SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 25 — Among top iPhone apps on February 24, 2017, avatar emoji creation suite Bitmoji continues to reign across multiple regions, Ketchapp has another minimalist hit on its hands with Ballz, linguistic app "Google Translate” finds fresh, photo-based appeal in Japan, and navigation aid Waze rules in Australia.

USA Bitmoji (Utilities) Snapchat-owned photo alteration and avatar creation suite that allows users to create custom emojis — small cartoon images depicting a range of emotions and reactions. Supplementary packs of emoji-enhancing props are available from US$0.99 (RM4.40).

United Kingdom PrankDial (Entertainment) Offers two free pre-recorded prank calls a day and a bank of formulae to choose from. Reactions can be saved and shared. US$2.99 for a pack of eight virtual tokens.

Australia Waze (Navigation) Google-owned navigation, mapping, and traffic app that uses data from fellow drivers to monitor and predict traffic conditions and parking space availability, with many other features relating to nearby amenities.

China 王者荣耀 [en. King of Glory] (Games) Multiplayer, battle arena game entering its sixth season, offering a similar experience to Tencent’s Mac and PC game League of Legends on a mobile platform. The most popular in-app purchase is for a US$0.99 batch of virtual currency.

Germany Galileo (Entertainment) Official app for ProSieben channel Galileo, featuring full episodes, clips, and news, plus TV listings and so on. 

France Ballz (Games) Two classic games combine in Ballz, in which tiles must be destroyed by hitting them with a ball a set number of times (Arkanoid.) Each throw causes the tiles to descend one row (similar to Tetris.) The most popular in-app purchase is currently US$1.99 to remove ads.

Canada Bitmoji (Utilities)

South Korea Pitu (Photo and Video) Image enhancing suite published by Internet giant Tencent. Filters, stickers, text, facial alterations, collages and cutouts.

Japan Google Translate (Reference) Google’s official text, speech and image translation app. Instant camera translation between English and Japanese added late in January 2017. itunes.apple.com/app/id414706506

Singapore  Grab (Travel) Singaporean-owned, South-east Asian taxi service that offers rides in taxis, private cars with fixed fares, mopeds, as well as parcel delivery and carpool organising. itunes.apple.com/app/id647268330

Malaysia WhatsApp Messenger (Social Networking) Facebook-owned multimedia messaging and voice calling app that uses Wi-Fi or carrier data connection, leverages existing phone contacts lists, and provides support for group chats. Desktop app also available. itunes.apple.com/app/id31063399

India Jio4GVoice (Social Networking) HD voice and video calls for customers on the Jio SIM network, currently serving Kolkata, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Mumbai and Karnataka. Custom messaging, images, and location info can be shared with recipients, SMS and text chat built in. itunes.apple.com/app/id1100652705. — AFP-Relaxnews