Replacing the iPhone Stock Apps

[Antron]

When someone buys an iPhone it comes with great stock apps that anyone can use to be productive and make great use out of the iPhone. However, once you get familiar with your new iPhone you may find that there are apps in the AppStore that can do a much better job than the stock apps.

For example, the stock Reminders app is pretty cool but at times I have used other apps like Clear* and Checkmark*.

*I have no affiliation with these apps in any way.

But what say you?

If you have found some great apps that replace the stock iPhone apps that could help a new iPhone owner let us know what you use.

Disclaimer: This is not an attempt for developers to advertise their apps so if you are a developer do not post your app here.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Personally, I experiment with a lot of apps, and at one point, I substituted the Reminders app with Any.Do, the Notes app with Evernote, Apple Maps with Waze, the Camera app with Camera + and the Weather app with Weather Underground. I'm sure there are others. Now, however, I find the native apps to be all I need so I try to stick with them as much as possible and use some of the 3rd party apps as a compliment instead of a replacement.

 

[pr1nce]

I've found that the native apps work fine for me. I experimented with Evernote for a few weeks, but went back to the native app.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I've found that the native apps work fine for me. I experimented with Evernote for a few weeks, but went back to the native app.

There's no way I could give up Evernote completely. It is far too powerful of an app, especially in regard to categorizing so I use both. I primarily use the native Notes app for iMore-related stuff and Evernote for everything else.

 

[jmendel33]

I switch back and forth between stock and 3rd party like for example if i could email notes to the stock notes app i would use that instead of evernote


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[Antron]

I've found that the native apps work fine for me. I experimented with Evernote for a few weeks, but went back to the native app.

Personally, I experiment with a lot of apps, and at one point, I substituted the Reminders app with Any.Do, the Notes app with Evernote, Apple Maps with Waze, the Camera app with Camera + and the Weather app with Weather Underground. I'm sure there are others. Now, however, I find the native apps to be all I need so I try to stick with them as much as possible and use some of the 3rd party apps as a compliment instead of a replacement.

I've tried many third party apps as well only to gravitate back to the native apps. I like the idea of using them as a compliment instead of a replacement though. Thanks JustMe'D

 

[nikkisharif]

The native weather app is extremely basic & with me being a weather nerd, I have to use a 3rd party app. I've also been using Calendar 5 lately & I'm loving the fact that it integrates my reminders & I can resolve them right from the app. Plus I can use Google Maps with it. I need the native calendar app to have the same functionality.

 

[taz323]

I do use Evernote, but for the most part prefer the stock apps.

 

[Not Quite Right]

I'm deep into the Apple eco-system so I mainly stick with the stock apps for sure. Now knowing that you can imagine how excited I am with the further integration between iOS 8 & OSX Yosemite ...

 

[Just_Me_D]

I've tried many third party apps as well only to gravitate back to the native apps. I like the idea of using them as a compliment instead of a replacement though. Thanks JustMe'D

You're very welcome...

 

[John Yester]

Stock all the way...

I have even go extreme and kept home screen setup out of the box.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Stock all the way...

I have even go extreme and kept home screen setup out of the box.

Ah heck no!...I can't have stuff on the screen that I don't use......GameCenter, Newsstand, Compass, Stocks and a couple of others gets moved into a folder and placed on the last home screen.

 

[John Yester]

Ha!!!! knew it would get to you...

 

[pr1nce]

Ah heck no!...I can't have stuff on the screen that I don't use......GameCenter, Newsstand, Compass, Stocks and a couple of others gets moved into a folder and placed on the last home screen.

I move some of the stock apps into a folder and I leave others on my last home screen. I guess they don't really bother me.

 

[iHackPro]

I use both stock and 3rd party apps. For example, Fantastical, Cal, Sunrise, and a few others are all great, but I like the simplicity of the default Calendar app. Same with email, Acompli, Mailbox, etc. are all wonderful, but I find myself coming back to the default Mail.app.

Heck, with Twitter, I find myself using the default application, I can't get used to Tweetbot and Twitteriffic. Great apps, but I prefer the regular Twitter app.

 

[taz323]

I'm deep into the Apple eco-system so I mainly stick with the stock apps for sure. Now knowing that you can imagine how excited I am with the further integration between iOS 8 & OSX Yosemite ...

Am so there with you.

 

[jmendel33]

I use both stock and 3rd party apps. For example, Fantastical, Cal, Sunrise, and a few others are all great, but I like the simplicity of the default Calendar app. Same with email, Acompli, Mailbox, etc. are all wonderful, but I find myself coming back to the default Mail.app.

Heck, with Twitter, I find myself using the default application, I can't get used to Tweetbot and Twitteriffic. Great apps, but I prefer the regular Twitter app.

I very much agree, but i do use omnifocus and evernote


Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums mobile app

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

I keep most stock apps in a folder on the last page marked "Unused." I use the Notes app a lot but recently started keeping notes in 1password and replaced the Notes app with that. Game Center, Newsstand, Passbook, Stocks, Reminders, and Compass have no use to me. I use the Weather app because all I really care about is the forecast.

If the GM of iOS 8 sticks with the Podcasts and iBooks app being stock, they'll both be going into that Unused folder also. I have no use for the Podcasts app since Downcast works great for me. And I don't need iBooks on my iPhone because I don't read books on a display that small. However, I do have iBooks on my iPad which is great.

 

[abazigal]

I use evernote to keep my notes, but I find the app is quite slow when it comes to quickly firing up a blank page to type something out (need to start the evernote app, which takes longer to load than notes, and the interface is actually not very friendly when it comes to locating the new note button).

I also love the reminders app (and how it integrates with fantastical), but hate the iPhone interface, which I find quite cumbersome. I usually type out the reminders on my Mac and sync over through iCloud. It's kinda like a poor man's omnifocus in that aspect.

What I am doing is using the drafts app on my iPhone to take down quick notes, which I can then send to evernote or export as a list to reminders. It's a surprisingly useful, if expensive, app.

For replacement stock apps, I am using fantastical for my iPhone. I also bought the iPad version, but don't really like the interface, and the iPad version of the stock calendars app is still quite readable. Mailbox replaces Mail (for gmail push and ability to quickly archive / delete / file emails).

I don't know if you call this replacing, but I also use launch centre pro, and one of my favourite shortcuts is the ability to quickly launch the call function. What I like is that I can paste in a phone number. As a teacher, I sometimes get emails from the office telling me to call a parent (and their contact number is in the email subject, so I can't click on it to initiate a call, nor does the stock phone app accept copy and pasted numbers. With LCP, I just copy the number, and paste it in. Basically, when I want to call someone, I use LCP instead of the stock phone app.