Tech review: Apps to usher in the start of the NFL season

With the official app of the National Football League, fans can watch... — With the official app of the National Football League, fans can watch their favorite teams play live on their smartphones. Credit: Newsday/NFLEnterprises

By Peter KingSpecial to NewsdaySeptember 2, 2020

The NFL opens its season Thursday night, and the league is hoping to get a full schedule played. These apps can help you keep up with Jets, Giants and the league as a whole as the games play out amid a pandemic. Or, if the season is shortened, delayed or canceled, there are options to move football game action to your mobile device.

NFL

(iOS, Android; free)

The official app of the National Football League includes team pages for the Jets and the Giants, and you can also watch them play live on your smartphone (although not on iPads or Android tablets). Most important, in this year where games might by postponed and rescheduled, the NFL app will keep you apprised of what may well be a highly fluid season.

ESPN Fantasy Sports

(iOS, Android; free)

There is no escaping reality, even in fantasy football. ESPN has added an injured reserve slot to its standard football league structure this season so you can adjust your rosters if a player is ruled out for COVID-19 reasons. Other than that, if you are looking to compete in a fantasy football league, ESPN Fantasy Sports is the No. 1 app in the sector with great features from drafting a team to keeping stats.

Madden NFL 21 Mobile Football

(iOS, Android; free)

This latest edition of the wildly popular football game franchise was released last month, and while the gameplay is similar to past versions, there are a few new features. Added this year is “The Yard,” where you create a character and compete in an arcade-style 6-on-6 backyard football game with real NFL players.

NFL Rush Gameday

(iOS, Android; free)

This game from NFL Enterprises is aimed at kids, and parents will like that it’s totally free, with no in-app purchases or annoying ads. You create your own avatar and uniforms (the weirder the better) and compete in arcade games. Unlike Madden, this game is relatively easy to win. There’s also a tie-in to the NFL season with challenges based on real-life stats.

Crossing over

If you depend on the active driver systems in many new cars, you may be heading for trouble. New research detailed by Garden City-based AAA Northeast found the systems, designed to keep cars in their lanes, “often disengage with little notice.” Drivers not paying attention may not realize the car is veering from the lane or is too close to another vehicle until it is too late, AAA says.

— PETER KING

Home companion

As Americans began working from home because of coronavirus, they had to boost their home technology to stay productive. But most found time for a 125-year-old technology. Nielsen says 53 percent listened to radio for news and talk while working from home. And 75 percent listened to music, which included AM/FM stations and streaming. Nielsen noted that “AM/FM radio remains the centerpiece of the audio universe.”

— PETER KING

Apple readying 5G iPhones

Apple has asked suppliers to build at least 75 million 5G iPhones for later this year in a sign that demand for the company’s most important product is holding up in the midst of the global pandemic and recession. Apple plans to launch four new models in October with fifth-generation wireless speeds, a different design and a wider choice of screen sizes.