The 7 apps you pay for could soon be replaced for free by iOS 18
With iOS 18 bringing a wealth of new features and functions later this year, you may be able to retire some of the apps and services you currently depend on – and maybe save some money, too. As is often the case with Apple’s software updates, the next iPhone upgrade will patch a number of holes currently being filled by third-party developers.
Of course, there are also reasons to stick with these third-party options – they often give you more flexibility and more advanced features, and you may not want Apple to be in charge of everything you do. what you do on your phone. On the other hand, if you ditch everything we’ve listed below, you could save up to $58 / £50 / AU$85 every month.
These are the top apps and services whose key features have been added to iOS 18. You could say Apple has Sherlocked them – a term commonly used when Apple’s software copies a third-party app, in honor of the old Sherlock file search feature on macOS that eventually duplicated its functions in an independent program called Watson.
However you interpret iOS 18’s upgrades, here are the apps you’ll soon be able to take off your hands (and bank statements)…
1. LastPass (and other password apps)
iOS, iPadOS, and macOS have been able to manage passwords and other information and sync them securely between devices for a while now. But iOS 18 is going to bring its own standalone password manager – and that could mean you’ll be able to do without such apps LastPass, 1Passwordor whatever it is you are currently using.
Passwords, passcodes, and codes can all be handled by iOS 18, and you’ll be able to share these logins with ease as well. Interestingly, Apple Passwords also works with third-party web browsers, such as Chrome and Edge, through an extension called iCloud Extension.
However, there’s one big reason why you might still want to keep paying $3 / £2.60 / AU$4.50 per month to LastPass: you regularly use non-Apple devices (and it’s worth it to note that LastPass is free for one device, too).
2. Grammatical
One of the most important tricks you can do with Apple Intelligence – the new Apple AI coming to iOS 18 – is to make sure it checks the text you’ve written for spelling and grammatical errors, whether it’s in a web form, a email, text message or something else. You can even ask for your text to be rewritten to change the tone or brevity of the text.
All of this is very much in the wheelhouse of Grammatically, which enables AI-powered text checking and rewriting in your web browser and across all your different devices. While you can do a lot for free with Grammarly, much of the AI-powered magic requires a subscription, and that starts from $12/£10 (about AU$18) per month.
3. Otter AI
Otter is one of the best-known and most versatile speech transcription apps out there, and it uses advanced AI modeling to convert spoken audio into written text with a high degree of accuracy. If you need transcripts of meetings, interviews, or anything else, Otter can usually produce them just fine, and at a decent speed, too.
However, you can only work with 30-minute files and up to 300 minutes of audio per month – after that you’ll pay from $10 (about £8 / AU$15 per month). iOS 18, meanwhile, will record, transcribe and summarize as much audio as you want via the Notes app – which could mean many Otter users decide to make the switch.
4. TapeAC call
If you need a call recording, TapeACcall does the work for you for $10.99 / AU$17.99 (it’s free in the UK now) and is packed with features: text transcriptions, cloud sync, conference call recording and more. However, it doesn’t work natively on your phone, instead setting up a group call with your contacts and TapeACall to do the recording.
Additionally, you only get a limited number of recording minutes with the upfront price of the app, while more are available through a subscription. With that in mind, you might want to consider switching to iOS 18’s built-in call recording features, which are built right into the Phone app and also offer automatic text transcription.
5. ChatGPT Plus
With OpenAI adding so much functionality to the free version of ChatGPT lately, you may have already weighed in on how much bang for your buck you get from your ChatGPT Plus subscription. But now that Siri is also getting ChatGPT features, you have one more reason to stop paying for your AI chatbot access every month.
We’re not talking about Apple’s own LLM (Large Language Model) and AI chatbot (although that may come later): we’re talking about the same artificial intelligence text responses currently offered by ChatGPT Plus, available through Siri, thanks to the deal from Apple with OpenAI. You can save $20 (about £16 / AU$30) every month.
6. Bullitt satellite messenger
Since the iPhone 14 launched in 2022, iOS users have been able to connect to a passing satellite to send an emergency SOS message if they are in trouble and in an area without mobile network coverage. With iOS 18, any text can be sent via satellite if necessary, so you can always stay in touch with friends and family, wherever you are.
So far, Apple hasn’t said anything about this feature costing money (there are rumors that emergency SOS satellite communications will become a paid feature, but for now it’s free). This means that you cancel the subscriptions of Bullitt satellite messengerwhich start at $9.99 / £9.99 (about AU$15) for 80 texts per month.
7. AllTrails
Another improvement that iOS 18 brings is the Apple Maps app, which lets you browse thousands of different hiking trails spanning all 63 national parks in the United States. There are filters for length, elevation and route type, so you can find something that suits you perfectly – and you can also set up your own custom routes if necessary.
These improvements might make you think twice about renewing your AllTrails Plus subscription (at least in the US), which costs $35.99 / £35.99 / AU$35.99 every year. Granted, that covers many more routes and many more parts of the world than Apple’s offering, but you might find that Apple Maps covers everything you need – and it will no doubt expand over time too.