In case you haven’t noticed, the world of smartphone apps has recently gone under a huge transformation. Apps are no longer restricted to uses related to entertainment, listening to music, chatting with friends, or taking notes on the go. Indeed, you can do just about anything with a smartphone, from paying your taxes to conducting a professional photo shoot. Put in the right hands, the smartphone could be the ultimate tool for bettering a person’s life.
Following that train of thought, what kind of apps could you expect to see on the smartphone of a brainy person? What apps are best for someone who wants to expand their intellect and learn something new every day, be it about themselves or other subjects? I have 4 apps in mind that I think are perfectly suited for the brainy smartphone user. Let’s check them out.
4 Best Smart Android Apps
This revolutionary database is being touted as one of the smartest apps available for any smartphone. Wolfram Alpha is essentially a search engine for facts, hard data, and analysis across a wide spectrum of subjects. Users can search for scientific data, math equations, measurements, engineering data, and even facts related to astronomy. The search engine’s intuitive software is perfect for answering the most obscure questions. The app is so effective that much of its software was included in Apple’s voice control service Siri.
Mint is for the financially savvy smartphone users who want to stay on top of their financials. The app was received almost universal acclaim from tech sites and financial analysts who equate it to having a financial planner in your pocket. With Mint, users can not only track where there money is going, but they can also plan out complicated budgets, review savings, and manage any number of investments. It will remind you if you’re spending too much in one specific area (dining, shopping, bills, etc.) and will encourage you to make smart savings choices. For a free app, this one is a no-brainer to anyone who has a bank account.
When you’re browsing the web, chances are that you come across a lot of content that intrigues you. The problem is that you often don’t have time to read every article and blog post that looks interest. Enter Pocket, the revolutionary bookmarking app that allows you to save articles, posts, and videos for later viewing no matter where you are. Pocket is beautifully simple, making it easy and unobtrusive so save any type of content as you go about your business browsing. No longer will you have to look through your browsing history to find that piece that you wanted to read—Pocket has you covered.
And then there’s an app featuring a radio program known for attracting brainy individuals. This American Life is a radio show aired from station WBEZ in Chicago, Illinois and hosted by Ira Glass; it features the engrossing stories of Americans from all walks of life, painting a rich cultural fabric of what it means to live in the country. The app features hundreds of radio shows, each of which is almost an hour in length and tells are all sorts of funny, sad, compelling, and thought provoking stories. It’s a gem of an app featuring some of the best storytelling of our time.
Mariana Ashley is a freelance blogger who primarily writes about how online education and technology are transforming academia as we know it. Having spent a good portion of her professional career trying to reform high schools in East St. Louis, Mariana is particularly interested in how online colleges in Missouri make higher education a possibility for students of all backgrounds. Please contact her at mariana.ashley031@gmail.com if you’d like to discuss this article or education in general.