Whether you’re trying to manage your time better or looking for better tools for productivity, an arsenal of productivity apps can help you work more efficiently. If those apps happen to be tailor-made for your iPhone, all the better!
The App Store has bundles of apps that Android users dream of getting their hands on, offering features that fit snugly into the Apple ecosystem. Get the most out of your iPhone with these iOS-exclusive apps that are optimized for your productivity.
10
Due
Also available for: iPad, Apple Watch
Due ($7.99) is the only paid app on this list, but it’s something you won’t want to miss out on. This reminder app is a great addition to your productivity folder because of its unique approach that pushes you to complete tasks through sheer persistence. Due uses an Auto Snooze feature so you get persistent notifications about your tasks at custom intervals (between five minutes and one hour) until they are marked as completed or rescheduled for later.
Notifications can be marked from the comfort of your lock screen, and persist even if you’re offline. This focus app has easy-to-make lists and recurring reminders, and custom themes for the interface. There’s also a built-in timer, reusable timers, and customizable buttons to set reminders faster. Due syncs with iCloud or Dropbox, and can be used in 17 languages.
9
Bear
Also available for: iPad, Apple Watch
Bear is an Apple Design Award-winning app known for its neat interface and seamless experience across Apple devices. This is a Markdown-based note-taking app that’s perfect for organization, journaling, work, and more, hosting an arsenal of tools to help you write and plan better. Bear supports everything from tables, links, and images to GIFs, documents, and web pages. Clipping media and referencing websites is a quick process, and the app also supports multiple languages, including RTL (right-to-left) languages.
Bear’s custom keyboard features a Style Bar, attachment options, sketching tools (with an expandable canvas available with Apple’s PencilKit tools), and table formats. But the best (and most satisfying) feature that Bear gives you in terms of note management is tags, which neatly organize everything you create. Tags include nested tags for better organization, and these can be pinned to the top of your sidebar. The app even offers stickers for iMessages.
With a Bear Pro subscription ($2.99/month or $29.99/year), you can access Face/Touch ID encryption for notes, export format options, and sync.
8
Craft
Also available for: Mac, iPad, Apple Vision
Craft is another powerful note-taking app, best for writers and journaling enthusiasts. The app offers a small library of templates (meeting notes, meal planner, to-do lists, job application planner, and more) for business and personal use. Craft’s style options (for system font, text, separators, and paper) make every document feel customizable. Apart from standard attachments like links, images, code, and tables, the app allows you to insert nested content such as cards, pages, whiteboards, and collections.
Craft’s intuitive interface allows you to swipe and drag-and-drop to easily edit your notes and format text more effectively. You can find a Craft calendar to note your tasks or events. If you write down tasks in your document, Craft organizes them neatly in another tab, making it easier to view important points. The app offers Reminders and Calendar integration, with Apple Intelligence support for eligible devices. With a Legacy subscription ($10.99/month or $99.99/year), you can access offline documents, real-time collaboration, and Craft’s AI assistant.
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7
Darkroom
Also available for: Mac, iPad
Although I’m not the biggest fan of photo or video editing on my iPhone (I prefer my Mac for this purpose), there are a few photo-editing apps that can do justice to your media. Darkroom, an iPhone-exclusive photo editor that is known for its accuracy, is one of them. This app uses AI-backed precision editing, preset filters, and custom presets to improve your pictures. If you’re a photographer looking for touch-ups, Darkroom supports RAW image formats, color grading (especially for videographers), and touch-responsive curves.
What’s notable about Darkroom is how precisely it handles editing for hair, skin, and smaller details. The app offers a wide range of filters, frames, and editing tools to enhance your social media posts and photography work. If you use iMessage, this app also offers ready-to-use stickers. Darkroom connects with iCloud Photos for easier access. With a premium membership ($7.99/month or $39.99/year), you can use AI-backed masks for refined pictures.
6
Flow
Also available for: Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision
Flow is a Pomodoro timer and focus app designed for your iPhone, with sync across your other Apple devices. It features a customizable timer for your work sessions, app and web blocking capabilities, and statistics to track your productivity. Flow’s Pomodoro timer has an optional metronome for your sessions. The app integrates with the Apple ecosystem with Calendar sync, widgets for your Control Center and home/lock screen, iCloud sync for stats, and Apple Health sync for Mindful Minutes data.
Flow has a minimalist interface that minimizes distractions, allowing you to hone in on the simple timer. With a Pro subscription ($2.99/month or $17.99/year), you can access features like CSV export, custom sessions, and sync.
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5
Sorted
Also available for: Mac, iPad, Apple Watch
Sorted prides itself on being a one-of-a-kind “hyper-scheduler” that manages everything for you, including your schedule, events, tasks, and lists. With Sorted, you can sync your Calendar and iCloud to keep your schedule running smoothly.
Sorted reminders can be tagged and given details like time, duration, frequency, and lock. You can create lists for your shopping, grocery, notes, and errands, which, like reminders, will display on a scrollable calendar view in the app. The app’s signature tool, Time Ruler, helps you shift the time for tasks around seamlessly. Sorted hosts eight widgets that can be added to your iPhone’s home screen.
The app uses snappy, quick swipes to quickly manage everything you note in your schedule, including “Magic Touch,” which lets you mass-delete list and reminder items. As you finish items in your inbox, you can simply swipe right to mark them completed. You can even take detailed notes and add images or attachments to your reminders and events. With a Pro subscription (one-time charge of $14.99), you can access Auto Schedule, duplication and merging, and auto backup, among other features.
4
MindNode
Also available for: Mac, iPad, Apple Vision
If you’re not a big fan of Apple’s Freeform app to create free-hand mind maps, try MindNode. This brainstorming app helps you create vivid mind maps from scratch, including outlines that reorganize maps. The app boasts collaboration with other Apple users and syncs across your devices with iCloud.
You can use visual tags to manage your maps and tasks created within maps. MindNode’s maps provide a blank canvas for your maps, so apart from writing and editing, you can attach images, use themes, branch out your map, and add links, stickers, emojis, or detailed notes under every map branch. I’ve always liked drawing out my mind maps, but MindNode is a handy tool to capture thoughts, brainstorm, and organize ideas virtually with ease. The app’s interface is intelligent and easy to understand, so creating your first mind map is not a Herculean task.
With a MindNode Plus subscription ($2.99/month or $24.99/year), you can unlock unlimited themes, and tags, tasks, and connections (for context).
3
Drafts
Also available for: iPad, Apple Watch
For quick notes, Drafts is a good option to consider if you like hassle-free note-taking. The app has an interface similar to Notes, but what’s different about it is the note management system. There are many tools to explore, including Google Search, iMessage and Mail integration, event creation, and saving or posting to third-party apps and websites like OneDrive, Google Docs, Gmail, WordPress, Ghost, and OneNote. It also supports note export to other apps like Craft, OmniFocus, and Bear. Drafts is handy if you want to quickly compose messages, emails, or documents and share them across your writing and note-taking apps.
Drafts notes can be tagged, linked, and pinned. It supports Siri integration, hands-free writing with dictation, and Reminders integration for tasks. With a Pro subscription ($1.99/month or $19.99/year), you can customize actions, choose app icons, and get more widget options.
2
OmniFocus 4
Also available for: Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision
OmniFocus 4 is a time management app to help you sort and coordinate all your projects. The task manager features all the tools you need to plan your work or study-related projects, including tags, a neat sidebar, attachments, and a list view. OmniFocus’s Forecast tab manages your future projects by displaying a calendar view with your tagged and flagged projects. Each project can be assigned voice notes and due dates.
OmniFocus 4 also features a built-in map to help you find nearby points of interest (for instance, co-working spaces or cafés). The app offers widgets for your home screen to track priority tasks, view your schedule, and have a quick look at your to-do list. OmniFocus 4 comes with a two-week free trial, after which a subscription ($9.99/year) is required.
1
Flighty
Also available for: Mac, iPad, Apple Watch
Recognized as one of the best iOS-exclusive apps available, Flighty is a smart flight tracker known for its accuracy and user-friendliness. The app won the 2023 Apple Design Award and was a finalist for that year’s App of the Year. The tracker lets you see details about a flight’s departure and arrival time, any delays, booking code, arrival weather, arrival forecast for future flights, and more. Flighty is perfect for tracking present and future flights and forecasting weather for better planning and packing.
The app offers 24/7 global coverage, so your travel plans can go smoothly. Flighty also lets you see alternatives to a flight so you can be prepared for emergencies, delays, or cancellations. The tracker uses a 3D globe view to show flight paths, with clean controls that require little knowledge (except for your flight details). You can even track a friend/family member’s flight information by privately sharing it with them. You can sync your Apple Calendar to Flighty, add widgets to your home screen, and track your flight.
Flighty’s Pro subscription ($5.99/month or $47.99/year) comes with live activities, live weather radar, unlimited past flight look-up, TripIt sync, email forwarding, and more.
Apart from iOS-exclusive apps for your iPhone, you can also find some lesser-known apps developed by Apple that you never knew you needed. I’ve come across many of my favorite niche iPhone apps surfing through the r/ios subreddit, which is a good source for learning about new, indie apps as well.
- Brand
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Apple
- SoC
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A18
- Display
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6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, 1,200 nits of peak brightness, 60Hz
- RAM
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8GB
- Storage
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128, 256, 512GB
- Battery
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26 hours of video playback
The iPhone16e is an affordable addition to the iPhone 16 line, costing $200 less than the base iPhone 16.