Tired of generic app recommendations? Fear not! We’ve curated a list of essential apps that have been vetted by seasoned Apple users with over a decade of experience. These gems might surprise you at first glance, but trust us—they’re worth it.
Ecosystem
Notes: Good old Apple Notes gets the job done for most tasks. If you crave more options, check out our posts “Which Note-Taking App is Right for You?” and "The Comparison Every Student Needs"
iWork: While many users lean toward Microsoft Office, iWork apps on Apple devices offer a heavenly experience, especially with seamless continuity across devices.
Freeform: Ideal for brainstorming and project planning.
Pocket: Forget storing links in a Word document—Pocket lets you save and manage internet finds efficiently.
iPhone
Adobe Scan: Sure, the Notes app can scan documents, but Adobe Scan offers additional features. Ever scanned both pages of a book simultaneously? Now you can.
Focus: Although removed from some regional AppStores, this app helps us put our phones down during study sessions. The market heavyweight? Forest.
iPad
Solves: The elephant in the room—the closest thing to a native calculator app for iPad.
Books: We all read on our tablets, right? While Books itself is excellent, you might already be using Amazon’s Kindle app or even Kindle itself.
Chunky: The undisputed champion of comics readers.
Be Focused: Because tablets equal studying, right? This Pomodoro timer keeps you on track.
Apple Watch
Clockology: Cool watch faces—simple as that.
FlickType: Hate drawing letters one by one? Here’s a keyboard solution.
Mac/MacBook
AdBlock Pro for Safari: The name says it all—ad-blocking for Safari.
Logi Options: If natural scrolling isn’t your jam with Logitech devices, customise it with this tool. If you are not a Logitech user, MOS or Mac Mouse Fix are the other options.
The Unarchiver: Sorry, WinRAR, but this one just works.
Miscellaneous
Bing Copilot for GPT-4: An AI companion that combines Bing search with GPT-4.
BlackholeS: A clandestine video downloader that lets you grab content from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Shh, our secret!
Fing: Your network watchdog. Use it to check your network health and block that sneaky neighbour who’s piggybacking on your Wi-Fi. Also, run speed tests to ensure optimal performance.