Apple makes really beautiful smartphones from an aesthetic point of view, but in some cases the default apps may not be up to the product or the competition, even if graphically very valid. Many people are dissatisfied with the predefined applications, who are looking for better apps to replace them .
To this we add that many of the applications are blocked in the Apple ecosystem, with very little interaction with other ecosystems or with other apps, they could push to find valid alternatives.
In this article we will see together the best alternatives to replace the pre-installed applications on the iPhone, so as to take full advantage of the Apple device obtaining the most modern features and services.
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The best alternatives to iPhone apps
Below we have collected the main categories of apps that are pre-installed on any iPhone, so you can quickly find the alternative to use, with particular attention to the free apps (which will always be preferred unless the default app cannot only be replaced with a paid app).
1) Maps and Navigator
Apple Maps is a decent navigator for iPhone, improved a lot in these years after a disastrous debut to say the least (with absurd marked routes and not updated maps). Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives in this category!
Below we point out the best alternatives to Apple Maps that we absolutely must try:
- Google Maps
- Waze
Other valid alternatives can be found in the dedicated guide, where we have deepened the topic -> alternatives to Apple Maps with maps and GPS navigator for iPhone
2) Web browser
It must be said that Safari is not a poor browser at all and it is also the fastest because it is integrated into the system.
But if we want to use other types of browsers, below we have collected the best alternatives to Safari for iPhone:
- Firefox web browser
- Google Chrome
- Maxthon Cloud Web Browser
In another article we talked about the free browsers for iPad and iPhone alternatives to Safari among which Google Chrome definitely stands out, which synchronizes with Chrome on the PC in a simple way, so it is convenient to use it.
3) Camera app
Apple's default camera app isn't bad but it can be really boring to use.
If we want to take photos on the fly we could also use this, but for high quality photos with Instagram or other social filters already included we recommend using one of the following apps:
- Snapseed
- Room +
- VSCO
- MagiCam
In this category there are many other valid alternatives, such as those recommended in the guide -> take better photos on the iPhone with special effects on the images .
4) Gallery with automatic backup
The iOS image collection app works really well, especially if you use iCloud for photo backup.
However, there is an app around that does everything in a much better way and it is Google Photos, capable of creating an online backup (unlimited and free) of all the photos without effort.
Google Photos is also a terrific app with many photo search, organization and self-management functions; we can download it for free from here -> Google Photos .
5) Calendar
As with the Camera app, the calendar works well but has few customization options.
As better alternatives we can try:
- Fantastical
- Google Calendar
Using these apps, we can have all the appointments at hand even when we change devices thanks to synchronization, in particular if we use Google Calendar with our Google account.
6) Mail
The integrated Mail app has improved a lot and works well with most addresses, and it is very important to be able to correctly download all the attachments that we receive from our various email accounts. As an alternative application to Swiss Post, we can use the apps provided by the various e-mail services used:
- Gmail
- Microsoft Outlook
- Yahoo Mail
With these apps we can manage practically any email box without any problem, just add the credentials of the various accounts in our possession.
6) Contacts
The phonebook app on the iPhone itself is nothing more than a classic digital phonebook. You can get basic information of each contact and now has integration with Facebook to keep the information up to date.
Since there is a better alternative, it is worth installing Full Contact for free, a real address book for social contacts. You can also read recent contact updates from Facebook or Twitter.
7) SMS and Telephone
Making calls with the default dialer app shouldn't be a problem, so there's no point in looking for alternatives. However, if you want to phone using an internet connection, without spending money, the ideal is to also install other applications to make free calls such as those recommended below:
- Skype
- Viber
- LINE
For messages instead, instead of iMessage (which we can only use for SMS) we can use the apps of the most popular social services at the moment:
- Facebook Messenger
- Telegram
By installing these apps we will be able to receive messages from any of our social contacts or in possession of an account linked to the service for free by using the Internet connection.
8) iCloud
iCloud is the service that integrates all Apple apps and devices with a shared space in which to save all the most important information such as contacts, messages, settings and media. iCloud is perfect if you are a loyal Apple customer and only use Apple devices, otherwise it would be better to look at some alternatives, such as those recommended below:
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
- Microsoft OneDrive
The recommended ones are the apps you need to share files online and to keep them always available on every computer, mobile phone or tablet we own.
iCloud is primarily for backing up your phone, but not for much else.
As for the function of synchronizing contacts, SMS, emails, calendars and so on, you can use, as an alternative to iCloud, a simple Google Account.
The advantage is having all information available regardless of the computer you use.
9) Find my iPhone
The application is located in the settings and allows you to track down your lost or stolen phone. Find my iPhone is fine, but if you want free alternatives to add as an alarm, I recommend Prey .
I talked about Prey in a post on how to find the stolen laptop
10) iBooks
The Apple app for reading e-books on iPad and iPhone is quite simple and allows you to read practically any document or book we get.
If we are looking for a valid alternative we can only focus on Amazon Kindle ; very simple, it works really well for reading, with many options to change the brightness, fonts and bookmarks and integration with the Amazon account to immediately buy and download new books and synchronize them with the space offered by the e-site commerce, so as to always keep a copy of the book online.
11) Voice memos
The app allows you to record audio from the microphone like old voice recorders and then share that audio via email, messages, or in iTunes.
Although it works well, its functionality stops there.
Better alternatives are at least two:
- Audio Memos automatically saves voice memos also in Dropbox and allows you to combine two recordings into one
- Evernote with which we can create recording notes as well as voice memos as well as saving links, sites and to-do lists.
12) Notes
This app is nothing more than a simple writing pad that synchronizes with iCloud (from iOS, however, there is Apple Notes that works very well and is among the best apps of its kind). A free alternative is Google Keep for taking notes and saving notes on the iPhone. Keep allows you to save your notes online in a private and protected space and to organize your notes into categories in addition to many other features.
13) Reminders and lists
This default app allows you to create to-do lists with alarms and geo-location. As better alternatives we can try:
- Clear Todos
- Alarmed
- Any.do
With these apps we will be able to save any reminders and to-do lists complete with online synchronization.
14) Music
Although it always works well, there are certainly different applications for listening to music from the iPhone and iPad.
The best alternatives that we can try as music players on the iPhone are:
- Google Play Music
- Boom: Music Player & Equalizer
- KaiserTone Audio Player + HiRes
In another article we saw the best free apps to listen to music on iPhone and iPad also radio and streaming.
15) Podcasts
The default application is great for downloading podcasts but it's not that simple to use, with a rather complicated menu. Great alternatives to download and listen to podcasts even without having to use iTunes is Downcast which does better than what the default app does.
16) Actions
This is one of the historical apps of the iPhone, among the least used unless you are shareholders of the stock exchange, good for taking a quick look at the share prices, but without options to keep track of your investments. The best app for viewing Italian stock quotes is MSN Money, excellent for controlling all types of equity investments and full of information.
17) Weather
The iPhone and iPad weather forecast app is fine for a look at current and future temperatures but not for getting accurate and detailed information.
The best weather apps we can try are:
- 3B Weather
- Yahoo Weather
- The Weather
In another article we have listed the best weather apps for iPhone, so you can choose among many alternatives the one that has the best forecasts for the area where we live.
18) Calculator
For most people, the default calculator application is perfect for making quick calculations and the scientific calculator in landscape mode is also available.
Alternatives include apps like Calcbot (for a fee) which provides a few more options and has a more convenient interface.
QuickGraph instead is the most beautiful (free) app to have a graphing calculator that does the equations on iPhone or iPad, even in 3D.
Also notable is Wolfram Alpha for iPhone capable of making calculations of all kinds.
19) Videos
The only problem with the default Video application is that it allows you to view only certain file formats. The best alternatives to try are:
- VLC
- KMPlayer
- PlayerXtreme Media Player
Other alternatives can be found in the article on the best player applications to watch videos and movies on iPad and iPhone .
