For the past 15 years, the way we think about and use technology has been completely reshaped. What was once a hardware-first industry quickly became a software-first one, and this radical evolution of technology can be traced back to one pivotal moment. In 2009, Apple debuted the iPhone 3G and the first App Store. This launch ushered in a new era: the smartphone, complete with apps. It also debuted one of the best commercials, complete with a catchphrase that is sometimes still used today: There’s an app for that.
For many years, the iPhone had a plethora of apps that were not available on Android. While most of these are now available cross-platform, not every developer has embraced the billions of potential customers who don’t have an iPhone. Even now, some apps launch first on iOS and can take months or years to launch on Android.
I’ve used an iPhone alongside an Android phone for more than a decade, and while I can mostly use an Android phone without issue, there are a few iPhone-exclusive apps I can’t find good alternatives for. Here are five iPhone apps that I wish were available on Android.
Flighty
I recently wrote about five apps and accessories that I can’t travel without, and Flighty is the one that’s transformed my travel experience. It’s the ultimate app if you spend a lot of time in the air like I do, and it is also perfect if you’re an aviation geek.
There are many reasons I love Flighty. First, it automatically syncs flights from email, TripIt, or your calendar — and it syncs the booking reference, so there’s no need to go and hunt it down later if I need it. Second, it gives me more precise data about the taxiing and actual flying time and highlights expected delays. It also syncs connection data and flags gate information, baggage claim belts, and delays before airport boards are updated.
Beyond that, Flighty offers historical data as well, which is surprisingly helpful. I’m currently in Dubai, and a friend asked me when I was last here. I thought it was last December, but they thought it was two years ago; a quick look at my historical flights in Flighty showed me it was last year and the specific dates and routes I took.
I share my itineraries with family as I travel a lot. When you’ve got multiple bookings that often overlap, it can be hard to keep track of, not just for my family but also for myself. Flighty allows me to keep these all in one view, and it’s far more effective than looking at a calendar. I can also add someone else’s flight to track, safe in the knowledge that it will disappear afterward if I’ve marked it as a friend’s flight. This app is in a league of its own, and I desperately wish it were on Android.
Download Flighty
PDF Expert
I sign a lot of documents on the go, and I’ve yet to find an Android app as effective as PDF Expert. It’s published by one of my favorite developers, Readdle, the developer of Spark Mail. While apps like Superhuman (another iPhone-exclusive app for the longest time) have replaced Spark in my workflow, PDF Expert remains the only PDF app I use on my iPhone and Mac.
PDF Expert is the most complete PDF app I’ve ever used. Paying for the Pro upgrade has saved me hours, quite literally. The documents I sign are time-sensitive and land in my inbox while I’m on the go. PDF Expert allows me to annotate or edit the text, fill in a document, choose from one of my saved signatures, and export it to iCloud to send later. It also syncs to the Mac or the iPad, and the latter makes using the Apple Pencil Pro to edit or save new signatures an absolute breeze.
Yes, there are plenty of PDF apps for Android, but none have proven as effective as PDF Expert. After many years, it is still my go-to PDF app and one my business can’t function without. I would love it if Readdle bought its full suite of apps to Android, but while Spark Mail made the jump, it seems unlikely we’ll see any other apps follow suit — PDF Expert included.
Download PDF Expert
Parcel
The most effective apps for me are the ones that make my life easier, and as Apple and Steve Jobs said back in 2009, there’s an app for everything. Parcel is the perfect app for tracking deliveries on hundreds of parcel couriers worldwide. There’s also a web interface, but the iOS and Mac apps are minimalistic and perfect.
I receive hundreds of packages every year, whether from Amazon or the myriad of companies that send me products to review. Every tracking number goes straight into Parcel, and then I receive push notifications updating me on the package status. Yes, it’s easy enough to track a package or two individually, but imagine having to track multiple packages arriving on the same day with different parcel couriers.
Parcel is also available on a Mac, but in reality, it is one of the key reasons I have an iPhone, at least alongside the Apple Watch and Apple Health. Whether you track packages for work or personal reasons, you can store up to 200 deliveries in Parcel and even export the entire history to PDF. There’s no better way to track your packages on any platform. Oh, and the paid subscription is $5 per year with no ads. It doesn’t get better.
Download Parcel
Apple News
Apple News is my favorite news aggregation app. There, I said it. It achieves what others like Flipboard were unable to do: sync hundreds of feeds — some of which are expensive when purchased standalone but are included in the Apple News+ subscription — and highlight stories that I want to read.
Apple News is so effective that I’ve found stories from a range of new topics I wouldn’t otherwise be looking for. It’s fast become one of the first apps I check in the morning, and it’s one of the apps I miss the most when I’m not using the iPhone.
Apple has an opportunity to capture Android users who want this experience, but it has so far chosen not to do so. This is surprising given that, while there may be some users who wouldn’t buy an iPhone if Apple News came to Android, there are likely millions of others who have no intention of buying an iPhone but may be willing to buy the $13 per month subscription for Apple News+ if it were available on Android. Hey Siri, is anyone at Apple listening?
Get Apple News+
Fantastical and iA Writer
The four apps above are ones I use daily, but there are other apps I’ve used before or still use that would be nice to have on Android. Fantastical is one of the nicest calendar apps for Mac, iPad, or iPhone, and is reminiscent of Samsung Calendar but with more features. Managing multiple calendars and time zones on the go can be challenging, but Fantastical makes it so much easier.
Then there’s iA Writer. If you have ever commented on Reddit or written elsewhere in Markdown, you’ll know that remembering Markdown shortcuts and commands can be a challenge. iA Writer makes it effortless to write on the go and publish this directly on your website or copy and paste it to Reddit.
However, you may be wondering why iA Writer is on a list of iPhone-exclusive apps, especially when it has its listing on the Play Store. The answer is that the developer announced a few months ago that iA Writer was being pulled from Android, which means current Android users will soon be lamenting its loss.
Download Fantastical
Download iA Writer
The iPhone and Android app gap
Although many of the apps I use daily on my iPhone are also available on Android, there are plenty of differences between the two. Some developers build both as Electron apps to have similar interfaces and experiences, but others choose to build limited Android apps compared to their iOS counterparts — simply to say they offer support.
Meanwhile, other developers focus solely on the iPhone. Why? The answer is fairly straightforward: Android, by definition, makes it easy to sideload any app, and paid apps often quickly become available for “free” via alternate sources. iOS users don’t have this luxury but have also proven considerably more likely to pay for premium features and apps.
Of course, I’m not a typical consumer. I have multiple devices on both platforms, which makes me fortunate as the lack of these apps on Android isn’t a dealbreaker overall. However, it’s apps like these — and the difference in quality between some iPhone and Android apps — that ensure I’ll always keep an iPhone on me.
