Here’s what you’ll find on App Store this Ramadan

Across the Arab World, consumers’ lifestyles and habits change during Ramadan. Content consumption trends tend to increase, even more so in a pandemic stricken year with people spending more time watching shows than usual. People also tend to be more active on social media and explore further apps and games. 

To celebrate the month of Ramadan, Apple is providing customers across the Middle East with a unique and differentiated experience across App Store, Apple Music, and Podcasts. These platforms will hold curated content suited for the occasion with the App Atore hosting developers from across the world featuring different Ramadan initiatives and offers; Apple Music is showcasing various music and playlists ‘Inspired by Faith’, and there is a super-room dedicated to helping you find the perfect podcast.

Below are the top highlights available on App Store, Apple Music, and Podcasts this Ramadan:

App Store

The App Store will be featuring original stories and collections on the Today tab during the month of Ramadan highlighting unique content including apps and games with special offers. 

• Ramadan favourites – Essential apps for self-care, prayer tracking, cooking, and more.
• Share your Ramadan story – A how-to story featuring InShot to help readers create a homemade Ramadan video. 
• Follow the moon with Night Sky – Highlighting some of Night Sky’s features through which users can interact with the Moon.
• Light up the lantern with PUBG Mobile – A deep dive on the limited-time Ramadan surprises of PUBG Mobile.

Below is a list of apps that will be offering exclusive in-app Ramadan offers and elements, live ops for the whole month:

• Food & Drink: 
  • Sayidaty Kitchen: Your go-to guide for delicious recipes and cooking methods.
  • My Fitness Pal: The app that will help you lose weight, tone up, get healthy, change your habits, or start a new diet.
• Entertainment: 
  • Shahid: Gain access to more than 20,000 hours of original productions, premieres, movies all in one place.
  • Storytel Audiobooks and EBooks: Sit back, relax and step into a world of stories. Enjoy unlimited listening and reading of audio books and e-books in English and other languages.
  • Colorful: Art Colouring Game: Have fun coloring mandalas, patterns, or animals with this therapeutic adults coloring book app.
• Gaming:  
  • Garena Free Fire – The Cobra: The ultimate survival shooter game available on mobile. Each 10-minute game places you on a remote island where you are pit against 49 other players, all seeking survival. 
  • Yalla Ludo – Ludo & Domino:  Kill time and play Ludo or Domino with your friends online.
  • Jawaker: Card Games & Friends: Play Baloot, Tarneeb, and Saudi Deal, and chat with friends on Jawaker, a great app for Arab card games.
  • Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!: Join Crash Bandicoot and his sister Coco on a mission to save the multiverse.

Apple Music

To help you reconnect with nostalgia and legacy content, Apple Music is featuring “Fawazir Ramadan”, the Pan Arab daily hit show with famous celebrities Sharihan and Nelly, exclusively on the platform. The live recordings of the show are now digitized and released as albums for the first time to celebrate the golden age in Egypt. 

The Islamic Music Category is hosting a selection of new dynamic playlists with the overarching theme “Inspired by Faith”, including Qawwali, Anasheed, Dastgah, Na’at. 

• Qawwali:  All-time great qawwals meet a new generation of Sufi singers in this world-class selection of qawwali.
• Anasheed: In this collection of anasheed classics, prominent monsheden and singers from around the world join their voices in songs of praise that awaken the spirit and uplift the soul.
• Dastgah: Mesmerising santur- and violin-driven instrumentals power this monthly updated tribute to Persian traditional music.
• Inspired by Faith: Modern faith-based songs come from a rich global palette of genres and styles.
• Qasidah: This rolling selection, featuring widely respected reciters and budding artists, merges recent a cappella interpretations of the classic Qasida Burda alongside uplifting, key-laden contemporary melodies.

Podcasts

On Apple Podcasts this Ramadan, there is a super-room dedicated to helping you find the perfect podcast. From peaceful and relaxing shows to get you to unwind to binge-worthy true crimes to podcasts that go great while you’re cooking. 

• Al Silah (Finyal Media): Two estranged brothers are forced to go on a road trip cross country as part of their father’s dying wish. This trip brings them closer together.
• Abu Abdo AlHakawati (Rising Giants Network): Carrying the tradition of storytelling in Ramadan, Abu Abdo will tell true stories from around the world in a rhythmic and immersive way.
• Dom Tak (Sowt): In this special Ramadan edition of the Dom Tak podcast, we dive into oceans of spiritual and festive music across the region, from Umayyad Mosque prayer circles in Syria, to Islamic pop! 
• Lo’ma w Lamma (Kerning Cultures): A Ramadan foodie show focus on interviewing notable chefs as they walk listeners through their favourite dishes, their journey to become a chef and the heritage of our food.