10 Apps Which Are Essential For Every iPhone.
I switched from Android to iPhone back in 2012, and since then have never thought of going back to Android. I won’t go into details, but I think one of the main ones is that the iPhone works really well and the apps are great.
Since my first iPhone 4S in 2012, I have had three more models and now I use the iPhone 7 which I am very happy with. I install and test literally dozens of apps every week, but there is always a core group of apps that I rely on every day and never uninstall.
If this is your first time using an iPhone, here’s what you should install and use.
Gmail
Gmail
The best thing you can do in terms of email on iPhone is to avoid the dreaded and unusable Apple Mail app. Outlook is slightly better, but the Gmail app is still light years ahead. Besides Gmail, it supports many other email services.
I’m seriously thinking about switching to Protonmail for my email, but until they improve features and add more space, I’ll stick with Gmail for now.
Obviously, there are Gmail desktop features that aren’t available in a smartphone app (like my favorite “Response Templates”), but most other desktop features are slowly making their way into the app.
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Of all the social media apps available for a smartphone, Instagram is the best. Not only are there fewer trolls, politics and shit, Instagram was built for smartphones. Why do you think you can’t upload images to Instagram?
The best you can do is not use Facebook or Twitter on your phone. This will result in significantly less stress, and your blood pressure will thank you for it.
Firefox
Firefox
After being a longtime Chrome user, and then briefly flirting on the dark side with Edge, I returned to Firefox.
Firefox is faster, bookmark sync has improved markedly, and Mozilla cares deeply about your privacy. This is clearly demonstrated by features such as a pop-up blocker, strong anti-tracking protection, DuckDuckGo as a search engine, and you can use TouchID to open a browser (preventing amateurs from viewing your browsing history).
Signal
sign
Although I am still stuck on WhatsApp due to my family and friends refusing to stop using it, I am gradually managing to convince people to switch to Signal.
I’ve been a big Signal supporter from the very beginning. I’m very paranoid about the idea of ??someone eavesdropping on my conversations, so I use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype VERY sparingly.
WhatsApp has been hacked, Facebook Messenger is owned by Facebook (enough said), and Skype conversations are being tapped by Microsoft contractors.
On the other hand, the signal is highly encrypted and no logs are kept for law enforcement to hijack.
Apple Wallet
Apple Wallet
Thanks to the built-in Apple Wallet, I rarely carry a real physical wallet with me.
It took Apple Wallet a long time to get to Germany, but now that it did, I scanned my bank card into the app and now I pay with contactless payment.
Apple Wallet also supports many more apps like airlines (so you can see your boarding passes on your iPhone screen), the iOS App Store, Starbucks, and other travel apps like trains and car rentals.
Synchronize
Sync
While I still have Dropbox on my phone, I more or less rely on Sync for my cloud storage needs. Not only is it much cheaper than Dropbox, but it is also an encrypted cloud storage.
For a small fee, it has many of the features that Dropbox has, but is more secure. Camera uploads ensure your iOS photo albums are always backed up, files can be exported from Sync to your iOS device, and password lock prevents anyone from peeking into your Sync folder behind your back.
MiniKeePass
MiniKeePass
A password manager should always be a big must for everyone who uses the Internet. It also becomes even more invaluable when you enter passwords on your smartphone. Anyone with thumbs like mine is annoyed at typing passwords on the iOS screen, so MiniKeePass makes this task a lot easier.
MiniKeePass is the smartphone version of KeePass, so you need to set up a KeePass database with your passwords inside. Then maybe save the database to cloud storage and use MiniKeePass to access the database that way.
Then all you have to do is access MiniKeePass, touch the entry you want, and the password will be automatically copied to the iOS clipboard. Paste in the password field and bingo, you’re in business.
Maps.Me
Maps.Me
My family often jokes that I might get lost at the card convention. I have no internal navigation to talk about. If I see a landmark, great. But otherwise the streets seem foreign to me, and I wander around my hometown like a drunken tourist.
Google Maps was my choice of mapping app for a while, then I tried Apple Maps. But then Apple Maps got me confused (honestly!), So on the recommendation of a friend, I tried Maps.me and was very impressed.
The maps are more detailed, the offline capabilities are better than Google’s, and when you go it will even tell you if the route is uphill or downhill!
Shazam
Shazam
I’m not a big music fanatic, but when I hear something good on car radio, I want to know who it is for later. Even though Ed Sheeran plays all the radio these days, you can find out who is singing what with Shazam.
If you are not familiar with Shazam, place it opposite the music source and let it listen. Within 5-10 seconds, Shazam will magically identify the song and artist for you, and will save them for you in your Shazam app for future reference.
It can even sync with your Spotify account and create a playlist of all your Shazam-ed songs. But since Shazam is now owned by Apple, there is now a tighter integration with Apple Music.
Scanning capability
Checkable
Finally, we end with a scanning app that all self-respecting smartphone users should have on their phones. If you look in the App Store, there are countless possibilities, but my favorite is Scannable, made by Evernote.
There are many scenarios where a scanner app will be invaluable: if you’re a student, you can scan notes and take pictures of whiteboards. If you are in a library, you can scan pages. You can scan photos, letters, receipts . the possibilities are endless.
If you’re scanning confidential documents, make sure they are secure somewhere – perhaps in the Sync app I mentioned earlier?
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