I just got a new iPhone and want to try out some AI-powered apps, but there are so many options in the App Store that I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’m looking for suggestions based on real user experiences—apps that are useful, reliable, and easy to use. Any recommendations or advice would be super helpful right now!
Alright, straight up—if you just want the best AI-powered app that’ll immediately show off what your new iPhone can do, get ChatGPT. The official app is slick and honestly freaky smart at holding conversations, helping brainstorm stuff, writing, coding, etc. Plus you can talk to it now, which is wild.
If you’re more into practical daily use, give Microsoft Copilot a try. It feels like ChatGPT but leans more into productivity—think emails, summaries, rewriting things for clarity.
Want to dabble in AI image stuff? Try out Lensa for photo editing (lots of AI magic for making selfies ridiculous or beautiful, your call), or try Wonder if you just wanna make weird AI art.
Otter.ai is an unsung hero if you do a lot of meetings or classes and need transcriptions—seriously, it works pretty well and saves so much hassle.
But tbh, 90% of these apps are just wrappers for GPT-4 or similar, and half the ones in the App Store straight up scam you with subscriptions. Avoid the ones promising “AI Girlfriend” or “magic” with a weeklong free trial and then 10 bucks/month. Not worth it.
Best combo? Stick to ChatGPT (official), Copilot, and maybe Perplexity if you want a research-focused AI. Don’t overthink it! Once you start using one, you’ll know what you actually find useful and can ignore 99% of the hype.
Not gonna lie, I rolled my eyes at first—everyone and their dog says “just get ChatGPT!” and I get why @mikeappsreviewer pushes that one. It is slick, and sure, the wow factor is strong if you want a chatbot that doesn’t sound like it’s stuck in 2017. But c’mon, there’s more to AI apps than just talking to a robot and making it write your emails or code your “next big app” that’ll probably never leave your Notes folder.
If you wanna push your new iPhone to do something ACTUALLY useful for daily life, have you checked out Rewind? It’s memory AI for your life. Records what you do (work meetings, browsing, whatever), then you can search through anything you said or saw. Kind of a privacy nightmare if you’re paranoid, but if you’re the “wait, when did I agree to that?” type, it’s amazing. I use it to find those random things I heard in calls five months ago. Not as hyped as ChatGPT, but way more “real” for forgetful brains.
Another gem: Gemini from Google. People sleep on it, but it’s like Copilot and ChatGPT had a baby that actually knows stuff outside Microsoft/OpenAI’s info bubble. Great for researching, especially on-the-go. It’s still a little rough in iOS, but hey, so’s half the App Store.
And let’s talk image stuff—@mikeappsreviewer mentioned Lensa and Wonder, which are fun for two minutes and then you realize, oh, cool, “selfies but weird.” But Photoleap and Remini? They actually turn fuzzy, ancient photos into high-res magic, and Photoleap will let you AI-edit stuff creatively, not just cartoon it up.
Personal pick for anyone in college or work hell: Notion AI. If you use Notion for anything and slap on their AI, it becomes a turbocharged note-taker, brainstormer, and even helps organize your rambling chaos of thoughts into something coherent. Not exactly “fun show-off” but will save your butt come project crunchtime.
Big caveat, agreeing with @mikeappsreviewer: the scammy subscriptions will get you if you’re not careful. Skip every app that screams “AI this” but demands $7.99/week after a “free trial.” Plenty of the best ones have real free plans.
Honestly, there’s no “best,” just depends on what you want. If you want “magic robot friend,” sure, grab one of the chatbots. If you want to remember your life, Rewind. If you want AI tools to actually make stuff easier, Notion/Photoleap/Remini. Try a couple, see what sticks—your real daily use will be totally different than the hype.