20 best iPhone and iPad apps this week

It's time for our weekly roundup of brand new and notable apps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

It covers apps and games, with the prices referring to the initial download: so (Free) may mean (Freemium) in some cases. There's a separate roundup for Android apps, which was published earlier in the day.

For now, read on for this week's iOS selection (and when you've finished, check out previous Best iPhone and iPad apps posts).

eBay Exact (Free)

At the time of writing, eBay's step into the 3D printing world is US-only, but it's still fascinating. The ecommerce service is teaming up with Sculpteo, MakerBot and Hot Pop Factory to offer a range of customisable products, from iPhone cases to jewellery. They can be created using plastics, wood and metals, engraved with your own words and then ordered. It's the start of something much bigger for eBay, I sense – and for online shopping too.
iPhone

Deus Ex: The Fall (£4.99)

Square Enix's brand new iOS game based on its Deus Ex console franchise has been making headlines for its anti-piracy tactic: if you try to play on a jailbroken iOS device, it won't let you shoot, although that's reportedly being removed. What about the game itself though? It's a whopping 1.6GB of action-RPG, er, action. With impressive visuals and (for most of us) lots of shooting.
iPhone / iPad

IFTTT (Free)

IFTTT is the (excellent) service for connecting up lots of your social networks and websites, to make them work better together. Automatic backups of Instagram photos to Dropbox, plotting reminders in Google Calendar and so on. Now there's an app for it, to create and track the "recipes" on the move, and add your iOS photos, calendar and reminders into the mix. Read more in this interview with IFTTT.
iPhone

Tiny Thief (£1.99)

Tiny Thief is the latest game from Rovio Stars, the new publishing business that's part of Angry Birds-maker Rovio. Inspired by classic point'n'click adventure games, it sees the titular hero exploring six quests, with some delightful puzzles and surprises in store.
iPhone / iPad

Byliner (Free)

This is interesting: an app offering unlimited access to its catalogue of fiction and non-fiction stories for a flat monthly subscription – £6.99 in the UK – making it a Spotify for stories. Well, sort of. There are some well-known writers on board too, from authors to journalists.
iPad

Kodiak JavaScript (£2.99)

An app for coders, this: "A JavaScript IDE for your iPad and it works completely offline," as the App Store listing explains. "You can write and run your code directly on your iPad inside Kodiak, no need for an internet connection." The necessary libraries and frameworks have been included, as well as examples for new coders and experienced developers alike.
iPad

miCoach multi-sport (Free)

This is the latest fitness app from Adidas, which works with a small sensor – the miCoach Speed_Cell – which clips onto or into your trainers. The app then tracks your movements while playing various sports, including football, tennis, basketball, rugby, American football and handball, to visualise how effective (or ineffective) your huffing and puffing has been.
iPhone

Manything (Free)

Got some old iOS devices lying around the house? Manything will find a use for them, turning them into video-monitoring cameras. The device sits and records, streaming to Manything's servers to be watched live or archived for later viewing. A clever idea.
iPhone

Cal | Your life. Your Calendar (Free)

This comes from the developers of productivity app Any.do, and is the latest attempt to kick Apple's native iOS calendar app to the digital kerb. It's a calendar app that pulls in photos, social networking and connects to Any.do for your to-do list, with maps and a stylish design part of the appeal.
iPhone

Ravenmark: Mercenaries (Free)

Tactical wargame Ravenmark: Mercenaries looks to have lots of meat to it, as you create your own armies then send them into battle against other players. A nice tough: the emphasis that the game's in-app purchases aren't about "pay-to-win" – but rather customising elements of the game and removing its ads. Translation: you can't just spend loads of cash to lay waste to your foes.
iPhone / iPad

AP Stylebook 2013 (£17.49)

The Associated Press has released the latest edition of its Stylebook as an app, complete with the ability to import users' notes from last year's edition. Expect spelling, grammar, punctuation and journalistic language tips, in a clean, uncluttered interface for easy searching.
iPhone / iPad

Tripwolf Offline City Maps (£1.49)

Google Maps is all very well on an iPhone, but if you're roaming abroad and using it a lot, your monthly mobile bill may be terrifying reading. Travel service Tripwolf is the latest company releasing offline maps for use on iPhone, with more than 600 cities supported.
iPhone / iPad

Avokiddo Emotions (£1.49)

This is a fun idea for children: an app that aims to teach them about different emotions through three animals: a sheep, zebra and giraffe. They gurn on-screen while kids drag and drop more than 100 props to trigger different emotions, from happiness and fear to shyness and sadness. Disco dancing is included, too, which is always a bonus.
iPhone / iPad

Ernie Els Driven (£2.99)

With The Open about to tee off and sunny weather across the UK, there are likely to be plenty of golf rounds played this month. What better time for pro Ernie Els to release an educational app, then? It promises to make your golf swing "smooth and powerful just like The Big Easy" with videos and challenges to sharpen up your skills.
iPhone

Veggie Weekend (Free)

There are lots of good cooking apps on iOS, but not so many with a vegetarian focus. Veggie Weekend should pick up a fair few fans then: it includes 18 recipes for veggies from salads to sourdough, with additional recipe packs like Vegan Desserts and Inspired by Asia available as 69p in-app purchases.
iPhone / iPad

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Paint & Play (£2.99)

This is Disney's latest iOS app for children, based around Mickey Mouse and his Clubhouse TV show. It's a colouring app, with a range of characters and scenes to digitally paint. The twist: when finished, they transform from 2D to 3D. There's also innovative use of the device camera to pull in your own textures from the real world, Toca Tailor-style.
iPhone / iPad

Duolingo (Free)

Language-learning app Duolingo has been around for a while on iPhone, but now it's available on iPad too. It offers a range of languages, structured into lessons based on commonly-used words and phrases, with social features getting you to compete with friends along the way.
iPhone / iPad

Call of Mini Zombies 2 (£0.69)

There are more dodgy zombie games for iOS than there are extras in all the Evil Dead films ever. Thankfully, the first Call of Mini Zombies game was great fun, and the sequel follows in its shambling footsteps. Shooting, shooting and more shooting in this colourful romp.
iPhone / iPad

The Big Toss: Cricket (Free)

The Ashes are underway! England are 1-0 up! And did I mention the lovely weather? The Big Toss is an app for armchair cricket fans: a way to bet (for fun) against friends while watching matches, making predictions as they play out in real life. Tournaments and series from around the world are supported, including this summer's England/Australia slugfest.
iPhone

Color Band (Free)

One more app for children this week, and one that genuinely startled me with its ambition when I played with it. Color Band is part musical sequencer, part Etch-a-Sketch and part Kinect: kids draw or colour in pixelly instruments and scenes on-screen, then play them by waving their hands in front of the front-facing camera (although touch controls are supported too). Different instruments and scenes are sold as in-app purchases.
iPad

That's this week's selection, but what do you think? Make your own recommendations, or give your views on the apps above, by posting a comment.