Are you ready to buy a new iPhone, maybe the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro? What are you going to do with it… talk? The iPhone can do more than voice-to-speech or FaceTime communication. By exploring Apple’s App Store, you can unearth apps that turn your phone with iOS 16 into a fitness tracker, encyclopedia, or language-learning tool. If you can think of a potential iPhone use, it probably exists in the form of an app.
However, finding these apps can be difficult. The App Store is packed with apps—millions deep. Some are wheat and some are chaff. Don’t waste time on the chaff. Instead, use this guide to find the iPhone’s top apps and hidden gems.
Our favorite apps cover a range of activities, including photo editing, social networking, messaging, organizing, and staying fit. There’s even one that will help you top up your gas tank cheaply. We’ve divided this list into 12 related categories, so you can browse just the types of apps that interest you most.
In the past, this list has also showcased the coolest video games the App Store has to offer. The iPhone gaming scene has grown so powerful that we thought it deserved its own expanded list: Check out our feature covering the best iPhone games and the best Apple Arcade games. We’re showing love for the best iPad apps for Apple’s line of tablets, too .
There are cool new apps coming to the App Store all the time, so we’ll update this list as we discover new ones. Are you obsessed with an app we didn’t mention? We’d love to hear it. Leave a comment and we may add your suggestion in the next update. Don’t worry, Android users, we haven’t forgotten about you – we also have a separate roundup of the best Android apps .
Facebook messenger
No matter what you think of the social network of record, its messaging app is unmatched. You don’t need a phone number to use Facebook Messenger, and you can use it on any device, without requiring a phone like WhatsApp. It works on every platform, unlike iMessage. It also has a lot of cool features like audio calls and video chats using AR masks, stickers and mobile payments. You can even play games with your contacts. Oh, and all of this is free.
Guwei
Google’s email app is a great communication tool. Like the good Microsoft Outlook, it lets you read Hotmail, Yahoo, and other corporate mail accounts via IMAP. Gmail doesn’t integrate your calendar like Outlook for iPhone does, but it makes your entire email database easier to handle than the preinstalled Apple Mail app. It’s smooth and fast, even giving you five seconds to undo a send.
Kiki
Many messaging apps require you to hand over your phone number to the person you’re chatting with, but Kik only requires a username. Kik has a bot store with more than 6 bots, beating Facebook Messenger and Skype in the field of human interlocutors. Group chats, photo and video sharing, and games add to the appeal of the youth-focused app.
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook’s lightweight and flexible mobile email application supports almost any email account you have, includes an integrated calendar, and offers a Focused Inbox that only shows important messages. The app is updated frequently, includes a secondary Apple Watch app, and supports 3D Touch. Unlike the rest of Office Mobile, the Outlook iPhone app is completely free.
Skype
Skype is one of the best free communication tools for iPhone. The app lets you make video calls and supports rich text messages with animated emoji. A good selection of bots can provide information as well as entertainment that you can use. Like the other Skype versions, this iPhone app lets you call or chat with other Skype users for free, or buy credits to call any other phone number, landline or mobile. You can even get a phone number that anyone can call to your Skype account from a regular phone.
Snapchat
Sexting and security concerns aside, visual chat app Snapchat can be fun to use — if you can figure out its very non-standard interface. Snapchat should not be used as a private and secure messaging app. Instead, it’s a simple app you can use to exchange fun, ephemeral visuals with your friends. Messages sent via Snapchat disappear from the recipient’s phone after a short period of time. If you want, you can snap a picture, draw or write on it, choose when the recipient can see it, and send it off. Remember, all digital media is copyable.
Spark Mail
Spark has a slick interface and organizes your email into logical categories like Personal, Newsletters, and Notifications, but you can switch to the more standard full inbox view if you prefer. It handles multiple accounts, but doesn’t group categories for them like Outlook does. The app is configurable, with customizable swipe actions. It also lets you pin important content and snooze emails for later.
Viber
The ability to seamlessly transfer calls from mobile to desktop and vice versa was an early differentiator for Viber, an app that lets you exchange sticker texts, make calls, video chat, and make standard phone calls for free. It encrypts communications, though your phone number is required.
