Must Have iPad Apps

iPads are great. Your iPad Pro in its iPad Pro 11 inch case— or iPad Air in its iPad Air case— is a great productivity tool and may just become your favorite go-to. But an iPad is only as useful as the apps installed on it. If you’re just starting out, you may wonder: what are must have iPads Apps, and what should I download first?

The apps you choose will ultimately depend on your priorities, your workflow, and the way in which you intend to use your tablet. If you’ve got a spiffy new iPad Pro 11 3rd generation, case included, you might be interested in high-power productivity apps, while someone who has an older version of the standard iPad might prefer to stick with the basics. Here, though, are some must have iPad Apps for almost anyone— apps you’ll find yourself using again and again. 

iWork

Apple’s iWork suite is not actually an app, it’s a set of apps, and each one is worth the download. The iWork suite includes:

• Pages
• Numbers
• Keynote

Pages is Apple’s word processor, and it’s admirably suited for use on the iPad. With a clean, minimalistic interface that nevertheless turns out incredibly powerful, it’s one of the best ways to write essays, reports, or write-ups on your iPad. A seamless connection, through iCloud, to any Pages app on your other Mac devices makes it especially valuable

Numbers is the spreadsheet program, and Keynote a presentation maker or viewer. You may not use them as much as you use a word processor, but it’s still a good idea to have them available on your device.

Google Docs

If you already have a ‘real’ word processor on your iPad, do you really need Google Docs? Yes, you do— at least if you collaborate with a variety of people in the real world. Google docs happens to be everyone’s favorite way to share documents, and the Google docs apps makes collaboration easy on your iPad. 

Spotify

The sound system on the newer iPads is pretty great, and if you’ve got the latest iPad Pro you’ll have a speaker in every corner. Is your iTunes library somewhat lacking? Break through the boundaries of music ownership with Spotify, which will let you stream almost anything you might need. The free version of Spotify is ad supported, but if you don’t want to listen to ads between your songs— or if you’d like to download music— you can always upgrade to premium.

Libby

Ever wish you could access your local library without actually showing up in person? That’s what the Libby app makes possible. Simply register with your library card, and you’ll be able to access all the ebooks and audiobooks your library network owns. Check them out for two weeks at a time, and read at your leisure. 

Good Notes/ Notability

Without a good note taking app, your iPad is scarcely complete. Note taking apps are especially useful when you’re taking notes in lass, and are made to incorporate handwritten notes (taken with the Apple Pencil) as well as typed text. Both Good Notes and Notability are great apps, but you only need one, so take your pick.  It comes down to a matter of preference, but there are a few features that are exclusive to one or the other. For instance, Notability offers audio-recording ( you can record a lecture while writing notes with the Apple Pencil, for a beautifully synced result) and Good Notes has a flashcard maker. 

Kindle

Amazon’s kindle app allows you to turn your iPad into an ebook reader. Although the app syncs with your Kindle account and, when you’ve registered, will populate with any book purchases you have there, you can also use it to read pdfs you’ve downloaded online. A smooth reading experience and great navigational tools make this one of our favorite book apps, and the versatility of it earn it a place on this must-have list. 

Youtube

You don’t need the Youtube app— you can access the video megabyte on your browser, for instance— but the Youtube app is definitely convenient. One of our favorite features is downloads for offline watching, although not every video has this option. There’s one catch: you have to connect Youtube to the internet every two or three days for your downloads to ‘renew’, but no appreciable amount of bandwidth is required by the process. 

More Helpful iPad Apps

Got those downloaded? Great, you’re off to a good start! Here are a few more apps that you might find useful when you’re out on the town with your iPad Pro and its iPad Pro 11 inch 3rd generation case— or whatever else may be appropriate to your model. 

• Yelp— a great way to find local businesses and share your opinions on restaurants, stores, and service centers that you’ve tried. 

• Facebook— while there is plenty of politics around Facebook this day, it’s still almost everyone’s favorite way to share pictures of their cat, complain about life, or get into insane political arguments. If you’re one of those who prefers to stick with mindless scrolling, that’s fine too— no participation required.

• Khan Academy— an educational powerhouse that is invaluable both for actual students and lifelong learners. Brush up on your freshman calculus, or open up new horizons with a course on cosmology or microeconomics.

• Todoist— an easy way to keep your life in order and stay on top of  your ‘to do lists’. AI powered natural language processing that allows you to simply tell your Todoist assistant want you want scheduled and the algorithm will do it for you.

• Procreate— create stunning masterpieces, or enjoy a little bit of doodling in your free time. If you’ve got an Apple Pencil, this is one app you don’t want to skip. 

We could go on all day, but you get the idea. Power up that iPad with apps focused on all your favorite activities, then go have fun!