I was a diehard android user since birth, but iOS has better apps. I rigorously evaluated the value proposition and switched. Very happy I did, even if I HATE the heavy hand of our Apple Overlords you can feel throughout the iPhone experience.
iOS has better, more thoughtful, reliable and beautiful apps than Android. The catch: you have to pay for it.
iMessage — as a young person in the US this is so crucial. I wish I could convince my friends to use WhatsApp but this is all any of my friends want to use. Sorry. Monopoly lock in sucks!
Weather Line — best widget, and best forecasting. $20/year.
Due — best todo app for those things that are painful todo.. It’ll just keep bugging you till you check it off or get it done. Very efficient UI. This has got me to brush my teeth more consistently. $7 one time.
Parcel — fantastic package tracker (I use the free version).
Command Browser – Very neat idea that actually works: highlight pages on the web, and have those highlights synch to Notion or Onenote (or Readwise I think!). Helps build my 2nd-brain searchable archive of information.
Goodnotes — For annotating PDFs and handwritten or scratchpad work.
Fantastical — One fantastic calendar (famous for excellent natural language input).
Focus Keeper — elegant Pomodoro to leave facing me on my wireless charging stand (free, or, unnecessary, $2 one time)
Zotero + PaperShip – By far the best way to effortlessly synch PDFs (research papers) across infinite devices, with full Apple Pencil markup support! Insanely good workflow across all my Linux, Windows, Android and iOS devices.
Researcher — for finding cool research papers
Brilliant — For teaching yourself science and math. It’s an expensive, but extremely innovative way to learn.
Kastan Day 