Morphite, Ikea Place, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s ARKit takes center stage in this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup — with two impressive demos of iOS 11’s new augmented reality platform that, hopefully, will help convince you that AR is every bit as revolutionary as Tim Cook thinks it is.

In addition, we’ve picked a great open world universe game that’s sure to go down as one of the year’s best iOS titles, and a new entry in a beloved series of legal games (yes, really!). Check out our choices below.

Ikea Place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xxOvsyNseY

Looking for a good augmented reality app to test drive Apple’s ARKit platform? Look no further than Ikea’s new “Place” app, which lets users have a go at positioning furniture from the company’s catalog in their own home with impressive 3D scaling with millimeter-accurate positioning.

Already the app boasts upward of 2,000 different products that customers can test. Going forward, the plan is for Ikea to use the app to debut new products before they arrive in stores. Unfortunately, it’s not yet available outside of the U.S., but hopefully Ikea will expand elsewhere in the near future.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: Free
Get it from: App Store

Morphite

Taking place in a distant future in which humanity has colonized other parts of the universe, Morphite puts you in control of Myrah Kale, a young woman residing on a space station, who travels the galaxy trying to uncover her past, and her connection to the “Morphite” substance the game is named after.

It’s a stunning, expansive game which merges a number of different genres — including FPS and puzzle game elements — in an utterly unique way. The closest reference point is probably a game like No Man’s Sky, but Morphite feels a more focused gaming experience in many ways. A towering achievement for 2017 iOS gaming.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $7.99
Get it from: App Store

Magic Sudoku

Sudoku
A pretty darn impressive use of AR and AI.
Photo: Hatchlings, Inc.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, we’ve also included a second ARKit app this week, which serves as a fun demo of both Apple’s augmented reality tech and also the power of machine learning.

Sudoku Magic lets you aim your iPhone camera at an incomplete Sudoku puzzle and have it magically completed before your eyes. Right now, it’s more of a tech demo than anything, although one that’ll certainly impress your buddies. Longer term, the idea is that the app could be used to provide helpful pointers as you complete Sudokus on your own, rather than giving the whole thing away in one go.

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $0.99
Get it from: App Store

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice

The sixth installment in the excellent Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series, Spirit of Justice probably shouldn’t be your starting point (the HD remastered Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Trilogy is a much better first port of call), but it’s another high quality entry in the franchise.

If you are new to the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a (far more fun than it has any right to be) legal game, in which you take part in a series of trials, in which you utilize various cross examination techniques to reveal inaccuracies in witness testimony. These trials ultimately form one big, overriding story — which in the case of Spirit of Justice happens to throw a whole lot of intriguing mysticism into the established mix.

“Objection,” indeed!

Available for: iPhone, iPad
Cost: $0.99 (with in-app purchases)
Get it from: App Store

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