My favorite apps of 2014: Steve Sande
Another year, another bumper crop of new and innovative apps. Apple bloggers have a bad tendency to load a lot of apps for review purposes, then dump them almost immediately. So what has stayed on my iPhone, iPad and Macs this year? Here's my list of my favorite new apps for 2014.
Workflow ($2.99)
My top pick for the year is Workflow, which brings the power of automation to iOS 8. Through a simple-to-use, yet surprisingly sophisticated user interface, Workflow provides a way to create action extensions or even "apps" that can be saved to the Home screen. You can even share your workflows with others through a curated gallery, or use gallery workflows as a foundation for creating your own. If you don't already own Workflow, get it.
Facebook Paper (free)
If there's one app I can't stand, it's the regular iOS Facebook app, which is almost as bad as using the social media site from a web browser. Fortunately, Facebook released an app called Facebook Paper during the year that turns the interminable scroll of ads and timeline into an ad-free, magazine-like joy. It's also the one way in iOS that you can enjoy sending and receiving messages on Facebook without using the separate Messenger app.
Waterlogue ($2.99)
Tinrocket's Waterlogue was one of my favorite photography apps of the year, turning photographs into realistic and beautiful watercolors with a tap. Running on both iPad and iPhone, the app never fails to impress pretty much anyone who watches as it sketches and paints your photograph.
Monument Valley ($3.99 with in-app purchases)
Speaking of works of art, Monument Valley is a game that was an Apple Design Award winner for 2014, and for good reason. It's a gorgeous puzzler that has been expanded with new levels (the Forgotten Shores level pack is available for $1.99) and is still grabbing stellar reviews on the App Store despite cheap, whiny customers who wanted the expansion pack for free.
WunderStation (free)
Do you want local weather data? I mean REALLY local weather data, like from your own back yard or neighborhood? WunderStation is a brilliant app that calls upon the over 45,000 pwersonal weather stations on the Weather Underground network, providing an organized display of information into which you can drill down for even more details. Weather geeks should already have this iPad app, and I'm hoping that WunderStation is available for the iPhone 6 Plus in 2015.
Scanbot (free with in-app purchases)
Over the years I had tried a lot of different iOS scanning apps, but Scanbot was the first one that provided an easy workflow that has made my life much more paper-free. Being able to quickly grab "scans" of documents and have them automatically uploaded to a variety of cloud services makes Scanbot a hands-down favorite of mine.
MySolarCity (free)
During 2014, I worked with Solar City to have a nearly 9kW photovoltaic solar electric system installed on my house. What's great is that the company has a really well-done iOS app for managing my account. Whether its checking the output of my system at any particular time, chatting with other solar energy fans, or seeing how many installed systems are in my neighborhood (a lot!), MySolarCity is one of the best commercial apps I've seen.
Desk ($29.99)
My last choice is the only Mac app I was truly impressed with in 2014. Desk is a writing and blogging tool that does away with complex and overloaded user interfaces and just makes it simple to write, then export your work to a number of blogging tools. The app still needs some work in the area of exporting HTML and Markdown, but was impressive enough to gain an Apple Best App of 2014 award.
Hopefully I can talk my fellow TUAW bloggers into sharing their favorite apps of 2014 as well. Why don't you share your picks in the comments while you're at it?
