App Store Reviews
- Open Source
- Unique support for compression of entire directories outside the app’s respective system folder(s)
Wipr 2 App Store Review
The Better Web solution for Apple Platforms… in a Good Way.
Gourd Bless Kaylee for creating a (more or less) single tap solution to making WebKit browsing tolerable. Recommendable to literally anyone - those paranoid, detail-obsessed folks who care to explore the transparency of Wipr 2’s ongoing development will find the experience pleasant, while most of us can just trust in the (quite rigorous) behind-the-scenes process.
Gear.Club Stradale App Store Review
Gear.Club Stradale impresses with its visuals and controller support but ultimately fails to deliver a satisfying driving experience due to its inadequate physics engine.
Audio Trimmer App Store Review
Long-Awaited, Elegantly-Executed
Somehow, this 1.4 MB, virtually inconfigurable, single-use application manages to be one of the most powerful audio manipulation tools on iOS. Those who remember maintaining a GarageBand install just because they occasionally needed to trim audio files will celebrate. One of very few apps I’ve come across that I absolutely wouldn’t change at all but would pay much more for.
Extraordinarily accurate (especially compared to any of its “competition”) and astonishingly robust.
Shareshot App Store Review
THE solution for those who actually frame
As his co-editor notes in MacStories' review of Version 1.0, Federico Viticci’s Apple Frames Shortcut does indeed overlap in functionality with Shareshot, technically, but - more importantly, from my perspective - the two stand together high above any other mockup creation solution (for any platform).
At first, I was disappointed when I tried to use Shareshot’s initial release version. Boy, this could sure use some keyboard shortcuts, I thought, along with there’s no way this system of ‘choosing’ (not choosing) frame sizes isn’t irritating every single user of this app. I assumed - as I do with the vast majority of new software I try these days - that Shareshot’s creators must not actually be using the app, that it wasn’t actually supposed to be used, really, but was published, instead, for some economically-motivated reason I’d never understand.
Very shortly after, however, the most extraordinarily encouraging thing(s) happened: in the span of just a single season, all of the issues/“missing” features I was sure anyone using the app extensively would immediately encounter were addressed with solid, well-documented updates.(Tee ell dee are: it is very obvious that Marc and Mark use the app themselves, are very competent, and value customer feedback.)
As I write this using Version 1.2.1 at the tail end of 2024, Shareshot is the perfect, built-for-me mockup application I have always dreamed of, assuming I’d never get anything close.
Working Copy App Store Review
My absolute favorite Git client… on ANY platform.
I had the relatively unique experience of coming to Git, mobile-first, via this very application on my iPhone 8 Plus, almost exactly 4 years ago. Thanks to GitHub’s Education program, I’ve had access to unlimited repository creation since that first day, and it’s honestly quite a testament to the power of Working Copy just how much of a mess I made in those initial few months.
Now on my iPad Pro, I keep so many repos (89 as of this writing) that I have an automation that maintains a browsable index of the lot (which is, itself, a testament to Working Copy’s incredibly comprehensive and solid Siri Shortcuts support.)
Keka for iOS/iPadOS App Store Review
The best compression/extraction utility on the platform.
By far the most delightful compression/extraction utility for macOS (imo) is somewhat diminished in delightfulness in its mobile form, though not in its pure functionality. From the perspective of a year one iOS user with plenty of experience exploring what alternatives have been offered since the introduction of the File Provider API in iOS11, Keka for iOS/iPadOS' shear speed is distinct enough from its few platform competitors to warrant the title of Best such utility on the platform.
Also unique/notable:
Terminology Dictionary App Store Review
Very possibly the best dictionary app on the platform.
Depending on your purpose for a dictionary app, this is the best one on iOS. I use mine to both look up established words and store words I’ve “created.” A lot of the words I want to store come from @HaggardHawks on Twitter, and most of them are both 1.) actual words, often from history and 2.) not in any established dictionaries.
These do not show up in apps like LookUp, which will leave you plumb out of luck. Terminology, however, lets me store definitions/other information for “new” words via its “notes” function. To be honest, I can’t imagine moving through life and not creating my own words from time to time, but I understand we’re all different.
If you’re a Drafts user, I would consider Terminology an absolute must-have. It took me five minutes to establish actions on both apps which allow me to lookup selected words with a keyboard shortcut ^⇧D from the former instantly in the latter and - with a single tap - return definitions, synonyms, and antonyms to a new draft. It’s wonderful, absolutely indispensable, and fun!
Secure Shellfish App Store Review
Magical, irreplaceable.
As developer Anders Borum originated professional-grade git integration on iOS with Working Copy, which remains unmatched, Secure Shellfish remains the reference standard for remote filesystem access across the board on this platform, despite how many competitors have arisen since its introduction.
I must admit: I overlooked Secure Shellfish for years and I’m not entirely sure why. I’m glad that ended last year, though, as I’ve actually since acquired a fair amount of remote file management in my day-to-day working life. Shellfish’s magic isn’t necessarily obvious, but I promise you it is worth finding out, and what may at first glance look like a somewhat disjointed series of functions actually comes together to form an absolutely irreplaceable application.
a-Shell App Store Review
The notable boundary-pusher in the iPadOS/iOS local command line.
There are now quite a few terminal emulator-esque apps on the App Store, but I’ve been using a-Shell since it was joined only by Blink (from which it was forked) and iSH. As it was then, a-Shell remains the only one of these with which one can actually accomplish command line tasks locally beyond screwing around. I am ultimately not a command line native, and I don’t have the basic theory beneath my use of Python scripts, yet I’ve been able to accomplish startlingly powerful things within this app, thanks in large part to gracious and immediately-available support via the project’s Discord server.
If you’ve found yourself here by way of a Siri Shortcut’s requirement, I would encourage you to take the time to investigate the commands said shortcut(s) run - try running them yourself!
Jayson App Store Review
I Am No Longer Afraid of JSON
All of Simon’s apps are genius and wholly unique, but Jayson will always have a special place in mine own heart as the single application which finally killed my phobia of JSON, in general. It is by far the most elegant and intelligent means of manipulating JSON dictionaries I’ve ever seen on any platform. I’ve worked with both the iOS and macOS apps, now, and both are - dare I say it - a genuine joy to use. BUY!
TextExpander App Store Review
I know a lot of the reviews here express discontentment with TextExpander’s support on iOS. I hear that, but - as a Bear and Drafts user - I rarely encounter this as a limitation. I also use an external keyboard with my iPhone, though, which makes calling the TextExpander keyboard anywhere else somewhat inconvenient. (Keyboard switching is done with the function key, if you were wondering.)
From what I understand, though, TextExpander’s SDK is quite easy to implement, so it’s also a question of other developers acknowledging that it’s a worthwhile and desired addition to their applications.
I’m not sure I’ve seen it mentioned here, but the native iOS/iPadOS/AND macOS feature now entitled “Text Replacement” is certainly worthwhile for anyone looking for something like TextExpander. It can easily be made to function quite similarly.
Textcraft App Store Review
Elegant, diverse, instant text transformations
I’m a fan of Shihab Meboob’s, you might say - Aviary and Mast are the most innovative social clients I’ve ever seen. I’m also a bit of a collector of text manipulation applications like Texcraft, of which there are just a few that are truly comparable on iOS. On macOS, there really aren’t any equivalents at all.
For someone like me - who uses Textcraft’s transformations both recreationally/socially and has used them in development-ish tasks - its $4.99 and featherweight 3.7 MB were/are more than worth the experience. It’s super configurable, capable, and robust.