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terselylove · 4 years

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All you need to Know About Heaven’s Gate in Bali (Pura Lempuyang)

INDONESIA

Pura Lempuyang is a cluster of Bali temples located high up on Mount Lempuyang. They are some of the oldest, most sacred and well-regarded Balinese temples. It’s on this mountain that you’ll find the Gates of Heaven in Bali, one of the most iconic and most instagrammable photo spots in Indonesia.

Heaven’s Gate in Bali has been made famous by these images which show people, often in romantic poses, standing between the gates at sunrise or sunset with what looks like a pool of water in front of them. It’s a pretty magical photo, but it all engineered, as I found out the hard way. I’ll explain more about the Lempuyang Temple photo trick later on.

Spoiler alert: the “pool of water” at Pura Lempuyang is an illusion!

In this post, I’m going to tell you all about my experience at Pura Lempuyang Luhur, what I regret about it and how I would do things differently if I were to visit again. I hope that this post will shed some light on what visiting Pura Lempuyang is really like so that you can decide how best to plan your visit or if you want to visit at all.

Keep reading for all you need to know about visiting Pura Lempuyang Bali and getting photos at the “Gates of Heaven”, Bali.

When is Lempuyang Temple Open?

Pura Lempuyang is open every day, seven days a week, from 7am in the morning to 5pm in the afternoon. That said, if you’re hoping to avoid huge queues at the temples, I’d recommend arriving at 5am or earlier. You might think this to be absolutely ridiculous and overly cautious. That was my attitude too when the taxi company suggested we aim to arrive at this time. And I regretted it. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. There will definitely be queues forming before 7am.

Do you need to book in advance to visit Lempuyang Temple?

You don’t need to book tickets in advance to visit the Lempuyang temples, however, as most visitors come from quite far away, you will need to book your car or tour before the day of your trip since, as I mentioned above, you will be leaving very early in the morning.

How to get to Pura Lempuyang

One of the most common ways for tourists to go on excursions in Bali is by ordering a private car for your group. I was travelling in a group of three so this worked quite well for us and it wasn’t too expensive as you pay per car, rather than per person.

Whilst the idea of a private car might seem pretty bougie, the price was roughly the same as booking three individual spots on a big bus tour so it was a no brainer for us.

We hired a private car from Ubud and arrange for it to pick us up at our hotel at 7am in the morning. Pura Lempuyang is located in East Bali so it was a very, very long drive up to Mount Lempuyang and we did not arrive until around 9:45am.

By this time, huge queues had formed, which is why I absolutely recommend that you arrive before 7am in the morning if you’re hoping to visit the temples and get that iconic Bali Gate photo.

This cost 700,000 IDR (£40/$50) in total, which worked out as £13.50 or $16.50 each.

Book a car and tour to Lempuyang Temple here

When we arrived at the car park before Pura Lempuyang temples, we paid for a motorbike to take us the rest of the way. The cars and coaches can’t go right up to the Gates of Heaven so you’ll either have to walk or pay for a short motorcycle ride up. The motorbike cost 20,000 IDR (£1.24/ $1.42) each way and is a set price.

Word of warning: The mountain is very steep so you’ll need to hold on tight. You won’t be given a helmet so please consider the safety implications of this before you choose to hop on. For me, this ended up being one of the most fun parts of the day as it was rather exhilarating and there are amazing views.

What happens when you get to Pura Lempuyang?

So what happens when you actually reach Pura Lempuyang Temple? We paid a fee of 20,000 IDR (£1.24/ $1.42) to borrow a sarong and gain entrance to the temple complex. There’s no set entrance fee but from looking at the register the norm seemed to be 10,000 IDR so we donated that sum each and then paid a further 10,000 IDR for the sarong hire

Bear in mind that you must wear a sarong, even if you are already wearing long trousers or a long skirt, so please bring your own or be willing to borrow one here.

After we’d wrapped the sarongs around our waists, we headed to the Bali Gate. And my feeling when I first laid eyes on it was one of… disappointment. The gates look much less impressive in real life than they do in photographs.

For one, there’s no water at the foot of the gates, just concrete. The “water” is a clever phone camera illusion.

The Gateway to Heaven is also not as tall as it looks in images. Most of the images are taken from a very low angle, making the gates look tall and impressive.

Opposite the Gates of Heaven is a set of stairs with dragons and greenery, which is arguably more impressive than the Bali Gates themselves and there are much fewer people taking photos here.

How to get photos of the Gates of Heaven, Bali

By the time we joined the queue for photos at the Gates of Heaven, it was around 10am. I know that people said the queue could often be 2-3 hours but from looking at it, it seemed pretty short so we decided to give it a go. I misjudged the size of the queue completely and it did indeed take between two and three hours for us to reach the front. We had our photos taken at about 12:45pm, the sun was beating down on us and it was sweltering.

Thankfully there’s a shelter under which the queue snakes so you are only exposed to the sun when you first join the queue and when you are approaching first place in line. Since you’re going to be under here for quite a while, I’d recommend bringing a book to read. I managed to read an entire novel whilst waiting to take my photo here. Yes, a whole book.

Since the queue was so long, I watched group after group taking the shots. And, to be honest, this part is quite fun. You watch groups scrabble into different positions and there’s lots of giggling and laughing from both the people having their photos taken as well as the people queuing. You’ll have plenty of time to plan your poses in advance. And you’ll need to.

The way that the photo-taking process is run is really quite militant. There’s a small group of photo helpers, local Balinese people, who take your camera and phone to take the photos. After each photo has been taken, they shout “next!” so you know when to move into the next pose. There are only about 10 seconds in between each round of “next”.

It’s simultaneously impressive and horrifying. Impressive that the locals have devised such an efficient system and horrifying that such a meaningless Instagram exercise takes place at a temple. These helpers stand out in the boiling sun all day to take these photos so tip them generously for doing so. There’s no set fee, they’ll accept whatever you give them.

You’re allowed do around 3 or 4 different poses before they tell your group to move on. If you keep going, there’s nothing they can really do to stop you though. You’re also allowed to do individual shots and then come back together at the end for some group ones.

How are the Bali Gate photos faked?

I’m sure you’re wondering at this point how the Bali Gate photos are faked. The reason that the cameramen take both your phone and your camera is that using your phone (whatever smartphone you have), they can use a reflective tool pressed up against the camera lens to create the illusion of a reflection. This is how it the Lempuyang Temple photo trick works and how it looks like there’s water at Lempuyang. The reflected blue is actually just the blue sky.

NB. The photo helpers will need to take your phone case off to do this so make sure your phone is one that can be easily removed from its case when you reach the front so there’s not too much faffing.

As the photo helpers are sat on very low stools, the angle from which they take the photos is very low. This means that you cannot see anything between the gates but blue skies, which creates the illusion of the gates floating in a pool of water in the sky. It’s very clever but very disappointing.

How to get photos at the Bali Gate without queueing

If you want to get a photo of the Bali “Gates of Heaven” without queueing for hours, you can do so by standing close by the photographers in the centre of the square and being prepped to start shooting as soon as one group moves off.

You’ll have a very short window between groups to take pictures (honestly less than a minute) but if you’re ready to snap away as soon as one group moves off, you should get an unobstructed photo of the Bali Gate.

You might even be able to get one of yourself with the Bali Gates of Heaven in the background if you stand just ahead of the group of photo helpers and get a friend to snap a well-angled pic very quickly. Your body will probably block anyone standing between the gates in the background too. In between groups, you can also hurry forwards to go down the steps on the other side of the gate

The third way to take pictures with the Bali Gates is to take a photo from the other side of the gate. To do this, you’ll need to run forwards when there’s a gap between groups and make your way down the stairs on the other side pretty quickly.

Once you’ve got down a few steps, your head should be out of sight of the people from the other side and you can take your photos in peace. There might be one or two other groups down here but generally, people are much more concerned about taking photos from the other side of these steps so this bit remains quite quiet!

From here, you can then take photos from the bottom of the steps, looking upwards to the gate. Obviously, this is a different and less desirable angle, but it still looks nice and, crucially, you don’t have to queue for 3 hours to get it.

Should you visit the Bali Gate of Heaven?

I suppose now the question to ask yourself is whether or not you should visit the Bali Gate of Heaven. If you want to avoid the most tourist-ridden areas of Bali, then I’d say you should give this one a miss. I thought that it was a cultural experience coupled with amazing photo opportunities but unfortunately it is simply the latter.

It really dismayed me to see people at the most sacred temple in Bali, blatantly disrespecting the rules for a photo opportunity. For example, they discourage yoga poses here, especially those where the feet are held up high. This is seen as disrespectful and yet people do it anyway. The photo helpers will shout at you to stop if they see you doing this and wait for you to move into a different position.

The photo opportunity here is certainly not an experience I’d ever repeat and not one I’d recommend. If you want to come for a tour of the temples, that’s a different story, and will require your own research.

My experience at Pura Lempuyang temple was a great learning experience for me. It was a stark reminder to thoroughly research what an experience offers before booking it, especially when it’s in a place as touristy as Bali.

As an Instagrammer, I love beautiful images and work hard to get “the shot”. However, driving for several hours and then queuing for several hours more for a few seconds of photo taking is definitely not the sort of activity I want to participate in or promote.

Another positive is that since Pura Lempuyang is so far away from where most tourists stay, I was able to get a glimpse into what I think is “real” Balinese life on the drive up the mountain. At least, it seemed more real than what I saw in the centres of Ubud and Seminyak.

I saw locals washing in the river (even a man fully naked from the roadside!) as well as locals washing clothes in the river and hanging them out to dry. I also saw locals out working in the rice paddies, which seemed much more authentic than anything at Tegalalang. When I visited the latter, there wasn’t much rice around as it had just been harvested so I suspected that the men wandering around with baskets on their shoulders were doing it for the donations.

I also managed to read half my book in the queue proving, once again, that you should always carry a book with you. I still remember finishing Still Me by Jojo Moyes in this queue, silently crying my eyes out and hoping my friends wouldn’t notice. Of course, I’d have much rather been reading that book by the pool at my Bali hotel though. Desperately clutching for positives here.

What’s the best way to see Lempuyang Temple?

I’m not saying don’t go to Pura Lempuyang at all. But I am saying don’t go and queue for that photo. It was hugely disappointing for me to find that Bali’s oldest temples are simply a tourist hotspot now and I regret that I did not discover this in advance so that I could either plan a more meaningful trip or avoid it altogether.

I don’t think the other temples on the mountain are anywhere near as touristy and I imagine that a day trip to this region to visit all seven temples with a good guide would be quite interesting. I believe you have to be quite fit for this and it takes around 4 hours to see all the temples.

Quick tips for visiting Pura Lempuyang

Book a car for your group in advanceGet to Pura Lempuyang before 7am if you want a photo of yourself between the Bali GatesBring a book to read or something to do if you decide to queueConsider simply taking a photo of the Bali Gate, without you in it to avoid queueingBe respectful – this is a temple, not just a photo opportunityMake a plan to visit a number of the temples in this region.

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sporadicbeepboops · 7 years

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20 Games I Loved in 2016

The Switch delay. Several big AAA duds. Another year without an official Mother 3 U.S. release. 2016 could have been a disappointing year. (Outside of video games, it certainly took its toll.) But at least from my perspective, the good far outweighed the bad. Virtual reality finally made it out of the gates, and despite some hiccups, it shows real promise. Long-delayed games like Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian somehow made it to store shelves AND surpassed expectations. And love it or hate it, Pokémon Go inspired a genuine pop culture craze the likes of which we’ve never seen before, at least as far as games go. I think all of that is worth celebrating.

Before we get to the list, some quick shout-outs and no-brainer caveats…

2016 was not kind to the Wii U, but the 3DS quietly had one of its best years ever. That’s partly reflected here, but I couldn’t make room for Dragon Quest VII, Fire Emblem Fates, BoxBoxBoy!, Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Gotta Protectors, to name a few. Sometimes it felt like Nintendo was just cleaning out its closet — how long ago was DQVII released in Japan? — but we benefited either way.

Overall, I played fewer games this year, but the ones I did play held my interest longer. Thanks to various microtransactions and DLC, 2016 probably hit my wallet just as hard.

What didn’t I play? Stardew Valley, SUPERHOT, Final Fantasy XV (at least past chapter 2), Frog Fractions 2, Hitman — oh, and I didn’t get to stuff from last year like Yakuza 5 or The Witcher 3, either. Yakuza 4 was pretty solid though.

I left off any new ports of games that came out last year or prior, unless there were substantial additions that changed the experience in a meaningful way. That meant The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and Mini Metro weren’t in the running, while Rez Infinite technically was.

Love making lists, hate ranking items in said lists, just because I’m incredibly fickle. There’s a good chance that I’ll want to shuffle everything around the moment I publish this. But my podcasting buddies are counting on me here, so it’s time to be decisive.

Keeping all that in mind, here are the games I really loved in 2016…

20. The Witness - I’m already cheating because if I’m being honest, I didn’t actually love this game. The Witness takes a couple dozen hours to finish, and I spent at least half of them staring at a notebook, drawing grids, connecting dots, and having no idea how to pave forward. But even if I didn’t love the game, I respect it immensely. I admire Jonathan Blow’s commitment to this singular idea, of taking the kind of puzzle you might see on a restaurant placemat and coming up with every possible permutation of it. And there is of course a “meta” layer on top of that, where solutions to each component change the environment around you — tree top bridges that unfold based on the paths your lines take, or colored glass panels that create new puzzles on top of old ones. It might be cold and off-putting at times, but The Witness is still commendable as the ultimate puzzle box.

19. SuperHyperCube - I bought into PlayStation VR for games like Rez Infinite and RIGs — big, flashy, “immersive” experiences. And they delivered! I’m a very happy PS VR owner, and I hope Sony builds on its momentum this year. (I’m skeptical, but then being a virtual reality early adopter was always a leap of faith.) However, while I got exactly what I expected from most of the launch titles, it's the simple puzzle game seemingly modeled off of “Brain Wall” that I keep coming back to. I turn on the headset to play Job Simulator or Battlezone, but I always play a couple rounds of SuperHyperCube before I’m done. A solid case for virtual reality not as a thrilling roller coaster, but a hypnotic, relaxing voyage.

18. Headlander - The best game Double Fine has put out since Iron Brigade. Free-roaming Metroid-style exploration, a perfect 70s-synth sci-fi score and a fun body swapping gimmick at the heart of it all. I wish there were more vessels for your noggin to control, but there’s a strong foundation here.

17. Kirby: Planet Robobot - It’s easy to take Kirby games for granted, and that’s especially true of Robobot, which uses the same engine and many of the same powers as the recent Triple Deluxe. What does the former bring to the table then? Smart level designs that take advantage of the new mechs without letting them dominate the action. A novel mechanical world that feels distinct from the typical pastel meadows. New amiibo support. OK, so maybe it doesn’t add that much to the series, but it’s right up there with Super Star anyway.

16. Pokkén Tournament - This game is a fresher, more enjoyable fighting game than Street Fighter V. It doesn’t even matter (too much) that the single player is pretty thin or that the roster is small. When’s the last time you played a one-on-one fighting game that felt truly new? Pokkén is a great 3D fighter and a great 2D fighter at the same time, which is no small feat. And it’s also a gorgeously animated recreation of those battles we all imagined happening in our Game Boys 20 years ago.

15. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - The popular sentiment seems to be that Madagascar is when this final Uncharted entry really takes off. Slow drama and frequent cut scenes give way to island exploration and memorable shootouts. My take? The back half is fun and the epilogue is lovely, but I could spend an entire game in Nathan and Elena’s living room, or hopping around the globe for the next story sequence. Wherever you stand, this is a fine way to close out a reliable series.

14. Picross 3D: Round 2 - Seven Picross games — eight if you count the Twilight Princess freebie — on the eShop. That’s a lot of a perfectly fine thing. But none of them are Picross 3D. Thankfully, the real deal finally arrived this year, with hundreds of puzzles and a few extra gameplay wrinkles. Worth the premium price tag.

13. Titanfall 2 - The campaign didn’t need to be good. Multiplayer FPS games live and die by their multiplayer, and many developers seemingly write off the single player experience as an afterthought. That’s why Titanfall 2 is such an unexpected treat. The factory, the time hopping, the airborne carrier — all cleverly designed, with platforming gimmicks that would feel just as suited for a Metroid Prime game. I think the reason the new Mirror’s Edge fell flat for me was that this game featured the same parkour moves in a much more exciting package.

12. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - This crossover game is Persona-lite, yes, but I think that sells the characters and world a bit short. While its inspiration focuses on the pressures of being a Japanese high schooler, #FE is all about the Tokyo show biz scene. Pop music, soap operas, microwave cooking shows — it’s all very goofy, but the game still takes its protagonists’ dreams and ambitions seriously. #FE also makes clever use of the Wii U GamePad, turning it into a tablet/social app that helps keeps the conversations going. Even if you’re not into this particular “scene,” #FE may still win you over.

11. Rhythm Heaven Megamix - I can’t get enough Rhythm Heaven. They could put 20 new musical minigames on a cart annually and it’d make my list every year. Sumo wrestlers, lumberjack bears, monkey slumber parties — all magic.

10. Severed - A Vita game! It’s great to see DrinkBox Studios stretch beyond sidescrollers with this first person dungeon crawler full of grotesque monsters and creepy, colorful mazes. Swiping and poking on the Vita’s touchscreen feels great. The controls are key to Severed’s success; if battles were menu-driven, the entire game would fall apart.

9. Pocket Card Jockey - I hope Nintendo keeps letting Game Freak be this weird. It’s not just that it’s horse racing plus solitaire. It’s your jockey biting the dust and being brought back from the dead to repay his debt to the angels. It’s the brassy, big band score that accompanies every race. It’s horses with luchador masks and cats hanging from their backsides. Pocket Card Jockey is a miracle of localization.

8. Pokémon Sun - Yes, another Pokémon game. The Alola region is the best thing to ever happen to this series. Previous games had regions based on cities like New York and Paris, but the results always felt half-hearted. In Sun (and Moon), the tropical island setting influences everything from the creatures you catch to the trials you complete. I’ve never demanded a believable world from this series, but that’s kind of what we get here, and it’s terrific.

7. Inside - This is the type of game where the less you know going in, the better. It’s Limbo — a previous Justin GotY — filtered through a twisted dream logic that I still can’t get out of my head months later.

6. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I know you don’t like Sticker Star. Rest assured: that 3DS oddity feels like a rough draft for Color Splash, which improves upon its predecessor in every way. A textured, vibrant world that rivals Tearaway in its papercraft. Thrilling scenarios like a train heist, an underwater game show and the throwback above. Hilarious dialogue that mostly makes up for the many, many identical toads. I miss the liberties Intelligent Systems used to take with the Mushroom Kingdom, but everything else about Color Splash restores this spin-off series to its former glory.

5. Overcooked - This year’s couch co-op champ. Cooking with a partner is all about communication, and that’s doubly true when the kitchen is split across two flatbed trucks or on an iceberg rocking back and forth. My friends and I love head-to-head games like Smash Bros. and Towerfall, but it’s nice to play a game that’s all about puzzle solving and careful planning together. And I love the wistful stage select music.

4. Dragon Quest Builders - Minecraft has always fascinated me, but I don’t do well without direction. That’s why I’m so grateful for Dragon Quest Builders, which breaks down the open world construction into small, manageable tasks. I started off just sticking to blueprints and keeping decorations to a minimum; now, I’m spending hours building up towns the way I want them to look, for no other reason than my own personal satisfaction. Even taking the crafting element out of the equation, Builders does a great job of capturing the adventuring spirit of its parent series.

3. Pokémon Go - I didn’t set out to put THREE Pokémon games on here, and in a vacuum, this is much less satisfying than Pokkén or Sun. But we don’t play video games in a vacuum, and certainly not this one. I played Pokémon Go in Central Park, talking to strangers to find out where the Ivysaur was hiding. Or I played on my lunch breaks, exploring parts of South Street Seaport with coworkers that I had ignored for years. Go’s peak came and went, but it remains one of my fondest experiences of the year.

2. The Last Guardian - Another game that’s more than the sum of its parts. The Last Guardian is finicky and sometimes frustrating. Trico is hard to climb. The camera doesn’t know what to do when you’re up against the wall. So what? How many games feature a creature this lifelike? He may be an illusion made up of A.I. routines, scripted animations and fur shaders, but all of those elements come together in a uniquely convincing way. His evolution from reluctant ally to friend has a subtlety I’ve never seen before. I’m glad Ueda spends as much time focusing on the inner struggles as he does the external ones. Hope it doesn’t take another decade for his next game.

1. Overwatch - I didn’t even know what Overwatch was until two weeks before its release, and even then, I didn’t expect much from it. I had played Team Fortress 2 and thought it was just fine. I knew what to expect. Medics, tanks, builders — that sounded familiar to me. But I was so wrong. Overwatch isn’t just a team-based shooter; it’s the superhero team-up game I’ve been longing for since “The Avengers” was in theaters.

All 23 (and counting!) heroes have their superpowers, and all of them have their jobs to do. What really sets Overwatch apart is when these heroes are bouncing off of each other. Any combination of six is going to have its own dynamics. Mei dropping ice walls to give Reinhardt time to recharge his shield. Junkrat dropping traps to help Bastion watch his back. Mercy gliding up to Pharah to give her rockets a little extra punch. Every battle brings new possibilities and strategies to the table. I’ve played over 100(!) hours and feel like there’s still so much to learn.

But it’s not all serious business either. The colorful personalities, animations, costume designs and more do so much to shape the world, even when I know next to nothing about the overall “lore.” Last year, Splatoon felt like the only shooter I’d ever need, but Overwatch has actually managed to supplant it in my heart. That’s something this Nintendo fanboy never thought he’d say. Can’t wait to see how Blizzard builds on their masterpiece in year two.

#video games #games of the year #games of 2016 #nintendo apologist

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itsiotrecords-blog · 7 years

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http://ift.tt/2wp72mF

Apple seemingly can do no wrong. The house that Steve Jobs built (with a little help, of course) is more than a technology giant. It is the one company whose products function as part of a lifestyle that touches lives on a global scale. We have all been touched by Apple in some way or another, which brings us to the iPhone 7. It’s too early to say whether or not this is the greatest iPhone of them all. However, the device does host new features that lift it beyond the competition. Two of the most discussed items on the spec sheet are the new waterproof design and the revamped camera system which continues the tradition of optical excellence. According to Apple, the new optical image stabilization feature nearly eliminates pesky motion blur associated with taking cell phone pictures. The Quad-LED True Tone flash uses 50 percent more light in the flash process which gives the camera more room to play with the situation’s environment. The end result is images that are true to the moment and much more realistic than most others in the industry. The iPhone 7 is said to be twice as loud as its predecessor, but there is a host of other specs that make this one special. Let’s take a look at the best apps on the market that make the most of what the iPhone 7 has to offer. No brainers such as YouTube, Netflix and Spotify have been left out in favor of quirkier fare that is just as valuable yet not as popular. Check out our list of the 15 must-have apps for the iPhone 7, and see what you might be missing out on with this upgraded new phone.

#1 KORG Gadget Not many people can justify spending $40 on an app, but there are some serious music makers that will consider the KORG Gadget app a steal. It is as powerful as similar desktop applications that cost nearly $1,000. With each passing generation, the iPhone becomes a bigger player in the portable audio game and this app takes advantage of this surge. One of the biggest draws to the KORG Gadget app is the sheer ruthlessness of its sound. The synths are lush and the bass tones rumble out of your speakers or headset. In fact, there are those that predict that a new generation of music makers will turn to this app to create entire bodies of work. There are multiple ways to export raw audio into a separate mixing environment or it can be done within the device and exported as a finished product. It has mind blowing capabilities and sounds absolutely incredible. It also offers a nice library of sounds and synths and it’s very easy to use.

#2 Sky Guide What’s the point of having a new retina-HD display if you don’t have any software installed that takes advantage of your new toy? Sky Guide is nothing short of an awesome time-waster. This celestial tour guide introduces color that pops off of the screen. This must-have astronomy app is true art with the ability to enjoy an unlimited supply of tranquil joyrides through the galaxy. A huge plus is that this particular app employs the use of the 3D Touch feature to create custom experiences on each pass. You can also dial up the traditional constellations with ease. The stars are at your disposal day or night but truth be told, there is nothing like the color that pours out of this thing after dawn. Developed with the intent of providing users with a gorgeous way to learn and enjoy the heavens above, Sky Guide is a moving picture show for anyone that enjoys beauty.

#3 Bumble The makers of Bumble have deemed its purpose as “social pollination” with units called Hives and a color scheme that coordinates with that concept. There is even a queen bee feature to take the theme to the next level. In truth, Bumble is a hook-up app with a twist. More than a trillion times, ladies have complained about the pile-on savagery that is desperate Internet men on the prowl. The Bumble team is predominately female and they have created a concept that allows women to initiate contact with men. Hence, no more loaded inboxes with unsolicited lewd requests. From there, both parties have 24 hours to keep the party moving or the connection disappears. Furthermore, Bumble has solved the pesky accidental swiping issue and promotes the concept of maintaining friendly and romantic relationships in their space. At times it feels like Bumble does too much, but for every action there is a reaction and this time the ladies have a bigger role to play.

#4 Moves The new and improved Moves app is wise for anyone that is new to monitoring their fitness goals. The logistics of how the app works is why it found itself on this list. Despite joining the arsenal of apps that were acquired by the Facebook army, Moves has stayed true to its initial vision. It’s not the prettiest or shiniest entry but it does a very good job of providing the type of information that a user wants and needs. The app is always on, which offers a much more comprehensive tally compared to other fitness apps. It keeps track of every step you took, the pace it was taken at, as well as the exact location of each step to ensure complete accuracy. The impending cooler weather isn’t exactly the ideal temperature for outdoor fitness activities. So, although many won’t care about this data for a few months, it will be good to know where and how you can ramp up your fitness routine in the spring when it’s time to get moving.

#5 Fear The Walking Dead: Dead Run – Tactical Runner Oftentimes, most games that piggyback off the success of a hit TV series or film aren’t considered very good. Yet, Fear the Walking Dead: Dead Run – Tactical Runner is as addictive as the AMC show in which it came from. With a record-breaking number of fans of The Walking Dead series, fans will love the fact that the app allows gamers to choose from a huge roster of characters. This feature renders it extremely playable since other mobile games are often limited in this area. There are a lot of weapons to work with, which creates scenarios that stretch beyond your flat screen. The graphics are ultra crisp and the ease of play is intuitive, as there are no funky combos to remember to drag the game experience down. With a strong tie-in to current and upcoming episodes, the shelf life is and will be long as the continuous updates will keep it fresh. In the spirit of the best app titles, the action is here for those that want it. Get ready because it looks good, feels good and was executed correctly.

#6 Laundry Day – Care Symbol Reader This app was initially given consideration because it has a novel concept. It is easy to snicker at a smartphone app whose sole purpose is to decipher laundry tag codes. It is doubtful that developer, Jan Plesek, honed his craft specifically to deliver a laundry aid. When the light bulb went off, it was certainly nice to have the skill-set to take advantage of inspiration when it arrived. The jokes about clueless college students and lonely bachelors should be overlooked. Laundry Day scans clothing tags, cracks their code and provides easy-to-use feedback as to how to get the job done. This app is simple to use and it makes a strong case study for how the iPhone inspires innovation outside of the Apple compound. Laundry Day is the result of a genius at work and it could be as vital as bleach, detergent and fabric softener for the demographic that needs it.

#7 The Rock Clock Although there are some pop culture snobs that won’t touch this app, there are millions of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson fans on the other side of the spectrum that will snatch it up like free candy. The Rock Clock serves as a digital motivational coach. Upon entering this world, users are prompted to enter personal or professional goals. After the life plan is established, the process of providing daily inspirational nuggets will begin. The Rock Clock is here to push civilization across the finish line so that society can be as fulfilled as its namesake. It is never a bad idea to take advice from a millionaire. As the name states, The Rock Clock is also an alarm clock. Custom times can be programmed or there is the option to wake up when The Rock wakes up. The downside of the app is probably the few corny alarm tones and catchphrases The Rock Clock delivers. Yet, it is worth noting that The Rock does not believe in snooze buttons.

#8 ESPN: The App There are multiple ways to spin a sports app. The NFL created an exclusive app in cahoots with telecommunications giant, Verizon. ESPN decided to play it straight and unlatched the gate for free access to what they have to offer. ESPN is recognized as the leading voice in sports reporting. The latest incarnation of their mobile contribution had to be perfect and it almost hit that plateau. News, game scores, fantasy updates, highlights, live streams and a list of other features are fed at a rapid rate. A recent update has rendered it less buggy and much cleaner in appearance. Immersion is the key factor in any app and never before has it been easier to get trapped in the web of the network’s personalities and the sporting world at large. Down to something as far-fetched as the latest cricket or polo score, ESPN’s app has the necessary details and coverage that elevate it above the pack.

#9 Notion When Notion was introduced, the mental reply was, “great another email app.” Each of Notion’s claims was tested for 72 hours and it became clear that with a little bit of support, Notion could become a true alternative to Gmail. It uses an intelligence layer to drive results and win in a crowded space. Concepts such as effective time management, efficiency, and productivity are factors that are desirable in a healthy life. Notion trims the fat of the email process by bringing certain common denominators to light. A situation could arise where multiple individuals have emails sitting in an inbox that are awaiting answers to various questions. To solve that problem, Notion will establish a thread that will allow answers to be cranked out in a breeze. The ability to make simple lists also helps a great deal. There are certainly other apps and solutions that have similar features, but Notion is pound-for-pound the easiest to use and features the most accurate results.

#10 Patronus Patronus is a reminder that the planet Earth is a dangerous place. According to CNN, an Uber driver freaked out, ran amok and took lives. It is possible that Patronus could have in some way, shape or form derailed that situation in its early stages. If the iPhone 7 can be used as a protection tool, it should serve that purpose. Patronus is a lifeline to a sophisticated edition to the 911 system that relies on a true location instead of signals that ping off of cell phone towers. Beyond enhanced GPS targeting, Patronus alerts selected friends and family that a 911 distress call has been made. The media showcases daily reminders of situations that could have either been avoided or ended with happier endings if a victim’s location was known by the authorities, friends or family. The “On My Way” feature shares a user’s movements with contacts while in transit. These are just a few of the reasons that make Patronus an unfortunate necessity in a world in turmoil.

#11 Astropad Creative people shop with Apple because their products make it easy to bring vivid ideas to life. Man and machine coming together to create something beautiful is why the Astropad app has been so successful on the iOS platform. Astropad originally found its niche as a tablet app. Now that the iPhone 7 has upgraded itself across the board it has a second home. The sophisticated drawing app makes it easy to use either fingers or a stylus. Depending on the user’s skill level, the results can be very impressive. The import, export, and save features don’t present a challenge. The editing options are similar to what is found in run-of-the-mill graphics programs but the output is not. Astropad serves its purpose for either doodling or creating storyboards for a blockbuster animation piece. Like the KORG app, it comes with a hefty price tag but true quality is always worth the price of admission.

#12 Prisma Apps can be bridged together to accomplish a single end result. Prisma and Astropad are listed back-to-back because they complement each other very well. After exporting from Astropad, an image can be remixed in Prisma into a brand new work of art. That transformation can take something basic and turn it into something epic. The popular swiping technique controls the flow as Prisma breaks down preexisting images. Generic filters and processes that lift from the styles of classic artists such as Piet Mondrian are a part of the visual landscape. Work can be effortlessly shared on the major social networking portals. The downside of a watermark is a check in the minus column. The digital scar can be removed with a simple crop in another program. Prisma shied away from the creation by network concept and wisely streamlined itself into the ultimate offline app to use for final touch ups.

#13 Word Flow Microsoft has once again changed the game. It sounds weird when discussing the iOS freight train, but it is what it is. Word Flow is hands down the slickest keyboard to hit the App Store. Devoid of the gimmicks like super emojis or the ability to search for memes and gifs, this one is built to last. One-handed texting is a precarious position that is weaved into the fabric of our culture. Word Flow is based on the concept that typing on a mobile device should be easy and intuitive to that experience. A word wheel and an auto correct feature that tends to actually help more than it hurts are a few of the perks, in addition to custom backgrounds. From the belly of the Microsoft Garage comes an experiment that makes sense and is in step with what the world needs now.

#14 Snapguide Thanks to Snapguide, gone are the days of searching YouTube for random self-help videos that are typically bogus. Snapguide has created an ever-expanding library of helpful guides that range from kitchen recipes, automotive solutions, arts and crafts suggestions, technology ideas and more. The girth of the catalog is nothing short of fantastic. The detail in which the catalog is presented is sharp and well thought out. It’s super interactive with the ability to comment, rate, share and create new guides with ease. The greatest contribution that the Internet will make to society is that information can be shared between parties at any time. Snapguide organizes these thoughts into a locker of projects in the spirit of the concept that situations or problems are not exclusive to a single entity. Snapguide can also help if confusion sets in during a project or a quick answer is needed to overcome a recent tragedy.

#15 ProCamera The iPhone 7‘s biggest upgrade is its camera. It only makes sense to determine which camera app pushes the device to the limit. ProCamera dominates the default camera app in every way that matters. Extra filters and window dressings are cute contributions but they are superficial helpers at best. There can be plenty of satisfaction to be found in quick hits that manipulate images in post production. That is not why the app is in the winner’s circle. ProCamera’s deeper layers enable the iPhone 7 to truly function as a professional camera. Shooters that understand how to manipulate moments while they are being captured will quickly reap the benefits of what ProCamera has to offer. With a great eye and time spent digging through the near endless settings that mirror expensive standalone cameras, magic will be created with this app. The next step in the evolution in digital photography is here and ProCamera does all of the heavy lifting.

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