There's a lot of grizzling going on these days about how we all spend far too much time staring at our phones. Which, let's be honest, is fair enough. All you need to do is spend about 0.2 seconds on a bus or train to realise people don't really bother looking out the window anymore.
But before we shake our fists at the sky and prophesise a future where our brains are sultana-sized and filled with nothing but Kardashian trivia, let's take a look at some apps which can actually help make us feel smarter.
QuizUp
Price: Free
QuizUp is a multiplayer trivia game ideal for those who want to dominate at their local's next trivia night.
Developed by Plain Vanilla Games, QuizUp enables you to play against friends or, if you're feeling adventurous, randomly challenge one of the millions of other players around the world. Available via iTunesandGoogle Play.
Words with Friends
Price: Free
Scrabble lovers, unite. WWF is basically Scrabble for your phone a social word game which will make the Dictionary your new best friend in no time.
Play against a mate or get the app to pick a player suited to your skills using the 'Community Match' tool. Developed by Zynga, you can download it on iTunes orGoogle Play.
Elevate
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Designed in collaborating with education experts, this brain-training program is said to improve a whole host of skills, including attention, processing speed, memory, maths and even speaking.
Every player is provided with a personalised program which becomes more customised the more you train. Get it on iTunes or Google Plus.
Brainwell
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Brainwell has more than 50 brain training games (including up to three new games made available per day) designed to challenge your cognitive areas.
A performance tracker enables you to see how far you've progressed, plus you can challenge your friends to brain teaser challenges. Available on iTunes and Google Plus.
Peak
Another brain-training app developed in conjunction with neuroscientists, Peak has over 30 games to give your cognitive skills the ultimate workout.
Key features include short daily workouts, a progress tracker and a small selection of games suitable to play on an Apple watch. Developed by brainbow, you can get the app on iTunes or via Google Play.
Blackbox
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Blackbox is a puzzler with one significant difference -- you can not, and do not, use the touch screen. Ever.
Each of the puzzles (and there are more than 50 of them) have to be solved using ways that don't involve the screen, so prepared to tilt, shout, click, snap, wait... and potentially scream in frustration.
From developer Ryan McLeod, Blackbox is available to download oniTunes.