Apps are back, or maybe they never went away.

While some people debate whether people will abandon apps as AI agents make access to online services more efficient, we’ve found that the App Store is alive and well, with a recent explosion of fun, creative and innovative tools, experiences and other independent efforts.

Some of the more recent releases can be attributed to the rise of AI coding, which has allowed people to ship software more quickly and beginners to participate in the app ecosystem. According to a report, new app launches have skyrocketed in 2026, with global new app launches increasing 60% year-over-year from the first quarter on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. In Apple’s iOS store alone, that figure was even higher, 80%.

While there is a valid concern that vibration-encoded apps in particular may be cluttering the App Store with lower-quality content, there are plenty of interesting apps worth exploring, and those that resonate with consumers will rise to the top. Many also use AI under the hood to perform their magic; They’re just not advertised as “AI-powered.”

Below is our latest collection of hidden gems from the App Store, which we’ve added to our home screen. You can also visit TechCrunch’s previous app roundups, like our review of next-generation social apps, Apple Watch and iPad productivity tools, and apps to digitally declutter your life.

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Albo (formerly Sortd, but not quite Sortd) is a great tool for anyone who regularly flags social media content and then quickly forgets about it. With Albo, the idea is that you instead share the link to the TikTok, Instagram Reel, YouTube video, or other website in the app. Then, Albo will automatically extract the post details, classify and save the idea for you. That post and its notes will remain available in Albo, even if the original content creator deletes their post or video at some point in the future.

The app works with a variety of social apps, including Pinterest, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Reddit, and Facebook, as well as browsers like Chrome and Safari. You can also add screenshots to Albo.

This makes it easy to save any type of inspiration online for easy access, whether it’s travel ideas, local places to try, movies or shows to watch, books to read, recipes to cook, or exercises to do. Your collections can also be shared with friends.

Albo comes from London-based app studio The Feel Good Project, which focuses on technology that makes users feel inspired and fulfilled rather than exhausted by doomscrolling.

The app is free to use with advanced features available through subscription. However, we didn’t like how heavy-handed it was in pushing the trial subscription during onboarding.

Available on iOS and Google Play.

Cooperative

The recent parasite outbreak in the United States is making people think more carefully about where their food comes from. Buying from local producers and bakers may be the safest option (and best for the community), but not everyone has time to go to the farmers market on the weekend.

The Coop app offers an alternative through its local market, where you can buy real handmade and homegrown items from people near you, even from the farm down the street offering fresh eggs or from a neighbor willing to trade their items for yours. The idea is to allow trade to remain local while helping people turn their own garden, field or craft into an additional source of income.

On Coop, you can search and discover nearby sellers, follow your favorites, see how far they are from you, and buy from them through the app’s Stripe integration. The seller then receives the order and prepares it for pickup.

Available on iOS and Google Play.

PI.FYI by Perfectly Imperfect

A colorful and somewhat chaotic app, PI.FYI, promises to bring back the “old Internet,” where you found recommendations through a network of friends, not algorithms. The app, which grew out of a cult newsletter, has been around for a couple of years, but it still feels fresh and modern and very much like the social media alternative it aims to become.

On PI.FYI, you can track what you like, share your tastes, and explore by category or “scenes” such as music, fantasy, retro, and literature to find your community, read interesting articles, make lists, collect local recommendations, and play with friends. The app exudes a retro feel, as if it were created when the Internet was also a little less polished.

Available on iOS and Google Play.

Letter

Okay, it may not be as fun as sharing a letter via snail mail, but the pen pal app Lettre also embraces the fun of snail mail in digital form. This letter writing app allows you to start new friendships with pen pals around the world, discovered through the app, or with anyone whose email address you already know. Unfortunately, letters are sent digitally through the app or via email for now, but the company’s FAQ suggests it’s considering a snail mail option for the future, which would be a lot of fun.

Available only on iOS.

couch time

While it’s not a new app, Sofa Time is one of several that picks up where the recently shuttered TV Time app left off. The app has a neat, easy-to-use interface to track the movies and TV shows you’re watching, organize your watchlist, discover what to stream next, and get reminders about new releases.

While Sofa Time’s comments section doesn’t yet rival TV Time’s forums, the app’s social elements leave room for the community to grow, as it supports the ability to react with a GIF or image along with your text and includes built-in translation features to support a global audience.

Available on iOS and Google Play.

ThingsBook

ThingsBook, a new writing-focused app from the U.S. subsidiary of South Korean internet giant Naver, isn’t a standalone effort, but it’s an interesting premise for what the future of social media could look like. Instead of doomscrolling, ThingsBook offers a flexible space where you can capture what matters to you, whether through journaling, recording ideas, or compiling things like books, trips, meals, hobbies, and goals into structured lists that you can review and expand.

The company explains that the purpose of the app is not to focus on “fleeting trends” but to become a “living record of who you are and what you love.”

Available on iOS and Google Play.

pressed petals

Application or artistic project? Pressed petals are both. An independent effort by designer Cynthia Chen, the app turns photographs of flowers you find on your walks into a pressed specimen, like one you’d find in an “old botanical magazine.” The app automatically saves the location where you saw the flower, as well as the date and time, turning your nature walks into interactive experiences. Also identify the flower by its name, both its scientific name and its common name.

You can try the two-flower pressing app for free, then pay a one-time fee of $4.99 to unlock the full experience. This could be a fun app to get your little ones outdoors, as it gives them something else to do beyond the hike itself.

Available only on iOS.

Faster moods

We love single-purpose apps that are well designed. Moods Faster by Nick Leith is a perfect example, offering a way to log your moods to track in Apple Health with just two taps: one to select the mood and a second to save it.

You can choose between recording your current mood or your general mood for the day, and you can optionally also add information about the context and emotions you are experiencing at the time of recording. In settings, you can choose from different color combinations depending on your mood, although some are chargeable.

At $1.95 a month, it’s a reasonably priced subscription for anyone who regularly tracks their mood and emotions for mental health purposes.

Available only on iOS.

Activate skill

Originally launched as a way to encourage kids to exercise, Activate Fitness recently expanded its screen time app to include the whole family, which, frankly, makes it better. (Kids will just hate their parents for using this any other way. Plus, it might turn time outside or exercise into a dreaded chore in kids’ minds, which defeats the purpose.)

For adults, the app could allow them to achieve their own personal goals, such as not having to scroll through their daily steps.

Available only on iOS.