Geek Girl Report: Doing It Better Than Apple – The Best Replacements For iPhone’s Native Apps (Part 2)

As much as I love my iPhone, I’m not so much in love with some of their built-in apps. I’ve already expressed my intense dislike of the Maps app, but I also have a few grips with the Weather app, the Safari browser, and other such in-house apps that came included on my phone. The problem is these “native apps” are built in to every iPhone and cannot be deleted. So like them or not, you’re stuck with them, right?  Well, not necessarily. You may not be able to delete those native apps, but you can find better alternatives to them, and most of them for free. Here’s a few suggestions for some of the more finicky native apps.

Notebook
Native: Notes/Voice Memos
Replace With: Evernote

The problem with native apps isn't so much that they don't do their jobs; there's just other apps that do the job a lot better. Take Notes, for example. It's just a simple little notebook, nothing more. But Evernote is a far superior choice. It can store not only notes, but entire text documents, videos, web pages, and can also sync up with your computer so you can have your notes wherever you go. And with the ability to record voice memos and include them in notes as well, it can also pull double duty and replace the Voice Memos function as well. Even if you have no intention of replacing native apps, Evernote is still one of those incredibly useful apps every iPhone user should have on their device.

Maps
Native: Maps
Replace With: Goolge Maps

As some of my longtime readers are aware, I hate Apple Maps. It was garbage when it first came out, and the "improvements" and updates to the apps haven't really changed that. There are still instances where Maps will send you to the wrong location or a notable landmark will end up inexplicably missing. Do yourself a favor and download Google Maps instead.

Books
Native: iBooks
Replace With: Kindle

For those of us who like to take our reading on the go, iBooks is a fine app. It lets you browse through the iBookstore's decent library and is a fine reading app. But the more serious e-Bookworms may want to look at the Kindle app instead. For starters, it gives you access to Amazon's massive library, which in comparison far surpasses the iBookstore's selection. And unlike iBooks, which can only be used on Apple's mobile devices, you can access Kindle from just about any compatible computer or device.

Photos
Native: Photos/Camera Roll
Replace With: Flayvr

Photos is a decent enough photo storage app. But let's be honest: flipping through over 600 pictures on your camera roll just to find that one pic from your friend's wedding can be a bit of a hassle. Flayvr is a much easier, hassle-free option for organizing photos. It automatically organizes your pictures and videos into compact convenient albums based of the dates and locations the pics were taken. best of all, it's fast, easy to use, and like many apps on this list, is completely free to download.

I have one final note about these native apps replacements. I'm not saying that all of the iPhone's native apps are bad. I use many of the native apps on a daily basis and have no problem with them myself. However, there are other options out there, and for some users, these alternatives suit their needs even better than the in-house apps, and may suit your needs too. It definitely worth taking a look at.

Be sure and check out The Geek Girl Report every Tuesday morning only on KFYO.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter as well: @ArielWalden214.