Apple editors who review mobile apps for iPhones and iPads have announced their top-ten work-related apps for 2016. While most of their selections are free to download, note that many require you to pay for certain “pro” features or are extensions of cloud-based software platforms that require some form of subscription. That said, they are excellent examples of how mobile apps are rapidly providing serious operational features that can fit in your pocket or bag.
Here are the choices of Apple’s editors along with their comments or descriptions.
PDF Viewer
(Apple editors’ comments appear in quotations.) “PDF Viewer impressed us right out of the gate with a streamlined interface packed with powerful features. Organizing, editing, and annotating documents is a snap thanks to toolbars that emphasize just the functions we need. Combined with Apple pencil support, bookmark syncing over iCloud, and other modern capabilities, it’s like having a desktop quality PDF toolkit wherever we go.”
Invoice by Alto
“Invoice by Alto makes it easy for freelancers and business owners to live, invoice and accept payments anywhere. If you’re a plumber, electrician, web designer or even a pet store, Invoice by Alto will meet your invoicing needs.”
Force Manager Mobile CRM
“Force Manager is a simple, reliable and effective sales CRM with a pipeline that gives you a real-time estimation of your sales opportunities.”
Notebook
“Take notes, create checklists, record audio, and capture moments using Notebook. All your notes are instantly synced across your devices and to the cloud.”
Scrivener
“Users of the desktop version of Scrivener already know how seamlessly Scribner binds your inspiration, outlines, and writing. The iOS app packs the same rich complexity and syncs flawlessly so you’re never tied to just one device.”
Annotable
“The most full-featured all-in-one image annotation tool.”
join.me
“The mobile version of the desktop video conferencing platform, join.me includes audio and video conferencing by phone or the internet so you can see and hear anything in real time, on your time. Share documents, presentations or mobile whiteboards instantly with participants on audio and video at the same time.”
Shopify
“The mobile app for the popular e-commerce platform allows you to manage orders and products, connect with staff, and track sales.”
Scanbot 6
“A robust and intuitive document scanner that can automatically capture pages of text, aligns them perfectly and saves them as PDFs to a wide variety of cloud storage services. With the pro upgrade, you can search and copy text using its optical character recognition (OCR) feature.”
PlanGrid
“The number one construction app allows you to reduce repeated trips to the trailer minimize rework, and find answers faster through instant collaboration. You can use it to share construction plans, markups, photos and reports with your entire project team, from desktop or mobile.