Posts Tagged: apps

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The 6 best budgeting apps to replace Mint come March 2024

The popular budgeting app Mint is going away. Parent company Intuit will shut down the service on March 24, 2024, and has suggested folks migrate to its other personal finance app, Credit Karma. I’m one of Mint’s 3.6 million active users (as of 2021, according to Bloomberg), using the app to track all of my accounts in one place without having to log into too many disparate banking apps. I’ve also used it to monitor my credit score, stick to a monthly budget, and set goals like building a rainy-day fund or paying down my mortgage faster.

With this news, looking for a Mint alternative beyond Credit Karma became a top priority. Intuit has not commented on whether it intends to fold Mint’s budgeting features into Credit Karma but as it stands, Credit Karma is not a Mint substitute. After trying Credit Karma and being unimpressed, I downloaded a number of competing money apps to see if any could cut it as a permanent Mint replacement. The following guide lays out my experiences, the results of my testing and our picks for the top Mint replacement apps available today. I also pledge to update this guide as the various apps I tested continue to add more features and, in some cases, correct known bugs.

How to import your financial data from Mint

Mint users should consider getting their data ready to migrate to their new budgeting app of choice soon. Unfortunately, importing data from Mint is not as easy as entering your credentials from inside your new app and hitting “import.” In fact, any app that advertises the ability to port over your stats from Mint is just going to have you upload a CSV file of transactions and other data.

To download a CSV file from Mint, do the following:

  1. Sign into Mint.com and hit Transactions in the menu on the left side of the screen.

  2. Select an account, or all accounts.

  3. Scroll down and look for “export [number] transactions” in smaller print.

  4. Your CSV file should begin downloading.

Note: Downloading on a per-account basis might seem more annoying, but could help you get set up on the other side, if the app you’re using has you importing transactions one-for-one into their corresponding accounts.

How we tested

Before I dove into the budgeting-app world, I had to do some research. To find a list of apps to test, I consulted trusty ol’ Google (and even trustier Reddit); read reviews of popular apps on the App Store; and also asked friends and colleagues what budget tracking apps they might be using. Some of the apps I found were free, just like Mint. These, of course, show loads of ads (excuse me, “offers”) to stay in business. But most of the available apps require paid subscriptions, with prices typically topping out around $ 100 a year, or $ 15 a month. (Spoiler: My top pick is cheaper than that.)

Since this guide is meant to help Mint users find a permanent replacement, any services I chose to test needed to do several things: import all of your account data into one place; offer budgeting tools; and track your spending, net worth and credit score. Except where noted, all of these apps are available for iOS, Android and on the web.

Once I had my shortlist of six apps, I got to work setting them up. For the sake of thoroughly testing these apps (and remember, I really was looking for a Mint alternative myself), I made a point of adding every account to every tracking app, no matter how small or immaterial the balance. What ensued was a veritable Groundhog Day of two-factor authentication. Just hours of entering passwords and one-time passcodes, for the same banks half a dozen times over. Hopefully, you only have to do this once.

The best Mint alternative: Quicken Simplifi

No pun intended, but what I like about Quicken Simplifi is its simplicity. Whereas other apps try to distinguish themselves with dark themes and customizable emoji, Simplifi has a clean user interface, with a landing page that you just keep scrolling through to get a detailed overview of all your stats. These include your top-line balances; net worth; recent spending; upcoming recurring payments; a snapshot of your spending plan; top spending categories; achievements; and any watchlists you’ve set up. You can also set up savings goals elsewhere in the app. I also appreciate how it offers neat, almost playful visualizations without ever looking cluttered. I felt at home in the mobile and web dashboards after a day or so, which is faster than I adapted to some competing services (I’m looking at you, YNAB and Monarch).

Getting set up with Simplifi was mostly painless. I was particularly impressed at how easily it connected to Fidelity; not all budget trackers do, for whatever reason. This is also one of the only services I tested that gives you the option of inviting a spouse or financial advisor to co-manage your account. One thing I would add to my initial assessment of the app, having used it for a few months now: I wish Simplifi offered Zillow integration for easily tracking your home value (or at least a rough estimate of it). Various competitors including Monarch Money and Copilot Money work with Zillow, so clearly there’s a Zillow API available for use. As it stands, Simplifi users must add real estate manually like any other asset.

A screenshot of the
Dana Wollman / Engadget

In practice, Simplifi miscategorized some of my expenses, but nothing out of the ordinary compared to any of these budget trackers. As you’re reviewing transactions, you can also mark if you’re expecting a refund, which is a unique feature among the services I tested. Simplifi also estimated my regular income better than some other apps I tested. Most of all, I appreciated the option of being able to categorize some, but not all, purchases from a merchant as recurring. For instance, I can add my two Amazon subscribe-and-saves as recurring payments, without having to create a broad-strokes rule for every Amazon purchase.

The budgeting feature is also self-explanatory. Just check that your regular income is accurate and be sure to set up recurring payments, making note of which are bills and which are subscriptions. This is important because Simplifi shows you your total take-home income as well as an “income after bills” figure. That number includes, well, bills but not discretionary subscriptions. From there, you can add spending targets by category in the “planned spending” bucket. Planned spending can also include one-time expenditures, not just monthly budgets. When you create a budget, Simplifi will suggest a number based on a six-month average.

Not dealbreakers, but two things to keep in mind as you get started: Simplifi is notable in that you can’t set up an account through Apple or Google. There is also no option for a free trial, though Quicken promises a “30-day money back guarantee.”

The best Mint alternative (runner-up): Monarch Money

Monarch Money grew on me. My first impression of the app, which was founded by a former Mint product manager, was that it’s more difficult to use than others on this list, including Simplifi, NerdWallet and Copilot. And it is. Editing expense categories, adding recurring transactions and creating rules, for example, is a little more complicated than it needs to be, especially in the mobile app. (My advice: Use the web app for fine-tuning details.) Monarch also didn’t get my income right; I had to edit it.

Once you’re set up, though, Monarch offers an impressive level of granularity. In the budgets section, you can see a bona fide balance sheet showing budgets and actuals for each category. You’ll also find a forecast, for the year or by month. And recurring expenses can be set not just by merchant, but other parameters as well. For instance, while most Amazon purchases might be marked as “shopping,” those for the amounts of $ 54.18 or $ 34.18 are definitely baby supplies, and can be automatically marked as such each time, not to mention programmed as recurring payments. Weirdly, though, there’s no way to mark certain recurring payments as bills, specifically.

A screenshot of the
Dana Wollman / Engadget

Not long after I first published this story in December 2023, Monarch introduced a detailed reporting section where you can create on-demand graphs based on things like accounts, categories and tags. That feature is available just on the web version of the app for now. As part of this same update, Monarch added support for an aggregator that makes it possible to automatically update the value of your car. This, combined with the existing Zillow integration for tracking your home value, makes it easy to quickly add a non-liquid asset like a vehicle or real estate, and have it show up in your net worth graph.

The mobile app is mostly self-explanatory. The main dashboard shows your net worth; your four most recent transactions; a month-over-month spending comparison; income month-to-date; upcoming bills; an investments snapshot; a list of any goals you’ve set; and, finally, a link to your month-in-review. That month-in-review is more detailed than most, delving into cash flow; top income and expense categories; cash flow trends; changes to your net worth, assets and liabilities; plus asset and liability breakdowns. In February 2024, Monarch expanded on the net worth graph, so that if you click on the Accounts tab you can see how your net worth changed over different periods of time, including one month, three months, six months, a year or all time.

On the main screen, you’ll also find tabs for accounts, transactions, cash flow, budget and recurring. Like many of the other apps featured here, Monarch can auto-detect recurring expenses and income, even if it gets the category wrong. (They all do to an extent.) Expense categories are marked by emoji, which you can customize if you’re so inclined.

Monarch Money uses a combination of networks to connect with banks, including Plaid, MX and Finicity, a competing network owned by Mastercard. (I have a quick explainer on Plaid, the industry standard in this space, toward the end of this guide.) As part of an update in late December, Monarch has also made it easier to connect through those other two networks, if for some reason Plaid fails. Similar to NerdWallet, I found myself completing two-factor authentication every time I wanted to get past the Plaid screen to add another account. Notably, Monarch is the only other app I tested that allows you to grant access to someone else in your family — likely a spouse or financial advisor. Monarch also has a Chrome extension for importing from Mint, though really this is just a shortcut for downloading a CSV file, which you’ll have to do regardless of where you choose to take your Mint data.

Additionally, Monarch just added the ability to track Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Savings accounts, thanks to new functionality brought with the iOS 17.4 update. It’s not the only one either; currently, Copilot and YNAB have also added similar functionality that will be available to anyone with the latest versions of their respective apps on a device running iOS 17.4. Instead of manually uploading statements, the new functionality allows apps like Monarch’s to automatically pull in transactions and balance history. That should make it easier to account for spending on Apple cards and accounts throughout the month.

Monarch also recently launched investment transactions in beta. It also says bill tracking and an overhauled goals system are coming soon. Monarch hasn’t provided a timeline for that last one, except to say that the improved goals feature is coming in early 2024.

The best up-and-comer: Copilot Money

Copilot Money might be the best-looking budget tracker I tested. It also has the distinction of being exclusive to iOS and Macs — at least for now. Andres Ugarte, the company’s CEO, has publicly promised that Android and web apps are coming in 2024 (more likely the second half of the year, Ugarte tells me). But until it follows through, I can’t recommend Copilot for most people with so many good competitors out there.

There are other features that Copilot is missing, which I’ll get into. But it is promising, and one to keep an eye on. It’s just a fast, efficient, well designed app, and Android users will be in for a treat when they’ll finally be able to download it. It makes good use of colors, emoji and graphs to help you understand at a glance how you’re doing on everything from your budgets to your investment performance to your credit card debt over time. In particular, Copilot does a better job than almost any other app of visualizing your recurring monthly expenses.

Behind those punchy colors and cutesy emoji, though, is some sophisticated performance. Copilot’s AI-powered “Intelligence” gets smarter as you go at categorizing your expenses. (You can also add your own categories, complete with your choice of emoji.) It’s not perfect. Copilot miscategorized some purchases (they all do), but it makes it easier to edit than most. On top of that, the internal search feature is very fast; it starts whittling down results in your transaction history as soon as you begin typing.

A screenshot of Copilot Money's iOS app.
Dana Wollman / Engadget

Copilot is also unique in offering Amazon and Venmo integrations, allowing you to see transaction details. With Amazon, this requires just signing into your Amazon account via an in-app browser. For Venmo, you have to set up fwd@copilot.money as a forwarding address and then create a filter, wherein emails from venmo@venmo.com are automatically forwarded to fwd@copilot.money. Like Monarch Money, you can also add any property you own and track its value through Zillow, which is integrated with the app.

While the app is heavily automated, I still appreciate that Copilot marks new transactions for review. It’s a good way to both weed out fraudulent charges, and also be somewhat intentional about your spending habits.

Like Monarch Money, Copilot updated its app to make it easier to connect to banks through networks other than Plaid. As part of the same update, Copilot said it has improved its connections to both American Express and Fidelity which, again, can be a bugbear for some budget tracking apps. In an even more recent update, Copilot added a Mint import option, which other budgeting apps have begun to offer as well.

Because the app is relatively new (it launched in early 2020), the company is still catching up to the competition on some table-stakes features. Ugarte told me that his team is almost done building out a detailed cash flow section, which could launch before the end of 2023, but more likely in early 2024. On its website, Copilot also promises a raft of AI-powered features that build on its current “Intelligence” platform, the one that powers its smart expense categorization. These include “smart financial goals,” natural language search, a chat interface, forecasting and benchmarking. That benchmarking, Ugarte tells me, is meant to give people a sense of how they’re doing compared to other Copilot users, on both spending and investment performance. Most of these features should arrive in the new year.

Copilot does a couple interesting things for new customers that distinguish it from the competition. There’s a “demo mode” that feels like a game simulator; no need to add your own accounts. The company is also offering two free months with RIPMINT — a more generous introductory offer than most. When it finally does come time to pony up, the $ 7.92 monthly plan is cheaper than some competing apps, although the $ 95-a-year-option is in the same ballpark.

The best free budgeting app: NerdWallet

You may know NerdWallet as a site that offers a mix of personal finance news, explainers and guides. I see it often when I google a financial term I don’t know and sure enough, it’s one of the sites I’m most likely to click on. As it happens, NerdWallet also has the distinction of offering one of the only free budget tracking apps I tested. In fact, there is no paid version; nothing is locked behind a paywall. The main catch: There are ads everywhere. To be fair, the free version of Mint was like this, too.

Even with the inescapable credit card offers, NerdWallet has a clean, easy-to-understand user interface, which includes both a web and a mobile app. The key metrics that it highlights most prominently are your cash flow, net worth and credit score. (Of note, although Mint itself offered credit score monitoring, most of its rivals do not.) I particularly enjoyed the weekly insights, which delve into things like where you spent the most money or how much you paid in fees — and how that compares to the previous month. Because this is NerdWallet, an encyclopedia of financial info, you get some particularly specific category options when setting up your accounts (think: a Roth or non-Roth IRA).

A screenshot of the
Dana Wollman / Engadget

As a budgeting app, NerdWallet is more than serviceable, if a bit basic. Like other apps I tested, you can set up recurring bills. Importantly, it follows the popular 50/30/20 budgeting rule, which has you putting 50% of your budget toward things you need, 30% toward things you want, and the remaining 20% into savings or debt repayments. If this works for you, great — just know that you can’t customize your budget to the same degree as some competing apps. You can’t currently create custom spending categories, though a note inside the dashboard section of the app says “you’ll be able to customize them in the future.” You also can’t move items from the wants column to “needs” or vice versa but “In the future, you’ll be able to move specific transactions to actively manage what falls into each group.” A NerdWallet spokesperson declined to provide an ETA, though.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that NerdWallet had one of the most onerous setup processes of any app I tested. I don’t think this is a dealbreaker, as you’ll only have to do it once and, hopefully, you aren’t setting up six or seven apps in tandem as I was. What made NerdWallet’s onboarding especially tedious is that every time I wanted to add an account, I had to go through a two-factor authentication process to even get past the Plaid splash screen, and that’s not including the 2FA I had set up at each of my banks. This is a security policy on NerdWallet’s end, not Plaid’s, a Plaid spokesperson says.

Precisely because NerdWallet is one of the only budget trackers to offer credit score monitoring, it also needs more of your personal info during setup, including your birthday, address, phone number and the last four digits of your social security number. It’s the same with Credit Karma, which also does credit score monitoring.

Related to the setup process, I found that NerdWallet was less adept than other apps at automatically detecting my regular income. In my case, it counted a large one-time wire transfer as income, at which point my only other option was to enter my income manually (which is slightly annoying because I would have needed my pay stub handy to double-check my take-home pay).

Budgeting apps we also tested

YNAB

YNAB is, by its own admission, “different from anything you’ve tried before.” The app, whose name is short for You Need a Budget, promotes a so-called zero-based budgeting system, which forces you to assign a purpose for every dollar you earn. A frequently used analogy is to put each dollar in an envelope; you can always move money from one envelope to another in a pinch. These envelopes can include rent and utilities, along with unforeseen expenses like holiday gifts and the inevitable car repair. The idea is that if you budget a certain amount for the unknowns each month, they won’t feel like they’re sneaking up on you.

Importantly, YNAB is only concerned with the money you have in your accounts now. The app does not ask you to provide your take-home income or set up recurring income payments (although there is a way to do this). The money you will make later in the month through your salaried job is not relevant, because YNAB does not engage in forecasting.

The app is harder to learn than any other here, and it requires more ongoing effort from the user. And YNAB knows that. Inside both the mobile and web apps are links to videos and other tutorials. Although I never quite got comfortable with the user interface, I did come to appreciate YNAB’s insistence on intentionality. Forcing users to draft a new budget each month and to review each transaction is not necessarily a bad thing. As YNAB says on its website, “Sure, you’ve got pie charts showing that you spent an obscene amount of money in restaurants — but you’ve still spent an obscene amount of money in restaurants.” I can see this approach being useful for people who don’t tend to have a lot of cash in reserve at a given time, or who have spending habits they want to correct (to riff off of YNAB’s own example, ordering Seamless four times a week).

My colleague Valentina Palladino, knowing I was working on this guide, penned a respectful rebuttal, explaining why she’s been using YNAB for years. Perhaps, like her, you have major savings goals you want to achieve, whether it’s paying for a wedding or buying a house. I suggest you give her column a read. For me, though, YNAB’s approach feels like overkill.

PocketGuard

PocketGuard is one of the only reputable free budget trackers I found in my research. Just know it’s far more restricted at the free tier than NerdWallet or Mint. In my testing, I was prompted to pay after I attempted to link more than two bank accounts. So much for free, unless you keep things simple with one cash account and one credit card. When it comes time to upgrade to PocketGuard Plus, you have three options: pay $ 7.99 a month, $ 34.99 a year or $ 79.99 for a one-time lifetime license. That lifetime option is actually one of the few unique selling points for me: I’m sure some people will appreciate paying once and never having to, uh, budget for it again.

From the main screen, you’ll see tabs for accounts, insights, transactions and the “Plan,” which is where you see recurring payments stacked on top of what looks like a budget. The main overview screen shows you your net worth, total assets and debts; net income and total spending for the month; upcoming bills; a handy reminder of when your next paycheck lands; any debt payoff plan you have; and any goals.

A screenshot of the
Dana Wollman / Engadget

Like some other apps, including Quicken Simplifi, PocketGuard promotes an “after bills” approach, where you enter all of your recurring bills, and then PocketGuard shows you what’s left, and that’s what you’re supposed to be budgeting: your disposable income. Obviously, other apps have a different philosophy: take into account all of your post-tax income and use it to pay the bills, purchase things you want and maybe even save a little. But in PocketGuard, it’s the “in your pocket” number that’s most prominent. To PocketGuard’s credit, it does a good job visualizing which bills are upcoming and which ones you’ve already paid.

PocketGuard has also publicly committed to adding some popular features in early 2024. These include rollover budgeting in January 2024, categorization rules in February and shared household access in March.

A screenshot of PocketGuard's iOS app.
Dana Wollman / Engadget

Although PocketGuard’s UI is easy enough to understand, it lacks polish. The “accounts” tab is a little busy, and doesn’t show totals for categories like cash or investments. Seemingly small details like weirdly phrased or punctuated copy occasionally make the app feel janky. More than once, it prompted me to update the app when no updates were available. The web version, meanwhile, feels like the mobile app blown up to a larger format and doesn’t take advantage of the extra screen real estate.

Of note, although PocketGuard does work with Plaid, its primary bank-connecting platform is actually Finicity. Setting up my accounts through Finicity was mostly a straightforward process. I did encounter one hiccup: Finicity would not connect to my SoFi account. I was able to do it through Plaid, but PocketGuard doesn’t make it easy to access Plaid in the app. The only way, as far as I can tell, is to knowingly search for the name of a bank that isn’t available through Finicity, at which point you get the option to try Plaid instead. Like I said: the experience can be janky.

What is Plaid and how does it work?

Each of the apps I tested uses the same underlying network, called Plaid, to pull in financial data, so it’s worth explaining in its own section what it is and how it works. Plaid was founded as a fintech startup in 2013 and is today the industry standard in connecting banks with third-party apps. Plaid works with over 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada and Europe. Additionally, more than 8,000 third-party apps and services rely on Plaid, the company claims.

To be clear, you don’t need a dedicated Plaid app to use it; the technology is baked into a wide array of apps, including the budget trackers I tested for this guide. Once you find the “add an account” option in whichever one you’re using, you’ll see a menu of commonly used banks. There’s also a search field you can use to look yours up directly. Once you find yours, you’ll be prompted to enter your login credentials. If you have two-factor authentication set up, you’ll need to enter a one-time passcode as well.

As the middleman, Plaid is a passthrough for information that may include your account balances, transaction history, account type and routing or account number. Plaid uses encryption, and says it has a policy of not selling or renting customer data to other companies. However, I would not be doing my job if I didn’t note that in 2022 Plaid was forced to pay $ 58 million to consumers in a class action suit for collecting “more financial data than was needed.” As part of the settlement, Plaid was compelled to change some of its business practices.

In a statement provided to Engadget, a Plaid spokesperson said the company continues to deny the allegations underpinning the lawsuit and that “the crux of the non-financial terms in the settlement are focused on us accelerating workstreams already underway related to giving people more transparency into Plaid’s role in connecting their accounts, and ensuring that our workstreams around data minimization remain on track.”

My top Mint alternative picks: Quicken Simplifi and Copilot Money

To conclude, you might be wondering what app I decided on for myself after all of this research. The answer is actually two apps: Quicken Simplifi, my overall top pick, and Copilot Money. For now, I am actively using both apps and still deciding, long-term, which I feel more comfortable with. I tend to prefer Copilot’s fast, colorful user interface, but as I explained above, it’s too lacking in table-stakes features for me to go so far as to name it the best overall option.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-budgeting-apps-to-replace-mint-143047346.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

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Apple tells developers not to call their AR and VR apps AR or VR apps

With Apple’s Vision Pro VR/AR headset set to go on sale on February 2, we’re starting to see more details about the app requirements. For example, the company has released guidelines for visionOS developers planning to release apps and there’s one strange caveat. It would rather developers don’t use the terms AR and VR when referring to Vision Pro apps, but rather call them “spatial computing apps,” according to the developer page spotted by 9to5Mac

“Spatial computing: Refer to your app as a spatial computing app. Don’t describe your app experience as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), or mixed reality (MR),” the company states. The headset itself should be called “Apple Vision Pro” with three uppercase words, while “visionOS begins with a lowercase v, even when it’s the first word in a sentence.” The terms should never be translated or transliterated, Apple added. 

Given that they’re definitely going to be AR and VR apps built for an AR/VR headset, Apple may want to differentiate its own offerings so that consumers don’t confound apps for other VR/AR headsets, particularly Meta’s Quest 3, with its own. At the same time, Apple has used those terms extensively to describe the headset, with CEO Tim Cook calling Vision Pro an “entirely new AR platform” when it launched at WWDC 2023. 

In the same document, Apple asked developers to indicate if their AR/VR, er, spatial computing apps contain movements like quick turns or sudden changes in camera perspective. That way, the product page will show a badge to warn users. It also described the use of privacy labels and game controllers. As mentioned, the Apple Vision Pro headset arrives on February 2 for $ 3,495 — a price likely to attract only highly motivated buyers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-tells-developers-not-to-call-their-ar-and-vr-apps-ar-or-vr-apps-085136127.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

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The best apps on Android and iOS to download on your new smartphone

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Bitwarden

Bitwarden
Bitwarden

If you only take one piece of advice away from this article, it’s that you should download a password manager. If you’ve never used one before, it’s hard to go wrong with Bitwarden. It won’t wow you with beautifully designed apps, but it’s one of our favorite password managers and you’ll appreciate its fair business model. The best part of the Bitwarden experience is that all of its core features are free to use. Without paying a cent, you can use Bitwarden on as many devices as you want. By comparison, competitors can charge $ 3 per month or more for that same functionality. If you want to support Bitwarden, the $ 10 per year Premium plan is well worth the money as you get access to features like advanced two-factor authentication.

FireFox

Firefox
Firefox

If it’s been a few years since you last used Firefox, now is a great time to revisit it. Partway through last year, Mozilla overhauled the Android version of its browser to bring over many of its best desktop features to mobile. That release saw Mozilla add more robust support for third-party add-ons. It also brought over its Enhanced Tracking Protection feature, which stops trackers from misusing your browsing data. Separately, with Apple allowing you to change your default browser since the release of iOS 14, there’s never been a better time for iPhone users to liberate themselves from Safari.

Headspace

Headspace
Headspace

I subscribed to Headspace at the start of the pandemic. Since then, it’s become one of the few apps I use every day. Yes, Headspace is a meditation and mindfulness app, but it’s also so much more than that. You’ll find it also has a mix of music designed to help you focus and workouts for unwinding at the end of a long day. Across the board, everything it offers is excellent, and you’ll find yourself turning to it for more than just peace of mind.

Notion

Notion
Notion

Notion is one of the most powerful productivity tools you can download right now, and if your goal for 2023 is to organize your personal and professional lives, I can’t recommend it enough. What makes Notion so powerful is an interface that looks simple but offers a lot of flexibility. I’ve used Notion to create to-do lists, write notes and features and manage personal projects. It can be a bit overwhelming at first. My suggestion is to head over to YouTube to see how other people have used Notion’s features to organize their lives.

Libby

Libby
Libby

If you want to do more reading in 2022, forget about buying books through Amazon and download Libby instead. If you’re not familiar with the app, it allows you to borrow ebooks, digital magazines and graphic novels from your local library. All you need is a library card, which most systems across the US offer for free. Sometimes you have to wait to borrow the books you want to read most, but you’ll find Libby will dramatically expand your reading list.

Transit

Transit app
Transit

There’s nothing worse than waiting for a bus on a cold winter’s day or watching three go by one after another. Avoid both situations with one of the best public transit planning apps on Android and iOS. Transit excels where other apps in the category fail thanks to its clean, easy-to-use interface that highlights all the options near you. It also has one of the better algorithms for predicting departure times, so you’ll know exactly when you need to run out of your house or apartment to catch the next bus, train or streetcar.

Paprika

Paprika recipe app
Paprika

Paprika is the best $ 5 you can spend to make feeding yourself even easier. At its core, it allows you to download recipes from your favorite websites and make them accessible on all your devices. You can also use it to scale the size of the meal you’re about to cook and convert between metric and imperial measurements. Add to that a meal planner, shopping lists and a tool for tracking the ingredients in your pantry, and you have an indispensable app for home cooks.

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts app
Pocket Casts

With podcasts becoming ever more popular with each passing year, there’s a good chance you already have a handful of favorite shows you listen to every week. As much as Spotify would like to convince you it has the best podcast app, that distinction goes to Pocket Casts. We like it because it offers a consistently great experience across every system it supports. And if you use a mix of platforms from Apple, Google and Microsoft, you don’t have to worry about syncing, either. It’s also nice to use software that doesn’t feel caught between two worlds in the way that Spotify does. Pocket Casts isn’t trying to be anything more than an app for listening to podcasts. That’s not something you can say of Spotify, and it’s often a source of frustration for those who turn to it for music.

Pocket

Pocket app
Pocket

Another way to read more in 2022 is to download Pocket. It’s among the most popular read-it-later apps out there, allowing you to save articles you find online. Much like Pocket Casts, what makes this app compelling is that it offers a consistently excellent device-agnostic experience, making it a great option for those who haven’t gone all-in on one ecosystem. Whether you use Chrome, Safari or Edge, you can install a browser extension to save articles you stumble upon. You can then read them later without distractions on your phone or tablet. Just don’t forget to make a dent in your Pocket reading list occasionally.

Signal

Signal
Signal

We understand, asking your friends and family to install another messaging app on their phone can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean task, but the effort has also never been more worth it. In Signal, you’ll find one of the most secure chat apps on the market. It has all the features you would expect from a messaging program, including support for stickers and Snapchat-like Stories, but more important are the ways Signal is different from rivals like WhatsApp and Telegram. Signal is a nonprofit and is one of the few apps committed to privacy rather than revenue via data collection. That means you won’t see any ads in the app, nor will the company sell your data to third-party marketers.

Windscribe

Windscribe
Windscribe

The top pick for best free VPN in our guide is Windscribe, making it a great choice to download on your phone if you’ve never used a VPN before and want to give it a try. There’s no catch here: Windscribe is completely free to use, provided you sign up with a valid email address. Free users get 10GB of data per month, unlimited device connections and access to servers in over 10 countries. Windscribe passed all of our geoblock, streaming and gaming tests, plus it’s pretty easy to use as well. If you end up liking it, you can pay for Windscribe and get access to even more servers in additional countries, along with unlimited data and access to an ad blocker. A full Pro subscription costs about $ 6 per month when billed annually, or you can build your own plan with only the features you need starting at $ 1 per month.

Snapseed

Snapseed
Snapseed

Most recent phones come with great cameras. Still, even with the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel, almost every photo can benefit from an edit before you share it. The options you have for photo editing apps are nearly endless, but if you want something that works well, look no further than Snapseed. It’s an old favorite that offers a comprehensive suite of editing options but never gets bogged down in too many sliders and dials. Best of all, it makes it easy to save edits to your camera roll and upload them to apps like Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-apps-to-download-on-your-new-smartphone-ios-android-180049321.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Sideloading Apps On Android Will Soon Get Easier

Terms of Google’s settlement with Epic have emerged, with third-party billing and side-loading of apps being made more convenient for the user.
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Microsoft Office apps arrive on Meta Quest VR headsets

Meta Quest users will now be able to write reports, edit spreadsheets and create presentations — if they event want to do any of those tasks on a VR headset, that is. Android Central reports that support for the basic Microsoft Office suite has arrived on the original Oculus Quest, the Meta Quest 2, the Meta Quest Pro, and the latest model, the Meta Quest 3. Users can now download Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint from the Meta Quest store for free.

The company first revealed that it was going to launch Microsoft 365 app experiences for its headsets during its Connect 2022 event. It also promised users access to Outlook, Teams and a Windows experience as part of its partnership with Microsoft. To be able to use the basic Office suite apps on their device, users will need to have and log into their Microsoft account. The app files are pretty small because they run on the cloud, so they’re quick to download and can run side by side for the multitaskers out there. 

According to The Verge, though, the apps aren’t exactly optimized for virtual reality, so users may have to contend with tiny icons and other elements that don’t work as well in the environment. In addition, it’s not easy typing on the Quest’s onscreen keyboard, so users may have to link Bluetooth accessories if they need to get some serious work done. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-office-apps-arrive-on-meta-quest-vr-headsets-123030297.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

17 iPhone apps I couldn’t live without in 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, let’s look back and talk about the iPhone apps that I simply couldn’t do without this year.
Digital Trends

These developers are doing something amazing with iPhone and iPad apps

What makes iPhone and iPad apps special in 2023? We chatted with award-winning developer teams to learn exactly that.
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These 7 apps make iOS 17’s StandBy mode even better

StandBy mode is one of the coolest new features in iOS 17. Here’s how to make it even better with a few helpful apps!
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Google is killing another one of its popular apps, and it’s a big one

Google plans to discontinue one of its popular apps, Google Podcasts, in the new year. Here’s what you need to do about the closure.
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The best Windows apps for 2023

Choosing the right apps can be hard. Here are the best Windows apps, whether you need to stay productive at work or watch your shows.
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I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps

I sometimes need to record interviews as part of my job, and the best free recorder apps I’ve used are probably already installed on your phone.
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The best piano apps in 2023: top apps for learning how to play

Learning how to play the piano? Take a look at our list of the best piano-learning apps, from those for absolute beginners to those for intermediate players.
Digital Trends

Reddit says some accessibility apps won’t have to pay for its API

Reddit is changing its controversial new API policy for the makers of some apps that are focused on accessibility, provided they don’t monetize their services. As The Vergereports, Reddit has decided to offer the developers of select “non-commercial” apps that emphasize accessibility features an exemption from its controversial new pricing structure.

“We’ve connected with select developers of non-commercial apps that address accessibility needs and offered them exemptions from our large-scale pricing terms,” Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said in a statement. He declined to name any specific services or share how many apps might be covered by the new exemption, citing ongoing conversations with developers.

The concession comes amid growing anger with Reddit over the planned changes, which many developers say will put them out of business. Last week, Christian Selig, the developer of Apollo, said the new pricing would cost him $ 20 million a year to keep the app running in its current state. Other developers have voiced similar concerns about the changes, currently slated to take effect July 1st.

As The Verge points out, the API changes have also sparked widespread concern among Reddit users who depend on services that make it easier to use the site with screen readers and other accessibility aids. Earlier this week, the moderators of r/Blind said they were planning to join the upcoming Reddit blackout in protest of the changes. The effort, which more than 1,000 subreddits have signed onto, will see participatingcommunities “go dark” for 48 hours.

While the latest change from Reddit could bring some relief to the members of r/Blind and others who depend on apps specifically tailored to their needs, the rule change won’t help the majority of third-party app developers. Apps like Apollo, RIF and BaconReader are monetized and thus don’t qualify for an exemption even though some also offer robust accessibility features. Unless Reddit makes further concessions, those developers are still facing the possibility that they will be forced to shut down, or drastically alter, their services.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-says-some-accessibility-apps-wont-have-to-pay-for-its-api-213401412.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

The best parental control apps for iPhone and Android

Many kids have smartphones these days, and that can make parenting tricky. Check out the best parental control apps to monitor smartphone and app activity.
Digital Trends

Windows 11 preview brings the Photo app’s ‘gallery’ view to File Explorer

Microsoft is making it easier to view your photos in File Explorer. The latest Windows 11 developer preview rolling out today includes Gallery, a new feature that lets you view the Photos app’s image library while browsing files and folders.

The Gallery view, the shortcut to which is found in the File Explorer’s navigation panel, arrives in Windows Insider Build 23435. After selecting Gallery, the main file-browsing window will show thumbnails of the same images from the All Photos view of the Photos app. Microsoft says it’s optimized for accessing your most recent photos if you have OneDrive Camera Roll Backup activated on your phone; they’ll display right up top.

It should also make it easy to find content from specific folders. “You can choose which folders are shown in Gallery through the Collection dropdown,” Microsoft’s announcement reads. “You can also add subfolders of existing sources to filter to a subset of your content, such as desktop backgrounds and SD card/camera imports.” In addition, Gallery will appear as an option in the file-picking dialog, which should simplify attaching images to emails, PowerPoint presentations or social posts.

Screenshot of the Windows 11 file picker, showing the Gallery highlighted in the navigation panel (left side of Explorer window), with an array of image thumbnails in the main window. Microsoft Paint (the app calling up the file-picker) is open behind the picker window.
Gallery in the Windows 11 file-picker view
Microsoft

Microsoft says the feature is rolling out gradually and won’t be available to all Dev Channel Insiders immediately. Instead, the company will “monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.” Although it seems like a feature that will make its way to future stable releases, it’s still in beta and could (theoretically) end up on the cutting-room floor if the company receives negative feedback or changes course.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/windows-11-preview-brings-the-photo-apps-gallery-view-to-file-explorer-191318340.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Microsoft is making it easier to set default apps in Windows 11

Since its release in 2021, one of the most consistent criticisms of Windows 11 has been Microsoft’s handling of app defaults. Compared to Windows 10, the newer OS makes it more complicated for users to move away from the company’s first-party offerings. For example, if you don’t want Edge to open every time you click on a webpage or PDF, you’re forced to launch Windows 11’s Settings menu and change the default app by file and link type. It’s an unnecessarily long process that makes customizing Windows 11 convoluted.

Microsoft is finally addressing some of those criticisms. In a blog post published Friday (via Bleeping Computer), the company said it was “reaffirming our long-standing approach to put people in control of their Windows PC experience.” Microsoft announced a feature it said would ensure Windows 11 users are in control of changes to their app defaults. Later this year, the company will introduce a new deep link uniform resource identifier (URI) that will allow developers to send users to the correct section of the Settings menu when they want to change how Windows 11 responds to specific links and file types.

Screenshot of the new toast notification that some apps will display when asking you to pin themselves to your taskbar, start menu or desktop.
Microsoft

Microsoft says it will also give users more control over what apps get pinned to their desktop, start menu and taskbar with a new public API that will display a prompt asking you to grant programs permission before they show up on those interface elements. Both features will first roll out to PCs enrolled in the Windows Insider Dev Channel in the coming months before arriving in the public release of Windows 11. Notably, Microsoft says it will “lead by example” and release updates for Edge that will see the browser add support for those features as they become available.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-is-making-it-easier-to-set-default-apps-in-windows-11-202940444.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

TikTok’s STEM feed is fine, but it fails to address the app’s biggest issues

TikTok is rolling out a dedicated feed for educational content. It’s laudable, but TikTok needs to first fix issues that are really hurting its young audience.
Digital Trends

Our 5 favorite iPhone and Android apps by Black developers

As Black History Month comes to a close, here are five of some of the most thought-provoking apps made by Black developers in the U.S.
Digital Trends

The best iPhone apps in 2023: 50+ apps you need to download now

Are you looking for the best iPhone apps? We take a deep dive into what the App Store has to offer, finding you the best options sorted by category.
Digital Trends

The best rideshare apps in 2023: top 11 apps to check out

Here are the best ridesharing apps, so you don’t have to worry about getting from point A to point B. We’ve got everything from on-demand rides to carpooling.
Digital Trends

Some third-party Twitter apps aren’t working right now

Several third-party clients for Twitter are having issues communicating with the social network, leading to issues that prevent users from being able to log in. As TechCrunch reports, Tweetbot and Twitterific have both confirmed that they're having problems and are trying to find the root cause of the issue. "We've reached out to Twitter for more details, but haven't heard back," Tweetbot announced. 

Fenix has also confirmed that its client for Android is experiencing problems but that its iOS app seems to be unaffected. Matteo Villa, the app's developer, said Fenix for Android was suspended with no communication from the company. Villa tweeted a screenshot showing a notification that says Fenix "violated Twitter Rules and policies" and can no longer be accessed as a result. The developer has temporarily pulled the app from Google Play while trying to determine the cause. 

Twitpane has posted an announcement in Japanese that says users have been getting errors, such as "account authentication failed," that prevent them from being able to access the app. Other clients that seem to be experiencing issues include Echofon, Feather and Talon

Twitter has yet to issue an announcement through any of its official accounts. On the Twitter Developer forum, a poster said users have been encountering a lot of bugs with the Twitter API for third party apps since December. It's unclear what exactly has been preventing third-party apps from accessing the social network, and since Twitter no longer has a communications team, even the affected developers have yet to hear from the company directly.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

The best weather apps for iPhone in 2023: AccuWeather, Carrot, and more

Whether you’re looking for the most comprehensive data or something on the fun side, we’ve put together a list of the best weather apps for your iPhone.
Digital Trends

Here are Google Play’s best apps and games of 2022

It’s that time of year when Google reveals the top-performing apps, games, ebooks, and audiobooks of 2022, This year, the search giant added the new Best Apps and Games for Chromebooks category as well as the best story game, best ongoing game (live service), and best Play Pass game in order to get a true […]

Come comment on this article: Here are Google Play’s best apps and games of 2022

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The best Christmas apps for everyone in 2022

Here’s our list of Christmas apps to help put you into the holiday spirit, from apps that play Christmas songs to those that let you call Santa or list gifts.
Digital Trends

The best dating apps for 2022

Online dating can be stressful, time-consuming, and downright awful. Thankfully, the top dating apps allow you to streamline the process. Here are the best.
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The best Halloween apps and games for a spook-tacular October 31

Looking for the most terrifying apps, games, and podcasts for October 31? We’ve picked some of the best to ensure this Halloween is a spooktacular success.
Digital Trends

Google wants you to know Android apps aren’t just for phones anymore

Google has released an update to the Play Store to help Android fans more easily discover and manage apps for smartwatches, smart TVs, and cars.
Android | Digital Trends

These 80+ apps could be running adware on your iPhone or Android device

An adware attack that first surfaced in 2019 is back with more sophisticated fraud and evasion techniques. You should check your iOS and Android phones.
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The best ad-blocking apps for Android in 2022

If pop-up ads, banner ads, and flashy text all intrude on the web page or video you’re viewing on your Android device, get an ad-blocker. Here are the best.
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The best selfie apps for iOS and Android

Is your selfie social-media ready? Creating the perfect selfie isn’t always easy, but here are our favorite iOS and Android apps to help enhance your selfies.
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Make your fortune with the best stock-trading apps for iOS and Android

Whether you’re an experienced trader or newbie, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to stock-trading apps. Here are the best of them for iOS and Android.
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The best voice-recording apps for Android and iPhone

Voice-recording apps are a lot more advanced these days. If you are looking for a powerful audio-recording app, here are some of your best options.
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Get your football fix with the best fantasy football apps of 2022

The NFL season is about to kick off, and you’re still not in any fantasy football leagues yet. Time’s running out, but you’ve still got a couple weeks to get in on the action before week 1, and we’ve got you covered with the best fantasy football apps for 2022. Whether you’re looking for something […]

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Report finds most period tracking apps don’t protect privacy

Mozilla released a report that found most popular period tracking apps don’t protect user privacy, which is a red flag in a post-Roe v. Wade landscape.
Mobile | Digital Trends

The best apps for a second smartphone number

Back in the old days, a mobile phone functioned as a second phone number. We compile some apps that provide extra phone lines for your current smartphone.
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The best messaging apps for Android and iOS

Nowadays, people tend to favor convenience over intimacy. We’ve rounded up the best text messaging apps for group chats, video calling, and more.
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These 5 apps completely changed how I live with my ADHD

For years, I felt lost and overwhelmed living with ADHD. But after trying these 5 apps, I finally feel like I’m in control.
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Save money with the best free movie apps for iPhone and Android

Want to watch movies for free on your smartphone? We’ve got your back with this handpicked selection of great free movie apps for Android and iOS.
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The best 360-degree camera apps for iOS and Android

A 360-degree photo lets you observe a scene from a single point of view. We show you the best 360-degree camera apps for iOS and Android.
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Google says they’re finally optimizing Android tablet apps. Do you believe them?

At Google I/O this year, Google said they were working with developers and manufacturers to finally give Android apps the tablet-optimized versions they deserve. No more upscaled, wonky UI that leaves a ton of wasted space, blown up phone apps, or things that are just straight up broken and unpleasant to use on an Android […]

Come comment on this article: Google says they’re finally optimizing Android tablet apps. Do you believe them?

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[Guide] How to stop apps sharing data with Google on Android

Apps taking your data to push ads to you is a tale as old as time itself (or at least since the invention of the smartphone). However, with newer and more transparent pro-consumer policies as late, customers are now getting a say in reducing the ads pushed to them on their Android Smartphones. With this […]

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Apple seems to have embarked on new purge of neglected apps

Apple seems to have embarked on a new round of purging apps from its App Store, specifically those that have been left untouched by developers for a long time.
Mobile | Digital Trends

Apps are turning people into snitches, experts say

A new smartphone app will allow members of the public to submit evidence of speeding drivers to police forces.
Mobile | Digital Trends

Twitter will recommend third-party apps for preventing harassment

Twitter is turning to outside developers for help in preventing harassment on its platform. Under a new experiment, the company will recommend third-party moderation apps as an additional measure users can take on top of the app’s built-in tools,

With the update, which was first reported by TechCrunch, Twitter will surface recommendations for a series of third-party apps when a user blocks or mutes another person. For now, the apps include Block Party, a tool that allows people to automatically block accounts likely to be the source of harassment; Bodyguard, which can automatically moderate replies; and Moderate, which helps users manage their mentions.

These tools have already been available, but Twitter users previously had to seek out these services to get them set up. Now, the company will recommend them in its app and website alongside its own blocking and muting tools.

Twitter is recommending third party moderation apps alongside its blocking and muting tools.
Twitter

As TechCrunch notes, the change is also the latest sign that Twitter is, once again, making inroads among third-party developers with whom it has sometimes had a tumultuous relationship. The moderation apps are just a handful of a broader set of third-party services Twitter is promoting as part of its revamped developer platform. Eventually, Twitter could recommend other specialized apps in various parts of its service, the company told TechCrunch, though it didn’t offer details.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics