Therefore, after asking, I am going to show you those free applications that we would miss too much if they disappeared. Each of us has different hobbies, which is reflected in 17 different favorite iOS apps.
Notion, Unsplash and ChatGPT, the essential applications of Álvaro García
The applications that Álvaro García dedicates to us are entirely dedicated to his work environment. Although with the first one, Notionyou can also organize your personal projects:
If I think of a free app that I couldn’t live without, I automatically think of ‘Notion’. It is true that I use it more on the Mac, but on the iPhone it also does an essential job as an all-terrain agenda. It not only serves as management panel for my work, but I also keep my personal notes in it, which range from simple wish lists of products that I want to buy in the medium-long term, to important data that I can eventually refer to (see the CUPS of the electricity meter in my house). Besides, I also use it as a regular notes app for quick notes.
If you have ever been interested in it, you will know that ‘Notion’ has payment options. However, they are not necessary in all cases. I would even say that In the vast majority, the free option is enough. I have been using it this way for a year with intensive use and I have not felt the need to upgrade to a payment plan. Of course, it has one important drawback: it does not work offline.
About UnsplashÁlvaro mixes the usefulness of this image bank to find covers that adorn your articles or wallpapers for your iPhone:
This is an image bank that is generally better known for its web version. In it we find author photographs of all kinds, many of them royalty-free. Hence it serves me as resource to illustrate some of my articles. However, it ends up being in its iOS app where I end up getting the most out of it. I am a maniac about changing the wallpaper and adjusting it practically every day to my mood or time of year and in the ‘Unsplash’ app I always find dozens of wallpaper options that look good on my iPhone even in vertical.
Finally, Álvaro mentions ChatGPT as the inevitable AI application that is increasingly present on more iPhones. Not only to consult information, but also to entertain the little ones in the house:
Although Microsoft tempts me with its ‘Copilot’ app that recently arrived on the iPhone, the ‘ChatGPT’ app continues to be my great ally on the iPhone. I have a shortcut set up to resolve requests through Siri and I resort to it for a multitude of issues. From learning more about a specific historical character or event to making somewhat more complex requests such as solving mathematical problems.
Now, there is one element of ChatGPT that completely wins me over: its conversational mode. It is not perfect, although it is very passable even with that certain American accent when speaking Spanish (in my opinion, it does not take away from its naturalness). I use it recreationally and I notice that it is addictive.. I started using it to entertain my nephews with personalized stories, but invented thanks to AI and I have ended up having normal conversations that look so real that it is scary. Luckily, I haven’t crossed the line into falling in love with the robot a la ‘Her’.
Javier Lacort: the AI of Artifact and the craftsmanship of Pocket Casts
Javier drives our daily podcast ‘Loop Infinito’, and if anyone considers carefully which applications to use, it is him. Two stand out: Artifact —who has already announced his resignation— and Pocket Casts:
I’m really liking Artifact discover interesting articles, is very good at learning your tastes and revealing related content from under-the-radar media and blogs. No one has managed to replicate that formula, for example common with YouTube in the world of text content, and it’s time. Perhaps it is Artifact who takes the lead, it has debuted very well.
Pocket Casts is another essential, life for a podcast consumer is better with it. Much better than the native one, it is made with care, with the seal of a company like Automattic, which understands the Internet in a way that has become a minority, which gives it even more value.
Pedro Aznar: the vice of MAME and the quality of Parcel
The oldest member and one of the founders of this medium, Pedro Aznar, is clear about his preferences. The first, Parcel to turn the experience of tracking shipments into something pleasant. The second is for leisure with MAME, the arcade machine emulator. Pedro never strays away from the video games that accompanied him during his childhood.
On this occasion, I am going to recommend Parcel. It is an app to do the shipment tracking with very good interface, with just the options we need to be informed, widgets and it works wonderfully. It even allows you to link your Amazon account and shipments automatically appear in the application when we buy something on the popular portal. All this with the free version, the paid version for only €4.99 also activates shipping notifications and allows you to control more than 3 packages at a time.
As for the second, there is a slightly atypical one: MAME. It is an app that cannot exist in the App Store according to Apple emulator rules, but at Applesfera we have a fantastic step-by-step guide to install MAME for free on the iPhone. With it we can remember old times in the arcades. Also super enjoyable if you have a physical controller that you can use with the phone.
My favorite free apps of the moment: MacTracker and Ice Cubes
Finally I finish with the applications that I recommend myself. I start with mactrackeran application that serves as a database with which to consult Technical specifications of all Apple products that the company has launched since its inception. Not only does it help me query data for my articles, but also to see if my clients’ Macs can be updated to certain versions of macOS. For me, essential.
And I end with ice cubesa client of Mastodon completely free and developed in open source. Ivory may have a more polished interface, I admit it, but Ice Cubes comes very close to it and it’s totally free. I especially like it because it allows me to hide those elements of Mastodon that do not interest me, and makes this federated social network into something much healthier than the Twitter we have today. Yes, I still refuse to call him X.
