Category: iPhone

  • Top 10 Must-Have iPhone Apps for 2024

    The iPhone app ecosystem has evolved immensely over the years, and staying on top of the best tools can make life a lot more enjoyable and productive. Here’s a list of ten must-have iPhone apps for 2024, covering a mix of productivity, entertainment, health, and social connectivity. These apps represent some of the most helpful, innovative, and user-friendly solutions available today, and each one has something unique to offer.

    Productivity & Organization

    1. Notion

    Notion continues to be one of the top productivity apps. It’s versatile, with options to create notes, manage projects, and build databases—a great tool for students, professionals, and anyone trying to stay organized. Whether you’re managing a team project, tracking personal goals, or just organizing daily tasks, Notion can do it all. Plus, its clean interface makes planning much less daunting, while the flexibility of creating interconnected pages means you can structure information exactly as you need. Download Notion.

    2. Widgetsmith

    Widgetsmith is still riding the wave of home screen customization. It allows you to personalize widgets for weather, reminders, or even just stylish clocks, transforming your iPhone into a personal masterpiece. This app’s customizability brings a nice touch to any iOS user. You can change the entire aesthetic of your home screen, which makes it a favorite for those who enjoy giving their phone a unique look and feel. Widgetsmith also frequently updates with new features, giving you more and more ways to customize. Download Widgetsmith.

    3. Spark Mail

    Email management made easier. Spark Mail is known for its features like “Smart Inbox,” which prioritizes important emails and keeps clutter at bay. It’s ideal if you want to reduce your email stress and focus only on what matters. Spark also includes features like email scheduling, follow-up reminders, and integrations with other productivity tools, making it extremely useful for both personal and professional use. If you’re juggling multiple email accounts, Spark provides a unified inbox, ensuring you won’t miss important messages. Download Spark Mail.

    4. Obsidian

    If you’re a heavy note-taker and you like linking your thoughts, Obsidian is the app for you. It’s not just a note-taking app; it’s more like a personal knowledge management system where every note is interconnected, perfect for research or journaling. It allows you to create a web of interconnected notes, making it incredibly easy to see how your ideas are related. Whether you’re writing essays, planning projects, or even writing a book, Obsidian’s networked note-taking approach is perfect for visual thinkers. Download Obsidian.


    Entertainment & Leisure

    5. Spotify

    Spotify is still the go-to music and podcast streaming service. It has curated playlists for every mood, podcast recommendations, and one of the best discovery algorithms around. With millions of songs at your fingertips and exclusive podcasts, it’s worth every music lover’s attention. Spotify also allows you to create and share playlists, and its social features let you see what your friends are listening to, which makes it more interactive and engaging. If you love staying on top of new music releases, Spotify’s “Release Radar” and “Discover Weekly” playlists are excellent ways to find fresh content. Download Spotify.

    6. Apollo for Reddit

    Apollo is hands down one of the best Reddit clients for iPhone. It’s smooth, easy to use, and makes browsing Reddit a much more pleasant experience. The app offers advanced features like customizable gestures, a powerful media viewer, and even a jump bar for quickly navigating between subreddits. If Reddit is part of your daily read, Apollo will enhance it by providing a clean, intuitive interface and useful customization options. The app is also frequently updated with new features and optimizations, making sure it always stays one step ahead of the official Reddit app. Download Apollo.


    Health & Wellness

    7. MyFitnessPal

    For fitness enthusiasts or anyone trying to be more health-conscious, MyFitnessPal remains the gold standard for tracking food intake and exercise. It integrates with other health apps, making your fitness journey seamless. The app also provides an extensive food database, and it’s incredibly easy to log your meals and keep track of calories. You can also set personalized goals, track your water intake, and get detailed analytics on your nutrition. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply maintain a healthy diet, MyFitnessPal has the tools you need. Download MyFitnessPal.

    8. Headspace

    With more emphasis on mental well-being, Headspace is a fantastic app for guided meditations and mindfulness practices. The simple UI and easy access to different meditation types make it suitable for both beginners and seasoned users. Headspace includes a variety of guided sessions, ranging from quick 5-minute relaxations to longer, more immersive meditations. It also offers courses that focus on specific areas, such as stress reduction, improving sleep, and boosting creativity. Headspace’s Sleepcasts, in particular, are a favorite for those who struggle with sleep. Download Headspace.


    Learning & Self-Improvement

    9. Duolingo

    Learning a new language has never been more accessible. Duolingo makes it fun with its gamified lessons, ensuring you keep up with your progress every day. They’ve also expanded their language offerings to include some more niche ones. With daily reminders and bite-sized lessons, Duolingo ensures language learning fits seamlessly into even the busiest schedules. Plus, the competitive element—earning points, progressing through levels, and even competing with friends—keeps you motivated. Whether you want to learn French, Japanese, or even Klingon, Duolingo has got you covered. Download Duolingo.


    Security & Privacy

    10. 1Password

    In the age of constant cyber threats, keeping your passwords secure is vital. 1Password makes managing different logins simple and secure. It’s an absolute must-have to stay protected online. You can store all your passwords, credit card information, and secure notes in one place, and access them with a single master password. 1Password also offers features like password generation and breach monitoring, which helps you stay ahead of potential security issues. Its family sharing option also means you can keep your loved ones secure with minimal hassle. Download 1Password.


    These ten apps bring different kinds of value to your daily life—whether it’s staying organized, entertained, or taking care of your health and security. Each of these apps has been carefully selected based on its popularity, ease of use, and ability to make everyday tasks more efficient. If you have more apps in mind or want me to dive into any of these with more detail, feel free to reach out! Remember, the right tools can make a significant difference, and these apps are a great place to start for anyone looking to get the most out of their iPhone in 2024.

  • Get 20% Discount on MySwimPro Elite Subscription

    Get 20% Discount on MySwimPro Elite Subscription

    20% Discount code MARC20 

    I have been using the MySwimPro app for just over a year now. It is one of the best apps out there if you keen on learning to swim, a dedicated swimmer or just want to learn more about swimming. If you have read my story about swimming the (in 2 weeks time!!)

    The MySwimPro app offers a Free and Elite version of the product. The Free version allows you to do a couple of things including:

    • Write and log an unlimited number of workouts.
    • Load an unlimited number of Custom workouts to a compatible smartwatch.
    • Quick Log.
    • An entire Training Plan
    • Custom workout builder and save up to three workouts to your personal library.
    • Profile to show distance swum.
    • Earn achievements based on distance and number of workouts logged.
    • Global community of fellow swimmers.

    There are 3 components to the Elite version. You can select all 3 and pay a once off annual fee of $119 (which is actually a 55% saving) or you can select a specific component of the Elite version. The 3 components are

    Training

    • Unlimited Workouts
    • Training Plans
    • Fresh Workout of the Day
    • Personalized Dynamic Interval

    Technique

    • Instructional HD Videos
    • Technique Drills for Every Stroke
    • Body Position and Breathing Reference Guide
    • Flipturn Course

    Analytics

    • Heart Rate Analysis
    • Strokes Per Lap
    • Splits
    • SWOLF
    • Profile Analytics

    If you looking to get started I would suggest going for the Training component, which is $4.99 a month, which you can then bill annually and works out to $59.99 a year.

    I recently got the opportunity to join the MySwimPro Ambassador programme, which allows me to share this app even more. One of the benefits of being an Ambassador is I can offer a 20% discount on the Elite Subscription

    So to take advantage of the 20% discount, you go to https://myswimpro.com/elite/packs/ and select the package you want to use. If you haven’t signed up already you sign up and then use the Promo Code MARC20  on checkout to claim your 20% discount. Simple as that :)

    If you do use MySwimPro or plan on using it pop a comment below and let me know how it’s all going!

  • What happened to Find My Friends app in iOS13?

    Since iOS13 dropped a few days ago, one of the questions I have been asked a couple of times is “What happened to the Find My Friends app?”

    If you haven’t used Find My Friends before, then you probably wouldn’t even notice that the app is completely missing. I use the app quiet frequently to keep tabs of my kids when they out and also when I am travelling and my wife is out in the evenings with the kids. It really is a very handy tool!

    Image result for find my iphone ios 13However, if you use it to track family and friends then you will now find it combined into the “Find My” app. This used to be called “Find My iPhone” which can locate most of your Apple devices (including AirPods!!) The app icon also got a bit of a redesign, hence you may not know immediately where to find that either.

    The app is now broken into 2 separate screens, People & Devices.

    Not sure what Apple’s thinking was about merging these 2 apps into 1, but it did end up taking me a couple of minutes to figure this one out!

  • How to get your Apple Watch Workout Swims to Strava & Garmin Connect (and still get your Discovery Points)

    I’ve been doing quite a bit of swimming over the last couple of months after a back op in July last year. Everyday I do around 1-2km of swimming at the Gym, and am loving it!

    One of the things I battled with in the beginning was recording my swims. I used to have the Apple Watch 1, which wasn’t Waterproof, so I manually updated it. But I recently upgraded to the Apple Watch 3, which is waterproof and logs your swims.

    Once I had that sorted, I wanted to be able to keep track of what I was doing, and one thing that frustrated me with the Apple Health app, where your workouts are recorded to, is that it doesn’t allow you to export your workouts, or share them with other apps. More often than not, the info there is VERY simple, and doesn’t offer you the functionality to delve deeper into the stats, or show you how far you’ve trained over a certain period.

    We all know Strava is the Go-To app for cycling and running, and the stats you get from there are amazing. They also offer the ability to log swims as well, and show you info on your pace & heart rate. Garmin Connect (the official Garmin app for Garmin Watches) also allows you to view a lot more info like speed over distance, number of strokes, average time & heart rate. Combined these apps show loads more info than the standard Apple Health App.

    So I did some digging and came across an app called RunGap. RunGap (iTunes Link) allows you to export and import from various workout platforms and share your workouts. So, as an example when I am finished a workout on my Apple Watch, it can sync over to Garmin, Strava, TrainingPeaks and loads of other services.
    RunGap is a free app to download, but they charge you R49.99 for a 3 month subscription to be able to post to other services. This is well worth it though!!

    To get started once you have logged your workout in your Apple Watch, open Run Gap. You will need to setup the accounts you want to connect to before hand and authenticate with them.

    You will then need to import the workout from Apple Health, and it will show you all the info about the workout in the Details screen.

    You can then select Edit to add notes or rename the workout and then “Share” to share it to the various platforms. You’ll see it’s pretty instant and you can go into the other apps and view the info there.


    This is a really great way to share your workouts to other platforms, and best of all you get your Discovery points for your workout. This is key when doing runs etc, because if you had to log it just in Strava as an eg, you won’t get your points. It has to be logged in Apple Watch

  • How to create a Facebook 360 Pano photo using a DJI Drone

    One of the best things about the DJI Phantom 4 for me is the ability to do some really cool Aerial Panos. I have always been fascinated with aerial photography and Panoramic photos.

    This is one of my most recent Panos we did at Inanda Dam earlier this year
    [pano file=”panoramas/inanda/export.htm”]

    So I decided to put together a few resources on how to get the best Pano

    Apps: Dronepan or Litchi for the DJI Phantom 4
    PSD Template: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xtn7inn3jwwkr10/stfoto-facebook-panorama-template.psd?dl=0 – this PSD has the EXIF data needed to upload to Facebook to make it show 100% correctly as a 360 Pano
    Sotware: MS ICE or PTGui
    Sitehttps://roundme.com
    WordPress Plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/panopress/

    This video by Ricky DuNorth takes you through how to get the perfect Pano ready for Facebook. (Thanks Ricky, this an awesome tutuorial!)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjesB3UQtEU&feature=youtu.be