Best iPhone Apps in Every Category

Things 3 is the most pleasant task app on the iPhone. You sort tasks into Today, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday, group them into projects and areas, and plan your day in a few taps. It syncs for free between your Apple devices.

You pay once with no subscription: $9.99 on iPhone. The iPad and Mac apps are separate one-time purchases. It has no Android, Windows or web app, and no shared lists for families or teams.

Todoist understands plain-English dates like "every other Friday at 5pm" and works on every platform, so your list follows you from an iPhone to a work PC. It has widgets, Siri and Shortcuts support and shared projects.

The free plan allows 5 personal projects, which is enough for most people. Pro raises that to 300 and adds more filters and a longer history.

Obsidian stores your notes as plain Markdown files, so you are never locked in. You can link notes to each other and add community plugins. It is free with no account and no limits.

On iPhone the easiest setup is to keep your notes folder in iCloud Drive, which makes it free to sync with a Mac. Paid Sync is there if you also use Windows or Android.

Drafts always opens to a blank page, so you can type a thought in one second. After that you send it where it belongs: a message, an email, a task in Todoist or a note in another app. Pro adds custom actions, themes and more automation.

Bitwarden is the pick if you also use a Windows PC, an Android phone or Chrome or Firefox. The free plan has unlimited passwords and devices, and it fills logins on iPhone through AutoFill, just like Apple Passwords.

It is open source and checked by outside security firms. Premium adds a 2FA code generator, file attachments and security reports.

Proton VPN's free plan has no data cap, no ads and a no-logs policy. Use it on hotel, airport and café Wi-Fi. The free plan covers one device and picks the server for you from a small set of countries.

Buy Plus on Proton's website if you can. The same plan costs more as an in-app purchase.

iMessage is encrypted, but only between Apple devices. Signal encrypts every chat and call with anyone, on any phone, and keeps almost no data about you. It is run by a non-profit with no ads.

AdGuard adds a content blocker to Safari, so web pages load faster with fewer ads and trackers. The free version blocks ads in Safari, which is what most people need. Premium unlocks extra protection features.

After you install it, turn it on in Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions.

2FAS stores your two-factor codes with an encrypted iCloud backup, a home screen widget and a browser extension that sends codes from your phone to your computer. It is free with no paid tier. It needs iOS 18.6 or later, so on an older iPhone use Apple Passwords for codes instead.

Spotify has the best playlists and recommendations and works on almost every speaker and car. Free users can now pick and play songs, with ads. Premium went up to $12.99 a month in the US in 2026. You cannot subscribe inside the iPhone app, so sign up on Spotify's website.

Overcast is made by one independent developer and built only for Apple devices. Smart Speed cuts silences without making voices sound fast, and Voice Boost makes quiet shows easier to hear in a car. The free version has all core features with small ads. If you also use Android, Pocket Casts works on both.

Libby lets you borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines from your public library for free. Add your library card, search, borrow and read or listen in the app. Popular titles have a waitlist.

Infuse plays almost any video file from your iPhone, a network drive or a home media server, and adds posters, descriptions and subtitles. The free version covers common files. Pro adds more formats, surround sound and streaming from cloud services.

Halide gives you manual focus, shutter speed, ISO and RAW photos, with clear tools that show what is in focus and how bright each part of the shot is. Mark III replaced Mark II in May 2026, and Mark II owners got the upgrade for free.

Snapseed is Google's photo editor, and it is completely free with no ads, no watermark and no subscription. It does curves, selective edits, healing, perspective fixes and RAW files. It got a full redesign in 2026.

iMovie is fine for simple clips, but it has no keyframes and few text options. VN adds a multi-track timeline, keyframes, speed curves and text, and exports with no watermark. Pro adds extra effects and AI tools.

Widgetsmith lets you design home screen, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets with your own fonts, colours and photos, and change them by time of day. Premium adds weather and tide widgets and more styles.

AirDrop only works between Apple devices. LocalSend sends files between your iPhone and a Windows PC or an Android phone on the same Wi-Fi. It needs no account and no internet, and files never go through a server.

Cronometer tracks calories, macros and more than 80 vitamins and minerals from a checked food database, and it syncs with Apple Health. The barcode scanner is free. Free charts cover the last 7 days. Gold removes ads and adds longer reports.

Gentler Streak reads your Apple Health data and tells you when to push and when to rest, instead of asking you to close every ring every day. It is a good fit if you train often and want to avoid burnout.

Duolingo turns practice into a short daily game with streaks. The free plan limits how many lessons you can do in a row. Use it as a daily habit next to a real course.

Mochi uses spaced repetition, like Anki, to show each card just before you would forget it. It is free offline with unlimited cards and can import Anki decks. Pro adds sync between devices. AnkiMobile is still a fair $24.99 one-time buy if you use Anki on a computer.

Google Maps has more reviews, photos and opening hours for shops and restaurants, and better coverage outside the US and Europe. Download offline maps before a trip abroad.

Flighty tracks your flights with Live Activities on the Lock Screen and often warns you about delays before the airline does. Every Pro feature is free for your first flight, so try it on your next trip before you pay.

ChatGPT has the widest set of tools: voice chat, image making, web search and file analysis. It also works inside Apple Intelligence. The free plan now shows ads, and paid plans remove them and raise the limits.

Claude, from Anthropic, is strong at writing, summarising long documents and explaining things in plain words. You can share a PDF or a photo of a page from the Share Sheet. It needs iOS 18 or later. Some plans cost more in the app than on Claude's website.

Gemini can read your Gmail, Calendar and Drive if you allow it, which makes it the best pick if your life runs on Google. Paid Google AI plans add newer models and extra Google storage.

Copilot Money links your bank accounts and cards, sorts spending into categories and learns from your changes. It is designed for Apple devices and is quick to check every day. It works with US banks.

YNAB (You Need A Budget) uses zero-based budgeting: you plan where each dollar goes before you spend it. It takes a few weeks to learn, but it changes how you plan your money. It works on Android too, so couples can share one budget.

Telegram is great for large groups, channels, bots and sending big files, and it syncs across all your devices. Normal chats are not end-to-end encrypted. Use Secret Chats, or Signal, for private talks.