Trending Tech: The New Apps We Can’t Get Enough Of

Raise your DQ.

We may still say we’re “taping” a TV show, but we’ve also adopted So. Much. Technology. Slow clap for that, but wait—there’s more. Whether you’re truly tech curious or just want to make sure you speak 2020, here are the Cliff Notes on some of our digital world’s latest debuts.

TikTok

What is it? The most downloaded (non-game) app and the latest social media network built around (mostly) 15-second videos.

Analog analogy: Your brother, circa 1980, flipping through TV channels and stopping on each show for a minute (but think millions of channels—not five).

Why the kids came: Endless opportunities to fine-tune dance moves and lip sync cred.

Why you’ll want to stay: TikTok is growing up before our very eyes—maturing to include life hacks, recipes and bites of comedy. With a former Disney exec at its helm, more brands and adultish programming will almost certainly follow.

Know before you go: When creating your account, your chosen interest areas will inform your feed (where you’ll find accounts you follow and videos curated for you). Like other networks, you’ll have to go into settings to make your account private. While followers and likes matter, content is the real king here (this is no Instagram). Though TikTok’s algorithms learn over time, its charm is actually in its randomness. 

Ready for content-creation? Explore templates, effects and music—you can even make your video out of pictures. Viral videos are huge here, with lots of “challenges” a la Drake’s Tootsie Slide (as an aside, the song’s original video feels uber-current, featuring face-masked Drake from his own home). Sharing content via Instagram or a text message is simple. And unlike other social media destinations, TikTok has built-in “digital well-being” settings to limit your time on the app—a good thing, since this is as rabbit-hole as they come. 

House Party

What is it? A true social network, enabling video chat.

Analog analogy: If Zoom is your parents, House Party is your fun aunt.

Why the kids came: The name says it all: It has more of a small party feel, sans those Zoom-y processes and rules, or (eyeroll) “you have to unmute your microphone.”

Why you’ll want to stay: For small groups, you can’t beat how easy it is to get together. (Ahem, we are still waiting for the host to let us in soon on some Zoom calls.) And the games—have we mentioned the games?

Know before you go: It may be a house party, but it’s no Risky Business rager. You’ll be limited to eight people—somewhere between FaceTime and Zoom. No meeting codes or passwords needed here. Just launch the app (it plays better on a phone or tablet than your computer) and invite friends from your contacts or Facebook, and they’ll see you’re “in the house.” Invitees will see your party’s in progress immediately upon joining. Though you can’t share a URL or code for people beyond your contacts, friends can invite their friends—so be sure to “lock” the room if it’s a velvet rope situation. Don’t miss the best thing about Houseparty—games like Trivia (obvious) and Quick Draw! (like Pictionary)—for a chance to truly connect. 

Evernote

What is it? A digital service where users capture, store and synchronize text, image and video files across multiple computing devices (read: cloud). 

Analog analogy: If your Trapper Keeper joined forces with your diary and your homemade senior-year collage. 

Why the kids came: Unless you consider millennials kids, we’re not sure they have—but we’ve been surprised by how many Verse readers have missed it. 

Why you’ll want to stay: Everything. In one place. A picture of a random recipe you tore out of a magazine, along with a link to a genius graduation gift, each in their own tidy notebooks—no shelf space required. 

Know before you go: We like the user experience of the smartphone app, but if you plan to use it to take notes for, say, a meeting or learning experience, you’ll want Evernote where you can speed-type. When you make a note, you can create your own or choose from a treasure trove of templates: weekly planner, gift tracker, even a menu planner. You can take or upload photos, record voice memos, or attach a file or link, even a sketch (a stylus will make this more doable). It’s easy and intuitive because it mirrors familiar analog counterparts. 

Pro tip: as IRL, organizing your notebooks and choosing a naming convention for notes will make it easier for you to track one down (date is added automatically). That said, you can’t beat Evernote’s search functionality, a total sanity saver when you only remember one thing about a note (that recipe with fennel…). There’s no limit to your number of notebooks, so feel free to get hyper-specific (especially useful for business pursuits). And use it to your offline decluttering advantage, as in to store the one recipe you’ve actually made from that ginormous cookbook.