The 50 Best iPhone Applications

Whether you're joining the roster of iPhone owners for the first time, perhaps when the iPhone 5 launches or you're a long-time Apple customer trying to make the most out of your iPhone 3 or 4, you need app recommendations. The app store is just too big to go through on your own. Word-of-mouth advice is useful, but we at PCMag spend thousands of hours each year scouring iTunes, speaking with developers, reviewing the best apps we find, and hunting for hidden gems. If there's an app that makes owning the iPhone more worthwhile, we find out about it.

Why? Because apps are what transform the iPhone from mobile phone to pocket PC. Anyone can find an app for just about anything, but plenty of them aren't worth your time. Others are good—entertaining, usually, at the very least—and still others seem useful for only a day or two, until their novelty wears off. And some make you wonder how you ever functioned without them.

IPhone Apps

The 50 apps that made the cut for this list are the ones that have shown outstanding performance, have been almost universally liked by users young and old, or have had a solid history of being among the first apps we'd recommend new users download. Many of the apps listed here are free, a few cost a couple of dollars, and the priciest one on this list will only set you back about $10.

Long-time iPhone owner may recognize some of these iPhone apps, but a few might surprise you. In this list, we recommend one extraordinary app for keeping your passwords safe, six unique games, apps that can make you smarter (or at least seem smarter) and more organized, as well as apps that can help you lose weight.

Missing from this list are apps that come pre-installed on the iPhone, although they are certainly not to be overlooked. The YouTube, Maps, and Clocks apps in particular should not be ignored, while the iTunes, iPod, and App Store apps typically see a fair share of well-deserved usage, too. (Top Gadgets Review)