24 GREAT iPhone Apps You've Never Heard Of
Summary
TLDRDiscover 24 lesser-known but incredibly useful iPhone apps that can enhance your smartphone experience. From customizing your lock screen with Anybox and Achew, to managing HomeKit devices with HomePass, and editing audio with Hokusai, these apps cover a range of functionalities. Special mentions include Pastel for creating color palettes, Peak of View for secure photo sharing, and Widget Smith for customizing your home screen. Uncover these gems and more for a more efficient and personalized iPhone experience.
Takeaways
- 📦 Anybox is a powerful read-later service for saving videos, links, and files with customizable lists and filters.
- 🔍 Achew is a Safari extension that allows users to view and edit the HTML source code of any website they are visiting.
- 🚀 disc test is an app from OWC that helps speed test external SSDs and check read/write speeds for recording pro res footage.
- 🏬 Facades provides detailed information about Apple stores, including opening dates, addresses, layouts, and special events.
- 🎨 Hokusai is an audio editing app with features like audio recording, retiming, and effects, including the ability to convert mono to stereo tracks.
- 🧩 The Lego app allows users to save and refer to Lego sets and their building manuals, complete with step-by-step instructions and piece rotations.
- 🏠 HomePass is an essential app for HomeKit users, offering access to home data, device setup codes, and QR codes for easy device management.
- 🎨 Home Paper lets users create custom wallpapers for the Home app, adding a personal touch to their smart home setup.
- 🔧 Toolbox Pro, Data Jar, and other mentioned apps extend the capabilities of the Shortcuts app by adding device-specific and data-related actions.
- 🌍 MPC app assists with filling out customs forms electronically for re-entry into the United States, with supported locations listed for convenience.
- 🔒 Lock Launcher enables customization of the lock screen with shortcuts to various apps and features not available by default, like podcasts.
- 🖥️ Mac Tracker provides extensive information about Mac models, including release dates, model numbers, and specifications for both current and legacy devices.
Q & A
What is the primary function of Anybox?
-Anybox is a powerful read-later service that allows users to save videos, links, and files to their account. It also enables the creation of multiple lists, item starring, and filtering by type, such as links or files.
How does Achew extension enhance the Safari browsing experience?
-Achew is a Safari extension that allows users to view the HTML source code of any website they are visiting. It also provides options to save the code as an HTML or text document, change font size and style, and even edit the code to see how changes would affect the website.
What is the main purpose of the disc test app from OWC?
-Disc Test is an app that provides information about the storage capacity of the user's iPhone and allows testing of external SSDs, such as the OWC Envoy Pro Mini. It displays read and write speeds, which is useful for determining the suitability of a drive for tasks like recording pro res footage.
What kind of information can users find about Apple stores using the Facades app?
-Facades provides detailed information about Apple stores, including their opening dates, addresses, special events timelines, and store layouts. It also offers the option to jump to the website of the specific Apple store.
What unique features does the Hokusai audio editing app offer that Ferrite doesn't?
-Hokusai, made by Wooji Juice, offers additional features not found in Ferrite, such as the ability to convert audio files to mono or split stereo tracks, directly record audio within the app, and retime audio files. It also provides various audio effects including reverb and EQ, and a unique reverse feature.
How does the Lego app help users with their Lego sets?
-The Lego app allows users to save Lego sets to their account and access the complete building manual on their iPhone or iPad. It provides step-by-step instructions, identifies bag numbers, rotates pieces for easier building, and offers a ghost view to show exactly what is being built.
What are the key features of HomePass for HomeKit users?
-HomePass is an essential app for HomeKit users as it provides access to home data and allows users to add devices, including setup codes and QR codes, which can be useful for device troubleshooting or after a factory reset. It also features an Apple Watch component for easy QR code access and device resyncing.
How do the apps in the Shortcuts category (Toolbox Pro, Data Jar, and others) enhance the Shortcuts app functionality?
-These apps add additional actions to the Shortcuts app that are not available by default. They provide device-specific actions, such as getting the state of the device or device orientation, and Data Jar specifically adds actions for handling and tracking data, thereby supercharging the Shortcuts app with more capabilities.
What is the main benefit of using the MPC app for travelers?
-The MPC app allows travelers to electronically fill out their customs forms for re-entry into the United States, making the process more convenient and reducing the need for physical forms. It also provides a list of supported locations to ensure the airport or cruise port accepts electronic submissions.
How does Lock Launcher customize the user's lock screen?
-Lock Launcher enables users to create custom shortcuts on their lock screen for quick access to various apps and functions, such as podcasts, which do not have default lock screen widgets. Users can program these shortcuts and even add live activities through the Lock Launcher app.
What unique capabilities does the Mac Tracker app offer for Mac enthusiasts?
-Mac Tracker provides extensive information about the user's current Mac or any Mac model of interest, including introduction and discontinuation dates, model numbers, and other device specifications. It also includes a comprehensive database of Apple devices, including legacy models like the Newton.
How does the Mapper extension for Safari improve the directions experience?
-The Mapper extension ensures that when users select 'get directions' from a location search, it opens the address in Apple Maps instead of Google Maps. This is beneficial for users who prefer Apple Maps or do not have Google Maps installed on their devices.
Outlines
📱 Discovering Hidden iPhone Gems
This paragraph introduces a selection of 24 lesser-known but highly useful iPhone apps. The apps mentioned include those for customizing lock screen icons, accessing third-party keyboard shortcuts, obtaining color hex codes for designers, and more. It also highlights Anybox, a powerful read-later service that allows users to save videos, links, and files, and Achew, a Safari extension that enables viewing of HTML source code. The paragraph emphasizes the variety and utility of these apps, suggesting they can significantly enhance the user experience on an iPhone.
🛠️ Specialized Tools and Productivity Boosters
The second paragraph delves into more specialized apps that cater to specific user needs. It discusses disc test, an app for checking storage and speed of external SSDs; facades, an app for Apple store enthusiasts to learn about different Apple stores; and Hokusai, an audio editing app with unique features. It also mentions an app for Lego fans to save and refer to building manuals, HomePass for HomeKit users to manage their devices, and home paper for creating custom wallpapers. The paragraph concludes by discussing three apps that add useful actions to the Shortcuts app, emphasizing their ability to enhance device functionality and streamline tasks.
🌟 Unveiling More Obscure but Valuable Apps
This paragraph continues to showcase a variety of apps that serve different purposes, from travel to home customization. It covers the MPC app for filling out customs forms, Lock Launcher for creating custom lock screen shortcuts, Mac Tracker for detailed information about Apple devices, and the Mapper extension for Safari that redirects directions to Apple Maps. It introduces one tap, a third-party keyboard with customizable shortcuts, Pastel for creating color palettes, and Peak of View, an app with guided access for sharing photos. The paragraph also briefly mentions an unnamed app that requires visiting the creator's website for more information and TV Forecast for tracking TV shows and movies, ending with a recommendation for Widget Smith for custom widgets.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡iPhone apps
💡Productivity tools
💡Customization
💡HomeKit
💡Color hex codes
💡Source code
💡External SSD
💡Shortcuts app
💡Lego manuals
💡Travel and customs
💡Smart home
💡Streaming services
Highlights
Anybox is a powerful read-later service that allows you to save videos, links, and files to your account, with features like creating multiple lists, filtering, and adding comments or stars.
Achew is a Safari extension that lets you view the HTML source code of any website you're visiting, with options to save, edit, and even change fonts for better readability.
Disc Test is an app from OWC that helps you quickly check the storage on your iPhone and test the read/write speed of external SSDs, like the OWC Envoy Pro Mini.
Facades is an app for Apple enthusiasts to learn about different Apple stores, including their opening dates, layouts, and special events.
Hokusai is an audio editing app with unique features like converting mono to stereo tracks, recording audio directly, and retiming audio with various effects.
The Lego app allows users to save and refer to Lego sets and their building manuals, complete with step-by-step instructions, bag numbers, and a rotating piece view.
HomePass is an essential app for HomeKit users, providing access to home data, setup codes, and QR codes for device management, even after a factory reset.
Home Paper is an app that lets you create custom wallpapers for the Home app, adding a personal touch to your smart home setup.
Toolbox Pro, Data Jar, and other similar apps extend the capabilities of Apple's Shortcuts app by adding device-specific actions and data tracking that are not available by default.
MPC is a travel app that lets you electronically fill out customs forms for re-entry into the United States, with support for multiple locations and Face ID protection.
Lock Launcher enables customization of your lock screen with custom shortcuts and widgets, like podcasts, which are not available by default on iPhones.
Mac Tracker is a comprehensive app for Mac enthusiasts, providing detailed information about your current Mac or any other Apple device, including legacy products.
Mapper is a Safari extension that redirects 'get directions' requests from Google Maps to Apple Maps, offering a seamless experience for users who prefer Apple's ecosystem.
One Tap is a third-party keyboard app that allows customization of shortcuts for quick access to links, documents, and other frequently shared content.
Pastel is a color management app that lets you create custom color palettes, access hex codes, and even extract colors from images for syncing across all your devices.
Peak of View is an app that enables guided access for specific photos or videos, restricting access to the rest of your phone and providing a secure way to share media.
Play is a custom playlist creator for YouTube, allowing users to save videos, create playlists, and browse channels within the app for a more organized viewing experience.
Portal is an ambient sound app with a visual component that integrates with smart lights like Nanoleaf and Philips Hue, changing the room's ambience based on the selected scene.
Scorecard is a scorekeeping app perfect for board games or sports, with features for adding players, teams, and sessions, and keeping a history of games.
TV Forecast is an app for tracking TV shows and movies across streaming services, providing release dates, episode tracking, and cast information.
Widget Smith is highly recommended for creating custom widgets on your iPhone and iPad, including personalized photo widgets for a more customized home screen.
Transcripts
These are 24 iPhone apps you've probably never heard of, but are super useful.
Apps for custom icons on your lock screen, quick access to links from a third-party keyboard.
If you're a designer, access to specific color hex codes.
An app I can't even talk about in this video.
Speed test an external SSD, see the source code on a website,
and add actions into shortcuts that you can't get with the built-in app.
All right, first up is Anybox.
Anybox is like a more powerful read later service.
You can save videos, links, even files right here to your Anybox account.
You can also create multiple lists, star certain items, filter by kind, like whether they're links
or maybe they're files. And it's right in the share sheet so you can add things to Anybox at
any time. And whether you're on a website or looking at a file, just hit the share button
and you'll see Anybox right there. Tap Anybox, you can add a comment right here, automatically
star it as you're saving it and even download it locally if you want to be able to read it when you
don't have internet access. Number two is an app called Achew. You know, I didn't plan that,
but it's pretty good. So Achew is actually a suff-
ary extension. You can enable it when you're in Safari on your iPhone or iPad.
Click on the little A symbol down at the bottom left. You'll see all your extensions up here.
You can tap manage extensions and here you can toggle extensions on or off.
Once you toggle this extension on, then in this extensions menu, just tap Achew HTML and you can
actually see the HTML source code for whatever website you're viewing right here. You can tap
the share button, save it as an HTML or text document. You can change the font if you want
want to see it a little bigger and you can even edit the.
The code to see how those changes would affect the website and then just refresh it to get
back to the original state.
Number three is actually a newer app from OWC called disc test.
Not only does it quickly show you the storage on your current iPhone, but you can plug in
an external SSD like this OWC Envoy pro mini.
I use this all the time when recording pro res footage directly to an external SSD.
Then I can press the play button, tell me the read and write speed right here in the
app.
Helpful if you want to know if a drive can actually record pro res directly, or if you're
Just wondering if you have a USB 3.
cable versus a slower cable.
links to all these apps will be down in the video description.
Number four, this is an app called facades.
if you're an Apple store nerd or you just want to peruse to learn about some other
Apple stores, search for an Apple store up here.
This is actually my local Apple store.
You can see when it opened,
which was actually May 2008.
You can see the address right here,
and you can even go into the timeline if there were any special events.
And it gives you information about that store up here.
Like whether the layout is a classic layout,
even gives you the rollout number.
And you can even jump to the web.
site for that particular store using that link in the app.
Number five audio editing app called Hokusai.
This is made by Wooji juice, the makers of ferrite.
One of my favorite apps.
I use it all the time for editing podcasts, but Hokusai has a couple
of pools that ferrite does not have.
And sometimes you need it.
For instance, I can hit the little wrench icon on a file here.
I can convert to mono split stereo tracks.
You can record audio in here directly as well.
One of the things I really like to do is actually retime audio here in the app.
You can apply lots of different effects, even like reverb, EQ, and all
that, but reverse is the one feature that I use sometimes.
Number five, this is for the Lego fans out there.
Sometimes you want to be able to refer back to a manual.
Maybe you need to rebuild a Lego.
Well, you can actually save Lego sets right here in the app.
Refer to it later.
They'll be saved to your account.
Get the entire building manual right here on your iPhone.
You can also get this app for iPad.
So you have it as a little larger, tells you which bag number to use.
And here you have the steps.
It even rotates the pieces, which is kind of cool.
Scroll through jumping to the different steps.
The pieces that are new to this step.
You can use the ghost view, which shows you exactly what you're building.
And when you get a new Lego set, you can just put the number of the manual right
here, search for the set, and then save that manual to your account.
Actually that was number six.
So number seven and eight are actually two apps for the HomeKit and
Smart Home fans out there.
HomePass is an indispensable app.
If you use HomeKit, you definitely need it.
What this can do is it will actually access your home data and you can add
your devices, including the setup code.
You can even get the QR code if you ever need to factory reset a device.
You can have the code saved here, then you don't have to worry about the sticker wearing
out or keeping the manual for your devices.
I also love that there's an Apple watch component.
So if you ever need to resync something, you can actually have the QR code here on your
Apple watch, open the home app on your iPhone and scan it and repair that device even after
you factory reset it.
So you definitely need home pass.
And also home paper is a fun app where you can actually create custom wallpapers that
will look great in the home app.
I've actually created a home paper with a picture of my house there at the top, right.
Has a nice look.
And then it's custom to your house, highly recommend number nine, 10 and 11.
I'm going to group these three together because these all add actions to the shortcuts app.
The apps themselves don't do a whole lot, but if I search for toolbox pro, one of the
three apps that I'm talking about, you can add all these different actions and a lot
of these actions are not available by default in the shortcuts app.
So the Actions app adds a lot of device-specific actions
get the state of your device. Things like get device orientation. I use that in the
action button video where I go through building shortcuts where you can make the action button
on your iPhone 15 Pro do different things based on the state of your phone. I'll link that video
above and put it in the description. Likewise, Data Jar is a great application that adds actions if
you're dealing with a lot of data, want to keep track of numbers. Highly recommend these three
apps to supercharge your shortcuts. All right, number 12. This is actually if you travel a lot,
especially internationally. This is the MPC app.
You can protect it with Face ID and a pin,
but when you're returning back to the United States,
electronically fill out your customs form here in the app.
Select where you're returning from and the terminal,
select travelers might just be yourself,
and it'll walk you through these questions step by step,
and you'll have an electronic version of your customs form
right here on your phone.
To make sure your airport or cruise port actually accepts this kind,
click the view supported locations,
and this will tell you all the places you can use this app.
Number 13 is Lock Launcher.
launcher. I love lock launcher because you can.
create custom shortcuts that you put on your lock screen.
I like doing things like podcasts, which doesn't currently have a lock screen widget.
So with lock launcher, I can customize my lock screen.
Let me add some widgets here.
And as you can see, podcasts is not currently an option by default on the iPhone,
but I can go to lock launcher, choose a widget and all the widgets that I've created are available
right here. And I can add shortcuts to the home app, wallet app, any application on my iPhone.
I can program those all in the lock launcher app.
I do a ton more.
Like even adding a live activities.
I highly recommend you check it out to customize your phone.
Next is an app called Mac tracker.
If you're a Mac nerd, or maybe you talk about max a lot,
you can actually find lots of information on your current Mac or just when
you're interested in. Here's my model Mac studio. I got the original.
You can see when it was introduced March, 2022,
when it was discontinued model number and lots of other information about the
defaults of the device. Really cool.
Especially for us Apple nerds and it's got tons of Apple devices in here.
Even has legacy devices in here. Like the Newton.
This is really cool. This is called mapper.
This is another extension for Safari. Once it's enabled,
it means whenever you search for a location and maybe you've gotten the Google
maps results. Typically when you hit the directions here,
it'll try to open the Google maps app. But with the mapper extension,
if I tap this get directions button,
it will actually open this address in Apple maps ready to get me directions.
This way, if you don't use Google maps or don't even have it installed,
you can always load that get directions button directly in the maps app.
Number 16, this is an app called one tap.
One tap is actually a third party keyboard and here you can customize different
shortcuts like links or even documents.
And then they're easily accessible wherever you have your keyboard.
This is really helpful if maybe you want to share a link to something,
maybe you're applying to a comment with a video you typically share.
I'll tap and hold the keyboard switcher down here and then go to one tap.
And here I've loaded multiple links like my video on editing podcasts on iPad or
maybe my YouTube channel. And if I just tap that,
it'll automatically add the URL for my YouTube channel.
I don't have to copy and paste it from anywhere. And it's accessible wherever my keyboard is accessible.
Great for quick access to links that you share all the time.
Number 17, Pastel is an amazing app.
You can use it for all your devices, Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
And it lets you create custom color palettes.
Maybe it's your brand or maybe you're doing client work
and you can choose what colors are here.
Get the hex code.
I can even tap and hold on it and get all these different
values for this particular color.
I can copy the hex code and then maybe I'm doing something
in Pixelmator.
I can even create a new palette.
I can also use the test palette.
I can then upload an image.
Let's choose one of these Apple Watch images.
And it will actually pull the colors from the image.
And I can save this as a palette right here in the Pastel app.
This is then synced to all my devices, iPad, Mac, iPhone.
Absolutely love Pastel.
Next is Peak of View.
I've actually included a tutorial of this.
But what I love about Peak of View is you can choose some
specific photos, automatically enable guided access.
And now if you wanted to show someone some photos,
make sure they don't have access to the rest of your phone.
Here they can tap the photos.
They can scroll through.
They can rotate your device, even videos.
But if they try to swipe to go home, they can't.
Or Control Center, Notification Center,
they're locked to the app.
That's because I've automatically enabled guided access
whenever I open this app.
Then in order to get out of guided access,
you actually triple click the side button,
put in a passcode, and then I can end right here
and then swipe up to go home.
If you want to learn how to use peak of view with guided action.
automatically. Check out this video right here or the links in the description.
Next is an app called Play. Think of it as like a custom playlist creator for
YouTube videos. So here you can actually add channels, then save videos that you
want to watch for later, and tapping a video brings you directly to that video
here in the app. I'm wearing that hoodie right now. You can also create playlists,
add multiple videos, and browse channels down here. Add videos from that channel.
You can see the videos you've watched. Tap and hold on one and then you can even
see details on the video like when it was an-
publish the duration of the video, add some notes about it.
You can even rate the video, follow the channel.
Then if I go down to channels down here,
I can see videos that have been recently added,
swipe on one, and then add it to my app to watch.
And now that video will be right here,
and I can just tap and watch it,
a cleaner and really nice way of keeping track
of YouTube videos you wanna watch.
Next, you might've heard of this,
but it's an app called Portal.
This is a great ambient sound application.
You can choose different sounds.
It actually gives you a nice little visual.
It's also now available for Mac, which is nice.
And a really cool feature here is--
is it will actually integrate with your smart lights.
It can connect to Nanoleaf, Philips Hue,
and just your HomeKit lights that change color.
It'll change the color and ambience of your room,
depending on the scene that you have chosen.
Cool visuals, great sounds, highly recommend.
All right, in the home stretch, here's 21.
This is an app called Scorecard.
This is great if you like board games
or maybe you're just keeping track of scores
at a sports game.
When my son was playing football,
I was keeping track of all his game scores.
I got an input, his team, another team,
keep track just by hitting the plus and minus,
maybe by the way of keeping score.
Or maybe you're doing some board games,
you can add a new session, add players or add teams,
and all your score can be kept right here.
Great for Scrabble as well.
And I apparently lost that Scrabble game,
but cool to go back and see also to have a history
of when you lost and won games like Scrabble.
Now this next app I can't even talk about, like for real,
but I'll just show the app right here and tell you,
if you want to see this video,
you actually have to go to my website.
That link is in the video description,
But this app plus another app. Is really powerful, I can't even tell you, trust me, I recommend this next app.
If you watch a lot of TV shows, TV forecast is really fun, or you just want to see when the next episode is coming out.
You can add shows from different streaming services, see when the next episode comes out and at what time.
You can see things like the cast, go back to shows that you've already watched and see what episodes you still have left.
You can mark them as watched.
It also does movies as well.
And if there is a release date for a movie like Dune Part 2, you can see how many days until that movie comes out.
Or if there are movies you are following you can see
ones were out now. All right. And the last app, you've probably heard of it before, but I can
recommend enough Widget Smith for creating custom widgets on your iPhone and your iPad.
I also have Watch Smith, even if you only use it for this one use case, which is putting a photo
on your home screen. I love doing that, especially on my weekend focus mode. I'll actually flip to
that right now. And I've added a Widget Smith widget right here. Just have a photo of my family
right here on my home screen. You can have multiple photos, create as many different
widgets you rotate through with Widget Smith, it's just a great way to customize your delivery. So those are 24 obscure iPhone apps that are actually really useful and I still use
pretty regularly. And the one that I can't talk about for real, check out my website,
beard.fm. You can also follow me on social media. I'm @stevenroblaz on threads, Instagram,
Mastodon, all of that. Those links are down in the description. Let me know if you have
any questions about those apps or if you have an obscure app that you absolutely love, but
no one is talking about, leave a comment below this video. I'd love to cover it here on the
the channel. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that like button before you go.
And thank you for watching. I'll catch you next time.
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