We asked our Canyon Creative team to tell us about their go-to apps (not including the usual suspects) and here are the results. We learned our people have very eclectic taste. The collection of apps ranges from fitness and leisure, to organization and photo manipulation, video streaming and podcasts, food and wine, stock trading and astronomy.
1. Skyview
I love astronomy and with this app, you point your phone in the sky and it labels and outlines constellations, planets, and even space stations and satellites! You can click on any object and learn everything about it. It is crazy to think, but when you look at Mars in the eastern evening sky, the light of the glowing amber dot you are seeing took almost 20 minutes to travel from the Sun to Mars, and back to Earth.
2. ImageOptim
ImageOptim is a super-handy image compression tool that I use almost every day to quickly remove meta data from images. You can shrink crazy-large images down while preserving the image size and not losing any quality.
3. Golfshot Plus
I golf with my buddies on most Saturdays, at least when not quarantining. Golfshot Plus is a weekly go-to. It tracks my golf scores by strokes, handicap, club used, greens and fairways hit in regulation, among other things. I get to see how I improve or not, and what I need to work on.
4. 8fit
Far more than a meal planning and workout app, 8fit puts nutritionists and fitness experts at your fingertips. It offers customized exercises that can be done at home without special equipment or gear, customized meal plans and self-care guidance to people hoping to feel better inside and out. 8fit also takes dietary restrictions and preferences into account, so your meal plans are built to help you reach your wellness goals and learn healthy habits.
5. Robinhood
Robinhood is a commission-free way to invest money. You can invest any amount you like and choose how you want to participate. As a beginner at buying and trading stock, I only check on my portfolio weekly. It’s easy to use and navigate. Robinhood can be a little addicting, but also fun and interesting when you read up on some of the companies.
6. Amazon Kindle for iPhone
I don’t need to lug a big book around with me (especially when traveling!) and can read anywhere I am. I read for business and pleasure and can share books with my mate because we’re on the same account. I read multiple books at a time and it always picks up where I left off, and a highlighter feature allows me to remember important bits. The app offers great ideas for additional books to read and a ton of free books.
7. AirTable
I use this app for work and home. It’s basically a spreadsheet on steroids. And looks pretty. I keep track of projects, make grocery lists, plan social media content and blog posts, create to-do lists, plan trips and literally ANYTHING I dream up. I share individual “bases” with my family, friends or teammates and we can easily collaborate. You can upload documents, photos and graphics, too. It keeps everything in order simply and perfectly. You can also choose amazing pre-made templates you can modify or create your own bases from scratch. The mobile version integrates perfectly with the desktop version, and although working at your computer is easier than pecking at your phone, I love the convenience of the app. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be hooked! Free and premium versions are available. P.S. I use the free version.
8. Food Network
I love cooking and this app rocks! It has thousands of recipes and a great meal-planning feature. I can save my favorite recipes by category, too. They also have live and on-demand classes, step-by-step tutorials and I can watch my favorite cooking shows and chefs. This is a must-have app for people starting out and those who are culinary experimenters.
9. Planets
Planets is an awesome app that lets you hold the phone up to the sky to see all the stars and planets in their location – you can move the app around, as if you were moving around in space. It even shows you what is in the sky on the other side of the earth if you point the app to the ground. Other useful tools in the app are a compass, a visibility chart for the sun, moon and each planet and a rotating 3D globe of the planets and moon.
10. Snapseed by Google
Snapseed is my go-to app for photo correction. It’s the best quick app to brighten that perfect photo and has many different tools and filters so you can play around with your images to get it to really pop.
11. iPhone Notes
This is the simplest way to keep track of everything from random thoughts to checklists, longer notes, images, favorite links from the web, sketches and more. The interface is straightforward and pretty much idiot proof. I keep track of holiday gift ideas, home projects, things to do when people visit, restaurants I want to try, Sam’s club list, questions for doctors I need to ask, key codes to get into friends’ gates and exercise ideas. You can also paste in images and scan documents. This app automatically syncs with iCloud and comes with the iPhone. There are so many ways to utilize this app, so explore and find your own favorites.
12. Insight Timer
This is my moment of Zen. The app has over 60,000 FREE meditations, courses, music, videos, live events, a beginner’s module, charts and even a section for parents and kids. I sleep with the app on all night (I prefer the sleep meditations) and swear it enhances my rest. My husband loves it, too. You can also see a map of the world showing where everyone is meditating.
13. Apple Podcasts
I can listen to anything, anywhere, anytime. There are topics for all interest areas, literally something for everyone and every age range. There are a lot of podcasts apps out there, like Spotify, Pocket Casts and others, but I like Apple Podcasts because (1) it was already on my iPhone and (2) I’m a simple person, with simple needs. There are over 1 million shows and over 30 million episodes of content, ranging from entertainment, comedy, news, sports, business, science, technology, history, health, education, fiction, arts, travel, leisure and more. The app allows me to subscribe to different podcasts and download them to a library so I can listen offline. I’m addicted to the True Crime podcasts, The Office Ladies, Ted Talks, This American Life and Mobituaries.
14. Hear
Utilizing augmented sound technology, Hear is my go-to app for concentrated focus while still being able to tune into background noise. Instead of plugging your ears to drown out the world, Hear harmonizes the outside noises with your choice of audio. Freeing you to still be alert to your surroundings and able to be absorbed into your favorite playlists or white noise.
15. PBS Video
I can stream over 4,000 PBS and local shows on-demand. I’m a sucker for Downton Abbey, Poldark, Victoria, The Durrells in Corfu, NOVA, Nature, Ken Burns, Finding Your Roots, Masterpiece Theater, Independent Lens and Sanditon. And anything British.
16. Class Dojo
Class Dojo is a great app that helps keep me up to date with my child’s classroom assignments, reminders on upcoming tests and special projects. It also notifies me of special announcements from the school administration. It is a great way to have all communication with his teacher and school-related items in one location.
17. Logic Pro
This is my main DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) of choice when composing music to film, or any type of music producing. I’ve used Pro Tools as well and it is definitely more robust, but Logic’s UI is much easier, and cheaper, to boot.
18. YouTube
This probably my favorite app. I have very eclectic musical taste and enjoy discovering new-to-me bands and finding unique songs. For example, a bluegrass band might play their version of a popular song. It’s really interesting to listen to bands interpret the music so differently. I often share these videos/songs/bands with my best friend and he does the same in return. I also use YouTube for golf lesson instruction, recipes and how-to videos for repairs around the house.
19. CellarTracker
This is another great one! I love wine and have a cellar where we layback wines to age and enjoy when they’re ready for total deliciousness. I track all our wines and log them into the database. CellarTracker adds in data from other wine enthusiasts and sommeliers who have a particular wine. This database includes when wines are ready to drink and their optimum times for consumption, warnings if they are getting close to going bad, pictures of the wine label, reviews, the number of wines still in cellars around the world and more. It even has auction prices if you have wines that are collectible.
20. OverDrive
As a bookworm, I have used OverDrive for over a decade to help store and connect to library services and other book-loving accounts. With multi-device connection and compatibility, I love being able to bookmark where I am on my tablet and picking-up where I left off on my phone. I never run out of good books to check out from digital libraries and repositories with this app.