I’m an explorer by nature. I love trying new things and discovering hidden treasures. This extends to every area of my life… Including iPhone apps. When it comes to apps, I’m always on the lookout for something new and exciting. As I write this I’m counting 67 apps installed on my phone (including the default Apple apps).
With all of the exploring, there are a few standouts that last for more than a month or two. These are my favorite iPhone apps right now.
I’ve been on Twitter for six years, but it wasn’t until this year that I finally started to ‘get’ it. I made myself a rule that I would respond to every post from every person I follow.
The difference has been night and day. I’m not sure why it took so long for me to catch on to the simple fact: social networks are meant to be social.
Why did Twitter make the list, but not Facebook? I check Facebook once on my laptop and I’m good. Twitter is more immediate, and so the app is more useful.
Snapchat
I love Snapchat. I’ve had so much fun with this app, and definitely seen how it can be used to reach a lot of people in a personal way.
Unfortunately I’ve been totally inactive on my Story for several months because of battery issues with my phone. Still, I’ve continued to use the chat feature almost exclusively, replacing iMessage and Facebook Messenger. Snapchatting is the future, and I’m happy about that.
Enlight
I’ve been a photography buff and photo editor for a long time. I used Photoshop to edit my photos, and I always thought it would be awesome if I could do the same on my iPhone. Then I found Enlight. Enlight has the photo grading tools of Instagram and other stuff, but it also includes cutting, splicing, text overlays, brushes… It’s incredibly full-featured. If you need to create graphics from photos on your iPhone, this is the app for you.
Splice
I use my iPhone to shoot videos, but I always had to upload them to my computer and edit them there. Splice is the solution to that. It’s low on features, but I’m fine with that. All I needed was a way to splice videos together and add background music and a title, and Splice does that flawlessly.
Moment & Focus
I’m grouping these two apps together because they’re made by the same guy and they have the same objective: getting you to be aware of the time spent on your phone.
I installed Moment to track how much screen time I get in a day. I’m averaging around 2.5 hours on my phone, with some days going as high as 5.
Focus is similar, but for driving; it tracks how long you’ve driven with your phone screen unlocked, and gives you audio reminders to lock your phone if you’re driving.
I’ll probably remove both of these apps soon, as they’ve done their job. They’re definitely worth it in my estimation. If you do try them out, let me know what your average screen time is.
Apps that I’ve tried this year but didn’t make it to my favorites: Hound, musical.ly, Simple Habit, Telegram, and Anchor.
Apps that I’ve installed but still haven’t used include Service, Google Cardboard, and Gyroscope.
I’m always on the lookout for new iPhone apps to try. Do you have one that you think I should see? Send me a tweet or a Snap and let me know!