Summary:
There isn’t much that can beat the feeling of unboxing your brand new iPhone: the shiny plastic-covered screen yet to be tarnished by grubby fingerprints; the mysterious electronic scent confirming it’s genuinely new; all the highly-anticipated cool features that compelled you to upgrade your device in the first place for fear of missing out.
But you switch on your device, and the novelty swiftly wears off as you realize there’s not much going on ‘under the hood’. Let’s face it; your device can get pretty boring without any apps populating the home screen.
But with over 1.5 million apps (and counting) available on the App Store and nowhere near enough storage to accommodate them, how do you figure out which apps should have the privilege of taking up precious space on your device?
Fortunately, we’ve taken the mental legwork out of this tough decision-making process by curating the cream of the crop of apps for iPhone 12, conveniently divided into six distinct categories. Keep reading for a list of the must-have apps for iPhone, and feel free to skip straight to the sections that are most relevant to you and your browsing needs.
A flashcard app designed specifically for high school and college students, StudyBlue enhances the study experience to make it easier than ever to ace your exams. Students can also connect with others on their learning journey through a shared library of more than 250 million multimedia and text pieces of user-generated content. With all your study material in one convenient place, you have the freedom to revise on the go.
Thanks to the app's handy auto-save feature, you can view, create, and organize files and folders with ease using Google Drive, all without the fear of losing your work. Whether you’re using the web or mobile version, sync your files seamlessly across all your devices and share folders with classmates, which is particularly useful for collaborating on group projects. Moreover, you can store up to a massive 15GB worth of files before having to worry about paying for additional storage.
Lugging countless books from the library to your dorm room is a burden every student can relate to, but Scanner Pro takes the back-breaking work out of research through simple on-the-go document scanning. Save articles, books, journals, and more onto the Cloud, convert them into high-quality PDFs, and share or export them to other apps. Other useful tools include searching through text to find relevant information and editing original text to include your footnotes and comments.
iStudiez is most definitely up there among the best iPhone 12 apps for students, no matter if it's a pro, max, or mini device you’re using. Thanks to its superior organizational features, including tracking schedules, assignments, and grades, an intuitive calendar design, and a seamless interface, the app allows you to feel in control of your hectic student life, save valuable time, and start each day with your mind neatly organized.
Kayak scours the web to find users the best offers on holiday packages, flights, hotels, and rental cars, making comparing deals on the move easy and quick. Other benefits include logging your itinerary, checking baggage fees, and accessing phone numbers for airlines and airports. The high-quality and easy-to-use interface certainly makes Kayak a winner among its competitors, not to mention it’s completely free-perfect for online bargain hunters.
If you ever find yourself in any major cities around the globe, including London, New York, Tokyo, Sydney, and Paris, then Citymapper is your go-to app for helping you find your way around. Using your location, the app quickly pinpoints your exact whereabouts and offers numerous transportation options to get you to your intended destination with real-time updates. Locations are regularly updated based on user votes, and the app boasts convenient features like tracking a bus or train you’re waiting for or alerting you when your stop is approaching.
Elk uses smart technology to pinpoint your exact whereabouts and pick the right currency for you, making it fast and convenient to convert currencies on your trip and know exactly how much things cost, no matter where you’re traveling. The handy and interactive rates table displays a list of rates in your chosen currency; swiping left increases the values while swiping right decreases them. You can also input a fixed rate to track your holiday spending once you’ve already converted your cash.
If you want your weather forecasts with a hilariously-twisted personality, then Carrot Weather is the app for you. Its antagonistic approach to weather updates includes messages like ‘sucks to be you’ on rainy days. Still, the slider feature allows you to adjust the app’s snarky personality to avoid offending users of a sensitive nature. With its powerful customization settings, the ability to adjust features to your preferences, add a widget to your home screen, and long-press anywhere to access further information, Carrot is certainly one of the more superior iPhone 12 apps for the weather.
Whether you’re home or abroad, TripAdvisor is one of the best apps to get on the iPhone for travel guidance based on over 700 million reviews from a community of global travelers. The app has evolved over the years from a simple hotel reviews tool to one that allows users to easily plan and book every aspect of their trip, from best-value hotels and flights to popular attractions, restaurants, and more.
Instagram is so much more than a standard photo-sharing app these days. Nowadays, you can get creative with reel videos or stories, stream live to your followers, and even buy products from your favorite online brands. But if none of those things tickle your fancy, then you can just silently snoop through your home feed or explore page to enjoy content from people you follow and those you don’t.
Within just a couple of years of bursting onto the social media scene, TikTok has become one of the biggest platforms on the planet and is THE destination for mobile videos. Whether you’re a sports junkie, makeup fanatic, partial to cute pet content, love a viral dance routine, or simply searching for a pick-me-up in your day, there’s something unique for every user. Moreover, the clever algorithm displays an endless stream of videos perfectly tailored to your interests, so you’ll never run out of entertaining content.
LinkedIn is one of the best apps to have on your iPhone if you want to stay in touch with old colleagues and business partners, form new professional links, or make your next career move. Thanks to its wonderful networking features, an extensive database of job listings, and easy communication between job seekers and employers, anyone serious about their career should have a profile on this social media platform.
Anyone looking for inspiration and ideas on everything from home decor and fashion to party themes and recipes needs to download the virtual pinboard that is Pinterest. Think of it as a Google search engine but more visual. Snap photos anytime inspiration strikes and upload them to your board, share them with others, and use pins to save and organize content generated by fellow users that appeals to you.
If you’re interested in voicing your opinions on current topics, engaging with trends, and keeping updated on the latest news worldwide, then Twitter is an essential app for your iPhone. Whether you want to browse through other users’ tweets and trending topics, chime in on the latest debates or simply be a fly on the wall, message your friends directly or post a viral tweet, there’s a lot you can do with the easy-to-use mobile format.
Google’s email communication tool is far superior to Apple’s built-in version, so much so that iOS even lets you change your default email server to ditch the native Mail app. With its cross-platform syncing, full integration with Google Drive, and the fact that it’s completely free, it’s hard to find a reason not to like Gmail. Most of all, the five-second window to un-send sent messages is probably its best feature, handy for when you want to instantly backtrack on that risky email you sent to your boss in the heat of the moment.
Gone are the days of worrying about running out of airtime texts and minutes. With WhatsApp, you only need a reliable Internet connection to send and receive messages, audio notes, photo and video files, and make audio and video calls with anyone, anywhere in the world, until your heart’s content. Easily set up your account in minutes with your existing phone number, and the app will automatically sync with your phone contacts.
The convenient thing about Facebook Messenger is you don’t need to be signed into your Facebook account, nor are you obliged to provide your phone number to use it. Easily chat with your Facebook friends and anyone in your contacts who has the app installed, all for free. It works on every platform, so you don’t necessarily need your phone with you to use the app, and it boasts cool features like audio and video chatting with AR masks and playing games with your contacts.
With trusted tools like virtual meetings, team chats, webinars, whiteboards, conversation intelligence, and email and calendar features, Zoom is a definite frontrunner in modern video communication. The unified communication and collaboration platform lets you modernize and streamline workflows, allowing you to communicate with anyone from anywhere.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, everyone and their mother knows the cultural phenomenon that is Netflix. The streaming platform is your go-to for original, award-winning series and television and cinema releases, both old and new. So if you’re looking for a bit of escapism to help you wind down in the evening or binge-watch your way through the weekend, then look no further than Netflix. There’s something to suit the tastes of even the most eccentric members of its wide audience, offering customized recommendations based on your viewing history and preferences.
YouTube is one of the few preinstalled iOS 14 apps giving you a glimpse into what the world is watching, from the latest music videos and what’s trending in gaming, fashion, sports, beauty, news, and more, to educational videos and detailed how-to guides. Whether you want to subscribe to your favorite channels, connect with creators and other community members, create your own content, or share it with friends, there’s a whole host of different features to benefit from.
Spotify is the audio streaming app of choice for many music lovers worldwide, owing to its superior features, intuitive design, and extremely vast library of music and podcasts, many of which can be listened to for free. Search for your favorite artists, songs, and albums, or discover a world of new audio content to fit your distinct mood and activity. You can also get inspired with personal recommendations and readymade playlists based on your preferences.
If you fancy yourself as a bookworm but prefer listening to books over reading them, then Audible has your back. With over 180,000 titles to choose from and the option to download for offline listening, the challenge of streaming in areas with poor data coverage is a thing of the past. Set the narration speed to a pace that suits your preference and build your own audio library to keep forever.
Mesmerize combines engaging visuals with relaxing music and expertly crafted guided meditations to give you an all-encompassing meditation experience. Whether you want to relieve some stress, lower anxiety, improve focus, enhance sleep, overcome addiction, or so much more, the app uses clinically-validated principles to ease your body into a state of relaxation and help you on your meditation journey.
Using a range of clinically-tested techniques, Pzizz’s patented system plays a mix of sleep-optimized music, voiceovers, and sound effects-known as ‘dreamscapes’-to help users sleep better at night and take naps during the day. These sound blends are designed to effectively quieten the mind, help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up the next morning feeling refreshed, making it one of the most useful apps for iPhone users struggling with insomnia. Not to mention, some of the most successful people in their prospective fields attest to the sleep-inducing benefits of Pzizz.
We all know how important it is to keep our body healthy, but many of us undermine the importance of brain health in keeping young and vibrant. Impulse aims to improve your mental health by offering a wide range of entertaining and challenging mind activities, including workouts, games, puzzles, and IQ tests. Each game has varying levels of difficulty to choose from, and you have the option to track your performance over time in each of the activity genres.
If you have a long-term fitness or weight goal, MyFitnessPal helps you achieve it by tracking your calories and offering advice and support on keeping fit. You can sync it with exercise apps to help support your healthy lifestyle, keep a food diary, and scan barcodes to simplify the process of logging meals. Probably the best feature is its extensive food database and recipe importer, equipping you with the tools you need to reach your goals.
Pear Personal Coach is among the top apps for iPhone in the fitness category thanks to its wide-ranging exercise routines, accompanied by audio voice coaching to guide you through each session. Backed by proven physiological science, each workout is personalized and adaptive to individual fitness levels, needs and preferences using patented AI technology and biometric feedback. Seamless activity also allows users to take their workouts anywhere, whether at home, work or in the gym.