Best iPad apps for 2019

Productivity

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Developer: Adobe

Price: Free

Reading and interacting with PDF files is so much easier with this app on your iPad, and you can also use it to manage, convert, and share files at your leisure. Open up documents in Adobe Reader directly from emails, the web or an app, search the file for words and phrases, convert them to a variety of different file types and access password-protected forms.

Main Idea: The most popular app for reading, editing, and converting PDF files on your tablet, Adobe Acrobat Reader allows professionals to use all of the tools and functions they need to deal with PDFs from wherever they are.

Dropbox

Developer: Dropbox

Price: Free

Dropbox has quickly become the most popular cloud storage app for storing videos, photos, and documents, and the app's iteration for iPad is just another tool for keeping your files together in one easy-to-access location. With 2GB of free space given to you just for signing up, it couldn't be easier to create an account for an entire team to use, making collaboration much easier, as well as allowing you to work remotely.

Main Idea: There are a lot of cloud storage options out there. If you're not sure which is best for you, check out our more in-depth look at the most popular services.

Fantastical 2

Developer: Flexibits

Price: 2.99

Microsoft has sadly taken the decision to axe the much-loved Sunrise calendar app, but thankfully its spirit lives on in Fantastical 2. Support is included for iCloud, Exchange and Google Calendar, and the interface has the same clean, uncluttered appeal as Sunrise.

The downside is that it's not free Fantastical 2 costs 3.99. However, that's a price well worth paying if you're feeling Sunrise's absence. It's got integrations with iOS reminders and the notification center, and there's also a natural language engine to make adding events an absolute breeze.

Main Idea: If you need a calendar app to replace Sunrise, Fantastical's the one for you. Simple and well laid out, it's got heaps of productivity-boosting features.

FileMaster-Privacy Protection

Developer: Shenzhen Youmi Information Technology Co. Ltd

Price: Free

If you use your tablet for business, it's easy to end up with a mass of jumbled files on your device. Easily organize and view files using this manager that allows you to transfer files from your computer, create new folders, move and copy documents, rename files, and more. In addition to having all of the features of a useful file manager, the app also serves as a media player, music player, and document viewer. Everything is secure with passwords, hidden folders, wifi authentication, and remote access.

Main Idea: If you're in the habit of downloading and storing files on your device, you need some way to sort through them all. This app offers all of the features you need while keeping your information secure.

LiquidText

Developer: LiquidText

Price: Free

Note-taking apps, such as Microsoft OneNote and Evernote, have put many document viewing apps into the shade. The feature-rich LiquidText, however, allows you to mark and annotate documents with speed, sort and retrieve those annotations, and export them by type. All of which means it should be easier to find the note you need, whether you're using this app for meeting minutes, coursework notes, and more besides.

Main Idea: LiquidText offers gesture-based reading and annotation for documents including PDF, DOC, PPT and web pages.

Microsoft Word

Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Price: Free

Create and edit Microsoft Word documents on your tablet in exactly the way you're used to with the same layout and functionality that you'd find on your Mac or PC. That means images, charts, footnotes, tables, and everything else you might need are at your fingertips with the option to view email attachments and access documents from the cloud via OneDrive, Dropbox, and more.

Main Idea: Most people are already well-versed in how to use Microsoft Word, making it the perfect app to keep you working across multiple devices.

MindNode

Developer: IdeasOnCanvas GmbH

Price: 7.99

MindNode uses mind mapsvisual representations of ideas branching off of a central ideato help your brainstorm better. The intuitive approach to organisation helps you focus on your content rather than the layout, and your ideas will never be limited, with an infinite canvas that grows with your map. Be more creative with less effort and access your mind map from any of your Apple devices thanks to iCloud Drive.

Main Idea: If conventional note-taking apps aren't suited to your creative process, mind mapping may help flesh out ideas and make you more productive. MindNode makes it easy to export your maps to PDF, text outline, PNG, and a number other formats.

OfficeTime Time Keeper Pro

Developer: Productive Monkey Ltd.

Price: 7.99

Where does all of the time in your day go? OfficeTime is here to help you answer that question, equipped to track and categorize the minutes and hours spent working and log expenses to make sure you're still on budget. Improve your productivity and increase your billables by recording and reviewing the exact time dedicated to individual projects. Perfect for freelancers and small teams, the app syncs across platforms, works offline, and makes invoicing easier.

Main Idea: This app is designed with freelancers, small businesses, and groups in mind. Not only does the app track your time in the background, it allows you to run multiple timers and easily switch tasks, conscious of the way that many people work on multiple projects.

SAP Analytics Cloud Raombi

Developer: SAP SE

Price: Free

Spreadsheets are useful and essential for business, but they don't always display information in the most presentable way. Roambi Analytics allows you to take data from Microsoft Excel, Google Spreadsheets, Box, databases, and a number of other sources and convert them into colourful charts and diagrams. This app is a useful companion for anyone who needs to show visualisations as part of presentations or discussions.

Main Idea: A simple and speedy way to turn spreadsheets into attractive visualisations.

Connor Jones
News and Analysis Editor

Connor Jones has been at the forefront of global cyber security news coverage for the past few years, breaking developments on major stories such as LockBit’s ransomware attack on Royal Mail International, and many others. He has also made sporadic appearances on the ITPro Podcast discussing topics from home desk setups all the way to hacking systems using prosthetic limbs. He has a master’s degree in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield, and has previously written for the likes of Red Bull Esports and UNILAD tech during his career that started in 2015.