CNET:
It took Apple a year after launching the original iPhone before it opened the App Store–and almost overnight it transformed a user-friendly-but-not-very-useful device into one of the great software platforms in history.
The App Store changed the way people get software, evened the playing field for small developers, and turned the iPhone into a digital Swiss Army Knife that could replace a fistful of tools–from cameras to radios to compasses to alarm clocks.
Among all of these great apps, there have naturally been some standouts that have made life better, given us new things we didn’t know we needed, and entertained us in lots of new ways. So let’s count down the top 10.
This is an interesting list if only because I disagree with all of it except #1, 2, and 4.
I’m with you on 1, 2, & 4. I think Pokémon GO deserves a place on the list as well.
Surprised there wasn’t apps like YouTube, Netflix, Uber/Lyft, Square, OpenTable, Yelp, and (whatever you may think about it) Facebook.
Agreed. 1, 2 & 4 are the only ones that deserve to be on the list. The rest, fads that will be forgotten soon enough.
That list, as far as I’m concerned has a few good applications, but it’s not even close to correct. Every single app has a better counterpart, and there are vastly better apps to bump them all off the list.
Pokémon Go is on the list.
I agree that the list is not really the “The 10 most important iPhone apps of all time.” However, I also disagree with your reason why it isn’t correct. The author is not saying these are the best apps of all time. The premise is that they are the “most important” and it is explicitly stated in some of the descriptions that they have been superseded by newer apps. The point that is trying to be made is that each of them changed or defined the app store in some way. For example, Tweetie implemented a UI feature that is now part of the OS and people use it in app after app as just a normal course of action now. That alone justified its place on this list for me. Google Maps belongs on the list because it is an app that fundamentally changed what we expected from our phones, and it led to the massive change in the stand-alone GPS market.
I believe that some of these apps don’t belong, but my challenge to us is to come up with some we think deserve to be on the list more than those that are on it now. I’ll begin:
1Password is an app that I will not use my phone without.
Facebook – this app was originally written by one person and it took advantage of iOS and was amazingly fast. At some point they realized its importance and shifted it to a team, which began by changing the app to a web view. The pushback from users was fast and furious, leading to a redesign back to more native code and a much better app. This clearly demonstrated not just the importance of having an app on iOS, but the importance writing them using native code and UI elements.
Amazon changed the way we shop, carrying our phones to price compare and often buying immediately from the app.
I can’t remember the name of the first app in this category, but my current one is Sky Guide. The first app that used the built-in GPS, compass, and other sensors in order to show you which stars, planets, and constellations you are viewing in the night sky was another thing that changed the way we think of our phones.
Finally, I’m going to end not with an app but an app developer. The OmniGroup has shown what an amazing platform iOS can be if you take full advantage of it and aren’t afraid to charge a fair price for your apps.
Eh. This is the author’s opinion. Where’s Netflix, Hulu, Yelp or Apple’s first party app like Notes and even App Store app itself? 😛
even 2 (Google Maps) is meh. The maps in iPhone OS were a nice start, but I went to Garmin for their app which proceeded GM. I have GM installed but I’ve only used it a handful of times, ever. Garmin and Apple Maps (I haven’t used Garmin app in years).
It actually seems like a pretty sensible list. It gets extra credit for having well reasoned explanations and not being presented as a slideshow.
I think the list is especially sensible if you discard the idea that the apps must still be important. Tweetie is never coming back, for instance. Flipboard was huge when it came out but mostly irrelevant now.
Gotta disagree. I’ve only touched it in passing for my kid, but it’s still the first hit AR game for the iPhone and might very well be one of the big reasons ARKit exists.
A fad that changes the course of history isn’t just a fad, though.
Given that ‘important’ has no clear definition, it’s unsurprising.
Equally unsurprising that I’d never heard of several, and only used two (Pokemon Go and Google Maps).
… but does anyone even use it in AR mode?
I think most people touch it once, since that’s the default, and then turn it off.
Certainly nobody I see playing it EVER has AR turned on; it kills battery and the amusement lasts about 30 seconds.
I noticed that too. 😉
I’m a little surprised Shazam isn’t on the actual list (I know it got an honorable mention). That app was the first one that always got people to shut up after the “Its just an expensive toy, it doesn’t do anything my Nokia/Blackberry/whatever can do better”. Then you’d demo Shazam and they’d be amazed, every time. It also ended up being bought by Apple. I think it should have been in the top 10.
On the WTF side, why is Evernote on there? It was a beautiful app when they did their major upgrade but it wasn’t a must have or game changer like Instagram. I betcha Bear has more iOS users now.
Agreed. First app that made me go “Wow, I am amazed what a phone can do.”
eh, a silly game that most of the grownups I know have never even thought about touching. lets not confuse “popular” with “important”. (See Transformers)
LOL I’ll definitely give them extra credit for not being a slideshow. 🙂
Agree…. Google Maps was not an important app because it only came about as an alternative to Apple Maps on iOS 6. The Maps app was part of the first iOS release — it set the precedent for touch-based maps on a smartphone. Google (and many others) just copied that.
I used Navigon for navigation (later acquired by Garmin and recently discontinued) when that was released with iPhone 3GS and the new iOS App Store rules allowing navigation apps. Navigon was first to market — beating TomTom by months and had awesome features like lane guidance many years ago (like 2010 or 2011).
I don’t see how “Google Maps” is an important “app” on the App Store — definitely a hugely important service on the web (that actually powered Apple’s original Maps app) — but not an important app for the App Store. Even as a service, Google was not first to online maps — MapQuest had them beat by like 2 years.
I gotta agree with Steven Fisher because:
Can’t say I agree with any of this list regarding “important apps”.
I think apps like Uber & Lyft change how people travel and probably Uber deserves the nod for pioneering that.
Amazon’s app was amazing to me back in 2009. I remember sitting on my couch, pulling out my iPhone and with a few taps I was shopping for a present for my wife. And because Amazon had my credit card memorized I was able to buy it without even pulling out my wallet. Amazon was there first and probably deserves a nod for mobile shopping.
What about astronomy apps like Star Walk that were doing AR before ARKit or Pokemon Go existed to overlay constellations on views of the night sky using your GPS and Accelerometer. These were totally overlooked.
Navigon was the first GPS Navigation app released on the App Store if I am not mistaken — beating TomTom to the App Store by many months despite TomTom being featured at WWDC. In fact Garmin was so late to the App Store that they eventually acquired Navigon to gain a presence. Navigon had lane guidance feature years ago (like 2010 or 2011). Navigon just doesn’t exist anymore because Apple Maps now has all these features out of the box and comes pre-installed.
Dark Sky’s app was an important change to how we look at weather. First app to warn you accurately when it was about to rain and when it would be over.
Candy Crush and Flappy Bird showed how games could make a huge amount of money on the App Store.
At least they got Pandora for streaming music on that list.
Probably the biggest apps though came from Apple:
– Find my iPhone
– Find my Friends
– iMessage
– FaceTime
– Safari (does anybody remember what the mobile web looked like on a Palm Trio or Blackberry?)
Have an uptick, just for point 1. THANKS! 🙂
I’m with you on Omni. They are an amazing developer that makes best-in-class software. And on 1Password. I only WISH Apple would buy it.
As for being game changers, I see your point. I do think the list was a bit bizarre in adding PokeMan. Hardly important in any sense to me. But that’s me.
I hear you on Pokémon I was willing to give them a pass because he specifically mentioned Pokémon GO, which created a cultural phenomenon and had people using their phones to interact with virtual objects in the real world at a large rate of adoption. I think it was our first huge glimpse of the AR world we are all headed towards.
The article was specifically addressing apps in the app store, so Notes and the App Store would not qualify. If we were talking about Apps in general though, the one at the top of the list would be Safari. I think it is too easy to forget just how revolutionary Safari was for a mobile browser. It was a dramatically different from all other mobil web browsers in its ability to render the web as the iPhone was from all other smartphones when it was released. My wife, who is not a tech person, upon first viewing the iPhone and using Safari said, “why don’t I have this?”
Safari was as much a game-changer as Apple’s beautiful, fast, and responsive touch interface was.