10 Must Have Apps For Your iPhone

By this time next year, we could very well have over 1 million apps to pick from for our iPhone’s, as the App Store currently stands somewhere around 750k going strong. With all of these options, how can you know that you’re selecting the best apps to fill your home screen?

First of all, let’s define “must-have.” There are plenty of must-have apps you’ve probably already downloaded because you’re aware of their benefits. We’ll avoid the the obvious apps like these, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail. While these are essential (for most), you’ve probably already decided on whether or not you’re going to download them.

Here are 10 must have apps for your iPhone that you’ll want to download.

1. Google Maps

Google Maps is consistently among the most used apps on my iPhone. In fact, it's still the best free map app you can get on an iPhone, period. You can look up addresses and get turn-by-turn directions in real time. If traffic seems like a problem, Google Maps can skirt you around it. Bicyclists in select areas will find green-highlighted routes to steer them to safer riding. Sure, there are a few improvements I'd like to see (better integration with saved map locations, for example), but Google Maps remains the best there is. It's an app every iPhone owner needs to have. 

2. Buffer

Want to be a social media whiz? Of course you (maybe) do. Buffer works a lot like Hootsuite. You can schedule Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus posts based on when they’ll be most effective. Want to tweet something at a time when most of your followers will be listening? Buffer measures this and assigns an appropriate time. You can even see the stats of your posts and see how they’ve performed.

3. Evernote

Everyone will tell you to download Evernote, but few are able to put into words why it is such an amazing service. Evernote is a uniquely personal tool. Everyone uses it differently. This free app syncs all kinds of notes - like text notes, voice memos, and photos - and then makes them all highly searchable. It doesn't sound exciting, but the moment you figure out your own use case for Evernote, you will never look for a replacement. The app excels as a pared-down word processing program, and it integrates with dozens of other iPhone apps. When it comes to staying organized, keeping track of ideas, and writing things down, Evernote for iPhone does the heavy lifting.

4. Dropbox 

 

These days, there are a lot of cloud services to pick from, but Dropbox still ranks among one of the best, if only because it works so well on every platform. Dropbox allows you to save and view your files across multiple devices, including your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet, as long as you have the internet to access them. Another great cloud service app is Google Drive, if that’s what you’re more familiar with.

5. SwiftKey 

 

One huge change to iPhone users as of iOS 8 is the ability to install custom keyboards, and SwiftKey is the one install. Custom keyboards are just that—custom—so you'll want one that works for you. We have yet to find a custom keyboard for iPhone that knocks our socks off, but SwiftKey has been the best one to date. Once you have it, you can drag your finger across the keyboard to type instead of tapping each key individually. The app is free, and you can pay for extra features.

6. Vine

If there’s one social media app I can’t help but recommend, it’s Vine. Sure, everyone loves Instagram and Pinterest, but Vine provides instant entertainment pretty much everyone can appreciate. Vine allows you to create and view 6 second videos via a Twitter-esque newsfeed. The fun of Vine is following great and hilarious users, but the handy “re-vine” feature allows you do find the best videos pretty quickly.

7. MyFitnessPal

 

Let’s be real, here. I wouldn’t recommend an exercise app I didn’t find success with myself. I started used MyFitnessPal about 4 months ago to keep track of calories gained and burned. The app works because it sets realistic goals for your fitness plan and gives you strict boundaries to adhere to. It allows you to keep track of all your meals, counting calories based on what you input (its database of food is huge) and calories burned through exercise. If you want your phone to help you stay in shape, don’t avoid this amazing app. 

8. Camera+

 

There are a lot of great camera options to pick from in the App Store, but Camera+ truly delivers one of the best platforms. For a couple of bucks, you’re getting an app that pretty much covers every feature you need for taking the best possible photo with your iPhone and editing it afterward. One of its best features is a stabilizer that waits until your phone is still before it takes the photo, preventing blurred shots. If you’re serious about taking some great pics, Camera+ doesn’t what its namesake begs.

9. Spotify

 

The best music app in the market is Spotify. I don’t care who knows it. Though other apps beat it in radio picks (Pandora) and custom stations (Slacker), Spotify delivers the best premium service overall. Offering millions of songs and a huge friend network, Spotify boasts the most seamless experience and bang for your buck. The app itself is free, but to access your playlists, you have to have the premium version, which is a standard $10 a month. Still, the ability to listen to playlists offline makes the fee much easier to accept. 

10. Mint 

 

Everyone should have apps for all their bank accounts on their on their iPhone for those emergency moments when you need to check your balance or do some other financial upkeep. But better is the Mint iPhone app. Mint provides insight into all your financial accounts, from checking and savings accounts to credit cards. By unlocking this one app, you can see pending transactions, account balances, your total net worth, and even the remaining balance in your personalized monthly budget. Mint is the best one-stop shop for keeping an eye on your finances. 

10 Best Apps to Train Your Brain

Many people spend a great deal of time in the gym working on our bodies, but can we say the same about our minds? Just like a healthy physical form, a healthy mind also needs to flex its mental muscles and get some exercise. In fact, there are studies that show playing puzzle games can help increase mental agility. Brain training apps combine the latest in brain science with puzzles and mind games in order to exercise your faculties. Grab your smartphone – with thousands of interesting apps for all devices, there are many ways you can train your brain with technology. Check out 10 of the best brain training apps on Android and iOS devices below.

1 . Lumosity (Android, iOS)

Lumosity combines proven cognitive science techniques from the Human Cognition Project with a gamified approach to provide users with brain-training mini-games that are fun and effective at exercising your mental muscles. Users create a Lumosity account and then select particular mental faculties they want to exercise. Lumosity then creates customized daily exercise routines with mini-games built around those particular skills. 

The app tracks your scores, with difficulty adjusting to your performance, ensuring that you're always challenged. Compared to elevate, Lumosity's exercise tend more towards pattern recognition, reflexes and abstract puzzle solving, rather than the language skills of Elevate. Free users can access a set of daily exercises, while subscribers gain access to a wider variety of exercises and more features.

2. CogniFit Brain Fitness (iOS)

Improve cognitive abilities, such as memory and concentration, with sleek, fun and addictive games designed by neuroscientists. Users can track progress and access insights about overall brain health. Competitive players can challenge friends, too

After an initial quiz, the app adapts each game's difficulty to your profile and gives you recommendations based on your results. Developers found that users saw improvement by spending at least 20 minutes, two to three times a week, playing the games.

3. Personal Zen (iOS)

Players follow two animated characters, one of which looks calm and friendly while the other looks angry, as they burrow through a field of rustling grass. This game, developed by Dennis and researchers from Hunter College and the City University of New York, reduces anxiety by training your brain to focus more on the positive and less on the negative. 

"The habit of thinking about the world in a more positive light - like looking for a silver lining in a bad situation - is one of the key ways we can promote our own resilience in the face of adversity," says Dennis. 

Even a single session of play can build resilience over several hours. She suggests using the app right before a stressful event, but 10 minutes a day will help build more enduring positive effects. (Free; available for iOS).

4. Eidetic (iOS)

Rather than deliver an all-in-one brain training package, Eidetic focuses on one specific faculty: memory. Eidetic uses a flash card-style approach to help its users memorize everything from notes, lists, phone numbers, quotes and other useful real-life applications. 

The app includes a simple system for users to write down their own content in easy to use categories, allowing users to store and then memorize whatever is relevant to them. Users simply set the intensity of memory training, from one day cramfests to a more sedate weekly period, and Eidetic automatically notifies you when it's a good time to practice. (Free; available on iOS)

5. Fit Brains Trainer (Android, iOS)

Rosetta Stone's own entry into the brain training field is Fit Brains, an all-in-one brain training program. Fit Brains Trainer serves as the core of the program, featuring more than 360 games and training sessions designed to sharpen memory, concentration and other mental faculties. A scoring system allows users to track their performance in each mental skill relative to other users of the same age or gender. The app uses this performance data to dynamically assess and adjust the difficulty of its games relative to your progress. 

6. Happify (iOS)

Train your brain to be happier? Yep, research shows that some activities help build your ability to conquer negative thoughts, show gratitude, cope with stress, and empathize -- all essential ingredients for a fuller, happier life.

Using fundamentals of positive psychology, which involves focusing on the strengths and virtues that enable individuals to create fulfilling lives, the app's quizzes, polls and gratitude journal -- combined with a positive community -- gradually teach life-changing habits. The goal is to build these skills and keep users smiling all day. (Free; available for iOS)

7. Positive Activity Jackpot (Android)

 

This app was originally developed for service members returning from combat with high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. It uses augmented reality with an Android phone's GPS to find nearby activities and diversions for someone coping with depression. 

If you cannot make up your mind what to do, "pull the lever" and let the app's jackpot function make the choice for you. PAJ is based on a form of behavioral therapy called pleasant event scheduling, which encourages a daily schedule of enjoyable activities to improve moods and overcome despondent thoughts. (Free; available on Google Play). 

8. ReliefLink (iOS)

While primarily intended as a suicide prevention and awareness app, ReliefLink also functions as a great mental health awareness tool. In addition to safety planning, reminders and emergency contacts, ReliefLink comes with a handy mood logging journal for easily recording how happy or down you feel as well as a selection of guided meditation, mindfulness training, relaxation techniques and relaxing music. Less about IQ and more about EQ and building a positive, mindful outlook, ReliefLink is a different way to train your brain.

9. Fit Brains Trainer (Android, iOS)

More than 360 unique games and puzzles aimed at stretching and improving your mental agility lead users through various tasks. Sessions get harder as you improve and will always challenge you and provide a solid brain workout. 

Keep track of your progress and performance tools and the program offers training recommendations for best results. (Free; available on iOS and on Google Play).

10. Sudoku (Android, iOS)

A challenger to the long time dominion of the daily crossword, Sudoku is a puzzle where players must fill in the blanks in a series of nine 3 x 3 magic squares. Emphasizing logic and pattern seeking, Sudoku might be considered more 'universal' than the vocabulary and pop-culture knowledge required for crosswords. There are a wealth of free Sudoku apps out there, and two that we like are Sudoku for iOS and Simply Sudoku on Android for their wealth of puzzles and UI.