The 100 Best Free iPhone Apps of 2012

By Jeff Morin on

Share:
What good is having fast data speeds and reliable reception if you don't have great apps to play with? We've gone through hundreds (possibly thousands) of apps to find you the best free ones of 2012. We've also sprinkled in a few up and comers which are being talked about as the hot apps going into the new year. We hope you enjoy the list, and if we've missed any of your favorites, please let us know in the comments! Without further delay, we present you with the 100 best free iPhone apps of 2012!

Productivity

  1. Chrome - The best browser available, now on your iPhone.
  2. Dropbox - Access and sync your files in the cloud.
  3. Evernote - Remember and save everything in your life.
  4. Gmail - Get real-time notifications, multiple account support and search across your entire inbox.
  5. Box - Simple and secure file sharing from anywhere.
  6. Bump - Exchange contacts and data with a simple bump of your phone.
  7. Trello - Like a whiteboard with superpowers.
  8. Google Drive - Keep everything. Share anything from anywhere.
  9. Remember the Milk - The best way to manage your tasks. Never forget anything again.
  10. Venmo - Make and share payments with friends.
  11. Asana - Group collaboration and shared tasks.

Reading

  1. Kindle - Access and read your Kindle eBooks from anywhere.
  2. Pocket - Save articles, videos, and more to view later.
  3. Readability - Turns any web page into a clean view for reading now or later.
  4. Pulse - A fast, fun, and beautiful way to read your favorite articles.
  5. Flipboard - Your social magazine.
  6. Instapaper - A simple tool to save web pages for reading later.
  7. Prismatic - Create a newsfeed based on your interests.

News & Reference

  1. Associated Press - Read Associated Press articles on your phone.
  2. BBC - Get the latest, breaking news from the BBC.
  3. The Huffington Post - Up-to-the-minute news and opinion on your mobile device.
  4. WebMD - Access to mobile-optimized health information and decision-support tools.
  5. Quora - The highest quality question and answer site on the web.
  6. Wikipedia - The most comprehensive and widely used reference work humans have ever compiled.

Business & Finance

  1. Mint - Understand where your spending goes and make good decisions based on it.
  2. Bloomberg - Access to business and finance news, market data and portfolio tracking tools.
  3. Square - Accept credit cards and run your business from anywhere.
  4. The Wall Street Journal - Get full access to Wall Street Journal content.
  5. MarketWatch - Get breaking market news, headlines, and stories throughout the day.

Social

  1. Facebook - The most popular social network in the world.
  2. Instagram - The most popular community for sharing photos.
  3. Twitter - Real time status updates on what's happening with the people you follow.
  4. Foursquare - Check in to local places and receive personalized recommendations.
  5. Google+ - Stay connected and share your life with other Google+ users.
  6. LinkedIn - The largest professional social network in the world.
  7. Pinterest - Visual tool for finding and saving things you love.
  8. Tumblr - One of the easiest ways to post anything to the web.
  9. Yelp - Reviews and ratings on places around you.

Music

  1. Pandora - Personalized radio that only plays music you’ll love.
  2. Songza - Plays you the right type of music based on what you're currently doing.
  3. Spotify - Instant access to millions of songs.
  4. Shazam - Identify songs as you're listening to them.
  5. iHeartRadio - Listen to over 1,500 custom stations or create your own personalized one.
  6. SoundCloud - Social platform to share original music and more.
  7. Slacker Radio - Listen to the largest source of personalized content available.

Couples & Dating

  1. Pair - Easiest way to stay in touch with the person you love.
  2. OKCupid - The fastest growing free dating site on the web.
  3. HowAboutWe - The only dating site that guarantees you'll get a date.
  4. Skout - A global network for meeting new people.

Photo & Video

  1. SnapChat - Hot new real-time picture chatting service.
  2. Pic Stitch - Quickly combine multiple photos into one beautifully framed picture.
  3. SocialCam - Easiest way to capture, share and view videos on your iPhone.
  4. Viddy - A simple way to capture, edit, and share videos.
  5. Camera Awesome - The most full-powered camera app available.

Communication

  1. Voxer - Turn your phone into a Walkie Talkie.
  2. Skype - Make voice or video calls for free.

Travel

  1. Waze - Turn by turn directions, traffic, police, and more.
  2. Embark - Easiest way to navigate the NYC subway system.
  3. Uber - Request a private driver with just the touch of a button.
  4. Taxi Magic - Request and pay for a taxi right from your phone.
  5. Travelzoo - Get the scoop on the latest travel, entertainment and local deals.
  6. Kayak - The #1 mobile travel app. Easy car, hotel and airfare search.
  7. Hipmunk - Takes the agony out of flight & hotel search.
  8. Zipcar - Quickly and easily find and reserve a Zipcar.
  9. GateGuru - Manage an entire day of travel, includes recommendations on airport amenities.

Entertainment

  1. Netflix - World's leading subscription service for movies and tv shows.
  2. Hulu Plus - Unlimited instant streaming of hit tv shows (with subscription).
  3. Movies by Flixster - The #1 app for movie reviews, trailers, and showtimes.
  4. WatchESPN - Watch live sports and shows streaming on your phone.
  5. TED - Riveting talks by remarkable people.
  6. IMDB - World’s largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity info.
  7. YouTube - Official app for the largest collection of videos in the world.

Shopping & Dining

  1. OpenTable - Make restaurant reservations at more than 20,000 locations.
  2. Red Laser - Price comparison and mobile shopping by scanning bar codes.
  3. Amazon - Shop millions of products from your phone.
  4. Starbucks - Pay for drinks with your phone, collect points, and get rewards.
  5. Seamless - Order delivery (or takeout) from over 11,000 restaurants.
  6. LevelUp - Pay with your phone at thousands of places nationwide.
  7. eBay - Shop the world's largest online marketplace.

Sports & Fitness

  1. ESPN SportsCenter - Scores, news, and standings from hundreds of leagues around the world.
  2. Nike+ - Map your runs, track your progress, and get the motivation you need to keep going.
  3. Yahoo Sportacular - Sports scores, stats, and game alerts.
  4. RunKeeper - Track your runs, walks, bike rides, hikes, and more using the GPS in your iPhone.
  5. GainFitness - The #1 personal training app. World class training knowledge in your pocket.

Games

  1. Temple Run - Adventure game where you have to navigate a maze of booby traps to survive.
  2. Angry Birds - Get revenge on the green pigs who stole the angry birds' eggs.
  3. Trainyard Express - The best puzzle game in the App Store.
  4. Doors&Rooms - Figure out how to get out of each room using the tools at your disposal.

Deals

  1. Groupon - Daily deals for 50-90% off things to do, see, eat, and more.
  2. LivingSocial - Save 50-90% every day at restaurants, spas, gyms, and more.
  3. ScoutMob - Get instant deals at the places you love to frequent.
  4. Gilt - Get up to 60% off the labels and experiences you love.
  5. One Kings Lane - Access to home decor, gifts, kitchenware and more at up to 70% off.
  6. Fab - The #1 rated shopping app for design.

Miscellaneous

  1. Flashlight - The most elegant and functional flashlight app available.
  2. WhiteNoise - Drown out unwanted noise with the different white noise options available.
  3. Weather Channel - Accurate and relevant weather information.
  4. Swackett - A different kind of weather app.
  5. Find My iPhone - Use another IOS device to find your lost or stolen phone and protect your data.
  6. Prey - Keep track of all of your devices in one place.