Apps are the lifeblood of smartphones, and with so much to choose from, we inevitably have our own favorites. As such, the apps I’m about to suggest may not be essential for everyone, but they are for me – and you never know, you might fall in love with them too.
These are five of the iPhone apps I use most throughout my day, so they basically define how I use my phone. For the most part, these are also apps that I actively enjoy spending time in.
So if they sound interesting to you, then they are worth downloading, especially since they all have free versions.
1. StoryGraph
For a long time, Goodreads was my go-to app for recording what I read, making lists of what I want to read, and finding new books, but recently I’ve largely switched to StoryGraph.
It’s a very similar concept to Goodreads but with an arguably more attractive and modern interface, and without the baggage belonging to Amazon – a brand I try to interact with less.
But on top of that, StoryGraph also incorporates a lot more statistics and details about the book, showing you things like a book’s pacing, its plot, its strong character development, and more, all based on what readers have said.
You can also see how many books and pages you’ve read, how many books in each genre, what moods your books feature most often, how your reading has changed over time, and much more. So if you like statistics, there’s a lot to dig into here.
Some features are hidden behind a StoryGraph Plus subscription, but the majority of the app is available for free.
2. Mailbox
Unlike StoryGraph, Letterboxd is something I’ve used for a very long time, and it’s a similar idea but for movies – just like StoryGraph is an alternative to the bigger name Goodreads, Letterboxd is an alternative to IMDb.
But it’s more social and community-based than IMDb, with user reviews at the center of the Letterboxd experience. And as with StoryGraph, a multitude of statistics are available (even if some of them are hidden behind a paywall).
You can see how many movies you’ve watched, how many hours you’ve spent watching, the number of directors and countries you’ve watched movies in, your most-watched genres, your highest-rated movies of each decade, your most-watched themes, and much more.
Plus, of course, you can create lists, view lists created by other users, add movies to your watchlist, and even rent movies, sometimes including movies that aren’t available anywhere else.
3. Pocket Casts
Podcasts are the soundtrack to much of my day, and Pocket Casts is my player of choice. I won’t pretend it’s the only great podcast app, but if you’re unhappy with your current player, it’s worth giving this one a try.
Pocket Casts has been around for a long time, and it has gradually improved, to the point that now I don’t see much that could improve it.
It has an attractive interface with good discovery tools, the ability to sort podcasts into folders, dark and light themes, playlist support, the ability to change speed, increase volume and mute, sleep timer, videos (if available) and more.
Additionally, Pocket Casts works not only on iPhone but also on Android, Apple Watch, Mac, Windows, web and Sonos; it also supports CarPlay, Chromecast, and AirPlay, so you can listen to your podcasts just about anywhere.
4. Proton VPN
VPNs have always been advisable from a privacy perspective, but never more so than today, as countries like the UK increasingly require you to provide ID to access large parts of the internet – often outsourcing data collection to companies that may or may not be responsible for it.
So VPNs are a way to avoid this risk, but they also have other benefits beyond general security and privacy, such as allowing you to access streaming platforms that might not work in your region or offer a different selection of content elsewhere.
As for why I recommend Proton VPN in particular, I’m a big fan of Proton in general and use some of their other services as well. They take privacy more seriously than some VPN companies, and their VPN has over 17,000 servers in over 120 countries, so it’s a good, reliable service, and I don’t notice a significant speed drop when connected to Proton VPN either.
That said, there are plenty of other great VPN providers to consider (check out our guide to the best VPNs for our full list of recommendations), so while I support Proton VPN, my suggestion is to just use VPNs in general.
5. Google Photos
Yes, Apple has its own Photos app built into iPhones, and it’s not bad. But for me, Google Photos is the superior option.
Part of the reason is that it runs on different operating systems. So if I ever switch back to Android, I will still have access to all my photos. But even if you’re a lifelong Apple user, Google Photos still has advantages.
While both apps have a decent search function for finding photos using keywords, Google Photos does this best in my experience and comes with a lot more free cloud storage. So if you want to back up a lot of photos, Google’s offering is the clear winner.
Ultimately, I find myself using both apps, but it’s Google Photos that I’m most excited about – and which I’ll take with me on non-Apple devices.
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