See also: 20 Great Apps in iOS 7 Don't Want To Miss
One type in particular — photo apps — stole our hearts during the past 12 months. But of course, we found favorites across all categories.Above, check out our picks for the best iPhone apps of the year. And remember: Your iPhone is only as strong as its weakest app. Or something like that.
Afterlight
Games aren't the only apps that can be addicting, and dedicated iPhone photographers may find Afterlight just as hard to put down. The app allows users to do the basics, like crop and rotate photos, but it also has an expansive collection of filters, borders and textures to turn your iPhone photo into an iPhone masterpiece. Of course, the app also allows users to share the edited photos to their social media accounts.
Duolingo
Apple selected Duolingo as the company's top iPhone app of the year
-- and it's pretty clear why. Duolingo helps users learn a new language
from their iPhones with both visual and verbal lessons. Learners are
rewarded with experience points, which they can use to buy perks within
the app. Perhaps the best part: it's free. Right now the app offers five
languages, including Spanish, German, French, Portuguese and Italian.
Pocket Light Meter
If you are an avid photographer, Photo Light Meter is the real deal.
The app provides photographers with a functioning, quality light meter
that tests the intensity and exposure of the photography subject. Light
meters cost anywhere from $15 to $200 at the store and online. The
iPhone app is free, plus you won't need to carry around an extra gadget
with you at all times.
Temple Run 2
Jump. Slide. Jump. Turn. Argggghh!
If you've ever played Temple Run, you know this feeling. Thankfully, gut-wrenching failure doesn't stop us from playing the game. Temple Run 2 turned out to be a great sequel to its predecessor, which set lofty standards. For starters, the new game has much better graphics. Plus, there are more characters to choose from and new terrains to conquer. All of this added up for iPhone users -- the app was the third most downloaded iPhone app in 2013, behind only Candy Crush Saga and YouTube.
If you've ever played Temple Run, you know this feeling. Thankfully, gut-wrenching failure doesn't stop us from playing the game. Temple Run 2 turned out to be a great sequel to its predecessor, which set lofty standards. For starters, the new game has much better graphics. Plus, there are more characters to choose from and new terrains to conquer. All of this added up for iPhone users -- the app was the third most downloaded iPhone app in 2013, behind only Candy Crush Saga and YouTube.
Venmo
Nothing says "you'll never see that $5 again" quite like a friend
saying, "I'll pay you back later" after you buy him a beer. Enter Venmo.
The app allows friends (or roommates, or siblings, or couples) to pay
one another via iPhone at the touch of a button. Simply connect your
checking account to your Venmo app and settle debts (no matter how
small), without paying any processing fee to send payments or cash out
back to your bank account. Users can also use the app to "charge" others
-- a gentle reminder to send along the money when possible.
Over
A picture says a thousand words, but sometimes you need to add a few
more of your own. Over allows users to overlay text onto the images that
they take with their smartphone. The messages can turn routine
smartphone pictures into e-cards, or simply provide a fun way to spruce
up your photos before sharing them to social sites such as Instagram or
Twitter.
ThirdLove
The biggest danger of buying clothes online? The risk they won't
actually fit when they arrive in the mail. That's the problem ThirdLove
aims to solve. The app allows women to send in iPhone photographs that
can be analyzed to determine the proper bra size (the company also
designs the lingerie). This is a good example of an app using advanced technology to solve a real-world problem.
Vine
The six-second video sharing app came out in January, and was the fourth most-downloaded
iPhone app from the past year. The video length is short enough to keep
things interesting, and the app has just enough editing control to give
users flexibility to create unique content.
Proust
Think of the game Marry, Date or Dump. Now add two more options, and change the categories to anything your heart desires. That's the idea behind Proust, a game that allows users to create their own Marry, Date or Dump
scenarios with any items they choose. You can write in your own
choices, or the app will generate random ones for you, and you can send
your list to your friends to see which topics they deem most important.
It's a simple game, but you can learn a lot about your friends (which we
realize isn't always a good thing).
Mextures
Mextures is another great photo editing app for iPhone. Users can
save setting packages for use on other photos in the future, and the app
has more than 70 pre-loaded textures. Users can blend, layer, or simply
adjust lighting levels.
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