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[mstevens]

I've been on a kick recently about owning things "on purpose". Whether it is a nice pair of boots, a kitchenaid mixer I got for my fiance, or anything else that will last pretty much forever, I want to be more selective about the things that exist inside my living space.

I think this philosophy could translate into the digital world as well. I tend to download lots of apps, some of which stick and some of which just rot away, and I'd like to sort of cultivate a premium vibe on my iPhone, sticking with apps that do something I specifically need and do their job damn well.

Some recommendations I'd make to start things off:

Simplenote - Very clean interface and an easy way to keep track of different lists without any clutter what-so-ever
Overcast - This is a podcast app that, again, has a very clean UI here. My favorite feature is called "Smart speed" which shortens any dead time so that it still sounds natural. It keeps track of how much time you've saved by doing that (not even counting speeding up the podcasts) and I've saved 31 hours so far.
Tiny Scanner - This thing was a life saver when I've had to upload family photos or documents for work. It works incredibly well.
Charity miles - Any time you go for a run or bike ride, just turn on this app and it will donate a specific amount to a charity of your choice depending on how far you go. It reminds me of Jump Rope for Heart when I was a kid.

What apps do you think really deliver on their promise? What apps would you recommend to almost anyone?

 

[unpopularblargh]

Pocketcasts: The best podcast app.
Google Keep: Simple yet efficient note/list app
Textra: Alternative SMS/texting app with a boatload of great features and configs.

 

[Frustrated_me]

Messages: WhatsApp
Reddit client: Reddit is fun (RIF)

 

[FlaygletheBagel]

Pocketcasts: The best podcast app.
Google Keep: Simple yet efficient note/list app
Textra: Alternative SMS/texting app with a boatload of great features and configs.

Came here to post all of these. I use Google Keep literally every day. Pocketcasts also has the feature OP was mentioning, the one that skips dead noise in the podcast. Really good stuff.

 

[Vanillalite]

Google Authenticator
Blizzard Authenticator
MS Authenticator

Enables 2step, they support offline, and no need for SMS. Also Nintendo now supports the Google one. Just waiting on Sony...

Discord

It's basically the next level gaming chat app we all wanted TS or Vent or Mumble to be. Plus is great for regular group chat as well.

Samsung Pay

Next level wizardry for mobile payment over Apple and Android pay plus you earn reward points on top of whatever your card usually gives you

 

[opticalmace]

Anyone used both AntennaPod and PocketCasts? I'm using the former but curious what the latter might offer if I forked up some cash.

 

[Vanillalite]

Anyone used both AntennaPod and PocketCasts? I'm using the former but curious what the latter might offer if I forked up some cash.

My three most used 3rd party apps are Discord, Spotify, and Pocket Casts.

I just love the interface, the options, the frequent updates, and all of the extras.

That being said I've heard it's the GOAT on Android, but not on iOS as many prefer Overcast.

 

[Future]

Anylist. Make a bunch of lists. Synch them with my wife. Can access on the web. Can read recipes on websites and import them directly in the app or web app to save. Then I can select the recipe and add individual ingredients to any of my lists. I can add items to a Reminders list on iOS that default imports these items into anylist. I use this app almost every day

Drafts. Simple fast text field with easy import in a multitude of apps

Downcast for podcasts. Everyone mentions overcast but that never worked for me because it was hard to work with my downcast flow. I think it was hard to set files to stream only starting from a specific podcast number or something. With downcast I set most video podcasts to stream only so I don’t waste the phone space, and set a few audio only ones for download. Then I create two playlists for downloaded and not, and order by date and podcast preference. Worked flawlessly for years and they’ve supported it forever without any forced upgrade costs

 

[mstevens]

Anylist. Make a bunch of lists. Synch them with my wife. Can access on the web. Can read recipes on websites and import them directly in the app or web app to save. Then I can select the recipe and add individual ingredients to any of my lists. I can add items to a Reminders list on iOS that default imports these items into anylist. I use this app almost every day

I may have to look into this one. My fiance and I really want to have two things: a sync'd calendar, and a sync'd list for shopping and things like that. I found an app called "FamCal" that is free and has both of those things, but I don't love the ui.

If anylist is as great as you say it is, I just need a calendar app that syncs across multiple users. I'm trying to stay away from google for several reasons, so google calendar is off the board. I've heard fantastical 2 is great but I don't think it does what I'm talking about.

 

[BlastProcessing]

Castro is the most thoughtfully designed app I've ever used. It handles things in a fundamentally different way than other podcast amazing solution. lt around a triage system that sends new podcasts to an inbox. From there you can easily shift episodes to your playlist or archive them. For people who subscribe to a ton of podcasts, it's an amazing solution.

It also has little touches like the best use of notifications I've seen in any app, the best night mode, the best drag and drop implementation in iOS 11, and the best play controls I've come across.

I found Overcast to be a bit infuriating, actually. I don't like the layout. The most prime UI real estate is dedicated to annoying ads which creates two problems. First it makes things harder than they should be and even worse, it makes it way too easy to accidentally click on the damn ads. I think it's actually an incredibly cheap move to make the app worse to incentive you to either, generate accidental click based ad income or annoy you into paying to make the ads go away. The third time I accidentally clicked an ad I uninstalled. Never again.

I also really dig Carrot weather, which is really well done and has the best Apple Watch Complications I've come across.

 

[Giolon]

Heartfeed - This app was built by 1 guy to replace the once phenomenal Pulse News Reader after LinkedIn purchased, systematically compromised, and finally abandoned it. It's a brilliant tablet/phone RSS reader that presents a compact, no bullshit grid of titles and thumbnails for any number of sources that you like with support for categories. This has been hands down my #1 most used daily app on my iOS devices for the last nearly 2 years (and if you count when Pulse was good, 10 years almost). The app is free with no ads, but there's a limit on the number of feeds that you can pay $2.99 one time to remove.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/heartfeed-rss-reader/id1078754321?mt=8

 

[Quick]

I've been thinking about this recently - what apps do their job really well and what easily translates to practical use.

Atom Tickets (iOS/Android): Might be the best movie tickets app out there. I can buy my tickets and concession immediately, as well as cancel my tickets for a refund with ease. This is my first thought when I read "do their job damn well."

My real world experience: I pick a movie, select the time and which seat I'd like to sit in, then pick out my snacks, check the summary and pay via Apple Pay. A QR code appears and the app lets me save it on my iPhone's Wallet app for easy access. I'll occasionally pick a different seat, which the app lets me do even after paying.

After I've settled on my decision, I go to the theatre. When I'm close enough, my iPhone automatically lets me swipe the ticket open from my lockscreen (or I double click the home button) and the ticket shows up. I get it scanned to check in, and I'm notified by the app that my concessions are being prepared. I immediately go to the designated Atom ticket holder lineup at concessions (which is usually empty vs. the crowd lined up), get the ticket scanned again, and pick up my snacks. This is all in the span of less than five minutes usually.

 

[ThisOne]

I've been thinking about this recently - what apps do their job really well and what easily translates to practical use.

Atom Tickets (iOS/Android): Might be the best movie tickets app out there. I can buy my tickets and concession immediately, as well as cancel my tickets for a refund with ease. This is my first thought when I read "do their job damn well."

My real world experience: I pick a movie, select the time and which seat I'd like to sit in, then pick out my snacks, check the summary and pay via Apple Pay. A QR code appears and the app lets me save it on my iPhone's Wallet app for easy access. I'll occasionally pick a different seat, which the app lets me do even after paying.

After I've settled on my decision, I go to the theatre. When I'm close enough, my iPhone automatically lets me swipe the ticket open from my lockscreen (or I double click the home button) and the ticket shows up. I get it scanned to check in, and I'm notified by the app that my concessions are being prepared. I immediately go to the designated Atom ticket holder lineup at concessions (which is usually empty vs. the crowd lined up), get the ticket scanned again, and pick up my snacks. This is all in the span of less than five minutes usually.

Sounds complicated.

 

[Froxenblade]

Pocket Casts for podcasts
Zero for tracking fasting (only iOS)
Oak for meditation (only iOS)
Way of Life for habit tracking
Google Photos for photos
Outlook for email (surprisingly)
Signal for encrypted messaging
Reeder for RSS (only iOS)
Things for to do lists (only iOS)

This thread makes me reflect on how many lackluster apps I have to use on a daily basis. There is no "perfect" calendar app, macro tracking app, note taking app...

 

[mid83]

Any major differences between Overcast, Pocket Casts and Downcast for iOS? I’ve always used the default podcasts app but I really don’t like the iOS 11 changes. The one thing keeping me on Podcasts was knowing that pretty much everybody posts their podcasts on iTunes (or whatever we call it these days).

 

[mrklaw]

Any major differences between Overcast, Pocket Casts and Downcast for iOS? I’ve always used the default podcasts app but I really don’t like the iOS 11 changes. The one thing keeping me on Podcasts was knowing that pretty much everybody posts their podcasts on iTunes (or whatever we call it these days).

For pocket casts if you need to sync between platforms it is convenient (they have a web player so that is very useful if you’re away from your phone). The UI is simple and I’m in love with ‘up next’ combined with the granularity of the rules

- want some podcasts automatically download but others not? No problem
- want to automatically add a newly downloaded episode of a podcast to the ‘up next’ queue? Ok
- auto download x number of I played and auto delete after playing? Sure

Once I’ve tuned to my liking I basically never touch it and just hit play - my queue is always ready to go. Maybe I rearrange episodes depending on my mood, or if Doug Loves Movies just dumped a ton of episodes close together and I want to space them out a bit

 

[sirap]

Pocketcast = hands down the best podcast app on Android
Tweetbot = my go to twitter app for iOS

 

[SmackCrackleNPop]

Podcasts: Overcast for iOS, it might be because I got used to it and can't change, but also Smart Speed is great. Pocketcasts is super good too, has the same features, and more universal.

Sports: TheScore, all scores and updates (both)

Notes: I use the stock iOS one, it works great for what I need

To Do/GTD: Things for iOS

Maps: Google Maps or Waze

Calendar: Fantastical for iOS, I like that I can type in an appointment and it puts it in my calendar. Also integrates reminders into it as well as letting you choose a default map app for when you need directions.

Reddit: Narwhal for iOS, default Reddit app for Android.

Looks like I lead a boring but organized life, lol.

 

[mstevens]

Calendar: Fantastical for iOS, I like that I can type in an appointment and it puts it in my calendar. Also integrates reminders into it as well as letting you choose a default map app for when you need directions.

Is there any way to sync fantastical across multiple users?

 

[SmackCrackleNPop]

Is there any way to sync fantastical across multiple users?

It uses the calendars you already have (iCloud, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) so I think you'd need to set up a shared calendar on one of those services first. When you enter entries in Fantastical you can indicate which calendar you want to enter it into. my default is just iCloud - Personal. BUt I do use a shared one for work and it works there.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Another couple of votes for Textra and Pocket Casts on Android.

I'm also a big fan of FX File Explorer on Android.

 

[Qvoth]

airdroid to transfer files between phone and computer without using a cable, don't need to install anything on your pc
i think it has arrived on ios recently

 

[LORANT92]

Flamingo for Twitter.

Email by Edison for emails because it's the only one that doesn't look and handle like absolute dogshit now that Newton is $60 a year.

Aftership for package tracking.

 

[Ikon]

Discord is amazing for finding people to play

Spoiler

Destiny 2

with. Also really good as a chat client.

Also, I've only ever used the built in iOS Podcasts app. I think it does everything I would want. All these mentions of other apps are making me really curious about what more I should be expecting!

 

[Ri'Orius]

Perhaps a bit too niche, but I'll take any opportunity I can get to plug Chwazi. You open the app, everyone puts a finger on it, it picks one person at random. Great for board games and the like. Simple, easy: it does exactly one thing, incredibly well.

 

[| Praxis |]

Poweramp for music
Pocket Casts for podcasts
BlueMail for organising multiple email accounts
Unified Remote to remotely control my PC

 

[Kadin]

Subscribed! Don't have time to look through all the responses but this will be a great thread to read through soon. Good idea OP.

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

Snapseed - The best photo editor on mobile i have seen and consistently improves over time. I use it on my chromebook as well. An amazing amount of tools available. I haven't had to sit at my computer to edit photos in a couple of years now. Its on android, not sure if its on IOS.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Snapseed - The best photo editor on mobile i have seen and consistently improves over time. I use it on my chromebook as well. An amazing amount of tools available. I haven't had to sit at my computer to edit photos in a couple of years now. Its on android, not sure if its on IOS.

It is and it has been a mainstay app for all my iOS devices for years now. It's great.

 

[Aske]

Is there an iOS podcast app that allows me to import podcast files via filesharing in iTunes? The default app went to shit with the recent update, and shows no signs of being patched. I've got missing art, files that display as something but are actually something else, and worst of all, no matter what I do, I can't make files continue to play without manually selecting "play next" every time. Instead of going to the next episode automatically, playback stops dead after every episode. Not what I want while driving.

But I need to be able to import my own podcasts into the app. I have lots of files that are no longer available to stream/download saved and backed up, so I need a more flexible podcast app than most users.


Edit: My recommendations:

Spark, for email. Love the UI, the Smart Inbox, and it works flawlessly with all my email accounts.

Nightstand, for a clock/photoframe with a gorgeous icon. I use the official Clock app for alarms, but if my phone is charging, it's displaying Nightstand.

Comic Glass, for comics. All the display options you want. Simple and clean. Very easy to dump your files into the app and just go, but if you want to tinker, there are plenty of options for you under the hood.

 

[Link1110]

Are you sick of music apps that want you to use their online music services and make it more annoying to use your local music with each update? Grab JVC smart music control now. No online functionality at all, just an easy way to pay music already on your phone.

Just make sure to force quit it if you want to use retroarch. The two do NOT like each other.

 

[LyleLanley]

I'm looking for a new podcast app, Downcast has been frustrating lately. I'd like to be able to queue up podcasts and I need an app that works on iOS and Android and syncs between multiple devices. Is Pocket Casts the way to go?

 

[Moonkid]

Smart Voice Recorder for Android.

 

[Trunx28]

GoodReader. Great for PDFs and other stuff. Even unzips. And syncs to your ipad.

 

[wetflame]

Comic Glass, for comics. All the display options you want. Simple and clean. Very easy to dump your files into the app and just go, but if you want to tinker, there are plenty of options for you under the hood.

I'd recommend ComicRack if you have a lot of comics to manage - they have an iTunes style library app for PC you can import your collection to, it can download metadata, organise your collection based on your own sorting criteria, you can automatically sync with the Android/iOS apps choosing which lists to sync and how many comics etc. It's a few more steps to jump though at first as you can't really just drop comics into the app and read them, but it's definitely way more useful if you have a large collection of different comics and want to keep things organised well.

 

[True Fire]

IFTTT for social media automation, home automation, and doing really cool things with voice assistants.

 

[TheOGB]

Poweramp and Textra are 2 of the only apps that I've found were worth paying for.

 

[TimmmV]

Just to add another good thing about pocketcasts: Sonos have recently added it as a service on their speakers, so you can be listening on your phone while out, pause it and then pick it up again from your Sonos when you get home. The syncing isnt quite there yet, but it still works quite well, my GF and I use it all the time

 

[Hoo-doo]

Overcast really frustrates the hell out of me. For some reason I cannot for the life of me choose to just stream podcasts without it fucking eating away at my phone's storage. I always have to clean out the stored podcasts manually, often multiple gigs of the stuff.

There's zero reason for it to not be a toggle. I have tons of data and WiFi nearly everywhere, I don't ever want to store these things for offline listening unless I explicitly request it.

Also, the ads are obnoxious and the subscription options feel like a complete ripoff. I'm switching to something else.

 

[Wimps]

Lots of interesting apps posted in here. I’ll add some that I use daily.

Spark - iOS email app. The premise is that “you’re going to love your email again”. And boy do they deliver.

Pocket - iOS app. You can save articles or pages to Pocket and read them later when you have time.

Habitica - just stumbled across this via a Gaffer. It basically helps you to form habits by gamification. Sort of DnD meets habitforming.

 

[OG Kush]

Pocketcasts: The best podcast app.
Google Keep: Simple yet efficient note/list app
Textra: Alternative SMS/texting app with a boatload of great features and configs.

Pocketcast doesn't even have a simple search function to find specific episodes within a specific podcast series you subscribe to. Loved the app but this is really annoying to me.

 

[Primethius]

Subbed. I've been eagerly searching for a solid calendar and email app that accommodates a busy work schedules so I'm definitely going to go through some suggestions here later.

 

[Lijik]

Sleep Cycle completely supplanted my alarmclock since downloading it a few years back. My only issue is its default "smart" snooze is way too short (especially if it wakes you up a little earlier than you were anticipating) but luckily you can change to a set amount of time in the settings

 

[Fliesen]

I'm very fond of Google's "Motion Stills" app. Best way to easily convert Live Photos to gifs, with the ability to add motion stabilization or even motion tracked text. Also allows iPhone 6 and below to record proper live photos.

 

[Aiii]

Inbox by Google - There is something extremely satisfying about clicking "done" and seeing that sun appear after all my notes, reminders and e-mails are gone. Also really like the snooze functionality for e-mails, like bills (which I pay once a month on a set day).

 

[Breqesk]

Plain old GIF Maker - GIF Editor, for Android. I wouldn't say it necessarily does its job extremely well - the screen recording feature's bugged at the mo, it's missing some features that I'd like, and the final output quality is below my favourite desktop gif application - but it certainly does it better than any equivalent mobile app I've found, on Android or iOS. It's just about good enough for me to only miss desktop Instagiffer a li'l bit. I made this from Polygon's Battlefront 2 gameplay video yesterday:

It's not as good as it would've been if I'd had access to a proper computer - GIF Maker tops out at 20 FPS, and there's more artefacts than I'd like - but I straight up couldn't have made it with any other app I've tried. It's genuninely astounding to me that there are so few mobile gif making apps that offer, like, frame by frame trimming, let you choose the exact frame rate and resolution that you want, and so on. What I wouldn't give for a proper Instagiffer mobile equivalent... (Or even just a GIF Maker equivalent for my iPad. It'd be nice to be able to use the larger screen.)

 

[aravuus]

I'm very fond of Google's "Motion Stills" app. Best way to easily convert Live Photos to gifs, with the ability to add motion stabilization or even motion tracked text. Also allows iPhone 6 and below to record proper live photos.

I need a great reminder app to remind me about this app in December when I buy an iPhone

 

[Hoo-doo]

Sleep Cycle completely supplanted my alarmclock since downloading it a few years back. My only issue is its default "smart" snooze is way too short (especially if it wakes you up a little earlier than you were anticipating) but luckily you can change to a set amount of time in the settings

Seconding this. Sleep Cycle is my defacto alarm clock app and has been for over three years now.

I have it set to a window of 20 minutes in which it can wake me up and I find it's perfect.

 

[giga]

Deliveries, the best package tracker: https://junecloud.com/software/iphone/deliveries.html
Weather Line, the best forecast graph: http://weatherlineapp.com
Narwhal, the best reddit client: http://getnarwhal.com
Halide, the best camera app: http://halide.cam
Darkroom, the best photo editor: http://darkroom.co
Fantastical, the best calendar: https://flexibits.com/fantastical-iphone
Watchlist, the best movie list app: http://getwatchlist.com
Things, the best task manager / GTD: https://culturedcode.com/things/

 

[Mr. Badger]

Subbed. I've been eagerly searching for a solid calendar and email app that accommodates a busy work schedules so I'm definitely going to go through some suggestions here later.

I’ve tried loads and always go back to Outlook.