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The Best iPhone Apps To Download Now
These are our must-have iPhone apps
Whether you just picked up a new iPhone or you're looking for an app revamp, these apps belong on your home screen. Including everything from music, navigation, organisation, messaging, photo editing, reading, social networks, keyboards, stargazing, and payment apps, these pieces of software will turn an iOS device into a pro-level computing machine.
1Password
Remembering a unique password for every app and service you use is a nearly impossible task, and you should be using unique passwords. 1Password's new mobile version syncs with the desktop app to help keep your accounts safe by creating and storing a different secure password for all the services you use — all you have to remember is one password.
Google Maps
If you don't have Google Maps, then chances are you're currently going the wrong way. Fifteen years since its launch it's still the gold standard for global travel, and to celebrate that anniversary Google is introducing a host of new features, including an augmented reality Live View option and crowdsourced information for for public travel.
Chrome
Every iPhone ships with Apple's suite of apps. However, if you happen to love Apple's hardware but not so much its software, the first switch you should make is your browser. Google's Chrome is the most popular browser of them all—and for a good reason. Chrome comes with a great incognito mode and other features that make web-surfing on your phone less of a pain. It's also constantly updated and is just one of the most jam-packed browsers out there.
Google Photos
Apple's come a long way with its photo app, but it still lags behind the one built by its biggest competitor. Google Photos is a super-smart photo assistant that can store all your images in the cloud (a very less frustrating version of iCloud), and also intelligently organise photos using machine vision so all your snaps are searchable. Also, it creates mini-films when it notices a lot of photos from the same day or location. It's simply the best out there.
Glastonbury Festival App
As essential as Wellington boots and Bowie make-up, the Glastonbury Festival App has become something you simply don’t want to attend the World’s Greatest Festival without. In collaboration with EE, the technology partner of Glastonbury Festival, it’s been completely updated for 2019. Not only can you check the line-up, plan and share your own schedule with friends and stay on top of breaking news and updates, it now includes new interactive maps, a low power mode to keep you connected for longer and, for those watching from home, (or even on site) personalised BBC iPlayer and Apple Music integration. You can also drop map pins, so you can locate your tent, car, best friend, etc. In short, it’s your pocket companion for the whole wild, wonderful weekend. Best of all? It’s free.
OTRO
OTRO ('other' in Spanish, FYI) boasts exclusive content from the world's best footballers, such as Lionel Messi and Neymar, as well as bonafide legends like David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Eric Cantona. We're talking short films, interesting mini-docs and interviews that prove a lot more revealing than your average "we gave 110%" post-match bore-athons.
Sky Guide
To understand your place in the universe—and not just the world—Star Guide is an indispensable app. It shows you the locations of stars, planets, and constellations through an AR-like interface. Simply point the phone in any direction, and your display will show you the names of the stars and planets that you can see. If you want to try a free version, you can also check out SkyView for free.
Snapchat
Snapchat isn't just for millennials anymore. People of all ages are using the app to keep up with what their friends are doing. The app isn't just for individuals anymore, either. Quite a few larger publications are on here now, making Snapchat more useful for keeping up to date on news and events as well as what your best buds had for lunch.
You can send individual messages within the app or build or view Snapchat Stories, which contain a series of posts.
World's Fittest App
There's plenty of bogus advice out there when it comes to health and fitness, so it's best to listen to the experts. Men's Health and adventurer Ross Edgley have collaborated to create an app packed with tried-and-tested 12-week training plans, alongside easy-to-follow video tutorials.
Instapaper or Pocket
Reading on the internet can be an overwhelming experience with social networks, messaging, email, and personal assistants all serving up possible reads. Instapaper and Pocket help tame that information deluge. Pocket tends to be best with multimedia while Instapaper guns for the perfect reading experience no matter what.
Dark Sky
It's not raining now, but should you bring your umbrella with you for a quick coffee run across the street? Dark Sky knows. The app is able to predict weather for your exact location, not just your city, down to the minute. The app also features stunningly beautiful maps bound to bring out everyone's inner weather nerd. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, Weather Underground is also a solid choice.
Spotify
Everything is better with music. With the purchase of a premium plan, Spotify allows you to listen to your favourite songs on demand. The app has a radio option for when you want to discover new tunes, great playlists like "Discover Weekly" and "Release Radar," and allows you to sync music to your phone to listen offline. Download a few playlists over Wi-Fi before you head out on a trip and don't worry about getting a big charge on your next phone bill. If you want a no-ads experience, be prepared to pay £10 a month, but Spotify's selection makes it more than worth it.
Evernote
Evernote is essentially a virtual notebook you have with you everywhere—perfect for downloading whatever is bouncing around in your brain. You can make notes directly in the app, save images and articles from the web, upload pages from physical notebooks, and track tasks. Evernote can even handle audio files. The best part? Everything you add to Evernote is searchable, so you can find it next week (or even five years from now) quickly and easily.
Workflow or IFTTT
These apps are for pros but can make your smartphone experience one of a kind. The app creates, well, workflows with a series of "actions" that can do all sorts of things. Essentially, you create mini-apps that you can then run in an app, home screen or share extension. If all of this sounds somewhat daunting, you can also try out IFTTT (If This Then That), which also helps automate the ins and outs of your smartphone life.
Prisma
One of the app darlings of 2016, Prisma is a photo filter app that's unlike any other. Instead of tinting your photos which any photo app can do, Prisma loads incredibly detailed filters—many mimicking famous artists—to create truly unique pics. It's also been updated to support video and the most impressive thing about the app is that all of these effects can be applied super quickly, so you can share your latest creation as soon as possible.
Google Assistant
Siri is fine for menial tasks, but it doesn't have the smarts of Google Search behind it. Google Assistant, pulled straight from the soul of Android, is a must-have app for someone inclined to use Google services, like Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Maps. It can also help keep track of events and flight information buried in your email. It's the assistant Siri wishes it could be.
Overcast or Pocket Casts
We're in the middle of a podcast renaissance, and you need the right tools to listen effectively. Overcast and Pocket Casts are your best options for iOS. Although Overcast is free compared to Pocket Casts, they share a similar feature set though Pocket Casts has a slightly better design. Either way, you'll be a happy listener.
Signal
End-to-end encryption is what you should be looking for in any messenger you use. Although popular options like WhatsApp and Allo offer the feature, it's Signal from Open Whisper Systems that really gets the tech right.
WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) and Allo (made by Google) are companies with an incentive to gather data on its users (they also store data), but Signal has no business model and exists just through donations and grants. If the government comes knocking for your information, Signal has absolutely nothing to give them, which is exactly the kind of chat protection you want.
Square Cash
Splitting a bar tab with friends can be a huge pain, especially when no one thought to bring cash with them. Cash is an app by Square that instantly transfers money between friends, for free, even between different banks. Using the app requires everyone involved sign up and connect their debit card — afterward you can pay your friends back instantly with just a few taps on your phone. In most cases, the money automatically deposits in your buddy's bank account and is instantly accessible. At most, they'll have to wait 1 to 2 business days for the deposit to clear. Of course, you could always try Venmo as well.
Snapseed
The best camera is the one you have on you, but the pictures it takes might not always come out as well as you like. With Snapseed, you can do basic image editing right from your phone, to make it look as good as possible. We're not talking about just adding filters—tweak your white balance, adjust the exposure, boost the highlights, scale back the shadows, and on and on. It's a great way to get your pictures Instagram-perfect without having to sit down at the computer
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