The Best Apps of 2020 for iOS and Android

Mobile apps have become a very important innovation and a part of our lives especially during this era of powerful smartphones. Apps are obviously what makes these phones useful. The market is growing and the support for mobile apps from present and upcoming technologies makes it clear that exciting times are ahead of us. 

2020 was a very uncalculated year but individuals, businesses and even governments were forced to innovate, with apps playing a major role in this innovation. A few of the challenges last year threw at us was solved by apps to some extent. 

Top 10 Apps of 2020

We collated and ranked ten (10) of the best apps in terms of popularity and convenience in 2020, Here's the list:

1. ZOOM Cloud Meetings
   Zoom allows users to make video calls for business or for staying in contact with friends and family. In a year in which everyone was needed to stay at home to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, there was a huge demand for video conferencing apps and Zoom came out on top. The app saw around 2.3 million daily downloads in March and more than 300 million daily meeting participants in April 2020, according to Business of Apps. Apple also awarded Zoom as the best app for iPad 2020.
   
   
2. TikTok
   TikTok rose to become arguably the most popular social media app in 2020—with around 315 downloads in just Q1 of 2020 (Jan - April), it became the most downloaded app in an annual quarter and crossed over two (2) billion cross-platform downloads. Though threatened by the US government, ByteDance, its parent company managed to sort things out and its 15-seconds (averagely) video-sharing app gave users other ways of entertaining themselves while at home.
   
   
3. Facebook
   Has to be here because of its popularity and its versatility. In this period, aside from allowing individuals to connect with each other, Facebook helped business, big and small to stay relevant thanks to their business tools. Churches also made regular use of its live-streaming feature. Facebook was undoubted very useful in 2020 despite all its privacy concerns.
   
   
4. Gmail / Google Meet
   Google's email app once one of the most improved this year, aside it being your regular e-mail app, the integration of Google meets into the app increased its need.
   
   
   
   
   

   Now to the only game on the list ...
5. Among Us
   This is arguably the most popular game of the year which consistently topped Twitch streams. It attracted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a US politician known as AOC who made one of the biggest ever Twitch Streams from the game. Developed in 2018, the "online multiplayer social deduction game" was one of the best (if not) in 2020.
   
   
6. Anchor
   The Anchor app just makes podcasting so simple. Within the same app, users are able to record, edit, save and publish their podcasts to top podcast hosting services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify
   
   
7. Microsoft Teams
   For businesses, this has to be one of the most important tools to facilitate remote work. Beyond video and audio calls (conference), it has almost all the features of Slack including other relevant tools for collaboration.
   
   
8. WhatsApp — The most popular messaging app. Increased video call participants to appeal to more users.
   
   
9. YouTube  — You this year became more of a platform where brands reached clients through influencers but we couldn't leave the number one streaming website out of the list.
   
   
10. Cash App — its popularity increased during the pandemic due to the need for cashless transactions. CashApp's support for cryptos made it stand out.
    
    
11. Google Classroom — A replacement learning management system for schools or teachers who needed (and still need) to reach out to students while at home.

Aside from the numbers, we also look at other factors, including how these apps made life easier, especially in the pandemic. If you feel any other app deserved to in the list, post a comment below explaining your stance.