Must-Have Apps in Smartphone

Introduction

Smartphones have become an essential part of our lives, enabling us to do many things with just a few taps on the screen.

  • Whether it is communicating with friends and family, getting directions to a new place, shopping online or streaming music and videos, there is an app for almost everything.

However, how do you choose the best apps for your needs and preferences?

  • Also, there are some apps that I have installed for emergency or occasional use.



Social Media

Social media apps are not only great for staying in touch with your friends, but also for discovering new content and staying updated with the latest news and trends.

Depending on your interests and preferences, you can choose from a variety of platforms that cater to different audiences and niches.



Communication

Undoubtedly, mobile messengers have become the preferred way of communicating over SMS.

  • However, one of the challenges of using mobile messengers is getting your friends and family to join the same platform.

Hence, depending on your location and social circle, you might use different mobile messengers more frequently than others.

Mobile messengers

Video conferencing apps



Internet Browser

Similar to desktop counterparts, there are many internet browsers available on the phone such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox and Opera.

  • As someone who has been a devoted user of Google, I recently switched to Microsoft Edge as my default mobile phone browser due to its interactive Bing Chat, Options Menu and AdBlock Plus feature.

By tapping the "..." icon located at the bottom of Microsoft Edge, you can perform a variety of tasks, such as

  • New InPrivate Tab - Opening a new incognito mode tab
  • View desktop site
  • Find on page
  • Read aloud - Another interesting feature that I enjoyed playing around. Before you start changing voice options, make sure you have install the relevant voice data in Speech services by Google.
  • Font size
  • Add to phone - Adding webpage to your home screen

Microsoft Edge

If advertisement blocking and privacy is the main concern, a good alternative will be Brave Private Web Browser.



Photo Editing

Although I have heard a lot about VSCO and Photoshop Express, my preferred photo editing app remains Snapseed for its simplicity and intuitive interface.

  • You are able to tune image with fine, precise control.
  • Snapseed also supports RAW files.



PDF Scanner

Sometimes, you need to send a digital copy of a document for a certain purpose. A PDF scanner lets you use your smartphone camera as scanner and help you to convert the image into a PDF automatically. Some popular examples are

They all perform well and produce high-quality scans.



eBook Reader and Productivity

Reading eBooks on your phone can be very convenient, as you can access them anytime and anywhere.

  • However, eBooks comes in different formats, such as PDF, Epub, Mobi and txt.

To read them, you may need to install various eBook readers that support these formats.

On the other hand, if you want to view document, excel or powerpoint files, you can use



Streaming

Streaming apps have become a part of our daily lives, providing us with endless entertainment options at our fingertips.

When most people think of streaming apps, the following services come to mind.

Music

Videos



Media Player

Nowadays, music and video streaming are very popular.

  • To illustrate, many people watch videos on platforms like Facebook, TikTok or YouTube.
  • This has reduced the usage of a media player significantly.

The need to install a specific video player is further reduced when most video player apps can handle the common video formats without any problems.

However, if you need a video player for specific purposes, you might want to consider the following options.



Note Taking

Instead of using the built-in note app on my smartphone, I prefer Google Keep as my default note taking app.

  • This way, I can sync all notes across my devices seamlessly.



Navigation

Navigation apps have made paper maps obsolete for most people. Nowadays, we rely on our smartphones to guide us to our destinations.

Google Maps is a robust maps application with crowd-sourced, real time traffic data.

  • It offers directions for various mode of transportation, such as driving, walking, biking and public transit.
  • It also shows you information about local business, landmarks, opening hours and phone numbers.
  • It also allows you download directions for offline use.

On the other hand, Waze Navigation & Live Traffic is a Google's driver-focused navigation app.

    • It uses crowdsourced data from other users to alert you of traffic conditions, road hazards, police traps, toll prices and more.



    Translation

    A common concern among individuals who travel to other countries is the fear of not being able to effectively communicate with locals who speak a different language.

    Fortunately, Google Translate provides a solution to this problem. The application offers

    • Text translation for 108 languages by typing
    • Instant camera translation by just pointing your camera onto the image (94 languages)
    • Translate photo for higher quality translations (90 languages)
    • Translate bilingual conversations on the fly (70 languages)
    • Offline mode for 59 languages

    Additionally, Microsoft Translator is another free translation app that offers

    • Text translation into over 70 languages, for online and offline use.
    • Also offers camera translation and bilingual conversation translation.

    Hopefully, with the help of these translation apps, individuals can better navigate their travels and communicate with people from different countries without feeling hindered by language barriers.



    Cloud Storage

    The convenience of cloud storage has made it an essential tool for people of all ages.

    • With cloud storage, transferring data from one device to another or sharing files with others is incredibly easy.

    There are many free cloud storage apps available such as

    • Dropbox - 2 GB free storage (up to 18 GB with referrals)
    • Google Drive - 15 GB free storage (shared with Gmail and Google Photos)
    • MediaFire - 10 GB free storage (up to 50 GB with bonuses)
    • Microsoft OneDrive - 5 GB free storage
    • pCloud - 5 GB free storage (up to 10 GB with referrals)

    Apart being an image gallery, Google Photos combines cloud-based storage with its AI-based organization of images and clips.
    • If you take many photos of a person or pet with your smartphone, the service will see them and then group all those photos into one album.
    • Plus, it also now offers AI-powered editing tools, such as Magic Eraser to the Google One Subscribers.
    • To save space, I have chosen the "storage saver" option as the backup quality since any new photos uploaded after 1 June 2021 is counted as part of the 15GB free storage on Google One. Also, I enable camera upload in Dropbox and then transfer those original quality photos to an external hard disk.



    Lifestyle

    In today's fast-paced and digital world, there are also many apps available that can assist our lifestyle by providing more convenience and efficiently. For example,

    • Shopping: Shopee, Lazada, 淘宝
      • Allows us to browse and buy products from a wide range of categories and sellers, without having to leave homes or deals with crowds and queues.
    • Food delivery: Foodpanda
      • Let us order food from our favorite restaurants and have it delivered to our doorstep, saving us time and hassle.
    • On-demand delivery: Lalamove
      • Enables us to send or receive parcels, documents or other items quickly and securely with real-time tracking and flexible payment options.
    • Ride-hailing app: Grab, Uber
      • Offers us to book a ride.
    • E-wallet: Boost, Grab, Touch 'n Go, PayPal
      • Allows us to make cashless transactions online or offline, with features such as rewards or discounts.

    These apps make our lives easier by simplifying and streamlining various tasks that we do every day.



    Weather

    Weather forecast apps are useful tools for planning events, as they can help us anticipate and prepare for different weather conditions.

    • Nonetheless, climate change makes weather forecasting more challenging and uncertain.

    I usually rely on the built-in weather app for basic information such as 24-hour forecast and the chance of rain (precipitation).

    • However, there are many other weather apps that might offer more features and benefits, such as The Weather Channel.

    The Weather Channel is a free, ad-supported app that provides a wealth of meteorological data such as temperature, wind, rain, humidity and UV index as well as pollution.



    Virtual Private Network

    A virtual private network (VPN) is a service that allows you to browse the internet securely and anonymously, as well as access contents that may be blocked in your region due to geo-restrictions.

    There are many VPN apps available, but my personal favorite is Windscribe VPN, which offers 10GB of free data per month.



    Summary

    The app market is constantly evolving, with new apps being launched almost every day for both Android and iOS devices.

    • To stay on top of the latest trends and innovations, you can always check the top charts in the respective app stores. There, you can find the most popular and downloaded apps in various categories and genres.

    Additionally, some tips for choosing the best apps may include

    • Consider your needs and preferences.
    • Read user reviews.
    • Try out different apps and uninstall unnecessary apps.



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