The new iMessage apps certainly make chatting a whole new experience, and they can be more than just sticker packs, and GIF libraries. In today’s roundup, we’re going to focus on some of the best iMessage apps that are functional and designed to simplify common tasks.
A while back, we talked about how you can prevent automated iMessage app installs so you can avoid having useless apps for iMessage on your device.
Best iMessage apps to get things done
iTranslate
I don’t think iTranslate needs much explaining on how it can be useful. Having a translator on hand is always a good thing, having one right inside iMessage is even better. The app can perform text translations between 90 languages.
The free version should do the job in most cases, but if you’d like to get rid of ads and a few additional features such as voice translation and an offline mode, then buying the pro version for $29.99/year is money well spent.
ChefsFeed
Having a hard time deciding where to eat on your next outing with friends or family? ChefsFeed comes with an interesting (and free) solution. Stop searching for restaurants and just share photos of dishes from nearby locations with your friends. Alternatively, you can read curated dining guides to get a bit more inspiration.
Square Cash
Square offers a simple way to send and receive payments directly in iMessage conversations. And if you’re planning to send money as a gift you can gift wrap them for the occasion. The recipient will need to tap to unwrap in order to see the amount they received. Fun, but also very useful, right?
Jet
If you can transfer money via iMessage why not also shop in your conversations? Jet is a Walmart-owned app that lets you do that. Group shopping at its finest, straight from the couch.
Scanbot
Scanbot offers an easy way to scan any document or photo with your camera and share it in an iMessage conversation. It’s certainly useful for work, but also any other time you need to scan and share a piece of information.
Fandango
I’m sure a lot of people try to decide which movie they want to see on the big screen via messages. Fandango seems to perfectly complement this task, as the app lets you see movies playing nearby and even buy tickets directly in iMessages.
Polls With Friends
Whatever group decision you need to make, Polls with Friends can come in handy. With this app, you can create a poll send it in your iMessage conversation, and let the other participants vote. This app is only free for the first three polls, but if you like it you can create as many polls as you need for $0.99 a year.
OpenTable
You might already be using OpenTable to make restaurant reservations in other ways such as through Google Maps or with Siri. However, I find that OpenTable’s iMessage app is especially practical since it lets you share a list of restaurants with one or more people and they can vote on which one they want to go to. Also, you can reserve a table directly within the Messages app.
Airbnb
Airbnb is another popular app that naturally fits into iMessage. You can use the stand-alone app, but if you need to book an Airbnb or hotel room with someone, it’s easier to browse through your saved listings and share them via iMessage. Just like for OpenTable, Airbnb lets recipients vote on locations to simplify the decision-making process.
These are some of the best iMessage apps we appreciate for their functionality. What are your favorite useful iMessage apps you rely on?
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