One of the best flight-tracking apps, Flighty, has been updated to feature the ability to see why your flight was delayed and how long the delay may last.

Flighty 4, now available for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, uses machine learning to monitor why an aircraft could be delayed, a feature that’s currently available for U.S. users. In a press release, the Flighty team explains. “Flighty 4.0 uses machine learning to predict these delays up to six hours before airlines acknowledge them. Often, airlines withhold this information, preferring to inform passengers at the last minute,” they continue. “With Flighty, travelers will finally know the truth about their delayed flights in advance. The app’s predictions are over 95% accurate in testing. And for the rare cases when your plane gets swapped – Flighty has an alert for that too!“

Ryan Jones, the company’s founder, shows how Flighty 4 displays a delayed flight. This useful feature allows travelers to make alternative arrangements instead of having to wait anxiously at an airport terminal wondering if they’re ever going to get on the plane.

But the helpful features don’t stop there. Air Traffic Controllers, a staple of airports for decades, are usually stationed in towers near the runways. They assist pilots in safely taking off and landing aircraft. Flighty 4 uses the same data that Air Traffic Control relies on, translating it into a useful summary for users. This provides more insight into why a delay has occurred and can potentially reduce stress once a delay has been confirmed.

If you’re about to go on vacation, Flighty 4 is an essential app for those just-in-case scenarios. These new features are part of Flighty Pro, which users can pay $4 per week for, while frequent fliers can opt for a $48 yearly subscription.

An essential app if you’re about to go on vacation

It’s that time of year when many are about to go on vacation, and using the best iPhones is crucial for storing boarding passes, car rental tickets, and more. Flighty 4 is a great example of helping to reduce stress at an airport. Sometimes, delays happen and they’re unavoidable, regardless of how well you may have planned to get to the airport with hours to spare.

While some features of Flighty 4, such as Air Space Delay reasons, are currently limited to the U.S., users worldwide can still benefit from its capabilities. The app lets you track any aircraft, import relevant emails, and lots more, all to help make your visit to the airport less stressful.

If you haven’t used Flighty before and you’re about to go on vacation, we strongly recommend you do so. You never know if you’re going to need it for those unexpected stressful moments at the airport.

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Remember all the random apps you used to download as a kid? I remember getting my first-ever iPhone, the 3GS, and spending hours downloading apps that made zero sense but made my younger self incredibly happy.

Now, as I near the ripe old age of 30, I decided to go through my App Store downloads and highlight some of the most random and nostalgic apps I downloaded as a kid. From Milk The Cow to a period where I downloaded multiple talking pet apps, this is a peek into my youth.

For this list, I’ve gone with apps that have been downloaded from my current Apple ID. From what I can gather, this ID was created around 2010 so older apps like Doodle Jump, iBeer, or that one app where you could pretend to eat popcorn from your iPhone’s screen, are all missing. Instead, I’ll focus on the ones I can see in my download history. So, buckle up, and get ready to enter the weird and wonderful world of my teenage brain.

Milk The Cow

The app that sparked this article idea is one of the strangest I’ve ever seen, and something I have no recollection of ever downloading. It’s called Milk The Cow and as its name suggests you milk a cow from the comfort of your sofa. You need to milk the cow as fast as you can and it even has a multiplayer mode so you can ‘milk’ with friends, apparently.

According to the App Store listing, you can even buy a Pro version which includes multiple udders to choose from: XXXL, Classic, Furry, and Cowborg — why oh why did my teenage self download this game we’ll never know, but it sure does sound like a blast!

Talking Tom, Ben, and Pierre

I’m not sure what happened on the 26th December 2011 but it looks like I really wanted to speak to some animals on my iPhone. Turns out I decided to download Talking Tom Cat, Talking Ben the Dog, and Talking Pierre the Parrot to fulfill my animal chat dreams.

These apps are still available to download to this day, although I’m not sure why you’d want to download a talking animal that works like a rubbish version of a Tamagotchi. That said, if you’ve always wanted a pet parrot, then why not give Pierre a try, after all I’ve never seen a parrot play an electric guitar in real life.

Cubed Rally Redline

Cubed Rally Redline was an obsession of mine for a very long time. You race as a small blue rally car and need to race to the finish without running out of fuel, tapping left and right to change lanes and avoid obstacles. It’s insanely addictive and while it hasn’t been updated in eight years, I have so many fond memories of the little racer that I just had to mention it in this article.

There appears to be a newer version called Cubed Rally Racer but that’s part of GameClub, a mobile gaming subscription. If you’re looking for a new game to play on your commute, however, you could do much worse than this nostalgic treat.

Dumb Ways to Die

Dumb Ways to Die, so many dumb ways to die. Get your toast out with a fork. Do your own electrical work. Teach yourself how to fly. Eat a two-week-old unrefrigerated pie. Sing it with me! Anyone? Nope, just me? 

Dumb Ways to Die was a song written for an Australian train safety commercial in 2012 and it’s so catchy that even 12 years later I can still hum the tune. The app on the other hand was fairly forgettable, simple games that were meant to teach kids about safety near the railway.

This music video is incredible and I implore anyone reading this to watch the embedded video below.

Akinator

Akinator… Ring a bell? I spent hours using Akinator to read my mind in the hope that I could outsmart the genie from guessing the celebrity I was thinking of. The app is popular to this day and one of the original iconic entertainment apps for the iPhone.

Nowadays we have games like Resident Evil 4 on the best iPhones, but back in the early 2010s us kids had to find our own fun by playing guessing games with a cartoon character stuck behind a screen. If you’ve never heard of Akinator give it a try, it’s silly fun but perfect to bring out at parties. 

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed on his WhatsApp channel that there are 100 million monthly WhatsApp users in the US and 50% of those use an iPhone. 

This is the first time WhatsApp has revealed any data about users in the US and shows growing popularity for the chat software. WhatsApp is incredibly popular worldwide with more than 2 billion monthly active users. That said, the US market has taken its sweet time to jump on board with the cross-platform smartphone app that allows Android and iPhone users to communicate.

This comes at an interesting time when Apple is about to introduce Rich Communication Services (RCS) to all of its best iPhones with the release of iOS 18. RCS allows communication across platforms with green bubbles to send and receive higher quality images, show when someone is typing like in iMessage, and receive read receipts.

Jump on the WhatsApp train

Last year, the Department of Justice started an investigation over Apple’s refusal to allow applications like Beeper Mini to bring iMessage outside of its walled garden. With the large number of users adopting WhatsApp in the US, however, you have to wonder if the solution is third-party app adoption rather than iMessage for everyone. 

In the UK, where I’m based, WhatsApp is incredibly popular and allows for easy communication across smartphone platforms. The reliance on iMessage in the US has always left me scratching my head, especially considering just how reliable and secure WhatsApp is. 

In the US, Meta is ramping up its marketing push. According to TechCrunch, “In the past few years, WhatsApp has placed ad campaigns, placements in Times Square, and TV spots emphasizing privacy and end-to-end encryption protection. Most recently, it started a national campaign about WhatsApp by bringing back some of the cast of the TV show “Modern Family.”

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After months of waiting, Zenless Zone Zero, from the people who brought you Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, is finally available for public release. It’s got a new art style (although still rooted in the signature anime style that comes with a Hoyoverse release), new characters, a new story, and a whole new gameplay style — but how do you get started?

As with all action RPGs, particularly those created by Hoyoverse, the internet has a habit of over-complicating things with talk of ‘meta builds’, ‘character pulls’, ‘defense stat over buffs’ and the like — and while there is a lot in these games for people who love these kinds of deeper integrations, it can feel like treading through treacle as you try to make sense of the latest game. 

Thankfully, there’s not actually all that much that’s complicated in Zenless Zone Zero, and as a player who’s played all the Hoyoverse games (yes, even Guns Girl Z), I’ve been merrily chewing my way through the first few hours of the game so that I can tell you a couple of things that you’ll need to do as you get into a fresh Action RPG Gacha game. So let’s get it installed, grab a nice cup of cold beverage (it’s summer, you weirdo, put the hot drink away), and get started with Zenless Zone Zero on your iPhone.

Get started in Zenless Zone Zero

Connect up your favorite controller

I am simply incapable of playing iPhone games with touch controls, no matter how well they might be implemented. Perhaps its my massive, distended thumbs or the horrid fingerprints you get all over your screen when you’re mucking about with digital analog sticks — they suck. Suck. Thankfully, while ZZZ has touchscreen controls, it also features controller support out of the gate, so you can hook up your favorite iPhone controller and get playing.

When I tell you it makes the combat feel a whole lot better, I’m not joking. Attacking now has some weight thanks to the buttons, and everything feels more accurate because you’re not panic tapping on touch buttons. It’s easy to get working too — head to the settings menu, go to the input tab, and swap it over to controller. You’ll thank me later. Unfortunately, you’ll have to do this every time you boot up, so don’t forget to sort before you start a play session.

Dial in your graphics settings

If you’re lucky enough to wield an iPad Air M2, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPad Pro M4, then you’ll be playing on those max settings for some gloriously crafted anime mayhem. If you’ve an older iPhone, however, then you’ll want to muck about with the graphics settings so that you can play at a decent, steady frame rate.

Because ZZZ is an action title, you want to make sure that your frame rate is rock solid so that you can keep up with what's happening on screen. Depending on your iPhone, you’ll have to turn certain graphics settings down to get the best frame rate possible. Have a play with all the settings until your game is running sweet as a nut.

Play the tutorial

There’s a lot going on in Zenless Zone Zero, and learning it without the help of the tutorial is a fool's errand. Thankfully, before it lets you completely loose on all of the game's mechanics, story, and gacha gameplay, ZZZ will take you through all of the basics through a kind of introductory tutorial portion. It’s done through story-playing, so you get to know the world as well as the gameplay itself. 

It’s not a short tutorial — it took me a good few hours to get myself to the end of it, but then you’ll have everything the game has to offer at your fingertips, from main story missions to side quests and everything in between.

Check your in-game mail

What the tutorial doesn’t teach you is that there are often opportunities to get free stuff from developer Hoyoverse the moment you launch the game. Just like in Genshin and Star Rail, you’ll get sent messages from Hoyo in-game containing consumables, gacha pull currency, and even characters for nothing. At the moment, there are some great packs hidden away in the messages portion of the game that you should grab before they expire.

Currently, you’ll get some gacha currency (in Zenless Zone Zero’s case it’s called ‘Encrypted Master Tapes’ and ‘Master Tapes’) and a new character, Corin, to add to your roster. It’s worth checking back here every time you sit down to play to see if Hoyo has sent anything new to celebrate a new event. It’s easy to get to — hit your menu button, scroll all the way to the left, hit the ‘More’ section, then navigate to the mail selection. Simple, and, most importantly, filled with free stuff.

Claim your login bonuses

As an incentive to play the game every day, there are events throughout the game that encourage you to log in and play as much as you can. There are currently in-game events with free Master Tapes and Encrypted Master Tapes so that you can go pull some S-tier characters.

It’s easy to get to the events screen — just go to the main menu, and press the equivalent of the Xbox controller’s ‘X’ button to go to the side pane. Or, you can tap it with your finger if you’re using touch controls. Each event will explain how to get the rewards on hand, and they’re a great way of bolstering your character roster without spending any money.

Go get pulling!

Part of the fun of a Gacha game like Zenless Zone Zero is the character pull mechanic, which acts like those machines in shopping malls and centers that take a quarter and spit out a plastic statue of Sonic randomly. It works the same here — spend some of your Master Tapes and Encrypted Master Tapes so that you can pull some unique characters to add to your roster, that you can use in battle.

There are currently events running for the entirety of the current roster of characters, so play enough and you should earn the currency necessary to make pulls in the Signal Search section. In fact, there are introductory offers to make it even easier as well, so make sure you check it out the moment the prologue finishes.

You can spend money on the credits, but exercise caution — they’re not cheap, and they soon add up. Thankfully, they’re not pay-to-win and you can have an epic time playing for free like me — so get started, and enjoy your time with Zenless Zone Zero now that you know what you should do when you first boot the game up!

As a sports-obsessed Apple journalist, the reveal of Apple Sports, a dedicated sports score app, felt like a watershed moment, a fitting parallel to Lionel Messi joining the MLS. Yet, 24 hours later I’m left scratching my head, confused as to how Apple could launch such a barebones experience, and still waiting for a notification to tell me last night’s score. 

When I first joined iMore over a year ago, I thought up an idea for a feature that would pit my most-used apps on my iPhone against each other to determine the ultimate sports score app. You see, I’m unhealthily obsessed with sports, from football (I refuse to write soccer), to darts and everything in between, I spend the majority of my time consuming something sports-related in some form or another. That means the most used apps on my iPhone 15 Pro Max are sports score apps like Flashscore, sports news apps like The Athletic, and my fantasy Premier League app where I take fantasy football far too seriously. 

Since Apple started to dip its toes in sports with Friday Night Baseball followed by worldwide streaming rights to Major League Soccer and rumors of the company’s influence on the world’s biggest sports star, Lionel Messi, joining the league, I’ve been waiting patiently for a dedicated sports app. Yesterday, the company revealed Apple Sports, and when my colleague showed me the press release, my response was, “OMG YES YES YES YES.”

The app, which at first glance is incredibly simple, shows you live scores of matches across a select number of sports and leagues (at the time of writing, even competitions like the Champion’s League, football’s premier club competition are missing). After the initial excitement, I downloaded the app and read an interview with Eddie Cue from our friends at TechRadar. Eddie Cue’s interview explained the thought process behind the app, a very clean and straightforward experience which he says is “the type of app you use multiple times a day. You don’t spend very long. You don’t spend 15 to 30 minutes, because you go in there [Cue starts snapping his fingers for emphasis], get some information, get some data, whatever it is you’re looking for, and then you’re done and you’re out."

Combined with Apple’s description of the app, I expected a fast and fluid experience that tells me as soon as a ball is kicked in the net and gives me the information I want from a sports alerts app. I was excited to show my equally sports-obsessed friends and was adamant that come the evening when Liverpool vs Luton, the app’s first test, kicked off, we’d see Apple’s simplicity blow our minds.

The test

To get the full experience of Apple Sports, I decided that I’d opt out of using my two favorite sports apps, Flashscore and Sofascore, to give my full attention to Apple’s experience. During Premier League games, I spend a lot of my time chatting with my friends and other fantasy football enthusiasts online, which means it’s really important that I get quick goal notifications if the game isn’t televised (in the UK, a lot of games aren’t due to a blackout law) as I don’t want to be left behind in the conversation.

The Premier League Liverpool vs Luton match wasn't televised, so it was the perfect opportunity to focus solely on Apple Sports and see what kind of experience the company had put together.

The lineup issue

For all major football matches, the lineup is pretty important, and it’s made available to the public exactly an hour before the game starts. With Liverpool vs Luton kicking off at 7:30 pm UK time, at 6:30, I checked Apple Sports for the lineup — no information in sight. I decided to check again every five minutes until the match kicked off with no luck. It wasn’t until 7:30 and the app had updated to show the game had started that I knew who was on the pitch, a complete miss on Apple’s part.

What’s the score?

With the game live, I could see everything Apple Sports has to offer — which in all honesty, is not that much. There are live betting odds locked to the American “money line” standard and only for the result, total goals, and spread of goals — I can overlook this, I don’t really care too much for gambling. Then there are some brief team stats, the league table (I forgot to check if this is updated in real time, but I honestly doubt it), and a Play-By-Play tab, which gives you brief updates on what’s going on in the match.

At 7:42 pm, Chiedozie Ogbene scored for Luton. How do I know? Well, if it weren’t for my friends, honestly, I probably wouldn’t. You see, Apple Sports doesn’t have any notifications at the time of writing. Yes, that’s right, the core feature of a sports score app, which is to alert people when there’s a score regardless of the sport, is missing here. The app doesn’t even show up in the “Notifications” section of the Settings app on your iPhone. The only way to know what the score is in the app’s current form is to either keep it open continuously or remember to double-check the score every now and then. I can’t speak for everyone, but a sports score app without notifications is almost as useless as a footballer with two left feet. So I opened the app, checked the Play-By-Play, and read, “Chiedozie Ogbene scores with a header shot.” Any football fan reading this will probably grimace at the language there, and
like most things in Apple Sports, it just feels completely out of touch. 

With my fantasy football gameweek hanging in the balance and Apple Sports repeatedly telling me Liverpool’s center-back Virgil Van Dijk was taking a goal kick (this never happened, by the way), I closed the app and returned to my trusty third-party applications that give me constant updates as soon as a ball touches the back of the net.

Waking up to results (or the lack of)

Before going to bed, I added the MLS as a favorite league on Apple Sports. I thought Apple had intentionally launched this app alongside the first game of the MLS season, and while I don’t really follow the league, maybe I’d get notifications or a better experience with the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV tie-in.

Like most mornings, I completely forgot about the sports that happened while I was asleep and headed to Instagram to see Lionel Messi creating yet another viral moment by dinking the ball over an injured player on the ground. I then remembered Apple Sports' existence and realized I had no idea what the score of Inter Miami vs Real Salt Lake game was. That pretty much sums up the Apple Sports experience in its current form — it doesn’t have any positive impact on your life as a sports fan, and, if anything, it adds friction, feeling like a last-minute idea released far too early.

When the app was first revealed yesterday, Apple confirmed Dynamic Island support to us, yet it was nowhere to be seen last night. I’ve reached out to Apple for clarification, but as it stands, I can’t recommend Apple Sports to anyone. It has an easy-to-use, simplistic design, but it’s lacking so many features that it just doesn’t warrant a space on your iPhone. I haven’t felt this disappointed by Apple since the butterfly keyboard fiasco.

Out of form, but it’s not too late

After a day, I can’t recommend Apple Sports, but that doesn’t mean the app can’t turn it around and make an in-form run to the playoffs. You see, all I want from a sports score app is near-instant notifications when a goal, touchdown, or point is scored, Dynamic Island support, a wide range of sports and leagues, and team news earlier than the other apps on offer.

At the moment, Apple Sports has none of these offerings, not even delayed notifications. But, considering Apple confirmed Dynamic Island support, and that’s something I’ve wanted in a sports app for a long time (I’m not a huge fan of the current offerings), there is still hope for Apple Sports.

If Apple fixes the Live Activities and turns on notifications, the app will become infinitely better than its current state. But will the company do that? Because, at the moment, this project feels incredibly lazy and I can’t help but feel robbed of an experience that has so much potential.

Thanks to AI image generators, the most brilliant and absurd images can now be created in seconds with a simple text prompt. 

Ever wondered what a giant red panda riding a mongoose into a sunset might look like? Well, you don't have to leave it to the imagination, just take a look at the image below:

If you've kept an eye on AI developments over the past year, you're likely aware of the buzz around image generators like DALL·E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. They've stirred up their share of controversies, from copyright concerns to deepfake implications, and even fears about the future of the creative industries.

However, if we step away from these headline-dominating, potentially society-altering AI tools, we discover a whole other world of AI applications. These don't conjure new images from thin air but rather empower you to edit your own photos effortlessly. But where exactly do you find these AI editing tools, and more importantly, do they really make your photos better?

What are AI photo editing tools and what can they do?

Editing tools that use some sort of AI to enhance your images aren’t new. For example, Adobe’s Photoshop Content Aware Fill, filling gaps on a canvas or over imperfections based on the surrounding image data, has been around for years. It allows you to remove an unwanted element – say, a dog photobombing your perfect beach sunset shot – and seamlessly fill in the gap with the surrounding scenery, like sand and sea, making it look as though your new furry friend was never there.

But recent advances in AI have revolutionized photo editing, with a growing number of apps and software programs now incorporating smart tools similar to, even exceeding the capabilities of, Content Aware Fill. These require minimal editing skills and take little time to use.

While these AI tools don't create images from scratch like DALL·E 3 (yes, the one behind our red panda on a mongoose image), they're incredibly handy for tasks such as adjusting lighting, smoothing skin, or conjuring up new backgrounds and objects.

You'll find these AI wonders in many apps, catering to everything from sprucing up selfies to more sophisticated tasks, like social media content creation, professional photography, product shots, or advertising campaigns.

Now, we're using 'AI' a bit broadly here, as is the norm these days. It implies some form of artificial intelligence at work, but its functionality varies. For example, Photoshop employs generative AI, which can create new outputs (like texts or images) based on learned patterns and features. It 'knows' what a wall looks like because it's been trained on numerous wall images. Other tools might use simpler algorithms for tasks like identifying blurry areas in a photo and suggesting fixes.

Although AI is a broad term, it's become a widely accepted catch-all in many areas, especially in image editing. It typically refers to using an AI tool for smarter, automated tasks that would otherwise require professional expertise.

Does AI make photos better?

Is AI making our photos better? For many purposes, the answer is a resounding yes, especially for specific tasks. Let’s dive into some of the coolest AI photo editing features available in top apps today. 

These tools can sharpen blurry images, remove or add backgrounds, isolate subjects, enhance lighting uniformly, tweak facial features (like smoothing skin and brightening eyes), colorize black and white photos, and even suggest optimal edits based on the photo type.

Using a decent app makes photo editing not just easy, but also fun. It’s great for selfies, of course, but the benefits extend to professional work as well. For pros, tasks like manually cutting out objects or choosing new backgrounds with realistic lighting can be time-consuming. AI streamlines these processes, enhancing workflow and reducing headaches.

Now, let's dive into the latest and greatest in AI tools offered by popular apps. They're incredibly fun to explore but do warrant a thoughtful approach. My current favorite? The Generative Expand and Fill features in Photoshop.

These features harness the power of generative AI technology. In essence, when you provide a text prompt, Photoshop taps into its extensive knowledge base to generate a visual interpretation that closely aligns with your request. It's like having a digital artist at your fingertips, ready to transform your ideas into visual realities.

Take the portrait of me above the 'Does AI make photos better?' heading. I upload it to Photoshop, expand the crop, and instead of being left with white space, I can add a text prompt like 'in a bright co-working space wearing a futuristic black outfit.' The results, as you can see in the image above, are impressive for something that takes just 30 seconds.

This tech is great for headshots, mock-ups, spicing up selfies, or just for fun – like the 'engineering room of a spaceship from the future' image at the top of this article. The angles, lighting, and color palette look believable. But perfect? That’s up for debate.

Consider another example below with the prompt 'on a yacht sailing in the sea.' Someone with editing skills could refine it further, but for a novice like me, the outcome is decent, albeit a bit eerie.

So adding new elements to an image is one thing; ensuring alignment, realistic lighting, and a natural look is another. 

This applies to my experiments with Generative Fill above, but I also find this applies to selfies too sometimes. The changes can look real, but go overboard with skin smoothing or eye brightening, and there’s an unsettling 'uncanny valley' effect.

Which AI photo tools are the best?

In the world of image editing and even on social media platforms, especially those focused on selfies (I'm looking at you, TikTok), AI is quietly at work. Some apps may not heavily promote their AI features, while others boast them as their unique selling point.

But certain tools excel in specific areas. Take Facetune, for example. It's fantastic for subtle selfie enhancements – although remember, moderation is key. It suggests optimal adjustments, some of which look incredibly natural. Lensa is another top choice in this category.

Then there's Canva, primarily a design app, which boasts AI features like background removal. It's also recently launched Magic Design. Input a brief, like ‘Instagram post for a beach holiday travel company,’ add a relevant photo, and it suggests numerous templates and designs. They're not flawless and may need a bit of tweaking, but they're an excellent starting point. Canva also has a generative AI feature for creating images from text prompts – think ‘cat eating birthday cake’ for party invites.

Pixlr is an affordable, user-friendly option with nifty AI tools, including template designs similar to Canva, straightforward object selection and removal, background removal, and batch editing. It’s free with limited features, but a subscription unlocks more.

For those willing to invest time and effort, apps like Luminar Neo shine, especially with AI-powered features like sky replacement, making it a solid choice for editing selfies and portraits. And then, of course, there's Adobe Photoshop – the gold standard in photo editing, packed with advanced AI tools, like the Generative Expand and Generative Fill features I mentioned above, as well as many more. It's not free or the easiest to use, but it offers unparalleled performance and control for those seeking professional-quality results.

Should we use AI to edit our photos?

Deciding whether to use AI photo editing tools really comes down to your objectives and the nature of your photos.

AI image generators have sparked controversy, and there's a growing concern among creative professionals that larger editing tasks traditionally outsourced to experts are now being handled by apps.

The debate extends to the ethics of image editing. How much is standard tweaking, and when does it become potentially harmful manipulation – not just to viewers but also to those who frequently edit their own images? 

Some experts believe that constant exposure to edited faces, especially through highly refined TikTok filters like 'Bold Glamour', could skew our perception of reality. These filters, powered by machine learning and AI, subtly yet significantly alter skin texture and facial features, potentially fueling dissatisfaction with real-life appearances and reinforcing unrealistic beauty standards.

Despite these challenges, it's undeniable that AI-enabled apps can significantly enhance your photos – to an extent. Many common edits are just a tap away. Especially straightforward tasks like smoothing skin or erasing a photobombing dog. If that's all you want to do then today's AI tools are efficient, effective, and enjoyable.

But for miraculous transformations that don't look creepy, you might need to invest in more advanced tools like Photoshop, learn the ropes and remember that when enhancing photos for a natural, believable look, less is more.

This feature is part of iPhone Photography Week 2024. Expect new posts to appear daily, focused on making your photos shot with iPhone better than ever before.

Share your photos with iMore on X (Twitter) using #iMorePhotographyWeek

Ahead of Apple’s big EU App Store overhaul in iOS 17.4, developers can now try out the update’s new features in App Store Connect and TestFlight.

According to a post on Apple’s Developer website, "Developers who have agreed to the new business terms can now use new features in App Store Connect and the App Store Connect API to set up marketplace distribution and marketplace apps and use TestFlight to beta test these features. TestFlight also supports apps using alternative browser engines, and alternative payments through payment service providers and linking out to a webpage."

Previously, iPhone apps could only be distributed through Apple’s App Store. Because of a Digital Markets Act (DMA) ruling by the EU, Apple is now required to offer alternative ways for developers to distribute their apps, as well as offering different payment platforms and allowing web browsers to use different web engines — all with a deadline of March 5 for these reforms to be in place. Subsequently, Apple announced how it would comply with these big changes for EU iPhone users and developers in January with iOS 17.4.

As for TestFlight, it allows developers to roll out updates to their apps for users to try out, quash any bugs, and give feedback. With these new features in iOS 17.4 beta, developers will be able to test third-party app marketplaces, and the rest of these EU App Store changes.

If you want to try out the iOS 17.4 beta, you can go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. We should mention, though, that installing a beta version comes with its own risks — so install with caution.

What else does iOS 17.4 bring?

It’s not just these changes, spurred by the EU, that are coming to iOS 17.4. New emojis, such as a phoenix, a mushroom, and more will be included. Apple’s Podcasts app will automatically transcribe episodes, allowing those with hearing impairments to read along with their favorite show.

Finally, Apple’s next-gen CarPlay has also been discovered in iOS 17.4, with eight new CarPlay apps being prepared. New functions include checking if the car doors are closed, climate controls, and more.

There’s no word when this major update will be available for iPhones, but with the DMA deadline of March 5 fast approaching, we wouldn’t be surprised to see iOS 17.4 arrive by the end of the month.

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YouTube is generally one of the most popular apps in the App Store and it's easy to see why. The video streaming service is home to some of the most popular creators on the planet and Shorts has helped stem the tide of creatives moving to TikTok. But while the YouTube iPhone app is popular, there's one facet of it that you might not even know about. And if you did, you've probably forgotten that it ever existed. Now, it doesn't.

That facet is YouTube's iMessage app, a feature that was added years ago and brought some of the core YouTube video functionality to the Messages app on the iPhone and iPad. And while YouTube will probably never share details on how often that iMessage app was used, it's unlikely that it was a whole lot. Now, YouTube appears to have removed its iMessage app from the latest version of its iPhone and iPad app, and it's done so silently to boot.

That means that anyone who downloads YouTube from the App Store today or updates the version that's already installed, will not have access to the iMessage app. But whether or not that's a big deal is a matter for debate. The bigger question surrounds the iMessage App Store in general and whether we might see other apps remove support in the future, too.

The forgotten iMessage app

The loss of the YouTube iMessage app was first reported by 9to5Mac, although YouTube didn't make it obvious. While the latest version of the YouTube app removed the iMessage app, that isn't something that you would glean from the release notes. Instead, they simply share that the new update includes bug fixes and performance improvements.

That, of course, means we don't know whether YouTube removed its iMessage app on purpose or if this is nothing more than a bug — in which case it will likely reappear in a future update.

The YouTube iMessage app itself was one that brought enhanced functionality to the Messages app and allowed people to find and send videos as an iMessage without leaving the app first. It also meant that people could watch content using the native YouTube video player from within the Messages app as well. Those two features might not have been a huge draw for users, however. It has been around since the end of 2017, but again, usage numbers are unknown outside of YouTube and parent company Google.

The what store?

You wouldn't be alone reading this and wondering what the iMessage App Store actually is. If I'm being honest, I'd forgotten it was a thing as well. But it very much is, and Apple has its own webpage dedicated to it. It does a good job of describing the idea behind iMessage apps, saying that "with iMessage apps, you can collaborate with others in a conversation, decorate messages with stickers, share a song, and more — without leaving Messages."

In reality, you probably use these apps without realizing it. Photos, Apple Cash, and others found in the Messages app drawer are all apps of this ilk provided by Apple as a default. But whether or not you've added any of your own is another matter entirely. You can, of course, and it's likely that some of the apps you already use have installed iMessage apps without you realizing.

One app you won't find there is YouTube, but we'll find out soon enough whether that was by design or accident.

More from iMore

• How to use bubble and screen effects in Messages for iPhone and iPad
• How to send money with Apple Cash in the Messages app
• How to use Messages with Siri on iPhone and iPad

Looking for a free iPhone app? You've come to the right place. As of July 2024, there are almost 1.9 million free apps currently available in the App Store, so you've got plenty to choose from!

However, some apps may be free but require a paid subscription in order to use all of their features, which can be confusing. These are called 'freemium' apps.

Although we have a guide showcasing the 101 best iPhone apps, we wanted to have another one that only highlights the best free iPhone apps. This way, you can try them out right now without having to wonder if some are 'freemium' and see if they're worth keeping on your iPhone's home screen.

With this in mind, we've collated a bunch of free apps for the best iPhones currently available that you can download right now without using your credit card.

Best free apps for iPhone: Entertainment and News

Spotify

Many music apps for iPhone compete for your ears, but there are very few that have been as popular and consistent as Spotify. You get one of the most extensive music catalogs out there and the convenience of having your music, podcasts, and audiobooks in a single app. The app does have Premium tiers, of course, but it has one of the best music experiences you can get on a music app without having to spend a penny in its free tier. The ad-supported free music experience is great — you get all the essential features and access to over 80 million songs and podcasts. For those who listen to the radio, Spotify’s advertisements are no more intrusive than those you’d get listening to your favorite stations.

• Download now

YouTube

YouTube needs no introduction. One of the world’s biggest video content libraries has a pretty great iPhone app that is free to use. You get to watch nearly every video on YouTube with the app, minus the Premium exclusives such as no ads and picture-in-picture support. YouTube reserves some features for its Premium tier, but the free ad-supported tier has a pretty solid experience on the iPhone. You can also use the iOS app to cast videos from your iPhone to other devices, even if they don’t support AirPlay. The ad count has gone up lately, but the overall experience is strong if you don’t want to shell out cash for a subscription.

• Download now

Shazam

 Shazam is a pioneer in the music industry, having popularized the concept of music recognition using your phone’s microphone, as well as being able to cross-check with a huge database of songs from across the globe. It remains one of the best iPhone apps today. Though Apple acquired Shazam and integrated its music recognition into iOS, you still need the Shazam app for the full experience. The app will let you keep track of your music recognition history and play a snippet of the songs found. You’ll need an Apple Music subscription in order to play the full songs — though nothing is stopping you from just hitting play on an identified track in the streaming service of your choice elsewhere. If you like the song you Shazam-ed, you can even see where the artist will be playing next, using the app’s concerts feature.

• Download now

Duolingo

Duolingo is a language-learning app that has been around for a while and offers an astounding amount of features for a free app. You can learn 43 different languages, with courses catered for all kinds of learners. The hook of this app is the streaks feature, which is known to work to help users maintain consistency in learning languages and has become a popular meme. The app will bug you to return to it so you can keep up with your lessons. Additionally, you can also add your friends and compete with them to stay higher on the leaderboard.

• Download now

Letterboxd

We all watch a bunch of movies, but what if you had an all-in-one app to decide what to watch, as well as to track your watch history? Letterboxd is a very capable free app that will let you do exactly that. It’ll show you a trending tab with new films that are currently popular and a section with popular reviews — arguably the best part of the app. It also gets recommendations right with a bunch of user-generated lists that you can rely on. Letterboxd will also let you watch trailers, read up on related news and cast lists, and more.

• Download now

Goodreads

Goodreads has been helping folks maintain a reading habit for years, and it's currently the best iPhone app you can use for that purpose. It will let you keep track of the progress on books you’re currently reading and let you make lists of books you’ve read and books you want to read. The app will also give you the option to take reading challenges, as well as recaps of your progress. If you want suggestions on what to read, the Discover feature has you covered.

• Download now

Best free apps for iPhone: Social and Utility

Google Maps

While the iPhone comes with Apple Maps preloaded, Google Maps is seen as the better option for many users. Google Maps doesn’t have nearly as many ads as some other free apps from Google do, and it functions well, especially with CarPlay support. You get turn-by-turn navigation, traffic updates, road closures, and alternative routes. Google Maps also has a community feature integrated, wherein you can leave reviews for places you visit and also check operating times. Since Apple started allowing users to change default Maps apps, Google Maps has been a pretty great Apple Maps alternative for iPhone users.

• Download now

Telegram

Telegram is one of the best free apps you can get. It's got a clean user interface and great customizability, especially for an iOS app. The chat sync is pretty much a non-issue, unlike WhatsApp. If you're looking for the best messaging app for iPhone that's not iMessage, Telegram is the best pick to talk to your iPhone and Android phone friends at once. You can also use it on multiple devices, including the web, without having to jump through hoops.

• Download now

NordPass

Password management has come to be a chore, but thankfully there are a few great apps that can take care of that for you, and NordPass is the best one of the lot. Apple does have iCloud Keychain built in for password management on the iPhone and other Apple devices, but the biggest issue is that it's not cross-platform. That's a problem NordPass solves, and the free tier gives enough features to keep using it without feeling like you absolutely need the paid version. It will even let you store your credit cards securely.

• Download now

Calcbot 2

Calcbot has been our favorite calculator app for the iPhone for a long time now, and Calcbot 2 is an improvement over it. While Apple’s in-built calculator app does the basics, it’s not quite as feature-rich as everyone would like it to be. One of the best features of Calcbot 2 is the history tape, which records all your calculations for you to refer back to whenever needed. You also get an expression view to see all your typed inputs so you can avoid making repetitions while calculating. You also get an Apple Watch app in case you want to use the app on the go.

• Download now

Pinterest

Pinterest is a bit of a unique app. The service has been around forever as a social media platform that has a greater focus on the visual content instead of the social aspects of it. It is particularly popular among folks who like to brainstorm ideas for just about anything, be it craft decor-related or a larger project that requires a lot of ideation. The app will let you create boards for different purposes and pin a bunch of ideas as and when you spot them. Think of it as a social media network focused on inspiration, right on your iPhone.

• Download now

Gamma

Since Apple changed a rule in April to allow retro-gaming emulators on the App Store, a few of them have been made available, transforming how some users play games on their iPhones. Gamma, a Sony PlayStation emulator, is a great example of this.

Available for free with an optional $4.99 fee to remove ads, Gamma is a powerful app that has seen many updates since its release in May. The app features cover art support, cheats, save states so you can resume your progress at any time, multiplayer support, and much more.

iMore spoke to Gamma's developer, Zodttd, in July about his history in developing the app and his plans for future updates. It's safe to say that Gamma will be available for iPhones and iPads in the foreseeable future — and for free.

• Download now

Grammarly

Grammarly has been a staple for years for anybody who types a lot. Offering grammar and spelling correction, Grammarly has been a popular tool, especially as a browser extension. Grammarly for iOS arrives in the form of a keyboard that replaces your default keyboard and actively checks for grammar and spelling issues. While a Premium subscription will get you a bunch of additional features like help with phrasing and AI assistance, the free version is plenty good with basic spelling and grammar issues. It’s a particularly great app if you type a lot and want to avoid typos.

• Download now

Google Photos

Google’s suite of apps is actually surprisingly great on the iPhone and particularly useful if you’re not fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem. Google Photos is a solid alternative to the default Photos app + iCloud backup combination on the iPhone. You can have a centralized photo backup and sync across your devices, and there are options to backup the original quality, as well as a lower quality that saves file size. The app is free by default and relies on the 15GB free storage that comes with a Google account, although you can buy more storage if you need it. 

• Download now

Best free apps for iPhone: Health and Fitness

Flo Period & Pregnancy Tracker

There are a lot of period and pregnancy tracking apps out there, but Flo is one of the best ones around. It has a solid track record with 300M installs so far, and it has been created with inputs from over 100 experts in the field. The free version itself is very feature-rich, offering you options to track your menstrual cycle, track ovulation, and stay on top of a possible pregnancy. It's also one of the best apps to track your fertility. It’s not just a period tracker, either, and you can use it as an assistant throughout your pregnancy as well, letting you track your baby’s growth weekly.

• Download now

Moodflow

Wellness is key to surviving in today’s stressful world. It may not be easy for everyone to reduce screen time, but Moodflow will let you use the screen to track your moods better and work towards your goal of self-improvement. Moodflow is an all-in-one mental health app that has a mood tracker as its central function. You can also see your year in pixels, use the diary and journal to note down your thoughts, as well as set habits and routines. It also offers photo album integration and sleep tracking. If you want a one-stop solution to tracking your mental health progress, this is it.

• Download now

Nike Run Club

Nike has an age-old partnership with Apple, going all the way back to the Nike+iPod launched in 2006. Nike Run Club is the modern-day fruit of that partnership, now equipped to work with the iPhone and the Apple Watch. As the name suggests, Nike Run Club is an app designed to help you track your workouts, and maintain consistency with your running to the point of running a marathon. You get challenges that will let you run towards your goal. It has different approaches for different kinds of runners, and the Apple Watch integration is amazing for the tracking features.

• Download now

Journey

If you want a dedicated journaling app, Journey is as good as it gets, and it mimics a real physical journal rather well. It’s not just an app to write down your thoughts but has a full-fledged media experience to add images and videos to your Journal, see it organized in a calendar for quick access, and personalize each entry as you like it. There are also mood-tracking features and a memories feature for throwbacks, making it one of the best journaling apps for iPhone.

• Download now

Oak – Meditation & Breathing

Meditation is a very popular technique to integrate into your wellness routine, but it requires discipline. That discipline may not be easy to form for everybody, and that’s exactly where Oak comes in. Oak is a very well-designed meditation and breathing app that gives you guided meditations with instructors. You can pick a session that suits your needs and even go for unguided meditations if you prefer that. The iOS app has been designed to evoke a sense of calmness. The breathing and sleep exercises are excellent to calm yourself down and help maintain that calm for sustained periods.

• Download now

CBT Self-Care Journal

Mental health progress can be difficult, but cognitive behavioral therapy is something that has been known to help people form healthier habits. CBT Self-Care Journal focuses on helping you with your progress with CBT in the form of mood-tracking and journaling. It packs in all the CBT exercises you need, including relaxation exercises, meditations, positive psychology exercises, and mood tracking. The journaling aspect is central here to ensure you can note your feelings and track them as you progress with your exercises. The app aims to help you make progress towards having more positive thoughts, and it does it well.

• Download now

Best free apps for iPhone: Miscellaneous

Tasty: Recipes, Cooking Videos

Recipes aren’t hard to find, but Tasty is an app with detailed recipes and features that will help you cook the right portion sizes, cooking times, and instructions. The app boasts over 10,000 recipes and collections. There’s also an integration that will let you directly shop for groceries needed for a recipe through Walmart. There’s a bit of a social aspect to this app, too. If you love sharing your cooking and giving or taking general cooking advice, you can do exactly that. There’s also an AI assistant feature to help you sift through the 10,000 recipes to find the best one for your current needs.

• Download now

Google Opinion Rewards

Google Opinion Rewards is a fun app if you want to earn some cash to spend on Google’s services. It will serve you surveys based on your usage of Google services, and once you answer the survey, you get a reward in the form of Google Play Balance. While it seems like a chore, the surveys are often simple and will let you pay for a bunch of things, including YouTube Premium, Google Drive, and Photos storage, or even renting or buying movies from Google’s massive library — making it useful even if you’re an iPhone user. If you already use Google services, this is one of those apps that won’t hurt to have.

• Download now

Photomath

Photomath is a very cool math-learning app. It lets you scan mathematical functions with your camera and solve them instantly with step-by-step instructions and logic. It’s a nifty way to get the solution to your mathematical problems while learning how to solve them in detail. The solutions are vetted by Photomath’s team of math teachers, so you can be sure that you’re learning the right way to solve. It covers several areas of mathematics, including the tricky calculus. The free version can get you the basic solutions, but if you want to go for advanced techniques and more help, there’s a premium subscription available.

• Download now

Google Chrome users will soon be able to benefit from a usability feature that Safari users have had access to for a long time, it seems.

Apple gave iPhone owners the option of putting Safari's address bar at the bottom of the screen back when iOS 15 arrived and while it did prove controversial at the time, it's gone on to become a popular option. There's also a toggle to move it back to the top of the screen should people prefer. Now, it appears that Google is about to take a leaf out of Apple's book.

The latest Google Chrome beta, available via TestFlight, also has an option to move the address bar to the bottom of the screen for the first time. It's likely that option will make its way to the version of Chrome available via the App Store soon enough.

Coming soon

The new option was spotted by developer Steve Moser and posted to X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. An accompanying screenshot shows that Chrome users will be able to choose a top or bottom position for the address bar, while on-screen text says that they "can also touch and hold the address bar to change the position."

Putting the address bar at the bottom of the screen makes it much easier to reach on larger devices like the iPhone 14 Pro Max, especially for those of us with smaller hands and shorter thumbs.

As with all changes like this, there are sure to be people who prefer the original location which is why the option to choose where the address bar lives is a welcome one. Apple tried making the decision for people during the iOS 15 betas but subsequently added an option following feedback from testers.

Opera has released an update to its web browser on iOS that brings its AI assistant to the iPhone.

For those unaware, Aria is Opera’s version of a generative AI model, much like ChatGPT. Using web results, it gives you a condensed version of the text at hand, cutting down the time it would usually take to find an answer to a search query. Instead of jumping over to Google, you can bring up Aria and type in your request.

This isn’t Opera’s first foray into AI. Earlier in 2023, it brought out AI Prompts. This allows users to ask its AI to explain an article, create posts for social media platforms like X, and more.

Using Aria in iOS is a simple affair, but you’ll need an Opera account first. Once you’ve signed in, tap the menu icon at the bottom, select ‘Aria Browser AI’, and you’re good to go.

Aria wants to be the good cop of AI

Services like OpenAI grant you a limited amount of free queries to use for ChatGPT, so if you’re using something like MacGPT every day, you’ll eventually have to pay for more requests. 

But for Aria, that limit doesn’t exist, and that gives it a big advantage. This is because if you're searching for something, there's no limit as to how many queries you can make. Instead, you can give the AI a bunch of queries within Opera and it'll give you the relevant result without even using Google.

Instead, you just have to ask Aria for the best Spanish Omelet recipe and sit back as the browser does all the hard searching for you. You’ll be in egg town quicker than you can say ‘Pass me the whisk’.

It’s unobtrusive, and while there are other companies like Google that want AI to be a servant to help you accomplish tasks, Aria does it differently. Opera simply wants it to help you go further in your queries, and nothing more.

Perhaps this is how Siri could work in the future on Safari - it could give you helpful articles to read based on the topic you’re researching, for instance. But for now, Opera could be a great alternative to Apple’s web browser if you want a helpful AI that can tell you how to make a monster omelet.

Netflix has launched a new app that will soon allow subscribers to play games on their TV. The app, called Netflix Game Controller, will transform your phone into a controller that you can use to play games through Netflix's platform.

Back in 2021, Netflix launched several mobile games that are free for subscribers to play through the service on your phone, including Stranger Things: 1984 and Shooting Hoops. The mobile game library has expanded since then, with more than 63 titles available at the time of writing. 

Since the launch of Netflix's mobile games, the company has been open about its plans to expand into cloud-based gaming. Back in 2022 at the TechCrunch Disrupt event, Netflix VP of Gaming Mike Verdu told the audience that Netflix was “exploring a cloud gaming offering.” 

Right now it's not clear which games will be available for you to play on your TV with your new games controller (read: iPhone) and whether these will be Netflix's mobile games we're already familiar with. But we're excited to see whether the mobile controller will be a hit.

Will cloud gaming push Netflix to new heights?

Several cloud gaming services have failed in the past, most famously Google's Stadia. Will Netflix rise where similar offerings fell? 

Right now it's difficult to say. It's promising that Netflix already has an established subscriber base. And anything the platform can do to make switching from streaming boxsets to gaming easy and seamless is going to be a smart move – using your phone as a controller is a good start.

While we wait for Netflix's cloud-based game offering to officially launch, take this opportunity to get into mobile games. Not sure which service is best? Read our Apple Arcade vs Netflix Games guide.

Apple's new development framework, DockKit, can turn your iPhone into a pet tracker using motorized phone stands that help follow your cat or dog around your home.

Documentation on Apple's website says DockKit can create "photo and video experiences" while mounting an iPhone to a motorized stand. Then, developers can use the Animal Body Pose API to identify and track animals with the camera.

"Go beyond detecting cats and dogs in images. We'll show you how to use Vision to detect the individual joints and poses of these animals as well — all in real-time — and share how you can enable exciting features like animal tracking for a camera app, creative embellishment on an animal photo, and more."

DockKit, combined with the Animal Body API, will allow developers to create the next generation of pet-tracking software with the convenience of using your iPhone. Apple says this combination will allow apps to “automatically track subjects in live video across a 360-degree field of view, take direct control of the stand to customize framing, directly control the motors, and provide your own inference model for tracking other objects.”

Pet cameras for everyone

Buying a pet camera has been one of the best purchases I've made for my French Bulldog, Kermit. It allows me to leave him at home whenever I need without any stress of him destroying my curtains, hurting himself, or being stressed.

It's a godsend for living my life without constantly worrying about my dog. While he's not the biggest fan of automated pet feeders, he doesn't mind the Eufy camera in our kitchen where he sleeps, so the potential of apps like this, thanks to DockKit, would be huge.

One issue is that unless you own multiple iPhones, you won't be able to leave your smartphone at home while you're out of the house. But maybe, Apple will extend DockKit and the Animal Body Pose API to other devices, like the iPad. If so, I'd happily let my dog roam free with a camera in every room.

Pride Month is almost a day away as June is around the corner. To celebrate the month, Apple has already announced its latest Pride Apple Watch band and iPhone wallpaper. Now it's announced that there will be more over the course of June, including an appearance from the Material Girl herself, Madonna.

Well-known as an icon in the LGBT+ community, Madonna will have her own spotlight in the Apple Fitness Plus app, with an "entire workout playlist dedicated to a particular artist" according to Apple's press release.

Exercising Like a Prayer

Starting Monday, June 5 (that's the same day as WWDC, by the way), you'll be able to join Madonna across "workout types including HIIT, Rowing, Cycling, Core, Treadmill, Strength, Dance, and Yoga."

Apple says of the celebration: "For the first time in any fitness service, the energy and themes of each workout are inspired by Madonna’s impact on self-acceptance and inclusivity across music, culture, and style. The music playlist in each workout features hits from each decade of her career, starting with the 1980s and continuing into the 2010s. Each trainer leading the workouts will be styled in one of the singer’s legendary fashion looks."

Cycling trainer Tyrell Désean will even wear a white lace wedding dress, "inspired by the artist’s memorable style at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards show and hit song “Like a Virgin.”

This year, Apple's support of LGBT+ charities increases, with support for "LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations that are working to bring about positive change, including Equality Federation Institute, Encircle, Equality North Carolina, Equality Texas, GLSEN, Gender Spectrum, Human Rights Campaign, ILGA World, the National Center for Transgender Equality, PFLAG, SMYAL, and The Trevor Project."

The Apple Watch band is already available from the Apple Store, and Madonna's Spotlight will come at the beginning of June. Madonna will certainly get this lass moving – but what about you? Join the iMore forums to comment and join the conversation.

Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter and implemented a slate of controversial changes, rival social media platform Mastodon has seen explosive growth. Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned Mastodon user or are considering taking the plunge, you might be thinking about how you’re going to use the app on iOS.

For that, you’ll want to kit yourself out with one of the best Mastodon apps you can find. But with such a surge in users, the number of Mastodon clients has absolutely proliferated. Working out which is the best one for your needs is not always easy.

That’s where our guide comes in. We’ve sifted through the apps to find three of the best Mastodon clients on iOS right now. Use one of these apps and you’ll get a superb experience from your iPhone.

Ivory for Mastodon by Tapbots

Ivory is made by Tapbots, the same people who made Tweetbot. That app was one of Twitter’s best (and first) third-party clients, but shut down after Twitter stopped allowing clients apps access to Twitter. All that’s to say that Tapbots know exactly how to make a great social media app, and so it’s no surprise that Ivory follows in Tweetbot’s lofty footsteps.

Right from the word go, Ivory feels like an app made with love and care. It looks beautiful, with tasteful accents and gorgeous fonts, all of which can be tweaked to your liking. In fact, Ivory is highly customizable, and you can change the media playback rules, date format, color scheme, and even the app icon.

Everything is easy to find, from your own profile to mentions and posts by people you follow. That means it’s ideal for newbies and experts alike, and you’ll never feel lost swiping around its interface. It’s clear that Tapbots’ developers have used all their past experience to make Ivory an enjoyable app.

Ivory is free to download, with a few advanced features locked behind a paywall. You get plenty of functionality for free, so you don’t need to pay if you don’t want to (although doing so will of course support the developers).

Ice Cubes for Mastodon

If you’ve used Twitter for a while and have grown accustomed to its layout, Ice Cubes will feel very familiar. From user profiles to media embedded into posts, each item is well-designed to help you feel right at home if you’re migrating to Mastodon.

But Ice Cubes isn’t simply a Twitter clone – it’s a superb app in its own right. Finding new content is easy, and the Explore tab will automatically highlight trending tags and posts that you might be interested in. Long-tapping a post brings up options to quote it, bookmark it, reply to it, and much more. Writing a new post, meanwhile, is pleasingly straightforward, and adding attachments and changing the audience is a cinch.

Like Ivory, Ice Cubes is chock-full of customization options, and the settings menu lets you change everything from the app’s look and feel to the way swipe actions work. There are a few really clever ideas, like tweaking which actions prompt haptic feedback on your device, too. That means there’s no need to stick with what you’re given – if you want more choice, the app lets you set things up the way you want them.

Every feature in Ice Cubes is available for free, and you can voluntarily donate to the developer if you like their work. With so much on offer above board, there’s no reason not to give it try.

Mona for Mastodon

Mona is a brand-new app, but already it’s drawing attention for the way it carves out its own niche in the world of third-party Mastodon clients. That’s because it’s perfect for power users who want the ability to set up Mastodon in their own way. If that sounds like you, Mona could be well worth a try.

For example, you can create a Divide View that basically works like Apple’s Split View, letting you have your timeline at the top of the app and your notifications at the bottom, say. Dive into its settings and you’ll see you can reorder each button under a post (from reply to translate), change what is backed up to iCloud, determine how you enter and exit full-screen mode, and so much more.

Besides a huge array of tweaks, Mona is packed with downright nifty features. That includes the ability to reply to posts right from your iPhone’s lock screen, compose autosaving so you never lose your text, and full accessibility integration with Apple’s VoiceOver tool.

The result is a Mastodon experience that is almost infinitely customizable, so much so that no two Mona users’ apps may look the same. If you love Mastodon but feel a bit hemmed in by other third-party clients, Mona has absolutely tons to offer. Most settings are unlocked for free, but you get even more with a sensibly priced one-off payment – no recurring subscriptions here.

A new ChatGPT app allows you to use the AI without an internet connection on your iPhone and iPad, alongside being able to run it on your Mac - but we wouldn't recommend installing it just yet.

Called MLC LLM, it's an open-source project developed by a team called MLC AI, who have taken ChatGPT and refocused it to work on a local device. Currently available as a TestFlight download, which allows developers to distribute apps for testing, it's a big download at 4GB - so if you want to try it, we'd recommend downloading this with a fast Wi-Fi connection.

It's also available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, alongside a web version where you can try out a demo of it - and it's one of the first efforts where a ChatGPT app has been widely accessible like this on different platforms.

We've been trying it out on an iPhone 13 Pro so far, and while the platform has given useful tips and answers, similar to our testing with similar apps such as Petey and MacGPT, it's been very slow to use.

Good, but not great

The look of the app is simple but gets the job done. It's reminiscent of Apple's iMessage app, where you can ask it queries by pressing send, and its answers will be in a grey bubble.

But getting these answers dragged. Just asking a simple query above such as a plot for a 'Back to the Future Part 4' movie took five minutes.

Asking it to create a Tic Tac Toe game in Swift UI, Apple's programming language, also took 20 minutes, and exiting the app canceled the query - so we don't recommend using this frequently.

Granted, it's impressive in what it offers - a powerful AI that is usually stored in the cloud so your device doesn't have to hold the burden of managing the platform locally. MLC LLM is exactly what this does, but when it comes to a ChatGPT app for iPhone, we'd recommend using Petey for now.

It's taken a lot longer than many would have liked but the Uber Eats is finally going to support an iOS 16 feature that's been around since late 2022.

While the Uber app already supports Live Activities as well as the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island, it's only now that the Uber Eats app is getting in on the act. Live Activities support was already available to a limited number of testers, but the feature is now rolling out to anyone who wants to use it.

The new feature will reportedly become available to everyone over the next week or so, but you'll need to have the latest version of the Uber Eats app installed from the App Store in order to use it.

Better late than never

Live Activities support will mean that people will see real-time tracking and updating of their order, doing away with the need for the app to send multiple push notifications throughout the course of the order — a new one arriving whenever something changes.

All iOS 16-compatible iPhones will be able to use the Live Activities portion of the feature, while those who have Apple's best iPhones will also see Uber Eats make use of the Dynamic Island for the first time. Those iPhone 14 Pro owners who also have their Always-On Display enabled will see their Live Activity at all time as well.

In the case of the Uber Eats app, MacRumors reports that users can expect to see information like the driver's name, their photo, their expected time of arrival, and more.

More and more apps are now taking advantage of Live Activities, although it isn't clear why it's taken so long.

If you aren't yet seeing the updated order tracking system, hang fire. Hopefully the next time you place an order you'll be treated to Live Activities support as well.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and a lockdown was put into effect in the UK, I decided to transform my home into a smart one by buying smart lights and cameras. Thanks to Apple's HomeKit, which lets anyone with an Apple device control these appliances through the Home app, it was a breeze to dim the lights and check the cameras on my iPhone.

But one glaring omission since iOS 14 debuted in the same year that brought widgets to be placed on the home screen, was the lack of separate widgets to control my lights, and recently, my television, from the home screen.

This is where Home Widget came in to save the day; it let me easily create small, medium, or large home screen widgets for any appliance that supported HomeKit. You can create three widgets for free, or for $8.99 / £8.99, you can create an unlimited number of them. This app will track every smart appliance that's connected to your iPhone and iPad, and these will show in Home Widget. 

Instead of reaching for Apple’s Home app, I can just go to a widget, switch off a light if I’ve left a room in my house, and that’s it. It’s turned HomeKit, and all of my lights, into a faster smart home without reaching an app to do the same function.

While Apple brought out an update to its Home app to make it more reliable with iOS 16.4, the features that Home Widget offers, only make me wonder why Apple hasn't offered something similar as yet. With this in mind, here’s how I’m making some widgets to make it easier for me to control all of those HomeKit appliances in my home.

Widgets. Widgets everywhere

Creating a widget here is simple enough - you simply launch the app, press the + icon, and away you go. If you're using Home Widget on your iPhone, you also get to customize a lock screen widget, so you can assign that to an appliance you frequently use each day more than others.

However, when it comes to the home screen, you can create a widget in every size that Apple offers - from a small square to a 4x4 widget that could fill up an entire home screen.

I use two widgets on my iPhone - one that allows me to check on our dog Jolly in the front room with our camera, and another towards the top of the display where I can switch off and on three lights across the house.

I can customize these however and whenever I like - from the name to the colors and the icons for each light. I'll find myself randomly changing these, simply because it's easy to do from the home screen. As we've recently moved house, I'm tempted to buy more lights and a smart doorbell, so using the 4x4 widget on a separate home screen is something I'm considering.

iPad: The HomeKit Hub?

While you can use widgets on the lock screen with Apple's Home app, it doesn't offer the same customization that Home Widget offers, and there's still no way of adding Apple’s widgets to the home screen.

This feels like a big miss: Widgets are being used more than ever on iPhone and iPad devices. They offer customization of your home screen in a way that wasn't possible before, and while you can use Home Widget to add a smart light to the home screen, you can’t do it with Apple's Home app.

This miss is only exemplified when you create some widgets on an iPad Pro's home screen with Home Widget. There is an 'extra large' widget available only on iPad, so you can create some wild widgets if you own a bunch of smart appliances connected to HomeKit.

This opens up the possibility of turning that old iPad you've had in a box for the last few years into a HomeKit hub. It’ll take you no more than an hour, thanks to Home Widget, and I'm starting to consider buying an iPad mini just for this reason.

Hence it’s a shame that Apple isn’t letting me imagine these scenarios for my house. While the baked-in Home app is … let’s call it adequate, I've found it to be slow when switching on appliances, and again, the lack of widgets is a swing and a miss.

This is why Home Widget is one of the best apps for HomeKit - it has a simple design to create a widget in any way you like, and it makes you wonder how you can take advantage of everything that smart appliances have to offer.

Sure, we may see this feature appear in iOS 17. But right now, Home Widget offers exactly what I need, and for that reason alone, I'm happy to leave Apple's Home app indoors and locked away.

The Andromeda Mysteries, a new game for iPhone that uses AI in a variety of different ways, has just launched on the App Store today (April 5).

Available for iPhone and iPad, it's a murder mystery game with a sci-fi setting. The Andromeda Mysteries uses a generative AI, similar to ChatGPT to make for what creator Cephalopod Studios calls 'endless play'.

Characters are created on the fly by the game, allowing for a much smoother creation process and making sure that each playthrough is completely different. The idea is to make a game with infinite replayability.

However, developer Matt Waller says that there is a clear ending to each game, so you're not in an endless loop, and you can freely talk to the characters you encounter, creating depth as you go.

Detective AI at your service

The Andromeda Mysteries is now out for the best iPhones, and the game itself is super interesting, using AI to generate the art and scenarios. The character's sprites are all AI generated with different prompts, making sure that you'll never meet the same character more than once.

The story and the mysteries are all AI generated as well, again meaning that each playthrough will be different. It's a text base whodunit with those AI-generated sprites.

It's almost a throwback to the text adventure games of old, such as The Hobbit and Spider and the Web, but updated for 2023. The app is well-made, with an attractive UI and great artwork to help the procedural AI shine and helps to be more believable as you play on your iPhone or iPad.

It's an interesting development and one that might not be all that welcome in game development and art as a whole. If none of the stories are written by a human being, then they might seem slim, and anemic.

Similarly, AI art has a history of lacking a degree of humanity often coming across as cold and unfeeling. It's an interesting idea that allows for a much smaller team to create a game, but it also bodes for an interesting, if slightly concerning future for the production of mobile games.

Another ChatGPT app has arrived for your iPhone, enabling you to ask the AI questions and suggestions in an instant.

Available on the App Store as a free download, Perplexity displays suggested queries that you can view, while typing in or speaking your own. The results were quick, although the formatting made it hard to read, especially when asking the app how to make chocolate pancakes.

We've already seen a bunch of similar apps arrive on the Mac and Apple Watch, but this is one of the first apps for iOS that you can use without enabling a Siri Shortcut.

The AI apps have arrived to the App Store

You could argue that ChatGPT is now accessible on every Apple product currently available, with the company staying relatively silent on the category.

From the HomePod thanks to the Siri Shortcut, to MacGPT on a Mac, Petey on Apple Watch, and now Perplexity on an iPhone, it's suddenly straightforward to access ChatGPT on your devices.

The AI is either a tap, a voice, or a click away now, easily replacing Siri for most queries, apart from running shortcuts and opening apps. Perplexity does it well, thanks to its elegant design and great choice of font - it would be great to see it appear on iPadOS next, or even as a widget to launch from the home screen or lock screen.

With WWDC 2023 on the horizon, it could be to Apple's benefit if they acknowledge these apps in the keynote - perhaps with an API to help developers integrate ChatGPT into their apps, or how Siri is going to somehow get engaged to OpenAI, and there's going to be a brand new virtual assistant from the company in the near future.

However, if you've not tried out ChatGPT as yet, Perplexity could be a great start in seeing how it responds to your questions, and whether it could help you in certain situations.

Alongside the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, macOS 13.3, and watchOS 9.4, Apple has also brought out its long-awaited Apple Classical music app, where you can browse and listen to a bunch of music from the genre.

The app has been long-awaited by many fans of the genre, ever since the company bought Primephonic back in August 2021. In that press release, it was mentioned that the new app was going to be available in 2022, but that didn't come to pass.

However, it's here at last, and while it's iPhone only for now, it's a useful app that also boasts a lot of soundtracks from movies and games that you can find through the 'Browse' tab.

In my short time using the app, it does feel like version 0.5 for now in some areas, and not the complete package you expect from Apple's software efforts in recent times, such as Freeform.

Bach to the Future

Apple released a support document when Classical launched on March 27, where it states that you can't download music, only stream it. That could be an issue for those in areas with spotty reception, or if they're on a commute and they can't connect to any network.

As a bizarre temporary fix though, it recommends, in the same document, adding music to a playlist on Apple Classical, then switching to Apple Music and downloading the music from there.

It also explained why there was a separate app for classical music. "Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music Classical app is designed to support the complex data structure of classical music."

When you line up Classical and Apple Music together, it makes sense as to why Classical is its own app. There's simply too much content in this one category to be restricted to a music app where you can also download playlists from Rhianna, Arctic Monkeys, and others.

But there are some basic things missing here - the fact that you can't download any music in this app could be a fatal step for many users in keeping the app on their iPhone for longer than a day.

Hopefully, with WWDC 2023 looming, we could see some changes sooner than later, with downloading classical tracks being a top priority, and perhaps dedicated radio stations, similar to what Apple Music 1 has brought in recent years.

It's a fine start, but it needs some work on its notes before it becomes a respected Classical app for fans of the category.

It's International Womens Day today (March 8), and there are a bunch of apps on iPhone, Mac, and iPad that can help empower women in the best way, from their interests to their mental health.

Apps can do more than use up an hour at lunchtime with a game or a streaming app like Disney Plus - they can help give someone confidence and make them feel involved where they may not feel the same where they are in the world.

With social media becoming more challenging to let more diverse minorities rightfully have their say, it's been up to people like developers to give others a chance in new and unique ways.

With this in mind, here are three apps that showcase how they can supercharge someone's confidence and education for all ages.

Wisdom

In a social environment that seems to be driven by divisive news and angry public debate, Wisdom cuts through to offer friendship and inclusion. Finding like-minded people to discuss ideas and be supportive of one another, particularly in areas where many feel like they aren’t included. A community like Wisdom is just that.

Thanks to creator Dayo Akinrinade, Wisdom has already given many women that place to learn and come together. She created the app while working at ‘one of the Big 4’ accounting firms, and wanted access to resources and networks that were traditionally out of reach for 1st generation immigrants like herself. Wisdom came about to help people connect and create community.

Available on iPhone, it's a place for people who are traditionally talked over or ignored to have a chat, learn from each other, and feel that they belong. Features like voice replies make it feel more personal, as you can hear who you’re talking to. When all around you is a sea of information with nothing to grab hold of, Wisdom is a calm oasis that can build you up and make sure that you feel like you matter.

Rebel Girls

Led by CEO Jes Wolfe, Rebel Girls is a platform that's available on iPhone and iPad, where young girls can discover a bunch of inspiring stories involving women who have made a success in some way.

A winner of Apple’s 2022 Design Awards, the app curates books, podcasts, and audio stories to help raise the most inspired and confident generation of girls.

While you can buy these books in hardback form, using them on an iOS device unlocks unique features, such as weekly audio releases and audiobook versions that can give atmosphere and depth to help young girls imagine these stories in new and different ways.

All of these are well made, and Wolfe has said that there may be plans to bring Rebel Girls to other mediums in the future, such as TV shows and films to help spread the word to other girls around the world.

Pilot Fast Track

At just 16, Angelina Tsuboi has already released a bunch of apps, available to use on your Apple device right now, alongside being an Apple Swift Student Challenge winner. But a new app aims to help give flight fans better insight and inspiration to follow a career in the field.

Tsuboi is a licensed pilot and after taking to the skies, caught the bug, but found that the route to being a pilot, especially for a woman, was very difficult. Pilot Fast Track is her way of helping with that through an iPhone, by empowering aspiring aviators to find customized flight scholarships, explore opportunities in aviation, and discover resources to help fund their endeavors and education.

Using the app, it's simple but elegant - it easily lets you find scholarships to look into for an aviation career in a few taps, and cuts out the bloat that many other educational sites offer, such as links to courses that have no bearing on aviation.

Flight Track is an inspiring app, and it would be great to see an iPad app, alongside a way to find even more scholarships around the world, as this has great potential to reach even more aspiring aviation fans.

Women reaching the top

A note from Tammy Rogers — Staff Writer

These are just some apps that are led and created by women in an industry that traditionally, hasn't been particularly easy to access for women – in particular BIPOC women and trans women. Things are getting better, however, with ever more women reaching the top of the tech tree, leading innovation and invention as they go.

There is a long way to go, however, and we want to take a moment to note this International Women's Day that the tech industry is still largely male-dominated. One needs only look at the boards of some of the largest companies to see that.

That's why it's so important to celebrate women like Angelina, Jes Wolfe & Dayo who are helping to make things a little more woman-friendly, and inspire the next generation of women and girls to take their places in careers in the tech industry. 

A developer has released a simple yet elegant Pokémon app today (February 9), and we asked them why they decided to create it.

Aether is available for iPhone and iPad as a one-time purchase for $1.99 / £1.79, where you can select two dials to discover how effective Pokémon types are with one another.

For those not aware, Pokémon is a game series that first arrived in 1996 for the original Game Boy, where you could catch up to 151 creatures and fight Gym Leaders to earn badges and become the best Pokémon trainer.

Ben McCarthy previously worked on Obscura 3 alongside his business partner, a camera app for $9.99 / £9.99 on iPhone and iPad. Its latest version, released in early 2022, features a redesigned gallery view, video capture, refined layouts for controlling exposure settings, plus the ability to select the multiple lenses available on your iPhone, alongside controller support.

However, with a fourth version of Obscura in the making, iMore spoke to McCarthy about how Aether came to be, and why they created it in the first place, alongside potential future plans for their camera app.

Using Aether

Aether is a simple affair, where you have two or three dials that you can turn to select the different types of Pokémon, then see how little or big the effectiveness can be when compared to other types.

We asked McCarthy why they created Aether. "I’ve been an avid Pokémon player for almost as long as I can remember. I think I was 6 or 7, when I received my first Game Boy Color with Pokémon Yellow, and instantly got hooked into that world," McCarthy explains. "I stuck with it through the Sapphire and Ruby games. I didn’t own a Nintendo DS when they arrived on the scene, so I stopped playing for a few years until Sun and Moon launched. In the meantime, a new Pokémon type was introduced: Fairy. And I’ve never been able to fully internalize its various strengths and weaknesses."

"I frequently find myself googling Pokémon type matchups, and inevitably spawn a bunch of tabs I forget to close. I realized that an app might be a nicer approach to this, and would save typing out the names of each type every time I need to check its chart."

McCarthy spotted an opportunity when they went to search for anything on the App Store that could help replace their googling.

"I looked on the App Store, and found the available options pretty lackluster, and figured, hey, that seems like something I could build in a weekend (it turned out to be a little more, but not much more)."

McCarthy had mentioned to iMore that Apple had requested that all references to Pokémon be removed before it could be approved for release on the App Store.

However, with it now available, we wondered whether you could use Aether for earlier games in the series, such as Pokémon Gold and Silver, released in 2000 for the Game Boy Color.

"You can use the app for Pokémon games that go as far back as 2013, but for anything earlier, the effectiveness may be skewed," McCarthy clarifies. "Aether uses the current values for each type, which date back to 2013, with the introduction of the Fairy type in Pokémon X and Y. If Aether takes off, and the demand is there, I’d be happy to add support for the legacy balancing of types."

The concept of Aether is simple but effective, and it could be the start of an app that could help a player in any Pokémon game, from Red and Blue to Scarlet and Violet.

Could Tears of the Kingdom benefit from Aether too?

However, when you look at other 'helper' apps in the App Store, plenty are available. For example, one can help guide players when making food in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so you can make better potions and meals for Link.

We asked McCarthy if this category is an untapped market for developers in helping players with certain moments in games.

"I think the inherent flaw to that category is that game developers/console makers can’t guarantee that a user will have access to a smartphone, especially for games aimed more towards kids," McCarthy elaborates. "And if that’s the case, then any companion content has to be superfluous to the main experience.

The only real success I can think of here is Pokémon Go. It’s not exactly a companion to the games, but it’s a unique smartphone experience that can tie to the games via Pokémon Home, letting you transfer creatures between games."

We followed up here, to ask if McCarthy has considered creating an app to help with Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and its recipes once it arrives in May.

"I really enjoyed Breath of the Wild when it came out, but I never had much connection to the Zelda franchise before that. (I think I played 10 minutes of Twilight Princess on a friend’s Nintendo Wii, and found the motion controls unbearable," McCarthy reveals. "And while the cooking in the game is certainly a useful mechanic, it’s not core to the gameplay in the way the type matchups are in Pokémon."

The future of Obscura and, VR

Having looked at their blog that's mostly behind a paywall, Obscura 4 is already in the making, with the time gap between versions being much smaller than versions 2 and 3.

We asked McCarthy what the reasons were for this, and if there was something that instantly tempted them to improve upon it that made Obscura earn its ‘4.0’ stripes.

"I’ve teased it a little bit here and there, mostly that I’m rebuilding the majority of Obscura in SwiftUI. I don’t plan on talking about it openly before the launch, but I’m going to do some sneak peeks for anyone who supports me via my site’s membership. So go sign up for that if you’re curious!"

Finally, with constant rumors of Apple preparing an AR/VR headset soon, we asked McCarthy what their thoughts were on the category, and if they could see a time when Aether or even Obscura could work with this rumored headset.

"I can’t say I’m all that excited about AR. I love playing a few rounds of Beat Saber, but I think a lot of us have spent the past decade glued to our phones, and the idea of being even more removed from the world just doesn’t seem that appealing, outside of gaming."

McCarthy elaborates on Obscura appearing on the headset. "Even if it turns out that Apple’s headset is equipped with great cameras, Obscura doesn’t seem like a great fit. Having your camera stuck to your face would be pretty limiting in terms of composition, and if this thing is mostly intended for at-home use, mostly on the couch, or at a desk, I don’t see that as being a great opportunity for photo-taking."

As for Aether, sure if it’s easy enough to port over, why not? But it seems unlikely that you’d want to be playing with your Switch in your hands and your Apple headset over your face," McCarthy explains.

"And maybe we’ll reach a point where AR tech is so miniaturized that it fits into a svelte pair of glasses and is natural to wear all day, it still seems like it will be more useful for showing you information than it will be for interacting with or as a creative tool."

McCarthy simply found a desire to suit their needs when playing Pokémon, and the result is something impressive.

Having been a user of Obscura for years, Aether adopts a similar appearance and interface to its Camera app, such as the two circular menus, and it works very well.

While it may be disappointing that there won't be a similar app to help with Breath of the Wild and the soon-to-be-released Tears of the Kingdom, it's only an example of how well iOS developers can see a need, and apply their skills to an app that solves a problem in a couple of steps.

The best apps for every iPhone

These days, the best iPhone apps can be a challenge to find, due to there being almost two million apps available to download in the App Store. You're usually reduced to checking the top charts to see if some apps could help you in some way or using the search feature to see if something almost meets your needs.

To save you the bother, we've compiled a huge list below of the top 101 iPhone apps, both free and paid, that you can download right now for the best iPhones.

These apps are split into many categories, such as Dating, Fitness, Gaming, Health, and lots more. We're constantly refreshing this list to add and remove the apps we think deserve to be on this list, so make sure to keep checking this page for the latest updates. We should mention, however, that if you're only interested in the free apps, take a peek at our best free iPhone apps list instead, as well as our dedicated best iPad apps guide.

Best iPhone apps: Books, Comics and Reading

Amazon Kindle

We’re going to assume most of you have heard of Amazon Kindle. It’s not just a series of ebook readers. It’s also the entire Amazon bookstore, which is fully accessible from your phone. It’s great as a discovery tool, particularly as Amazon lets you try out samples of books, to get a taste of the 

writing style before you commit to buying. You don’t actually buy books through this app, but on the Amazon app. Once purchased, the books then appear in this Kindle app.  

YACReader

This no-nonsense comic book reader app lets you add comics and graphics novels through a whole load of methods, indulging cloud services like Dropbox, the Files app and the YACReader app for PC and Mac. There’s no comics store here, but as long as you have a digital comics library, that means you get a cleaner, less clutter-filled experience. The panel view is the special feature of this particular reader app, letting you read graphics novels panel-by-panel. It’s not free, at $4.99, but is worth the investment if you like reading comics on your phone. 

Pocket

You know when you mean to read an article you saw online, but you end up forgetting where it was by the time you find the time to do so? Pocket is out to fix that. It’s an app you send links to, just as you might share a story with a friend over WhatsApp. Pocket then works it up into a super-readable format for later reading. And you can change the font size, and the font. There’s also a glitzy front end to the app, which lets you discover stories other folks are reading on Pocket. You can use this app for free, but to get rid of ads, unlock text searching and loads of fonts, you will need to subscribe. It costs $4.99 a month or $44.99 a year. 

Libby

Did you know there’s a good chance you can borrow digital books and audiobooks for free through your local library? There are two key apps these services use in our experience: Libby (aka Overdrive) and Borrowbox. At one point we got so into borrowing audiobooks we went around the local area signing up to as many libraries as possible, just to get the widest possible array of titles. Who needs Audible? OK, Audible will get you a much broader catalogue, but Libby is well worth checking out, following a trip to your local library, folks. Use it or lose it. 

Best iPhone apps: Cloud Storage

Dropbox

Sometimes it’s a good idea to have a cloud storage provider not run by the folks who handle your emails, as they end up sharing your storage allocation. Dropbox offers 2.75GB storage for free. We use it all the time to share files, for work or just among friends. The app lets you create folders, and you can then share just specific folders. Or even specific files, so people don’t get access to your entire Dropbox library. It’s not a mega-exciting app, but useful? Absolutely. You can then access your stored files from anywhere, including the Dropbox web interface. 

Google Drive

Cloud storage apps are not the most interesting of things. But they are a way to get a tranche of free server space without signing up for a paid subscription. You’ll need a Google account, of course, but each of those comes with 15GB of space. That’s a lot better than the 5GB Apple offers. Our favourite use for this space is to store photos. And you can do so by downloading Google Photos. However, using the Drive app you can fling any old files up on there. 

Best iPhone apps: Dating

Hinge

App dating has a bad rep, largely a deserved one. But many of the daters we talk to have less scorn to pour on Hinge than most. It’s an app where you are asked a series of questions, with which you can show off your wit. Yes, even among the better-regarded dating apps there is still potential for mountains of embarrassment. Hinge also makes you pose questions to be asked of your potential matches. When perusing profiles you can “like” certain parts, to make a match-up seem more specific, and hopefully get you off the cycle of swiping.

Bumble

The Bumble quirk is women message first, giving this dating app quite a different vibe to the competition. It’s not just for heterosexual folks, but the USP does rather rely on having people of the opposite sex getting involved. Bumble has also opened up beyond pure dating. You can list your account as being out for friendship or business connections too. Responsiveness is part of the equation, as matches expire after 24 hours if no contact is made. 

Best iPhone apps: Drawing and Painting

Procreate Pocket

The ultimate version of Procreate lives on iPad, but we’re not throwing shade at Procreate Pocket’s creators. iPhones have smaller screens and do not support the brilliant Apple Pencil stylus, two elements that pair so beautifully with a digital painting app. However, aside from that, and the lack of support for 3D model painting (seen in the iPad version), this does feel just like the full version for iPad. Lots of professional artists swear by Procreate. 

Pixelmator 

This sleek and stylish design and drawing app can be used as a photo editor or a full-on drawing and painting suite.  It’s packed with brushes, effects and advanced manipulation features like warp and pinch. Pixelmator reminds us of a mobile version of Photoshop. Crucially, it supports layers, making it suitable for fairly serious work. We’re impressed by how much has been packed in here, without making the app seem remotely unwieldy or unfriendly. 

Tayasui Sketches

While Tayasui Sketches is a technically impressive app, it’s the vibe of the thing that proves so appealing to us. Developer Tayasui has managed to get away from the the slightly cold feel of some digital drawing/painting apps. It relies more on graphical depictions of pens and brushes when you pick your tool. And the way they interact feels fairly natural. You can get by for free with this app, but a Pro upgrade ($7.99) unlocks different brush patterns and styles. The free version still has layers, though, so you can create pretty advanced art, gratis. 

Best iPhone apps: Education and Learning

DuoLingo

How do you foster good habits? Make doing the healthy stuff fun. DuoLingo does that for language learning, with a veneer of gamification. The idea is you practice a language for a few minutes a day, in order to maintain your DuoLingo streak. Even if you don’t end up remotely fluent, a daily dose of this must be good for your grey matter. It’s free to use, while the SuperDuolingo subscription gets rid of ads and stops mistakes from blocking your daily progress. More than 30 languages are supported, from Japanese to Swahili, and even the High Valerian, a language constructed for Game of Thrones. 

Khan Academy

Learning shouldn’t top when your leave school. Khan Academy brings a massive treasure trove of video sessions in math, science, economics, arts & humanities and computing. Each subject is broken down into digestible chunks, and you earn mastery points to let you keep track of how much of each area you have covered. You’ll find everything from the Realism art of Manet to the molecular structure of ionic solids in here. And as it’s mapped against the US school system, in terms of being middle school, high school or college grade (or above), you have an idea of what to expect. It’s all free too. This is a real treasure trove of an app. 

Teach your Monster to Read

This utterly charming app developed in collaboration with the UK’s University of Roehampton teaches your kids phonics and reading. But it’s no dry purely education-driven experience. It’s inspired by kids’ cartoons, games and, in particular, the character customisation in those video games many kids love. The experience of reading becomes part story-book, part interactive adventure. And Teach Your Monster to Read splits the learning process into three chapters: First Steps, Fun with Words and Champion Reader. Free to download, $8.99 to unlock the full app. Once your child is up to speed, don’t miss the follow-up, Reach Monster: Reading for Fun, which includes 70 free story books, which cycle around day after day (three available per day).

Mimo

Every wanted to learn to code? Us too, but it doesn’t half take a lot of time and brain power. Our latest (maybe last?) hope is Mimo. This is the coding equivalent of DuoLingo. It breaks down the process of learning coding of all types into teeny-tiny tasks you can digest in sessions of just a few minutes on your phone. There are modules on Python, SQL, Swift, Javascript and HTML. You can try out the first handful of lessons in each discipline for free, but will then have to pay up for a subscription. It costs $99.99 a year. If that’s too steep, check out Encode, which is similar but perhaps slightly less glossy, and costs $6.49 a year. 

Skillshare

This may sound odd, but SkillShare is basically Netflix but for learning creative skills. You sign up for $31.99 a month or $169.99 a year, and get access to thousands of video courses across fields like creative writing, illustration, painting, film-making and photography. While there’s a lot of great tuition available for free over on YouTube, the smarter presenters clue up to their value and make courses people can sign up for. As they should. However, these are often quite pricey, while Skillshare lets you dabble in a bunch of fields to see what takes your interest. 

Best iPhone apps: Fitness

Strava

If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen. It’s a popular saying. This app has become so ubiquitous, it is basically the default pick for exercise logging, particularly among cyclists. It can be paired up with many wearable platforms to log your run, ride and gym (and more) data. Or you can log outdoors sessions using the phone app itself, thanks to your phone’s GPS. This is effectively a giant social network for active folks, and is at its best when you add friends or find a group to join within Strava. It’s free to use but a paid subscription unlocks stats like your weekly intensity. $11.99 a month, or $79.99 a year. 

Zwift

OK, so this one requires some extra equipment. Zwift is an awesome cycling platform, or game if you like. It lets you ride around a virtual world called Watopia, and other game worlds inspired by Japan, France, New York and London, among other places. You compete with other real cyclists if that’s your bag, potter around or take part in structured workouts. You need a bike and a smart turbo trainer to get the most out of Zwift, but there’s a runner’s mode too. This is a must-try if you are into indoor bike riding. There’s a free trial, after which you’ll pay $14.99 a month. 

Nike Run Club

Nike doesn’t just care about selling expensive trainers. It also produces this rather neat runner’s app. Sure, Nike Run Club doesn’t generally have the clout of Strava among the athlete classes. But it is ideal if you are just starting out and have no idea what you‘re doing. It features “guided runs” and training plans including a classic “couch to 5K” style program for beginners. While we tend to see people migrate on from Nike Run Club in time, it does even have a marathon training program. That ain’t for beginners. Well, aside from the very boldest of ‘em. 

ZRX

Also known as Zombies, Run!, we’ve been recommending ZRX for what feels like forever. It turns your runs into audiobooks of a sort, with the action mapping onto the structure of the workout itself. It started off with just the zombie theme, but now there’s a Marvel module inside ZRX called Marvel Move. And Venture, which is home to hundreds of genre stories, including horror and sci-fi ones. If you find running terminally boring, this is one way to spice up those sessions. To unlock all episodes you’ll need to subscribe ($5.99/month). There’s a separate subscription one for the Marvel stuff ($7.99/month). 

AllTrails

This was Apple’s iPhone app of the year 2023, despite being a core part of the app landscape for outdoorsy types for many years. It’s a brilliant hiking, running and cycling app that helps you find routes worth taking, mostly on cross-country trails. It feels a vibrant place too, as routes will have comments, reviews and photos taken by other AllTrails users. You’re also given a difficulty rating for each route, and roughly how long it thinks the walking time is. You can use AllTrails for free, but will need to pay $35.99 if you want to access features like 3D mapped previews and, much more important, offline downloaded maps. 

Apple Fitness+

When Apple Fitness+ launched in 2020 you needed an Apple Watch to even use it. That policy was dropped in 2022, but we highly recommend it for use with Apple’s wearable. Fitness+ provides a massive library of video workouts across a bunch of disciplines including yoga, weights, treadmill, kickboxing and mindfulness. And it puts your vital statistics on-screen, relayed wirelessly form your Apple Watch. We also recommend using AirPlay to get the video from your iPhone to a bigger screen if possible. So, yeah, some extra equipment required for the best experience. But Fitness+’s $9.99 a month subscription is still affordable compared to the average city gym. 

Best iPhone apps: Finance and Money

Cash App

You’ve probably already heard of or used Cash App, at least if you live in the US. It’s the app that lets you send money to other people, handy if you go out for dinner and need to split the bill, or if you owe someone cash for concert tickets. It can also be used like a digital debit card. We don’t recommend this next bit to many, but you also also use Cash App to trade in Bitcoin. 

YNAB

You Need a Budget. That’s what YNAB stands for. It’s a no-nonsense outgoings calculator that works out how much you are spending in each category, from nights out to clothes to hobbies. The idea is you’ll be able to see what your spending is really like, rather than just fooling yourself. Its maker claims folks save "$600 in their first two months, and more than $6000 their first year.” Savings don’t appear out of nowhere, but if it helps you avoid debt, maybe the $14.99 a month ($99.99 a year) is worth it. UK readers might want to try out MoneyHub, which is much cheaper at £14.99 a year. 

Best iPhone apps: Gaming

Delta

Back in April 2024, Apple changed a rule that allows retro-gaming emulators onto the App Store. Soon after, a bunch were available to download, with Delta being the standout. Developed by Riley Testut, this free app mimics a variety of consoles and handhelds, such as Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and more. 

Delta features save states, enabling you to resume your progress at any time, along with cheats, cover art, iPad support, and more. It's an essential app if you want to use your iPhone as a retro-gaming emulator.

Gamma

Gamma is another emulator, but it focuses on one system that Delta doesn't support — the Sony PlayStation console. Originally released in 1994, the PlayStation introduced countless iconic games, such as Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken 3, and more.

Thanks to Gamma, you can play all of these, as well as some free games, right on your iPhone! Developed by Zodttd, the emulator features hardware controller support, analog controls, cheats, save states, ad-free options, and more. Gamma is already one of the best emulator apps out there, and most of all, it's free!

PS Remote Play

If you’re a PlayStation 5 gamer, you may have encountered Sony’s PlayStation portal, a handheld designed to stream games from your console. You can do this with your iPhone and the PS Remote Play app. Full disclosure: you need a great internet connection for this to work well. And your PlayStation 5 should ideally be plugged directly into your home internet router. Any opportunity to reduce latency and lag should be taken. Xbox fan? You can also use Xbox Game Pass Cloud gaming on your iPhone, but you do so through your phone’s internet browser. Fun fact: did you know Remote Play began more than 15 years ago with the Sony PSP and PS3?

Twitch

If you enjoy games and haven’t tried Twitch, where have you been? Twitch is a bit like YouTube if it were made almost solely for live video game streaming. Find a creator you like and their streams will quickly start to feel like hangouts with a good friend, often one who is funny and charming to boot. You can easily lose hours to Twitch streams, so careful how you go. But if you have a work commute that could do with a cheer up, this app can help. It’s free to use, but Twitch relies on audiences supporting their favourite creators through subscriptions. 

Best iPhone apps: Health

Flo Period & Pregnancy Tracker

The most popular period tracking app at the time of writing, Flo Period & Pregnancy Tracker monitors your ovulation cycle and estimates what your chances of pregnancy are on any particular day. You input your symptoms, sex drive, and even exercise and water intake, if you choose to go all-in. Its estimates are generally well regarded. And you can use Flo for free and get the core experience. A paid subscription ($11.49 a month or $39.99 a year) unlocks more data analysis, community features, a daily advice feature and more. 

The Wonder Weeks

The first few weeks (and perhaps years) of parenthood are a potentially scary, intimidating place to be. The Wonder Weeks app ($5.99) attempts to insert a bit of predictable structure into your potentially sleepless life by mapping out the “leaps” in development of a young baby. You log all of your child’s own milestones in their virtual “diary”. You can also use one of the developer’s add-on apps to turn a spare phone or iPad into a baby monitor. That’s a $3.99 upgrade, or you can get a $1.99 subscription for access to that and an ebook.

MyFitnessPal

From a look at its icon and name you might guess MyFitnessPal is an exercise logging app. While it can be used for that, steps and exercise are largely used to more correctly calculate your calorie deficit or excess. The idea is you’ll use the app to log all your food, and make sure your calorie consumption is on point, and that you are getting all your required macros in. Yep, it’s not the most fun job and it’s not the most healthy thing to do for some folks. But it is a pretty foolproof way to make progress in your weight and health goals. It’s free to use, but if you want to get rid of the ads and be able to barcode-scan foods, you need a sub. It costs $19.99 a month, but go for a year if you can, as it costs $79.99. 

Noom

This big-money weight loss program gets rave reviews from its users, and does legitimately seem to be a cut above most other diet apps. Yep, there’s the usual food-logging and calorie counting involved, but Noom is more about changing your behavior and thinking, rather than a quick fix. That’s the idea anyway. You get paired with a “coach” when you sign up, who can be messaged for advice or reassurance. Noom has had a rough time of it of late, with rounds of coach lay-offs. But, as far as we can tell, these are still real people. Noom is a pricey subscription, though, the cheapest solution being $209 for a year, rising all the way to $70 for a one month rolling subscription. 

Best iPhone apps: Home and Garden

PictureThis

Are you a little bit green-fingered? PictureThis is a must-download. It is a plant identification app. You point the phone camera at a plant and, in all likelihood, this app will be able to successfully identify it. It’s super-useful if you come across something you’d want to grow yourself, but have no idea what it’s called. Tens of thousands of species are in its database. PictureThis will also show you collections of plants you should be able to see growing in your local area. It’s a charming app that can even attempt to diagnose the health of plants. Free to use, but an ad-free, unlocked membership is $29.99 a year. 

IFTTT

IFTTT stands for “if this then that”, and has been around since 2010. It seems kinda dorky on the surface, as it’s form of programming. But it also opens up countless neat possibilities. IFTTT lets you program your own automations based on all sorts of events, from you reaching a certain location to someone tagging you in a Facebook post. So many smart home systems are hooked up to IFTTT, you can run pretty much all your smart home gear through this app. You can create three automations, dubbed applets, for free. After that you have to pay for a Pro ($2.75) or Pro+ ($5.50) subscription, which lift that limit to 20 applets, or remove the limit altogether. 

Zillow

The real estate app you should download depends on where you live, but Zillow is the clear pick in the US. It collates listings from all over the US, letting you snoop on home for sale even if you have no real intention of buying. It’s fast to scoot across the map to explore homes, some listings have 360-degere photos, and the layouts are coherent and clean-looking. Even if some of the homes aren’t. In the UK? Use Rightmove. Australia? Try RealEstate.com.au. 

Pinterest

We think of Pinterest as the place to go for home interiors inspiration. That may help explain why it ballooned in popularity so much over the pandemic, when many of us were stuck at home. The place to start is with a mood board, which is like a digital scrap book of ideas or styles you come across posted by other accounts on Pinterest. These aren’t just pictures either. They can link through to interior design DIY guides, for example, or YouTube videos. We used it recently when working out the color scheme for a kitchen, and it easily beats loitering around Google Images. 

Best iPhone apps: Learning musical instruments

Fender Play

One of the most famous producers of guitars also makes one of the best apps for learning guitar. Fender Play is a video-led learning platform, one particularly well-suited to beginners. The app will teach you the basics (and plenty more) through learning songs from recent years, and those decades old. Each song (of which there are more than 1000) also includes clearly laid-out tablature, and a MIDI-syle rendition of each guitar line. This means you don’t have to head back to the instructor-led video whenever you want a reminder of how it’s meant to sound. There are also “play along” modes for full songs, as well as “riff” lessons when you want something quicker to learn. Access costs $9.99 a month, $89.99 a year. Guitar is the main attraction, but Fender Play has ukulele and bass guitar lessons too. 

Flowkey

If you want to learn to play piano, Flowkey is one of the very best app-based places to start. There are two rough sides to the experience here. There are courses, that show you how to play the piano, right from first approaching the keys. The other side is a huge library of songs to learn. We love the way Flowkey breaks many of these songs down into three difficulty levels. We’re not there yet, but we imagine being able to return to a song and “level up” your performance is hugely satisfying. Learning the songs comes in the form of both a video and scored music. The app can listen out for your own played notes, to check you’re getting it right. Flowkey costs $19.99 a month (or $119.88 a year) for a single account, or $29.99 a month for a 5-profile Family account (or $179.88 a year).

Songsterr

Learning guitar? Once you feel confident with the basics you might want to try out an app like Songsterr. It offers hundreds of thousands of guitar tabs. The experience here is light years away from rifling through websites for tabs cobbled together by who-knows-who. You can listen to a digital recreation of each track, and as different parts of the arrangement are separated out (with tabs for each), the part you’re currently learning can be given prominence in the mix. More advanced guitarists can probably get by with Songsterr’s free service. But the $9.99 a month paid version is, granted, a lot better. You can listen along to the actual live track as well as the MIDI-style recreation, alter the tempo and even the pitch. This transposes songs to different keys, should you need to play alongside a singer whose vocal range is different to that of the original. 

Tenuto

There are pitfalls to using apps to learn to play instruments. They often give you a crutch, to make the process feel more seamless. And you end up relying on that crutch. Tenuto ($4.99) is a sort-of antidote to that kind of thinking. It is a music theory app that helps you brush up on your fingerings, intervals, chord constructions and more, for guitarists and pianists. There are 24 exercises in total. And if you need to learn the basics in the first, there’s also a companion Theory Lessons app. You can actually access all of this on the developer’s website for free, at music theory.net, but this sort of endeavour is worth supporting if you ask us. 

Best iPhones apps: Meditation and Relaxation

Headspace

This app made meditation truly mainstream, at least among people we knew at the time, back in 2017-2018 when it started to pick up a lot of attention. It’s a guided breathing app that looks at meditation from a mindfulness perspective. That means less of the spiritual, more focus on what’s going on in your body, or around you. If you’ve ever tried Headspace, you’ll know the voice of Andy Puddicombe. He co-created the app, and is the iconic voice behind the app’s guided meditations (you can choose another voice too). A few sessions are available for free. A full membership is $12.99 a month ($69.99 a year). 

Calm

This is the key rival to Headspace. It’s a slightly less focused experience where your relaxation and meditation tools are split into a whole bunch of categories. As well as fairly classic guided meditations, there are sleep stories, calming music tracks, soundscapes and “tools” to help you regulate your breathing using visual and audio cues. This app has a particular focus on improving your sleep, although it’s good for general relaxation, and even concentration during work. A few taster bits in each category are available for free, and a subscription is required for full access. It costs $12.99 a month, $69.99 a year. Or you can pay $399.99 for “lifetime" access. Trying both Calm and Headspace to see which you prefer is a good idea.

The Way

If you've tried the Headspace app but didn't get on with it or found the huge amount of choice in the calm app too overwhelming, you need to try The Way. This simple and beautiful meditation app is ideal for both beginners and seasoned meditators. It takes you on a journey through the different elements of meditation, encouraging you to practice each and every day. Each practice is visualized as a step in your journey towards better understanding meditation and reaping its benefits. 

5 Minute Journal

A gratitude journal? While this may sound like flowery mumbo jumbo if you are looking for concrete ways to improve your mental health, the concept behind 5 Minute Journal is sound. Making journaling into a regular hobby takes you out of the rush and stress of the work day, makes you reflect a bit and focus on the present. And, sure, forcing yourself to not think everything is terrible the whole time might help some folks too. You can append photos to entries, and can lock them all behind biometric security so others can’t read into your feelings. Phew. 

Best iPhone apps: Messaging

WhatsApp

The latest figures suggest WhatsApp has upwards of 2.7 billion users. We’re guessing most of you know about this app already. Migrating chats is the first thing we sort out when switching phones. And it’s a big part of why changing phones is no longer that much of a chore. It saves your messages and image history in the cloud, so all your memories are transferred through a simple download. It’s also a brilliant bridge between iPhone and Android users, getting rid of those pesky “green bubble” messaging issues. 

Telegram

This messaging app was released in 2013 and fast became known as a more security and privacy-concerned version of WhatsApp. As such, it is a favourite among journalists looking to protect their sources. Curiously, you actually need to select “secret chats” to enable end-to-end encryption, which is on by default in the more mainstream WhatsApp. Surprising, right? Telegram also supports absolutely massive groups, with up to 200,000 members. We typically use Telegram for these public-style groups, because most of our friends are still on WhatsApp instead. 

Best iPhone apps: Music

Spotify

With more than 200 million paid-up users, Spotify is the most popular music streaming service. Its main strength was getting in there early, arriving a whopping seven years before Apple Music. We like Spotify for its music discovery services, and sound quality is good when maxed out, if not “high res” like Apple Music and TIDAL. There’s more than music too. Spotify went big on podcasts in 2020, and even bundles 15 hours of audiobook listening per month with a subscription. 

Shazam

This was one of the original demos we’d used to persuade smartphone skeptics that apps were neat. You know the Shazam deal, right? You open the app, start it listening when a song is playing and, after just a few seconds, it will tell you what the song is. Simple as that. The app has become a lot richer since those early days in 2008, though. You can see song lyrics, buy that song or look for concert tickets. Fun fact: Apple owns Shazam, and has done since 2018 when its $400 million acquisition was finalized. Big bucks. And as it’s now Apple tech you can also just ask Siri to identify a song instead of using Shazam if you like. 

Best iPhone apps: Music Creation

Garageband

How many music careers began with GarageBand? Where industry standard music DAWs, digital audio workstations, often cost hundreds of dollars and are almost impenetrable to new users, GarageBand is free and easy. Within minutes you can be laying down tracks, and downloadable (still free) modules offers lots of extra virtual instruments. It’s an amazing toybox, and also a pretty serious creative tool for those who want to work faster, and simpler, than Apple’s pro alternative Logic Pro allows. 

Korg Gadget 2

Korg’s mobile digital audio workstation (DAW) often gets ignored in favor of FL Studio, but this one is powerful in its own right. It features digital odes to real Korg synths, ones made to be fairly easy to operate on a phone screen, as well as other “gadgets” that work as samplers or recorders. They sound excellent. Much like the popular desktop electronic/dance DAWs, Gadget 2 breaks your creations into “scenes”, the building blocks of a song. 

Best iPhone apps: Movies and TV

Netflix

Is recommending Netflix a cop-out? Sure, but you can think of it as a stand-in for Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus and so on if you like. Netflix represents all the mainstream movie and TV streaming services we tend to dart between, making use of their no-contract approach to do what serves us best month-on-month. Netflix does have a great library, though, much as it catches seem flack these days for cancelling shows left, right and centre. 

MUBI

MUBI is our pick of the second tier of streaming services — but it’s still a number one service in our hearts. This is your cineaste’s take on a Netflix alternative. It’s packed with world cinema and arthouse movies. You’ll pay $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year at the time of writing. Or for $17.99 you can sign up for MUBI Go, which includes a cinema ticket a week too. Check if you're local to a supported cinema, though, as it’s only available in a handful of big US/UK cities, and far from all cinemas inside them. We also have to give a shout-out to Shudder here, a horror-only streamer genre fans shouldn’t miss. 

Letterboxd

Writing a journal can help you appreciate where you are, where you’ve been and where you’re going. Letterboxd offers that, but for movies. OK, perhaps that’s a bit highfalutin, but it does let you keep track of films you’ve seen, give them a star ranking and, if you really want to get into it, write a review. These can also be shared among the Letterboxd community, broadcasting your opinions to the masses. We’re in it purely as a little personal project, though, one that helps you get a view on what your year in cinema has really been like.

YouTube

If you’re one of the few people who still think YouTube is just full of short junk videos, it’s time for a rethink. It’s an incredible platform where more than a billion hours of video are watched each day. There’s short-form comedy, long-form video essays and everything in-between. The trick is in  finding the right content among the morass, and guiding the YouTube algorithm to show you stuff you actually want to watch. One way is to search for recommendations for content creators or channels, and you can be sure someone will have asked already. Probably on Reddit.

Best iPhone apps: Navigation and Driving

Waze

This is the best car navigation alternative to Apple Maps and Google Maps, and it’s actually owned by Google. The Waze special sauce is it makes very concerted use of active data from other Waze users, to judge where traffic is, or is forming, and where an accident may have taken place. The experience of using it is much like that of a classic in-car GPS system. You put in your destination, Waze works out the route and you get turn-by-turn nav. We recommend trying it out alongside Google Maps and Apple Maps to see which you like the best. 

Roadtrippers

Planning a route is one thing. Planning a road trip is something else. We need sights, we need memories. It has to be a good time. That’s what Roadtrippers is all about, working out a route along which some fun can be had. The only issue is Roadtrippers only really works in the home of the epic road trip, the US of A. If you want to work out a basic route, it’ll do that, but you won’t see the many possible attractions on the way elsewhere, like the UK’s Fleet motorway service station. 

CityMapper

Scores of city dwellers we know swear by CityMapper. It’s our top app for navigating the public transport systems of the world’s biggest, most intimidating cities, across the west, Asia and Australia. It also collates multiple forms of getting around, and not just trains, buses, trams and tube systems. If there’s a bike or scooter rental system in a city, there’s a good chance CityMapper integrates its availability info. And we also rate its on-foot directions. Sure, there are some ads, but not ones that get in your way too much. 

What3Words

Here’s an alternative to sharing a screenshot of your location on Apple Maps or Google Maps when trying to meet up with someone. What3Words lets you locate any place in the world using, you guessed it, a string of three words. A local cinema? Why that’s film.hogs.feeds, suitably enough. You just give the string of words to the other person, and they can then use What3Words on their end to find where to meet. Each block, which you select on a map view is 3 meters by 3 meters. We have read it’s not a great idea to use this system in an emergency, perhaps due to the prevalence of homophones. But we’re talking about meeting up with friends here, not calling an ambulance. 

Best iPhone apps: News

Flipboard

The idea behind this long-standing app (released in 2010) is it makes a magazine-like interface out of stories taken from the internet. You pick your topics, which are displayed as hashtags. Flicking through your daily stream of stories feels more like turning the pages of a, yep, flipboard, than scrolling through the average social network feed. It takes some fiddling to make Flipboard feel your own — you’ll want to “follow” your favourite publications — but we like it a lot for one-handed use while on public transport. 

Apple News

Apple’s own news aggregator app works best if you’re willing to splash out for Apple News+. If you don’t, your beautifully formatted news feed may well end up peppered with stories only available to premium subscribers. News+ grants you access to loads of magazines and paywalled sites like The Wall Street Journal and The Sunday Times from the UK. You can save more by spending more, as News+ is available as part of the top Apple One subscription, which bundles Apple services together. On its own, News+ costs $12.99 a month.  

Best iPhone apps: Photography and Camera

Halide Mark II

Some folks overestimate the usefulness of third-party pro-style camera apps for iPhone. They talk as if the JPEGs an iPhone spits out are the equivalent of a toddler’s crayon rendition of what the camera actually sees. They aren’t, but Halide Mark II does offer a different take on the camera app. It offers more direct control over whether or not to shoot RAW images, minimally processed files that can offer greater control over detail and noise. The app has “zero shutter lag” in certain modes because it buffers image data. And it includes widgets for the home screen that take you directly to ultra-wide, standard and zoomed camera views. It’s a paid app, though. $11.99 a year. 

Snapseed

This app is as old as the hills, having been released in 2011. However, it’s still one of the best for fast, effective image editing. It has rotation, cropping, some good-looking filters, solid picture tuning. And each step of the process comes with loads of control. There are typically multiple sliders to control the style and intensity of every change you make. This is quite old-school image editing, not the kind of AI-driven that generates so much attention today. But there are some more advanced effects like lens blur an a (admittedly not amazing) heal tool. Google owns Snapseed, and has done since 2012. 

Photomator

This is one of the best photo editing apps out there. At first it looks pretty familiar. You can auto-enhance images using the “machine learning” tool, apply filters an use the “heal” brush to remove blemishes. However, look closer and you’ll realise there’s some more special stuff going on here. For example, as well as having Photoshop-grade control over image tone and colour, Photomator can automatically separate out images’ subject, background and sky. This lets you make specific adjustments to each, with no fuss. You can also save editing styles to work out a signature look for photos. It’s multi-platform too, but isn’t free. It costs $29.99 a year, or $99.99 for a lifetime sub. 

Faceapp

Next to our other photography editing apps, Faceapp is pretty fluffy and insubstantial. But it is a blast, particularly when you play with photos of friends. With their permission, of course. You may have come across this one when it went viral in 2019. You use it edit photos of people, changing their gender, making them older or younger, and changing their makeup and hair. Most of the filters are locked behind a subscription paywall, but a handful of the good stuff, including gender swap, is available for free.

Best iPhone apps: Podcasts and Radio

Pocket Casts

If you are bored of Apple Podcasts and fancy trying something else, you have at least two key options. They are Pocket Casts and Overcast. We’ve picked Pocket Casts this time as it has a slightly glossier interface. Slick as anything, this one. But at its core it is an intuitive and direct way to access your favourite pods. It also has some useful extra features like speed control and a sleep timer, if you want to fall asleep to the voices of podcasters. 

Spotify for Podcasters

This app isn’t for listening to podcasts. It’s for people who make them. Spotify for Podcasters is a bit “on the nose” as names go, but it was once called Anchor, a company acquired by Spotify in 2019. The app lets you record and edit audio files, upload them to the most popular podcast platforms and see metrics on how many people have played your podcast, and your total audience size. It’s a neat way for beginners to try out the medium, there’s a library of royalty free background sounds and music, and you can get free hosting for your episodes. 

TuneIn

The number of radio stations current broadcasting around the world as you read this is mind-boggling. There were 44,000 in 2016 according to the latest UN figures we could dig up. TuneIn lets you listen to a good chunk of them over the internet. As well as just searching for your favourites, you can scan around a world map to discover stations for across the globe. UK user? You’ll find stations outside the UK blocked due to licensing restrictions. These can be unlocked using a VPN, or you can try another (admittedly less fun) app like Simple Radio. 

Best iPhone apps: Productivity

Brain.FM

This app could have featured in the Music section of this round-up, or even the meditation and relaxation one. However, we use it as a productivity tool. It plays generated music, made up of semi-composed elements. You choose Focus, Relax, Sleep or Meditate, which are the four categories. Past that, though, you can customize the track by picking a “genre” or music style, from classical to post rock and electronic. Or go for a nature-inspired soundscape. We tend to go for these, as Thunder and Rainforest can really help you get in the work zone. It’s great if you end up working in a noisier environment, but find “real” music too distracting. The only bad bit: brain.fm is quite pricey at $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year. 

ChatGPT

This app isn’t much more than a portal to the popular AI chatbot. But if you have’t at least dabbled with ChatGPT, you’re missing out. It is one of the most talked-about developments in tech in years. You ask ChatGPT a question, and it answers. At the time of writing, ChatGPT uses GPT 3.5, and has knowledge of the world up to January 2022. As with any chatbot, you should treat anything it produces with a level of suspicion, due to AI’s tendency to “hallucinate” facts. But it’s less egregious than it was in ChatGPT’s early days. Given how impactful AI Is expected to be, it’s a good idea to get acquainted with this most famous of AI implementations. 

Things 3

Once upon a time, we headed to Todoist when recommending organization iPhone apps. But our head has been turned by Things 3. If you want it to be a simple to-do list app, it can do that. However, dig deeper and this becomes a surprisingly capable little project management tool. You can arrange lists within lists, breaking down big tasks into smaller jobs without leaving them as disparate tick box exercises. There’s good clarity to how Things 3 arranges your various future lists too, giving you a sense you’re in control. Even if, whisper it, you’re not actually in control at all. 

Microsoft 365

Microsoft brought its Office apps to iPhone way back in 2014. The suite of apps is now called Microsoft 365 and, unfortunately, comes with a subscription attached. You’ll pay $69.99 a year for access to the lot, or $99.99 for a family pass. This also snags you a load of cloud storage, enough to keep all your files safe. You can also use the app without a subscription, as we’re basically getting the mobile version of Microsoft’s Office web interface here. The iPhone versions of the apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint — all live within the one app. And they are naturally pretty stepped-back compared to the classic PC versions. But they crucially feel right at home on iPhone. Try these if you don’t get on with Apple’s iWork, which comprises Pages, Numbers and Keynote. 

Apple iWork

If you're throwing out everything you knew about anything non-Apple, iWork is your replacement productivity bundle. It's the company's answer to Microsoft Office. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote will get the same results with a different interface. And, if your working companions are on Microsoft, it's no problem. You can export your documents to their counterparts. With iCloud, you can store all of your work in the cloud for easy access from any iOS device or on the web, whether you use a Mac or PC.

Forest

Heard of the pomodoro technique? It’s where you work in timed bursts, usually 25 minutes, and only let your concentration break in-between. That means no social media checks in that time, folks. Forest is a pomodoro timer with a difference. By following the program, you end up developing and growing a virtual forest, unlocking new trees along the way. That’s right, Forest gamifies concentration. There’s just a $3.99 entry fee to use the app, but there are elixir and crystal in-game currencies to boost the production of your forest. You can ignore all that if you’re just here to boost your work willpower. 

Otter.ai

If you ever have to conduct interviews as part of your work, or need to take minutes for a meeting, get Otter.ai. It’s a transcription app that works out what people are saying, and can separate out different voice in the conversation. A more recent AI addition also offers quick written summaries of what was covered in the interview/meeting. Handy. You can use Otter.ai for free, but you’re limited on the number of minutes per month, and can only import three audio files total (not per month). $10 a month bumps you up to 1200 minutes a month, and 10 imported audio or video files. More than enough for most, and you may be fine with the free tier. 

Best iPhone apps: Recipes & Food

Tasty

Tasty was one of the organizations that helped define what social media cooking videos should look like. Top down view. Snappy and glossy-looking. Tasty is part of Buzzfeed, but quickly gained a whole life of its own. At the top of each recipe you’ll see one of Tasty’s classic sped-up video process guides. There’s a list of ingredients and a classic step-by-step written guide too, should these videos all be a bit “Gen Z” for your tastes. We like the formatting. We like the recipes. We’re kinda hungry now.

Paprika

Paprika is not just a recipe app. It lets you “download” recipes from across the internet, and automatically processes them to extract the ingredient list and instructions. All that guff about how the writer discovered this recipe while on holiday in Sardinia? Excised. And as you do end up visiting the origin websites in the first place on hunting down the recipe, we don’t even feel bad about it. Paprika will automatically work up shopping lists, and you can arrange meal plans into a calendar. You can be super-organized if you like, or just treat the app like a recipe encyclopaedia you build yourself. 

HappyCow

The closest the app sphere has to a vegan and vegetarian restaurant bible, HappyCow is a must-have for veggies on holiday, or just in a new area. It’s a way to find near restaurants with good vegetarian food, based on user reviews from the HappyCow community. You’ll find plenty of “normal” restaurants on there that simply have vegetarian and vegan options. But the map does have an icon based system to clearly delineate the pure vegetarian and vegan spots. There’s a small outlay for the app, $3.99, but it’s a quicker solution than endless Googling. And you can be sure the user-posted pics inside are actually of veggie food — bonus. You don’t get that on TripAdvisor.

Best iPhone apps: Ridesharing

Uber

Is the golden age of Uber over? Uber rides seem to routinely cost more than they used to. But that’s what you get when a service was based on swallowing up the entire market through oodles of VC funding, rather than a sustainable business model. That said, Uber can still generally be relied upon to have more active cars in an area than most other competing services. In the UK you can even use Uber to buy train tickets these days. 

Lyft

It’s worth checking out taxi service Lyft if there’s surge pricing on Uber, as its price jumps can be less extreme than Uber’s. Lyft has also attracted fewer negative headlines than Uber over the last few years, at least regarding the corporate culture within the company. The basic deal is the same, though. You plan a route and are given an estimated cost for the journey. We find Lyft cars tend to be a little less readily available than Ubers. But this is likely to vary based on location. 

Best iPhone apps: Shopping

Vinted

Used clothing giant Vinted has been around since 2008, but it took about a decade for it to truly take off, and the last couple of years have seen its momentum stronger than ever. It’s basically a less corporate-feeling alternative to eBay or Facebook Marketplace. There’s no bidding on Vinted, you simply buy at the asking price, or make an offer. It’s not just clothes on sale here either. We once bought a Nintendo 3DS XL on the Vinted app. No joke. 

Etsy

If you took a local craft fair, blew it up to global proportions and stuck it online, you’d get something like Etsy. It’s packed with the work of craftspeople and artists, from jewellery makers to painters and furniture restorers. Of course, now Etsy is massive, you also get your fair share of drop-shipped nonsense and mass produced junk posing as the real deal. But that just means there’s a bit of work to do to find the good stuff, of which there is plenty. 

TEMU

TEMU became a bit of a viral retailer in 2023. That’s a strange phrase by itself, right? A viral… retailer? Nevertheless, it went big online thanks to the massive array of items (some would say tat) at incredibly low prices. It does this by shipping direct from China, where the stuff is manufactured. Much like the grandaddy of this kind of shopping, Aliexpress, you can get great stuff on TEMU. But it’s likely to be a little more hit-and-miss than the average local retailer. 

eBay

You know it. You love it?  Maybe you hate it. eBay has more than 130 million active members. Some think of it as a pit of scum and villainy — from both the buyer and seller side — but it can still work for you with a bit of know-how. If you are buying from one of the big retailers, you might want to wait until a voucher appears. These are common. And if you are selling, you can wait for a discounted seller fees weekend to avoid those steep fees. They typically come around every two weeks. 

Best iPhone apps: Social Networking

Discord

Discord is where the weird, wonderful and nerdy communities of the internet come to congregate. Anyone can make a server, which in this context becomes a chat room, in which you can setup different areas for specific topics. We don’t tend to establish our own servers, though, and instead find existing discord channels for content makers we like. Lots of podcasts, streamers and content creators have their own discord servers. 

Instagram

Once the social network of images and photos, now a video-first platform, Instagram bridges the generations better than many. It’s not too oldie-loaded like Facebook. It’s not quite as youth-focused as TikTok. Is it just right? It’s a social network, of course it’s not. But if you’re after short-form cute animal video or makeup tutorials, the Instagram algorithm is only too happy to serve you them.

Best iPhone apps: Sport

Fotmob

Stat-addicted soccer/football fans should download Fotmob. It’s a no-nonsense guide to all the upcoming and recent fixtures. But dig into those and you’ll find a whole world of data inside. There are stats on each player, including “traits" like how many goal chances they create. You can see the bookies’ odds for upcoming games and, of course, lots of info about matches already played. There are possession graphs, a live-blog-style guide to each match, and player ratings. It’s a football obsessive’s dream. 

If you’re a multi-discipline sports fan who loves boxing, golf, basketball, football and soccer, Sports Alerts is an essential download. It collates all the fixtures and results from 23 leagues, including NASCAR and Formula 1. We like its fast, clear and no-fuss delivery of info, and that you can tailor the app so it only displays the sports in which you’re interested. The way the tab-based layout lets you flick from one sport to another gives us the sense this app was designed by big sports fans, for big sports fans. One bad bit: it’s quite US-centric so there’s no cricket. 

Best iPhone apps: Video Editing and Content Creation

LumaFusion

Find iMovie too dumbed-down? LumaFusion is probably what you’re after. It feels like (and basically is) a full desktop-style editing suite crammed onto your iPhone screen. You get multiple video tracks for non-destructive editing, easy-to-apply transitions, titles and fistfuls of effects and filters. Want screen green? No problem. There’s even multi-cam support through a paid upgrade, to let you easily sync multiple sources into one “track”. Does the sheer depth of features here suit an iPad screen better? It sure does. Did we still manage to knock up a video in a few minutes? We sure did. 

YouTube Studio

This is an essential download for anyone who wants to make it on YouTube. It’s the official app for creators, and lets you get a grip on your videos’ statistics, how people are finding your content and who those people are. Where do they live? How old are they? And what kind of other YouTube content do they watch? It’s insider intel on how other people see you as a content creator. Should that completely determine what you make? Probably not. But it tells you a lot about who YouTube thinks you are. 

iMovie

Like Garageband, iMovie is another bundled app that shows Apple goes (or at least went) the extra mile for budding creatives. It’s a highly usable, quick, and easy video editing app. You trim and string together video clips, perhaps taken with your iPhone. And you can add titles, filters, sound effects, music and voice overs. It lets you speed up and slow down video too. Sure, this isn’t a pro-level video editing tool, but it’s a great way to introduce yourself to the basics of the practice. 

Canva

If you’re wondering how the people you follow on social network get those funky-looking graphics peppered throughout their videos, they may use Canva. It’s offers loads of templates to act as title cards for your videos. But it also works as a pretty powerful editing tool, with fun and easy animations that let you drag elements around your video canvas. If you want to get into content creation and want to add a little pizzazz to your videos, try it out. You can use it for free, or the paid-for sub ($99.99 a year) adds access to a lot more visual assets. 

Videoleap

Videoleap has long been one of the best iPhone apps for editing videos. But more recently it's added a bunch of AI tools that take your videos to the next level. This means that you can perform the standard video editing tasks, like splicing clips, reversing videos, and adding music and filters. But Videoleap's new AI tools allow users to seamlessly add different looks and scenery to their videos, switch out faces and voices and much more. If you're looking for a way to get really creative and test out the latest AI video editing tools on offer, this is how to do it. 

Best iPhone apps: Travel

TripAdvisor 

TripAdvisor is the classic travel app for phones, originally released for iPhone all the way back in 2010. It’s still one of the best ways too find local attractions and decent restaurants when travelling around in cities. It did, in our opinion, used to be a bunch better years ago. Back in the day you could download entire cities' worth of data, should you not have free data roaming. This was shelved, for obvious reasons — how is the app meant to make any revenue if you’re offline? Still, we tend to use TripAdvisor during every single holiday. 

Skyscanner

This is the best-known app, and website, for hunting down the best cheapest deals on flights. However, it has become an integral part of trip planning for us. Why? You don’t actually have to search for a specific destination, meaning Skyscanner can also be used to quickly home in on the destinations that are viable. That might be down to cost, or flight times that work, particularly for those quick weekend breaks away. Flights are the main appeal here, but it does the same for hotels too, hunting down the best deal from all of the most popular aggregator sites out there. 

Packing Pro

Sure, you can use a free note-taking app to make a packing list for work trips and holidays. But Packing Pro is software made for the purpose. It’s a simple concept, an app that breaks down your list into categories, with a selectable list of items for each. This helps because you don’t need to think of everything that needs to go in your suitcase. Packing Pro makes the suggestion, you choose what you need, and then tick them off when they’re in your luggage. The same developer also makes a similar companion app, but for grocery shopping. 

Viator

There are a few apps that collate the things you can book nearby, like trips and advance tickets to museums. We find Viator to be the most comprehensive and easy-to-search, probably helped by the fact it is owned by travel app giant TripAdvisor. We use it on the reg to scout out day trips while on holiday. However, don’t forget you can use the app to find out what’s on, and then book direct rather than through Viator. This can avoid some customer service headaches down the line, and you may even find a special offer not available through an aggregator platform like Viator. 

Google Translate

Translate is such a plain-looking app, but it is so remarkably powerful. It’s a speech and text translator that supports 133 languages, and can be used in multiple ways. You can type away and get a translation, or use the microphone. The conversation mode offers two-way translation, letting both people see what the other is saying. You can use the camera, which we use all the time when on holiday. And you can download entire languages for internet-free text translation. As you use Google Translate you can also build up a phrasebook of translations you’ve saved. All of that, and it’s totally free to use. 

Best iPhone apps: VPN and security

ExpressVPN

The key advice when shopping for a VPN is not to trust free ones too readily, and to make sure a VPN provider has servers in the areas you need. While you’ll often want a VPN to spoof your location — something we use all the time to see what websites look like in different countries — for best performance you’ll want to pick a nearby server. In all honesty, we could probably have recommend standard favourites like NordVPN or SurfShark here too. However, ExpressVPN is the provider we’ve used for the last year, so find it easiest to vouch for this long-standard VPN master. 

1Password

If you run an all-Apple household, we think Apple’s baked-in Keychain password manager software is sufficient. But if you want to be able to use one password manager across multiple platforms, try out 1Password. This highly regarded app keeps all your logins in one place. And more. It’s designed to be a secure vault for all your important details, from your passport and bank account details to your router’s Wi-Fi password. You then only need to remember your one master password. 1Password also lets you login using an iPhone’s Face ID or Touch ID biometrics. 

Best iPhone apps: Weather

Carrot Weather

One of our favourite ever weather apps, Dark Sky, has been discontinued. It was bought by Apple, its features largely subsumed into the standard Weather app. But if you don’t like that too much, try Carrot Weather. It’s a weather app with a bit of personality, a touch of barbed sarcasm to its delivery. And if you don’t like that, you can tone it down. That’s right, this is a weather app with multiple personality modes.  It is also super feature-rich. 

RainToday

You know when you see a percentage chance of rain, it actually means it’ll be raining in that much of your local area at that time? Well, a rain radar is perhaps our favourite way of getting a visual look at whether it’s likely to rain in, say, the next hour. It’s where you can see the current rainfall on a map, and go back in time to see where those rain clouds are travelling. RainToday offers an intuitive view of such a rainfall map. Using a slider you can go back in time, and see an hour into the future based on currently predictions. A great way to avoid getting soaked. 

How to choose the best iPhone app for you

There's a huge amount of choice these days when it comes to finding the best iPhone app. What's more, many people are choosing to streamline their digital lives rather than add to them. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth considering which new iPhone apps and digital tools might be worth adding to your collection. 

The best thing to do is browse all of the apps we've included in our guide above and see if any sound like they're worth your time. If that sounds like too much effort, consider if you've had a nagging problem recently that you want to address. 

Maybe you're bored of your current job list app and feel like it's negatively affecting your productivity. Or maybe you're keen to try yoga but don't want to go to a studio yet and need an option to learn from home. In the guide above we've divided each of our best apps into categories, so you can quickly find the right iPhone app for you. 

If you're a student with an iPhone or an iPad heading back to school or college, then you need to know about some of the best iPhone and iPad apps for college students. 

Whether you want help with your productivity, documents, collaboration, or even your learning itself, there are a ton of apps that can help you get the most out of your studies, all at your fingertips on iPhone and iPad. 

Thanks to the magic of Apple's App Store, you can download these apps whether you have Apple's best iPhone or iPad, or something cheap and cheerful. Here are our top picks as we head towards the end of summer. 

Pages, Keynote, and Numbers

If you're in college classes, the chances are high that you're going to need a word processor, presentation creator, or spreadsheet application. And if you're working with your best iPhone or iPad (or even a Mac), then there is nothing better and more crucial than Apple's own suite of office software.

Pages is Apple's word processor that does all of the same things that you can find in Microsoft Word, but in a sleeker interface that is easy to use. Keynote is like PowerPoint, but much more streamlined and fun to use. And Numbers is just like Excel, so you can create spreadsheets to your heart's content. And all three of these programs can save files that are compatible with Microsoft Office as well, if you need to submit files online as a .doc file or similar, for example.

Google Docs

Google offers an entire suite of apps, many of which you'll probably end up downloading on your iPad and all of your other devices. Google products are ecosystem-agnostic, meaning you can use them across Apple and non-Apple devices easily and smoothly. Google Docs is the first one you'll want to download, since you can use it to write papers, take notes in class, whatever you need.

You'll probably be able to get through school without paying for upgraded storage, unless you store a lot of photos and videos within your Google account. In that case, you'll need to upgrade. While you can store up to 15GB for free, the paid tiers start at $2/month for 100GB and go up from there.

Microsoft Office 365

If you're used to Microsoft Office or your school uses Microsoft products exclusively, then you can grab Microsoft Office on your iPad This app contains Word, PowerPoint, and Excel in one app, but you can also grab them individually on the App Store as well.

With the Microsoft Office app, you get Word, PowerPoint, and Excel in one place. You can create, edit, and even collaborate with others in real-time, but a Microsoft 365 subscription may be required to access some premium features. Still, you can use the app to view and create documents without paying anything.

Evernote

When it comes to digital note-taking, it's hard to beat Evernote. Not only is it available on iPhone and iPad, but it's also available on Android, PC, and Mac, and the web — so you can access it anywhere.

Evernote lets you create notebooks for easy organization, and notes can consist of plain text, formatted text, web snippets from the clipper, photos, entire web pages, audio — you name it. And the best part is that everything that you put into Evernote becomes searchable, so you can search by keyword to find what you need. There is seamless syncing across all of your devices and while there are paid plans, you should have a good amount of space for free every month.

Microsoft OneNote

For those who are invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, then OneNote is an excellent alternative to Evernote. With OneNote, you can create an unlimited number of digital notebooks for every subject you're taking, and take notes in an organized fashion.

OneNote lets students type out notes, as well as handwrite them in, sketch diagrams, import photos, collaborate with others, and more. There is also a Sticky Notes feature that lets you save notes for easy reference later, and they are synced to all of your devices. You can download OneNote for free and use it with your Microsoft Account or even an account that is assigned to you by your school.

Dropbox

You're bound to end up with a lot of files and documents for school, so you'll want a good cloud storage service. One of our favorites is Dropbox because once you upload your files to Dropbox, you're able to access them on practically any device. Dropbox also has seamless integration with a lot of existing third-party apps as well, giving you a ton of flexibility when it comes to choosing what apps to use to get things done. You can also share files with others quite easily, making this a great tool for collaboration.

Dropbox has a free tier with 2GB of storage, which isn't a lot, but you can get more space with referrals. However, we recommend signing up for one of their tiered plans, which starts at 2TB for $10 a month. Considering the ubiquity and versatility, Dropbox is well worth paying for.

Quizlet

Either you're a flashcards person or you're not, but if you are, step away from those index cards. Save paper and time and create your flashcards on Quizlet. You can create your own custom flashcards or choose from over 500 million pre-made flashcards by students and teachers in many popular fields of study from grade school to grad school. You'll be able to share them easily with your classmates and study groups. 

The app is free to download, but you'll need a Quizlet Plus subscription for the more premium features. For $8/month or $36/year, you'll unlock features such as offline studying and be able to access many more flashcards.

Khan Academy

Enrich your learning in a myriad of subject with Khan Academy. Maybe you need a little help understand certain subject material, or you want to brush up on previously learned material before beginning an advanced class. Perhaps you want to get a taste of a subject before committing to whole semester class on it, or you just have deeper interests that take you beyond your college course's materials. You can find it all here. 

Khan Academy is a free app with no in-app purchases, since a non-profit organization and. Downloading this app a no-brainer. Everyone should have this app on their iPad whether they are a college student or a student of life.

PCalc

Chances are high that you'll be taking a math class of some sort, especially if you're an undergrad. If that's the case, you may want to have a powerful calculator on your iPhone and iPad, and it's hard to beat PCalc.

With PCalc, you're getting a feature-rich calculator that is capable of basic calculations all the way up to more advanced equations. It has an optional RPN mode as well as a multi-line display, customizable button layouts, unit conversions, and constants, paper tape, multiple undo and redo, engineering and scientific notation, hexadecimal support, and binary calculations. PCalc is great for scientists, engineers, students, programmers, and anyone else who wants a powerful calculator.

Screens VNC

While services like Dropbox are great for accessing our files from any device, what about using our apps on desktop computers? If you have Screens VNC, then it's entirely possible.

Screens VNC allows you to connect to your computer from anywhere in the world at any time. With Screens VNC, you can update your computer even when you're away from it, work with your computer software, and even access files that may not be in the cloud. All you need to do is download Screens, set up an account, and connect. You will need Screens VNC on both your iPhone or iPad as well as your Mac or PC.

YNAB

College isn't just about learning, it's about trying not to go broke. To that end, you need a great budgeting app that can help you keep track of all your income and your outgoings. You Need a Budget helps you put all your spending in different categories to help you keep track of your spending. 

Fantastical

Most college students will have a very busy schedule of classes, exams, studying, assignments, deadlines, and of course social gatherings. Not to mention sports, travel, and anything else you can think of. You need a great calendar to help keep track of your time and there's no better option than Fantastical. If features day, week, and month views as well as reminders. 

Get back to school!

If you have a new iPhone or iPad and you're about to go back to school, all the apps listed above are perfect for helping you with your studies. A combination of them means you can get plenty of work done in a portable fashion without relying on your best student Macbook to be productive.

Of course, if you're in a creative program, especially in the digital design field, you may want to check out some of the best drawing apps for iPad, as they will offer you a ton of great tools to sketch, paint, or draw right on your best iPad.

Amazon's Echo smart speaker lineup works great with all the best iPhones and you can even use Apple Music directly from the Alexa-powered devices.

This compatibility allows you to tie Apple's music subscription service to the Amazon Alexa app. In doing so, you can play your favorite Apple Music titles to your Amazon Echo products. Before this, you could only tie together the two through Bluetooth, which came with limitations.

You can ask Alexa to play songs, artists, albums, or genres from Apple Music. You can also play Beats 1 radio, playlists from Apple Music's editors, or playlists in your iCloud Music Library. Say something like "Alexa, play Pop Throwback on Apple Music," or "Alexa, play Cass McCombs on Apple Music."

You can also listen to Apple Music in stereo or across multiple rooms by adding a Multi-Room Music group in the Alexa app. Apple Music for Alexa is currently available only in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

Your Echo product and iPhone don't just make beautiful music together. You can also use the Alexa app to introduce Amazon Skills to your home. These third-party applets help your Amazon Echo to respond to thousands of commands that cover a wide array of tasks. For example, you can use Skills to get movie times or track packages, control home automation devices, tell jokes, and much more.

Apples and Echos

Did you know you can now use Amazon Alexa on your iPhone without an Echo product in your home? Well, you can! Since 2018, this has been an option in the Amazon Alexa app for iOS. To get started, you'll first need to give Alexa permission to access your iPhone microphone and location by pushing on the Alexa button in the app.

To ask Alexa a question after that, you'll need to use the same button. As long as your iPhone has internet access, Alexa will answer your questions. If you're in your home, those questions are responded to directly from your Amazon Echo. Otherwise, the response comes through the Alexa app.

Are you looking for more? Amazon Alexa is also baked into the Amazon shopping app so you can order stuff just by using your voice.

Lots of choices

It seems each passing year brings with it new Amazon Echo devices with Amazon Alexa baked in. Since the first Amazon Echo launched in 2014, Amazon has introduced other smart speakers and speaker-related products with Amazon Alexa built-in. The voice assistant is also found on third-party products too which also work with iOS devices.

1Password for iPhone and iPad is here, bringing an all-new look to the popular password manager that also brings it more in line with the app's Mac version.

The big new update, which is available for download via the App Store right now, includes a much needed lick of paint that makes the app feel more modern than ever. “1Password 8 for iOS and Android ushers in a new era for our mobile apps – enabling greater personalization, deepening our human-centric platform and helping to eliminate the headache of logins on mobile devices," said Jeff Shiner, CEO of 1Password. "Importantly, our updated app reflects our commitment to ensuring people have a seamless experience across all devices and platforms.”

All-new

The most noticeable change is the way 1Password 8 looks, with the app making it possible to edit the information displayed and more.

• "Customize 1Password with a new home screen: Allows users to personalize their 1Password experience by highlighting favorites, reordering sections and adding quick actions."

• "Find items even more quickly: An updated always-on navigation bar allows users to quickly access their home screen, search for items, and open Watchtower or app settings. It also includes new item icons, typography, detailed views for items and vaults and more."

Other improvements include changes to Watchtower that offers an improved dashboard view to help people ensure their passwords haven't been compromises and more.

Those with the 1Password app installed on their iPhone and iPad should see the update available for download in the App Store soon if it isn't already available. It's an update well worth getting your hands on if you're an existing 1Password user. If you aren't, the app was already one of the best iPhone password managers and this new update cements its places on that list.

You can also learn more about this new update over on the 1Password blog, too.

Over the years, Apple has gotten incredibly good at making the iPhone camera better and better with each generation. I mean, with the iPhone 13 Pro, I feel like it's the only camera I really need, as it's with me all the time and allows me to capture any spontaneous moments with ease.

And in recent years, Apple has made the iPhone camera even more advanced by adding support for things like Portrait mode, Night mode, ProRAW format, and more. In fact, it even has some very basic manual camera controls too, like exposure and white balance. However, if you want even more control over what you shoot with your iPhone 13 Pro camera, then you'll want to check out a great manual camera app for your best iPhone. Here are our top picks to get the job done.

Halide Mark II - Pro Camera

Halide is one of my favorite camera replacement apps on my iPhone 13 Pro. Not only do you get an elegant and simple design that is intuitive to use, but you also get some of the most powerful, high-end camera tools to make the most out of your iPhone camera.

With a few gestures, you can do things like change exposure, manually adjust the focus point with Focus Loupe and Focus Peaking, use Halide's Smart RAW format, and more. Some other manual controls include adjusting shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. If you still have an iPhone XR or iPhone SE, Halide lets you take Portrait mode photos of pets and inanimate objects, unlike the native camera on those devices. And Portrait mode photos with Halide mean even more control, as you can manually adjust the field of depth as you wish. All images can be saved in RAW, TIFF, HEIC, or JPG — whichever works best for you.

There are a ton of amazing features with Halide, making it one of the best manual camera apps for iPhone, hands down. The app is free to download and try but to get the most out of it, you'll need to get an annual membership or buy the app outright with a single in-app purchase.

ProShot

If you're looking for an all-in-one solution for both photo and video needs, then ProShot is a great option to consider. With ProShot, you'll have four different modes to work with: Photo, Video, Light Painting, and Timelapse.

ProShot brings DSLR controls right to your iPhone. You'll have Auto, Program, Manual, and two custom modes that you can create to fit your needs best. Depending on how you feel, you can go with complete manual, semi-manual, or auto controls for both still photos and videos. Other manual camera features include adjusting exposure, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, torch intensity, focus, and more. And with unlimited shutter speed and Live Photo support, you can get some amazing light painting photos too, which will come in clutch for holidays like July 4.

This is just a small sampling of what you can accomplish with ProShot. If you need amazingly powerful tools for both photos and video, then this is one to check out.

ProCam 8

Want to take your Portrait mode shots to the next level? Then ProCam 8 is a good fit. ProCam 8 works with all iPhones, including the iPhone XR and iPhone SE 2020. And if you have a dual-lens camera system, then you can take it one step further and create 3D photos, and so much more. Plus, it supports video capture too!

Some standout features with ProCam 8 include multiple photo shutter release options, including anti-shake, screen shutter/big button, and interval. You'll have all manual adjustments for exposure, white balance, autofocus, shutter speed, ISO, and more, along with live values. And if an image is overexposed, ProCam 8 will tell you with zebra stripes — very hard to miss.

ProCam 8 does more than just replace the native Camera app, as it is a full-blown photo editor with a Photos app extension. With non-destructive edits, you can make sure your photos look great during and after the shooting process! There are over 60 filters, 17 lenses, and 19 powerful editing tools to make your images as perfect as they can be. And for your videos, you can even add background music!

Camera+ 2

Another one of my personal favorites is Camera+ 2. I remember when the original Camera+ came out many years ago, and it was one of the best camera apps out there. The latest version is no different.

While Camera+ 2 uses machine learning to automatically give you the best presets for a perfect photo, it also respects your wishes and gives you complete control too. It even has cool features like Smile Mode, where it can automatically take a photo once everyone in the frame is smiling. Or try Stabilizer Mode, where the photo automatically captures when it's stable enough to do so without any blurring. Camera+ also has a large collection of photo editing tools, along with a Photos app extension, so you can give your pictures the right non-destructive edits to look amazing.

Slow Shutter Cam

Are you looking to specialize in just long-exposure photography? Then the Slow Shutter Cam app can help you accomplish just that!

Whether you want to capture the lights on a freeway or use a sparkler to spell out your name in the air, long-exposure photography will accomplish that and more. But without a DSLR, this can be pretty hard to do. Thankfully, Slow Shutter Cam can help. With Slow Shutter Cam, you have a few options for cool light effects: motion blur, light trail, and low light. No matter what kind of creative shot you're trying to do, Slow Shutter Cam is a good tool to have in your arsenal. It also opens you up to experimentation with your photos.

No DSLR, no problem!

As you can see, there are quite a few amazing apps on the App Store to help you capture the best photos with manual controls. Even though Apple has improved the Camera app over the years, it's still very much barebones compared to some third-party apps. Now it's time to get out there and shoot your best manual pics!

Updated April 2022: Updated all picks to be current with iOS 15 and the iPhone 13 series.

What you need to know

• Sony is making it easier to share screenshots and videos from your PS5.
• Content will automatically upload to the cloud and will then be shared via the PlayStation app.

Sony is finally making it easier for people to share their PS5 screenshots and video captures to social media including Twitter and Facebook via their PlayStation app.

Available for free via the App Store, the PlayStation app will need to be linked to the PS5 in question, but assuming that's all squared away the process of sharing captures will be largely automated. Sony says that captures will automatically upload to the cloud — all screenshots and videos that are less than three minutes long and lower resolution than 4K are supported — and the PlayStation app will then allow them to be shared.

Sharing can presumably be done to your social network of choice including Twitter and TikTok or just sent to friends via iMessage.

By enabling this feature, your PS5 console will begin to auto-upload game captures to the cloud. Your captures of games will then be available in PlayStation App for 14 days after they are created on your PS5 console. The following captures will be uploaded:

• Gameplay videos under 3 minutes long that are non-4K.
• Screenshots taken from the Create Menu or Create button shortcuts.

Beyond having the PlayStation app linked to your PS5, the only other requirement is that the console be set up to spend its time in rest mode and stay connected to the internet. That would suggest that much of the background magic will be done while the console isn't actively being used.

The new capture sharing features are live in Japan and the Americas, with Sony saying that those in other countries can look forward to an expansion soon.

Those interested in learning more about how everything will work can check out the Sony PlayStation FAQ for more info.

Chances are, you have dozens of online accounts that all require a password. If you're doing things right, they are complex, unique passwords that are hard to crack...and to remember. Instead of writing them down on a piece of paper, you can save them in one app and only have to remember one password — the one to unlock the rest.

Though Apple's iCloud Keychain is an excellent service for creating, storing, and syncing your passwords, it should never be the only password keeper you use. You should always have a backup, just in case something goes wrong.

Password managers are digital vaults where you can keep all of your important information, like logins, credit card numbers, PINs, and more. You can even create a secure note with secret stuff, like future baby names or the answers to life. If you haven't already invested in a password manager, take a look at our favorites and see if any of them suit your needs.

1Password

1Password is a staple of the Apple community and one of the best iPhone apps out there. It lets you store an unlimited amount of passwords, credit card numbers, addresses, and more. It uses AES 256-encryption and includes support for unlocking with Touch ID and Face ID. You can use the customizable password generator feature to create complex passwords and not have to worry about remembering them because they will always be stored safely in the vault.

You can organize passwords with tags and mark them as favorites. When you upgrade to the pro model for $10, you can access special templates that allow you to save bank accounts, driver's licenses, passports, and more. You'll also get Apple Watch support so you can view your favorite passwords right on your wrist. For those who want to share some passwords with others, 1Password also offers subscription options for teams and families.

1Password also features a robust desktop app that will sync with your iPhone and iPad, and the Safari browser widget makes it possible for you to auto-fill passwords, and even go directly to a site.

If this is your first time delving into the password manager world, 1Password is a great app for getting you started, but also has enough features to be the only one you ever use.

LastPass

LastPass specializes in automatically organizing your entries for you. It has three main categories: websites, form fills, and secure notes, which are used for such things as driver's license numbers and credit card information. Select a category, then pick a template, and you will be able to fill in all of the necessary information for a specific account.

You can find website passwords at a glance because LastPass's design is meant to help you see the logo easily. So, if you are looking for your Amazon sign-in, just look for the logo. Secure notes have an icon, too. So finding that passport number is as simple as looking for the icon. The password generator creates complex passwords that you can use to secure your accounts.

The fill form feature makes it possible for you to create templates that can be used when filling out information for such things as hotel reservations, creating new accounts, and more. LastPass also has a desktop app and Apple Watch support.

LastPass uses AES 256-bit encryption and supports Touch ID. For $2 per month, you can sync across an unlimited amount of devices and computers, share logins with others, and additional multi-step authentication options. For $4 per month, you can share all of the premium features with up to six users.

If you don't want to take the extra steps of tagging and organizing passwords yourself, and if pre-made fill-in forms sound like something you will use, give LastPass a try.

mSecure

mSecure is designed to make entering a new password or other record information quick and easy. It features more than a dozen premade templates and hundreds of icons that you can choose from to make your login list look exactly the way you want it to.

Thanks to the robust and customizable tagging features, you can organize and filter items to track down what you are looking for more easily. You can mark favorites to keep them in a special folder, sort them by date, type, or group, and browse through entries in different folders.

With the one-time upgrade of $30, you can take advantage of pro features like customizing your templates, backing up and restoring if you lose your data, using Touch ID or Face ID, having Apple Watch support, and a lot more.

mSecure uses AES-256 encryption. You can also grab the mSecure Mac app to sync across multiple devices and computers (if you upgrade). It is a well-rounded general use password manager.

If you prefer having more control over how your passwords are organized with tags and filters and want to custom-build your vault, mSecure has what you need.

Enpass

With Enpass, you can store all of your passwords, credit card numbers, passport info, and more. It features a selection of templates that make it easy to enter the pertinent information for a specific login. It is deeply integrated with an in-app browser, which makes it easy for you to fill in forms right from inside, without needing to copy and paste anything. But, it also has an extension for Safari, so you can use the default browser and quickly access passwords from the app sharing tool.

Enpass has a desktop app and uses your preferred cloud storage (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, ownCloud, WebDAV, or Box) to sync across devices. Information is stored locally on your device or cloud storage.

SQLCIPHER's AES 256-bit encryption keeps Enpass safe, and Touch ID support keeps it convenient. The Apple Watch companion lets you see your favorite passwords on your wrist. The free version is limited to 20 passwords, but for $10, you can unlock the unlimited version.

Enpass is a great app for people that want the simplicity and security of logging into a website account right from within the vault.

Keeper Password Manager

Keeper is big on organizing your passwords by putting them into folders. Like having a filing cabinet under lock-and-key, all of your passwords are organized by type in a category folder. You can also quickly search for a specific item using dynamic search. Once you've built up your folders, you can filter them by date added, favorites, and ones you've shared with others.

You can share individual password account information, or entire folders, with other Keeper owners simply by sending them an email invitation. It uses AES 256-bit encryption with TRUSTe and SOC-2 certification.

You can use multi-step authentication to secure your information even more. Keeper supports Touch ID. It uses a multi-factor authentication system called "Keeper DNA," which allows you to set up a secondary verification process. So, if someone does manage to get into your vault, with Keeper DNA, access to passwords you designate will require additional verification from your Apple Watch before entry is allowed. Plus, you can quickly view your favorite passwords on your wrist with the companion app.

Keeper requires a subscription to keep your data synced across multiple devices, which is available for $30 per year. It is great for people that get great satisfaction out of meticulously organized passwords.

If the added security of double-authentication is necessary in your life, check out Keeper.

Password Manager Data Vault

Data Vault is a simple but effective password manager that you can use to keep track of all of your personal and business-related logins. You can select from dozens of templates to identify items like credit cards, passports, specific logins for organizations, and more. You can create new categories, types, and form templates for a seriously personalized management system.

The thing I found most useful about Data Vault is the folder organization, which is called a "tree." It looks like a simple file organizer, but your passwords are stored inside them instead of documents.

Data Vault uses 256-bit encryption for strong security. It also supports Touch ID and Face ID and there is an Apple Watch companion that makes it possible to add often-used passwords so you have quick access right on your wrist.

Though backing up to iCloud is on by default, you can choose a different cloud-based backup solution, or disable cloud backups completely. Backups can be synced to Data Vault for Mac and across all of your iOS devices.

Dashlane

Dashlane is an app that helps you with prevention and protection of the risks associated with storing and sharing your information digitally, and it does so in a sleek and streamlined interface.

With Dashlane, you will have your own encrypted vault where you can store all of your login information, passwords, secure notes, payments, personal info, IDs, and more. Dashlane will automatically fill in forms and payment info with the integrated web browser or through the Safari extension. And if you have any passwords that are considered weak, Dashlane can help generate a stronger and more secure password for you and automatically replace the older one with the Password Changer feature.

The new Dark Web Monitoring feature instantly notifies you of security alerts associated with your email accounts. Identity Dashboard allows you to monitor your password health, and Inbox Security Scan will scan your email inbox, find all the accounts you've created, analyze their security, and save them in Dashlane.

Dashlane is free to use for up to 50 passwords. If you need more than that, you can get Dashlane Premium, which costs $60 a year and gets you unlimited passwords on unlimited devices, as well as Dark Web Monitoring and secure VPN. There is also Dashlane Premium Plus (only in the U.S), which runs $120 a year and gets you real-time credit monitoring and up to $1 million in Identity Theft Insurance.

Some VPN services have password managers as well

While we wouldn't suggest getting a VPN service just for the password manager feature, if you're already subscribed to one of the best VPN services, there's a chance you might want to look into that option as well. No one is saying you can't double up on apps on your iPhone or iPad if you want, but we'd figured it's worth a mention in case you didn't know.

Updated February 2022: These are still the best password managers available on iOS!

What you need to know

• Tesla has updated its iPhone app to add support for actionable notifications.
• Tesla's new app update adds a way for Tesla Insurance policyholders to submit comprehensive claims.
• A new charging statistics screen has been added to the updated Tesla app.

Tesla has updated its iPhone app to add support for actionable notifications, allowing people to interact with their car without having to open the app proper.

The updated app, which is available in the App Store as version 4.6.0, now allows people to control their car's functions whenever it sends them a notification. Examples seen so far include being able to stop charging when receiving a notification to say that it has stated and being able to disable climate control when a desired temperature has been met.

The full Tesla app release notes also mention a new Charge Stats screen as well as a way to submit comprehensive claims for Tesla Insurance policyholders.

• Charge Stats displays your vehicle energy charged and estimated costs
• Submit comprehensive claims for Tesla Insurance policyholders
• Support for actionable vehicle push notifications

Those who already have the Tesla app installed will see the update being presented now. Anyone who hasn't yet installed the app can get it from the App Store now. It's free, although you'll obviously need a Tesla car to make real use of it. Tesla cars are not, however, free. For those who do already have the car, the Tesla app is undoubtedly the best iPhone app for you.

While the Apple Watch is great for helping us stay on top of our fitness goals, sometimes we simply forget to wear the watch or didn't start a workout session. It happens to the best of us and fortunately, it's easy to rectify. Here's how you can manually add workout data to the Health app on your iPhone.

How to manually add workout data on your iPhone

Unfortunately, you aren't able to add manual data to the Activity app, but you can add it directly to the Health app on your best iPhone.

1. Launch Health on your iPhone.
2. Tap Browse.
3. Tap on the search box.

4. Type in Workouts.
5. Tap Workouts.
6. Tap Add Data in the upper right corner.
7. Tap Activity Type to choose the workout you want to add.

8. Tap Calories/Kilocalories to add the estimated number of calories you think you burned doing this type of exercise.
9. Tap Distance to input how far you went.

10. Tap on the start and end time to adjust the workout time and length.
11. Tap Add.

Now able to manually add workout data to the Health app. The workout information will count towards your favorite Apple Watch's Move, Exercise, and Stand rings, and you will get credit for any achievements that it happens to fulfill, such as Limited Edition awards.

To make it easier in the future, I would recommend adding Workouts to your Favorites, which would appear front-and-center in the Summary tab, along with your other Favorite selections.

How to Favorite specific Health data points

1. Launch Health on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Browse tab.
3. Tap on the search box.

4. Type in the health data category or health data point that you want to favorite.
5. Tap on the health data that you want to view.
6. Scroll down to view more options.

7. Tap the Add to Favorites star.
8. Tap on the Summary tab — your new health data will show up there.

If you added Workouts to your Favorites, you can manually add workout data by following steps 5-11 above.

Never miss a beat

It happens — sometimes we simply get caught up in the moment, or we just forget to wear our Apple Watch that day. But Apple allows you to manually add your workout data directly to the Health app, so you can still get credit for your Activity Rings and more. As you can see, it's very simple to do and you can add pretty much any kind of workout data you need. Now that you know this, you can never miss a workout again! 

What you need to know

• Podcastle is a new app for iPhone that makes it easy to create podcasts on the go.
• Podcastle creates local recordings that can then be edited together to preserve audio quality.
• You can even schedule your podcast recording via Podcastle.

If you're someone who needs to record a podcast on their iPhone and wants their guests to also create local recordings for the best possible quality, you need to try Podcastle.

Everyone knows that recording podcats are fraught with danger. If you record from one side of the call you run the risk of a spotty internet connection ruining the quality. But getting guests to create local recordings can be a pain. That's where Podcastle can come in so useful because not only does it help people record their side of the podcast remotely, but it automatically uploads it ready for the host to edit, too.

Need to set your podcast guest up with a date and time to be ready to go? Podcastle even has a calendaring feature built-in that will take care of all of that as well!

Available in the App Store, Podcastle is free and the service behind it is free to get started, too. You can download Podcastle and take it for a spin for yourself right now. You can learn more about the Podcastle service over at its website, too. This might just be the best iPhone app for podcasters yet.

What you need to know

• The creator of the world-famous 'iBeer' iPhone app says it made the company millions.
• Steve Sheraton has revealed that in its heyday, iBeer was pulling up to $20,000 a day in revenue.
• In March 2014 the app celebrated 90 million downloads.

Steve Sheraton, the founder of Hottrix and developer of the world-famous iBeer iPhone app, has revealed in an interview that in its heyday the app was bringing in between $10,000 and $20,000 a day in revenue.

In a new interview with MEL, Sheraton revealed how a video he made for the Palm Pilot turned into a multi-million dollar success. Recreating E-spresso (a coffee drinking video for the aforementioned Palm), Sheraton uploaded a video to YouTube that showed him "drinking a beer" on his iPhone using a simple video file, stating that folks were clamoring to have the same feature on their iPhone before the App Store and 'apps' even existed:

Already a moneyspinner, Sheraton says he sold the beer-drinking video file for $2.99 and made $2,000 a day "for the longest time". Then he says that Apple reached out with the launch of the iPhone:

Sheraton programmed the app to use Apple's iPhone accelerometer to trigger looped videos and image sequences, and the rest, as they say, is history. The app, which you've almost certainly heard of and probably bought yourself, was called iBeer and sold on the App Store for $2.99. Sheraton says it was number one on the App Store for about a year, and also revealed that in its heyday "we were making $10,000 to $20,000 a day", renting out swanky houses in places like Barcelona and filling them with antique furniture.

Hottrix also came by a serious windfall when corporate giant Coors tried to copy the idea and was successfully sued in court.

The app celebrated 90 million downloads on March 14, 2014, according to the app's release notes, and developer Hottrix has since made the app a "freemium" experience where you simply pay to remove the ads. Of course, there are also some wine, milk, and soda expansion packs available as in-app purchases too.

As Hottrix notes it has developed a swathe of bizarre apps all based on the same concept, including an Ice Bucket Challenge Simulator. You can read the full interview here. For some real nostalgia, you can check out our iPhone App Avalanche piece from 2008 before our name was even iMore. The first iteration includes iBeer and a pretty hilarious write up.

Apple's accelerometer was one of the defining new features of the iPhone at launch, and has remained a stalwart feature in all of Apple's best iPhones, including the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, since.

When it comes to getting started down the path to healthy living, we can sometimes forget that getting fit is about more than just working out our bodies. We also need to balance our mental state, get the right amount of sleep, and eat healthily. If you're ready to change your lifestyle, not just your workout routine completely, check out these great health and fitness apps.

Breathing

When Apple updated watchOS to include the Breath app, we all discovered just how important it is to take a moment to relax and breath. 3 Minute Mindfulness does more than just help you stop and breath. It helps relieve stress and anxiety, focuses on the now, and improve sleep. There are different breathing exercises for different occasions and even weekly programs to help build good habits. And, you don't need an Apple Watch to participate.

Exercise

Fitbit is one of the most popular step trackers on the market, and the companion app doesn't even require a physical tracker. You can use your iPhone accelerometer and GPS information in conjunction with the Fitbit app to track your steps, distance, calories burned, and more. You can also keep track of your sleep habits, heart rate, and weight with compatible peripherals. You can share your daily workouts with friends and see where you stand in the Fitbit Challenge leaderboards. Creating fitness goals makes it easier to see where you are headed and whether you need to do more to meet your goals. Fitbit is the fitness app that I wish Apple's Activity app could be more like.

Diet

MyFitnessPal does a lot to help you lose weight, but where it really shines is in calorie tracking. You can input any food item you have ever put in your mouth and track how many calories you've ingested. You can even create meals based on individual food items you eat regularly for faster data entry. If an item doesn't already exist in the vast database, you can create your own and include all of the nutritional value that you know about. It also connects with dozens of peripherals and apps, including Apple's Health app, to track your activities, showing you just how many more calories you'll need to burn today if you want to shed those pounds.

Sleep

One of the best ways to help encourage a healthy sleep cycle is to quiet your brain with white noise. myNoise is a fully customizable sound generator that has hundreds of multi-track noise programs from nature to sci-fi and everything in-between. I like to take naps to the sound of a nice spring walk and fall asleep at night to the sound of the Enterprise's soothing hum. Each sound features 10 tracks, each hosting a different part of the generated sound. So, if you love the low rumble of the Star Trek ship, but can't sleep when you hear the bleeps and blips, you can turn those sounds down and get to sleep faster without interruption.

Brain training

The brain needs exercise, too. When your mind is strong and focused, it helps keep you on track to getting the rest of your body fit, too. Elevate has special sessions to help increase your skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math. When you do the daily exercises, it increases the speed and accuracy at which your brain performs. Even if your body is in tip-top shape, your mind still needs some daily exercises, too.

Heart rate tracking

Cardiogram is great for making sense of the heart rate data that your Apple Watch measures. It shows a detailed graph of your heart rate history, average beats, and works with heart peripherals to add even more helpful information. When your heart rate spikes, you can tag it with whatever you were doing at the moment, so you know when you should de-stress, or when you were just exercising.

Your favorites?

What health and fitness apps do you use to get a jump on your New Year's resolutions? Let us know what they are and why you love them.

Updated January 2020: Updated with all the best apps to help you reach this year's fitness goals!

Recording phone calls is a big legal gray area because, in most locations, it is considered illegal unless you get the consent of all parties involved, or if there is an audible beep to indicate recording that everyone can clearly hear. Due to the legal implications involved, it's highly unlikely that Apple will ever include a call recording feature built-in directly to iOS itself.

However, there are some third-party apps that can help you record phone calls, which is useful when conducting phone interviews or other important calls. Here are some of the best phone recording apps we've found on the App Store.

• Call Recording by NoNotes
• TapeACall Pro: Call Recorder
• Call Recorder - IntCall
• Call Recorder: Phone Call REC
• Call Recorder for Phone Calls

Call Recording by NoNotes

If you often find yourself in a lot of business calls and need to record them for later, then you should try Call Recording by NoNotes.

The app just needs to know your phone number that you're going to use, an email, and then you create a six-digit numeric pin. Once those are set up, just sign in. You'll now be able to record inbound or outbound calls and have them transcribed, with the files being able to be shared by email or other cloud services.

The app is free to download and use, giving you 20 minutes of recordings and transcriptions each month. You can purchase more if needed through in-app purchases.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

TapeACall Pro: Call Recorder

TapeACall Pro is another fantastic choice for those times when you need to record a phone call (with consent, of course).

With this app, all you need to do to start recording is launch the app while you are on a call (let the other party know that you're recording). When you launch TapeACall, it puts the call on hold and dials their recording line. Once the line answers, you tap the merge button to create a three-way call between your other caller and TapeACall's recording line (3-way conference calling is required with your carrier).

Recording an outgoing call is also easy: just press the record button to dial their recording line and then tap "Add Call" to call the person you want to record, then press "Merge" when they answer.

All recordings with TapeACall can be downloaded onto your computer, and the app supports unlimited recordings. There is an optional subscription service that will provide even more features, such as transcriptions.

$11 with in-app purchases - Download Now

Call Recorder - IntCall

If you want a call recording app that is flexible with the number of recordings that you may need at any given time, Call Recorder - IntCall is a nice on to consider. While it's free to download, it's not free to use, but you can buy pre-paid credit or subscribe on a weekly basis.

Call Recorder - IntCall lets you record both national and international calls. The entire call gets recorded and saved on your device, where you can send it by email or export it to a cloud sharing service of your choice. Titles can be set for each recording, making it easy to label and organize.

The requirements for this app is that your carrier is GSM and supports 3-way conference calling.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

Call Recorder: Phone Call REC

For those who want a call recording app that doesn't look dated, then Call Recorder: Phone Call REC is one to check out. The app has a sleek interface that feels much more modern and with the times than other apps.

With Phone Call REC, you can record both incoming and outgoing calls with just a few taps. Please note that you do need 3-way call conferencing with your carrier's data plan for the app to work properly. The app plays a beep to notify everyone that the call is being recorded, and the recordings are saved in high-quality audio. Play back the recordings directly on your iPhone when needed.

Phone Call REC is free to download and use with a 3-day trial. After that, it needs a subscription to use, but it's fairly cheap starting at $5 a month.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

Call Recorder for Phone Calls

Want something that's simple with no frills? Then Call Recorder for Phone Calls gets the job done.

With this app, you can get unlimited recordings both nationally and internationally too with all of the different access numbers that are available. There are no limitations on how long each recording can be, and you get high-quality audio on both ends. All recordings are saved to your device with easy export and uploading options, and you can even play recordings in the background.

The app is free to download and use for three days, but you will need to buy credits as needed or subscribe to continue using it. Again, like the other apps, 3-way conference calling capabilities are required.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

What are you using?

If you've ever needed to record a phone call for any purpose (with consent!), what apps did you use? Let us know in the comments!

When it comes to sharing photos on Instagram and Facebook, everyone has the same filters and effects. That means everyone's photos can look the same, since no one is really standing out with the special effects. Fortunately, there are some apps out there that will make your images stand out because of their unique and distinctive filters, so here they are!

• Prisma
• Fused
• LINE Camera
• PIP Camera Pro
• Popsicolor
• Waterlogue
• Olli by Tinrocket
• Bitcam

Prisma

Ever wish you could have a painted portrait of yourself, or a gorgeous sunset that you took a photo of? Prisma is the app that helps you turn your photos into works of art, literally.

Prisma features more than 300 art styles in its collection of filters (the largest collection of art filters), so you have plenty of ways to make your photo stand out from the crowd. On top of that, a new art filter is added every day, as well as some special styles every now and then. Once a filter is applied, you can further enhance the image with adjustment tools. There's also a community of artists where you can get inspiration from or submit your own work, and chat with other Prisma users.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

Fused

For something completely unique, Fused is the way to go. This app allows you to combine photos, video, or a mixture of both. In Fused, one image or video serves as the background, and the other is in the foreground as an overlay. You can adjust the blending and opacity of the two to create a double exposure effect image that is truly unlike anything else you've seen on social networks.

A good tip for Fused is to layer videos or collages for something more artistic. Or you can keep things simple with a tranquil background and a selfie for a portrait that will make others turn their head.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

LINE Camera

LINE Camera comes from LINE, the popular media and communication service that is used in Asia. This photo editing app has a ton of fun and creative effects to add to your photos.

In LINE Camera, you'll find over 100 filters to add some style to your photos, and there are over 5000 stamps that you can add for some fun flair. There is also the ability to create your own stamps as well, in case you want to get even more creative. LINE Camera also has Beauty features to help you get the perfect selfie, a collage maker, and can record video with stickers. It's an overall fun app that will appeal to anyone who loves cute things.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

PIP Camera Pro

If you take a lot of self-portraits and snapshots, then PIP Camera Pro is a handy app to have. It lets you get creative with your selfies by turning it into a pic-in-pic photo.

With PIP Camera Pro, you have a huge variety of picture-in-picture options to choose from. The classic features things like a glass bottle, glass heart, film negative, glass of water, and more. Collages feature things like magazine covers for pretty much everything, including food, landscapes and scenes, fashion, and more. These pic-in-pic images let you choose an image to use in the foreground, and the background can be the same as the foreground or different, and then you can apply effects like blurring, pixelated, and others. The result is a unique image that you don't see often in social media posts, and it will definitely help your images stand out from everyone else.

Free - Download Now

Popsicolor

Ever wonder what it would be like to paint with a melted popsicle? That's exactly what you're getting with Popsicolor, without the mess!

With Popsicolor, you can snap new photos directly or import from your Photo Library. Once you have an image, you can select the two colors that you want to use, the style, and the gradient direction. Your illustrations can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be, and they're truly unique! There is no other app that creates results quite like those you get with Popsicolor, so this is an app that you don't see often. It's a lot of fun to tinker around and see the kind of paintings you get with melted watercolor and ink effects.

$1 - Download Now

Waterlogue

Can't get enough watercolor paintings? Waterlogue is a great little app to have in your collection if you want to turn your photos into art.

With Waterlogue, you can choose between 14 different pre-set watercolor painting styles. However, you can customize and fine-tune these pre-sets even further by controlling the wetness, pen outlines, and color. There's also the ability to save a video of Waterlogue painting and transforming your photo, which is cool to watch. Once you're done, you can share your watercolor painting to your favorite social networks, or even just save it for a journal or notebook. You can even print them out and frame them for some unique art in your home.

$5 - Download Now

Olli by Tinrocket

Prefer hand-drawn art and animations? Then Olli by Tinrocket is right up your alley. This joins Popsicolor and Waterlogue in Tinrocket's repertoire of distinctive photo editing apps.

Olli allows you to work with still images and video clips. There are eight pre-set styles that you can choose from, a free supplemental style pack, and the developers offer three more style packs through in-app purchase. Just get your image or video (supports animated GIFs too) in, pick a style, and watch Olli get to work! You can share your new creation directly to your favorite social media site, or save directly to your device. The app is so easy to use so you get results in just a few taps.

$2 with in-app purchases - Download Now

Bitcam

Want a blast from the past? Then Bitcam is just what you need! It's just like the digital camera you had on your mini pocket computer back in 1996!

With Bitcam, you get a simple black and white interface that makes you feel that sense of nostalgia. Bitcam lets you take a new photo or selfie through a retro interface, and you can choose between three pixel resolutions: Super-Res (high resolution), Standard, and FattyBits. By default, the app shoots only in black and white, but you can get eight different color modes through an in-app purchase. The app also has an option in the settings for a photo that is perfect for Instagram, if you prefer.

Free with in-app purchases - Download Now

Get weird and creative!

These are some of the most unique photo filter apps that we've come across in the App Store. What are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

The latest M1 Macs, such as the ever-popular MacBook Air, have won praise for their sterling built-in webcams. But among computers in general and Macs in particular, they seem to be the exception. Chances are even your Mac webcam stinks, slathering your image with a grimy, grainy smear of poorly focused gloom. Even pricey external webcams don't always offer the pristine images they promise. And with the COVID-19 pandemic driving more of our daily lives online, looking your best for that long-distance catch-up chat or big virtual meeting certainly wouldn't hurt.

What if you had a much better webcam that could deliver pristine, beautifully color-balanced, tack-sharp video? What if it didn't cost you an additional bundle? In fact, what if it was already sitting in your pocket? As it turns out, the cameras in most iPhones — even years-old models — leave all but the highest-end external or built-in webcams eating their dust.

Reincubate's Camo turns any iOS device running iOS 12 or greater into a webcam far better than anything you'll find in most Macs. You can try it out for free and enjoy great-looking video at 720p. And for a reasonable annual subscription or lifetime fee, you can unleash your iPhone camera's full, awesome powers.

Reincubate Camo Studio: Price and availability

Camo's iOS app is always free and available on the iOS App Store. Camo Studio for Mac is available for free download at Reincubate's site, where you can also purchase a license to unlock its Pro features. Pro costs $4.99 a month, $39.99 a year, or $79.99 for a lifetime license.

Reincubate Camo Studio: What you'll like

Camo's incredibly easy to set up and use. Download the iOS app to your phone or iPad. Install Camo Studio on your Mac. Physically plug your iOS device into your Mac, fire up both apps, and Camo connects and begins streaming live video from your iOS device's camera. It uses the back camera by default, but if for some reason you really prefer the front camera, Camo's got you covered there, too. You can also use any of the built-in microphones on your iOS device for audio.

Once connected, you can close the Camo Studio window — controls remain available through a small icon in the upper right of your menu bar — and pipe your video to a host of popular apps and browsers. In Zoom, for example, you can simply select "Reincubate Camo" from your list of available cameras, and you're off and running. In addition to Zoom, I tested Camo with apps such as All Turtles' video presentation tool mmhmm and got the same great results every time. I ended up using Camo to capture professional video for my full-time job; a lifetime license cost my employer less than a supposedly high-end webcam from the company's tech supplier.

Thanks to the superior optics and processing power in even a years-old iPhone, Camo's video looks superb in the free version's 720p resolution, especially when compared to a Mac webcam. When I compared Camo at 720p to my 2017 iMac's supposedly 720p FaceTime camera, the results weren't even close. The FaceTime camera's image showed more of my torso than Camo did — I had my iPhone clipped to the top of my monitor — but looked muddy, mushy, and a sickly bluish-green. Camo and my second-generation iPhone SE captured a warmer, truer-to-life, and vastly more detailed image at the same resolution. (See the comparison below; Camo's image is on the right.)

Should you wish to fork over the cash to upgrade to Camo Studio Pro, you'll notice an even greater improvement. Depending on the power and quality of your iPhone and its camera, you'll get at least 1080p video. Reincubate says it can support higher resolutions on some more advanced iPhone models. (You can contrast my iMac's 720p FaceTime image (below left) with Camo's 1080p stream (below right).

Camo's Pro version also adds a host of fine-tuning tweaks to that image, just in case you don't like the iPhone's automatic image processing. Slider bars let you adjust shutter speed and ISO, temperature and tint, brightness, contrast, gamma, and more. If you're working with natural light, changes in cloud cover outside may sometimes throw your iPhone's automatic image processing for a loop temporarily. Camo's manual controls help you ensure a more consistent image. You can also rotate or zoom your image or add a custom watermark.

It's still in beta, but Camo's Portrait feature — your phone's smart blurring of the background to make close-up pictures pop, now applied to video in real-time — wowed me. It artfully fuzzed my surroundings out of focus while keeping my image pristine, with only a few brief and temporary errors around the edges of my head if I moved and only a few dropped frames here and there. For my rapidly aging computer, that's not too shabby at all.

That said, if you find a clutch of settings you prize for certain situations, you can save them as a custom preset so that they're never more than a pulldown menu away.

Though the app's built-in help features mostly focus on which other apps do or don't currently work with Camo Studio — along with contact information for Reincubate's support team — Reincubate's website offers extensive help files on nearly every topic you can imagine. From how to use the app to matters as far-flung as how to choose the best mounting device for your phone (seriously, Reincubate literally bought a bunch of different gadgets, then tested and rated them all), if you have a question about Camo, you'll probably find the answer here without too much trouble.

Camo's creators prize themselves on making their software as polite and unobtrusive as possible. The free version never nags or bugs you to upgrade, nor attacks you with cheap ads. The app itself, on both your iPhone and Mac, installs simply without needing to muck with the guts of your system, and if you want to get rid of it completely, you can uninstall the whole thing directly from the Camo Studio > Advanced menu.

Reincubate Camo Studio: What you won't like

Camo's only as good as the camera in your phone. Whatever you're packing will almost certainly look better than your Mac's built-in camera, but you shouldn't expect absolute perfection. Camo lets your phone do most of the image-processing work, and in my tests, I still saw blown-out highlights in some parts of the image. Tinkering with the settings in Pro mode made them go away but introduced trade-offs like slightly muddier contrast. Reincubate also doesn't make it clear, at least as far as I could tell, what it requires to support video greater than 1080p.

Apple says my iPhone SE shoots 4K video, but even in Pro mode, Camo Studio wouldn't let me go higher than full HD — a subject on which Reincubate's usually voluminous help files fell oddly silent.

Reincubate Camo Studio: Alternatives

EpocCam from Elgato offers super-simple setup — download the EpocCam Mac driver and the iOS app, make sure the two are on the same wireless network, give the app the right permissions on the phone, and you're off to the races. EpocCam offers a wireless connection, promises high-end features including a virtual green screen, and charges a modest one-time $7.99 purchase for its Pro version. Like Camo, its Mac driver is also Apple silicon-native. But unlike Camo, the free version's next to useless for anything but a tryout, limited to just 640x480 video. I wasn't impressed with its video quality, which looked darker and less color-correct in my quick tests than some other apps. And if you want to uninstall it, you'll have to search through Elgato's help files for a Terminal script to run.

NeuralCam Live offers a host of advanced AI image-processing features to enhance your image, including color grading, face tracking, and the potentially career-saving Gesture Guard, which recognizes awkward actions like picking your nose — or inadvertent nudity! — and automatically blurs them out. The free version comes with ads; paying $30 a year makes them go away and adds additional filters and enhanced low-light image capture.

Iriun works with both Android phones and iPhones and costs just a single $6.99 purchase for its pro version. Its video looked great when streamed from my phone, especially since it did so wirelessly over Wi-Fi, with no need for a physical connection. But the app offers the barest of bones, with no help files and scarcely any interface to speak of. I couldn't find any information on what distinguished its pro and free versions. And I suspect the associated plugins for the Iriun Webcam Mac app will be haunting the back alleys of my Mac long after I've deleted the app itself.

Reincubate Camo Studio: Should you get it?

At $40 a year or $80 for a lifetime license — plus $15 or more for a good way to mount your phone for use as a camera — Camo Studio Pro may offer a lot more than most people need or are willing to pay. I've seen highly rated external webcams readily available for less than that, though, in fairness, the sample video I've seen from them doesn't look nearly as good. That said, Camo Studio's also far cheaper than buying a pricey DSLR camera to hook up to your computer while still offering terrific results.

I'd recommend Camo for people at the very low or very high end of its target market. If you want a quick, free, easy way to add a great-looking webcam to a computer that lacks one, Camo's free version will work wonderfully. And if you want top-drawer image quality and precise image control from an excellently crafted app and don't mind keeping your phone tethered to your computer while you're doing so, it's probably worth your while to spring for the Pro version. Everyone between those two extremes might be better served by one of the cheaper alternatives listed above.

Reincubate Camo Studio: The bottom line

I doubt I'd regret purchasing Camo Studio Pro even if my employer hadn't reimbursed me for it. The app's been crafted thoroughly and thoughtfully to offer users a consistently pleasant experience. It's far costlier than most of its rivals, and its lack of wireless streaming might prove a dealbreaker to some users. But I love Camo Studio's ease of use, and each time I hook up my camera, I'm still blown away by how much better its video looks than the built-in alternative.

What you need to know

• Yahoo Mail has rolled out an updated iPhone app that adds support for M1 Macs.
• Mac users can now enjoy a Yahoo Mail app on their Mac.

Yahoo Mail users can now enjoy its iPhone and iPad app on their Macs — so long as those Macs have Apple silicon inside.

Made available via an update to the existing iPhone and iPad app, the new Mac version will only be available to those running M1 Macs which means those of us still rocking Intel machines are out of luck.

Yahoo lists the changes in this new update thus:

The Yahoo Mail app is now available for M1-powered Macs! It's the best way to experience email on Mac, and includes amazing features you love like:

• Easy Unsubscribe: See your mailing lists in one place & opt-out with a click
• Quick Reply: Quickly respond to emails. Get 3 short AI-powered suggestions based on the email you received.
• Custom Alerts: Only get alerts for emails you care about

Being able to run iPhone and iPad apps is one of the best Mac features brought about by putting M1 chips inside computers, although not all companies and developers make use of that option. Thankfully, Yahoo Mail users can now take advantage of features like custom alerts, quick replies, and more all from within this app.

Apple continues its rollout of M1 machines, with M1X notebooks expected to roll out soon enough. A new 14-inch MacBook Pro is expected to be joined by a larger 16-inch version before the end of the year, according to recent reports.

What you need to know

• An update to the iMazing app means it can now tell you if you're infected with the Pegasus spyware.
• Pegasus has been in the news of late because it's being used to spy on journalists and other high-profile figures.

You'd need to have been actively trying to avoid Apple news of late to have missed the furor surrounding Pegasus, a spyware tool that's being used to target journalists and other high-profile people. All of the headlines surrounding Pegasus have people wondering if their iPhones could have it installed without their knowledge. Now, an iMazing app update means it can tell you.

While it's highly unlikely that most people need to worry about someone installing Pegasus on their iPhone, it never hurts to have that added peace of mind. Previous methods of checking whether you have Pegasus installed were less than user-friendly, so this new iMazing update is a welcome one.

According to iMazing, it decided to look into adding Pegasus detection when users began to ask for it — mainly because the other methods of checking for the spyware were too complicated.

No setup or device backups are needed to make the iMazing Pegasus detection work. Users simply connect their iPhone to a computer and press a button. It doesn't get more simple than that!

The iMazing app was already one of the best Mac apps for doing all kinds of things with your iPhone — now it's better than ever thanks to a tool most people probably don't need but might want to use anyway. It's a funny old world!

You can read more about the iMazing update on the announcement post, too.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications in the world, and for good reason: it offers free international calling, messaging services to anywhere in the world, state-of-the-art security, and more. In many ways, WhatsApp has made connecting to other people around the globe significantly easier. However, the one downside to WhatsApp - and many other apps and pieces of data, for that matter - is that transferring it from Android phones to iPhones tends to be frustrating and time-consuming.

Thankfully, if you're the owner of a shiny new iPhone and you want to bring your Android-based WhatsApp data over to iOS safely and conveniently, you should look no further than MobileTrans. Here's a guide on why you should use MobileTrans to transfer your WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone, as well as how to do it.

Why use MobileTrans?

The main reason why you should use MobileTrans to transfer your WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone is because of how efficient and quick it is. Depending on how much WhatsApp data you need to move from one phone to another, the transfer process can be as quick as a few seconds. This is fantastic, as it will save you tons of time compared to alternative methods.

Depending on the plan you get, MobileTrans can be used for a lot more than just WhatsApp transfers, too, giving it plenty of extra value. With MobileTrans, you can transfer all of your phone's data to another device, even if it's on another operating system. This is extremely helpful for new iPhone owners, as they'll likely have much more than just WhatsApp data to transfer to their new phone. Also, other social apps such as WeChat and Kik are also fully supported by MobileTrans, too. Additionally, you can also use MobileTrans to back up your phone's data on your Windows or Mac device, which is incredibly convenient.

Finally, MobileTrans is a very affordable software with a starting price of $30 for yearly licenses, and lifetime licenses are only slightly more costly. With how often new phones come out each year, having software like this at the ready at all times is hugely beneficial; thanks to the fact that MobileTrans is easy on the wallet, you'll never be stuck in a situation where you need the software but can't afford to keep access to it. MobileTrans has a free trial, too, meaning that you can give it a shot before committing to payment. You can download MobileTrans here.

How to use MobileTrans to transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone

Using MobileTrans to transfer your WhatsApp from Android to iPhone is a breeze. Follow the steps below, and you'll be done in no time.

• First, launch the MobileTrans application on your computer and select the "WhatsApp Transfer" feature from the homepage. Then, connect your Android and your iPhone to the computer.

• On the MobileTrans sidebar to the left, select "WhatsApp" and then select "Transfer WhatsApp Messages" from the available options.

• MobileTrans will automatically detect your connected phones and will display one of them as "source" and the other one as "destination." Make sure that your Android phone is the source and the iPhone is the destination. If they're not correct, you can press the "Flip" button to switch them.

• Click the "Start" button to begin the data transfer. Note that if you have WhatsApp on the iPhone you're transferring data to, it will be deleted when the data from your Android phone is transferred.
• Wait until the MobileTrans software notifies you that the transfer has been finished. Once it does, you can safely disconnect your devices and begin using WhatsApp on your iPhone.

MobileTrans has you covered with just five easy steps

Thanks to how simple, efficient, and quick MobileTrans is, you can transfer your WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone in a fraction of the time it would take you to do so with other methods - and all without any inconveniences. And the best part is, you can use MobileTrans for other types of data too, such as photos, videos, music, and more. For owners of a new iPhone that want to keep what they had on Android, MobileTrans is invaluable.

If you don't want to (or can't) use a computer to transfer your WhatsApp data, you can also use Wutsapper, which is an application that allows you to complete an Android-to-iPhone WhatsApp transfer with the use of an OTG cable. Wutsapper is fast, secure, and supports all forms of WhatsApp data just like MobileTrans does, making it a superb alternative.

What you need to know

• A new report has Roblox earning more than $3,000,000 every single day from iPhone users.
• The number comes in at $92 million per month.

Roblox is the top-grossing iPhone game in the United States according to new figures, raking in more than $3 million every single day. That's $92 million each month and more than $1 billion per year.

New numbers shared by Finbold have Roblox way out in front, with Clash of Clans coming in second with $1.9 million per day. Candy Crush Sagar's $1.5 million daily revenue rounds out the top three games. Those numbers include the purchase price of the game, if there is one, as well as the in-app purchases people are buying.

As you'd imagine, Finbold is pointing the finger squarely at COVID-19 and lockdowns as the reason for such insane numbers. It's difficult to argue against as well, with people looking for new ways to entertain themselves and, more importantly, their kids.

It seems that people asking the question of "is Robox Premium worth it" have very much made up their minds in recent months.

Roblox is hugely popular for many reasons, not least the sheer variety of games available via its platform. Whether you're looking to play a car racing game or run an obstacle course, someone already made it for you.

Found yourself hooked on Roblox? The new iPad Pro is the best way to play – why not check out our list of the best iPad Pro deals today?

Zoom offers a unified communications platform that provides video meetings, voice, webinars, and chat across multiple platforms, including desktops, phones, mobile devices, and conference room systems. It's part of what makes Zoom so accessible because whether you want to use your best Mac or your best iPhone, you can video chat with anyone else who uses Zoom. Since the entire world is trying to work from home more lately, Zoom has seen increased use. If you're using Zoom for your meetings or connecting with friends and family, you can always spice things up with virtual backgrounds.

Virtual backgrounds are kind of like having a green screen behind you, meaning you can choose any picture you want to display behind you in a Zoom call. Zoom offers some built-in defaults, but you can also select a picture stored on your phone or Mac.

A tip before you get started

While Zoom is full of settings that can help you make the most out of your video chatting experience, my best advice for using virtual backgrounds during your calls is simple. Use the best webcam you have. If that's a nice external one, that's perfect — an iPhone certainly works too. The virtual background tends to work better with better cameras.

How to use virtual backgrounds in Zoom on iPhone and iPad

When you're using Zoom on iOS, you need to be in a meeting to enable virtual backgrounds.

1. Launch Zoom from your Home screen.
2. Tap New Meeting to start a meeting or Join to join a meeting.
3. Enter the required info to start or join a meeting.

4. Tap More in the bottom right corner of your screen.
5. Tap Virtual Background.
6. Tap the picture you want to use.

If you don't want to stick with the default backgrounds, you can add any image from your iPhone to Zoom and start using it as a background.

1. Launch Zoom from your Home screen.
2. Tap New Meeting to start a meeting or Join to join a meeting.
3. Enter the required info to start or join a meeting.

4. Tap More in the bottom right corner of your screen.
5. Tap Virtual Background.
6. Tap the +.

7. Tap the photo you want to use.
8. Tap Done.

How to enable virtual backgrounds for all meetings in Zoom on iPhone and iPad

By default, Zoom on iOS will only use your virtual background you selected for the meeting you are currently in; however, you can change this setting to apply to all meetings.

1. Launch Zoom from your Home screen.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Meetings.

4. Tap Keep Virtual Background for. You'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the menu to see it.
5. Tap All Meetings.

Now, whichever virtual background you have picked out will automatically apply to all meetings.

How to use virtual backgrounds in Zoom on Mac

1. Launch Zoom.
2. Click on Settings. It's the little gear icon in the top right corner of the screen.

3. Click on Virtual Background from the sidebar.
4. Click on the image you want to use as a background.

1. Launch Zoom.
2. Click on Settings. It's the little gear icon in the top right corner of the screen.

3. Click on Virtual Background from the sidebar.
4. Click on the +.

5. Find the photo you want to use.
6. Double-click on the photo you want to use as a background.

Any questions?

Let us know in the comments down below!

Updated April 2021: Updated for iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.

What you need to know

• Apple now complies with laws in Russia about pre-installing apps on devices like the iPhone.
• Users setting up a new device are now met with an App Store splash screen with options to install Russian-made apps.

A big new change to the way Apple devices are set up in Russia went live on Thursday, as the company looks to comply with laws in the country about pre-installing Russian-made apps, which came into force on Thursday.

Changes were made server-side overnight to the setup process on the iPhone and can be seen in images shared to iMore by Nikita Goryainov from iPhones.ru.

Now, users are greeted with a new App Store splash screen after the 'Welcome to iPhone' setup message which states:

Users are then met with an App Store screen with a list of 12 apps including Yandex Browser and Yandex.Maps as well as messaging service ICQ and Mail.ru.

As you can see, the changes made by Apple are much less severe and significant than it was perhaps once thought. Even though Russian laws specifically refer to the "pre-installation" of apps, these apps do not come pre-downloaded onto iOS devices, but are rather prompts for users should they wish to opt-in to download them. The change is even different from previous reports that users would be greeted with a check-box for each app that would already be ticked, at least making the downloads opt-out, rather than opt-in.

Speaking to iMore Goryainov notes there is even an 'X' in the top right-hand corner where you can skip the process altogether, leading him to believe that lawmakers might not be best pleased with the changes Apple has made, especially in contrast to a vendor like Samsung, which forces the installation of Russia's Yandex apps and doesn't allow users to delete them.

You may already have a great VPN for your iPhone, or be thinking about getting one. Either way that's a good step towards better security and personal anonymity in your digital life. But with that VPN making you appear to be someone you're not and in a different location, it will be working your iPhone harder. So should you leave your iPhone VPN connected all the time?

Yes, a VPN will have an impact your iPhone battery life as well as your data speeds. So you may want to think about how to use it so this isn't as much of an issue. Here are a few hints and tips to help you stay as secure as you need to while making sure your iPhone is useful all day.

What is your iPhone VPN for?

The use of your VPN will affect how you fire it up and how it chews your battery. We say chew, most VPNs are actually pretty power-efficient. But to save even that amount you may want to turn it off from time to time. If you're not using it for security, but rather to watch geo-restricted shows and movies on a streaming service, then you only need it only during those times.

But if your VPN is all about your security and anonymity then you're going to want to leave it on. The issue here is that iPhones can send and receive a lot of data in the background to keep you up to date. You can opt for some power saving options which may restrict that data which means less activity so the VPN remains less active, but the compromise here is that not all apps will have as much online access when your phone is locked.

If you're using a VPN on iPhone for banking or PayPal money transfers, you'll need to be careful as they can lock you out if a VPN is detected. This can be avoided by using a server that is close to your location. In these cases, again, you can connect to the VPN for the banking or money transfer and then turn it off again when you're all done.

How to save battery using an iPhone VPN

Yes, your VPN is running but that doesn't mean you have to lose a ton of battery life. Since the VPN will only really be working as a battery-intensive app while data is going in and out, cutting down on this data transfer can help. This can also help you save on data costs or help your free VPN data limit last longer.

Using your device settings, you can limit the amount of background access that apps have, either generally or by individual app. This will ensure that you save battery in general and data, but also keep your VPN workload to a minimum too.

This is a great way to keep your VPN up and running, so you're always secure, but without chomping through battery life.

What is the best VPN for iPhone?

Our overall favorite VPN is ExpressVPN but there are other great options like NordVPN and Surfshark which offer lots of options to help keep you secure without compromising battery life on your iPhone. Be sure to check out our roundup of the best VPN deals to help you save on your new subscription.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:

1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).

2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.

We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

What you need to know

• Channels for iPhone and Apple TV now supports picture-in-picture.

Channels has long been a popular app for cable cutters who want to be able to enjoy live TV content on their iPhones and Apple TVs, but there has always been on feature request above all – support for picture-in-picture. As of the latest update, that's now available to all.

Announced via blog post, the new update adds picture-in-picture support that "just works" the way users would expect it to, despite Channels using its own media player rather than Apple's native solution.

That now means that Channels users can enjoy picture-in-picture for the first time and everything will work just fine. This is a great example of a developer working around a limitation to bring a highly requested feature to its users and that should absolutely be applauded.

Here's how to make sure you have picture-in-picture enabled on your devices.

Head on over to the Channels website to check it all out.

What you need to know

• There's never been a better time to start journaling than with Maazi.

Journaling is something that I try to do a few times every year and have never really been able to make the habit stick. But I'm a sucker for a new app so when I heard about Maazi, I took note. A free download from the App Store, Maazi is a "timeline for your memories" and it could be a great way for anyone to catch the journaling habit.

The big pull of Maazi is the simple interface and user experience. All of your entires are shown in a timeline form and creating a new one is a case of tapping the big "+" button, just like you might in a social media app. Then you type out your entry, and you're done. Entries are timestamped and location data is available, too.

You can create voice recordings for your entries when typing just won't cut it, and you can protect your journal entries by putting everything behind Face ID and Touch ID. Those with multiple devices can take advantage of the free cloud syncing as well, although that syncing is handled by Firebase rather than iCloud. Why that might be, I'm not sure. But it's the one knock I'd give the app in its current form.

The full rundown of features includes:

Why not take Maazi for a spin and see if you can catch journaling like everyone else seems to have done? You can download Maazi from the App Store for free right now.

What you need to know

• Overviewer gives teachers a way to share their iPhone's camera across video calls for free.

Sometimes the best apps are those born out of necessity and that's definitely the case with Overviewer, an app created by developer Charlie Chapman. It's an app that's difficult to explain, but if you boil it down far enough it's actually really simple – Overviewer takes what your iPhone's camera sees and puts it into Zoom calls.

Why is that handy? Because the alternatives are big, costly machines and right now teachers are working remotely. Like Chapman's wife.

Those problems are pretty obvious – sharing your iPhone's screen means those on your Zoom call have to see the Camera interface, for one. Secondly, the Camera app doesn't actually rotate into landscape – it only rotates the labels – which means you're stuck in portrait. But you're stuck, no more.

You can see how the whole thing works in Chapman's video below. There's also a blog post outlining more of the details, too.

I've been playing with Overviewer for a few weeks now and despite having no use for it whatsoever, it's easy to see how someone could really benefit from it. The app works well, too, which is what you need when you're dealing with a class full of kids!

You can download Overviewer for free from the App Store now.

Three years ago, the Dutch-based Impossible Project acquired the brand and intellectual property of the long-gone Polaroid Corporation. Upon doing so, Impossible became Polaroid Originals. Three years later, the company became known as simply Polaroid. The name change comes as instant cameras have grown in popularity despite the continued rise of smartphones and other mobile devices.

As Polaroid, the company is appealing to two types of consumers. On one side are those who remember the Polaroid OneStep cameras of decades ago or have decided to embrace instant cameras for the first time. The company releases next-generation cameras such as the Polaroid Now for those folks.

Rightly so, Polaroid is also targeting the smartphone generation by making it simple to print photos at home. First came the Polaroid Lab, which lets you print photos from your iPhone onto traditional Polaroid film. Now there's the Polaroid Hi-Print, a next-generation Bluetooth pocket photo printer that also works with your mobile devices, but uniquely.

Great presentation

Polaroid Hi-Print: What I like

Weighing only 0.55 Ibs, the Polaroid Hi-Print measures just 1.06-by-5.9-by-3.13-inches. It prints 2.1-by-3.4-inch images that use special dye-sublimation technology to print your photos using the free Hi-Print app. Each print has a sticky back that's easy to peel. Each box of printing paper contains two individually wrapped all-in-one cartridges that contain 10 sheets each. This is not the traditional Polaroid film that works with the OneStep series of cameras.

You'll see one sheet of the special photo paper move automatically inside and out of the machine four times as colors, and a protective layer gets added during the printing process. The process is duplicated digitally on the app, which adds to the experience. Some might see these passes as more gimmicky than practical. The result, however, is a colorful, eye-popping print that's crisp and clear. Each sheet takes around 60 seconds to print. Traditional Polaroid film takes up to 15 minutes to finish developing.

Before printing, you can use the Hi-Print app to add special characters and designs, including text and frames. It's a nice touch and geared towards teenagers and creatives alike. Since its launch, the Hi-Print app has received various software updates that have added new features. I would expect more of the same in the coming months as the Hi-Print gains more users.

Instant Polaroid film was never designed to duplicate the high-quality of professional photography. Instead, the appeal has always focused on the instant part. In recent years, if you weren't using a traditional Polaroid instant camera (with the iconic film), you probably had a low-cost instant camera that supported Zink INK paper.

Zink INK, which was created within the old Polaroid Corporation in the 1990s, is a full-color printing technology that doesn't require cartridges and prints in a single pass. Today, you'll find Zink INK-supported instant cameras and printers from companies like HP, Canon, and others. Some previously released cameras sporting the Polaroid name also used Zink INK, although they were never made by the company formerly called Impossible.

If you're familiar with Zink INK, understand that Polaroid's newer dye-sublimation technology is better and produces clearer images. It's also better than traditional Polaroid film. However, it's expensive, as you will see below.

Price of film

Polaroid Hi-Print: What I don't like

Polaroid cameras have never been expensive. However, the same could never be said about Polaroid film. Even today, the traditional Polaroid film runs about $2 per print! The hefty price tags have been extended to the Hi-Print paper, although they are lower. A box of 20 sheets costs about $1 per print. For this, you get 2.1-by-3.4-inch prints versus 3.1-by-3.1-inch prints for traditional Polaroid film.

As noted, Hi-Prints are better than traditional Polaroid photos. Yet, this might be a negative for some since it doesn't recreate the original Polaroid experience. Additional, there's no denying the size difference between the two.

The competition

The Polaroid Lab Instant Printer is an interesting alternative to the Polaroid Hi-Print. Using the official Polaroid app, you can print images already on your iPhone using traditional Polaroid film. The Polaroid Lab Instant Printer is more expensive than the Polaroid Hi-Print. The original film is also more expensive. And yet, if you're looking for a way to print iPhone photos as traditional Polaroid prints, this is the way to go.

Polaroid Hi-Print: Should you buy

You want a quick, sticky experience

Prints are finished in around 60 seconds compared to 15 minutes for a traditional Polaroid print. Plus, remember the Hi-Prints have a sticky back.

Great price

You can get a Polaroid Hi-Print for $100 or $125 with extra paper. For a high-quality instant printing solution, these are reasonable prices. Watch for occasional sales that will bring these prices down.

Tiny size, easy to move

The Polaroid Hi-Print is small enough to fit in a pocket so that you can print from anywhere.

The original Polaroid experience is what you want

If you want to take traditional Polaroid prints, get a Polaroid OneStep Now instant camera, or buy a Polaroid Lab Instant Printer.

Want a cheaper solution

Instant cameras that support Zink INK provide a less expensive solution. And yet, the prints aren't nearly as good.

The Polaroid Hi-Print is for anyone who wants to print high-quality images very quickly. It's not for anyone looking to save money or want a more traditional Polaroid experience.

Those beautiful iPhone photos deserve to get printed. To get the job done, consider the Polaroid Hi-Print. The all-in-one solution is easy to use, portable, and fun. There are cheaper solutions, however.

Election Day 2020 is finally here in the United States. When all the votes get counted, we're going to learn who the president will be for the next four years and who controls the House of Representatives and Senate for the next two. You don't necessarily have to be in front of a television tonight to see the returns come in. Instead, you can use your iPhone. Here's how.

Go Vote!

If you haven't yet done so, get out and vote. Once you do, get ready for a long night of watching election returns from your iPhone. Happy voting!