In case you’re an iPhone user, you probably know, at least theoretically, that you have a whole world waiting inside your device. But there are some gateways that enhance your life you are likely not to know about. In today’s language they are called mobile apps. So here are the top iPhone apps to make your life easier, apps you probably didn’t know existed.
1. FITPORT ($1.99)
Like Apple’s own Health app, FitPort is a sort of dashboard showing an overview of your health and fitness activities. The workout app tracks the same sorts of data such as steps, how far you walk or run, calories burned even when you play golf, for instance, and weight. Instead of working as a data supplier to Health, FitPort is an alternative.
2. SWYPE ($1.12)
With the release of iOS 8, the iPhone can now finally support third-party keyboards. One of the most popular third-party keyboards, of course, is Swype. The keyboard allows you to enter text by simply dragging your finger from one key to the next. Swype also comes with five free themes to choose from.
3. ICONICAL ($1.99)
In case you wish your iPhone were as customized as Android devices, this app is for you. This $1.99 app allows you to create custom app icons for all of your software, leading to a home screen you can truly call yours. One of Iconical’s neatest features is the ability to make home-screen shortcuts for your app so you can get right to Create Tweet or Compose Email with a single tap of the screen.
4. WUNDERLIST
Wunderlist is a task and useful todo app for students that’s available on almost any platform you can think of, including iPhone and iPad. When you need to add a task, just enter it and throw it in your inbox. You can go back later and create individual lists, add due dates, notes, and much more. Since Wunderlist lets you create lists however you’d like, you can set them up for each class, or for individual projects. If you’re working on group projects you can even share lists between each other and receive notifications when new tasks are added, updated, and completed. Wunderlist is free to use but if you want more advanced features such as in-depth collaboration tools, you’ll need to subscribe. However, the free version should be sufficient for most students.
5. NORMAL: BATTERY ANALYTICS ($ 1.12)
Battery drain is a huge pain for every iPhone user, but the rate at which your battery drains can vary from user to user even if they are using the exact same model of iPhone. That’s because there are plenty of apps that are big battery hogs. That’s where Normal comes in. The app identifies the worst battery hogs on your device and advises you what you can do to get them to stop draining the battery so much. Best of all it shows you a chart for each app that easily explains how much battery life you’ll gain if you delete the app entirely. For instance I had one app that was sucking a whopping 4.5 hours of my battery life.
6. DAYRE
It’s like Tumblr for your phone but better looking. You are able to record snippets of your life by taking a photo, video, sound clip or jotting down some notes. Then, publish it to a site made for you by Dayre, which also gives you a personal URL so your friends can follow your exploits. The built-in stickers and beautiful designs make blogging a simple, happy affair. It’s basically a new social networking platform.
7. HORIZON ($ 0.99)
If vertical iPhone videos make you tremble, Horizon is a must-download. This camera app allows you to record horizontal videos in portrait mode, using your iPhone’s gyroscope to keep your camera parallel to the ground at any angle. You can use Horizon to shoot in three aspect ratios (1:1, 16:9 or 4:3), and the app packs eight filters for a dash of customization. In case you’re especially excited about your always-horizontal videos, Horizon supports sharing via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
8. ADBLOCKER ($2.19)
AdBlocker for jailbroken iOS devices does exactly what AdBlocker extension does on desktop browsers. This tweak can significantly make web experience better on iOS devices by blocking ads on Safari and third party browsers.
9. GENIUS SCAN+ ($ 7)
The $7 Genius Scan+ app lets you snap photos of your receipts on the fly, intelligently determining the corners and sides of each document. It’s particularly useful for the ones who keep their own finance. You can then send your scans by e-mail or save them to several popular cloud services, and multi-page documents can be scanned and compiled into a single PDF document.
10. SLEEP TIME ($1.99)
This app works while you are sleeping. It uses your phone’s accelerometer to detect movements during your slumber and analyze your sleeping patterns. Its algorithms detect your stages of sleep and adjust its alarm so you won’t be roused from a deep sleep when you don’t want to. The app also serves up weekly reports of your sleep cycles and offers a “gentle breeze soundscape” to help you fall asleep.
BONUS: ANGRY BIRDS ($0.99)
This is by far the best selling iPhone app ever. It’s one of the greatest games for both adults and their toddlers. It’s simply mesmerizing, and it’s the best GPS device for your kids. I’m joking here. What I mean is that once your kid starts playing angry birds, s/he is likely not to move anywhere for a couple of hours. The Angry Birds phenomenon would be nowhere if not for the original version which premiered in December of 2009 and captured our angry, angry hearts ever since. The game has since expanded its franchise to various other platforms, including apparel, food, and even a theme park.
There are thousands of apps to choose from out there. This is just a subjective selection, of course. Please feel free to suggest your own favorite iPhone apps in the comment section below.
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