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Ask HN: What are the most well-made iOS apps?

22 points by whitepoplar ↗ HN
I use, and have purchased, some incredibly well-made iOS apps (Tweetbot, Overcast, Scanbot, Citymapper, Signal, Cloak, among others). Can anyone offer suggestions for apps that you love and find useful? The App Store isn't a great discovery tool in this regard. I'm happy to pay!

14 comments

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calbear81
I would check out the Houzz app. The design is clean and simple but the reviews are the best I have ever seen for an app at this scale, especially the ratio of 5 star reviews on the app which suggests to me that they have designed something that works really well for their target audience both aesthetically and functionally.
FullMtlAlcoholc
I find Pacemaker to be one of the most well designed apps I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. 10 years ago, a DJ setup like this would've cost thousands of dollars. For just a few bucks, I can get an app that feels almost as natural. The design is beautiful as well.

http://pacemaker.net/

felipemesquita
Every app by the Omni Group is incredibly well made and even more incredibly maintained. They really have it together when it comes to implementing new iOS features. Also they have, by far, the most impressive watchOS app I've ever used in it's balance of the system's limitations and the app's complexity (OmniFocus). https://www.omnigroup.com
rashkov
I was just thinking today about how well Pocket is made. I've used it for years and it hasn't really ever disappointed me. It is stable, easy to use, has a ton of power user features tucked away, and it's offline sync abilities work impressively well. It's an app that has improved my life, or at least my commute.
justanton
Hmm. I keep having the bug, where adjusting the font size won't work: the whole text gets huge or tiny spontaneously.

Also, I don't find their tag system that good for later navigation (this is especially the case on the web version).

justanton
Day One: one of the best UI for me

And, surprisingly, Google Photos

rwd
Liking these guys right now: Drafts, Narwhal, Headspace, Sit, btcReport, Gyroscope, Patterns, Calculator+. Gboard and Slash are nice keyboards to try out.
simon_acca
I use Pythonista[0] frequently for iOs automation/thinkering/prototyping and it is definitely my favourite iOs app, great value for the money spent.

Ole Moritz, the developer is very attentive to detail, dedicated with frequent releases and creative in that the app provides very useful and easy modules to interact with iOs native functionalities.

I also found the community[1] to be lively.

Check out the docs[3], specifically the "Pythonista Modules" section if you want to get an idea of what the app is capable of.

P.s. Also check out his other app, Editorial[2] if you need a plaintext editor on steroids!

0: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pythonista-3/id1085978097?mt... 1: https://forum.omz-software.com/ 2: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/editorial/id673907758?mt=8 3: http://omz-software.com/pythonista/docs/

ddp
I use an iPad just for running Animoog: https://www.moogmusic.com/products/apps/animoog-0

If you're at all interested in music synthesis this app cannot be beat. It's a lot of fun. I think it's an extremely well-designed app because it really takes advantage of the iPad's multi-touch screen for its virtual keyboard.