13 best apps for your new iPhone

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

When you find a new iPhone in your hands, like the iPhone 13, 1 of your outset impulses will exist to head to the App Store and start loading up your device with a broad diverseness of iPhone apps. And that makes sense — an expansive App Store filled with iPhone exclusives is 1 of the many advantages Apple'due south mobile platform enjoys over Android.

We accept a round-up of the best iPhone apps, and while those would exist excellent additions to any telephone, they're not always the first ones you should grab. When you're just getting started with an iPhone, you want apps that either acme the built-in apps already included on your device or that add together new capabilities your phone might not offer otherwise.

With that in listen, we've highlighted thirteen apps that should be amid the get-go to add to your iPhone. Nosotros've kept the focus on utilities, productivity boosters and other must-haves; if y'all're on the hunt for engrossing games, check out our picks for the all-time iOS games.

LastPass: The best password manager for a new iPhone

best apps for new iphone lastpass — (Image credit: LogMeIn)

As you add accounts and subscriptions to your iPhone, y'all're going to have a lot of passwords to keep track of, especially if you follow good security practices and never reuse the aforementioned countersign across multiple accounts. Even the most photographic of memories would accept a hard time keeping all those different passwords straight, just with a good password managing director like LastPass, you don't have to worry well-nigh information technology.

LastPass, our pick for the best countersign manager overall, stores all your passwords in i secure place. You simply remember your single master password, leaving LastPass to autofill any countersign prompts. Besides passwords and personal information, you tin shop credit card info, too.

If you just want to manager passwords on your iPhone, LastPass is available for complimentary. Adding a premium or family unit subscription lets you store an unlimited number of countersign beyond multiple device, and you have access to encrypted file storage, too. Subscriptions starting time at $iii/month and yous can check out the service for 30 days to see if information technology'south for you.

Download LastPass for iPhone

best apps for new iphone fantastical — (Image credit: Flexibits)

Toting around an iPhone means you've got a reckoner in your pocket, with all the organization tools that implies. And few apps can go on you on top of your day-to-day activities like Fantastical.

You get the typical twenty-four hours, week, calendar month and year views with Fantastical, but the app really earns its stripes with a DayTicker that shows upcoming appointments in a glanceable manner. Fantastical too takes reward of the widget support in iOS so that your events, tasks and to-dos are always front-and-middle if you adopt.

Y'all can download Fantastical for free to manage basic events. But a $five/monthly subscription opens upward the full slate of Fantastical features, including cantankerous-device syncing, extended weather condition reports, and direction for video calls in Google Hangout, Google Come across and Zoom.

Download Fantastical for iPhone

Pcalc: The best reckoner for new iPhones

best iphone apps for new phones pcalc — (Prototype credit: TLA Systems)

Yeah, the iPhone has its built-in computer app, and it's fine for doing basic math on the wing. Only the $nine.99 Pcalc offers that something extra in a beautiful-looking bundle. Highlights include an optional RPN mode, multi-line display, paper tape and support for multiple undos and redos. You lot tin can even customize the look of your calculator's buttons.

If the thought of paying $9.99 for a calculator when the iPhone already has 1, you can try out Pcalc Low-cal for gratis. It offers the RPN way, undo and redo support and unit conversions and constants, plus a selection of two layouts — just enough to give you lot a taste of the power of the full version of Pcalc.

Download Pcalc for iPhone

best apps for new iphones bear — (Prototype credit: Shiny Frog)

Believe information technology or non, many people consider the iPhone a great device for writing, even if the largest screen infinite available is the iPhone 13 Pro Max'southward half dozen.7-inch display. Perchance all those people who relish writing on the iPhone do and then through Bear, a writing app designed to brand you want to jot downwardly whatever's on your mind.

Conduct lets you become started chop-chop, and a focus fashion tin can block out distractions when you want to focus on the writing in front of you. Y'all can turn to Siri and the congenital-in Shortcuts app to rapidly create Notes in Bear, and if yous have an Apple Lookout, you tin even dictate notes. There's a to-do listing feature if your notes tend to focus on upcoming tasks, and encryption features continue sensitive notes out of view.

Hashtags proceed everything organized, and even let yous link different notes together. Themes and typography allow you tweak the app's look to your liking. The basic notation-taking features in Behave are free, while a $15 almanac subscription unlocks all of its capabilities.

Download Carry for iPhone

Yelp: The all-time app for finding new places

best apps for new iPhones yelp — (Image credit: Yelp)

Yelp's achieve is so extensive that Apple tree even builds its ratings and reviews directly into iOS xv'due south Maps app. Just to unleash the total power of Yelp, y'all'll want to download the gratis app onto your iPhone.

Yelp tin can exercise more than just notice restaurants. Information technology'due south also a business directory for finding services, getting quotes and booking appointments. Filters permit you refine your search and see what exactly people have to say well-nigh the business organisation you're researching. A collections feature fifty-fifty lets yous group together places you've establish on Yelp for easy finding later on.

Download Yelp for iPhone

Overcast: The best podcast manager for your new iPhone

best apps for new iphones — (Image credit: Clouded Radio)

I've never been that impressed with Apple'due south built-in Podcasts apps, so I plow elsewhere for an app to download, organize and play all the podcasts I listen to. My pick for best podcast app is Clouded, which non only helps you lot find podcasts but improves playback, too.

Features include Smart Speed, which speeds upward the playback with minimal audio baloney, and Voice Heave for consistent audio quality. Yous can as well create playlists of your favorite episodes for better podcast management.

Clouded is a free download, though you lot can pay $x/year to hide the ads that otherwise appear within the app. You lot may notice yourself eager to pay for Overcast anyhow, given all the features packed into this podcast director.

Download Overcast for iPhone

Carrot Weather: Best conditions app for new iPhones

Best apps for new iphones carrot weather — (Image credit: Grailr)

Thank you to Apple tree'due south purchase of Dark Heaven, the built-in Weather app for iOS 15 is very fully featured, and then you lot may simply wind upwards sticking with what'southward already installed on your iPhone. But if you prefer a little mental attitude with your daily forecast, Carrot Weather is a great addition to any new iPhone.

Carrot Weather has the forecast features you'd need in a weather app — hourly outlooks, 7-twenty-four hour period forecasts, wind and rain data. But the app lets you cull 1 of five personalities for the voice assistant that delivers weather updates (and a torrent of exact abuse, should you lot opt for 1 of Carrot'due south more extreme personalities.) Features like Fourth dimension Travel (where you can await up historical weather patterns) and AR Fashion (which overlays the forecast over real-world images captured with your iPhone's photographic camera) add to the fun.

You tin download Carrot Conditions for costless, though a $5 monthly fee unlocks premium features that let you further customize the look of the app, draw from more weather sources and get alerts nigh changing weather.

Download Carrot Weather for iPhone

Lose It: Best weight loss assistant for new iPhones

Lose It best apps for new iPhones — (Image credit: FitNow)

Lose Information technology has been around since Apple tree showtime started allowing third-political party apps on the iPhone. At that place's a reason for its staying power — this calorie-counter can help you run across your weight loss goals, with a number of clever tools that are just a tap away.

You enter your target weight into Lose It, and the app calculates the amount of calories you can consume each day. To make sure y'all're staying on target, you enter the food you eat — a task that Lose It simplifies by letting you scan bar codes and even take pictures of food to help enter in your intake info. Challenges and gameification take some of the tedium out of weight loss.

Lose Information technology is a costless download, though yous can unlock additional features aimed at aiding weight loss efforts by paying for a premium subscription. If you're looking for a completely free choice, check out the FatSecret calorie counter, which helped one of my Tom's Guide colleagues lose weight over the holidays.

Download Lose It for iPhone

Waze: The best way to observe inexpensive gas on your new iPhone

best apps for new iphones waze — (Image credit: Waze)

While Maps has made a lot of strides in contempo years — iOS 15 Maps offers a especially solid update to the navigational features — you nonetheless might experience compelled to turn to a third-party app to aid you go around. Consider Waze, which offers drivers a number of dissimilar features to simplify getting from Indicate A to Point B.

Waze's primary office is to use alerts about traffic, accidents and police speed traps to notice a quicker, easier road for your travels. But the features don't finish at that place — y'all tin also apply Waze to notice the cheapest gas on your drive, which can be actress beneficial when prices at the pump are on the rising. Best of all, these features are all available for gratuitous.

Download Waze for iPhone

Libby: The best app for finding something to read

libby by Overdrive is the best app for new iphones — (Image credit: OverDrive)

If yous've but shelled out for a new iPhone, chances are y'all're feeling a footling lite in the wallet. That's a shame since the books, movies and music you'd want to tote around with you on your phone costs money, too. But your local library has many books available for gratis, and Libby is your ticket for getting them on your iPhone.

Libby works with libraries all over the world to offer a collection of both east-books and audiobooks that you tin check out and read via your iPhone. You lot can either download the titles for offline reading or stream them if space is at a premium on your phone. Features on this free app include the power to adjust text size (making it more readable) or alter the playback speed on your audiobook. Y'all can even add bookmarks and notes when there'southward some text that particularly grabs y'all.

Download Libby for iPhone

Star Walk: The best app for stargazing with your new iPhone

best apps for new iphone star walk — (Image credit: Vito Technology)

Among its many other talents, your iPhone can be a portable observatory with the right stargazing app. And for my money, that title goes to Star Walk.

Star Walk contains a detailed star map, showing the many constellations you tin can observe in the night sky. Even better, point your camera skyward at night, and Star Walk can use augmented reality to tell you precisely what you lot're looking at. You tin use a Fourth dimension Machine to travel back in time to run across specific celestial objects, and Star Walk has some pretty detailed information on exactly which stars, planets and astronomical phenomena you're looking at.

The app is a costless download, though a Star Walk Plus subscription removes ads and lets you admission a angelic calendar detailing astronomical events and meteor showers, among other things. An annual pass costs $v.

Download Star Walk for iPhone

Duolingo: The best way to larn a language on your new iPhone

best apps for new iphones duolingo — (Image credit: Duolingo)

There'due south a reason Duolingo has go a popular method of picking up new languages. The app turns learning into a game, and we're more than probable to stick with something when it's fun to do. Having Duolingo right there on your iPhone makes information technology pretty convenient, too, since you can savor an impromptu lesson whenever y'all have a gratis moment.

You lot can pick from around three dozen languages on Duolingo, and basic lessons are gratuitous. Duolingo Plus removes ads from the app and includes downloadable courses and a mastery quiz for making sure these quick lessons are taking root.

Download Duolingo for iPhone

Tweetbot: The all-time Twitter client for your new iPhone

best apps for new iphone tweetbot — (Image credit: Tapbots)

Whether you cull to spend your time on Twitter is your business organisation. Just if you do, make sure yous get the best app for accessing the social media service, and no, it's non Twitter's own app.

Instead, nosotros recommend Tweetbot, which is fast, total of filters and well organized. (Yous'll see tweets in chronological society instead of how some algorithm thinks they should appear.) Tweetbot likewise takes advantage of iOS'southward widgets feature to brandish mentions, lists or your timeline on the iPhone'due south habitation screen.

Yes, yous'll have to pay a subscription fee — either $1/calendar month or $half-dozen/year — but that's a small-scale cost for never having to come across one of Twitter'south promoted tweets again.

Download Tweetbot for iPhone

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom'southward Guide. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.