6 apps to help you foster better productivity and healthier habits in 2025

Buckle up for another year of fast-moving tech. These data-driven solutions and digital companions are here to prepare you for it.

Chris Hemsworth founded the fitness app Centr (Photo: Centr)

At the start of every year, tech experts put on their futuristic glasses to predict shifts and trends in consumer behaviours, which are often aligned with the ever-evolving internet, now deeply influenced and charged by artificial intelligence (AI). If 2024 heralded the promise of generative AI, primarily focused on creating text, images and videos, the next evolution of this large language model will be the rise of “agents”. These personal assistants — the hidden architects of our everyday experiences — will understand context, learn preferences, eliminate the friction of decision fatigue as well as interact with other software to accomplish tasks such as booking your next flight or forecasting market trends to guide your personal investments.

There is no doubt AI will remain the cornerstone of digital breakthroughs, disrupting creative fields and setting the agenda for innovation across all professional domains, particularly in science and commerce. Amid this wave of automation-led advancements, however, consumer apps are mounting a notable comeback. While the Big Machine pushes the boundaries of what is possible, personalised platforms remind users that tech’s ultimate purpose is to improve how we live. As 2025 unfolds, explore these virtual companions — some gaining traction, others staging a revival — that will nudge us towards better mental well-being, healthier habits and more informed choices.

 

BLUESKY

Once a quiet experiment in decentralised social media, this digital alternative founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in 2019 has unexpectedly stepped into the role of Twitter’s heir apparent. Amid the volatility of X, which has become a battleground for political extremes and Elon Musk’s entanglements with figures such as Donald Trump, Bluesky has emerged as a calm refuge for those disillusioned with the chaos. Promising a return to thoughtful discourse rather than inflammatory noise, the platform’s recent foray into trending topics only underscores its growing relevance, blending the best elements of old-school online networking with a commitment to transparency and user empowerment. A space in which conversation can remain civil, Dorsey’s project may very well be the antidote to a Twitter era that, despite its clamour around technological advances, has forgotten the value of nuanced engagement.

 

LETTERBOXD

Amid all the dire news surrounding the cinema business — namely, box office slumps, budget cuts and growing unemployment in Hollywood — something good transpired from the unlikeliest of places: cinephilia. The pandemic nearly killed the silver screen, but Letterboxd, an online cataloguing service that lets you track, rate, review and recommend any flick, has rekindled “grassroot discussions and discovery”. Think Goodreads for films, except that it is galvanised by a generation of Mubi bag-totting enthusiasts. How influential is this resource, which had more than 15 million users last year Letterboxd staff have been interviewing actors and directors on the red carpet — even acclaimed director Martin Scorsese joined the app to promote his 3½-hour western epic Killers of the Flower Moon. The ability to seamlessly share your movie data and logs on other social media networks means Letterboxd is not an insular community but a dynamic part of the larger conversation about culture and the entertainment industry.

 

CENTR

In a crowded field of health aids, actor Chris Hemsworth’s Centr stands out for its balanced approach to wellness. While the Marvel star may conjure up images of superhero-level routines, the app is refreshingly inclusive, offering a mélange of workout tips, nutrition plans and mindfulness exercises such as guided meditations and sleep visualisations that cater for users of all levels, from seasoned athletes to those just starting their fitness journey. Hemsworth developed the programmes with his wife, actress Elsa Pataky, along with a host of Hollywood trainers, hardcore stuntmen, Navy SEAL trainers, yoga practitioners, psychotherapists and professional chefs. If you need any more convincing, watch the trailer for Centr, set in Australia’s Byron Bay, featuring many strikingly fit people, including Hemsworth, who whacks a colossal tyre with a Thor-like hammer and flexes his yoga moves on a sandy beach.

 

BUSINESS BREAKDOWNS

In our frenetic age, audio narratives provide a rare opportunity for slow immersion. Better still, for readers of this newspaper, are business podcasts, which dole out compelling and insightful perspectives on familiar industry giants. Produced by media specialist Colossus, this show, which combines investigative rigour with a conversational tone, is a critical, yet accessible, examination of businesses ranging from household names to rising disruptors. Earlier this month, the streaming giant dissected the global luxury group Kering and explained how its recent profits dipped by 60% compared with competitor LVMH, which seems to be charting a steady rise. The Patek Philippe episode, for example, delves into the watchmaker’s founding story, secondary market strategies, dealer landscape and M&A trends in the horology market that impact its future outlook. Business Breakdowns fosters an appreciation for the complexities of business management and highlights the risks that come with innovation. Listeners are not only learning about corporate growth but also understanding the underlying mechanics of the conglomerates that have an impact on our daily practices.

 

CAPACITIES

This is a note-taking application with an opinion. From the get-go, its creators urge you to do away with folders as well as files, and instead organise your thoughts based on the content or theme, whether they are about ongoing projects, people (remember those work affiliates you have been meaning to meet?) or even the list of restaurants to take your investment bankers to next. The constant influx of new information, be it about market shifts, competitor analyses or internal team developments, can create cognitive overload. Capacities resolves this by offering a flexible, intuitive platform that serves as both a repository for ideas and a tool for strategic thinking. The intuitive search and tagging system retrieves data instantaneously, while its ability to integrate images, videos, web links and documents helps display richer visuals without having to toggle between multitasking tools. Consider this a productivity powerhouse that also enhances team collaborations and streamline their workflow.

 

KICKRESUME

New year, new … job? With six million users under its belt, Kickresume claims that its ChatGPT 4-powered CV builder has helped people land their dream positions with a proven success rate. Choose from more than 35 templates, designed by a team of professional typographers and experienced recruiters, and let the AI writer do all the heavy lifting. The mobile version also makes it effortless to create and edit your profile or cover letters on the go — you can use it exclusively on your iPhone or pick up where you left off on desktop (and resume on your handheld device if you like). All documents are stored in the Cloud and easily accessible from any place, at any time.


This article first appeared on Jan 13, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.

 

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