17 Free iPhone Apps That'll Actually Help You Study

AKA 17 excuses to be on your phone while studying.

1. Tinycards

Duolingo / Via tinycards.duolingo.com, Via tinycards.duolingo.com

From the company that brought us Duolingo, Tinycards is basically just a set of flashcards on your phone which can be used to memorise virtually anything. You can choose from preset topics, but most importantly, you can make your own decks, and it adapts your learning plan to your progress. You can also share decks with friends who are doing the same subjects as you. Unless you're super competitive and want to keep them to yourself, of course.

2. Study

Study / Via itunes.apple.com

This app is really simple. Put in your headphones, press play, and it'll give you 45 minutes of a soundscape which will block out potentially distracting background noise. You'll hear a mix of sounds including quiet birdsong and ambient music which will supposedly elicit a "body-relaxed mind-alert state" which is perfect for studying.

3. Coffitivity

Coffitivity / Via coffitivity.com

This app is kinda the opposite. If you're studying in a super-quiet location and it's doing your head in, you can listen to looped tracks of coffee shop ambient noise, which will help you focus. It also gives you the option of listening to your own music as well as the app's. You can also listen online here.

4. Evernote

Evernote / Via evernote.com

Sure, you could just use the notes app on your phone. But with Evernote, you can add images, sound, colour labels, and you can organise into different notebooks or tags. You can also access your notes from any platform, whether it be you phone, iPad, or computer.

5. Easy Study

Easy Study / Via itunes.apple.com

This app is a really easy way to make yourself a study timetable if you have no idea where to start. You just put in all the subjects you need to study for, how long you want to spend on each, and the hours of study you’ll be doing each day. The app will help you create a timetable which will optimise your time.

6. Remember The Milk

Remember The Milk / Via rememberthemilk.com

This simple app helps you make to-do lists, which may not sound that special, but it's a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the inbuilt Reminders app in your phone. You can also add subtasks to each task you need to do, which is a great way to keep track of all the little things you need to complete for each subject.

7. Sworkit

Sworkit / Via itunes.apple.com

Everyone's always saying how important it is to maintain an exercise routine while studying to help brain performance and concentration. But sometimes it's really hard to fit everything into your schedule. This app will provide you with personalised and customisable video workouts for any length of time you choose, so you can fit in a workout during a study break.

8. GoConqur

GoConqur / Via itunes.apple.com

You can use this app to make online mindmaps, flash cards, and quizzes which you can also access on your desktop. You can connect with classmates or people studying the same topics, and share all your content.

9. Dragon Dictation

Dragon Dictation / Via itunes.apple.com

Do you have a bunch of study notes that you need to type up, but your hands feel like they're going to fall off due to the sheer amount of handwriting you've been doing? Well, try a dictation app! With this one, you just speak into your phone, it converts it into text, and you can copy and paste it into any other app. So handy.

10. Sleep Time

Sleep Time / Via itunes.apple.com

Sleep Time is an alarm which will track your sleep patterns, and wake you up when you're in ~light sleep~, so you'll feel more rested when you get up. If you need to get up at a certain time, you can set a 20-minute window in which you'll be woken at the best time. It sounds confusing but you can read more here.

11. Exam Countdown

Exam Countdown / Via itunes.apple.com

This app does exactly what it says on the box. It tracks all your exam dates so you can see how many days you have left until each one.

12. Acceleread Speed Reading Trainer

Acceleread / Via itunes.apple.com

When you have a shit-ton of textbooks to read while studying, being a speed-reader would really come in handy. Well, this app will help you train your brain to become a super-fast reader.

13. Photo Math

Photo Math / Via photomath.net

If a maths problem has you stumped, take a photo of it with this app, and it'll solve it for you, with a step-by-step explanation of how they got there. It might technically be cheating, but if you actually learn from it, then it's totally fine. FYI, this will only work with textbook equations, not handwritten.

14. Focus Keeper Free

Focus Keeper / Via itunes.apple.com

You may have heard about the "Pomodoro method" of studying, which breaks up chunks of revision time into smaller, 25-minute blocks. This app basically just helps you to plan your study sessions with short breaks at strategic times to maximise your concentration.

15. EasyBib

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/easybib-automatic-bibliography/id436768184?mt=8

If bibliographies aren't your forte, this app will let you scan books and it'll give you the correct referencing in literally every style you can think of.

16. Self-Control to Focus

Self-Control to Focus / Via itunes.apple.com

If you find yourself checking Facebook or Instagram after every paragraph you write, maybe try this app. It'll block you from viewing certain apps on your phone for a set amount of time, and it's impossible to get around once you've set it.

17. Forest

Forest / Via itunes.apple.com

This app is supposedly designed to keep you on track with your study timetable, but realistically, it's just a digital way to humblebrag about how much studying you've done. It's a game where you plant a seed which will grow into a tree, but only if you keep the app open, and don't open any other apps like Facebook or Messages. When you plant a lot of trees, they turn into a forest, and you can compare yours to other friends' who use the app.