Regardless of your smartphone’s specs and operating system, there is one thing that you will surely have and use on a regular basis: apps. There are thousands of apps available right now for almost anything imaginable, but we rounded up the best apps across the three main OS (Android, iOS and Windows Phone) and in five of the most common types: Security, Photography, Music, Utilities and Tools.
SECURITY: 1Password (https://1password.com/)
With so many accounts and different logins and passwords, sometimes it’s hard to remember them all (assuming that you don’t use the same password for every login!!), so 1Password is one of the best ways to avoid those moments where amnesia sets in. The app stores all the passwords for your accounts and logins behind one Master Password. Which, of course, is the one password you should not forget (hence the name!)
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.agilebits.onepassword
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/1password-password-manager-and-secure-wallet/id568903335?mt=8
Windows Phone: 1Password is now available for Windows Phone as a Beta that you can download and test here: https://support.1password.com/betas/
PHOTOGRAPHY: Adobe Photoshop Express (http://www.photoshop.com/products/photoshopexpress)
With the phone’s and OS’ own photography apps and the multitude of third-party apps available, it’s hard to pick the one that reigns supreme. So we stuck with one of the first to start the image tinkering craze, Adobe’s Photoshop. While it may not have as many tools and tricks as other apps, it has an intuitive interface, supports JPEG, PNG and RAW, makes sharing pretty easy, and also has integration with other Adobe products, such as Creative Cloud.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.psmobile&hl=en
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/adobe-photoshop-express-photo-editor-collage-maker/id331975235?mt=8
Windows Phone: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/adobe-photoshop-express/9wzdncrfj27n
MUSIC: iHeart Radio (http://news.iheart.com/features/get-the-iheartradio-app-240/)
When it comes to music, there are a few apps that come to mind instantly (Spotify, Apple Music, or Pandora) but we decided to go for iHeart Radio thanks to the way it makes creating your playlists and customized radio stations easy, as well as instantly replaying a song from the radio, offline listening, and much more – all without the hassle of constant commercials and interruptions.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clearchannel.iheartradio.controller&hl=en
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iheartradio-free-music-radio-stations/id290638154?mt=8
Windows Phone: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/iheartradio/9wzdncrfj223
UTILITIES: Evernote (https://evernote.com/download/)
Nowadays, note-taking apps are a must! With so many things to take care of throughout the day (work, to-do lists, groceries), and interesting stuff to watch later (news, music, websites), an app that syncs all your devices easily is always useful. Evernote stores and organizes your notes, lets you access and edit them anytime and with anything you need (links, audio clips and other types of attachments), so it can be a real lifesaver when you need it!
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evernote&hl=en
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/evernote-stay-organized/id281796108?mt=8
Windows Phone: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/evernote/9wzdncrfj3n1
TOOLS: Splitwise (https://www.splitwise.com/)
If you are going on vacations with family or friends this summer and want to split expenses the best possible way, Splitwise is a welcome addition to your smartphone. You can create an event, profiles for each person involved, add expenses and who paid for them and the app will take care of the rest: it splits the expenses evenly among everyone and calculates which part owes, who is owed money and even lets you create IOUs and reminders to settle the debts.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Splitwise.SplitwiseMobile&hl=en
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/splitwise-split-bills-and-expenses-the-easy-way/id458023433?mt=8
Windows Phone: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/splittr/9nblggh08cpv