These Are the 10 Apps on My iPhone I Can’t Live Without

There are several apps that I check every single day—ones that enrich my life. Some you might be hearing for the first time, while others are native services that you probably use on the daily. Aside from the obvious apps like WhatsApp and Maps, which ones am I most attached to? And why do they have such a hold on me? Let’s talk about the iPhone apps I absolutely can’t live without.

iPhone Apps I Can’t Live Without

1. Spotify

I use Spotify every day. I’m sure many people either use this or Apple Music daily. The former provides a soundtrack to my life, whether that’s driving around town, chilling in bed, or getting revitalized while showering.

You can make a list of songs you love, find recommendations, and check out playlists, audiobooks, and podcasts from around the world. It’s an exceptional service, and really cheap too, considering you can access so much content.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Duolingo?

Did you know that you can link up with your friends on Spotify and you create Blends. Spotify creates a special playlist just for you both. It’ll give you a mix of songs you like, songs your friend likes, and tunes you both love.

2. SkyView Lite

At some point, all of us have gazed up at the night sky in amazement and wondered about all those incredible stars. SkyView tells you everything you need to know about them.

Just download the app and point the camera to the sky. Heck, you don’t even have to point it upwards: point it down at your feet and the app will guide you through the stars, planets, and constellations as seen from the other side of the world!

SkyView Lite is the free version, but you can pay premium and get loads more fascinating content.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Duolingo?

You won’t just see planets and stars using SkyView. I love trying to spot the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS plummets across the sky at 17,500 miles an hour, meaning you can see it, but you’ll have to be fast! A fly-over can take between two and eight minutes to go from horizon to horizon.

3. Duolingo

Five years ago, I started learning French using Duolingo. Now, I have a 1800+ day streak and can confidently stroll around France chatting with strangers. I’m bad at learning languages; somehow, I’ve managed it, and if I can, so can anyone.

You’ll have seen memes about Duo, the app’s sometimes-threatening owl mascot; you’ll also have seen complaints that the app isn’t as good as it used to be. Nonetheless, it remains a solid way of learning a language, especially when the choice is so great.

Build up foreign languages through gradual daily progress. It might not seem like much, but after a year of challenges, you’ll be pleased to see how far you’ve come.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Duolingo?

Head over to the rankings page and you’ll see an extra knowledge test you can play. During weekdays, that’s Match Madness, a fun game where you match words from your native language with ones from the language you’re trying to learn. On weekends, you can play Ramp Up, where the challenges get tougher when you beat each round.

Give Match Madness a go at least. You’ll be surprised at how easily these words tend to click in your mind without you having to concentrate.

4. CLZ Comics

CLZ Comics is an astonishing service. It lets you keep an up-to-date catalog of every single comic book or graphic novel you own.

It’s updated every week and each issue or book includes cover images, creative credits, release dates, and a synopsis. You just scan the barcode of whatever you want to add and it’ll automatically place it in your library.

That’s not all: if you don’t collect comics, there are various associated apps available through Collectorz, the family brand, including Books, Music, Movies, and Games.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using CLZ Comics?

Living in the UK, I sometimes get more obscure regional comics that I want to add to my catalog. If I scan a barcode and can’t find the right issue, I can manually type its name into the app and link it up with what’s in the Collectorz database, or just add it myself (though this means it’s missing issue details like a blurb).

5. Marvel Unlimited

Okay, so CLZ Comics works for physical media, but what about digital comics?

I use Marvel Unlimited, arguably the greatest digital comics library ever. You pay for an annual subscription and can enjoy more than 30,000 issues from Marvel’s 80+ year history. More are added every week. It’s an astonishing app and can be downloaded across multiple devices.

You can generally access comics three months after they hit comic shops, although there are sometimes early releases. Reading lists come up with suggestions based on popular titles or characters and can open up a multiverse of adventures after you’ve seen the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film or TV show.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Marvel Unlimited?

You can read exclusive comics created just for Marvel Unlimited.

Why’s that so cool? These issues are made for a different kind of interaction. Previous online-exclusive content has featured comics drawn lengthways, i.e. you can scroll and scroll without flipping through pages and shifting between tiny panels.

6. Fitbit

The idea you need to do 10,000 steps isn’t quite right, but getting fit and healthy is still a worthy pursuit. Fitbit helps you do that.

By default, the main interface shows the number of steps you’ve taken in a day, how many calories that adds up to, and the distance the app thinks you’ve walked. Scroll down to learn details about your active minutes, floors ascended, and more.

I rarely manage to walk 10,000 steps a day (such is the life of a freelance writer), but the app still motivates me to try harder—not least so because I can see how many steps my friends have walked each week and I enjoy the competition!

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Fitbit?

Keep wearing your device at nighttime and Fitbit will also track your sleep patterns.

The goal is to get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, but few of us can do that. Still, it’s another motivating factor that should result in better general health.

Just be careful you don’t get too caught up on getting enough sleep. If you start to worry about sleep based purely on what Fitbit tells you, try leaving your watch off for a few nights.

7. The Conqueror Challenges

I’ve trekked through the Grand Canyon, explored the Great Barrier Reef, and made my way to Mordor with the One Ring to Rule Them All. Well, virtually, of course.

I need further incentives to get fitter. The Conqueror Challenges, then, is ideal.

You buy the opportunities to walk virtual challenges, and at the end of each “race,” you get a medal. And those medals are works of art. They look amazing, they’re inventive, and you get a physical reminder of how well you’re doing.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using the Conqueror Challenges?

If you have a fitness tracker, The Conqueror Events piggybacks on it to keep up with your steps. But what if you’ve done some extra exercise? Just go to Post Distance then Manually Post a Distance. From there, you can add activity, date, and distance in kilometers.

8. TodayTix

I love seeing live events. Theater is a wonderful thing to experience, whether that’s a quietly political drama like A Mirror, a Shakespearian classic like Love’s Labour’s Lost, or a bright musical like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

TodayTix shows me what’s coming up in the West End, and, even better, gives me discounts on shows I want to see. It’s a win-win situation.

What’s more, you can enter into lotteries and win tickets. My friend won tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2, so I’ve been entering everything I can in the hopes of seeing something amazing—and free!—too.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using TodayTix?

You can search by category, but you can also filter between evening shows and matinees. That’s especially handy if you work unusual hours or you’ve already booked to see one show in the afternoon and want to fully make use of your time in theatre land by checking out another that night.

9. Shop

I shop at a diverse range of places. There are obvious popular stores like Amazon and eBay, but also more eclectic purchases from, for instance, online music pages. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of it all.

That’s where Shop comes in. This essentially is an information aggregate, combining data from your online buys and displaying any upcoming shipments. This is the consumer side of Shopify, a name that should ring a bell for many retailers.

It works by connecting to your email, so as soon as you buy something, it’ll appear in Shop. Similarly, you’ll find dispatch notifications and updates when your delivery is made.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Shop?

A lot of online shops give you the option to actually pay for items using your Shop account! Users in America and Canada can also benefit from Shop Cash rewards, a scheme that gives you discounts when you order.

You can also use Shop to pay for bigger purchases across numerous payments, so your bank account isn’t immediately hit when you need to buy something.

10. Headspace

Mindfulness is a big part of modern-day society. We’re always told to practice it, whether through meditation or yoga. However, I admit that I’m not very good at it. Like a lot of people, I can’t find the time to just sit back and relax, even if it’s just for five minutes.

I didn’t think Headspace would be right for me. And sure enough, I don’t open the app that often. Still, Headspace helps me every morning.

By enabling notifications, I receive a short message every day to remind me to think positively. It might seem like nothing, but seeing it is a real help when you’re otherwise bombarded with negativity from social media.

Did You Know You Can Do This Using Headspace?

Aside from meditation videos, you can navigate to Explore then Podcasts to find a series of discussions about work, sleeping schedules, and more. Some are locked and so can only be accessed by paying for the premium version of Headspace; you might still find these beneficial though.

These are all the iPhone apps that I can’t live without. Of course, your list might look a little different based on your lifestyle and profession. If you’re a student looking to make the most out of your (expensive) iPad, I suggest going through our guide on apps that can help you ace university.