The World Wide Web has evolved considerably since the time it was invented in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Today, there are millions of websites out there and the way we consume things on the web has changed considerably as well. There’s just so much to browse, view, stream or download today. With every passing month, our data consumption seems to be increasing — be it cellular data while you’re on the move, or your home or office broadband. Today, it has almost become essential to track your data usage and keep an eye on it, to avoid going over the limit and being charged a hefty fee for it. Although there are a few different apps to do that, something that I’ve been using over the last few weeks is smartapp.
A product of Times Internet Ltd., smartapp first made its debut for Android users in India, then made its way to iOS as a Universal app and starting today, is available for the Mac as well. On all three platforms, smartapp does a bang up job of tracking your data usage.
iOS App
On the iPhone app, smartapp tracks your cellular data usage as well as Wi-Fi usage. You can add your plan details into the app and it’ll track how much you’ve used in the day and how much is left in the monthly cycle. Based on your usage, it forecasts how much data you can use in the data or how soon you’ll hit the limit. What’s more, it even tracks your usage while you’re on Roaming. If you’re close to hitting the limit, it’ll send you an alert as well.
smartapp offers two different Today Widgets for your Notification Center — one that offers a quick glance at the usage numbers and limits, and another that lets you track your usage for a specific session that you can start/stop any time.
There’s also a nifty Speed Test feature that tests your internet connection and gives your network a 5-Star rating for Browsing, VOIP and Videos. You can also view your speed test history and share your result with anyone, in the form of a screenshot that looks way better than the one SpeedTest.net generates. My only quibble about the iOS app is its use of lemony-green and purple color highlights — it just doesn’t work with the overall theme.
watchOS app
smartapp does offer a nifty app for the Apple Watch. It displays your cellular data usage, how many days you’ve got left in your plan cycle and a daily summary. These screens are also available as Glances, although there’s a surprising lack of Complications.
macOS App
Released today just a few hours ago, the Mac app is a menubar utility that conveniently tracks not just your total Wi-Fi usage, but also how much data each app has used so far. The design is very basic, featuring a bland white look with blue highlights — but it works. It does lack polish as well, and I’m sure the devs will improving it in the coming weeks.
Android App
The Android app is a different ball game altogether. Thanks to the open nature of the OS as well as the lenient policies of Google Play compared to the App Store, the folks at Times Internet chose to take a different approach for Android. For starters, the app is only available in India. Rather than being just a usage tracking app, smartapp on Android instead works as a plan recommendation engine and helps you save money by studying your usage trends and recommending better online recharge plans or offers. It works across all major carriers in India, so you can just enter your mobile number in there and recharge your account easily. It also offers periodic cash back offers.
You can download smartapp using these links below:
- iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad App on the App Store [$0.99 or ₹10]
- Mac App from their website [Free]
- Android App on Google Play [Free]