The best AI apps for iOS and Android in a comprehensive test

OpenAI’s undisputed market leader, ChatGPT sets the standard for conversational AI. The app is clean, fast, and syncs seamlessly across all your devices. Powered by the latest GPT-40 model, it understands and responds to speech, text, and images in real time. Perfect for brainstorming, composing emails, or getting complex topics explained simply.

Pro tip: Use the voice feature for hands-free conversations.

Microsoft’s direct competitor, Copilot combines the best of both worlds. It often offers free access to advanced models like GPT-4 and the DALL-E 3 image generator. Its biggest advantage is its deep integration with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem (Word, Excel, Teams). If you rely on Microsoft for work, this is the app for you.

Pro tip: Use Copilot to summarize emails in Outlook or documents in Word.

Google’s answer to ChatGPT, deeply integrated into the Google universe, Gemini (formerly Bard) has an unbeatable advantage: it’s directly connected to your Google account. It can search your emails in Gmail, find appointments in Google Calendar, or pull information from Google Maps. It’s the ultimate personal assistant for anyone living within the Google ecosystem.

Pro tip: Ask Gemini: “Summarize my unread emails from the last 24 hours.”

An AI search engine specializing in facts and sources. While chatbots sometimes “hallucinate” (make things up), Perplexity is built for research. It answers your questions and always provides the sources (links). It’s the best app for quickly getting well-informed answers with evidence.

Pro tip: Use the “Focus” feature to limit your search to academic articles or YouTube.

The go-to tool for social media graphics, now with a powerful AI suite. Canvas “Magic Studio” is a powerhouse. You can create designs by typing in text (“Create an Instagram post for a summer sale”), remove or replace objects from photos (“Magic Eraser” & “Magic Edit”), and even have AI generate presentations.

Pro tip: Use “Magic Write” to generate text for your posts directly within your design draft.

The photo editor that sparked a viral sensation with its “Magic Avatars.” Even after the avatar craze, Lensa remains an extremely powerful editor. “Magic Retouch” enhances portraits with a single click, removing blemishes and adjusting lighting—all at a level that previously required professional software.

Pro tip: Experiment with the “Art Styles” to transform your selfies into different art styles.

An AI photo enhancer that works wonders. Do you have old, blurry, or pixelated family photos? Remini can restore them with incredible clarity. The AI ​​analyzes the image and realistically “paints” missing details (like faces or textures). The before-and-after effect is often shockingly good.

Pro tip: Use it to digitize old scanned photos and bring them back to life.

Your “second brain”—an app for notes, wikis, and tasks, now powered by AI. Notion has always been powerful, but the AI ​​integration takes it to a whole new level. Highlight any text and let the AI ​​summarize, translate, improve, or turn it into a to-do list. You can even generate entire pages based on a single command.

Pro tip: Use the “Find Action Items” feature to automatically transform lengthy meeting notes into a list of tasks.

Arguably the world’s most precise AI translator. When it comes to translations that understand not only word for word, but also context and nuance, DeepL is often better than Google Translate. The AI ​​understands idioms and technical jargon with impressive accuracy.

Pro tip: Use the camera function to translate menus or signs abroad in real time.

An AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes conversations. Launch Otter.ai during a meeting or lecture, and the app will not only take notes but also identify who is speaking. After the conversation, you’ll receive a full transcript and—more importantly—an AI-generated summary highlighting the key points and action items.

Pro tip: Connect it to your calendar (Zoom, Google Meet) so the “Otter bot” automatically joins meetings and takes notes, even when you’re not there.

An AI language coach specializing in your English pronunciation. While Duolingo teaches grammar, ELSA listens to you. You speak a sentence, and the AI ​​analyzes your pronunciation at the phoneme level, giving you immediate, detailed feedback (“Your ‘th’ was a bit too much like an ‘s'”). It’s like having a private pronunciation trainer.

Pro tip: Take the placement test so the AI ​​can create a personalized learning plan for your specific weaknesses.

The ultimate homework helper for high school and university students. Stuck on a math formula or a history question? Simply take a picture of the problem. Socratic (powered by Google AI) not only finds the answer, but—and this is the key point—it shows you step-by-step explanations, related concepts, and helpful videos. It wants you to understand, not just copy.

Pro tip: Works great for science concepts and formulas too.