10 Best iOS Apps Of 2013
Get the most from your iPhone or iPad with these App Store gems.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/blt2f2adf8cf58265bf/64cb57abbf862bb4e73b2fd6/ipadapps.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
At the Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini unveiling Oct. 22 in San Francisco, CEO Tim Cook announced that the number of iOS apps had reached a new milestone: 1 million. That's a steep climb from 700,000 apps at this time a year ago, not that most folks are counting these days. Indeed, the app race between iOS and Android isn't the big deal it used to be, and for good reason. Android may have beaten iOS to the 1 million mark by a few months, but given the gaudy numbers tossed about, there's hardly an app shortage on either side.
Still, here's one more stat for you: Cumulative downloads from Apple's App Store topped 60 billion in 2013 -- pretty impressive for an online shop that opened for business just about five years ago, in July 2008.
Out of the million-plus apps in the App Store, which are the best? The answer, of course, depends on your perspective. For this year's Top 10 list, we focused mostly on work-oriented apps, although you'll find some fun stuff in there. The chosen apps didn't necessarily debut this year, but rather filled a mobile computing niche, and did it quite well.
Our Top 10 list includes a mix of paid and free apps, although every year brings more free offerings. According to Flurry Analytics, 90% of the apps that used the company's mobile analytics code in April 2013 were free, up from 80% to 84% between 2010 and 2012. Specialized apps, however, including enterprise-oriented tools, still command a premium.
This trend will continue, according to Flurry's director of insights Mary Ellen Gordon, who wrote in a July blog post: "we simply see this [free apps trend] as the outcome of consumer choice: people want free content more than they want to avoid ads or to have the absolute highest quality content possible. This is a collective choice that could have played out differently and could still in particular contexts (e.g., enterprise apps or highly specialized apps such as those tracking medical or financial information)."
The freemium model appears strong as well. That's where a developer offers a scaled-down version for free, but charges for the premium edition with advanced features.
In choosing our Top 10, we tried to avoid obvious consumer faves -- Instagram, Snapchat, and Candy Crush Saga, come to mind -- and focus more on the productivity side of things.
Wait, don't go away! There's some excellent stuff here, we promise. Click on the image above to see the Top 10 iOS apps of 2013. Disagree with our choices? Let us know in the comments below.
What a long, strange trip it's been. The original Maps app in iOS was powered by Google Maps until Apple switched to its own homegrown mapping system in mid-2012. Google Maps returned to the iOS App Store a year ago, albeit as a third-party alternative to Apple's Maps app.
So why did Google Maps make our Top 10 list? Because it delivers an excellent set of mapping tools for iPhone and iPad users. The latest version, in addition to being optimized for iOS 7, has plenty of cool tools, including voice-guided GPS navigation, 360-degree Street View tours, and public transit, biking, and walking directions. Alas, if only Apple would let iOS users choose their default mapping app. Ha! Dream on.
What's the best way to meet new people at conferences? Bizzabo is an alternative to the random meet-and-greet. This nicely designed smartphone app (iOS and Android) displays real-time event information and allows you to search for attendees (e.g., CTOs) you want to meet. Bizzabo's algorithm also recommends the best contacts for you, based on your business profile. It culls info from your social media accounts, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
The catch is that your fellow attendees and event organizers must use Bizzabo, too, otherwise you'll be networking alone. Things are promising on that front, as more than 3,000 conferences worldwide use Bizzabo, the company claims. The app is free for end-users. Event organizers can use a limited free version for smaller events (up to 350 attendees), or pay $499 to $1,299 for larger conferences. Bizzabo isn't the only player in town, however. Competitors include Tickmeet and OleaPark.
Sure, iCloud is baked right into iOS, but its Apple-centric design makes it a poor cloud storage option for the cross-platform user -- someone with an iPad, a Windows PC, or maybe even a BlackBerry or Kindle Fire. Dropbox for iOS is a good alternative for business users who want to access documents, photos, and videos from a heterogeneous mix of mobile devices. With its intuitive UI, Dropbox is handy for sharing files with colleagues, friends, and family, too.
The iPhone -- or any smartphone, for that matter -- isn't an ideal form factor for working with spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. The tablet is a different story, however, and Polaris Office is a very good productivity suite for iPad users who need to view and edit Microsoft Office documents. This $19.99 app works with major cloud services, including Box.net, Dropbox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive, has more than 500 Office-compatible editing features, and supports major file formats such as doc/docx, xls/xlsx, ppt/pptx, and good ol' txt.
Apple, of course, is now giving away its iWork and iLife apps on all new Mac and iOS devices, but users of older iPads still must shell out $9.99 each for Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, Apple's big-three productivity apps. Polaris Office is a solid alternative that costs less.
Phase Five Systems' Jump Desktop is a handy app for remotely controlling a Mac or Windows PC from an iPad or iPhone. It's easy to configure on both iOS devices and desktops, and the Phase Five website has a quick video tutorial for learning Jump's multitouch gestures that replace mouse/keyboard commands. Connecting to an existing RDP (remote desktop protocol) or VNC (virtual network computing) server is easy as well. (Use an IP address or host name.) The $14.99 Jump Desktop is a good way to control a work laptop from home or the road.
Want to learn a language -- for free? Duolingo is an innovative way to learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, or English. The app uses gamification techniques -- competing with friends and completing levels while you learn -- to enhance the learning process. Duolingo's lessons are easy to follow, and the app gives students the opportunity to translate texts in the language they're studying. Duolingo won't necessarily teach you a new language in record time, but it's fun and free.
We can all relate: There are times you need to make a voice call, but you'd rather the person on the other end doesn't know your digits. Burner, an app that provides disposable, temporary phone numbers, is an ideal solution.
A Burner number works just like your regular cell number; it allows incoming and outgoing calls, texts, and voicemail. Burner calls use cellular minutes, but texts don't count against your phone's SMS allowance. For a limited time, you'll get one free number for seven days. (It's unclear when this deal ends.) When should you use Burner? Try these examples: dating, job searches, and, of course, Craigslist ads.
When you're on a business trip and don't savor the thought of waiting in cab lines, Uber is a great way to hire a private driver in more than 50 cities and 20 countries. The app lets you request a ride, compare rates for different vehicles, and get fare quotes. Uber accepts PayPal or credit card transactions, too, so you won't have to pay the driver cash.
Here's another remote control app worth checking out: LogMeIn lets you use an iPhone or iPad to remotely control a Mac or Windows PC via WiFi or 3G cellular. It's easy to set up on both an iOS device and a desktop or laptop. The ho-hum, free version offers basic controls, but LogMeIn Pro (3 months for $5.99, or 1 year for $9.99) is the better option. The Pro edition lets you transfer and save files among devices, access files stored on popular cloud services, stream HD video and sound, and print remotely to an AirPrint-compatible printer.
Don't know your neighbors? Would you like to? Nextdoor is a clever way to create a social network exclusively for your neighborhood. During setup, you enter your real name and home address, which the app uses to find your local Nextdoor community. If there's no social network for your 'hood, you can start one yourself.
Nextdoor works well as an online bulletin board for sharing important info -- news about parties, break-ins, lost dogs, and so on -- with the folks down the hall or across the street. The app even recommends ways to get the neighbors to join Nextdoor, including one decidedly low-tech option: paper flyers. Don't be a stranger.
Don't know your neighbors? Would you like to? Nextdoor is a clever way to create a social network exclusively for your neighborhood. During setup, you enter your real name and home address, which the app uses to find your local Nextdoor community. If there's no social network for your 'hood, you can start one yourself.
Nextdoor works well as an online bulletin board for sharing important info -- news about parties, break-ins, lost dogs, and so on -- with the folks down the hall or across the street. The app even recommends ways to get the neighbors to join Nextdoor, including one decidedly low-tech option: paper flyers. Don't be a stranger.
-
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like