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Ten unexpectedly useful iPhone apps

With millions of iPhone apps, how do you know which will be useful? In this gallery, we've identified 10 apps that you may not be able to live without.
By David Gewirtz, Senior Contributing Editor
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1 of 11 Unsplash/ZDNet

Ten unexpectedly useful iPhone apps

While there are millions of iPhone apps, not all of them are useful. We spotlight ten apps that we found not only to be useful, but unexpectedly so.

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2 of 11 Google

PhotoScan by Google

This free app does a great job of scanning in photos while removing the glare. It's much better than a straight image shot with the iPhone's camera.

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3 of 11 PushBullet, Inc.

PushBullet

This is a great tool for sending info from your desktop to your phone. Grab a URL and PushBullet it. Grab some text and PushBullet. It's also free.

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4 of 11 Fing Limited

Fing network scanner

Fing is a great tool if you want to quickly see what's on your network. If I'm trying to locate an IP address for a device on my local LAN, I Fing it and find it.

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5 of 11 NextEdge2017

Smart Tools Pro

Smart Tools Pro is a great package of 16 measuring tools, including a level, an angle guide, and more.

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6 of 11 Overcast Radio LLC

Overcast

Overcast is a great podcatcher (a podcast player). What makes it special is it works on your phone, on your watch, and even in CarPlay. Pay an optional $10 to nuke the ads.

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7 of 11 JustWatch GMBH

JustWatch

Ever wanted to find a show or a movie, but didn't know what streaming service it was on? JustWatch has you covered. They call themselves a streaming search engine, and it's free.

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8 of 11 Apple

Files from Apple

Ok, I know Files is a native iPhone app, but it's been unexpectedly useful. In concert with Mac desktop sharing, I've found it insanely powerful. If I save a file on my desktop, it's available to me on my phone. You owe it to yourself to try it.

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9 of 11 Purple Cover, Inc

AnyList

AnyList is quite possibly the best list manager on any platform. It not only manages lists smoothly, it captures and stores recipes. We looked long and hard for something that stands out in this category, and AnyList is it. Free, with premium option.

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10 of 11 Wikimedia Foundation

Wikipedia

While there are many clones, the Wikimedia Foundation produces its own, excellent Wikipedia app. Like all Wikimedia Foundation resources, it's free and incredibly useful.

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11 of 11 Remote Mouse

Remote Mouse Pro

Go ahead an spend the $1.99 to remove ads on this unexpectedly useful app. You install a tiny bit of software on your Mac or PC, and then you can use your phone as a trackpad, a voice dictation device, and a remote keyboard.

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