A tablet is only as good as its apps. Even premium slates, the devices that possess supremely attractive designs and incredibly high-resolution displays, ultimately live or die on the strength of their app stores. What use is a tablet if there’s next to nothing to download to it? Fortunately, Apple’s excellentiPad and iPad mini share an app library that’s the best in the biz.
Though iPads aren’t the cheapest tablets on the market, Apple absolutely slays the competition when it comes to apps. According to Apple, more than a half-million dedicated iPad apps have been released worldwide. The right set of apps can transform the iPad into nearly anything you desire. Want to watch a movie while relaxing in the backyard? Download the Netflix app. Want to finish a proposal over brunch? Download Microsoft Word for iPad. Any task you want to do, there’s probably an app for that.
The downside is a discovery problem. How do you navigate more than 375,000 iPad-optimized apps to find those worth downloading? Easy. Read PCMag.com’s picks. Our staff has tested hundreds of iPad apps and highlighted the best of the best. If you’re a glutton for punishment, you could dig through the depths of the App Store for user reviews, but that demands a lot of time. Plus, little-known apps of high quality may have only a handful of reviews. Just sit back and allow us to assist.
What You’ll Find in This List
The 100 Best iPad Apps features native iPad apps that deliver unique and compelling tablet-based experiences, not iPhone or iPod touch apps running in 2X mode. For your convenience, we’ve divided our selections into seven easy-to-navigate categories: Social Networking; Business and Productivity; Communication; Entertainment; Creativity; News, Reference, and Information; and Reading. We’ve also included links to in-depth reviews where available. Rest assured that even those apps that haven’t been fully reviewed are included because they’ve impressed us after some serious hands-on time.
What You Won’t Find in This List
The 100 Best iPad Apps doesn’t include pre-installed apps or mobile games. The former aren’t included because default apps are easy to find—they already live on your iPad’s home screen. The latter aren’t included because we’ve broken out the best iPad games into their own dedicated article.
You can either navigate our list via the 100 Best iPad Apps slideshow or the table of contents at the top right. As always, if a particular app catches your eye, click through to read the full review to learn more.
Ready to discover some awesome iPad apps? Let’s get started.
Social Networking
Facebook for iPad
Free
Facebook took its sweet time bringing a dedicated iPad app to market, but in the year since its release, the app has blossomed into a full-featured service. It needs just a few more refinements to meet all iPad users’ needs.
 | Tweetbot  $2.99 |
 | TweetDeck for iPad Free |
Twitter for iPad
Free
Crafting new tweets may prove irritating due to an overcrowded screen, but the Editors’ Choice award-winning Twitter for iPad is the best mobile Twitter client around, hands-down.
 | Yelp Free |
