possibly against my better judgment, I’m excited about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will finally bring to the big screen the epic Dark Knight vs. Man of Steel clash comic fans have been waiting for since Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns graphic novel.

This week, Injustice: Gods Among Us got a new update, bringing the Zack Snyder versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to the super-powered fighting game’s roster — alongside a handful of other new characters.

Whether the idea of staging a Supes vs. Bat-fleck battle on your iOS device appeals to you will no doubt depend on your level of geekery. But it certainly got me to re-download this entertaining free-to-play fighting game.

Available for: iPhone/iPad
Costs: Free (with in-app purchases)
Get it from: App Store

glaze.

A great new photo-editing app for iOS.
A great new photo-editing app for iOS.
Photo: Ryan Stephen

There are some great video and photo-editing apps available for iOS, but if you’re looking for a new one to play with try out 16-year-old (!) developer Ryan Stephen’s glaze app. Simple to use and with a neat range of filters, basic drawing tools, and text boxes available, it is a nifty app that can be applied to everything from selfies to video to, yes, even Live Photos on the iPhone 6s.

Well worth a punt at $0.99 — and, heck, when 16-year-old Stephen winds up becoming the next Kevin Systrom or Mike Krieger (two guys who made a little thing called Instagram), you’ll be able to say you downloaded one of his first apps.

Available for: iPhone/iPad
Costs: $0.99
Get it from: App Store

Facer

Previously available only for Android Wear, watchface customization app Facer has now landed on Apple Watch — giving users the ability to customize their watches in various ways.

This includes Instagram and Tumblr picture integration, flashcards to help you learn and memorize facts, and licensed material from brands including Popeye, Garfield and Betty Boop.

A “must have” if you’re an Apple Watch user!

Available for: Apple Watch
Costs: Free
Get it from: App Store

Thumb Drift – Furious One Touch Car Racing

A fun racing game for iOS, Thumb Drift takes the simple game mechanic of “drifting” and runs… well, drives with it. A big complaint about many games on iOS is that the touchscreen isn’t a worthy substitute for either a controller or a keyboard/mouse setup. In Thumb Drift, the touchscreen controls work fantastically well — arguably better even than previous alternatives — and are a large part of what makes this game so fun.

I love the flat shaded, low polygon-count graphics, too. And who can hate a racing game where each crash results in your car exploding into pieces like it’s made of matchsticks?

Available for: iPhone/iPad
Costs: Free
Get it from: App Store

Hound Voice Search & Assistant

I use Siri a lot more than many people I know, but there’s no doubt that Apple hasn’t yet perfectly nailed the virtual assistant concept.

Hound is an attempt at a rival app, which gives users quick and accurate voice search, using a card-based approach not dissimilar to Android’s Google Now. You can get weather, news, directions, hotel locations, restaurant info and far more — all executed in a way that often betters Apple’s built-in Siri.

Definitely worth a download, although it’s unfortunate that there’s no way to set up iOS so that it activates Hound by default instead of Siri. Still, if you find yourself using it regularly, it’s only a couple of extra taps to get it up and running.

Available for: iPhone/iPad
Costs: Free
Get it from: App Store

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