There’s nothing quite like unboxing a new smartphone for the first time. Removing the lid and seeing the pristine device inside the box fills you with a sense of excitement; this little computer contains the sum of human knowledge, and it’s all accessible right from the palm of your hand. Of course, with such a vast and incomprehensible quantity of information and choice available to you, it can be difficult to know where to even begin. Here are the 10 best apps to download for a new smartphone.
1. TikTok
If you want to put your finger on the pulse of the general population, then TikTok is where you need to go. It’s the premier social media app right now; while it still doesn’t quite match the monthly active users of Facebook, it’s climbing rapidly, and we foresee even bigger success in its future. When you’re established on TikTok and ready to start building a following, you can use sites like SocialFollowersFree to boost your profile and get even more eyes on the videos you’re making!
2. Emma
Personal finance can be a tricky and difficult thing to manage, and that’s where Emma comes in. It makes managing your finances, from building a budget through to checking on your investments, an absolute breeze. There are, of course, plenty of personal finance management apps out there, but we think Emma is the best of the bunch thanks to its clean user interface, range of options, and great free plan. Don’t go anywhere without Emma in your pocket.
3. Netflix
Any one of the number of streaming apps available can be placed here instead of Netflix if you’re not feeling the content it’s offering. Some say that watching movies or TV show content on your smartphone is a bad idea, and while we’d always recommend that you watch Netflix on the biggest screen available, sometimes your phone is your only option. The Netflix app is easy to use, comes with a huge amount of content (provided you have a subscription), and is compatible with a massive variety of devices.
4. Adobe Photoshop Express
What’s the first thing many people do when they unbox their smartphones? Test out the camera, of course. Once you’ve taken the photo, though, what do you do with it then? Upload it to Instagram? Show it to your friends? Why not edit it and have some fun with it first? Adobe Photoshop Express is a great mobile photo editor that allows you to add all kinds of fun extras to your photos. It comes with many of the tools from the Photoshop desktop app, so if you’re already au fait with that, Express is easy to use.
5. Duolingo
There are many benefits to learning a second language. It helps to broaden your horizons, gives you more options when communicating with people, and it’s just plain fun to do. Duolingo might not be the most academically effective language learning tool, but it is freely available on Android and iOS, and it’s a good way to get started. You won’t necessarily achieve fluency through Duolingo, but for grasping the basics of a new language, it’s a great option.
6. Flipboard
Flipboard is a news app with a difference. Rather than just showing you headlines it thinks you’ll be interested in, Flipboard presents information in an attractive, stylish magazine format, so you can literally “flip” through stories. It learns the kinds of stories you like and tries to personalise content for you, too, so you shouldn’t see much that doesn’t interest you. With plenty of options available, Flipboard is the only app you need when it comes to news.
7. Bitwarden
Password managers are becoming a trickier proposition by the day. Many of the old stalwarts are hiding behind paywalls or changing their functionality, but Bitwarden is a great, old-school password manager that’s completely open-source. You can download it for both Android and iOS, of course, and it can store all of your passwords, suggest new ones, and sync between devices, so you can use it on your desktop PC or laptop as well.
8. Reddit
If you’ve used Reddit on desktop, then you’ll know just how much of a time sink this app can really be. The mobile app is, of course, no different; it contains all of the same discussions as the desktop version does, so whether you like browsing r/interesting or looking through the moral quandaries of r/gue (see what they did there?), Reddit should be a mainstay on your device. Just make sure you don’t start browsing it when you don’t have a significant chunk of free time available.
9. WhatsApp
Let’s get one thing out of the way: WhatsApp has been mired in privacy and data concerns for a long time. If you’re worried about what’s happening to your user data and who’s getting their hands on it, you might want to avoid WhatsApp, but on the other hand, it’s difficult to do so when all of your friends and family are using it. For what it’s worth, WhatsApp has made noises about improving its privacy, and it’s an incredibly well-crafted app. Just use it at your own discretion.
10. Pocket Casts
If you’re using an iPhone, then your device will already come with a podcast app, but Pocket Casts is better. It lets you download, sort, and subscribe to new podcasts, and it’s got a beautiful layout that uses a grid format to clearly and legibly display the podcasts you’ve subscribed to. Some podcasts won’t be on here – you’ll need to download Spotify for that app’s exclusive content, for instance – but there’s a vast repository of great and absorbing shows on offer.
