I don’t know if this qualifies as my favorite app of the year, but it’s definitely the most 2020 app I’ve used this year. Cardiio measures your heart rate, and I’m concerned to announce that I’ve been using it every day for the past few months – usually more than once a day. You can feel, like me, that this is the kind of year that makes anxious hearts beat faster and even trigger a panic attack or three. If my heart feels like it’s bursting out of my chest, I find it helpful to get a reality check (ok, 78 is higher than my normal, but not “high” in the sense of “let’s go to the emergency room”) while taking a break from anything that makes me stressed.
It’s sad that checking my pulse has become my relaxation technique, but let’s face it – much of this year has been sad. You can upgrade to learn more details such as “potential life expectancy” based on your average heart rate, but that seems like pure pride right now. —Alice Bradley, Editor-in-Chief
iOS