Apple’s defaultiOSapps for theiPhoneare pretty great. They follow a consistent design language, they’re simple and yet reasonably powerful, and they come free out of the box. That being said, theApp Storeis home to a dizzying number of third-party alternatives to pick from, with vast swathes of developers vying to one-up each other in the innovation department.
With this in mind, I’ve crafted a list of 5 third-party iPhone apps that I believe outclassApple’s in-house offeringsin just about every way. These apps all look and feel native to the system, while providing tons of additional features, toolsets, and customization options to fiddle around with.
5 third-party Android apps I insist on using instead of Google’s defaults
Google makes some excellent Android apps – but they pale in comparison to these third-party versions.
The best third-party podcasting app
Overcast is a podcast player with unique features for the iPhone and other Apple devices. The Smart Speed feature helps you get through podcasts faster without distorting audio.
There are severalexcellent podcasting appsavailable for the iPhone, each of which brings something unique to the table when compared toApple’s own Podcasts app. While I lovePocket CastsandAntennaPod, my personal favorite player has got to be Overcast. The app is full-featured, yet it comes with an interface that’s aesthetically pleasing and simple to understand.
New iPhone? Delete these apps immediately
The iPhone ships with some pretty solid default apps, but not all of them are winners – here are the ones I always delete right away.
The best third-party note-taking and reminders app
Clear: Minimalist Todo Lists
Clear is an expertly crafted to-do list that features a unique gesture-based interface.
As with podcasting apps, there are a wealth of popular note-taking and reminder apps available for the iPhone. Apple’s defaultNotesandRemindersapps get the job done, but third-party alternatives often come with additional features, organizational tools, and cross-device syncing options. Personally, I rely on Clear to keep on track with my personal lists of to-dos and errands.
Clear offers a gorgeous gradient-style interface design that I can’t get enough of.
Clear offers a gorgeous gradient-style interface design that I can’t get enough of, as well as a novel gesture-based navigational system that feels fluid and responsive. I also love the small flourishes of audio throughout - these crisp sound effects make swiping through my notes feel all the more satisfying.
Clear is free to use, and a Pro version is available for unlocking widgets, Apple Watch support, per-list personalization settings, monthly in-app collectibles, and more.
5 Android apps I delete immediately from every new phone
I hate clutter almost as much as I hate superfluous apps – here are the defaults that I always delete when setting up a new Pixel phone.
The best third-party calculator app
Solves: Calculator for All
Solves is a third-party calculator app for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac that provides an attractive-yet-powerful interface.
Apple’s first-partyCalculatorapp lagged far behind the competition up until the release of iOS 18 in the fall of last year. Today, the app finally boasts a dedicated backspace button, a dual-column view, as well as iPad support. Nevertheless, third-party alternatives continue to outshine Apple’s efforts. While there are plenty of more powerful alternatives on the App Store, I always gravitate to Solves.
I appreciate the haptic feedback, the animations, and the fact that the app respects my iPhone’s light mode setting.
Solves works across the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, and it comes with plenty of useful features. These include cross-device history sync, color theming, an adaptive user interface, and more. In practice, using Solves simply feels better than using Apple’s Calculator – I appreciate thehaptic feedback, the animations, and the fact that the app respects my iPhone’s light mode setting.
Solves is free to use and comes with no ads out of the gate, but a single-time Solves+ purchase is required for additional theming, unit conversion tools, and other more advanced settings.
6 free must-have apps I always install on my iPhone
These iPhone apps are entirely free, and they’re installed on my iPhone at all times.
The best third-party Apple Music app
Albums: Music Library Player
Albums is a third-party music player for the iPhone that taps into Apple Music, and provides listening stats, track organizational tools, and more.
Albums requires an active Apple Music subscription to function. At this time, the app doesn’t integrate with other music streaming services like Spotify.
Albums comes with a ton of extra features, including Last.FM compatibility for keeping track of your listening metrics, Siri, iCloud Sync, and CarPlay integration, and an in-line notes feature for jotting down your thoughts as you play back your favorite tracks. The base app is free to use, and there’s a Premium version available which unlocks additional library insights, album tagging, a release radar feature, and other goodies.
You won’t find these 9 excellent apps anywhere on the Google Play Store
F-Droid is a free and open-source alternative app store for Android - here are my favorite apps that are exclusively available on the storefront.
5LocalSend
The best third-party AirDrop replacement
LocalSend: Transfer Files
LocalSend is a cross-platform application that makes it easy to wirelessly send files from one device to another.
Over the past while, I’ve found Apple’s defaultAirDropprotocol to be a rather unreliable experience. The feature is pitched as an effortless way to wirelessly transfer files from one Apple device to the next, but I find the tool to be slow, unresponsive, and prone to seizing up entirely.
As a result of this, I’ve made the switch to LocalSend, which is afree and open-source(FOSS) alternative that works across all platforms and operating systems (Android,Windows, and more).
I’ve never encountered even the slightest hitch when using LocalSend to transfer my files, and its cross-platform compatibility is a major bonus from my perspective. The app’s interface is simple and clean, and the auto-generated display names are a charming touch that I genuinely appreciate.
New Android phone? Download these apps first
Android hosts a massive catalogue of high-quality mobile apps – here are the ones I immediately download on every new Droid I set up.
