10 apps you need on your phone (other than social media)

We all have many applications on our phones, so much so that our phones are bursting with them (sometimes literally. Have you ever run out of space because of your apps?). Mostly they are social media apps but sometimes you need more than just Facebook or Instagram. Join us to find out the 10 apps you need to have on your phone.

1- E-Wallet

These are banking applications that can either be connected to a bank account or not. You use them for purchases, to pay your bills and for money transfers. They are a bit like a pre-paid card as you literally have to add money into the wallet in advance. Currently there are 17 banks in Egypt offering E-Wallet services. Find out more here: What are E-Wallets?

2- Your Mobile Network Provider Application

Egypt currently has 4 telecom companies, each with its own application to serve its customers. Using these applications you can control your line without having to go through customer service by phone or physically at their branches:

• Ana Vodafone.
• My Etisalat.
• My Orange.
• My We.

By the way you can compare between the 4 companies and find the mobile package that suits you the best here: Vodafone, Etisalat, Orange, and We, 100 EGP packages, compare and choose the best for you.

3- Money Transfer apps

You can transfer money using your phone, but you will need specific applications to do so. The most popular company at the moment that offers this service in Egypt is Fawry “MyFawry”. All four telecom companies also offer this service to their clients through their apps. Etisalat Cash, and Orange Cash are both separate apps other than the companies’ original apps while both Vodafone and We offer their cash services as part of Ana Vodafone and My We respectively. 

4- Online Meeting apps

With social distancing taking effect because of Covid-19 many people were forced to work from home and thus needed a way to have online meetings. Applications such as Zoom and Google Meet, became essential and even now when most of us are back in the office we still use them.

5- Taxi applications

Order a Taxi using your mobile phone by having one of 2 applications on your phone, Uber or Careem, and make sure to keep track of any offers they have for their customers. 

                Find out which is the best for you Uber or Careem!

6- Bus Ticket

You can even reserve a spot on the bus using your phone these days which is very useful especially if your errands are far away. There are two applications available Swivel and Uber Bus.

Find the best service for you, compare between Uber Bus, Swvl or a regular Microbus.

7- Food Delivery apps

These applications are a God send for those who don’t have the time to cook or just don’t feel like it, not to mention they make the restaurants’ menus and phone numbers available online so that you don’t have to keep a lot of paper menus around the house/office. They also have regular offers for their customers. The most popular apps in Egypt are Talabat and ElMenus.

                Compare between Talabat and ElMenus, and the offers they provide here!

8- Scanners

With Covid-19 restrictions, several services had to find an alternative to hardcopies and use soft copies for their paperwork. Many restaurants stopped issuing hardcopy menus and started posting their menus online or used QR codes instead which is why you will need a QR code app on your phone (if your mobile camera doesn’t detect QR codes automatically).

9- Make money from your hobby

If you’re a photographer or have photography as a hobby and like to take a lot of pictures, you can sell these photographs via some applications that display your pictures and act as an intermediate between you and the buyer such as Shutterstock and Twenty20.

10- Online shopping

Who hasn’t used online shopping sites or followed certain brands online? Many brands have their own mobile applications and if you download these apps your online shopping experience will be much easier and you will be notified of their offers as soon as they start. The most popular apps in Egypt are Jumia, Amazon (previously Souq.com), as well as brands like Zara, H&M and Ikea among others.