What are some of the best Android apps on the Google Play Store? What iOS apps you absolutely need to download on your new iPhone 14 Pro or iPad?
In 2022, there are so many apps on both leading mobile app stores, that finding the best ones, be it your run-of-the-mill free app or a paid app for your Android phone, is a tricky task. There’s just so much to choose from!
Yet, spending a little time in each respective ecosystem easily cuts your teeth in separating the chaff from the wheat, but why do it yourself when we can guide you through the wonderful and surprisingly deep ocean of apps?
Let’s explore what are arguably the best apps on both iOS and Android right now. We are not going to give you tons of options in each category, but just the best apps you can get for your Android device or iPhone on either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Best messaging apps for Android and iOS
Telegram is one of the best messaging apps that works across both platforms. Spend enough time on the Internet and you will inevitably see Telegram flying around as a recommendation. The app is free of charge and supports group chats, but also allows you to follow certain channels and quickly get up-to-date.
It’s hard to describe the popularity of WhatsApp in one sentence: after all, it’s one of the most downloaded apps regardless of the platform, period. WhatsApp is a cross-platform, end-to-end encrypted app with group chat functionality, stories, free video and audio calling internationally, making it a rather powerful hub for all things communication.
Viber
Another mighty popular messaging app, Viber has a host of healthy features that make it a worthwhile alternative to WhatsApp. With feature-rich group chats, video calling, and tons of fun stickers available on the store, Viber is as good a messaging app as they come.
Messenger
Despite the somewhat negative press that Facebook has got over the years, Meta’s Messenger is still one of the most popular ways of communication around the world. After all, who doesn’t have a Facebook account? Good news, you can use the app without one, but still make good use of all its features. There’s some basic chat personalization available as well.
If it’s happening now, it’s on Twitter: it is among the most popular social networks on the globe, allowing you to get timely updates from popular figures, celebrities, and other people of interest. Starting off with up to 140 characters in a single tweet, the social network ultimately grew to 280 characters per tweet and is currently testing an “edit” button, which will let you fix annoying typos in your tweets in a timely manner.
The social network for professionals, Microsoft’s LinkedIn lets you quickly connect with your co-workers and other peers in your line of work, as well as get up-to-speed with the current developing of your industry and discover the latest trends. What if you’re looking for a new job? LinkedIn is one of the perfect places to look for a new occupation, or simply mark yourself as “available”, and the headhunters will be after you in no time.
Snapchat
Oops, did you see it? The snap is now gone! Gen Z’s favorite Snapchat kickstarted some of the hottest trends in social media with stories, AR-filters, and ephemeral messages. You can snap your friends and keep those streaks going. Previously, Snapchat has received some criticism for not working optimally on Android devices, but the situation has definitely improved in recent years.
BeReal
A relative newcomer on the social media scene, BeReal has a simple, but rather intriguing premise: as soon as the app alerts you, you have two minutes to take a picture of what you’re doing alongside a selfie of your lovely mutt. In order to see your friends’ photos, you have to take one, preferably as soon as possible.
TikTok
Best photo and video editing apps for Android and iOS
Snapseed
One of the essential image-editing apps on both Android and iOS, Snapseed is a very powerful tool that allows for both basic and more advanced image editing. The app supports RAW photo developing and editing, giving you an even greater flexibility when it comes to image edits. There are lots of fun filters and tools alongside the basic functionalities you might expect from an image-editing app, like cropping, image tuning, etc.
Lightroom Mobile
If you’re serious about your mobile photos, you are certainly recommended to get Lightroom Mobile on your phone. The app is slightly more professional than other run-of-the-mill image editors you can find on the Play Store or the App Store. The app is lauded for its extensive use of sliders, which brings it up-to-speed with the full-fleshed desktop version. Another compelling feature are the Lightroom presets, which let you to quickly give your photos a certain desired look. You can either import these from your desktop app or download popular custom ones, of which there are quite a lot available on the internet.
Canva
Canva is definitely one of the best apps when it comes to collage making on either Android or iOS. With Canva, you can quickly and efficiently create your own unique designs for webpages, Instagram posts, or whatever else you might think of. There are tons of presets that surely would come in handy for your design needs. You also have some basic video editing skills on board, making this a must-have.
CapCut
Despite incepted as the official free video editor intended for TikTok, CapCut is actually a pretty capable video editor in general. Aside from basic video editing, CapCut also offers splitting, playback speed, animation transitions, style presets, audio extraction, various effects, stickers, and overlays, and so much more. This rather intuitive app is a must-have if you often edit videos on the go, no matter if you’re using an iPhone or an Android device.
Yet another excellent video editor for both iOS and Android, which allows you to stitch and mix/match your video clips into a digital masterpiece. Aside from the basics (editing, splitting, effects, filters, cropping, and precutting), InShot also has the rather interesting voice effects and denoising features, which make it stand out a bit from similar apps. All of this is neatly wrapped up in a super intuitive interface, making it one of the best iOS and Android apps.
Best productivity apps for iOS and Android
Notion
When it comes to raw utility, it’s hard to surpass what Notion brings to the table. This super-deep time and workflow organizer allows you to collaborate with other people in your workspace, keep track of your tasks, and create rich media on the go. The personal version of Notion will remain a free version forever, says the developer behind it, while the team plan will cost you, but it’s well worth it.
For some, this one comes as the ultimate communication channel for small and large teams, allowing for deep collaboration and integration with multiple third-party tools, like Google Drive, Asana, Dropbox, Zendesk, and more. In-app video and audio calling, as well as one-on-one and group huddles, make this one an exceptional and vital app for any business.
For many, this one is the ultimate word processor. The powerful app gives you all the bells and whistles you might expect, and then some, enabling you to create expansive text documents with rich media and advanced formatting. Of course, the iOS and Android versions of Google Docs sync up with the web-based version of the app as you write, allowing you to quickly resume your work from whatever device you have at hand.
Google’s web-based personal file server is one of the most popular ways for file-sharing on the web, but is also perfect as a personal file cache that allows collaboration and quick access to your files wherever and whenever. With 15GB of free basic storage for every Google user, Drive is a rather powerful, device-agnostic solution for file backup and access. Definitely a must-have!
While the title for the best note-taking app is certainly a toss-up between Evernote and Google Keep, Evernote gets slightly ahead with its much better third-party integration support. You can use Evernote with the full expanse of Google Suite (Drive, Docs, Sheets, etc.), Slack, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and so on, whereas Google Keep works best with Google’s own productivity apps only. Evernote also lets you attach PDFs to your notes, attach Slack messages or emails, and so much more.
Pocket is one of those apps that will simplify your digital life a lot. Thanks to it, you can quickly save any webpage for later reading or viewing. There’s also a Pocket extension for just about any browser out there, which enables you to sync your reading lists between devices and easily curate your selection.
Google Maps
Google Maps has undoubtedly established itself as the go-to digital map of the world for regular users. While its closets competitor, Apple Maps, has certainly come a long way since its inception, Google’s wildly-popular mapping software is still a more feature-rich app with advanced guidance and navigation functionalities, coupled with a slightly more intuitive and easy-to-use interface. If you have a smartphone, be it an iPhone or Android device, you need this one, period. It’s an essential app for a reason.
Waze
Technically Google ‘s second map app, Waze’s strength lies in its crowd-sourced alerts that warn of you road hazards, police patrols, traffic, accidents, and anything else that might mar your driving experience. Surely, navigating with Waze isn’t bad as well, and while the maps are not as detailed, it’s worth having this one on your phone as well. The fun celebrity guidance voice packs are worthy of a chuckle, as well.
