Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

Being a “renewed” iPhone user you’ll probably want see a lot of apps that you’ll want.
One suggestion I have is to organize, or group your apps into folders. Otherwise they’ll be spread out on different screens.

To do this, hold your finger down on an app that you want to group into a folder. Everything will start wiggling. Keep your finger on the app and drag it over an app you want to group with. At this time you can drag other, like, apps into that one folder. Be sure to name the folder.
When you’re finished, tape “Done” at the upper right hand corner of the screen.

The newer iPhones, since the X came out are missing the Home Button. There is a way to put a “floating” home button on the screen. If you’re interested, PM me and I’ll give you instructions.
Enjoy your new iPhones.

Sergey

Red6, george19 and IHH61 (and others) gave you a lot of good tips and information.

As someone already said iPhone 12 has a great camera. If you don't like the built-in camera app (I have iPhone 11 and it doesn't allow shooting raw, but I believe iPhone 12 allows shooting raw with the built-in Camera app) there are apps like ProCamera, Halide and a few others - very capable apps that allows shooting raw.

TPE, PhotoPills, Planit - these are good photography tools, Google Maps (for driving), many banks have their apps - I don't go to the bank anymore, can do everything from my phone, including checks depositing. I hike, so apps like Gaia GPS, All Trails, Guthook and some others get a lot of use when I hike or backpack.
Zelle and Venmo to transfer money.

Reminders - good for grocery lists, Notes - for any notes, Calendar - appointments, reminders, etc.

If you live in a city and use public transportation - some cities have their apps with transportation maps and schedules, some with live updates where you can see where is the next bus/train is at the moment.

If you have friends/relatives abroad apps like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber let you communicate with them cheap or free.
If you use Uber or Lift you also need their apps.
Units is a good app for converting Liters to Fl.oz, meters to inches, etc.
If you have smart devices at home like Nest, it's very easy to adjust T, turn A/C or heat on and off, etc.

If you photograph in National Parks there are apps with all kinds of information.

Many cameras have apps so you can connect and remote control them from your phone. I don't use it often but did use a few times when backpacking and didn't have remote cable and was shooting in the dark - that was very handy.

If you shop on Amazon or B&H PhotoVideo - they have very good apps, so yo can do it from your phone.

If you travel - there are apps where you can check your flight status, have your boarding passes, etc.

Someone mentioned PeakFinder (I use it too when hike/backpack). There are apps that allows you to take a picture of a plant in the woods and will tell you what this plant is.

Again for hiking/backpacking (but can be used at home or in the city too) - first aid apps.

Built-in texting app - I text much more than I talk on the phone. (I do not text while driving). Siri can read you texts that you received (if you are driving or don't have your glasses around). Siri can text for you - you dictate the messages and she will send it for you (again if you are driving). Siri can create a reminder, appointment in the calendar, etc. My kids use Siri a lot for that kind of stuff. I don't do it often because Siri has a hard time with my accent :)

If you listen music (I do when hike or drive) - apps like Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music (require subscription).
If you listen to podcasts - there are many podcasts, including photography oriented.

Built-in flash light - handy sometimes.

Apps like Kindle or Apple Books - not best on the phone but I use them to read in a pinch - when backpacking (in the tent) or if stuck in the line.

I often use iPhone (with corresponding app) as a scanner - I take pictures of the pages and it will convert to PDF (easier to find than just pictures). So I always save PDF version of description of trails I hike.

There are so many more. It all depends on what is useful.

With that overwhelming number of apps it does get really difficult to find them. Someone already mentioned organizing them in folders by topic, moving unused ones (or rarely used) to the last page. I rarely search for the app by the icon (I have way too many to find them) but if you swipe your finger from the top of the screen down it will open a search field - you type beginning of the app name and you'll get a list of apps matching the search criteria - that's how I find most of them.

And of course browsers - built-in Safari, or downloadable Google Chrome, Mizila Firefox, Opera and some others - whatever you prefer. Sometimes you just need to check something on the web when on the move (if a store is open, where is the closest restaurant, etc). Safari also lets you generate passwords that are much more secure that "cat123" and will store them so you don't need to remember them (you really can't unless you are a computer). There are also special password generation and storage apps like DashLane, eWallet, 1Password and others - again to help with secure passwords.

Sorry for long posting, but you asked :)

Enjoy your phone, it's a very useful tool.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

I will never understand why people are sold on the idea that they must have immediate access to a phone constantly, and the cost of those phones is out of site. Most pay more attention to their phones when behind the wheel of a car than keeping their eyes on the road. The President may need that constant access to a phone, but I can't really see it for the average goof off that walks into a water fountain or pole because they were looking at a phone instead of where they are going. I find a camera most useful for photography, not an overpriced souped up phone.

SlideArtist Loc: Connecticut

I have only known I Phones and have learned to use most of it. Don't use cloud-pictures I take I download onto computer hard drives using Sandisk. I use I phone 7+ which is a heavy pone with two lenses. My main comment is hat I have dropped it numerous times and have been saved by my Outer Box. Besides the plastic cover it has a rubber outer level so it has been well protected-even from a unwarranted accidental fly across a room. So my advice to anyone- get the best protection you can in a case. You probably can forgo the cost of insuring it unless you're a bathroom user-you get the drift.

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

Just use the new phone daily and you will get the hang of it and your wife will also help. I had my i-phone for a year before I used it but realized that my old phone was costing me more.

The best way to get a good deal is to tell your provider that you are leaving them and they may cut their charges in half. I did that with my phone and for £5 a month I can use as much as I like and have therefore got a cheaper tariff for my house phone saving me more money.

MrMophoto Loc: Rhode Island "The biggest little"

LFingar, you asked for some suggestions for smartphone apps and it looks like you got a more info (and opinions) than needed, so I'll add my own. I've been teaching photography in a public high school for almost twenty years. For the past five years I've included a unit on smartphone photography. I strongly encourage my students to download Snapseed, I consider it the photoshop of smartphone apps, It's a free download now owned by Google. There are plenty of Youtube tutorials on the app. When I read an article about a smartphone photographer they always mention this app. For my personal work, I also use Mirrorly, Blender, and the Photoshop app (yeah they make an app for smartphones)
A word of encouragement; Smartphone photography and become a mainstream genre of photography, if you doubt that look up the winners of the IPPAwards, a prestigious international photo contest that only accepts work from smartphones, if you use a desktop computer for any part of the production, you will be immediately disqualified.

ColonelButler Loc: Niagara-on-the-Lake ON Canada

Get the PhotoPills app. Great for planning shots plus a number of other photo related calculations.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Check out Emile Pakarklis on YouTube. Lots of good stuff there, most of it pretty basic but some good gems here and there.

duckfan48

Wow… so many comments and replies from iPhone haters, and here I have the same feelings about Android phones. Since retiring I have two businesses. One I perform insurance damage appraisal inspections, and other is product and food photography. My iPhone 12 Pro and this 8 plus are constantly in use. No issues, I use iPads, iMac, and a window 10 pro laptop. No issues.
I bought my first iPhone in ‘07 two months after release, and never had an issue. My current main phone is an 12 pro max with lots of storage. I never had to ever replace batteries, and the camera on my 12 is pretty good. I shoot Sony RAW.
About your questions. You mentioned you found apps supporting Canon. Great! Don’t download all just yet is my suggestion. Do one, get used to it then move to another. I use Sony, Nikon, DJI, and GoPro. So i have ally’s for each, and folders that apply to those cameras. Then there’s Affinity, and Lightroom.
Now about the OEM pre installed apps. My advice is to open one at a time, review and if it has no application to what you do, then create a “folder” and move it there OR DELETE.
On this phone (I use two daily) my multi folders are ‘games’ and ‘stuff’.
Lastly, about those “other” photo apps, there are many, but before you dive into them if your wanting to learn the phones camera just start shooting, and for starters stay with the OEM ‘Photos’ app. There you can edit, crop, and apply several minor features. Then weigh out what your needs. You didn’t mention what program you normally use to edit with your computer, but I’m sure “there’s an app for that”.
Enjoy your new ‘phone’.

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

Wow! The sky is the limit. You have given some really useful information.

I am amazed at what can be achieved. I think that most seniors and I am one of them are a bit nervous, but once we get going our confidence will grow. Thank you for sharing what you do with your phone.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

These are the PHOTO apps I use:

Photos
Camera
Camera +
Hipstamatic
Photoshop Express
Snapseed
Epson Print
MyLightMeterPro
Depth of Field Calc
mpix
Panasonic Image App (controls my GH4 via WiFi)

I also use LOTS of other apps:

Calendar (my only calendar! It syncs with my Mac.)
Clock (World Clock, Alarm Clock, Stopwatch and Timer)
Weather
Calculator
Books (Reading books and PDFs of all sorts)
Kindle
Advanced English Dictionary and Thesaurus
Tapatalk (for reading the PriusChat forum)
NextDoor (neighborhood social media chat service)
Mu-43 Forum (Micro 4/3 news and rumors)
TuneIn Radio (Internet radio beats AM/FM/Shortwave)
iHeart Radio (more of the same)
Podcasts (plays podcasts)
YouTube (oh my god the best video source on the planet)
IMDb (movie and performer database)
Prime Video (Amazon video service)
Spectrum TV (watch "cable" TV anywhere on my home WiFi network)
Netflix (movies)
Voice Memos (simple but hi-fi voice recorder for dictation or whatever)
Notes (notepad networked with my Macs)
Reminders (Hey Bill, take out the garbage at 7:30 on Wednesdays)
OpenTable, Urbanspoon and Yelp (get local restaurant and other business ratings by local people)
American, Fly Delta, and Allegiant (make and alter airline reservations, electronic boarding passes, etc.)
Hampton, IHG, HiltonHonors, Curb, Uber, Enterprise, Expedia, Hotel Tonight, Trivago, Travelocity, Booking.com (travel reservations, etc.)
AMICA (my insurance company's excellent app for claims, accident assistance, etc.)
Google Maps, MapQuest, Maps (turn-by-turn navigation)
Messages (Apple Messages and T-Mobile text messages)
Stocks (track my retirement investments)
Convert Units, iHandy Level, Inflation Calc, Compass, Measure (utilities)
SpeedTest (check Internet connection)
Nighthawk (manage my WiFi router)
FaceTime (video calls)
Contacts (my electronic Little Black Book of people)
Google (search, etc.)
App Store (get more apps)
Phone, Mail, Safari, Music (bottom of my home screen)
Various banking apps
Various shopping apps
Audio and video editing apps
Scanning apps
Barcode shopping apps
Newsreader apps
Health apps

Nearly every business that sells products or services eventually develops an app. I use the Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Walgreens, Zillow, eBay, iTunes Store, Apple Store, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H apps.

I have a lot more on other screens that I seldom use.

While Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook...) run on the iPhone, I use them only on computers.

While Apple Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand, and iMovie run on the iPhone, I use them only on my Mac.

The beauty of iPhone is that it is a "supercomputer in your pocket." It can do virtually anything you need a computer to do, from anywhere you have a cellular or WiFi signal. As I encounter a situation where "there's an app for that," I consider whether to download and use it. Most are cheap (under $5 or free).

I got an iPhone 3Gs in 2009 because my Director of Training required all of us on staff to have them. The company bought the plan, we bought the phones. All of us in the management group at Herff Jones had iPhones and ran our business and personal lives on them.

From 2009 to 2012, I was in the air at least twice a month, training somewhere. The iPhone and my MacBook Pro (that also ran Windows XP) were what made it tolerable. So long as I had a cellular or wired Internet or WiFi connection, I was "in my office." Having a lifeline in my bag and pocket — to every service I used, all my computing resources, and my family and coworkers — kept me sane when freezing in Fargo or melting in Miami.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

If folks can’t figure out how to use an (simple) iPhone, then flip phones are still available for them.
And, screens crack because the phones are dropped.
I absolutely love my iPhone 12 Pro Max. And now that I have it synced to Apple Car Play in my car, I’m never going back.
Their cameras are great! Here’s an image I recently took on a trip up the Oregon coast.

(Download)

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Nice photo.

We learned a few phones ago to buy sturdy cases and screen protectors. My current iPhone 7 Plus is four years old. I’ve dropped it many times. I’m on my third case and original screen protector. No phone damage…

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Totally agree about buying sturdy cases and screen protectors. I’ve had several iPhones since they first came out in 2007, and have never had a cracked screen, thanks to cases, even though I’ve accidentally dropped them.
Whenever I see someone carrying a smartphone with a cracked screen, invariably there’s no case on it.
I constantly say to my son, with his cracked screens, “you can lead a horse to water ... “

Sergey

I'm glad you found it useful. I am not a senior (yes) but getting close. Don't let technology scare you. There is a lot of good stuff there (and a lot of junk and harmful stuff too unfortunately). Embracing all of it maybe a daunting but you don't have to. Do it at your own pace and find what is useful for you. You'll be surprised that most apps are quite easy to use and save time.