There are millions of smartphone apps available these days. Although this immense variety does have its benefits, many must have apps can be unnecessarily difficult to find. To save you some trouble we’ve put together seven of the most important third-party apps to install on your phone today.
As a side note, we’ve deliberately left banking apps off this list, as well as streaming services & all social media platforms. Chances are you already have some or all of these apps installed, and most of them are highly dependent on personal preferences anyway. Now that our little caveat is out of the way, let’s dive into the seven best apps for your phone.
Duolingo
Learning a new language is easy for some people. Most of us struggle to learn a second language though, nevermind multiple dialects. This is where Duolingo comes in handy, an app that walks you through any language at a personalised pace.
With Duolingo, learning a new language is a whole lot easier than before. Instead of hiring a teacher or trawling through textbooks, using this app will give you achievable daily goals via motivational content & concise learning strategies.
Completing daily lessons rewards users with points and, much like a video game, earning enough points will upgrade your level. Every level you gain makes you more proficient in the language of your choice. Duolingo’s game mechanics suit language learning perfectly, and various studies have shown that it is a highly effective learning tool.
LastPass
How many times have you forgotten a password? We use them so often these days, it’s almost impossible to keep track of them all. From bank accounts to forum membership, we need login details for almost every facet of modern life. Leave those logins to an app like LastPass and you won’t have to worry about resetting passwords ever again.
It’s not like you can use the same password for every account; that would just make it incredibly easy for hackers to invade your privacy. To improve your security you need a password manager. LastPass is a one-stop app where you can store your vital data securely.
Though the free version is limited in capability, LastPass has two options for paid users, which are both excellent password managers compared to similar security apps.
Khan Academy
Following the success of its highly popular Youtube channel, the Khan Academy has released a self-titled free education tool. This nifty little app boasts plenty of educational content, including typical subjects such as math, science & biology. There are also additional features like educational talks, trend analyses, and academic discussions.
Khan Academy provides users with unlimited access to its wide range of subjects. The list of topics covered is quite extensive, covering the majority of any school curriculum. High school students will find the app particularly useful. However, users of any age can take advantage of this content. Seeing that it’s all completely free, Khan Academy is perfect for brushing up on a wide range of technical & academic content.
Yelp
Public perception can tell you a lot about a company. Nobody enjoys poor service, and many disgruntled patrons have turned to Yelp as an outlet for their frustrations. Though crowdsourced ratings have faced criticism in the past, at the end of the day they provide a fairly accurate reading of public sentiment.
Short of experiencing a service for yourself, Yelp is perfect to get a first impression of any company. If you want to know how reputable a company, restaurant, or brand is, Yelp is the perfect app to do exactly that. Influencers and trusted reviewers won’t hesitate to provide a good review, which means that most ratings are a lot more balanced than Yelp critics tend to assume.
MyFitnessPal
Health & wellness is always important. Keep track of your vitals with MyFitnessPal; a comprehensive fitness app that allows you to monitor both your diet & exercise metrics. By keeping track of your caloric intake, MyFitnessPal allows you to stay in control of any fitness goals you have.
An extensive library of foods comes built-in to the app. This allows you to track every stat accurately. Merely select a dish or ingredient, and you will instantly have calorie count options, nutrition information, as well as serving size suggestions. Once a snack or meal is entered into MyFitnessPal, you can create a shortcut for that item and save yourself a bit of time.
MyFitnessApp also features round-the-clock support, advice & tips; accessible through its many networking features. This handy performance monitor can be integrated with a variety of other apps, such as Samsung Health, Apple HealthKit and FitBit.
Spotify
Spotify has won the award for Best Streaming Service three years in a row at the International Dance Music Awards. In 2010 the company was announced as a Technology Pioneer at the World Economic Forum (WEF).
With over 350 million users, Spotify is the most downloaded music app in the US. It’s easy to see why; the app features more than 70 million songs, with no paywall or subscription cost for access. There are advertisements in the free version, but that’s a small price to pay for an unlimited library of licensed music.
BitDefender
Although smartphones do come with pre-installed security apps, it couldn’t hurt to make sure your device is as secure as possible with BitDefender. This security app is a must for any security-conscious tech user, and its added layer of safety is critical for ensuring complete digital privacy.
Many security apps place a disproportionate load on your phone’s memory, hampering processing power & overall performance. BitDefender offers all the features of the best security apps at a fraction of the processing cost. Its light system usage is an indispensable advantage, and the price for such extensive security coverage is quite affordable compared to other antivirus apps.
