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Since I have been using the Samsung S24 Ultra alongside my iPhone 15 Pro I have been looking for the best cross platform apps for my workflow. I wanted to be able to use whatever device I had in my hand for email, quick notes etc. rather than be tidied to iOS or Android. So here are the seven apps that I have been working into my current setup:
1. Notion
2. Google Keep
3. Spark
4. Todoist
5. Google Calendar
6. Google Photos
7. 1Password
You might see a bit of theme in terms of Google Apps but I do find them to work really well across iOS and Android devices. But let’s dive into a bit more detail about each of these apps.
Notion 📒
This is what I would say is my content creation hub. This is where I track and. schedule my content as well as write it, it essentially keeps my content ideas and posts all in one place. It works great on both my devices as well as my Macbook Air, and as long as I have a signal or am on WiFi it syncs pretty much instantly across devices.
Google Keep 📝
Where Notion is not new to my workflow Google Keep certainly is. I have tended to use Apple Notes for all things quick capture but of course, this can only be used on your Apple Devices. Now I could have just used Notion but I let to have a more simple app to capture any ideas that might spring to mind and Google Keep fits the bill much like Apple Notes did. So I now have this downloaded across my phones and iPad. On my Macbook I need to go via the browser but its just as easy as using the app.
Spark ✉️
I have always struggled with finding an email app to settle on whether it be Gmail or Outlook but recently I came across Spark. Spark has a new clean UI and has some nice AI features to help you create your mail whether that be checking spelling and grammar to changing the tone of your mail from formal to something a bit more friendly.
Spark also have three different views to aid in managing your mailbox.
1. Classic
2. Smart
3. Smart 2.0
Classic is what it says on the tin and just shows you your emails with no classification. The Smart mailbox classifies your emails into newsletters, notifications and personal. And Smart 2.0 gives you a timeline as well so basically when you received that mail.
Todoist ✅
if you like to capture your to-do’s and reminders on your phone then this is a great cross platform app for doing just that. I personally just use the free version which allows you to capture your to-do which will default to your inbox. You can also set a completion date but you will need to upgrade to the paid version to set reminders.
Google Calendar 📆
I like how Google Calendar can be linked to multiple others like Notion Calendar and my Apple Calendar. So whatever I put against my Google Calender shows in all of my calendars.
I also like the aesthetics of Google Calendar and it’s super easy to use and is with all the other Google Apps it’s free.
Google Photos 📷
With been an iPhone user for most of my adult life I only really used the Apple Photos app. Google Photos allows me to sync photos from my iPhone and my Samsung S24 Ultra. It has a nice user-friendly Interface and you can also transfer your older photos by connecting your iCloud and heading to the Smart Switch app on your Samsung Phone. You can choose to download all of your photos or just the last 30 days for instance.
1Password 🔑
I never really thought about getting a password manager as I would use Apple’s native password manager and at times Google’s but that meant that I had passwords here there and everywhere. 1Password allows me to store all my passwords in one password manager and create new passwords across devices to ensure that they are all secure.
With 1Password you can also extend your subscription to family members who can then have their own secure vault to keep their passwords as well as having a shared vault. Some features that are useful are the autofill fill which does what it says on the time and the share feature which allows you to share a password securely.
Final Thoughts
The reason I hear and read the most about wanting to switch to Android but not being able to is because of the Apple Ecosystem. I agree that it’s a great ecosystem and just works but you can break free if you really want to and are prepared to use alternatives like the apps talked about in this blog post. There is so much choice out there that it seems a shame to keep ourselves locked down to one brand’s ecosystem, so if you are thinking about taking the plunge and dipping your toe into another ecosystem then these apps are a must look at.