What to Install on Your iPhone Before Finals Hit: 10 Top Apps
Finals week is chaos. Between papers, quizzes, and group projects, your brain is stretched thin. If you’re like most students, your iPhone becomes your command center—calendar, notepad, email, alarm clock, and stress relief all in one.
Yet, not all apps are built for crunch time. You want tools that save you time, help you stay focused, and maybe even calm you down. Sometimes, you can rely on academic essay writing services in USA to manage the workload, but for the rest of your study life, you just need the right apps. Start with these essentials.
Cite This For Me for Quick Citations
Finals mean papers, and papers mean citations. Cite This For Me helps you generate citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard formats in seconds. Just plug in the book title, article link, or DOI, and the app does the rest.
It’s especially handy when you’re wrapping up a paper on your phone and need to double-check sources fast. It won’t replace careful proofreading, but it saves time and reduces the stress of formatting at 2 a.m.
Forest for Staying Off TikTok
Forest helps you stay off your phone when you need to concentrate. You plant a virtual tree, and it grows while you study. If you leave the app, the tree dies.
It sounds simple, but it’s weirdly motivating. Especially during long reading sessions or when writing an essay, seeing that tree thrive keeps you on task. Plus, the app tracks your focused minutes, which helps you see progress even on days that feel unproductive.
Quizlet for Speed Review
If you’ve ever crammed with flashcards, you already know how helpful they are. Quizlet just makes it faster and easier. You can make your own sets or search millions of pre-made ones by subject.
During finals, the test mode and matching games are super useful for quick review. Whether you’re brushing up on psych terms or formulas, Quizlet is way more efficient than flipping through a textbook.
Grammarly Keyboard for Last-Minute Polishing
Most students know Grammarly from the desktop extension, but the iPhone keyboard version is a lifesaver, too. It catches grammar mistakes, typos, and awkward phrasing as you write emails, notes, or essay drafts.
It’s especially helpful if you’re working in Google Docs on your phone or sending assignments to your professor. Clean writing = better impressions. And when you’re rushed, it catches things your brain skips over.
Tide for Focus and Background Sound
Tide combines a Pomodoro-style timer with relaxing background sounds like ocean waves, rain, or soft piano. It’s built for focus sessions, with short breaks in between to avoid burnout.
Use it when you’re writing, revising, or trying to memorize things. The timer structure keeps you from going too long without breaks, and the sounds help block out distractions around you. It’s simple but surprisingly effective.
Otter for Recording and Transcribing Lectures
Missed something in class or too tired to take notes? Otter records audio and turns it into text. It’s not always perfect, but it’s good enough to catch the key points.
You can label different recordings by class, highlight important sections, and even search for keywords. During finals, going back to those transcriptions saves time and helps fill in the gaps when your notes are messy or incomplete.
Headspace for Five-Minute Study Breaks
Your brain can’t run nonstop. Headspace offers short guided meditations, breathing exercises, and mini mental resets. Even a five-minute session between study blocks can help clear your head.
The app also includes focus music and sleep aids, which come in handy when your schedule’s wrecked. Finals bring pressure, but Headspace keeps you from crashing.
Scrivener for Writing Projects
Scrivener isn’t as well-known among students, but it’s great if you’re tackling a big paper or final project. It lets you split writing into smaller sections, organize research, and move parts around without breaking the whole doc.
It’s like a super-powered word processor. Especially helpful if your essay needs a lot of structure or if you’re experimenting with new writing techniques but don’t want to start over every time.
Speechify for Listening to Readings
Too tired to read one more PDF? Upload it to Speechify. It reads text aloud with natural voices, so you can absorb information while walking, cooking, or resting your eyes.
You can listen at faster speeds and still retain the content. It’s a solid way to review readings, especially if you’re short on time or want to switch up your study routine.
Calm for Sleep and Stress Relief
Sleep often gets ignored during finals, but it’s key to retaining information. Calm offers sleep stories, guided meditations, and soundscapes that actually help you fall asleep faster.
If your brain won’t turn off after hours of studying, Calm gives you something to focus on. It’s also helpful for test-day anxiety or winding down after a long stretch of intense work.
The Bottom Line
Finals week is all about getting through it without burning out. The right iPhone apps can make that easier by helping you stay organized, focused, and mentally balanced.
You don’t need dozens of tools, just a few that match how you study and how your brain handles stress. Whether you’re building flashcards, managing deadlines, or testing out new writing techniques, these apps can keep you on track without draining your energy.
