If you ask my mum, she will argue that my iPhone is glued to my hand every minute of the day (watch out for her face as payback in all of my screenshots hehe). Whilst I profusely disagree, I know I would be lost without it. This post details all of the apps I use regularly, as well as why I find them useful and why they've stood the test of time! I would say 95% of the apps on my phone are free too! The apps I have paid for will be indicated.
I'm a bit OCD so all of my apps are sorted in to folders, I like being able to see as much space as possible, as well as keeping things organised. I know my boyfriend's sister finds this really weird - but to each their own! (Hi Sue!)
For more details - keep reading!
My iPhone is an Gold 5S
My Case is from Amazon and was $2.99
My background photo is of my boyfriend and I from when I was home in the UK for Christmas.
Home Screen
On my home screen, I have all of the standard Apple apps. The ones I don't use have been put in to the 'Apple' folder; these are mainly the ones that Apple insist you have on your phone, that you don't really want - such as the new 'Watch' app and 'Game Centre'. Besides from Apple apps, I have my mot used Apps:Twitter and Facebook
These, of course, are self-explanatory. I keep these apps on the bottom bar for ease of access and convenience. Feel free to follow me on Twitter and 'like' the blog on Facebook!
Tone It Up - *paid*
One of the only apps I have paid for is the Tone It Up app. I have been a member of the TIU team for almost 5 years and this app helps me connect with other team members, as well as keep up to date with their recent blog posts. The app also serves as workout library, which makes it worth the fee by itself.
Perfect Fit - *paid*
This is another app developed by Tone It Up and it is a great way to track progress if you're looking to lose weight or tone up. The app allows you to take front-facing and side-on images daily, or however often you want. It can then compile them into a flip-zine or a slide show/video so you can see your process. You can track your weight, measurements and add any other notes you wish to. You can also set a reminder to track your progress.
I'm sure everybody knows what WhatsApp is. The messaging service allows me to connect with friends across the world for free, when I'm connected to WiFi or 4G. It allows you to send messages, videos and sound recordings. It's really user friendly and I would highly recommend it
BBC Weather
One app that is in the Apple folder, that isn't Apple, is my BBC Weather App. BBC is the British Broadcasting Service and I've just found their weather forecast's to be a little bit more accurate and reliable than the standard iPhone app - which is why I downloaded it.
Second Page
The second page is where you will find all of my folders. They aren't arranged in any particular order, just in the order in which I know them to be! The few apps that aren't sorted in to folders are as follows:
iBooks
iBooks doesn't really count, as it is already installed when you purchase the phone, but I use it all the time to access my Tone It Up Nutrition Plan, printable workouts or other PDF's that I have saved to my phone. This is particularly great for on the go use. iBooks is one of the most underused and underrated apps in my opinion!
Deezer
Deezer is a music streaming service, much like Spotify or Napster. Usually £6.99 (I think!) a month, my subscription is free with my phone plan. Since using Deezer I have found I'm using the Music application so much less and it's clearly cheaper than buying so much music!
BBC News
Especially whilst I've been living away from home, I've found the BBC News app a great way to connect and keep up to date with things going on in the UK. I'm not a huge fan of it since it had a huge overhaul and redesign in January - but it's still part of my morning routine! It's a great resource for anyone from the UK.
Timehop
I installed Timehop in the early stages of my study abroad year as a way to gauge how much can happen in a year; almost to make me feel ok about being away from home as time can go so quickly. That being said, I think it's so much fun! When it shows me a Facebook status from 6 years ago, I cringe at how embarrassing it is! It's really funny and it can serve as a great reminder of things you've deleted from your phone or forgotten about.
Google Drive
I have digital copies of my favourite workout DVD's uploaded to Google Drive for easy access when I'm travelling, out and about or in the gym. It saves the room I would use if they were on my phone or iPad and is just convenient!
Photos
This folder is the one I go to the most, which is why it sits in the top left hand corner of the screen. I use my phone as my main camera and have no complaints - especially as you're able to get so many great apps to use alongside it.
Instagram is probably my favourite form of social media. I love the way hashtag's can serve as folders for pictures you want to group in one place, I love the social aspect of it, I love the ease of it - I just LOVE IG!
Moldiv
Moldiv is the app I use when I want to create a photo collage. It has a huge variety of frames you can personalise
A Beautiful Mess - *paid*
ABM is an app for adding really cute doodles, text, borders and phrases to an image. You can also create collages but I find the functionality of those a little bit limited.
Rhonna Designs - *paid*
Rhonna is much like A Beautiful Mess but I find it has a lot more options. Since downloading Rhonna, I've used ABM a lot less. You can add shapes, text, filters, masks and so many different images to your photo. I make header photos for my blog on Rhonna a lot of the time!
FreePrints
If you haven't downloaded FreePrints yet, you really should! It's a great app!! Each month, you're given 50 free prints - you just have to pay the postage fees! You can upload photos straight from your iPhone or link your social media accounts and within a week the high quality prints will be at your door! I really LOVE this app, and can't recommend it enough. Use the invite code gedwards35 when you sign up for a bonus!
Studio - *paid*
Studio is another editing app that I use for professional looking text. There are an abundance of different fonts and you're really able to personalise and intricately edit the way it looks, which I love. It could be a little bit more user friendly, but on the whole I still really like it
Afterlight
One of my most used photo editing apps, Afterlight allows you to go in once a photo has been taken and make it brighter. It has a huge number of tools to really sharpen up the appearance of an image and get it looking much higher quality than it actually is! You're also able to add filters.
VSCOcam - *paid*
VSCOcam is very similar to Afterlight, but it just makes everything look so pretty just from the addition of a filter. I've been using it for all of the photos I've uploaded to Instagram recently. You can also adjust the brightness, contrast, exposure and all of the regular photo things! (I'm not a professional - sorry!) This app is worth EVERY PENNY!
Repost
For quick sharing options on Instagram, I downloaded Repost to quickly - you guessed it - repost an image to my account from another. I like that it credits the original uploader and that you can choose where to place the credit, and it copies their full caption for you to refer to.
Health & Fitness Apps
This folder is probably the one that has been updated and changed the most in my iPhone's history. I have tried my fair share of Health Apps and these three are the only ones that remain!
MyFitnessPal
I don't obsessively track calories, but if I'm interested in the nutrient profile of a recipe or curious about what I'm eating, I'll search it in the MFP database. There are probably millions of foods in the database and the app is incredibly user friendly. I love that you can create your own recipes and scan food labels. I will track my calories once every 1-2 months - just to make sure I'm on track and this app more than does the job. I really love it.
MapMyRun
I have used more tracking apps than I can name, most noticeable the Nike Running and Lorna Jane app. Map My Run is the only one that I really like. I've found it to be the most user friendly and I really like that I can adjust the entry for different kinds of activity, from running to rowing!
Nike + iPod
This app is one of the ones that comes pre-installed, I never ever use it.
Social
This category is a bit of a one size fits all. Social was the only word that seemed to fit. It does work with most of the apps, but not others!
Snapchat
I was so late to the Snapchat party and I still don't use it to it's full capabilities, but I really love this fun little app! I use it a lot more than sending pictures via messages now and it can be so much fun! I love the My Story option for keeping up with various people. That being said, the Live Events that Snapchat adds can be really irritating - nobody has the time for a 600+ second video of drunk college students at a football game.
Facebook Messenger
Not one of my favourite apps, but Facebook didn't give me a choice. I would definitely use WhatsApp over this.
Flappy Bird
Please believe me when I say that I barely ever play this game haha! I jumped on the bandwagon last year and now that it's no longer on the App Store, I can't bring myself to delete it. I have found it to be quite useful on the numerous plane journey's I've taken this year ;). For those of you who don't know, it's a stupid game where you stop a bird from flying in to pipes. The creator got death threats so he pulled it from the App Store!
Google Hangout
Another app I rarely use, but useful for connecting with people via your Google Account. It works very much in the same way as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
I don't use this app anywhere near as much as I used to, but I still love a good Pin session. I've found it particularly useful recently for pulling up recipes on the go or even a wish list. My hairdresser loves that I have a Pin board for hair styles - all of which I pull up on my phone. Follow me here!
Useful
My Useful folder has more of the useless Apple apps (I know) but there are some apps I use regularly.
Converter +
Especially useful since I've been in the US, Coverter + is a one stop shop for any kind of measurement conversion you need to do!
B&H Buses and M-Tickets
Both of these apps are used for my local public transportation system at home. If I want to buy tickets or check times, I use these apps.
Waze
Waze is another MUST HAVE app in my opinion. If you're a driver you will seriously value this FREE GPS app. Scarily accurate (to the point where it tells you if there's a red light ahead), Waze tells you about accidents nearby and can even tell you the price point of petrol stations. I still cannot get my head around the fact this app is free!
Sussex Mobile
This is my University's app. I can check my email, my schedule and any live news updates from here.
Media
This folder is home to all of my media apps - ones that aren't anything to do with photos!
YouTube
Obvious!
Shazam Encore - *paid* - but only because I had the Starbucks free download
Another must have app - even my Grandma uses it! I love how easy and quickly it is able to identify a song you want to know the name of - at the touch of a button. The version I have also saves the songs you've identified for future reference.
Sonos
We have a Sonos music system in my dining room at home and this app allows me to control what music being played and line up a playlist. Side note, but a Sonos is well worth the investment in my opinion!
Roku
Much like an Apple TV, a Roku is a streaming stick plugged in to the back of my Boyfriend's TV. This app serves as a remote control for the times when I can't be bothered to get out of bed to find the real one!
Shopping
This folder doesn't get used too often but it's good to have all of the spending apps in one place so I don't spend too often!!
Amazon
The Amazon app is the only retailer that has survived on my phone. The app is really easy to use and I buy so much stuff from Amazon - I just prefer it to the mobile site!
PayPal
I so rarely use PayPal, but when I do it's normally when I'm on the go, so the app is much easier to use than a mobile site. I also love the fact you can use a PIN for it instead of a password.
Starbucks & Costa
Both apps belonging to coffee shops, these apps allow me to top up my Starbucks card, see my Costa card points balance and serve as easy access if I don't have either card on me when I'm in store. If you're in the UK, the Costa rewards scheme is much more lucrative than the Starbucks one - just FYI!
Travel
In this folder I have the apps belonging to the Airlines I have booked travel with. At the moment this means Norwegian (my LAX-London flights), Southwest (my favourite US airline) and EasyJet. I always check in on line or via the app now so these apps serve as my boarding pass, and a reference point when I've forgotten dates or times!
Dreamdays
Dreamdays is a really lovely app if you're counting down to a special event! You're able to personalise different events and they integrate seamlessly in to the pull-down Today/Notifications screen on all iPhones.
US Apps
This folder is not going to be around for much longer! My US journey is soon coming to an end but these apps have been pretty indispensable whilst I've been here. You may notice I have FreePrints again but that is only because it is the US instead of the UK version. Other apps include my US bank account, my local grocery store and the TV Guide.
Pinger
Pinger is worth a mention as it was able to give me a US phone number without having to buy a phone plan or a Sim card. It only allows me to text and not make or receive calls, but it has more than served its purpose for all of the forms I have had to fill in that require a US number.
Blog
Finally, the two apps in this folder relate to my Blog.
Bloglovin'
Bloglovin' allows me to follow all of my favourite blogs and read all of their most recent posts in one place - a great idea if you ask me! Perfect for those long travel journeys. Feel free to follow this blog on Bloglovin too!
Blogger
I use this app if I come up with the idea for a blog post whilst I'm away from my laptop. I set it all up and then can edit it when I'm home. Sometimes even if it's just the title I'll do this. It's also been quite useful for uploading photos without having to transfer them to my laptop.
That's it!! This post ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated so if you stuck with it until the end, I'm sorry and thank you very much!!
Do you have any Apps you can't live without? Let me know in the comment section below!
Love Always
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