Apple’s latest iteration of the market-leading smartphone no doubt had many of you camping in the street to ensure that you got one as early as possible. After all, few other companies can claim to inspire such brand loyalty. But if you managed to wait a couple of months before getting your grubby mitts on the iPhone 5, you’re probably apprehensive to start getting the most out of it. With that in mind, here’s a helpful list of the top 5 apps you should be downloading from the App Store to exploit that larger screen and improved performance.
Summly
Summly is a news app created by an enterprising young businessman named Nick D’Alosio. So what’s the difference between this and dozens of other free news readers? As its name hints, the app is all about summaries, which are lifted and presented in an ingenious fashion. Summly’s algorithm searches news from hundreds of sources, automatically pulling out the most important information and displaying a convenient, 400-character bitesized chunk of each story. These summaries fill the iPhone 5’s screen perfectly and may be conveniently swiped through at your leisure.
You would need to have been living under a rock to be ignorant of Instagram’s popularity. The photo app is simple – take a photo, apply a filter if you want to, share it with your social network – but it has been revolutionary. Revolutionary enough, in fact, to fetch a $1 billion price when it was bought by Facebook last year. Instagram’s staff were quick to optimise the app for the new iPhone, making full use of that lovely 4 inch screen. They have also integrated Apple’s Maps software, though we all know how that’s turned out.
Chrome
Apple purists should probably skip this suggestion. Yes, it’s Chrome, Google’s web browser; and it’s far better than Apple’s Safari offering. Though performance increases are held back by the iPhone’s architecture, Chrome offers a superior interface and better syncing functionality for those who like to stay connected, which is pretty much everyone these days. Loyalists may be forced to grit their teeth and download it despite the implicit support for the Android developer.
Drafts is essentially a digital memo pad with a difference. Users can make use of the new iPhone’s bigger screen to create lists and other documents before exporting them to common apps such as email or social networking clients. To put it simply, Drafts makes it easier to write stuff, and then upload it to the desired destination. Simple, but effective.
No list of the top 5 iPhone 5 apps would be complete without mention of a game. After all, a faster device coupled with a bigger screen makes for a vastly improved gaming experience. One of the titles which makes best use of the new features is Asphalt 7, a racing game with beautiful graphics and swift performance thanks to the recent upgrades. If you’re ever bored on your commute and feel like you’re overdosing on the news, this should help to bust your boredom. Paul Gavel is a blogger and tech enthusiast who works for iTechnician iPhone repair.
