What Apps Do You Actually Use Every Day?
Weekly Wheaties #2618
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: What Apps Do You Actually Use Every Day?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: AI Updates
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: App Updates
😎 Pick of the Week: Adulting is Hard (and fun)
📦 Featured Product: Things You Should Have in Your Car
📝 What Apps Do You Actually Use Every Day?
After boring some of you with some Note Taking and Weather apps, I figured I would be a bit more personal in the app space. In this post, I’ve shared apps I either use on a normal and daily basis, or some one-off apps you may have not heard of that usually have a very unique and niche experience. Some that may be missing also play into some Browser Extensions You (may) Need.
For daily use, I’m constantly adding things to Apple Reminders. ChatGPT has all but replaced “Googling” for me, and my phone’s action button auto-starts an audio conversation. I have an use both, Apple Maps and Google Maps. Make sure you download maps for offline use!
Bitwarden is my password manager of choice. And if you don’t use one, you should read Why You Need a Password Manager.
As mentioned in Are You Using the Wrong Weather App?, Carrot is my main weather app for the widget and app screen modification.
Note taking is a bit more in depth, so here’s a quick summary of the post - Are You Using the Wrong System to Organize Your Life?
UpNote (quick access and easily available on all platforms)
Apple Notes (family and group sharing)
Notion (personal projects - including this newsletter)
OneNote (stores important and long-term items in my Johnny Decimal System)
OneNote isn’t the only Microsoft product (as you can imagine if you’ve known me long enough. Instead of Chrome, I use Edge. The Bing app helps with searches, matching items, barcodes, etc, and helps earn rewards points. And any app is probably better than Apple’s built in Mail app, but yes, I use and enjoy Outlook.
Living in south Louisiana, food is kind of a big deal. Anytime we are going to a restaurant, I try to first grab a reservation through Open Table or Resy. For fast food options, having the app always helps with points, discounts, or even free items!
Dominos (what would this list look like without my favorite go to pizza?)
Next up is games! Which, I don’t really play a lot of games or play games a lot on my phone. However, when I do, it’s probably one of these:
To wrap up, here’s an exhaustive list of some one-off apps you may have never heard of, or a friendly reminder to actually use them!
Eleven Reader - turn any text into a audio book
Filament - an in-depth Bible study app
Flighty - powerful flight tracking app
Google Opinion Rewards - get rewarded monetarily for sharing your opinion
iExit - see what’s located on the next exit(s) while traveling
Just Watch - find out where to watch that movie or show
My Lightning Tracker - does one job really well - shows where/when lightening strikes happen; helpful for sports, hobbies, etc
Merlin Bird ID - Shazam for birds!
Paprika - my favorite recipe app
Picsew - stitch your screen shots together
Google Play Books - the only place to get my audio book
My Pollen Forecast - track pollen count and other allergens
Route - track all of your packages
RunPee - put simply, know when to run and pee during a movie.
The Pour Over - one of my favorite news newsletters has an app now
What are some of your favorite or niche apps?
🗞️ ICYMI: AI Updates
While many businesses are trying to figure out how to implement AI, Google looks to invest as much as $40 billion in Anthropic. This continues to help Google invest in their partnership, and has probably had an impact on Anthropic surging to a trillion-dollar valuation on secondary markets, overtaking OpenAI. Google is still updating their AI bot, Gemini, which can now generate Google Docs, PDF, Word, and other files. What’s becoming more tricky for businesses is the cost of AI. While they can do more and more things, a new study has shown that AI can now cost more than human workers.
🗞️ ICYMI: App Updates
Your may be able to easily pay less for your app subscriptions as Epic Games Wins Reversal of Stay in App Store Fee Legal Battle. In the past, Apple had removed apps that stated something to the effect of, “A monthly/yearly subscription is cheaper on our website!” because the developer didn’t have to give Apple 30% of the fee. Pros and cons here, so not diving too deep. Essentially, developers may be able to soon add that language back, along with having the In-App-Purchase (IAP) not have an inflated fee.
Remember Vine? The 6-second video app is (sort of) back. Check out The Story Behind Divine and download it on the App Store or the Google Play Store. The app has some archived historical videos, and is “striving to be free of AI-generated content.”
If you’re always scrolling Instagram while trying to decide what to watch next, Netflix’s TikTok-like vertical feed is finally here. This will let you browse clips of movies and TV shows and add to your list within the app. Keep an eye out for updates as the feature is slowing rolling out.
Lastly, in the gaming space, Microsoft rolls out Xbox Mode, bringing a console-like experience to any PC. This app “aggregates Game Pass and third‑party stores (Steam, EA, Ubisoft) with controller‑friendly navigation.” Many reviewers state this makes handheld and couch-gaming a much smoother experience.
😎 POTW: Adulting is Hard (and fun)
Bookmark FreeTaxUSA: Affordable Filing for All Situations for next tax season unless you already saved enough money and are looking for The World’s Most Expensive Experiences.
Make sure to save The Soundtrack of a Gentlemen’s Trip for when you’re trying to find the best price of a pint of Guinness across Ireland with The Guinndex.
While you’re still trying to find some of the Top Remote Work Destinations, check out What Live/Work Spaces Have Looked Like Through the Ages.
What Exercises Burn the Most Calories and what is The best sleep position for when you’ve had enough?
📦 Featured Product
This week’s product pick is a mix of a Pick of the Week and some products. Dad Day shared a post on The 5 Things Every Dad Should Have in His Car at All Times. But these are things anyone can and should have. They include:
The NOCO Boost Portable Jump Starter if you have an ICE vehicle
The Fanttik Portable Tire Inflator (the only I have isn’t available)
A Thrive Roadside Emergency Car Kit with jumper cables (especially if you don’t have a portable jump starter)
There are other (and less expensive) options for every item, but all of these have extremely great reviews. Safety is one thing that I don’t suggest skimping on too much unless you’ve extensively tested the item in question. The only other thing I’d add to that list is an Emergency Escape Tool, Window Breaker and Seatbelt Cutter.
