The 24 most useful free iPhone Apps of 2022

Apple App Store There are more than 2.2 million applications. However, only a fraction of them are worth downloading. Here are the most unique and useful iPhone apps. All of these apps have top-notch user reviews, are updated frequently, and many are award-winners. Perhaps best of all, they're all free.

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Password protection is near perfect: 1Password

Pros

• Easy setup and user-friendly password import
• Categories are a great organizational tool
• Good multi-device sync and password sharing
• Multi-layered security features for peace of mind

Cons

• No free plan available
• Lack of ability to share secure notes with non-users or invite non-users

If you don't already have 1Password on your phone, install it now. This app stores all your passwords and sensitive data and can help you generate new and more secure passwords for various logins. You can use it on your desktop, laptop or smartphone and it will store all the information you have in a virtual vault. The great thing about this app is that it makes passwords more accessible and more secure.

download:iOS

Manage Email Anywhere: Edison Mail

Pros

• Design a custom swipe function.
• The Subscriptions folder lists all the newsletters you have subscribed to; click Unsubscribe.
• Optional thread view for email messages.

Cons

• Terms of use include permission to read user email; default is opt-in.
• Data collected through the app may be shared with third parties.

Edison Mail is a smart email app with a built-in assistant designed to help you manage your mail faster and more efficiently on the go. You can build custom swipes for the features you use most, set up smart notifications, quickly undo send, and unsubscribe with one click.

You can use it with any IMAP mail account and most major email providers, including Gmail, Hotmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook, Exchange, and AOL.

download:iOS

Unsubscribe easily: Unroll.Me

Pros

• Allows you to view your subscribed newsletters in one place.
• Daily reminders to check your registered subscriptions.

Cons

• Use it to access emails that you can read.
• Unsubscribing does not apply to some newsletters.

No one likes dealing with unwanted or unimportant subscription messages in their inbox. Instead of doing it yourself, let Unroll.Me help.

Unroll.Me lets you unsubscribe from email subscriptions with just one swipe, or optionally add email subscriptions you want to keep to your Rollups. You can receive a daily summary email to remind you to check your subscriptions for the day, or just open the app to read it here.

download:iOS

Save files in a central hub: Documents

Pros

• Handle all types of file formats, including audio and video.
• Works with other Readdle applications such as Scanner Pro and Spark.
• Connect to cloud services OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive and Box.

Cons

• Not directly linked to an iCloud account.
• There are no real drawbacks or problems with this useful app.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a central hub on your iPhone for your important files? Documentation makes it possible.

You can import files from your computer, cloud storage provider or a nearby device and manage them using folders and color-coded labels. Quickly zip or unzip files, share files with others, and integrate everything with your iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or other cloud accounts. You can read, listen, view or annotate files from one convenient location.

download:iOS

Automate more features: IFTTT

Pros

• User-generated applets save you from having to create your own.
• Works with voice assistants like Siri and Alexa.
• Easy to use and create applets.

Cons

• It may take a little play with the app to get the hang of all the ways to use it.
• Only single-step applets can be created.

IFTTT is a task automation tool that you can take advantage of if you use a lot of applications and spend a lot of time manually performing repetitive functions.

It works with over 600 popular apps, so you never have to worry about forgetting to do something or wasting time trying to do everything yourself.

With IFTTT, you can create "applets" that trigger one app to perform an action on another. For example, an applet could trigger a weather forecast email in the morning, or it couldTwitterTweets are saved to your Instapaper account.

There are also hundreds of existing applets created by others that you can use yourself. Use the Discover and Search tabs to see what's available.

download:iOS

Make note-taking easier: Bear

Pros

• Makes markdown formatting easy, even for those who are new to it.
• Use links to connect notes.
• Simple tagging system; use hashtags to create new tags in text.

Cons

• For Mac and iOS only.
• Certain features, such as syncing between devices, require a paid subscription.

For a note-taking app that strikes a balance between simplicity and power, Bear really excels. This app lets you do everything from taking quick notes and sketching to writing in-depth papers and creating image-based notes.

Easily organize and search your notes using the app's unique search trigger feature, and quickly cross-note your notes to link the ones you want together. There's even an advanced markup editor and the option to export your notes to PDF or Word documents.

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Quickly save web links: Instapaper

Pros

• Use folders to organize your favorite articles.
• Capture the text of an article without cluttering the web.
• Annotate and highlight articles.
• Adjust fonts and themes to customize your experience.

Cons

• Not optimized for processing other media such as video.
• Failed to tag article.

What do you do when you're browsing on your phone and you don't have time to check out an interesting link? Instapaper can help you with this, allowing you to save links to web pages for later use with just a few taps.

Instapaper also optimizes your saved mobile reading and viewing links to make them easier to read on your iPhone. Web pages are cluttered, so you only get important content in one clean, newspaper-like tab. You can also organize and sort your links to keep important links that you think are worth revisiting again and again.

download:iOS

Documenting Daily Habits: Cara

Pros

• Track a range of gut-related factors, including food, mood, sleep and exercise.
• Connect to the Apple Health app for further tracking and analysis of data.
• In-app chat with experts is available.

Cons

• No credentials were provided for chat experts.
• The food diary database is not as complete as some other nutrition apps.

There are countless food tracking apps out there, but maybe none like Cara. It was developed by doctors to specifically study digestive information to help you understand the connection between food and your gut.

The app allows you to record your daily habits (such as meals, snacks, digestive symptoms, mood, stress levels, exercise, sleep, pain, and medication) through a personal journal.

download:iOS

Get leaner, healthier, stronger: Sworkit

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• A 30-day trial is available.
• Video guided workouts.
• Prefab and custom designed workouts.
• Choose from curated music playlists on Apple Music and Spotify.

Cons

• A subscription is required to use, and the price is higher.
• The time between exercises is short, which may be too fast for some.

Whether you're in the gym, on the go, or at home, Sworkit can be your free personal trainer for almost any type of workout. Choose whether you want to be leaner, fitter, or stronger, then set your fitness level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) to find programs.

Workouts include strength, cardio, yoga, and stretching, with special focus options such as upper body strength or full-intensity cardio. After selecting a workout, you can take advantage of customizable time and interval options before following the video instructions.

download:iOS

Giving Back to the World: Charity Miles

Pros

• Inspire your cardio with charitable donations.
• Over 40 charities.
• Easy to get started.
• Track your total donations to charities.

Cons

• Annual cap on charitable donations; once reached, efforts will not generate further donations.
• Charities are generally large; smaller and local options would be great.
• No workout app features such as music or other data monitoring are provided.

With Charity Miles, it doesn't take a lot of time or money to give back to the charities that are important to you. The more you run, walk or bike with apps that track your activity in the background, the more money you make for the charity of your choice.

Charity Miles is sponsored by organizations that donate on your behalf, so it's free for you and a great incentive to take action. You can also choose from a different charity anytime you start a new walk, run or bike ride.

download:iOS

Restoring Your Mind and Body Balance: MyLife Meditation

Pros

• Customizable timer.
• The initial check-in mood selection is plentiful, so you can fine-tune your state.
• Explore and try the app without registration.

Cons

• Subscriptions are a bit expensive.
• Some previously free meditations have been moved behind paywalls.
• Most meditations tend to be less than 20 minutes.

Meditation and mindfulness don't have to be complicated or overwhelming. Tell the MyLife Meditation: Mindfulness app how you're feeling and receive suggested guided meditations to help you restore balance to your mind and body.

The app tries to match you with the feelings that best suit you by using check-in data on your emotions and physical sensations. Alternatively, if you already know a guided meditation to do without prior registration, you can skip it and choose the one you want. Some yoga and acupressure videos are also available for free.

download:iOS

Budget: Debit & Credit

Pros

• Makes recording expenses easy.
• Use geotagging to speed up adding deals at frequented locations.
• Data is saved in an iCloud account.

Cons

• Not directly linked to your financial account.
• Shared accounts require the purchase of two premium licenses.

When it comes to sticking to a budget, simplicity is best. Debit & Credit is a no-frills budgeting app designed to track your account activity in one convenient place. It also makes it easy to switch between accounts.

Use it to create new transactions in seconds, save locations at regular venues for quick records, schedule future transactions, receive reports, and share your account data with other app users. Unlike other popular apps like Mint.com, this app doesn't connect to your online bank account, so you have full control over your transactions while you're at it.

download:iOS

Find great deals: Flipp

Pros

• Save on groceries and manage your list in one app.
• Printable coupons and interactive announcements from major retailers.
• Search for items to find discount stores in your area.
• Plenty of retailers to choose from.

Cons

• The lack of a barcode scanner seems like a big missing feature.
• Some major retailers don't offer coupons on Flipp.

If you're an avid deal hunter, Flipp is for you. This app tracks and updates deals and coupons by item, brand or category so you can save money every time you shop at your favorite store.

Search for deals and coupons at popular retailers in your area, and use the handy shopping list feature to keep track of your needs. Clip items to your list and you can save at checkout.

download:iOS

One-stop shopping: Gumtree

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• Posting an ad is usually a simple process.
• Use PayPal for transactions.

Cons

• Major complaints about the quality of customer service.
• Problems with scammers and fraud can make using the system risky if you don't watch out.
• Not available in the US

You can download a separate app to find local jobs, buy a car and rent an apartment, or you can use Gumtree. This is your one stop shop for all things local.

The app uses your location to show you local ads in easy-to-navigate categories. Save ads to your favorites and access them later, post your own ads from your phone in seconds, and use the messaging feature to chat with other users you're interested in doing business with.

If you want to change your location (or expand its reach) to see more ads, all you have to do is tell the app where and how far you want to be included in the search.

download:iOS

Tidy up your life: BUNZ

Pros

• Focus on trading items, not buying and selling with currency.
• Item trading encourages reuse and environmental sustainability.

Cons

• Out-of-town deals may be limited or no deals.
• Racists, misogynists, homophobes, trolls and the usual scum issues on the internet.

With BUNZ, organizing your home or work space is easier and more fun than ever - especially when you're willing to trade in other people's used items for the things you want to give away. The app is similar to other native advertising apps, except it's strictly about trading items rather than buying or selling them.

All you do is post what you want to get rid of and let others know what you are looking for. You can use the app to discuss your trade plans with others in your area who are interested and arrange to meet.

To ensure your safety is a top priority, check the reviews of the people you meet with and use the official trade zone in your area to schedule your meeting.

download:iOS

Planning a Home Improvement: Magicplan

Pros

• Easy to lay out your own floor plan.
• Customize with images, annotations, and more.

Cons

• It may lack the precision that some professionals need.
• Does not integrate with other design software.

Whether you're renovating or just renovating a room in your home, Magicplan can help you plan the entire process before you start.

Create your own floor plan in just minutes and customize it with your photos, objects, notes, product prices, tasks and taxes so you can generate a complete project estimate.

The app is free to create custom floor plans, but if you want to create custom floor plans in PDF, JPG,PNG, DXF,SVGwithCSVDownload them in file format for $4.

download:iOS

Share photos publicly: VSCO

Pros

• Share to social networks.
• Great photo filter.
• Choose a different focus and exposure point.

Cons

• There aren't many social features like Instagram.
• Although affordable, a full subscription is required to access its full functionality.

Instagram is probably the most popular photo-sharing app out there. Still, if picture-perfect social sharing is something you really like, VSCO is worth checking out. It's designed to help creators reach their full creative potential.

Share your artwork with the community using the app's unique set of editing and journaling features. Connect with other creatives as you build your portfolio, and get inspired by VSCO's full library of presets, enhanced creative tools, and educational features. For mobile photographers who want to go beyond their art, VSCO can help them achieve their goals.

download:iOS

Backup Photos: Google Photos

Pros

• Free backup storage for unlimited photos (up to 16 megapixels).
• Powerful and fast visual search.

Cons

• Face recognition in photos is sometimes inaccurate.
• There are no advanced editing features.
• For unlimited storage, the quality of large images is degraded.

As an iPhone user, you can already easily back up your photos using Apple iCloud. However, Google Photos still makes iCloud stand out in terms of overall functionality, including photo backup.

You can set up automatic backups for unlimited photos (up to 16 megapixels) and videos (1080p HD) for free. The app's visual search capabilities also make finding photos and videos faster and easier than you think, so you'll never waste time scrolling through hundreds or thousands of files.

download:iOS

Discover new dining experiences: OpenTable

Pros

• Find restaurants and get recommendations.
• Restaurant reviews.
• Easy to see available booking times.
• Easy reservations without calling the restaurant.

Cons

• The point reward system has become less rewarding recently.
• Popular restaurants may deliberately not list availability during peak hours.

Looking for a good place to eat? OpenTable helps you discover thousands of restaurants around the world and lets you make reservations through the app.

Get a glimpse of restaurants near you, see what's new and popular, get personal recommendations based on your activity, use search filters to find what you're looking for, and earn points to redeem at participating OpenTable restaurants.

Don't forget to read reviews, browse photos, and read menus to make sure you've picked a great one.

download:iOS

Around the World: Citymapper

Pros

• Compare multiple travel options, such as walking, bus, carpool, and more, to find the one that works best for you.
• Travel time, cost and 'rain protection' details.
• Offline feature so you can use it in areas without service.

Cons

• The comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the city's application may vary.
• Arrival times, disruptions and delays may sometimes be inaccurate.

Citymapper is the ultimate travel app for visiting major cities around the world. It rivals Google Maps in that it fully integrates with all major modes of transportation, including buses, trams, bikes, subways, railroads, ferries, and popular ride-sharing services like Uber and Carshare.

You can compare transit options in real time to see which is the fastest and save locations for future trips. Set service alerts to notify you of outages, find alternate routes, and see your options on the map as you choose your mode of transportation.

download:iOS2023

Find your way in the world: Waze

Pros

• Speed traps and road hazard alerts.
• The map is clear and easy to understand.
• Traffic tracking, alerts and alternate routes.

Cons

• Traffic avoidance can sometimes be accidental.
• If driving, the report can be distracting.

Citymapper is ideal for route planning, but Waze is the app you need to avoid the unpredictable obstacles of driving to any destination. It helps you avoid traffic jams, accidents, police traps and more in real time.

It uses your iPhone's GPS to guide you from your starting point to your destination, and automatically reroutes you if it detects poor driving conditions. You can even get parking advice to help you find a good parking spot.

download:iOS

Watch the highlights: Tubi TV

Pros

• Many genres and categories to browse to find the right movie or show.
• "Not on Netflix" category.
• Watch for free.

Cons

• Ads at the beginning and during the video.
• Ad breaks can appear in awkward places.
• There are no filtering options in categories, such as by popularity, date added, or rating.

If you don't have a Netflix subscription and want to watch great shows and movies on your iPhone, Tubi TV is worth checking out. No subscription fee is required. Plus, you get access to thousands of hours of content from renowned studios like Paramount, Lionsgate, MGM, and more.

Search for specific titles, browse categories, and view reviews pulled from Rotten Tomatoes. You can find everything from award-winning classics to kid-friendly shows, all of which you can add to your personal video queue, sync in your account to watch on other devices, and Pick up where you left off on any device you're watching.

download:iOS

Listen to great music: SoundCloud

Pros

• Playlists curated based on events.
• Discover new music and artists.
• Simple and easy to use interface.

Cons

• Advertising and subscription fees.
• Had to listen to commercials after skipping a few songs.
• Some features, such as offline listening, are only available with paid subscriptions.

Whether you're looking for a free alternative to a premium Spotify account, or want to see what other music apps are out there, SoundCloud is the way to go. It features over 120 million tracks from new and established artists.

As you listen, SoundCloud learns about your musical tastes and makes suggestions based on your listening habits. Follow and listen to pre-curated playlists for activities like studying, sleeping or exercising, or search for specific content to listen to.

You never have to worry about annoying ads. Subscriptions allow you to collect music offline, so you can always enjoy your music when you're not connected to the Internet.

download:iOS

Tinting Stress: Chroma

What do we like

• Colorize your images with colors, textures, and gradients.
• Import your own images.
• Social media sharing images.
• Connect with an artist.

what we don't like

• A small amount of free content.
• No updates for a year or more.
• Subscriptions can be a bit pricey for some coloring book content.

Adult coloring books are a trend for stress relief, but you don't necessarily need physical books and colored pencils to enjoy some of these benefits. Chroma is a coloring book app for adults that harnesses the power of technology to let you color stroke by stroke, with handy options to help you stay within the lines.

Use natural coloring tools like pencils, brushes and markers and your own customizable color palette by mixing the colors, textures and gradients you want. New hand-drawn pages are added every day, so you can always find something fresh and creative while you sit back and relax.

download:iOS