Addictive fun for all ages.

My 15-year-old daughter is an artist. She loves to draw, paint, color, and create colorful pictures any way she can. She loves coloring in the adult coloring books that have complicated patterns that are supposed to relieve stress. She recently started using her phone for more than just texting and listening to music — she ventured into the world of apps and games. When I noticed that she was interested in paint-by-numbers apps, I suggested to her that we both download RePixel, a free iOS app that features color by numbers images.

RePixel is considered a coloring book app. It’s fun for both adults and kids and it can be a great family-friendly activity. The concept is simple. You are provided with a picture that must be filled in using the color palette for that image. The image is divided into individual square pixels that are assigned numbers. Those numbers correspond to a color from the color palette. Once you have a color selected, you can then fill in the squares that match the assigned number. The app does provide hints along the way should you get overzealous and color outside the pixels.

I have to admit that when I first downloaded the app, I wasn’t sure what to expect. So, I got out my Apple Pencil and sat down to color in some pixels. When I realized that you either do single taps to fill in the pixels or drag your finger across multiple pixels to fill them in, I decided the Pencil would probably be overkill. The app will autosave your progress so that if you don’t have time to completely finish an image in one sitting, you can come back to it later.

One of the coolest features of RePixel is the time lapse recording. The app is secretly recording your movements as you complete them. Then, once you’ve finished the masterpiece, you can play it back and share it with family and friends. The video is usually 10 seconds or less and they are really fun to receive. I was out of town last week for CES and my daughter ended up sending me a few while I was out. They always brightened my day.

As enjoyable as RePixel is, there is one major thing I don’t like about it — the in-app purchases. The app is free to download, but you have a limited amount of pages you can color with that download. RePixel is constantly adding ‘free’ images, but in order to really take advantage of the app, you have to pay a premium subscription fee. According to the information from iTunes RePixel’s Unlimited Access Subscription includes –

• Daily new pictures, export without watermark, remove ads, and have unlimited access to all pictures.
• Access all available pictures and receive daily updates ad-free for the duration of your subscription

The in-app purchase information shows an option for $4.99 per week to unlock the Unlimited Access, but in iTunes, there are two additional options for $9.99 and $69.99. It’s unclear what these other two options include. In my opinion, $4.99 per week — or nearly $260 per year — is far too much to pay for an app like this. As enjoyable as it is, that cost just seems excessive. RePixel does give the user an option to cancel at any time (as long as it’s 24 hours before the end of your current subscription period), but I would much rather see this be a one-time fee or even a monthly/yearly subscription fee.

Aside from the subscription cost, RePixel is an enjoyable app. If you like coloring books, or paint-by-numbers, give it a try.

DOWNLOAD – RePixel – FREE (in-app purchases)

For more information, visit repixelapp.com.
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