Here are 50 great phone apps for all your entertainment, music, news, and lifestyle needs.

News/Finance

1. Flipboard

Create your own personalized news source with this app. You can create content and even produce magazines to share with others.

2. Sky News for iPad

See the news as it unfolds. Get links to the latest stories, watch live streams, and more.

3. BBC News

Find out what the latest news with this app. It even supports video content on iPads and iPhones.

4. The Guardian Eyewitness

Check out some of the most amazing images from around the world. Images are updated regularly, and there are always at least 100 images to look at.

5. QuantShare Trading Software

This is the most advanced trading solution, and the most complete. If you want to stay on top of the stock market, you need this app, which includes charting, backtesting, and a whole lot more.

Cooking/Shopping

6. Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List

Find a huge selection of recipes, shopping lists, and use customized searches. This is a great app for master and amateur chefs, and everyone in between.

7. Great British Chefs: Recipes HD

Learn how to cook like a Michelin Star chef with this app. You can even book tables at their restaurants.

8. Google Shopper

This awesome shopping app lets you browse, search barcodes, and more. Find everything you need with this app.

9. Snapguide

Find guides on cooking, DIY, and a whole lot more. You can even create your own guides.

Entertainment

10. Star Walk

Check out the constellations, planets, and stars in real time. Track their movements, alignments, and more.

11. Disney Animated

Learn how Disney animation comes to life. Find all kinds of great features, including music and every Disney animated film.

12. iPoe 2

Find all of the tales from Edgar Allan Poe in one interactive collection. Tales are also illustrated.

13. Netflix

Watch all your favorite TV shows and movies, for $7.99 per month. New titles are added regularly.

14. Sky Go

Watch live sports, as well as movies, any place, and at any time. Never miss a game or one of your favorite programs again.

Photo/Video

15. Action Movie FX

Use special effects to make your videos amazing. You can use sea monsters, tornadoes, air strikes, and all kinds of other effects.

16. Mextures

This is an advanced photo editing app with more than 80 textures. You can use blend modes, and create some really cool effects.

17. iMovie

Make your own movies on your iPhone and iPad. This app lets you capture footage, as well as edit and share.

18. Seene

Create awesome 3D images by panning your smartphone camera in any direction. Share your images with everyone.

Games

19. Year Walk

Check out the best Swedish myths and mysteries. There is plenty here to keep you interested, and a few scary facts as well.

20. Cut the Rope 2

This is the sequel to the original game. Meet new characters, visit new locations, and more.

21. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Get over 70 hours of gameplay in this fast and fun game. New to the game are HD graphics designed for mobile users.

22. Boson X

This game combines Temple Run and the Large Hadron Collider. You need to think fast to beat this one.

23. Infinity Blade III

The graphics even look good on the iPad. There are two playable characters, responsive touch controls, and three new playing modes.

Social Media

24. Instagram

Share smart photos to followers or to specific users. Use fun effects and frames to make your photos really stand out.

25. LinkedIn Pulse

You can use this app to customize your feeds based on what you like. Sync with your LinkedIn account to get updates from your network.

26. Snapchat

Send photos to friends quickly and easily with this app. Caption images, put in doodles, and more to personalize all of your photos.

27. Pinterest

Collate content, find new interests, and more with Pinterest. You can find just about anything you are interested in, and then some.

28. WhatsApp Messenger 

Send messages, photos, videos, and more to all of your contacts. This app is free for the first year, and only $0.99 per year after that.

29. Twitter

Share your thoughts, images, and videos, follow hashtags, and more. Get push notifications when your Favorites tweet.

30. Facebook

Update your status, share photos, chat with friends, play games, and so much more with Facebook. This is the most popular social media app by far.

Music/Podcast

31. Castro: High Fidelity Podcasts

Watch podcasts that actually look and sound good with this app. You can play podcasts without having to subscribe right away, and enjoy offline playback.

32. djay 2

This is an app that is popular with beginner and expert deejays. There are HD waveforms, and advanced tools to help you find your groove.

33. Soundwave Music Discovery

This app tracks what you listen to, so you receive only the music you like. You can also follow friends and celebrities, and see who is listening to what.

34. Spotify

Create playlists, or use playlists that are already there for you. Find out what is popular now, and download tunes so you can hear them when you are offline.

35. Shazam

This app can identify songs after playing for just one second. All you have to do is hold your iPhone up to the music, and the app will search the database.

Travel

36. GuidePal City Guides

Find maps for 50 major cities all over the world. Find the best restaurants, clubs, shopping, sights to see, and a whole lot more.

37. Google Translate

Get translations for 80 languages, both spoken and written. Now you can order food in any language.

38. Airbnb

Find just about type of accommodations in more than 34,000 cities, from rooms to rent to sublets and more. You can also list your own place as somewhere for vacationers to stay.

39. Google Earth

See anything you want in the world, from tropical islands to your own home. You will find maps that show hiking trails, and there is even a tour guide feature that allows you to take virtual tours.

40. TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants

Search for hotels, flights, restaurants, and attractions. This is a travel companion you should never travel without.

41. AroundMe

Find any local amenities you need with this app. Whether you need to find a banking machine, or a place to eat, this app will help you find it.

Weather

42. The Weather Channel

Find detailed maps, video feeds, and much more. The Travel Watch feature lets you see what the weather will be like along your route, so you can plan for alternate routes if necessary.

43. BBC Weather

This is a great weather app that gives you hourly updates on current weather conditions. You will also find pollen and pollution counts for the UK.

44. Yahoo Weather

This app uses beautiful images from Flickr to show you what the current weather conditions are in your area. Find weather conditions for any location in seconds.

45. WeatherMob

You can add your own text, photos, and location to contribute to this app. You can even make your own weather channels so you will only receive the updates you want.

46. Weatherwise

This app uses fun animations and reactive backgrounds to deliver weather updates throughout the day. Find details about precipitation, humidity, and more.

Education

47. The Elements in Action

This educational app brings the periodic tables to life with 79 video experiments. This app makes learning fun.

48. Duolingo

This is a great app to help students learn different languages. The games make it fun to use, and you can compare scores with friends.

49. TED

Technology, entertainment, science and design. Get free lectures and watch talk-based shows.

50. DK the Human Body

Learn how the body works, with drawings of all of the inner workings. Video content is also available.

Featured photo credit: albyantoniazzi via flickr.com

When looking to improve your workflow, you need to have a proper computer. And one of the most appealing computers out there is macbooks. These sleek transportable computers allow you to work anywhere at any time and provide a lot of functionality to their users.

But sometimes, that’s not enough. In so many cases, you’re looking for more.

While you could go for some productivity apps, there are actually a lot of macbook accessories available that will make your life easier in many ways. These extra accessories will allow your macbook to charge faster, hold more data, or keep it safe and protected while you travel around.

Beyond that, there is a wide variety of accessories to pick from as many companies have jumped onto the bandwagon of supply to macbook users. Below we’ve listed off some of the greatest macbook accessories that’ll benefit your computer.

What Makes For Great Macbook Accessories?

Before getting into the list, we wanted to go over the criteria for what makes for great macbook accessories. The items that we’ve picked from this list will have the following criteria:

• Reasonably priced – Accessories themselves shouldn’t break the bank compared to the large initial investment of a macbook.
• Usability – All these accessories are practical in various situations, however, they also have extra features that make them useful in a few situations beyond their obvious functions.
• Compact – Workflow is also about space in most circumstances. As such, anything that’s too bulky doesn’t help much. These accessories are either large on purpose – for storage of other items – or are nice and compact so they won’t get in the way.

A USB Drive To Store Files Quickly Without Accessing The Cloud

While you can always access the Cloud at any time, sometimes accessibility can be cumbersome or it takes time. Instead of trying to access files that way, getting a USB flash drive can save you plenty of time. Especially if your work entails providing presentations.

The SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive is great as it offers USB-C and USB-A connectors allowing you to plug into virtually any device and transfer files and more between computers. Also, USB drives boast several hundred gigabytes these days making them solid storage devices.

Buy SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive here.

Compact Charger That Does More Than Charge

Your default charger that comes with your MacBook is a good option for a charger, but these days chargers can offer so much more. This can help you speed up your workflow as you can be charging other devices or using the charger for other uses beyond charging.

In the case of the Anker PowerPort charger, it is more compact than the default charger. It also offers another USB-C connector allowing you to rapidly charge another gadget with it.

Buy Anker PowerPort charger here.

Port Adapter For Those With Multiple Devices

One of the hard restrictions with a macbook is that it only has two USB-C ports. This is manageable for people with fewer gadgets but if you’re the kind who has several, it can interrupt your workflow if you need a particular device and you can’t charge it or access it.

In this situation, a port adapter from Satechi can help. It offers multiple USB-C ports allowing you to use multiple devices. This can also help in organizing cords which we know can disrupt work. If the USB-C ports aren’t enough, it also comes with an SD card reader and ethernet cable port too.

Buy Satechi Multi-Port Adapter here.

A USB Cable That Isn’t As Intrusive Or Cumbersome To Use

The USB-C cable that comes with Macbooks is small and is used to hook to an external monitor. By adding more length to them, you can have better cable management. One option that we found to be ideal was the Nomad Kevlar cable which offers enough length to do what you want while giving you more space to work with.

Buy Nomad Kevlar USB-C Cable here.

Screen Cleaning Your Laptop To See What You’re Doing

Dust, particles and splotches are to be expected on laptop screens after a while. While you can work around these, sometimes they can obscure your vision at times. The same can apply to all devices these days.

The only problem with many solutions on the market is that they can damage screens. Fortunately, we found a screen cleaning solution that doesn’t harm screens. ScreenDr Professional screen cleaning kit comes with a spray that’s safe for screens and an antimicrobial microfiber cloth to ensure you make the most of the spray.

Buy ScreenDr Professional Screen Cleaning Kit here.

Card Reader That Speeds Up Photo Transfer Time

If you’re looking for a standalone card reader for your work, getting a device designed for photo transferring and reading is essential. One of the best macbook accessories in this category we found was the Vanja card reader.

This one is able to read SD and MicroSD cards while also transferring the pictures to a computer with ease thanks to its USB-C and USB 2.0 port options. It’s also small making it easy to carry around and is cheap to buy making it a great choice to pick up if you deal with plenty of pictures.

Buy Vanja Card Reader here.

Protective Sleeves To Protect Your Laptop From Harm

For those who are travelling the last thing that you want is your laptop to get damaged for whatever reason. Even though you’re not likely to drop it as frequently as your phone, having a sleeve for a laptop to be in can save you time.

One sleeve that we found interesting was the Native Union sleeves. They are made of tear-resistant material with genuine leather accents. Its interior is soft as well preventing scratches from your laptop. It also offers a pocket area where you can store cables and other macbook accessories easily.

Buy Native Union’s laptop sleeve here.

Car Charger For Charging On The Go

For the person always driving around, a car charger is always a helpful tool to have when you’re on the go. The one from Anker is particularly helpful in a number of ways. Not only can this charge your macbook, but it also has an additional port for you to charge your phone if needed.

It’s not the fastest charger out there when compared to the Macbook Pro adapter but it’s the highest in the market with an output power of 30 watts. For comparison, the second-fastest charging connector offers an output of 18 watts. Aside from that the charger has an illuminated LED ring for you to see it and the connectors late at night. It also has a function that ensures devices don’t experience surges or overheating from the charger itself.

Buy Anker PowerDrive car charger here.

USB-C to USB-A Adapter Grants Access To Older Models

If your older macbook still works but has files you want that you didn’t back up that you want this makes it easier to access them. It also allows you to access devices that have USB-A slots only. This can save you a lot of time if you are moving between older and newer devices.

Buy Thunderbolt Adapter here.

A Hardshell Case For Added Protection

A sleeve is good for travel, but when you’re using it, having an extra layer of protection can be nice. Beyond that this hardshell case can also serve as additional protection from scratches and bumps too.

Buy Incase Textured Hardshell case here.

Alternative Sleeve For Those With Tighter Budgets But Want Protection

If you are looking for an appropriate laptop sleeve but aren’t looking to spend too much, AmazonBasics brands are a good alternative. Their sleeves are elegant and still offer good protection from scratches as well. It also has a few pockets for small essentials too.

Buy AmazonBasics laptop sleeve here.

A Hub That Accommodates Several Ports At Once

We’ve already mentioned a port before being a huge time saver thanks to it having various ports for different devices. This one is a great alternative as while it doesn’t offer as many USB-C ports, it offers more variety. Paired up with the design being the same color as the MacBook Air, it offers two USB-C connectors, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and SD and microSD card readers.

Buy Satechi Type C Pro Hub here.

Earbuds To Deal With Fewer Headphone Cords

Cords are a common problem when boosting productivity at the desk and one way to mitigate them is to go wireless. If you are thinking about that, one option to consider is the Soundcore earbuds. These are cheaper than the traditional AirPods from Apple which can save you money.

Furthermore, they deliver great sound and are connected via Bluetooth. The beauty of these earbuds is they can also cancel sound despite them being so compact. They also offer touch control allowing you to pause, play, skip music and answer calls.

Buy Soundcore Wireless Earphones here.

Desktop Stand To Save Desk Space

Desk space is another crucial part of productivity as things can get in the way and obstruct your work. In cases where you don’t need your laptop at the moment, having a stand where you can set it aside can be helpful.

In those situations, we recommend the Twelve South Book Arc. This neat Macbook accessor can save a tonne of space since it requires you to close your laptop in order to insert it into the stand. It also keeps it elevated from the surface which can protect it from spills

Buy Twelve South BookArc desktop stand here.

A Comfortable And Easy To Use Mouse For Faster Working Speed

The last of the macbook accessories we’ll talk about is a proper mouse. Logitech offers fantastic mouses and their Logitech MX Master 3 is one of the greatest wireless mouses out there. It’s ergonomic design, customizable buttons and insanely precise movement is fantastic. It also comes with a scrolling wheel for precise scrolling.

The battery power can last for months between charges and like all Logitech devices, it comes with a USB-C connector for charging.

Buy Logitech MX Master 3 Wireless Mouse here.

Bottom Line

There are many macbook accessories out there to improve your workflow. Taking the time to do research and invest in some of the best ones though will save you plenty of time, money and energy in the long term. At the same time, all of these accessories can help you with specific needs for whatever you are doing.

Featured photo credit: Viktor Ritsvall via unsplash.com