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Want to find the quickest way out of the MTR station during rush hour? In search of the nearest public bathroom in your time of need? Or are you looking to offload some clutter that’s been piling up at home? Whatever it is, we’re here to help. Or at least, these life-saving mobile apps are.
Let’s face it, Hong Kong isn’t exactly the most affordable city to live in, especially if you want to have an exciting social life. That’s where The Entertainer app comes in handy. Inside the app, you will find all sorts of amazing deals at restaurants, spas, gyms, as well as leisure attractions, travel destinations, and so much more. The app also has a savings calculator where it can track all the money that you’ve saved from deals and promotions. To put it in other words, the more money you spend, the more you get to save — sounds good to us!
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
What if we told you, you can find yourself a handyman, a guitar teacher, a dog trainer, and someone to do your manicure, all with just a few clicks on your phone? It sounds too good to be true, we know, but Toby is here to prove you otherwise. Providing over 600 different services in one single platform, Hello Toby is your go-to when you need help with — well, pretty much anything. No matter what service you are requesting, the app takes times to ask you a series of questions to make sure that everything caters to your needs and availability. On the other hand, if you're looking to offer a particular service to others, you can also sign up to become a “Service Pro” and earn a quick buck on the side!
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
You can binge-watch Netflix all you want, but there’s really nothing that compares to watching a movie on the big screen. With the Hong Kong Movies app, you can easily see what’s showing in theatres right now and check out upcoming movies, trailers, and reviews. You can find out the available showtimes and seating plans in real-time, and locate the closest cinema to you too. It’s everything you need for a completely stress-free movie night.
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
If you’ve lived in Hong Kong long enough, you’ll know that air pollution in this city can get highly hazardous at times. With the Hong Kong Air Quality app, you can see ahead of time which areas around Hong Kong have the highest level of pollution, according to assigned colour codes. And if you really want to get into the details, there’s even raw data available dissecting the pollutant concentration of different emission gases around the city. Perhaps then, you’ll understand why everyone here wears face masks all the time!
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
Need a push to help expand your social circle? Want to find people who have the same hobbies as you? LetsGO is a brand-new mobile app where you can broadcast your hobbies and join existing activities and events to meet like-minded people from around the city. Whether you are searching for fitness enthusiasts to take on challenging hikes, or if you’re just looking to grab dinner with new friends and bond over shared interests, LetsGO helps connect its users across Hong Kong. Developed for Hongkongers by Hongkongers, LetsGO is available for download now, with an official launch slated for September.
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
We love a good play on words here at Localiiz, so when we discovered the app, PokeGuide, you can imagine all the giggles we had (PokeGuide sounds like a common Cantonese curse phrase). Not only does the app tell you which exit is closest to your destination, which carriage door to board the train for the quickest escape, and which side of the doors will open, it also has panorama maps that enable effortless transit in maze-like stations that you’re not so familiar with. As an added bonus, you can choose different travelling modes such as “no-stairs” and “lift-only”, making it super handy for those with large luggages, pregnant women, or wheelchair users to get around the station.
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
Correct us if we’re wrong, but we’ve all experienced a time when you feel like your bladder is about to burst, and you’re seriously considering if you can get away with doing it behind that big bush across the street — this is where Toilet Rush comes in. Simply open up the app, and you’ll see a map of all the available public bathrooms in the area near you, whether they have toilet paper provided, and some of them even have an overall rating for its cleanliness, lighting, ventilation, and more! We know public bathrooms in Hong Kong have a bad rep, but with the help of this app, at least you can find a somewhat bearable place to conduct your “business”.
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
There’s no doubt that hiking is a hugely popular activity here in Hong Kong, but if you’re not exactly a pro or don’t know anyone who is, finding the right trail for you can be quite a task. Luckily, TrailWatch can help you with that. Inside the app, you can check out various trail routes that other users have conquered, plan your own route and customise existing ones to suit to your needs, track your path in real-time using GPS, and even help surveil the countryside by reporting unusual incidents. It’s the perfect app for those who love the great outdoors.
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
With the increasing trend of living a plastic-free, zero-waste lifestyle in Hong Kong, we’re completely in love with this app. Giving you all the locations of water fountains, restaurants, and cafes around the city where you can go and refill your water bottle for free, there's really no more excuses for you to buy bottled water anymore. Come on, it’s free!
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
If you’re as sick of telemarketers and junk calls as we are, then we highly recommend the Whoscall app. All you need to do is download the app, enable the caller ID function in your phone settings, and you’re all set to go. With a huge database that can help you identify unknown calls, the app warns you if there is a suspected spam call coming in, and where the call is coming from. Even if you missed the call, it will still indicate who the call is from in your call history. Goodbye, junk calls!
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
Not everyone has the luxury of unlimited data packages, and with all these apps that we’ve mentioned so far, it can really take up a lot of data. That’s why you need the Wi-Fi.HK app! Indicating all the Wi-Fi hotspots around Hong Kong, the app allows you to connect to the internet completely free of charge, no matter where you are in the city. Not only will you have access to at least 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi, there’s also no registration or download requirements beforehand. A very useful app for those with small data mobile packages.
Download for free on the App Store or Google Play
Born in Hong Kong and raised in the UK, Jenny grew up with the best of both worlds. She loves just about anything to do with music and doesn’t shy away from belting out a tune or two when it comes to karaoke. If she’s not out and about exploring the city and practising her photography skills, she’s probably tucked up in bed with a book or glued to her laptop doing her online shopping.
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