By Karri CEO Doug Hoernle

Apps can transform the way you live, they can help you manage your time better and ensure that you're always connected. Whether it's ordering takeaways, checking the weather, booking a hotel room or calling a taxi, apps make life easier.

There are countless innovative apps that have been specifically developed to simplify our daily lives and there are no limits to what your smartphone can achieve - but you’re going to need the right apps. With so many apps to choose from in the App Store and Google Play Store, how does one choose?

App Store has more than 2 million apps and Google Play Store nearly 3 million apps, but not all of them are worth downloading. One first needs to consider their ratings and rankings and also the user reviews before downloading the correct app.

Unfortunately most smartphones are full of useless apps and many of them don't add much value. So how does one determine which apps are a waste of time and which ones could really make a difference. The answer is easy, read the user reviews.

The usefulness of any app is usually limited to the habits of the people using them, so one really needs to read the reviews to understand the application and user experiences. Here is a list of some of the top apps according to rankings, ratings and reviews. These indicators don’t lie, if an app is changing people’s lives, they are likely to say so.

Instagram

It’s a great app with a 4.4 out of 5 rating and with the majority being 5 star ratings. People seem to love it. Just today Instagram received hundreds of glowing user reviews. No wonder it’s one of the world’s most loved apps. Yes this app basically has an unlimited budget, likely the best technical team in the world and is worth a billion dollars.

Zapper 

A rating of 4.3 out of 5. The customer service team is responding to all reviews as well which is a great sign and the app was recently reviewed. Definitely being used!

Karri

An amazing 4.7 out of 5 rating. In fact, there is nothing less than 5 stars in the past 1000 reviews. That’s better than both Instagram and Whatsapp. Lots of people recently reviewed the app and said how much they love it. More importantly, the Karri customer service team is responding to reviews. Now this is an app that is going to make my one's life better!

Karri has already removed millions of Rands from the school environment. This innovative school payment app was developed to remove the need for cash at schools, ultimately making learning environments safer for students and teachers alike.

Choosing an app

When deciding on an app, check that the rating is at least 4 out of 5, read the reviews and check that that company responds to reviews. If all four boxes are ticked, download and enjoy.