Elevate app co-founders (left to right) Dante’ Wade, Aaron Warrick and Greg Wilson. (Photo by Randy Fling for rolling out) When three young Black men — Aaron Warrick, Greg Wilson, and Dante ...

The Elevate app (available for both Apple and Android) comes with 25 sets of games. To get more, subscribers pay $5 monthly. Already there are "tens of thousands" of paying customers, Pickard says.

At the same time I tested Lumosity, I also played around with Elevate. That app focuses on a different set of skills than Lumosity, with an emphasis on writing, reading, and listening.

Everyone needs a little mental stretch now and then. But if you’re feeling chronically unfocused or in need of a little cognitive pick-me-up, consider Elevate’s quick brain-training program.

Each year, Apple picks its favorite iPhone app to be crowned the “Best iPhone App of 2014.” This year’s winner is Elevate, an app designed to train your brain and increase your memory, focus, reading ...