Image via Getty/Justin Sullivan
As smartphone storage capacities get larger, so does your app collection. It’s hard to keep your phone working like it should with 30 different emoji collections and twelve photo-editing programs on deck. And let’s be honest: for the most part, they all do basically the same things. Pare down friends, in the name of saving your storage space for photos of your fire alphets!
We understand that you have essentials like Instagram and YouTube on lock, so we went deeper. From maps to money management to good eats, we lay out the only 10 apps essential to life in 2015.
VSCO Cam
Price: Free
You can’t take and share dope photos without giving them a little added flavor first, but the stock filters on Instagram will only take you so far. There are a bunch of apps that are good at specific edits, but very few offer as much in the way of full control as VSCO Cam. The powerful and relatively small (15M) photo-editing app features a range of curated presets and the ability to make your own changes—from the subtle to the extreme—to any image. Some of the presets have to be purchased within the app, but the free starter pack is more than enough for the everyday Instagrammer.
Google Apps Suite
Price: Free
We could fill this entire list with Google apps, but there’s no way you’re unfamiliar at this point. There is a good chance that you already have and use Google Maps and Google Chrome on a daily basis to get around your city and browse the Internet. Take the next step with Google Translate, Hangouts, Drive, and Wallet. Tuck them into a folder together on your device and thank us later.
Uber
Price: Free
Uber is the taxi-killing service that all of your cool friends have used for months. Still haven’t tried it for some reason? Do yourself a favor and test it out for free; they offer a first-ride discount. Once you realize how convenient it is to cop a ride pretty much anytime you’re stranded (or not in top form to operate a motor vehicle), it’ll be a mainstay on your phone. Beware surge pricing: pros know that waiting five minutes for prices to drop usually saves you the grief.
Hootsuite
Price: Free
Hootsuite kills four birds with one stone, but not literally because that’s scientifically impossible. Being able to replace your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and FourSquare apps with one social media scheduling one is a no-brainer for the savvy smartphone owners who are looking to simplify their lives without sacrificing their cyber-selves.
Converter Plus
Price: Free
No more fumbling around when the group check comes—when you are cooking and need to know how many ounces are in a gallon of butter, or when you’re overseas during a Supreme drop and need to know how many ashtrays you can afford, this one’s for you. Converter Plus is a tip and mortgage calculator, as well as a temperature, weight, length, time, and velocity converter. It’s essentially a one-stop-shop for all of those things you probably learned in school but take way too long to figure out in real-life situations.
Mint
Price: Free
Money management is something that everyone should be into, and Mint makes keeping track of your spending and earnings incredibly easy. There are bar graphs, pie charts, and other features that turn numbers into visuals that are a lot easier to understand. It tracks your activity to help you better budget your cash and stay on top of your bills. The web version is worth checking out too, as it comes with more complicated features that would make the mobile app too overwhelming and slow.
Pepperplate
Price: Free
Ordering out with apps like Seamless and Grubhub and finding places to eat with apps like Yelp can be cool in a pinch, but learning to cook for yourself is the real wave. Pepperplate is the ideal app to get that ball rolling. It lets you find and save recipes, create shopping lists, set up a meal schedule, and share your favorite recipes with people via email or social media. Combine it with Google Translate and you’ll be Bourdain-ing in no time.
Timeful
Price: Free
There are other calendar apps that can import your events from various locations and organize your week, but Timeful takes things a step further. Algorithms allow the app to study your behavior and schedule and suggest better ways for you to manage your time, becoming more like an assistant than a color-coded chart of things to do.
Day One
Price: $4.99
Winner of the 2014 Apple Design Award, Day One is a journal app that makes keeping a journal interactive. From snapshots of the weather to photos to activity and workout logs, you can create a blog of your life with a beautiful layout to share with friends or keep for personal reflection.
Capcom Arcade
Price: Free
Why download three or four games that are popular at the moment when you can download one app and get 12 classic games from the Capcom archives? The app is well worth the storage space that it takes up because you get multiple Street Fighter games, Ghosts n' Goblins, Commando, and other worthy time-wasters for that down time on the subway or between meetings.