This article is an annual tradition: towards the end of December I summarize My Must-Have iOS Apps for iPhone and iPad that I will be using for the next year. This is always among my most popular posts. I’m sharing my 2019 must have apps in hopes you’ll discover a new app or two that will improve your workflow or make you more productive.
During 2018 I tried a lot of different apps. Some I liked and switched to, others I tried and didn’t like and stayed with what I’d been using. Having the right app for the right task on the right device is key to my productivity.
You can find My 2019 Must-Have Mac Apps here.
My iPhone and iPad setup:
My iPhone is a 32 GB Silver 7 Plus. My iPad is a 2017 9.7” with Retina display with 128 GB of storage.
Here’s my software and what I use it for:
Safari
Safari is my browser on iOS.
Mail.app
Fastmail IMAP works flawlessly with the stock mail.app.
Messages
Messages is for messaging with my friends and family.
Things 3
Things 3 is for task management and reminders. I love the simplicity of how it works. I wrote an article about it here.
Fantastical 2
Fantastical is my calendar app. It’s where I keep all my appointments and some reminders.
Bear
Bear is my notes and lists app. I’ve been a pro user since the inception of the app. It’s beautiful to work in, search is excellent and I’ve never had a sync issue.
Drafts
Drafts is my multi-purpose writing and note taking app. I use it as the first stop for most everything I write and use its extensibility to send it anywhere. It has a customizable keyboard, which allows me to add one button actions. Then there are an array of export actions once I finish creating. I’ve written about how I use Drafts here.
Ulysses
Ulysses is the app I use to write my stories. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with it since it went subscription. During the year I tried other writing apps but none compares with Ulysses. I do most all my writing on my Mac so it’s rarely used on my iPhone and iPad other than for a quick add to one of my stores or for the share sheet.
Copied
Copied is my cross-platform clipboard history manager. I’ve written about it here.
Day One Journal
Day one is for keeping a life log of things that go on in my life.
Reeder
Reeder is my newsreader for my Feedly RSS feeds.
Tweetbot
Tweetbot is for reading my Twitter feed.
Instapaper
Instapaper is my read it later service. I wrote an article about my Instapaper workflow here.
Overcast
Overcast is where I listen to podcasts.
1Password
1Password is my password manager.
Launch Center Pro
Launch Center Pro is for launching actions in a single tap.
PCalc
PCalc is my stock calculator replacement. I use it for its additional features and customization.
Scanner Pro
Scanner Pro allows me to scan paper documents into PDFs that look clean and professional.
TunnelBear VPN
TunnelBear is my VPN for security on public WiFi and web browsing privacy.
Garmin Connect
Connect is for recording and tracking my cycling and running activities.
ldstephens 