The best iPhone apps (April 2022)
These days, your phone is capable of just about anything, from boosting your dating prospects (check out our best dating apps) to looking up recipes. And if you have an iPhone or iPad, the App Store offers one of the largest collections of applications on the planet, one that spans a myriad of popular categories.
Given the sheer number of apps, however, where do you even start? Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best iPhone apps available, whether you’re new to iOS or you’re simply looking to expand your arsenal beyond the best iPhone games. If you’re an Android user, we’ve also curated guides to the best Android apps and best Android games.
iOS essentials
If you need a refresher on what Google is, well, frankly, we’re not sure how you managed to find us here. While it may not be Android, Google’s app is perfectly at home on iOS, and it provides all the super-powered search powers you’ve come to expect from the Big G. It’s perhaps the best way to find any information, whether it’s who won the Soccer World Cup in 1958 (Brazil), or which nearby restaurants are still open and taking orders. Your data from your Google account is synced across, and it’ll push any news or events it thinks you might find interesting to the front of the app when you bring it up. An excellent app, and always worth downloading.
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Messenger
Facebook’s Messenger service is offered as a stand-alone text messaging app, enabling you to chat with your Facebook friends and anyone in your contacts who has the app installed. Best of all, you don’t even need to be signed into Facebook to use it. We recommend this app for the sheer volume of messaging that happens via Facebook, though it’s a little frustrating that the Facebook app itself no longer includes messaging functionality, and takes up another slot on your homepage.
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Microsoft Edge
We wouldn’t have expected to see a Microsoft-made browser hit our best-of list, but times change and here we are. Microsoft Edge is a great mobile browser, and our current pick as the best web browsing app on iOS. It’s smooth and speedy but also crammed full of useful features, like the couponing feature that finds relevant coupons for shopping, advanced privacy-protection tools, an ad blocker, a feature that lets you throw webpages straight onto the desktop version of Edge, and more.
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YouTube
Alright, so you probably have YouTube, and anyone that doesn’t is seriously missing out. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less essential, and if you don’t have YouTube on your iPhone, well, do yourself a favor and download it now. But YouTube hasn’t always been an iOS essential, having disappeared at Apple’s whims in iOS 6. Thankfully, Google brought it back. Millions of people use YouTube to upload videos daily, so there’s a staggering amount of videos available from everyone from mommy bloggers, to video game experts, to people who like to take phones apart. It’s free to use, but also features YouTube Premium, a subscription-based service that allows playlists to be downloaded and viewed offline, ad-free viewing, and video playback with a locked screen. It’ll cost you $12 a month though, and YouTube is still excellent without it, so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you’re not willing to pay.
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It may be owned by Facebook, but Instagram is still the best social network for sharing pictures and ruining them with silly filters. We say ruining, but we put X Pro II on just about everything. You can follow specific interests as well as people, making it a great place to gather inspiration for projects, holidays, or just about anything. If you’re not the type to take lots of pictures you don’t need to feel pressured to share — just lurk on the homepage and enjoy shots from those you follow.
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Communication and messaging
Snapchat
We weren’t sure whether to put Snapchat into messaging or social media apps because, well, it’s a big dollop of both. It’s one of the best platforms for one-on-one messaging, thanks to its messages that auto-delete after being seen, but it’s fair to say you probably know Snapchat for its filters, which are easily some of the best around. Snapchat using face-scanning tech to put funny, weird, and sometimes amazing filters over the top of your own face, making it stretch or morph. One that’s great to have around even if you don’t use it much.
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Zoom
You might assume Zoom is only good for work meetings, but you’d be wrong. While we’re all getting out more, it’s fair to say the phenomenon of video calls will be with us for quite a while longer. Of all the options available, Zoom is probably the most well-known and one of the easiest to use, too. Just send people a to the video call and you’re on your way to having a chat. It’s worth having downloaded and ready to go at all times.
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GroupMe
Chat apps are legion, and group chats are even more so. If you’re anything like us, you probably have group chats here and there, and swapping between apps and masses of notification groups is common. Wouldn’t it be simpler to collect all your group chats together in a single app? GroupMe makes it easier to keep track of them all. Add people simply with just their phone number, and they can begin chatting without even needing to download the app. You can name your groups, set avatars, and also save your photos and videos within group chats to refer back to later. There’s even a desktop version, so you can keep on chatting without getting your phone out of your pocket.
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WhatsApp, which is a great choice for anyone who doesn’t have unlimited texting and spends a lot of time connected to Wi-Fi, lets you send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages. It’s one of the most feature-packed chat apps out there, and absolutely worth downloading if you’re a regular chatter. Despite it being a worldwide sensation, most Americans don’t use it, which is odd, since it’s a phenomenal app. Do yourself a favor and give it a try.
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Dating
Hinge
Hinge has had a recent redesign that aims to reduce distractions, but it’s still the dating app that’s “designed to be deleted.” Hinge uses an advanced learning process to better understand your type and will seek to match you only with people it thinks you’ll really like. It seems to be working, as apparently three out of four Hinge users generally want to go on a second date with their matches — so if you’re actually looking for a partner, this is a better choice than the dreaded app beginning with the letter T.
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Filter Off
Sick of going on dates and finding out within a minute that there’s absolutely no chemistry? Filter Off aims to cut down on that happening by offering video speed dates so you can be sure whether you’re compatible or not. Even better, it drastically reduces the chances you’re likely to be catfished. It has events aimed at specific groups of singles, and there’s a Matchmaker tool that aims to deliver you compatible singles in your area.
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Bumble
Bumble isn’t your usual dating app because it encourages women to be the ones who make the first moves. Match with someone in the Tinder-like interface, and the woman has 24 hours to send a message or the match expires. It’s a different way of doing things, and the time-limited nature can help to spur connections quickly.
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HER
The largest dating app in the world for LGBTQ women, HER boasts more than 6 million users worldwide and hosts social meet-and-greets in 15 cities across the world to boot. You’ll need a Facebook or Instagram account to sign up, and you match with a user by liking their photos. If they like back, then a match has been made. It’s not just about match-making though, as HER also includes articles about LGBTQ issues, local events, and communities. It’s free to use, but there’s a premium subscription that starts from $15 a month and allows you to see who’s online right now, filter by sexuality, and more.
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Grindr
Grindr is the largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people. The app uses your phone’s location to find other members close by to talk to, swap photos with, or meet in person. It’s not just about dating either, and there’s a group chat feature for when you need to assemble your friends.
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Food
Whisk
There are amazing free recipes everywhere on the internet — but finding the one you need is very much like dealing with a needle in a haystack, and it’s easy to lose a great recipe. Instead of that, why not start using Whisk? Whisk allows you to pool recipes from all over the internet, substitute ingredients and amounts, and basically create your very own cookbook. There’s a meal planner you can use to plan the week ahead, and making a shopping list is as easy as pressing a single button. Never lose a great recipe again, thanks to Whisk.
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Tasty
You’ve probably seen hundreds of Tasty recipe videos around the internet, but don’t discount its app. With over 4,000 recipes, options to strip out recipes for different diets, or even meal types, Tasty is one of the most powerful recipe apps out there. You’ll find intricate step-by-step instructions for every recipe, along with handy videos, and you can even use the “what’s in my kitchen” feature to only see recipes you can make right now. A powerful and excellent recipe app.
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Mealime
Designed to help the constantly busy, Mealime excels when it’s asked to come up with a meal selection for picky eaters. Simply put in your requirements — vegan, gluten-free, low carb, etc. — and it’ll toss you suggestions that meet your criteria. Most recipes focus on meals with prep times of only 30 minutes, and it can help you put together your shopping list as well.
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Lifesum
Getting a diet right can be a lot of work, but Lifesum can take up a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Whether you’re looking to shed some pounds or just tackle a healthier diet, Lifesum has a huge list of meal and diet plans that you can follow. It has options for keto, vegan, and paleo diets, and it also comes with a food diary and macro trackers, in case you’re keeping a close eye on your intake. However, a lot of the best features are locked behind a premium subscription, and that includes the more personal diet plans, unlimited tracking, macro tracking, and other useful tools.
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Yummly
Yummly is a great recipe app with a particularly powerful search engine being one of its best features. Need to strip out all recipes involving eggs? It can do that. Vegan? Easy. There are step-by-step instructions and large pictures to tempt your tastebuds. Once you’ve found a recipe you like, just tap the button to add the stuff you need to your shopping list.
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Uber Eats: Food Delivery
Uber Eats makes getting ready-to-eat food to your door oh so simple. If you’ve used Uber before, then your account is ready to go. Simply choose a restaurant, pick your meal, and charge your card — then you’ll be able to track your food as it’s prepared and sent. You’ll be chowing down in no time. We’ve also found other food delivery apps if you’re interested.
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Olio
So you’ve cooked a load of extremely tasty food, thanks to these great recipes apps — only problem now is you have too much of it! Rather than letting it go to waste, why not share it with your neighbors? Olio is a platform for food sharing, so you can let people know when you have a little extra food, and they can come swing by and pick it up. It’s not just for food too, and you can share other small items as well, share thoughts on the forum, and even chase the app’s many goals.
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Gaming
Xbox
Microsoft’s mobile companion app for the Xbox One allows you to control your Xbox One using your smartphone, so you can use your device to control media, and perform otherwise tedious tasks like typing messages. When you’re away from your console, the app acts as a way to stay in contact with your friends and see what they’re up to.
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PlayStation
The PlayStation app doesn’t allow you to control your console like the Xbox One app, but it still acts as your back into your gaming world while you’re out-and-about. View trophies, compose messages, browse the PlayStation store with this app, and you can even manage your PS5’s storage if you run out of space while downloading. Some games also include second-screen functionality for a deeper play experience, but for the most part, this is a management app.
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Nintendo Switch Online
Nintendo’s Switch Online isn’t as feature-packed as its competitors’ apps, but it’s still a strong install if you own a Nintendo Switch. It’s the only official way to access voice chat in Nintendo Switch games, and you can check up on your in-game stats using it as well.
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Twitch
Twitch is the best place to watch other people play video games or professional tournaments, or just chill out with some real-life board games. Yes, it sounds like the app version of being a younger sibling, but we promise you that it’s maddeningly compulsive once you get started. Whether you’re there to watch some professional gamers play new decks on Hearthstone or a League of Legends tournament, the Twitch app allows you to chat with streamers and other viewers and watch previously recorded videos, and it’s AirPlay and Chromecast compatible.
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Strafe Esports
If you love to keep up with the latest news and scores from your favorite e-sports, then give Strafe Esports a try. It covers news from a variety of games, including League of Legends, Hearthstone, and Rocket League — and it even allows you to gamify your e-sports experience with a betting system that pits your predictions against other people’s. If you’re a lover of esports or are just curious, this is worth downloading.
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Going out and travel
What3Words
Getting around has never been easier, thanks to automatic navigation apps on smartphones. But still, it’s not particularly easy to share a single location. Sure, you can send a hyperto a specific spot on Google Maps, but it’s still not the best solution. What3Words has fixed that problem in a simple but effective way — adding extra names to maps. Every single 10-foot square of the entire globe has been given a unique three-word name. Pop those three words into What3Words and you’ll be shown exactly where you need to go. An excellent app that’s worth downloading just in case it’s needed.
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TripAdvisor
Whether you’re going out at home or abroad, TripAdvisor is one of the best apps you can download. TripAdvisor’s massive database has over 700 million reviews from travelers all around the world on all the best attractions, restaurants, and more. You can book from the app for certain places, and you can even pay using it.
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StubHub
With StubHub, you can buy and sell tickets straight from the app — whether it’s for a concert or sports event — up until the day it is happening. You can also pick and choose your favorite bands or sports teams, so StubHub can provide you with event recommendations that you’ll be interested in.
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Open Table
Open Table is great for planning dinner on the fly. The free app allows you to search for new restaurants, explore menus, and even reserve a table.
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Google Maps
Admit it, you’ve not used a mapping app other than Google Maps for years. Google’s app is the king of mapping apps for a reason, and it’s a reliable and endlessly updated service you access for absolutely nothing. It’s not just a map, and it can provide real-time updates on traffic conditions and public transit information as well. You can read and write reviews for businesses and restaurants, label your favorite places, see a timeline of your activity, and share your current trip and location with friends and family.
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Booking.com
It’s the absolute best app to download if you need a hotel room quickly. Booking.com has more than 27 million hotels, motels, and more on the books, making it the perfect place to check out somewhere to stay. Make sure you’re getting the best by checking one of the over 135 million verified reviews, and leave your own. You can filter by price, review score, and even Wi-Fi quality (an increasingly important score). There are few restrictions on when you can book, and can often book last minute, or far in advance.
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Uber
While it may be having some issues in some cities, Uber is still the king of privately booked transport. With drivers available in most cities around the planet, Uber is what you use if you need to get somewhere and don’t have wheels of your own. Uber’s “private taxi” service offers the privacy and safety of a stranger’s car as an alternative to public transportation, and it’s not too expensive either. You’ll be able to see where your driver is when they accept your ride, see the road ahead, and even rate and review your driver once your ride is done. And forget fumbling for change, as it’s all handled in-app.
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Transit
Waiting around for public transportation is never fun, but Transit helps make it a little bit easier. In addition to real-time arrivals for both buses and trains, you can also compare options to see which routes are better. You can also receive push notifications whenever transit is delayed, view schedules offline, find bike share stations, and more.
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Health and fitness
Strava
It’s the top fitness app on most smartphones, and there’s a reason for that. Strava provides all the tools you need to track almost any kind of run, swim, or ride. Tracking is as easy as pressing a button and keeping your phone on you (or, tracking on a smartwatch and importing the activity into Strava), and there are analysis tools available to show you how well you’ve done compared to previous efforts. It also shows you popular routes in the area, as well as your place in local leaderboards. Some features are hidden behind a paywall, but even the free Strava is well worth your time.
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MyFitnessPal
Looking to get a handle on what you eat in the New Year? Then MyFitnessPal is the fitness pal you need. While it has tools for tracking exercise, the real meat of the app comes in its food tracking abilities. It has a massive database of foods to choose from, broken down by brand and weight, and often all you need to do is scan a barcode and specify how much you ate. It breaks down macros, recommends a calorie amount for you based on your goals, and tells you how much you’re still allowed to eat during the day. If you’re happy to spend the time inputting your food, this is a great choice.
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Calm
Calm is one of the best meditation apps out there, but it’s not just about meditation. While its meditation guides are excellent and contain a free guide to getting started, it also contains a Sleep Stories section, which has a number of voice actors and celebrities who read bedtime stories. Love Bridgerton? Regé-Jean Page has joined the cast of Calm’s Sleep Stories, and you can also listen to stories read by Mary Berry or Matthew McConaughey as well. Calm has a subscription cost for most of the features you might want to play with.
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MySwimPro
If the Olympic Games have ignited a need to swim, check out MySwimPro as a great way to get back into swimming or improve on your existing skills. The app offers a free tier and a $20 monthly subscription, and the subscription gets you a personal training guide, access to the technique videos, a personalized workout of the day, stroke data, and more. But the free tier is also impressive, giving you access to less personal but still useful training plans for the water and dry land. The app will sync up with Apple or Garmin devices, so you can track your swimming sessions down to the last meter.
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Loóna
Can’t sleep? You’re not alone, as many of us suffer from an inability to switch off at night. Why not give Loóna a try? Loóna claims to be a “mood-altering app” rather than your common garden variety sleep app. Instead of just playing lullabies at bedtime, Loóna wants to help balance your mood throughout the day, keeping anxiety down and helping you to be in a stable mood at bedtime, spurring better sleep as a result. Playlists and immersive stories keep you entertained throughout the day, and when it comes to bedtime, the Sleepscapes will guide you into a deep slumber. A Loóna Plus subscription unlocks all the Sleepscapes and costs $10 a month or $40 a year.
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Seven: 7 Minute Workout
How long do you need to start getting fit? Well, it can be as much time as you want, really, but 7 minutes will do just fine. Seven: 7 Minute Workout aims to give you the most benefit possible in just 7 minutes through a series of quick exercises that target specific areas of your body. There’s no equipment needed, just enough space to get going. It’s free to use, but joining the 7 Club for $10 a month (or $60 a year) will give you access to a wider range of exercises, personal workout plans, and support and guidance from a certified personal trainer.
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GymBook
If you’re a strength training enthusiast, then you probably want a way to track your progress in picking up heavy things and putting them back down again. GymBook is an excellent tool for weightlifters. It allows you to find different exercises based on muscle group and has a series of guidance GIFs for 50 preset exercises.
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Music
The default music app on iPhones and iPads is Apple Music, which has its own subscription service and plenty to recommend it. But there are a host of other alternatives if Apple’s default app doesn’t appeal to you.
Spotify
Spotify is changing the game for the entire music industry. It’s free on PCs and tablets, but $10 a month if you want to fully use it on iPhone. It’s worth it. You can listen to full albums and create playlists.
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Amazon Music
With 70 million songs available for subscribers, Amazon Music is one of the best alternatives to Spotify or Apple Music. The subscription tiers are a bit complicated though, with a different tier available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers who haven’t signed up for the music service. That tier doesn’t include all the songs in the catalog, so if you’re bumping into limits, that might be why.
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YouTube Music
You can find so much music on YouTube that turning it into a music streaming service makes a lot of sense. You’ll need to subscribe to YouTube Premium for $10 a month if you want to use it like any other music service (screen off, downloads, etc.), but given the amount of content here, it’s not a price you’re likely to begrudge paying.
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BBC Sounds
Available internationally, the BBC Sounds app is a great place to listen to the multitude of BBC radio stations, and also the BBC’s huge range of free podcasts too. Download episodes and listen to them offline, continue listening across different devices, and send music tracks you like to Apple Music or Spotify to listen to again later. A great complimentary app, and a great radio and podcast player too.
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BandLab
GarageBand is excellent, but it’s been around for so long you may be looking for an alternative. BandLab is the app to grab if you’re not a fan of GarageBand or simply want to spend some time with a different music-making app. It has multiple tracks for recording, editing, and remixing music, and it lets you add a whole bunch of different effects, beats, loops, or otherwise. There are options for every popular genre you can think of, and you can easily share your creations with friends.
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News
Apple News is the default news app for iOS, and it’s a great news app. But it’s not the only news app around, and there are plenty of other options if you want something more specialized or a different pace of news.
Rather than giving you a list of articles and some thumbnails to peruse, Flipboard aims to give you your news in a different manner. Laid out like a glossy magazine, Flipboard offers articles with large, colorful images, enticing you to click and find out what’s going on. There’s no scroll effect either. Instead, each page flips over as you move on, reinforcing the magazine feel. It’s a setup that’s not for everyone, but we recommend you give it a try to see if you enjoy it.
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Google News
Whether you’re hopping over from Android or have been iPhone-faithful for some time, it doesn’t change the fact that Google’s news app is one of the best to be found. Drawing from news s from around the world, Google News is one of the best ways to keep up to date with the matters you care about most.
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The New York Times
It’s one of the world’s finest newspapers, and it’s available on iPhone through the official New York Times app. It offers more than just the usual breaking news, and also includes morning briefings from New York Times journalists and the ability to save articles for offline access.
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BBC News
A world-recognized and trusted name, the British Broadcasting Corporation has one of the biggest and best news apps you can download. With reporters all around the globe, BBC News offers international and national news, giving you as wide a scope as you like. Notifications will let you know about breaking stories, and you can pick the topics you’re interested in, so you can narrow down the app’s offerings too. Prefer to watch, rather than read? There’s a video section too.
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CNBC: Stock Market & Business
Whether it’s $AMC, $GME, or BTC, there’s no question that the stock markets have captured the imagination of the public in a way rarely done before. If you’re now keeping a closer eye on the ups and downs of the market, then CNBC’s app is a great place to find out what’s going on. It gives you breaking news alerts, market data, podcasts, live TV, and more.
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Tortoise
We live in a world of breaking news, but we don’t have to ride the wave if we don’t want to. Tortoise specializes in slower, deep dives on news subjects that attempt to find all the facts and lay them in front of you. No more knee-jerk reactions; Tortoise is here to make sure you have a calm, considered view of the world. So forget the constant news alerts and settle down with some long-read investigations or one of Tortoise’s live editorial ThinkIn events. It’s free for 30 days, but it’ll cost you $10 a month after that.
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Payment and money management
Acorns
Investing is one of the cheat codes of growing capital, but it used to be that you needed a big nest egg to get started. That’s not the case anymore, and now anyone can invest, thanks to apps like Acorn. Rather than investing large sums of money, Acorn rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar, investing the difference. While it may not seem like much, from tiny acorns do massive oak trees grow, and this passive saving method could be key to helping you to build up a significant nest egg. You can even use it to set up an IRA pension fund as well.
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PayPal
Use PayPal to check up on the transactions in your account, send or request money, and photograph checks or credit cards to add them to your account without messing with the details.
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Venmo
Venmo is the payment app for the people. Connecting directly with your debit card, Venmo offers free person-to-person money transfers. Credit transfers require a percentage fee. It’s compatible with many shopping apps for easy checkout.
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YNAB (You Need a Budget)
Alright, it’s got a steep learning curve, but take the time to get into it and YNAB is absolutely the best budgeting app out there. It asks you to put every dollar to work and can connect with your bank account to track your expenditure automatically. If you’re serious about saving, then You Need a Budget.
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Splitwise
Designed with college students in mind, Splitwise helps you keep track of debts owed between friends and connects seamlessly with PayPal and Venmo so you can settle up at any time.
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Photography
1998 Cam
We find it a little disturbing that 1998 is retro now, but maybe we’re just old. 1998 Cam emulates a disposable camera (with an included timestamp) with a retro analog film feeling. It has over 100 filters, with a wide range of effects including film grain, light leak, kiosk, and other fun features to experiment with. Other camera apps may be more technical in approach, but this is a really great app to have fun with.
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Adobe Lightroom Photo Editor
Why go to anyone but the master if you’re looking for image editing software? Adobe Lightroom is now available on iOS, and that means you’ve got an incredibly powerful photo editing suite right at your fingertips. It has all the tools, from the simplest crop to the finest detail changes, and it also comes bundled with a professional-quality camera app as well. There’s a premium mode that you’ll need to get the most out of it, but it does come bundled in with a bunch of Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions, making it an excellent choice if you’re already using Adobe’s desktop software.
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Focos
Apple’s camera controls are getting better and better, but if you want a bit of extra control — and we love being a little extra — then you’ll have to look at third-party apps. Focos is one of the best apps around that boost your iPhone’s ability to generate and play with “bokeh” (that blur around the focus point in Portrait mode photos). Focos lets you change your point of focus and alter the level of background blur after your shot has been taken and allows for multiple light points in your image, giving you extra style to play with. A monthly subscription is $1, but you can also pay $13 for lifetime access.
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Photoleap — Photo Editor
Photoleap was developed to harness the full power of the CPU and GPU in Apple’s devices, delivering one of the most powerful photo-editing tools on iOS. If you own an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus or later, the app takes advantage of the wide color gamut of the displays in those phones, and features an extensive roster of customizable filters and special effects, allowing you to create even more amazing things with your already capable camera.
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Slow Shutter Cam ($2)
An iPhone camera is generally excellent, but it does lack some tools more advanced users would deem essential. One of those is shutter speed, as you can’t take long exposures without the ability to fiddle with your shutter speed. If you want to take light-trail photography, pictures of the stars, or anything that needs a longer exposure time, Slow Shutter Cam should be your first stop. This app gives your phone an unlimited shutter speed — so you can take long star trail pictures or pictures of car lights zooming past, and it can even take a batch of photos with its intervalometer mode. Sounds like a lot? Well, it can be — but if you understood all that, or want to test it out, this is a great app.
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Facetune2
If selfie editing is your bag, then there’s no better app for the job than Facetune2. It offers a lot in its free app, with a tool that allows you to retouch your face to remove blemishes or quickly apply a background or filter — but it goes even further, too, allowing you to use simple tools to change the positioning and even the size of parts of your face. Even if you’re not one for posting selfies, it’s still fun to play with.
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Reading
Many iPhone and iPad users look no further than Apple Books for their reading needs as it’s the default app that comes with their Apple devices. But there are a lot of other great apps for books, whether that’s the biggest player in the game, apps that read to you, or social media apps to track your reading habits.
Kindle
Amazon rules the e-book world, and a big part of that is because the Kindle app is available pretty much everywhere. It has an enormous selection of e-books that you can buy, and if you sign up to Amazon Kindle Unlimited for $10 a month, you can get access to a massive range of books and comics.
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Google Play Books
Google Play Books offers millions of titles to choose from that you can read even when you’re offline. Any notes taken while reading will automatically sync to your Google Drive, which you can share with a group to collaborate on. With the addition of audiobooks, you can also listen to books on the go instead — with no subscription required.
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Marvel Unlimited
Can’t get enough Marvel? This is a pretty great time to be alive, with some incredible Marvel movies available in theatres and at home. But what about the original material? Marvel has an enormous back catalog of comic books, and they’re all here in the Marvel Unlimited app. Intimidated by the size? Don’t be — the app has curated lists to help you dive in and explore your favorite heroes and villains, and you can download comics to read offline. Access isn’t free of course, and it’ll set you back $10 a month (or $69 a year) to read. But there’s a seven-day free trial so you can sample the app before you commit.
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Goodreads
It’s not the most polished app around, but Goodreads is very good at what it does. If you’re looking for somewhere to catalog and review your literary conquests, look no further than Goodreads. It lists more than 1 billion books, including different editions, so you’ll be able to accurately track your progress. Participate in the reading challenge to read a specific number of books in a year, recommend books to friends, and keep a list for reading later.
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Audible
Prefer listening to books over reading them? Audible has you covered with more than 180,000 titles that you can download for offline play. One of the major benefits is that you can speed up or slow down narration speed to fit your preferred listening experience.
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Shopping
Amazon
Amazon is the No. 1 online retailer for a reason. Browse Amazon’s vast collection of products quickly and easily. Plus, you can enable notifications for daily Amazon Gold Box deals so you never miss out on a discount.
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eBay
There’s very little that you can’t buy or sell on eBay. The app is full-featured and much easier to use than the website. Bid on items, track your orders, and sell all of your unwanted stuff right here.
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Ibotta
Who doesn’t like earning cash-back on purchases? Ibotta is your one-stop-shop for cashback from thousands of retailers, and it works both in-person and online.
iOS
OfferUp
Looking to get rid of an item quickly? Pop it up on OfferUp and see if anyone in the local area is interested in it. If you’re looking to buy, you can browse by image, category, or location, and you can message buyers and sellers through the app itself. Safety features ensure your conversations and transactions stay secure.
iOS
Poshmark
Have a bunch of clothes just sat around, not being worn? Get them on Poshmark. Poshmark is one of the best shopping apps around, and it allows you to sell your items simply by taking a photo. If you’re looking to shop, there are over 5,000 brands to pick from in a variety of sizes, and best of all, prices are up to 70% off the usual price.
iOS
Social media
While it may have peaked, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Facebook is the social media site, and if you want your phone to be Facebook official, you need this app. Facebook has evolved from just being updates from friends, and now you’ll find a local marketplace, video center, and even memories from the past. It’s also a must-download because a bunch of other apps like to use Facebook as a login option, giving you a simple option for registering — which offers a good alternative to Sign In with Apple. And, of course, pretty much everyone you know is on there, making it a must-download for almost everyone. The review scores are low right now, but that’s more to do with people being upset at Facebook rather than the quality of the app or service, so don’t let it put you off.
iOS
Alright, so it’s a bit grownup and not much fun, but there’s no doubting LinkedIn’s strength as a tool for finding a new job, new contacts, and anything professional. You can narrow down jobs just to those you’re qualified for, get alerts for jobs you might like, and open your profile up to recruiters. You can keep tabs on and reconnect with old colleagues, friends, and classmates, as well.
iOS
Twitter helps you keep your finger on the pulse of the world — and find out who’s worth listening to. Follow friends, celebrities, or companies’ official feeds to get instantly notified when something big goes down, or just when a friend has a funny thought. As you might expect from a social media site, Twitter hasn’t stopped growing and improving, and now you’ll find everything from stupid jokes to cutting-edge livestreams of the latest news developments. Even if you only use it to keep an eye on events, Twitter is a must-install.
iOS
TikTok
It’s back! Despite herculean efforts, the short video-sharing social media site TikTok never really went away, and following a huge sea shanty trend, well, we’re putting it back into the list. Chances are you know what this app is all about by now, but if you need a reminder, TikTok specializes in short-form video content, with a particular slant toward comic and musical content. Other creators can duet with videos, creating crazy new creations, meme-able videos, and — sometimes — music trends that take over the world for a bit. TikTok is the place to be, even if you’re not looking to create yourself.
iOS
Tumblr
While its heyday as the place where all the cool kids hung out has passed to a degree, Tumblr is still one of the world’s biggest social media apps. It bills itself as a home for communities, and it’s there Tumblr really shines. You’ve probably seen the memes and comment threads that come out of it — Tumblr’s the place where a comment can be sent out, attract more comments, and eventually find its way back to the creator with insights, funny reactions, and more. As a place to share artwork, ideas, and just silly thoughts, there are few better.
iOS
It can get a bad rap due to certain communities, but Reddit is still a great place to visit. Less of a single community and more of a loosely connected series of rooms (each being dedicated to something different), Reddit is the place to find the latest news on everything and also one of the best places to discuss it. There are subreddits for everything from world news to iOS — even socks. So if you’re looking for a place to discuss something relatively niche, it’s likely you’ll find a place for it on Reddit.
iOS
Sports
Bleacher Report
Whether you follow a lot of sports and different teams, or you only follow the WWE, Bleacher Report has the personalized setup for you. Pick the teams and sports you care about, and Bleacher Report will send you the latest news and developments as they happen.
iOS
NBA
No prizes for guessing what this is for. The official NBA app is the place to keep track of the latest scores, news, and goings-on from the U.S. premium basketball league. You can narrow down your focus to specific teams and players, and if you’re an NBA League Pass subscriber, you can watch games live and on-demand — and there are a bunch of other features.
iOS
MLB
MLB is the official baseball app for the baseball organization, as such, it’s the best place to catch up on the latest results and news in the baseball world. You’ll get basic access for free, but MLB.TV subscribers get the most out of this app, including live feeds for nearly every game, and Gameday Audio from local radio. You can also cast those games you’re watching to supported devices, like Apple TV or Chromecast, or even purchase tickets for your favorite team.
iOS
FuboTV
If you’re the type to watch every game, regardless of where you are, FuboTV will keep you tuned in. Whether it’s NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or something else, the app has you covered with more than 75 channels with live games to stream on your TV or a mobile device. You’re also able to watch live news, movies, and TV shows from other networks. To start, there is a free seven-day trial and after that, it will cost you $45 per month.
iOS
NFL
Unsurprisingly, the official app of the NFL is one of the best places to go for NFL content. The app lets you watch videos, highlights, and more. You’ll also be able to keep up with breaking NFL news, stats, and scores in real-time while on the go with up-to-date notifications and alerts.
iOS
Streaming video
Netflix
Netflix is … Netflix. Everyone knows what Netflix is by now, so it’s fair to say we don’t need to write much here. But we’re going to anyway. Netflix is the best place on the internet to legally stream shows and movies in exchange for a monthly subscription. It’s the scourge of boredom and the way we’ve filled many empty evenings. Get started with our list of the best shows on Netflix and get bingeing right now.
iOS
Disney+
You all know who Disney is, so you’re probably not going to guess wrong if we ask you what Disney+ carries. But there’s more here than just The Lion King, Mulan, and all those Disney classics. Thanks to Disney’s takeovers of many studios, you’ll find Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and even National Geographic here too. Best of all, Star — a new “general entertainment” channel for Disney+ subscribers that adds content from FX, ABC Studios, and a bunch more originals — is coming to Disney+ too. Disney+ has the potential to become a real player in the streaming scene, and while it needs a subscription to access, it’s packed with quality content.
iOS
Hulu
If you want to keep up with TV shows, but can’t stand cable, Hulu is the best place to go. Hulu is your one-stop-shop for a lot of major network and cable channel shows. But it’s not for free — a Hulu Plus subscription costs $8 per month, which really isn’t that much compared to cable.
iOS
Amazon Prime Video
As Amazon Prime continues to release more original content, it can be tough to keep up with what you want to watch. With the Prime Video app, you can download and stream all the movies and TV shows available on the service — including Prime Originals — on any of your iOS devices. Naturally, you’ll need to have an Amazon Prime membership.
iOS
Crunchyroll
No one does streaming anime better than Crunchyroll. Providing you access to hundreds of different anime, live debuts one hour after Japan, and manga volumes as a bonus, Crunchyroll is always your one-stop-shop if you’re looking for the best place to watch anime on your iPhone or iPad. You can get free access with ads, but for the full experience, you’ll want to pay for Crunchyroll Premium. There are three tiers, but the base tier costs $8 a month and gives you single device streaming. Offline access, more devices, and other bonuses cost $10 a month or $15 a month, depending on the bonuses you want.
iOS
Utilities and customization
AfterShip Package Tracker
If you’re anything like us, then you might have multiple packages headed to your house right now, and keeping track of them can be tough. That’s where AfterShip comes in as supremely useful. AfterShip can track packages from over 700 carriers across the world, giving you a real-time location (when available), and everything can be easily managed with just tracking numbers. It’ll notify you when something is due to arrive, and there are no ads, either. This is a great tracking app that’s a great install for most people.
iOS
Duolingo
Want to learn a language? There are few language learning apps better than Duolingo. It has over 35 languages available to learn (including Klingon), and you don’t have to pay anything to get started. Lessons are simple but ramp up in complexity fairly quickly. You’ll start by identifying words with pictures and move on to using them in simple sentences, and before you know it, you’ll be able to quickly and easily translate more complex sentences. It’s free to use, but with limited incorrect guesses during lessons. Duolingo Plus gives you unlimited incorrect answers, and a bunch of other useful tools too, for $7 a month.
iOS
Bring! Shopping List & Recipes
That time of year (you know the one) is almost upon us, and that means it’s time to start shopping. A good list is what you need to keep all of your shopping organized and to make sure you get something for everyone this festive period. Bring! lets you share shopping lists with people — perfect for group shopping plans — and lets you split lists into separate groups like Home, Office, and Party. It also includes a recipe planner, making it useful for the rest of the year too.
iOS
Bitwarden
While iOS has its own built-in password manager, if you want something that works across Apple and non-Apple devices, Bitwarden is the best choice. Start storing all your passwords by simply downloading and setting up the app — then, whenever login details are recognized, Bitwarden will ask if you want it to remember them. Then, it can input them for you. Free use is entirely doable, unlike some other password managers, and premium access starts at less than $1 a month.
iOS
Widgetsmith
iOS 14 introduced the ability to add widgets to your iPhone home screen, and that means you now have access to a deep layer of customization you didn’t before. Widgetsmith offers an easy way into this new, widget-y world with its selection of widgets you can place onto your home screen — whether as a calendar, to show you the weather, or to show off pictures of your cat. From here you can add even more functionality. For instance, you can set a widget to show specific information at a certain time of day. There’s a premium mode you’ll need to pay for if you want live weather and tide data, but aside from that, it’s still great as a free app.
iOS
Dark Sky Weather ($4)
You don’t want to get caught out in the rain, so don’t. While there’s a glut of other weather apps out there, Dark Sky Weather is one of the best thanks to its hyperlocal weather information that tells you the weather, right down to the minute.
iOS
Dropbox
Apple’s iCloud is excellent, but it can be hard to use outside of iOS. Dropbox offers brilliant cloud storage that can be accessed from Android devices and iPhones, or on MacBooks and PCs. A basic account is free and holds up to 2GB of storage. If you want to store more, then you can get up to 1TB of storage for $8.25 a month. Keep in mind the free version is limited to linking up just three devices, though.
iOS
Blogging and word processing
Scrivener ($20)
Looking to scratch a creative itch and finally get that novel written? Scrivener is the pinnacle of writing apps, with a powerful suite of tools and notepad-like features to help you finally get those cool ideas down on paper. While this app is going to be better on an iPad, it’ll still work on an iPhone, and can be paired with a wireless keyboard to give you an efficient and mobile writing station. The barrier to entry is high at $20, though you can buy a bundle for the software on MacOS, Windows, and iOS for a small discount.
iOS
Reflectly
In this age of interconnectivity and always-online social media, having a space just for yourself is vital. Reflectly offers a private space you don’t have to share with anyone else, giving you the chance to note down your most private thoughts and feelings. Alright, so it’s a diary in app form, but that’s no bad thing. After all, it’s more secure and can offer you mindfulness tips and ways to keep yourself motivated and happy.
iOS
WordPress
If you’re a blogger or run your own website, you’re likely using WordPress. The WordPress app isn’t a carbon copy of what you’d expect on the web but instead focuses on enabling speedy posts, moderating comments, viewing stats, and uploading media while on the go. Leave the admin for when you get back home and just post a few lightning-quick posts.
iOS
Google Docs
Whether for work or play, Google Docs is the best inter-connected word processor in the world. All your documents are synced in the cloud, and you can invite other people to collaborate with you while you work — and it’ll update in real-time too. There’s an option to download and work on documents offline, and it’s available synced across a huge range of devices.
iOS
Editors’ Recommendations
