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Technology

21 Must-Have Free iPhone Apps You Can’t Miss

Written by Steve Young
Entrepreneur and founder of AppMasters.co

With over 1 million apps in the Apple App Store, finding useful, must-have iPhone apps can be a difficult process.

The following is a list that showcases 21 of the best, must-have iPhone apps that you may not be familiar with, and includes iPhone applications for news, weather, productivity, games, photography, and finance.

If your favorite iPhone app isn’t on the list, tell us in the comments below!

News/Weather

#1: Umano

Too busy to read? With Umano, you can listen to articles from the world’s best publishers and bloggers narrated by professional voice-actors. Whether commuting, working out at the gym, or cooking at home, let Umano accompany you and enrich your day.

umano

    #2: Prismatic

    Prismatic is the home for all your interests. You select your interests and topics and Prismatic will curate and find stories based on the popularity of the post. You can comment on stories, talk with friends, and share the articles via Twitter and Facebook.

    prismatic

      #3: Feedly

      Without Google Reader, Feedly has taken over as the de facto king of RSS news readers. You can import your Google RSS feeds into Feedly and easily share content on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, either directly or using Buffer. The app also integrates with Pocket, Instapaper and Evernote.

      feedly

        #4: theCHIVE

        theCHIVE is the world’s largest photo blog showcasing original galleries of funny photos & videos, epic fails, beautiful girls, groundbreaking photography, and art from all over the world.

        theCHIVE

          #5: Effing Weather

          Tired of the same old weather app? Well, download the Effing Weather app and get over 100+ funny phrases that tell you the current weather such as:

          – Are you Effing kidding me?
          – Why don’t you tell your friends on Facebook how Effing hot it is
          – For today’s Effing forecast, look outside

          Productivity

          #6: TalkTo

          With TalkTo, you can text message with millions of local business in the US and Canada. You can see answers to other shoppers’ questions, and can ask your own.

          talkto

            #7: Glympse

            Don’t text and drive. Glympse is the easiest way to safely share your location with someone in real time. Recipients receive a link allowing them to view your location in real-time.

            glympse

              #8: Sunrise Calendar

              Sunrise Calendar is by far my favorite calendar app. Some of my favorite features include the ability to see faces and profiles of people you are meeting with using LinkedIn, the weather forecast based on your location, and smart icons based on the topic of your meeting.

              sunrise

                #9: Clarity

                Are you struggling with a certain part of your business? Clarity makes it easy for you to find, schedule and pay for expert advice over the phone to grow your business. Experts are categorized based on their specialties and you can see reviews for each expert before booking a call.

                Games

                #10: Fun Run

                I don’t play too many games on the iPhone, but Fun Run is one that both my 5-year-old son and I enjoy. Fun Run is an online, real-time multi-player game where you can play with up to four players simultaneously. Play with your friends or get matched with random players from around the world!

                fun_run

                  #11: Your Extra Life

                  YourExtraLife is a real-life game. You can progress by completing challenges in cooking, nightlife, romance, culture, altruism.

                  The app comes with pre-crafted challenges. To complete a challenge, you must submit a picture to prove it and judges within the community verify that your picture does match with the challenge.

                  yourextralife

                    #12: Revel

                    Revel is a real-time, multiplayer, photo scavenger game. It combines game elements of bingo and a scavenger hunt where you hunt for and photograph people, scenarios and objects. Once you get 5 in a row – you win!

                    revel

                      #13: Lumosity

                      Designed by neuroscientists, Lumosity trains your memory and attention. Used by over 50 million people worldwide, Lumosity creates a Personalized Training Program that challenges your brain.

                      lumosity

                        #14: Find a Way, José

                        Find a Way, José is a great puzzle game where you attempt to move blocks in an effort to get the main character, José, to his bottle of tequila.

                        find_a_way_jose

                          Photos

                          #15: Cut Me In

                          Cut Me In is an easy to use app that allows you to crop yourself out of your original photo and superimpose yourself on a funny or unique background.

                          cut_me_in

                            #16: Momentage

                            With Momentage, you can craft and experience moments through combining photos, videos and SoundImages into a single post to create a vivid storytelling moment on your iPhone. Share your moments with the world or with just your friends.

                            momentage

                              #17: Frontback

                              Frontback takes a unique spin on the photo taking experience. Take a photo with the front camera, another with the back camera, and share them both in a single image.

                              frontback

                                #18: POP – Prototyping on Paper

                                Do you have an idea for an iPhone app? POP is one of the easiest way to quickly make a prototype. Draw your idea on paper, take a picture of your drawings, and finally link each screen in POP. You will have a working prototype within minutes.

                                pop

                                  #19: 4 Snaps

                                  Created by 16 year old teen, Michael Sayman, 4 Snaps is a social picture snapping and guessing game where you pick a word and take four pictures that best represent your chosen word. Then it’s your friend’s turn to guess the word based on your pictures.

                                  4snaps

                                    Finance

                                    #20: Toshl

                                    Toshl is a simple to use personal finance manager. It easily tracks income and expenses, organizes your bills, and allows you to manage your budget. New York Times says “of all the apps for monitoring spending, one of the hardest to beat is Toshl Finance.”

                                    toshl

                                      #21: Level Money

                                      While a lot of finance apps show you a myriad of information (mostly meaningless), Level Money shows you exactly how much money you have left to spend given your budget. All you have to do is connect your bank accounts to Level Money and the app does the rest.

                                      level