music-making, in that its designed to help you work on songs using real instruments. Specifically as its name likely suggests its all about keeping you in time, as you write something new or work on nailing an existing song.

However, theres also the hey bit; like Siri, this is a metronome you can bark orders at. That might seem an odd idea, but its great to have a hands-free metronome when youre holding your instrument.

This app offers more than just 4/4 beeps, too. Along with a range of time signatures and drum sounds, you can construct playlists that echo your
current set or select from a range of popular tracks, when you fancy jamming along to someone elses tune. (Image credit: TechRadar) AudioKit L7 Live Looper ($19.99/19.99/AU$30.99)

AudioKit L7 Live Looper is an audio recorder inspired by Rolands Boss
RC-505 Loop Station. You record short snippets of audio that continue to
loop, and gradually build a soundscape a technique often used by beatboxers and guitarists to impressive effect.

As an iPad app, AudioKit L7 is robbed of some portability you wont hold an iPad like a mic and make mouth sounds into it. However, what you do get is a bigger surface on which to tinker with any noises you record.

The app also enables you to mix in imported audio and add effects, resulting in a playground for creativity. Its a different take on music making, but one thats ideal for jobbing musicians looking for new ways to be inspired, or newcomers after a user-friendly entry point. (Image credit: AudioKit Pro) AudioKit FM Player 2 ($3.99/3.99/AU$5.99)

AudioKit FM Player 2 is an open-source iPad synth thatll beam you back to
the 1980s. Its many and varied presets are based on over 150 samples, and bathe your ears in classic sounds from the likes of Yamahas DX7 and TX81Z.

A slew of knobs to twiddle, along with an arpeggiator and 16-step sequencer, give you plenty of scope for shaping sound. This is the kind of synth where you can merrily hold down a single key, fiddle with settings, and suddenly realize half an hours zoomed by.

The app plays nicely with the iPadOS music ecosystem, too. It will work with MIDI keyboards, and also other music apps in fact, AUv3 support means the entire interface can be loaded into GarageBand, whenever you fancy getting your Kraftwerk on. NanoStudio 2 ($24.99/23.99/AU$38.99)

NanoStudio 2 is the successor to NanoStudio, an iPhone app that let
musicians bash out songs on iPhones before GarageBand for iOS was a twinkle
in Apples eye. Now less nano (being iPad-only), the follow-up is a remarkably powerful tool for recording, sampling, editing, and mixing.

The app was six years in the making and it shows. Built-in synth Obsidian is among the best on iOS, and is hugely versatile in the noises it can create. Drum machine Slate adds rhythm, and if thats not enough, NanoStudio 2 lets
you effortlessly incorporate Audio Units like Poison-202 and Minimoog Model D .

There is an electronic bent to NanoStudio 2, so its not ideally suited to people into more traditional sounds. Otherwise, this usable, feature-rich music production environment is a must-have for iPad musicians. djay (free + $4.99/4.49/AU$7.49 monthly)

djay is a full-featured DJ solution for iOS. You get a two-deck mode with crossfader, looping, and effects for free, but splash out on the pro subscription and youre instantly equipped with enough DJ power to keep you spinning decks into the small hours.

You get a two-deck view with flanking libraries and a four-deck view when
two isnt enough. Theres VJ mixing when you fancy adding some video, support for a slew of controllers, and over 1GB of samples you can fire off to stamp your personal style over whatevers blasting from the local sound system.

Naturally, its total overkill (albeit fun total overkill) for the typical
home user; but if youre a pro DJ armed with an external controller, it may well be enough to chuck all that traditional kit on eBay. Ferrite Recording Studio (free or US$28.99/28.99/AU$46.99)

Ferrite Recording Studio at first looks like a souped-up voice memos app,
but beneath lies a powerful multi-track editor, so if youre armed with an iPad, the app and some time, you can create your own podcast.

For free, there are limitations: an hour of recording, ten-minute projects
and three tracks. Go Pro and Ferrite gives desktop editors a run for their money: 32 tracks, projects up to a day long, and recording time limited only by the space on your iPad.

The pro version adds further handy tools for improving recordings, such as effects, auto-leveling, MP3 chapters and dead air removal, bt the most impressive thing is how this all comes together. Ferrite might be powerful, but its also extremely usable. It therefore comes highly recommended if youve any interest in multi-track voice recording projects. Audiobus 3 ($9.99/9.99/AU$14.99)

There are so many amazing music-making apps on iPad that its hard to choose between them. With Audiobus 3 , you sort of dont have to, because it acts as
a kind of behind-the-scenes plumbing.

Virtual cabling might not sound sexy, but it hugely boosts creative
potential. You can send live audio or MIDI data between apps and through effects, mix the various channels, and then send the entire output to the likes of GarageBand.

Much of these features are new to Audiobus 3, and this latest update also
adds Audio Unit support, enabling you to open some synths and effects
directly in the app.

With support for over 900 iOS products in all, Audiobus 3 is an essential buy for anyone serious about creating music on an iPad. Poison-202 ($9.99/9.99/AU$14.99)

So, youve picked up an iPad synth to compose music, play live, or bound about like a maniac, pretending you're on stage at Glastonbury. Fortunately, Poison-202 is ideal for all such sets of circumstances.

The moody black and red graphic design is very 1990s, but it's Poison-202's sounds that hurl you back to the halcyon days of electronic music.
Aficionados of The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Orbital will be overjoyed
at the familiar (and brilliant) sounds you can conjure up simply by selecting presets and prodding a few keys.

And if you're not satisfied by the creator's (frankly awesome) sound design smarts (in which case, we glare at you with the menace of a thousand Keith Flints), all manner of sliders and dials enable you to create your own wall-wobbling bass and ear-searing leads.

There are iPad synths that have more ambition, and many are more authentic to classic hardware; but few are more fun . Fugue Machine ($9.99/9.99/AU$14.99)

This music app is inspired by layered composition techniques used in some classical music. You tap out notes on a piano roll, and can then have up to four playheads simultaneously interpret your notes, each using unique speeds, directions and transpositions. For the amateur, Fugue Machine is intuitive
and mesmerising, not least because of how easy it is to create something that sounds gorgeous.

For pros, it's a must-have, not least due to MIDI output support for driving external software. It took us mere seconds to have Fugue Machine working with Animoog's voices, and the result ruined our productivity for an entire morning.

(Unless you count composing beautiful music when you should be doing
something else as 'being productive'. In which case, we salute you.) Korg Gadget ($39.99/38.99/AU$62.99)

Korg Gadget bills itself as the "ultimate mobile synth collection on your iPad" and it's hard to argue. You get well over a dozen varied synths,
ranging from drum machines through to ear-splitting electro monsters, and an intuitive piano roll for laying down notes.

A scene/loop arranger enables you to craft entire compositions in the app, which can then be shared via the Soundcloud-powered GadgetCloud or sent to Dropbox. This is a more expensive app than most, but if you're a keen electronic-music-oriented songwriter with an iPad, it's hard to find a
product that's better value. Overcast (free)

Podcasts are mostly associated with small portable devices - after all, the very name is a mash-up of 'iPod' and 'broadcast'. But that doesn't mean you should ignore your favourite shows when armed with an iPad rather than an iPhone.

We're big fans of Overcast on Apple's smaller devices, but the app makes good use of the iPad's extra screen space, with a smart two-column display. On the left, episodes are listed, and the current podcast loads into the larger
space on the right.

The big plusses with Overcast, though, remain playback and podcast
management. It's the one podcast app we've used that retains plenty of
clarity when playback is sped up; and there are clever effects for removing dead air and boosting vocals in podcasts with lower production values.

Playlists can be straightforward in nature, or quite intricate, automatically boosting favourites to the top of the list, and excluding specific episodes. And if you do mostly use an iPhone for listening, Overcast automatically
syncs your podcasts and progress, so you can always pick up where you left off. The best office and writing apps for iPad

Our favorite iPad apps for writing, email, editing PDFs, spreadsheets, coding and file management. (Image credit: Moleskine Srl) Moleskine Journey ($4.99/3.99/AU$6.49 per month)

Moleskine Journey is an organizational tool pitched at creative minds, independent workers, and free spirits. It blends productivity tools and wellness, looking after you whether youre at work or trying to achieve personal goals.

The app can pull in events from your Apple calendar data, and augment them with imagery, links, and PDFs. A task-based to-do list is included, along
with a project manager, for grouping complex requirements by topic. Under My Day, you see your days schedule, along with a food diary, and a custom habits log.

On iPad, Moleskine Journey isnt quite as streamlined as on iPhone, in part
due to a dual-pane view. But the flip-side of that is gaining access to a lot more information at once. Regardless, its an interesting take on personal organization that successfully caters to work and play. (Image credit: Alexander Blach) Textastic Code Editor 8 ($9.99/9.99/AU$14.99)

Textastic is a text editor for coders. Its tasteful and minimal, yet packed full of features for optimizing workflow.

When using just an iPad, the custom keyboard row provides fast access to a range of characters. If youve got a physical keyboard, you can configure keyboard shortcuts for important actions. Fonts can be customized, and new themes selected.

The built-in file transfer manager enables you to access documents stored remotely; and although Textastic cannot be used as a Files location, you can get at local content via On My iPad. Want to go old school? Try printing off your code on paper.

As ever, there are limitations to an iPad coding editor, meaning youre unlikely to create web pages or apps from scratch using the app, but its
ideal for making edits when on the move or on the sofa. Cardhop ($3.99/3.99/AU$5.99)

Cardhop reimagines the Contacts app in a manner that makes it far more usable and useful. It uses existing iCloud data (and can integrate other address books), but rethinks how you get to data and actions.

A powerful search field utilizes natural language. This can be used to get at data thats otherwise buried deep phone John or FaceTime Jane or to rapidly add new contacts by typing in a few of their details prior to tapping a button.

When browsing, notes are always accessible handy if you use that field. Theres a tab specifically for birthdays, and another for recently accessed contacts and that syncs across iCloud. Also, tap a piece of data in a card, and an action (like a call or email) isnt immediately triggered instead, you get a pop-up with options. Every detail feels considered and polished. FE
File Explorer Pro ($4.99/4.99/AU$7.99)

FE File Explorer Pro plugs a hole in iPad file management namely, getting
at things that arent stored on your iPad or on iCloud. The usable, Apple-like interface makes it a cinch to connect to, explore, and preview or download your files, whether theyre on a PC or Mac, a network drive, or on remote
cloud services other than Apples.

Theres drag-and-drop awareness, the means to flag files as favorites, and password support if you want your documents locked down. Perhaps best of all for people who work a lot on their iPads, FE File Explorer Pro integrates directly into Apples Files. Activate it as a location, and Apples app then gains seamless access to a huge range of storage options that are otherwise out of reach. Top stuff. Memento: Modern Reminders ($2.99/2.99/AU$4.99)

Memento: Modern Reminders is an alternative to the Apple Reminders app. It uses the same database, meaning you can at any point switch between the two apps; the main reason for splashing out some cash on Memento is speed the
app just makes it much easier to do stuff.

For example, when creating or editing a reminder, a smart keyboard row gives you speedy access to time and location alerts. The former provides useful options like this evening and tomorrow morning.

Beyond that, theres a Reminders feed that shows everything in a single scrolling pane, a tab for reminders with time alerts (For You), powerful notifications management, and a visual design that looks far more like something Apple would create than Apples own app. PDF Expert by Readdle ($9.99/9.99/AU$14.99)

On the Mac, PDF Expert by Readdle is a friendly, efficient, usable PDF
editor. If anything, the apps often even better on iPad.

You can grab PDFs from iCloud or Dropbox. Pages can be rearranged by drag-and-drop, and you can add or extract pages with a few taps. Adding pages from another document sadly remains beyond the app, but you can merge two
PDFs in its file manager.

As a reader, PDF Expert fares well, ably dealing with large PDFs, and the text-to-speech mode can read documents at a speed of your choosing.
Similarly, the app makes short work of annotations, document signing, and outline editing.

Buy the Edit PDF IAP ($9.99/9.99/AU$14.99 on top of the original price) and you can directly update text, redact passages, and replace images. Youre obviously a little limited by a documents existing fonts and layout, but this functionality is great if you spot a glaring error while checking a vital PDF on your iPad. iA Writer ($4.99/4.99/AU$7.99)

iA Writer provides a writing environment suitably focused for iPad, but that also makes nods to the desktop.

The main screen is smartly designed, with a custom keyboard bar offering Markdown and navigation buttons; if youre using a mechanical keyboard, standard shortcuts are supported.

Further focus comes by way of a typewriter mode (auto-scrolling to the area youre editing) and graying out lines other than the one youre working on.

Elsewhere, you get an optional live character count, iCloud sync, and a
robust Markdown preview. Wed like to see a split-screen mode for the last of those (as per the Mac version), but otherwise iA Writers a solid, effective and affordable minimal writing app for iPad. Scrivener
($19.99/19.99/AU$30.99)

On the desktop, Scrivener is widely acclaimed as the writer's tool of choice. The feature-rich app provides all kinds of ways to write, even incorporating research documents directly into projects. Everything's always within reach, and your work can constantly be rethought, reorganised, and reworked.

On iPad, Scrivener is, astonishingly, almost identical to its desktop cousin. Bar some simplification regarding view and export options, it's essentially the same app. You get a powerful 'binder' sidebar for organizing notes and documents, while the main view area enables you to write and structure text, or to work with index cards on a cork board.

There's even an internal 'Split View', for simultaneously smashing out a screenplay while peering at research. With Dropbox sync to access existing projects, Scrivener is a no-brainer for existing users; and for newcomers, it's the most capable rich text/scriptwriting app on iPad. 1Password ($2.99 per month)

Although Apple introduced iCloud Keychain way back in iOS 7, to securely
store passwords and payment information, 1Password is a more powerful system. Along with integrating with Safari, it can be used to hold identities, secure notes, network information and app license details.

But there are other benefits: the apps cross-platform nature means it gives you a solution if you also use Windows and Android. And with it being a standalone app, accessing and editing your information is fast and
accessible.

The app is free to try for 30 days, after which point you must pay a monthly $2.99 subscription ($4.99 for a family of five). For the peace of mind and usability the app brings, its well worth the outlay. The best iPad photo and video editing apps

Our favorite iPad apps for shooting and editing photos and videos and adding filters. (Image credit: TechRadar) Pixelmator Photo ($4.99/4.99/AU$7.99)

Pixelmator Photo is an iPad app designed to make your photos better. Its machine learning button, trained on 20 million pro photos, corrects lighting, exposure and shadows with a tap. The results are pleasing and natural
compared to the over-saturated fake-looking fare produced by rival apps.

Film-like filters, together with a sidebar of buttons and sliders, let you unlock your creative and experimental side, and the tools within the sidebar are befitting of pricey desktop-grade software.

But here, too, efficiency is key. Theres direct integration with Files and Photos, and edits are saved in non-destructive fashion, so they can later be reverted. Batch editing lets you edit an entire photoshoot with just a few taps. And pictures can be resized during export.

Even if you only use the machine learning button, Pixelmator Photos low price makes it a steal. But once youve delved into the apps other controls, youll
be hooked. (Image credit: Bergen Co.) Darkroom (free or $9.99/9.99/AU$14.99)

Darkroom is a photo editor for iPad. On a device thats not exactly short of photo editors, that might not excite you, but Darkroom differentiates itself from the crowd.

Open the app and it immediately presents your existing images. Tap one and youre ready to edit. Tap a tool and a sidebar slides in, providing fast
access to a superb range of tools for cropping and making adjustments. Throw some IAP at Darkroom, and these expand into even more professional territory by way of curves and color-correction tools.

None of that probably sounds all that different, but Darkrooms no-nonsense approach, sleek interface and deep integration with iOS/iPadOS set it apart. Its user-friendly and straightforward, yet powerful, and feels like something Apple at its very best might have created itself. Glitch Art Studio (free + $4.99/4.99/AU$7.99 IAP)

Glitch Art Studio is an effects app that aims to make even dull photos and videos look interesting. The filters are based around glitches and animated distortion, and can be edited to the point you can barely tell what the subject was.

Depending on whether youre in it for speed or control, you can delve into presets or a bunch of individual menus respectively. Either way, youll end up concocting something resembling the display of a barely working old television, or some kind of deranged hallucinogenic episode.

On iPad, the larger canvas lets you fully appreciate the effects on offer which are deeply impressive. If youre fed up with filters that ape old paintings, use Glitch Studio to bring your creative photographic endeavors kicking and screaming into the (relatively) modern era. VideoGrade (US$5.99/5.99/AU$9.99)

VideoGrade is a color-grading app for video, giving you a taste of Hollywood on your iPad.

Its a powerful app, but one thats nonetheless straightforward to use. On launch, it finds all your videos. Select one and tools are displayed at the right-hand side of the screen. Open a menu, drag a slider, and changes are made instantly. Any tool used gets a handy green dot next to its name,
helping you keep track of complex adjustments.

Filters (color changes, levels, pixelation and so on) are applied live, and a single tap fires up a full preview. Combinations of settings can be saved for later reuse. Also, the apps various presets are available as a Photos extension. That means you neednt even delve headlong into VideoGrade itself
to apply some of its magic to your favorite videos. Retrospecs (free or US$1.99/1.99/AU$2.99)

Retrospecs is a photo filter app that revels in the history of computing and gaming. Rather than turning any photo or image into a tiny Picasso with a
tap, it instead reimagines whatever you load as if it was on the screen of a Game Boy, Apple Mac or C64.

In fact, over 40 systems exist once you pay for the IAP (you can test Retrospecs for free with a small selection), and if thats not enough, you can fashion your own custom emulations. For properly authentic retro output, you can edit dither modes, add glitch animations, tweak CRT effects and more.

Full support for video combined with some bonkers filters (PETSCII!
Teletext!) adds scope for YouTube weirdness. But even if you only grab Retrospecs because youve always wondered what your face would look like on a NES, its worth the outlay. Typorama (free + IAP)

Typorama is about adding text to your photos or creating typographic
designs from scratch with a minimum of effort. Select a photo, flat color,
or a stock image background, choose an output size, and youre ready to get started.

Other apps in this space let you select fonts, but Typorama has you select designs . Enter some text, tap a design style, and what you typed is
instantly transformed. If youre not keen on what you see, tap the style again for variations.

You can add multiple type layers, and apply shadows and gradient effects to each one. Theres also a 3D rotation/perspective tool, and a selective eraser. Some features are locked in the free version and you must put up with watermarks, but there are various IAP available, including the ability to unlock everything for $5.99/5.99/AU$9.99. Affinity Photo ($19.99/19.99/AU$30.99)

Affinity Photo extinguishes any lingering doubt regarding the iPads suitability for creative professionals. In short, its Serifs impressive
Mac/PC Photoshop rival, carefully reimagined for the touchscreen.

This is pro-level photo/image-editing fare, and you need the hardware to
match at least an iPad Air 2, but preferably an iPad Pro but with the right kit, you get a huge range of features for image editing, creation and retouching.

The live filters and liquify tools are particularly impressive, responding to edits in real time. Working with a finger or Pencil is pleasingly tactile in
a manner desktop equivalents cant match.

RAW shooting/processing support, the ability to add fonts, layer isolation, and robust Files integration all cement Affinity Photos place among the iPad app greats. And if you become an expert, theres even a Show Touches option
for making tutorials that other users can follow. Artomaton - The Motion Painter (free + $2.99/2.99/AU$4.49 IAP)

Artomaton - The Motion Painter is an artificial intelligence artist recreating photos as sketches and paintings. For free, you get a small selection of media, but pay a $2.99/2.99/AU$4.49 IAP and you unlock the full range, including the arresting Pointil (as in lism), scribbly crayons, and a lovely sketch/watercolor combo.

Unlike most competing apps, this one has many settings for adjusting properties, such as vignettes, stroke width, hatching angle, and color saturation.

It even works with video, and although it takes some time for Artomaton to draw all of the individual frames (just a 20-second clip will need close to 200), output with Sketch&Water has a gorgeous scratchy hand-drawn quality.

For free, then, this is a great download; but grab that paid IAP for
something really special. Mextures ($1.99/1.99/AU$2.99)

The iPad may not be an ideal device for shooting photos, but its large screen makes it pretty great for editing them. And Mextures is perhaps the finest
app around for anyone wanting to infuse their digital snaps with character by way of textures, grunge, and gradients.

The editing process is entirely non-destructive, with you building up effects by adding layers. In each case, textures, blend modes and rotation of scanned objects can be adjusted to suit, and you can experiment without fear of edits being burned in.

Particularly interesting combinations can be saved as formulas and shared
with the Mextures community or you can speed along your own editing by downloading one of the many formulas that already exist. LumaFusion ($19.99/19.99/AU$30.99)

If you find iMovie isnt quite doing it for you from a video editing standpoint, take a look at LumaFusion . This multitrack editor is designed with the more demanding user in mind, and is packed full of features to keep you editing at your iPad rather than nipping to a Mac or PC.

The main timeline provides you with three tracks for photos, videos, titles and graphics, and you get another three audio tracks for complex audio mixes involving narration and sound effects. Should you wish to take things
further, LumaFusion includes a slew of effects and clip manipulation tools seemingly brought over from the developers own and similarly impressive LumaFX.

Occasionally, the app perhaps lacks some of the elegance iMovie enjoys, and LumaFusion is certainly a more involved product than Apples. But if you want fully-fledged video editing on your iPad, its hard to think of a better option. VideoGrade ($5.99/5.99/AU$9.99)

iPad video editors tend to have a bunch of effects and filters lurking
within, but with VideoGrade you can go full-on Hollywood. On launch, the app helpfully rifles through your albums, making it easy to find your videos.
Load one and you get access to a whopping 13 colour-grading and repair tools.

Despite the evident power VideoGrade offers, the interface is remarkably straightforward. Select a tool (such as Vibrance, Brightness or Tint), choose a setting, and drag to make a change. Drag up before moving your finger left or right to make subtler adjustments.

Smartly, any tool already used gets a little green dash beneath, and you can go back and change or remove edits at any point.

All filters are applied live to the currently shown frame, and you can also tap a button to view a preview of how your entire exported video will look. Want to compare your edit with the original video? Horizontal and vertical split-views are available at the tap of a button. Usefully, favorite filter combinations can be stored and reused, and videos can be queued rather than laboriously rendered individually. Snapseed (free)

Apple's Photos app has editing capabilities, but they're not terribly
exciting especially when compared to Snapseed . Here, you select from a number of from a number of tools and filters, and proceed to pinch and swipe your way to a transformed image.

You get all the basics - cropping, rotation, healing brushes, and the like but the filters are where you can get really creative.

There are blurs, photographic effects, and more extreme options like 'grunge' and 'grainy film', which can add plenty of atmosphere to your photographs.
The vast majority of effects are tweakable, mostly by dragging up and down on the canvas to select a parameter and then horizontally to adjust its
strength.

Brilliantly, the app records applied effects as separate layers, and each remains editable until you decide to save your image and work on something else. Combinations of edits can be saved as custom filters you can subsequently apply to more images with a tap. The best productivity apps for iPad

Our favorite iPad apps for being productive with notes, to-dos, reminders, mind-mapping, calendars and calculators. (Image credit: Silvio Rizzi) Reeder
5 ($4.99/4.99/AU$7.99)

Reeder 5 aims to simplify and consolidate online reading. You can use the
app to subscribe to website RSS feeds, thereby ensuring you never miss a headline from favorite sources. But also, you can send individual articles to Reeder from Safari to read later at your convenience.

The reading view itself is primarily concerned with efficiency. Rather than the original web page, you just get its content, and text settings can be adjusted to suit your needs. Should you wish to make reading more mindful,
you can opt to activate Bionic Reading .

With support for a range of third-party RSS and read-later services, Reeder 5 is a beautifully designed and carefully considered one-stop-shop for all your online reading needs. (Image credit: Ngoc Luu) GoodLinks ($4.99/4.99/AU$7.99)

GoodLinks is a read-later service. This means you save web pages to it, and the app extracts the text and images so you can browse them later in a distraction-free interface.

Rival apps Pocket and Instapaper are free, so what does GoodLinks do to justify its price tag? For a start, there are no ads and no accounts - everything syncs via iCloud. There are also no gated features, meaning you
can from day one adjust typography, search your archive, and organize saved links.

The app also provides options for customization and tinkering. With Quick Save, you can avoid the standard save sheet that invites you to tag saved articles. Elsewhere, custom actions can immerse GoodLinks within Shortcuts automations.

These extras shift GoodLinks into territory beyond the more typical
read-later app; but even if you only use it for the basics, GoodLinks is a solid choice. (Image credit: Flexibits Inc) Fantastical (free or $4.99/4.99/AU$7.99 per month)

Fantastical s developer reasons that a calendar is most helpful when it
saves you time, rather than merely keeping track of where your time goes. Therefore, although this iPad app works with your existing calendar data (be that iCloud, Exchange or Google), it also offers various clever features to help speed things along.

In the main view, a scrolling ticker quickly gets you to events, past and present. Integrated weather forecasts ensure you wont be caught unawares by a sudden shower at your current locale or wherever an event is taking place.

There are also very human touches the way Fantastical can quickly interpret natural language while you create events; the means to offer event participants multiple time slots, and have the app figure out scheduling
based on responses. In all, it amounts to a calendar thats just as usable as Apples, but that helps you become far more productive. (Image credit: Salavat Khanov) 1Blocker (free or $14.99/14.99/AU$24.49 per year)

1Blocker removes the junk from web browsing intrusive adverts and trackers, pop-ups, cookie notices, comments, social media inserts, and more. Install
the app, and Safari is transformed all the more important on a modern iPad where you get the desktop experience, which often comes with associated desktop cruft.

This is no one-size-fits-all solution. You can delve into seriously extensive settings, to toggle entire sets of tools (if, for example, you want comments on by default), or fine-tune things on a per-site basis, including defining custom rules regarding cookies and CSS blocks.

Originally a paid app, 1Blocker now requires a subscription for most of its features, but this comes with the benefit of monthly cloud rule updates and unlocks Mac support. If you hate paying a smallish outlay every year, theres also a permanent premium IAP for $38.99/37.99/AU$60.99. Image credit: Super Useful Ltd (Image credit: Super Useful Ltd) Magpie (free + $2.99/2.49/AU$4.49 per month)

Magpie is a mash-up of a notes app and a reminders system, designed for anyone who tends to remember things using photos. Of course, Apples own Notes app enables you to add imagery, but Magpie is fully optimized for the task.

In each name
--- D'Bridge 4
* Origin: Physics (1337:3/125)