Essential iPhone Apps to Enhance Your Experience in 2023
Written on
Innovative Apps for Your New iPhone 14
September is an exciting month for iPhone fans, especially with the launch of the iPhone 14 series, which showcases remarkable new features. Apple continues to impress with its focus on user-friendly innovations tailored for its customers.
In this article, I will present a selection of apps designed to improve your iPhone experience:
- Effortlessly unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters
- Personalize your home screen with customizable widgets
- Access your web history without needing to open Safari
- Stay informed about upcoming Apple software updates
- Estimate your lifespan on this beautiful planet
- Utilize AI to count similar items in photographs
- Create stunning AI-generated gradients for your iPhone
- Block popups while browsing in Safari
- Share shopping lists seamlessly with others
- Keep up with the latest movies and television shows
- Unroll.Me
Our email inboxes often overflow with promotional messages vying for our attention. Unroll.Me simplifies the process of unsubscribing from multiple emails, helping you achieve a tidier inbox and a more relaxed mind.
I appreciate its mission to help users clear out unwanted emails.
Quick Tip: To unsubscribe from several emails quickly, tap the ... icon in the upper right corner, select the emails you want to unsubscribe from, and hit Unsubscribe.
Developer: Unroll.Me offers a similar service on its website, accessible via Safari for Mac users.
Privacy: 2/10 - The app collects a variety of data.
Cost: Free.
Design & Compatibility: UX (5.5) UI (5.5) - Works on both iPhone and iPad with decent design elements.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
Explore the video "10 iPhone Apps You NEED in 2023 (Incredibly Useful)" to learn more about essential apps.
- Widgy Widgets
The introduction of widgets for iOS brought a wave of excitement, as it allowed for greater home screen customization. Widgy Widgets lets you create stunning, personalized widgets with a library of designs from other users.
I love its extensive toolkit for customizing widgets to suit personal preferences.
Quick Tip: To save your preferred settings like temperature, location, and currency, go to Settings and select Widgy / Watchy Settings.
Developer: Woodsign has several apps on the App Store, but Widgy Widgets remains their most up-to-date offering.
Privacy: 10/10 - Meets modern privacy standards.
Cost: Somewhat pricey due to in-app purchases.
Design & Compatibility: UX (5) UI (5) - Compatible with Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Mac, featuring an appealing design.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- Surfed — History & Bookmark
While searching your Safari history can be straightforward, it often lacks an intuitive design. Surfed is a privacy-focused app that keeps a detailed record of your browsing history, allowing you to find and organize visited websites easily.
I appreciate its unique approach to managing browsing history, which encourages mindfulness about the websites we frequent.
Quick Tip: To share your favorite sites, long-press on Favorites and select Share to export a .surfed file for use on other devices.
Developer: HOsy - launched Surfed in June 2022 and has released one update since.
Privacy: 10/10 - Aligns with modern privacy expectations.
Cost: Subscription starts at $7.49/year, with multiple in-app purchases.
Design & Compatibility: UX (6) UI (6) - Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with solid design.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- iBetaObserver
If you're keen on staying informed about new Apple software releases, iBetaObserver is an app that alerts you immediately when an update is available.
I admire its straightforward design and minimal clutter.
Quick Tip: Set the app to notify you at a specific time each day for checking updates, so you don’t have to rely solely on its default notifications.
Developer: Released in 2021 by Mohammad Alhasson, with one update to enable push notifications.
Privacy: 10/10 - Complies with modern privacy standards.
Cost: Free.
Design & Compatibility: UX (7) UI (7) - Works well on iPhone and iPad.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- Life: Just One
Life is an app designed to remind us of our limited time, providing a visual countdown to the end of life. It also includes widgets for your home screen.
I value how it reduces stress and helps me realize that many worries are trivial in the larger context.
Quick Tip: To change the widget’s theme, tap the hamburger menu in the app and choose Widgets Theme.
Developer: Julien Lacroix has updated the app several times this year, suggesting future enhancements.
Privacy: 10/10 - Meets modern privacy norms.
Cost: $0.99.
Design & Compatibility: UX (7) UI (7) - Designed for iPhone with a good interface.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- Count This — Counting App
Count This allows you to upload an image, select an object, and the app will count similar items. It's particularly useful in logistics, saving time and allowing focus on more important tasks.
I appreciate its innovative counting algorithm that addresses specific challenges.
Quick Tip: If the app miscounts, you can adjust the total using the + or - buttons.
Developer: AIBY Incorporated frequently updates the app, with improvements to its counting algorithm.
Privacy: 2/10 - Collects various data.
Cost: Somewhat expensive with in-app purchases.
Design & Compatibility: UX (6) UI (6) - Compatible with iPhone and iPad, featuring decent design.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- bg AI: Beautiful Backgrounds
Gradients can enhance the aesthetic of your iPhone, and bg AI allows users to create beautiful gradient wallpapers with simple taps and swipes.
I admire its straightforward functionality that makes generating gradients effortless.
Quick Tip: When setting an image as a wallpaper, hide the swipe button by enabling Perspective Zoom in your Photos app.
Developer: Alexey Primechaev made the app entirely free after initially requiring a subscription.
Privacy: 10/10 - Complies with modern privacy standards.
Cost: Free.
Design & Compatibility: UX (3) UI (5) - Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with decent design.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- Banish: Block Popups in Safari
Banish enhances your web browsing experience by blocking intrusive popups in Safari. It effectively removes prompts that disrupt your browsing, making it a valuable tool for users.
I appreciate its focus on enhancing the web browsing experience in Safari.
Quick Tip: If you still see banners on sites like YouTube, it may be due to having the app installed. Uninstalling the app will eliminate those banners.
Developer: Alex Zamoshchin continuously updates the app to improve its functionality.
Privacy: 10/10 - Meets modern privacy standards.
Cost: $2.99.
Design & Compatibility: UX (5) UI (6) - Works on both iPhone and iPad with good design.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- Bring! Shopping List & Recipes
Bring! is an app that helps users create grocery lists to streamline shopping trips. Its unique design is especially beneficial for families, allowing list sharing and item descriptions.
I love its vibrant design with large icons and colorful tiles reminiscent of a Windows Phone interface.
Quick Tip: You can print your shopping list by tapping the top left ... icon and selecting Print list.
Developer: Bring! Labs AG regularly updates the app and has made it available on Android as well.
Privacy: 2/10 - The app collects various data.
Cost: Subscription plans start from $12.99/year.
Design & Compatibility: UX (7) UI (7) - Works on iPhone and iPad with a good design.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
- Cronica
As a movie enthusiast, I rely on Cronica to stay updated on the latest films and TV series. The app provides essential information, trailers, and the ability to mark favorites or search for desired titles.
I appreciate its design and speed; I've never encountered lag or crashes while using it.
Quick Tip: To add a movie to your wishlist, simply tap and hold the image and select Add to watchlist.
Developer: Alexandre Madeira released Cronica in 2022, with numerous updates since then. The app is also open-source and available on GitHub.
Privacy: 8/10 - The developer could improve privacy practices.
Cost: Free.
Design & Compatibility: UX (7) UI (7) - Designed for iPhone and iPad with good usability.
Download: [Get the App Here](#)
Thank you for taking the time to read about these applications.
Become a Medium Member to support creators like me and receive future stories directly in your inbox.