A few weeks ago, I asked readers to share their two favourite apps and why those apps made the list. The last of the responses have now come in, and I thought I’d share a short summary.
I think the best way to categorise the apps is into the ‘Blockbusters’ and ‘Useful niche apps’.
In the Blockbuster category, it’ll probably come as no surprise to hear the names ChatGPT, Spotify, YouTube, and Calm. Used universally, with great reliability, and outstanding UX.
WeChat was also mentioned by a reader who used to live in China, and who misses it a lot. Now that they’ve moved back home, they’re still shocked at how nothing like this exists outside of China. It’s an app that is basically “WhatsApp + Uber + Expedia + Deliveroo + Venmo + Apple Health + Amazon + whatever banking app you’d use to pay all your bills”.
In the ‘Useful niche apps’ category, there was iA Writer, a markdown-based writing tool. Libby, an app that allows you to rent e-books from your local library, which I thought was awesome. I’m also throwing in my preferred writing app into the mix: Ulysses. It’s been a joy to write using their software for almost 5 years, even if they suffer from iCloud syncing issues every now and then.
Thanks for sharing, folks! Was really interesting to read the responses!