APC_Australia_Issue_442_June_2017

superguide » 2-in-1 apps & games
VLC (Windows Store)
The best
apps &
games
for 2-in-1s
Lindsay Handmer helps
you track down the
best touchscreen-friendly
apps for Windows
hybrids.
Windows 10 makes using
just about any app or
game possible with a
touchscreen, but
developers are increasingly
including native touch support
that can provide a much better
experience. A good rule of thumb
is that, if the app or game also has an
Android or iOS version (or is ported
across to Windows), the developer
will have included improved touch
control. While many desktop
applications don’t focus on touch,
Windows has the Universal Platform,
where compatible apps will work
across multiple devices, from tablets,
PCs, Xbox and even HoloLens.
The Windows Store is a great place
to start looking for apps — while you
can’t filter results for Universal Apps,
the description of each app does show
what devices it works on and if touch
is specifically supported. Similarly,
touchscreen-focused games can be
hard to find. Another good place to
start is Steam, which has a ‘Touch
Friendly’ tag, allowing you to search
specifically for touch friendly games.
In general, though, simpler apps and
games work better with touch, whereas
highly cluttered or complex UIs lend
themselves better to keyboard and
mouse control. It’s well worth owning
a stylus with a 2-in-1, as it adds a lot of
extra capability, and fine control, to
your touchscreen interactions. To help
get you started, we’ve put together a
list of our favourite Windows 10 apps
and games with touchscreen support.
52 www.apcmag.com
APPS
VLC (WINDOWS STORE)
www.videolan.org
A media player is a must have on
any PC, and doubly so on a 2-in-1. VLC,
already our favourite, has a Windows
Universal App. It’s fully touch ready,
and you can easily swipe, tape and
scroll to navigate and play your media.
Compared to the desktop version, the
icons are large and easy to press, the
layout intuitive and the settings have
been simplified. It also automatically
finds your available media, including
network shares, so you can jump right
into watching. About the only
downside compared to the desktop app
is lack of DVD player support, which is
a non-issue on 2-in-1s anyway.
MULTISWIPE
www.multiswipe.com
Learning the built-in Windows 10
touchscreen gestures is a great way
to make your 2-in-1 experience faster,
more productive and more enjoyable.
But there are limited gestures
available, so MultiSwipe has a thirdparty
solution to create your own.
You can set custom actions, such as
launching a specific app or adjusting
volume, to up to 88 different built-in
gestures, including ones with up to
five fingers. The gestures also work
on compatible touchpads, allowing you
to streamline your 2-in-1 use. The app
is free to try for 15 days, or around
$7.50 to buy.
MultiSwipe
STREAMING VIDEO APPS
2-in-1 devices are great for media
playback, but desktop apps or browser
based video can be fiddly to use with
a touchscreen. Streaming services
Netflix (netflix.com.au) and Stan
(stan.com.au) both have touch controlfocused
apps available in the Windows
Store that are miles better than using
a browser.
Google hasn’t made a YouTube app
for Windows, so our favourite thirdparty
alternatives for getting your
YouTube fix are Tubecast (goo.gl/
BMS5Nu) and Hyper (goo.gl/PfTGX5).
Both allow you to log in, and give
an excellent experience when using
your 2-in-1 in tablet or laptop mode.
Many other popular streaming
services have official or third-party