The discounting comes as the U.S. tech giant seeks to defend its position in the high-end smartphone market, where it faces increasing competition from local rivals such as Huawei.

Running from May 20 to May 28, it is more substantial than the one Apple offered in February.

While the highest discount in the February campaign was 1,150 yuan, this time discounts are up to 2,300 yuan. The steepest discount applies to the 1TB iPhone 15 Pro Max model, while other models also see significant price cuts.

For instance, the 128 GB version of the base iPhone 15 model has a discount of 1,400 yuan, according to Reuters’ checks on Monday.

The increased competitive pressure on Apple comes after Huawei last month introduced its new series of high-end smartphones, the Pura 70, following the launch of the Mate 60 last August.

Apple’s previous discounting effort in February appears to have helped the company mitigate a sales slowdown in China.

Apple’s shipments in China increased by 12% in March, according to Reuters’ calculations based on data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). This marks a significant improvement from the first two months of 2024, when the company experienced a 37% slump in sales.

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The Department of Commerce did not specify which permits were cancelled but the move follows Huawei’s release of an AI-enabled computer powered by a chip created by Intel.

US-based chipmaker Intel declined to comment to a request for comment from BBC News. The BBC has also contacted Huawei and chip giant Qualcomm for responses to the announcement.

Since 2019, the US has restricted technology exports, such as computer chips, to Huawei, citing alleged ties to the Chinese military.

“We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei,” the Commerce Department said in a statement on Tuesday, but did not give details of which permits had been withdrawn.

Some US lawmakers had criticised the administration of President Joe Biden following the launch last month of Huawei’s MateBook X Pro laptop.

“Make no mistake, the Biden Administration would not have taken this action if Republicans in Congress were not holding them accountable,” said Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik in a social media post.

Huawei has been hit hard by US trade restrictions but more recently appeared to mount a comeback.

The Chinese company has enjoyed a resurgence, particularly after the launch of the Mate 60 Pro smartphone in August.

In 2019, during the presidency of Donald Trump, US officials added Huawei to a so-called “entity list.”

It means that US companies need to obtain a licence from the government to export or transfer some technologies, especially over concerns that they will be used by the Chinese military.

However, in that time licences have been granted to some US companies, including Intel and Qualcomm, to supply Huawei with technology that was not related to 5G.

The US has imposed restrictions on several Chinese technology firms in recent years, as tensions between the world’s two biggest economies intensified.

Earlier this month, President Biden signed a law that could ban the video app TikTok in the country unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company. TikTok filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block the legislation.

Beijing has condemned Washington’s moves against its companies, describing them as ‘economic bullying’.

The Shenzhen-based conglomerate, which has been a flashpoint in the escalating rivalry between Washington and Beijing, saw 70% year-on-year growth in its smartphone sales in China in the first quarter, while Apple’s sales declined by more than 19%, according to Counterpoint Research.

“Apple’s sales were subdued during the quarter as Huawei’s comeback has directly impacted Apple in the premium segment,” said Ivan Lam, senior research analyst at Counterpoint.

The iPhone maker, which led China’s smartphone market with a share of nearly 20% in the first quarter of 2023, has fallen to the third spot in the first three months of this year, according to Counterpoint. Its market share now stands at 15.7%, while Huawei’s has jumped to 15.5%, from 9.3% last year.

Huawei’s popular Mate 60 Pro smartphone made headlines last year when the US government sought more information about the model, which included a sophisticated processor. Its debut shocked industry experts who questioned how the company could acquire such a chip following sweeping efforts by the United States to restrict China’s access to foreign chip technology because of national security concerns.

Counterpoint’s data comes just days after another market research firm IDC said Apple’s global smartphone sales had tumbled 10% in the first quarter, mainly because of loss of momentum in China.

China is the largest market behind the United States for Apple, but the company is facing a challenging time in the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese consumers, who once would have considered Apple, are now turning to Chinese brands.

Overall smartphone sales in China grew 1.5% in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint. Local smartphone makers Vivo and Honor were the top two brands by market share.

Mr Hua, has said while traditional infrastructure, including roads, bridges and power grids, has long been recognized as the backbone of economic growth and development, digital infrastructure is evolving to form the foundation of a sustainable and equitable society.  

Speaking at the 3^rd Huawei Sustainability forum, Mr Hua, advocated for universal access as he asserted that stable connectivity is not only a fundamental right for every individual but also a cornerstone of the digital economy.

“Everyone should have access to stable connectivity. We see connectivity not just as a basic right for every person, but also as a cornerstone of the digital economy,” he said.

He also underscored the centrality of connectivity in fostering a thriving society, stressing its role in simplifying daily routines, strengthening economies, and promoting environmental sustainability.

He indicated that “connectivity is playing an important role in every aspect of our lives. It makes our lives easier, our economies stronger, and our environment greener.”

Mr Hua further touched on the importance of a potent computing infrastructure to accelerate digital and intelligent transformation across industries.

“We need to build a stronger computing infrastructure to speed up digital and intelligent transformation across industries and integrate the development of the digital and real economies,” he added.

As the world moves towards the future, investing in next-generation infrastructure is no longer a choice, but a necessity.

Prioritizing the development of a reinforced network infrastructure and strengthened computing capabilities will lay the foundation for a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for all.

Digital infrastructure, particularly connectivity and computing power, has emerged as a crucial driver of socio-economic progress, as traditional infrastructure is not meeting the demands of societies in a world filled with technological advancements.

With the world grappling with the challenges of ensuring inclusive development, next-generation digital infrastructure is becoming as essential as its physical counterpart.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) indicates that, by the end of September 2023, nearly 2.6 billion people, about 33% of the world’s population, had never used the Internet.

Most of these people, the ITU indicated, are from developing countries or underserved rural communities.

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This is Huawei’s first progress report since it joined the Coalition last year.

Chairman of the Board of Huawei, Dr. Liang Hua, made the announcement at the 2023 Sustainability Forum, themed “Thriving Together with Tech: Realizing Sustainable Development.”

The event also brought together Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Secretary-General of ITU; Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development; as well as representatives from telecommunications ministries and regulators, including some from Pakistan and Ghana.

Attendees explored how digital infrastructure can better drive sustainable development and help build a greener and more inclusive intelligent world.

“Next-generation digital infrastructure, like connectivity and computing power, are as vital to driving socio-economic development as our physical infrastructure, just like roads. This new infrastructure will be crucial to sustainable development for all of society,” Dr. Liang said.

He continued, “Computing is a core driver of productivity in the digital economy. Faster rollout of computing infrastructure will help speed up digital transition in many industries, and promote deeper integration of the digital and real economies. This can further promote global economic stability and sustainable development.”

The Secretary-General of ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin added, “Let’s not choose between tech and sustainable development. We need both! Let’s thrive together with tech. Let’s build a digital future that advances progress for people and planet.”

Huawei firmly believes digital talent is key to future technological innovation.

To foster more widespread digital engagement and develop future leaders, the company has deepened its partnership with ITU by launching a fellowship called “ITU Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme in Partnership with Huawei”.

The fellowship will be open for applications early next year, and will last three years.

Each year, 30 young visionaries (aged 18-28) from around the world will receive support in their projects to use digital technology to drive community development.

Jeff Wang, President of Huawei’s Public Affairs and Communications Department, noted: “Huawei is proud to partner with ITU for this important cause, and to see young visionaries making a tangible impact for digital inclusion all across the world. The support that participants will receive includes financial contributions to their projects, mentoring from ITU and Huawei experts, and opportunities to participate in joint events.”

He added, “Through ITU and Huawei’s joint efforts, young people will learn, contribute and lead in the digital world,” said Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “Digital is a prerequisite for accelerating the achievement of the SDGs.

“We want youth to push the envelope on the evolving global digital ecosystem and make their transformative contributions. I thank Huawei for this great partnership, and I look forward to seeing the global impact of this innovative project.”

The P2C Coalition, launched by ITU, fosters meaningful connectivity and digital transformation globally, prioritizing remote communities in countries and regions that lack digital access.

Huawei signed the global commitment last year, setting goals to bring connectivity to about 120 million people in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025.

So far, Huawei has provided 2,066 training opportunities in the ITU’s first P2C partner country Cambodia, in collaboration with local ministries and universities.

The award is in recognition of their work in building flexible green site solutions.

AfricaCom is the largest annual event in the communications industry in Africa.

Its awards are designed to recognise organisations and institutions that have made innovative and outstanding contributions to the telecom industry in Africa.

Developed against the background of South Africa’s ongoing power crisis, the solution uses green and intelligent technologies to perform end-to-end site reconstruction and reinforcement with power supply, distribution, load, and intelligent O&M.

Thanks to innovations that include anti-theft reconstruction and smart power consumption, the solution is highly adaptable to power outages and weak power grids and ensures more than 98% energy availability at sites.

Huawei’s advanced OWS+NetEco intelligent O&M platform, helps achieve even greater efficiency by using AI technologies for solar, mains, and diesel power supply.

The solution has been so successful in South Africa that it will also be rolled out widely in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Kenya to address the challenges of power shortages in these countries.

Another significant spin-off of this partnership is that it has helped bring MTN much closer to its net-zero goals.

“As a leading operator in South Africa, MTN SA aims to keep connected, enabling all the benefits of a modern connected life to everyone, while harnessing the power of MTN through its leading brand, footprint, connectivity, infrastructure and technology platforms,” says Zoltan Miklos, General Manager of Access and Architecture, MTN South Africa.

“As the strategic partner of MTN SA, Huawei provides in-depth site insights based on its powerful R&D innovation, product supply capabilities, and professional local service team.”

“South Africa’s load shedding crisis already hugely affects people’s activities and mobile network experience,” says Diego Dong, South Africa Delivery and Service Business, Huawei.

“Having a resilient and intelligent network has urgently become the consensus for all operators and customers.

“Based on the comprehensive power diagnosis and service capability, Huawei and SA MTN are working actively together on Green ICT innovation to build intelligent, green, and simplified sites, which can ensure a highly reliable network and provide the best user experience.”

As the largest communications exhibition in Africa, AfricaCom brings together decision-makers in the communications field, including government departments, carriers, investors, and industry analysts, to discuss the latest trends in the communications industry.

The initiative which was launched on Monday at the 2023 Huawei Sustainability Forum is dubbed the Generation Connect Youth Leadership Programme.

The Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, speaking at the launch said the programme aligns with ITU’s commitment to youth empowerment through ICT and the United Nations Youth 2030 initiative.

He explained the project involves a structured mentorship to nurture leadership potential and turn innovative ideas into real projects.

Dr Cosmas added it involves promoting digital inclusion and delivering technology
enablers to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“I thank Huawei for this partnership. Today’s youth are true digital natives who carry new perspectives and new ideas. We want the youth to dismantle barriers, build bridges, and set audacious goals for themselves and for others.

“Through the ITU and Huawei joint effort, they will learn, contribute, and lead in the digital-first
world. A powerful digital ecosystem is a prerequisite for accelerating the achievement of SDGs.
We want the youth to push the envelope on the evolving global digital ecosystem and make their contributions,” he noted.

Chairman of the Huawei Board, Liang Hua, stated that next-generation digital infrastructure, like connectivity and computing power, are as vital to driving socio-economic development as our physical infrastructure, just like roads.

This new infrastructure, he therefore acknowledged will be crucial to sustainable development for all of society.

“As we enter an intelligent world at full speed, digital technologies like 5G, AI, and cloud computing are reshaping how we live and work. They are converging and seeing broad adoption in a number of domains, including smart homes, smart cities, smart travel, intelligent quality inspection, advanced robotics, and enhanced weather forecasts.

“Connectivity is playing an important role in every aspect of our lives. It makes our lives easier, our economies stronger, and our environment greener. Everyone should have access to stable
connectivity. We see connectivity not just as a basic right for every person, but also as a
cornerstone of the digital economy,” he added.

The President of ICT Marketing, Huawei, Jeffrey Zhou, on his part stated digital technologies are rapidly reshaping our world, bringing about tremendous increases in efficiency and productivity across industries and across society.

“However, while we are witnessing the acceleration of the global digitalization process, we are also seeing the digital divide further widening.

“Over the past four years, we have joined hands with global partners to bridge the digital divide and promote sustainable development around four areas: equitable and quality education, protecting the fragile environment, promoting health and well-being, and promoting balanced development,” Mr Zhou touted.

Background:

In 2022, Huawei joined the ITU’s Partner2Connect Digital Coalition. As part of our membership, Huawei pledged to bring connectivity to more than 120 million people across remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025 by leveraging technologies and services such as 5G and AI.

While it is important to ensure that everyone has basic connectivity, we should also remember the vital role technology plays in fueling economic growth and protecting the natural world.

Investments in broadband networks and other ICT infrastructure stimulate economies by encouraging entrepreneurs to start businesses and enabling companies to offer new services.

At the same time, digital technology protects the environment by reducing the environmental impact of economic development.

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Mrs Akufo-Addo made the promise when she graced the Huawei 2023 Sustainability Forum on Monday.

The forum was themed, Thrive Together with Tech: Realising Sustainable Development.

The First Lady addressing participants said Ghana has advanced its cause of sustainability in all of the economic sectors.

With Ghana as the first West African country to build a floating Hydro-Solar Hybrid plant in the Bono region in its quest to diversify energy mix, she highlight the progress made so far.

She noted the solar hybrid plant does not only power the country’s grid but has also revitalised industry and improved the quality of life.

“Significantly this plant will fuel a cashew factory in the Bono region and create employment for over 800 citizens including women.

This cashew plant will not only provide employment opportunities but also equip beneficiaries with the necessary skillset to make a living on their own,” Mrs Akufo-Addo said.

She lauded Huawei for the significant contribution in stimulating the Ghanaian economy, adding that, her experience working with Huawei has been encouraging.

The First Lady indicated that, as part of the partnership, over 6000 students and traders have been trained within two years.

“I would like to commend the Bui Power Authority, Meinergy who owns the factory, and Huawei for contributing their quota in support of this initiative to create employment opportunities for Ghanaians, especially women.

Together we have worked tirelessly in building the skills capacity of females in rural areas,” she added.

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The training, which started in September 2021, has benefitted Junior High and Senior High School girls in the Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Western, Greater Accra and Northern Regions of Ghana.

Through the Huawei Seeds for the Future- Women in Tech program, students were exposed to digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence, basic ICT skills training, coding programs and languages like Scratch, HTML and C++ while some students were taken through the needed guidelines to enable them stay safe on the cyberspace.

Although majority of the beneficiaries were Senior High School students, some Junior High School pupils who took part in the basic ICT skills and coding training shared experiences of how the training has given them the opportunity to create games, create stories and operate laptops on their own with little assistance.

Traders at the Northern, Eastern, Western and the Greater Accra regions were also taken through a workshop on Financial Technology (FinTech) by industry experts from the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (AITI-KACE) to boost their businesses, economically empower them and enable them to take advantage of digital technologies to improve their livelihood.

In ensuring that the maiden edition of the Seeds for the Future Women in Tech program debuts successfully, Huawei Ghana partnered with the Rebecca Foundation, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to hold the training in the various regions.

In partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization’s Girls in ICT program, Huawei successfully trained over 40,000 Senior High School girls in Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security in the Ashanti, Central and Eastern Region of Ghana.

The Rebecca Foundation also partnered Huawei to train 600 Junior High School Girls in coding and 150+ women (traders) in Financial Technology.  In collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Huawei engaged the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana to offer a Chinese Cultural experience workshop for about 150 women in the Ga Central Municipality and trained 1,000 Junior and Senior High School girls in coding and basic ICT skills respectively.

As part of the Global Leading ICT Company’s commitment in promoting gender equality, Huawei believes that more opportunities and support must be given to women to ensure they have access both to education and training to compete in the digital economy.

Aside Ghana, Huawei has already rolled out dedicated digital skills training programs for women in multiple countries, including Ireland, Argentina, Bangladesh, Kenya, and South Africa.

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.

Huawei’s end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.

At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. We have more than 180,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.

The training comes as part of efforts to improve the digital literacy skills of children by exposing them to the basic coding skills and programming languages like; HTML, Scratch, and C++ as well as economically empowering women in the Northern, Western and Eastern regions of Ghana to enable them to take advantage of digital technologies to improve their livelihoods.

The pilot of the training, which began on 8th November 2021 at Damongo, in the Northern region, has benefitted 50 traders and 150 Junior High School pupils from Kurabaso JHS, Jafo JHS, Cathedral JHS, Yabum JHS, Presby JHS, ST. Anne’s JHS, Jakpa JHS, Damongo Girls Model JHS and Canteen JHS.

In a short kickoff meeting, Ghana’s First Lady and founder of Rebecca Foundation, Mrs Rebecca Akuffo-Addo, commended Huawei for positively partnering the Rebecca Foundation to train more girls and women, especially in digital technologies to bridge the gender gap in ICT.

She mentioned that the Foundation is keen on embarking on activities and initiatives aimed at the socio-economic development of children and women across the country and the partnership with Huawei is in line with this objective. 

The Director of Public Relations for Huawei Ghana, Mrs Jenny Zhou indicated during the meeting that Huawei is passionate about grooming more women in technology and as a result will continue to undertake such programmes to positively impact societies.

According to her, the initiative is in line with the 10th anniversary celebration of International Girls in ICT Day and Huawei’s Seeds for the Future- Women in Tech programme aimed at stimulating the interest of girls and young women in tech through training, workshops, career guidance and mentorship.

In his remarks, the Municipal Chief Executive of the West Gonja Municipality, Karimu Kusubari, commended Huawei Ghana and the Rebecca Foundation for bringing the digital technologies training to their doorstep and for including the district.

He entreated the students to take the training seriously and impact other children with the knowledge earned. He also called on Huawei to expand the training to cover more students in the municipality next year.

In addressing the students, Katribe Dramani, the Director of Education for the West Gonja Municipality also tasked the students to become ambassadors of ICT and ensure that what they have been taught, is put to good use.

The training is expected to benefit cumulatively, 400 more women and children from Mpohor in the Western Region and Asamankese in the Eastern Region of Ghana and empower students to become the future creators of technology by exploring programming to start building upon their computational thinking skills in their early childhood.

This training comes as part of Huawei’s promise to the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo- Addo to train 10,000 Ghanaians in ICT by 2024.

That brings us to New Year’s resolution time, and you know how it goes: You plan on saving more, starting a diet, getting that gym membership, and so on, but before January is over, you drift back to your old ways.

To steer you away from going down this same path this year, I suggest using your smartphone to help you achieve your goals (hey, you already use it for everything else, right?). Here are a few apps to download that can make 2021 the year your resolution sticks.

If your resolution is to manage your spending habit

Money Manager – the #1 financial planning, review, expense tracking, and personal asset management app for Android!

Money Manager makes managing personal finances easy. You can record your personal and business financial transactions, generate spending reports, review your daily, weekly, and monthly financial data, and manage your assets with Money Manager’s spending tracker and budget planner.

It does not just record your money coming in and out of your account but deposits your money into your account as soon as your income is input and draws money from your account as soon as your expense is input.

The app also shows your budget and expenses by a graph so you can see the amount of your expense against your budget quickly and make suitable financial inferences

For the privacy/security conscious, you can secure your transactions by adding a passcode to the app, preventing anyone from accessing your data if they open the app.

Money manager also allows you to transfer between assets making your personal and business asset management more efficient. Additionally, you can manage your salary, insurance, term deposit and loans easily by setting automatic transfers and recurrent transaction rules.

Based on the data you’ve entered over time, you can instantly see your expense by category and changes between each month with your income/expense indicated by a graph as well.

Finally, you can export the data in Excel format, and if you’re switching phones no need to worry, you can connect your google drive account for backup and restore.

Oh and there’s dark mode.

All these features are available by default on the free version. The paid version gives you these extra features.
– No Ads.
– Unlimited Assets (In the free version, limited to 10.)
– Edit PC (http://youtu.be/5S4S3EQ3AZE)

If your resolution is to stay fit

Home Workouts provides daily workout routines for all your main muscle groups. In just a few minutes a day, you can build muscles and keep fit at home without having to go to the gym. No equipment or coach needed, all exercises can be performed with just your body weight.

The app has workouts for your abs, chest, legs, arms, and butt as well as full-body workouts. All the workouts are designed by experts. None of them need equipment, so there’s no need to go to the gym. Even though it just takes a few minutes a day, it can effectively tone your muscles and help you get six pack abs at home and stay fit.

The routines are designed to make sure you exercise in a scientific way. With animations and video guidance for each exercise, you can make sure you use the right form during each exercise.

The app lets you set reminders for your workout and synchronizes with your fitness app like Google fit and Apple Health.

It’s free but has paid unlimited access to all features for USD $39.99/year.

If your resolution is to sleep better

Struggling to catch enough zzz’s? There’s an app for that (no surprise there!). In fact, there are so many sleep apps that promise to help you fall (and stay) asleep that it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth a try. That’s I’ve picked the best free one for you.

If you want to learn how you slept, the Sleep Cycle app is for you. It tracks your sleep patterns and provides tips to optimize your snooze time. Plus, it has an alarm clock that gently wakes you up when you’re in your lightest sleep phase so you’ll wake up feeling refreshed.

Sleep cycle doesn’t need you to put anything under your pillow or to wear on your body – Simply turn it on before going to bed and place your device on your nightstand or close by on the floor. Sleep Cycle uses sound analysis to identify sleep states, using your microphone as a sleep recorder, tracking your movements in bed.

Just keep in mind that no sleep tracker is 100% accurate so if you’re really struggling with your sleep, you may need to see a dedicated sleep specialist.

If your resolution is to improve your writing and grammar

https://www.grammarly.com/p

Grammarly is the writing world’s go-to spelling and grammar checker outside of standard word processors. Like any good editor, it underlines the errors and weak phrases in your writing — but Grammarly also goes above and beyond by providing a label and detailed reason for each correction, so you’ll actually learn from your mistakes

On top of these notes, Grammarly has a number of nuanced features to ensure your writing accomplishes exactly what you want it to do. You can “set goals” in terms of your audience, formality level, and tone (happy, confident, urgent, etc.) and analyze your text for factors like clarity, engagement, and delivery.

All this makes for a very well-rounded writing experience.

Grammarly is also available as native desktop clients for both Windows and macOS; browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge; and a Microsoft Office add-in (now on both Mac and Windows platforms).

If you want more features, like customized checks for different document types, a plagiarism filter, and a function to help diversify your vocabulary, among other extras, it’ll set you back $29.95 per month, $59.95 per quarter, or $139.95 per year.

If your resolution is to read more

Cut the habit of scrolling through Instagram, watching TikTok videos, start a reading habit with the Amazon kindle app.

The Kindle app puts over 1.5 million books at your fingertips. It’s the app for every reader, whether you’re a book reader, magazine reader, or newspaper reader — and you don’t need to own a Kindle eReader to use it. You can get over a million books from the Kindle Store or enjoy popular magazines and newspapers, such as The Economist, The Spectator, The Guardian and The Daily Mail.

If you want free books, you have over a million choices such as Pride & Prejudice, Treasure Island, and many more.

You can also easily shop for e-books, including bestsellers and new releases, for £3.99 or less and 200,000 Kindle-exclusive titles that you won’t find anywhere else, including books by bestselling authors.

The app has a Built-In Dictionary, access to Google and Wikipedia, which allows you to look up words instantly while you’re reading your e-books. Simply press and hold a word to view its definition or use the Google and Wikipedia links to get more information.

If your resolution is to learn a new language

When it comes to language learning apps, there are so many good ones it’s so difficult to recommend just one. So, in this case, we went with the most popular one.

When I try to describe any learning app, I get the question “is it like Duolingo?” There is no list of best apps that doesn’t mention it. With over 100 million users. The app has become a staple example of mobile language learning.

Duolingo is a fun, free app for learning 35+ languages through quick, bite-sized lessons. Practice speaking, reading, listening and writing to build your vocabulary and grammar skills.

The lessons were by language experts and loved by hundreds of millions of learners worldwide, Duolingo helps you prepare for real conversations in Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, German, English, and more.

Whether you’re learning a language for travel, school, career, family, and friends, or your brain health, you’ll love learning with Duolingo.

If your resolution is to learn how to code

Grasshopper is developed by Google, and is one of the more accessible ways for beginners to start coding—you can dive in and be typing and arranging commands in minutes. While it focuses exclusively on JavaScript, the concepts that the platform covers, apply to any programming language.

The coding exercises are set up like puzzles to solve, with a well-judged balance of instructions, actual coding, and end results on the screen. To begin with, you just have to move elements around on a screen before you actually get to type anything, and the progression speed is nice and steady.

The exercises are short, so you can jump in and do one whenever you have a spare five minutes on whatever device you use—Grasshopper will sync your progress automatically.

The app won’t take you as far as some other code teaching platforms can—you won’t get a job off the back of using Grasshopper—but it’s a really friendly introduction if you’re totally new to this, and it’s completely free to use.

If your resolution is to stay focused

The premise is simple – every time you begin to focus, you plant a seed. This seed will grow into a tree for as long as you stay on the app and resist the temptation to use your phone. If you keep that focus up, you’ll eventually have your very own virtual forest. 

Guilt is a pretty great motivator, and Forest requires you to murder a tree if you want to give in to the temptation of a distraction. Or that’s my dramatic take on it. The basic concept is this: You plant a tree and set a timer for how long you want to be productive. As long as you don’t use your phone (or go on certain sites, if you’re using the Chrome extension), your tree continues to grow. But if you use your phone or banned sites before the timer goes off, your tree withers. Over time—through lots of focused productivity sessions—you grow a beautiful, lush forest, and honestly, it’s hard not to get attached.

What’s better is that this reward-based model translates to actual change. You can earn virtual coins for focusing, then use them to plant trees through “Trees for the Future,” Forest’s not-for-profit partner. 

If your resolution is to drink more water

Hydro is a perfectly serviceable water reminder app with the basic features, one of which is a water demand calculator to see how much water you actually need. Additionally, it comes with reminders, charts to track your water intake, cloud backup support, cross-device syncing, and it supports approximately ten languages. The premium version removes advertising and gives you additional backup options. It looks good and it worked well in my testing. I don’t think I can’t ask for much more than that.

Hope these apps help you to stick to your new year resolutions.

Happy New Year!