Chitchat The Best 50 Apps of the Year

yinyang

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #1

Our favorite iPhone and Android apps of the year

We’re increasingly reliant on the smartphones in our pockets to keep in touch with friends, watch movies and TV shows, and get work done, among other tasks. But the phones themselves would be meaningless without the software that, almost like magic, imbues them with new powers even their creators never thought possible.


In that spirit, these are TIME’s 50 best iPhone and Android apps of the year. These are apps that were either released, had a notable redesign, or took off in popularity this year. The list is unranked, as the different functionality of each app makes them impossible to fairly compare. What did we miss?

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #2

Venmo

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
It’s rare that a company or an app gets “verbified” the way Google did. That’s exactly what’s happening with money-sending app Venmo, especially among cash-allergic millennials. “Just Venmo me” is an increasingly common refrain at brunch or the bar when it’s time to split the check.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #3

Messages

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone, Free
Why include Apple’s default messaging service in this list? Because Messages got a major overhaul in iOS 10, the company’s new iPhone software update. Messages is now a feature-rich messaging platform, complete with third-party apps, stickers, and fun graphic effects like confetti and laser beams. All the new functionality puts it leagues ahead of regular old SMS texting.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #4

Signal

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
Which messaging app should you use when you really want to make sure your chats stay secret? Try Signal, an encrypted chat app used by politicians, businesspeople and whistleblowers worldwide. Signal offers complete end-to-end encryption, meaning the company behind the app can’t see what you’re sending and receiving. And it works with your existing contact book, so long as both parties have Signal installed.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #5

[h=2]Snapchat[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
Sure, Snapchat first came out in 2011, but it certainly came into its own this year — especially with the app’s “Chat 2.0” revision in March 2016. With that update, the free disappearing video messaging app laid the groundwork for all sorts of killer features, from geofilters to facial lenses. As a result, Snapchat has not only become one of the most fun apps of the year, but it’s turning into a real business, too.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #6

Pokémon Go

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free

The super-powered creatures that triggered a worldwide craze in the 90’s have finally reached the smartphone era. Immediately upon launching in July, Pokémon Go became a massive sensation among seemingly anyone who owned a smartphone. The game tasks players with physically exploring the real world to capture new Pokémon creatures, engaging in battles to claim gyms, and collecting items. It also uses your phone’s camera to make it seem like critters from the game are appearing in your actual surroundings. By cleverly using the technology in our smartphones and tapping into a wildly beloved franchise, game developer Niantic created a smash hit.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #7

WhatsApp

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

In the seven years that WhatsApp has existed, it’s become one of the most widely used communication tools in the world. The Facebook-owned app initially gained popularity because it works on most smartphones and provides a cheaper alternative to SMS for sending messages around the globe. After conducting a survey this April that included 187 countries, research firm SimilarWeb found that WhatsApp was the messaging app of choice in 55% of the world. Earlier this year, the company announced that it surpassed the one billion user milestone, meaning one in every seven people in the world now use WhatsApp.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #8

NPR One

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
Unless you drive often, you probably don’t have easy access to an AM/FM radio. Which means it’s hard to find public radio, a great source of news, knowledge and new music. NPR’s new NPR One app can help — it’s basically a customizable public radio station that learns what shows you like and what topics you’re interested in, building a more personal feed over time. You can also use it to listen to NPR podcasts on demand, like Planet Money and the NPR Politics Podcast.

[h=2]NYT Cooking[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone, Free (web version for Android)
Need an easy weekday meal for two? What should you do with all those apples you just picked? How about a slow-cooker recipe? NYT Cooking, from The New York Times, can answer all these questions and more. It offers lots of great recipes searchable by type of meal, prep time and more, often along with beautiful photos. A big bonus: You can save recipes from around the web to this app, making it a clearing house for the meals you’d like to cook.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #9

[h=2]Spotify[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME

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iPhone, Android (Free With Ads)
Even with Apple, Amazonand Google all taking aim, Spotify is still king of the music streaming apps. A big redesign this year brought a more modern interface that’s still dead simple to use, and gorgeous to boot. One of our favorite features is the mood-based playlists, great when you need something for a rainy day or a morning workout.





[h=2]A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, $4.99
A puzzle game about crafting people made of snow, rolled into being by a blobby black creature surrounded by tiny gardens of white. Players fashion snowballs from strips of snow by swiping to roll, then stacking them in threes, large-medium-small. Only each garden has constraints, from ornamental bird baths and birdhouses to rows of potted plants. Beautifully visualized and scored, A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build is one of the sweetest, smartest puzzlers to grace 2016.

 

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• Nov 6, 2016

• #10

[h=2]Prisma[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
Photo editing apps are generally a dime a dozen, all offering slight variations on the same basic features: Film-style filters, crop and resize tools, red eye reduction and so on. Prisma stands out from the pack by using complex algorithms to transform your images into vibrant and unique works of art. A recent update means it can now do the same for video, too. It takes some practice to know which filters will work the best with which photos, but once you nail it, the payoff is sweet.

 

yinyang

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #11

• bitmoji
  
  
  
  Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​
  iPhone and Android, Free
  Why say it with words when you can say it with stickers? Bitmoji lets you create custom emoji-like stickers complete with an avatar that looks just like you. Stickers have been around for years, but they’re really taking off this year — so much so that Snapchat acquired the company behind Bitmoji for about $100 million in March.

 

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #12

[h=2]Google Translate[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
One of the coolest pieces of fictional Star Trek tech is the Universal Translator, which lets the Enterprise’s crew understand alien languages. The next best thing is Google Translate, which can take typed phrases, spoken words and even real-world text (like street signs) and transform them into other languages. This year’s big update brought more useful features, like tap-to-translate on Android and offline language packs for the iPhone version, helpful when you’re traveling abroad without a data plan.

 

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #13

[h=2]Quik[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free
Modern smartphones can record very high-quality video, but what to do with all that footage? Try Quik, an automatic video editing app that action camera maker GoPro acquired and rebranded this year. Quik takes a bunch of your video footage, identifies the best moments automatically, and sets the whole thing to mood-appropriate music. It’s a great way to add a professional-looking touch to your recordings before putting them on Facebook, YouTube or Instagram.

 

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #14

[h=2]Mint[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIM
E​

iPhone and Android, Free
Mint’s an older app, but it’s still the king of budget management software. Mint connects with your various bank accounts, pulling in your spending and income and organizing it into categories that make it easy to track and stick to a budget. It’s great in those situations when you’re contemplating a big purchase and want to see if you can really afford it or not.

 

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #15

[h=2]Gboard[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone, Free
Google’s Gboard app pulls Google’s powerful search engine into text conversations, making it possible to find answers to questions or seek restaurant suggestions without leaving a chat. Google’s search bar is built right into the keyboard, which pulls up results across sites on the Web, locations in Google Maps, and more. The app launched in May, months before Apple released its dramatic overhaul of iMessage in September that added the ability to interact with outside apps within a text thread.
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[h=2]Day One[/h]

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone, $4.99
Keeping and looking back on a journal can be deeply rewarding, but it’s a tough habit to build. Instead try Day One, a journaling app that makes it easy to quickly record a few thoughts, along with a photo, every day. Unlike paper journals, Day One automatically backs up your notes to the cloud, helping preserve your reflections forever.

 

yinyang

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #16

Boomerang

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME
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iPhone and Android, Free
Boomerang takes a burst of still photos, then stitches them together in a short, looping video. The end result is somewhere between a GIF and a stop-motion movie. Tons of fun to play around with, Boomerang is Instagram’s best spinoff app.

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Google Trips

Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​

iPhone and Android, Free

With its new travel app, Google wants to be the only resource you need when planning your next getaway. Trips scans your Gmail inbox for flight and hotel information, pulling it into a one-stop-shop. It also packs itineraries for a handful of cities, including attractions, restaurants and more. These simple travel guides can be downloaded for offline use, great when you’re abroad without a data plan.

 

yinyang

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• Nov 7, 2016

• #17

• Vevo
  
  
  
  Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​
  iPhone and Android, Free
  If you love music videos, you probably know Vevo, which is basically the MTV of the smartphone era. Vevo dropped a big redesign this year featuring a gorgeous interface with your favorite music videos, as well as a discovery feature to help you find rising artists. The app learns your preferences over time, helping to customize your feed.
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  Alto Mail
  
  
  
  Photo Illustration by Tyler Essary for TIME​
  iPhone and Android, Free
  AOL’s take on gussying up your email service has been around for a few years, but the app’s 2.0 version, launched in September 2016, makes an already smart take on email even smarter. The free app’s new dashboard scrapes all the important information from your emails — shopping receipts, tracking numbers, reservation information, and more — and puts it on virtual cards, for easy gleaning. The app can be used to put a more manageable face on almost any other email service, from IMAP to Gmail, and can also pile up your digital information in “stacks” of photos, files, bills, and other categories.

 

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speedster614

New Member

• Nov 9, 2016

• #18

Really loved this app!
Prisma got famous in a very short amount of time,
Though the Android version sucks!

 

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william1992

Alfrescian

Loyal

• Jul 24, 2017

• #19

Here is another chat app for the website I would like to add ChatWing. Even this one is also available for the iOS, iPhone/iPad and Android device.