The AlphaGo match against Lee Sedol was one of those moments that felt genuinely era-defining. Google's capability was astonishing, though I didn't understand much about it at the time. Before the match, I had never heard of Lee Sedol or Ke Jie, and I had no idea how Go was played. I had run into deep learning during a project in Beijing, but my knowledge went only as far as a quick Wikipedia skim. Speaking of Wikipedia, I hadn't used it for a long time; I appreciated the strange feeling of having forgotten something so completely that I'd forgotten I had forgotten it.
I first saw the news on WeChat Moments. The day before AlphaGo played Lee Sedol, a friend posted that he was going to learn about Go so he wouldn't be completely lost while watching. He included a screenshot explaining the game. The categories and layout looked so professional—not an advertorial—that I assumed it couldn't be Baidu Baike. I even opened Baidu Baike on my phone to compare. Only then did I realize it was Wikipedia. That finally got me to download the Wikipedia app. It had recently received a major update, and the interface was surprisingly good.
As for phone apps, I've picked up several more recently.
Readdle was celebrating its eighth anniversary, so I bought its four-app bundle. At first I felt as if I'd gotten a bargain. Later I realized that the apps had all been free or discounted at some point, so the deal wasn't as good as it seemed. Still, the software is solid. I'd recommend PDF Expert and Calendars 5; the latter has been especially useful now that I'm studying time management. Of the other two, Scanner Pro beats Scan+, which I had bought cheaply earlier. Printer Pro doesn't do much for me, though it might help people who work in an office.
I also bought GoodReader. It has no Chinese interface, but its file management is excellent, and it supports a wide range of cloud storage services. I'm planning to set up DAV soon so syncing across devices will be easier. For free file management, Documents deserves a mention: no ads, full-featured.
To study English, I reluctantly paid for the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. I hope it will be useful. Kingsoft PowerWord also offers an offline version of the Oxford dictionary at a low price, but I don't like having too many miscellaneous tools. The app has a significant drawback: no split screen. Since I don't look up words on the tablet very often, I can tolerate it.
I'd also recommend NoteShelf and Notability, which I bought earlier. Both are for note-taking, but they focus on different things. I use NoteShelf because it can connect directly to the JotScript Bluetooth stylus, which has recently dropped in price. Notability is excellent for notes, with a good-looking interface and more natural strokes. Even so, I've always felt that the touch experience on an iPad is weaker than on a Surface.
Another app I bought earlier is Ulysses. It cost 168 yuan at the time, and now it's discounted to 128 because an iPhone version has been released. The app always seemed half a step behind: at first there was only an OSX version, and it reached iPad long after others had iOS versions. Users asked for an iPhone version, and now it's here. It's a nearly perfect app and definitely worth buying for people who love writing; the iPhone version is better than other paid apps in many details. But I don't enjoy writing, so for me it's a waste.
Finally, a few other things. Douban Music, that representative of small, refined taste, has quietly redesigned. The entry for trying the new Douban FM is the tiny '体验新版' text next to the logo; you have to be logged in to see it. The interface looks as if it was deleted and rebuilt, and I still like the style. You can now choose to listen to the songs you've hearted, though I've recently moved to NetEase Cloud Music. Music copyright seems to be getting stricter, and I've watched favorite songs gradually turn into paid content.