Best Apps of 2016

I decided that I would limit my list this year to free apps and not include game apps. There are some apps that I left off the list because they seemed too niche for most people; the kind of app users only need in a certain situation and then delete it later; and apps that have had major issues in the last year (crashes, data loss, questionable future). I tried to give the main reason the app is on the list and eliminated any app that is not available on both Android and Apple phones. Doing all of that is tough, there are some great apps that are perfect for really specialized tasks or are available but only for Android, iPhone, or they cost money. If I forgot one of your favorite apps or you think... why isn't this on the list! Please let me know.

I linked the name of the app to it's website where the developer usually explains the app, has tutorials, and links to the app's download link for each platform. If they don't have a website (or the website does not link to the app downloads) I added the links to their spot in the App Store (iOS) and Google Play Store (Android). One of the issues with apps is that many apps do not work on all versions of the operating system. If you have an older phone you may find that less and less apps are able to be used on your device. I see this happen more with Android apps but it can also be true of older Apple devices. In some cases users can "side load" an app but it may not work correctly and it does take some more advanced technical skill.

Outlook - great calendar and e-mail integration

Gmail - (iOS and Android) upgraded user interface and graphics make it even better     

ProtonMail - encrypted e-mail that allows multiple security features

Facebook - (iOS and Android) Live video, groups, and almost everyone you know

Instagram - (iOS and Android) adopting some video features,updating the interface, and cutting down spam makes it better

SnapChat - it's where everyone under 30 is, group chats added, and users can save their snaps

LastPass - one of the best password managers is now free on mobile, plus interface upgrades

Chrome - (iOS and Android) one of the best mobile browsers improved the amount of memory it uses

Opera Mini (iOS and Android) - the fastest light weight browser with the best privacy features

Waze - a navigation app that gives users traffic and location information, and remembers where you parked

Google Maps - (iOS and Android) the information it can provide about locations on top of its navigation keep it great

Opera VPN - a free Virtual Private Network can come in handy on free Wi-Fi, easy to use

(Facebook) Messenger - video messaging (now includes groups), stickers, and encryption if you want it.

Signal - the best messaging app for the privacy minded, full encryption

MyFitnessPal - (iOS and Android) user interface upgrades

and added features

SwiftKey - a great keyboard that learns how you type and the remembers things you frequently type

Gboard - (iOS and Android) best keyboard if you're a frequent emoji user

Spotify - the best at suggesting new music and playlists, ease of use, and developing exclusive content

Netflix - improved interface, download option, and new exclusive content

YouTube - (iOS and Android) Video content that runs a wide

spectrum. For the younger generation it is indispensable.

Prisma - turns your photos into art and adds new modes frequently

Google Photos - (iOS and Android) save your photos and your devices space, users can edit photos, make videos, and more

PicsArt - Lots of photo editing options, fun stickers, make a meme

Photoshop Fix - the Photoshop features most people use

YouCam Perfect - the ultimate selfie app with all kinds of photo editing features specific to creating the perfect selfie

OverDrive - when it comes to library eBooks, it's the best available

Hoopla - music and videos available from your library

Duolingo - learn a language, their new chat bot helps with conversational language

Pocket - save articles and find new things to read, easy to use interface, multiplatform

Nuzzel - (iOS and Android) find articles through social media connections and the "discover" feature, create your own newsletter based on what you are interested in, reccomend, or read.

CamScanner - scan documents, send them as pictures or PDF, easy to use

Heirloom - scan old photos and share them with family or friends

Yummly - (iOS and Android) find and share recipes easily

Evernote - (iOS and Android) still the best productivity app user interface-wise

Google Keep - (iOS and Android) best productivity app storage-wise

Google Hangouts - (iOS and Android) best video chat app, works with pretty much every device

Fitocracy - learn new workouts, get plans based on your goals, share your progress

My Asics Running Coach - running plans for every distance and adjusts based on your schedule and goals 

Nike+ Run Club - user interface upgrades, additional features, running community, better Apple Watch integration

Strava - the best tracking app for cycling and hiking

WhosCall - caller ID app that helps you avoid scam and spam calls

Cash - send people money by using your debit card powered by Square, nice for splitting a check

UnTappd - beer ratings, reviews, and a community of users. Sale and event notifications are handy.

Mint - the best personal finance app hands down just got some nice graphics and feature upgrades

Weather Underground - crowd sourced information helps it be accurate, the smart forecast allows you to set conditions and it will show you when those are met. Great for runners and other pastimes.

Weather Channel - background is a nice local photo, provides a lot of helpful information in a quick easy to use screen.

NPR One - National Public radio's app has a lot of great content. This app brings both local and national shows, recommends things you'd like, and allows you to share great stories you find.

Yelp - (iOS and Android) lets users know what businesses are available around them and reviews from users

Google Translate - (iOS and Android) 100 languages translated from audio, handwriting, or typing.

ESPN - (iOS and Android) scores, sports news, and content from their magazine, radio, and television channels

Want to know more, see what I read:

Popular Mechanics 23 Best iPhone Apps: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/reviews/g1805/the-23-best-iphone-apps-to-download-now

CNet 100 Best iPhone Apps: https://www.cnet.com/topics/mobile-apps/best-mobile-apps-ios/best-photo-apps-for-iphone/

Time's 50 Best Apps of 2016: http://time.com/4549647/best-apps-year-2016/

New York Times 2016 in Review, Best Apps: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/technology/personaltech/best-apps.html

Digital Trends 100 Best iPhone Apps: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-iphone-apps/

Fast Company 10 Best Apps of 2016 https://www.fastcompany.com/3066678/tech-forecast/the-10-best-free-apps-of-2016

PC Magazine 100 Best Android Apps 2016 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393097,00.asp

PC Magazine 100 Best iPhone Apps 2016 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391521,00.asp

Video Chat Apps

With the Holidays approaching many people will try to share their holiday with family and friends electronically. Today I will look at some options to video chat with friends or relatives and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.

Facebook Messenger

Strength: Easy to Use and Multi-platform (iOS, Android, and web browsers)

Weakness: One on One only UPDATE: 12/20 You can now chat with groups (see also: https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/19/messenger-group-video-chat/ ) Setting up a Facebook account if they don’t have one

FaceTime

Strength: Easy to Use

Weakness: Apple Devices Only and only one person at a time

Google Hangouts

Strength: Multiplatform (iOS, Android, Web browser plug-in) and up to nine people at a time

Weakness: Requires a Google Account (which may be a hurtle for less tech inclined relatives)

Skype

Strength: Multiplatform (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux),  up to 25 people at a time

Weakness: It can act wonky in my experience; users have to set-up an account; users receive spam

Personally, I use Google Hangouts with friends and my siblings but my older relatives and wife prefer FaceTime because they have Apple devices and it is as easy as answering the phone. If you wanted to share your holiday with all your friends, family, and acquaintances on Facebook you can use Facebook’s new Facebook Live feature that it has been advertising. It will also allow people to watch it after the event but it is more like broadcasting video than chatting and you might consider it too intrusive. 

Photo Scanning Apps

Google recently released a photo scanning app that had mixed reviews. I began to wonder if there were other apps that did the same thing, and which is the best. I did a side by side comparison.

CamScanner (Free) Android and iOS - Usually used for document scanning this app does really well at lining up the photos, cropping, and sharing. The photo quality was good but not great. The photo adjustment / filters features were good not great. https://www.camscanner.com

CamScanner scanning interface

CamScanner adjustment interface

Heirloom (Free) Android and iOS - Heirloom had the nicest user interface. It also has really nice photo adjustments and filters. The app had the best photo quality of the apps tested. The app's focus is on album creation and sharing, but users would have to convince friends and family to download the app. https://www.heirloom.net/

Heirloom cropping interface

Heirloom adjustment interface

PhotoScan by Google (Free) Android and iOS - The app does a good job of trying to eliminate glare and automatically cropping but I found that the photos were a bit blurry. It does a great job at saving and sharing but no adjustments or filters. https://www.google.com/photos/scan/

PhotoScan by Google scanning interface

Pic Scanner (Free with in-app purchases) iOS only - I found the app easy to use. The app tells users that they have the photo lined up. It does well at cropping but unfortunately the app limits the number of photos users can save or share to twelve (more than that costs $2.99). http://m.appinitio.com/

Pic Scanner scanning interface

Pic Scanner adjustment interface

Side by side with each app.

PhotoScan by Google

Pic Scanner

Heirloom

CamScanner

Side by side and I included one with the Camera on my iPhone.

PhotoScan

Pic Scanner

Heirloom

CamScanner

iPhone Camera

Side by side with my top three favorites Cam Scanner, Heirloom, and the iPhone camera.

CamScanner

Heirloom

iPhone Camera

These last two were Heirloom and the iPhone camera with both I used the adjustment and filters.

iPhone Camera with adjustments

Heirloom app with filter

I felt that the Heirloom app performed best and the iPhone was a close second. From all my research it seems that flat bed scanners or a SLR camera with a macro lens are superior for getting the best quality. This website gives instructions for taking the best scans possible of your photos with either one  https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-scan-and-archive-your-old-printed-photos/

Note / Productivity Apps

Disclaimer: I chose these apps / software families because they are able to be used on pretty much every device. I did not review or compare Apple's "Notes" due to the fact that it cannot be used on Android and has a sub par experience on Windows computers and mobile devices.

Evernote 

https://www.evernote.com 

I've used Evernote for 5 years. They have a family of apps that integrate so users can take notes, save pictures or audio, copy information from the Web (using a browser extension), draw or hand write notes (using the Penultimate app), and scan and then save documents (using the Scannable app). They also had a food and recipe app that they discontinued. This software family for a while was a favorite of tech users especially heavy users of "Productivity software". Recently they made changes limiting uploads to 60 megabytes per month, which is pretty low as storage goes, and they recently raised prices on premium plans. The paid versions of Evernote now cost $34.99, $69.99 and $120 per year, based on the amount of storage a user requires. Downloading notes is not difficult but the formats you have to choose from are not friendly (proprietary EXM or HTML) it would be better to copy and paste but that is time consuming. There are some nice word processing features on the web / desktop version that are not available in the app. Users can share their notes, collaborate (even chat with people in real time), make tags, create separate notebooks, insert items from Google Drive, save audio or photos, make audio notes, attach files, and create shortcuts. Evernote also integrates with IFTTT (If This Then That) and has helpful widgets for iOS messaging, iPhone, and Apple Watch.  I chose these apps / software families because they are able to be used on pretty much every device. I did not review or compare Apple's "Notes" due to the fact that it cannot be used on Android and has a subpar experience on Windows computers and mobile devices.

Google Keep 

https://keep.google.com 

Google Keep allows users to take and save pictures and record audio notes. What you save counts towards each Google account's allotment of data which is 17GB (this is for all of your Google Services, to learn more about items that count and those that don't read this: ) There is no monthly restrictions on file sizes. Users can add collaborators, share notes, change the color of a note which also changes the background color, make a copy, create reminders, pin a note so that it remains at the top of the list, create check boxes, and create labels. There is an archive feature for notes you are not using but want to store long-term storage. Some of the downsides I have read is that there is no undo button for mistakes, no revision control, and there is no easy way to download notes. I had trouble finding my notes in Google Drive, it should be easier in my opinion. There is not a way to do handwritten notes in Google Keep. Like Evernote there is a browser extension. 

OneNote 

https://onedrive.live.com 

Microsoft has their own productivity app that comes built into Windows 10. It is extremely handy when using a Surface product because when you click the stylus the OneNote app opens up. OneNote is available on any device with apps or a web browser. OneNote allows users 5GB of OneDrive storage (previously 30GB, there are some grandfathered users) but if you are an Office 365 user it is unlimited. Similar to other productivity apps it allows users to share, collaborate, make handwritten notes, save audio or photos, add file attachments, and has a browser extension to save web information. The online interface is very similar to other Microsoft Office products like Word. OneNote features that are not present in the other productivity offerings are: version control, changes by author, adding in tables, Office integration, and inserting symbols. I personally would have liked if OneNote allowed handwriting / document markup with your finger on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android like they do on Windows mobile devices.  

  

Ratings:  

  

Features: OneNote  

  

User Interface: Evernote  

  

Storage: Google Keep  

  

There are things to like about each of the productivity products. I guess I would suggest each user use the one that offers what they value most: features, interface, or storage. I'd also say that if a someone uses an Android they would probably prefer Google Keep, if Windows Mobile then OneNote, and if Apple then Evernote The pictures that accompany each review give you a glimpse at the 3D Touch features, user interface and workflow, and browser extensions for each, to help make your decision.