My must-have iPhone Apps for 2018
At the beginning of every year, I spend some time reflecting on the Apps I used the most in the last 12 months. I review my iPhone and iPad homescreen, remove unused apps, sort folders and most importantly I write down a list of what I think are the most useful and essential in my daily routine.
The following list is nothing but a glimpse into what tools I use the most, with the purpose of sparking your imagination and give you an idea or insight into how you can do things better.
With my daily workflow, I operate with a vast number of apps, so I’ll mention only the ones that I really couldn’t work/live without.
What Apps I use the most, and why
I can’t stop trying out new apps on all my devices. It’s a terrible addiction. Fortunately, my job allows me to analyze and test many apps to learn about usability and interface design.
Things: In 2017 I switched back to Things due to the semplicity of its user experience on the iPhone App. The first 6 months of 2017 belonged to Todoist. I really loved it, especially its cross-device capability that allowed me to shift between iOS and Android with no hassle. Another feature that Things misses is the ability to collaborate on shared lists. Todoist was incredibly handy since it allowed me to have multiple lists shared with colleagues, friends, and relatives.
Even if it lacks of features, Things ended up as my most used App in 2017 due to it’s simplicity. Things is incredibly polished and it looks outstanding on iOS 11 and iPhone X.
Before Todoist, OmniFocus was my go-to app for all kind of task management. Whether it’s work-related or personal planning, I always rely on the powerful suite from The Omni Group. However, Omnifocus is bloated with pro-user functionalities that I wasn’t actively using. When I need to rely on complex project management tools, I use advanced platforms such as Jira, making Omnifocus pointless.
Things is elegant, aesthetic and calming. A must-have.
Due: This is probably my most used app of all time. A true lifesaver. While I rely on Things for planning, Due is simply great for all of the tasks I tend to procrastinate. The Apple Watch App is a great addition and makes it reliable.
Bear: Bear is a beautiful, flexible writing app for crafting notes, prose, code and now sketches! Bear is perfect for everything from quick notes to in-depth essays. A focus mode helps you concentrate, and advanced Markdown and other markup options are an online writer’s best friend. Full in-line image support brings your writing to life, and keep yourself on task by adding todos to individual notes. I’m writing this post on Bear itself.
Moleskine+ Notes and Evernote: Note-taking makes me focus on capturing big ideas. To write and draw makes the activity fun and enjoyable. I’m a bullet journal enthusiast. Every day I set 20 minutes to capture concepts, ideas, thoughts, and emotions on my Moleskine+ Notebook. The pages are automatically synced with my Evernote. It’s also great for quick wireframing.
DayOne: I do try my best to keep a personal Journal. Day One lets me achieve this. It helps me archive memories with its non-intrusive notifications and input system that works on all my devices.
Work Essentials
Microsoft Outlook: Since I work for a big company, being able to access my Microsoft Exchange ecosystem of services is mandatory. Outlook lets you bring all your email accounts and calendars in one convenient spot. Whether it’s staying on top of your inbox or scheduling the next big thing, we make it easy to be your most productive, organized, and connected self.
Microsoft Teams: Even if it’s a Slack ripoff, my team relies on Teams due to its synergy with the Microsoft suite. Thanks to Teams I’m able to communicate in the moment and keep everyone in the know. It allows you to stay connected with chat, calls, and meetings within your team and in private or small group conversations. Most importantly it syncs up with my calendar allowing me to schedule and join online Skype meetings with HD video, VoIP, and dial-in audio conferencing options. You can also share your files, apps or desktop in online meetings and review the important moments later with transcriptions of recorded content.
Fantastical: Fantastical relies on natural language to quickly create events and reminders. The user experience is amazing. Fantastical’s DayTicker is the efficient and enjoyable way to view your schedule. Make sense of your upcoming schedule and quickly swipe to see the past and the future.
Mindnode: Something I love doing during my usual creative process is defining mind maps. MindNode makes mind-mapping incredibly easy. Creating a visual representation of my ideas has never been so easy.
Utilities
1Password: This is probably the first app I install on any device I get. They couldn’t make this password manager more perfect.
Forest: I’ve always been a fan of the Pomodoro Technique. Recently I downloaded Forest. If you want to temporarily put down your phone and focus on what’s more important in real life, you can plant a seed in Forest. As time goes by, this seed will gradually grow into a tree. However, if you cannot resist the temptation of using your phone and leave the app, your tree will wither. The sense of achievement and responsibility will encourage you to stay away from your phone, and will help you make better use of your time.
Carrot Weather: I’ve been a longtime fan of Weather Line. However. I fell in love with the personality of this app. CARROT Weather is a crazy-powerful weather app that delivers hilariously twisted forecasts.
From spooky fog to torrential downpours, CARROT’s dialogue, characters, and scenery change in… “unexpected” ways. You’ll actually be looking forward to a blizzard just to see what CARROT has in store for you. It’s so much fun.
Scanbot: Without any doubt, Scanbot is the best mobile scanner app for documents and QR codes. You can create high-quality PDF or JPG scans with just one tap. Send files via email or as a fax. Upload them to iCloud Drive, Box, Dropbox, Evernote and other cloud services.
Photo and Video
Adobe Lightroom: Adobe Lightroom CC for mobile is a free app that gives you a powerful, yet simple solution for capturing, editing and sharing your photos. And you can upgrade for premium features that give you precise control with seamless access across all your devices — mobile, desktop and web. Being an Adobe Cloud user I deeply rely on the App to sync my photos and edit them on the go. You can even copy your custom presets from one photo to an other.
Snapseed: When I need some further in-depth editing for my photos, my go-to app is Snapseed. It’s so powerful and immediate that I sometimes don’t miss having Photoshop with me.
Photopills: PhotoPills is your personal assistant in all photographic matters. It provides tasty remedies to help you answer most of the questions when planning and shooting your creative ideas. PhotoPills is like having a Swiss Army Knife for all photography matters in your pocket, at your service. PhotoPills is definitely a must have for (but not only) landscape photographers.
Google Photo: While I pay for iCloud to back up all of my files and photos on my iDevices, I find Google Photos to be incredibly reliable. It’s so great to browse trough my entire library of pictures. Having “unlimited” storage is bliss.
Flic: Clean up valuable storage memory on your phone by easily deleting pictures from your camera roll with ease. Just swipe left to delete, right to keep. Easy swipe deletion is 5x faster than deleting from camera roll and more fun!
BONUS: Where can you find my wallpaper?
Since my first PC, I always liked to craft my own wallpapers. There was a time when studying design that I gave myself a task to create a custom wallpaper every week. My current wallpaper showcases a drone shot of the shores of La Digue, Seychelles.
You can download it below:
