One question I am always being asked is: ‘Which apps do you use?’  My answer is usually: ‘It depends what I need to do.’  So here are some apps that I love having on my iPhone and find indispensable.

Be My Eyes

This is probably the app that blind and visually impaired people are talking about the most because it offers such useful tools.  Of particular value to me is the Be My AI tab which, when selected, opens up a world of information by using the phone’s camera to take pictures of text, scenery, photographs, clothing … anything in fact that you want described.  It is freely available to download on iOS, Android and now Windows.  There are very similar apps such as Seeing AI and Envision AI, but Be My AI in the Be My Eyes app just hits the spot for me.

FaceTime

This is Apple’s own video app and is one I use regularly to talk to my two little grandsons and their parents.  The audio quality is pretty good, and it enables Ezra and Isaac to see me on the call.

WhatsApp

Similarly, this end-to-end encrypted app allows me to be on a call to anyone who has an Android device as well as an Apple one.  My daughter-in-law often sends me videos and photos of the children via WhatsApp that I can then share to my Dropbox account for backing up.  Any number of the AI apps such as Be My AI or Envision AI can also be used here to describe the video or photo being sent over WhatsApp.

Sonos

This app has had a complete makeover this year, and because of the accessibility issues that still remain to some extent, I haven’t yet updated mine to the latest release.  It is annoying that Sonos didn’t think its blind and visually impaired community was important enough to be included in the initial roll-out, and have had to cover a lot of ground to win back its support.  But while I wait for the app to be fully inclusive again, I am using the version prior to the revamp.  It enables me to access the plethora of Sonos speakers around our home and choose to group whichever ones I want at any given time.  Come on Sonos, you know you have to do better than this!

Music

I currently subscribe to Apple Music, and have also purchased favourite albums through the iTunes app.  I like nothing more at the weekend than chilling out to my favourite music through a decent pair of headphones.  I become immersed in the music and find it incredibly relaxing.  The native Music app on iOS is accessible and easy to navigate.  But there are lots of accessible streaming services out there such as Spotify, Qobuz, Amazon Music and Tidal.

Mail

While I use Microsoft Outlook on my computer to send and receive mail, or access the calendar, I do quite like the Apple native client, Mail, and tend to use this on my iPhone in the evening once my office is shut down for the night.

Messages

This is Apple’s native messaging app that I use regularly for texting family and friends.  I have set up a Sonic the Hedgehog text tone that reminds me of my son and my grandson Ezra who both love Sonic!

Phone

Of course we mustn’t forget that our devices have the most important feature of all, making and receiving calls, which tends to be forgotten in the myriad of other things we use our Smarts for these days.  The native phone app on iOS really does everything I require, and is one of those apps that we probably take for granted because it is just there when we need it!

1Password

Everybody should have a decent password manager on their device, and Martin and I share a family account that works well on iOS, Android and Windows.  It is a subscription-based app but worth every penny.  There are some free ones out there that are also worth exploring, but 1Password does give us peace of mind.

EasyJet

I use this app for downloading my boarding passes when travelling between Belfast International and Edinburgh Airports, and for tracking flights on the day of departure and arrival.  It never used to be accessible until I took EasyJet to task about the inaccessibility of its website and app.  Now I can book flights on both which is the way it should be for everybody!

Other Apps

I have well over 100 apps on my iPhone that I have tried and thought I might find useful but probably haven’t, or have left installed in case I need to test them for someone.  For example, I have several OCR apps, a couple of birdsong identification apps, several radio streaming apps, TV catch-up apps such as ITV X, STV Player and BBC iPlayer, reading apps like Audible and Kindle, and navigation apps such as Google Maps, Voice Vista, and many more.

Please feel free to recommend an app or comment on those you do or don’t use, it is always interesting to learn about what others have on their Smarts.