The Apple iPad is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful tablets on the market. An elegant design, intuitive interface, and a massive app ecosystem that lets you do nearly anything you can imagine have all combined to propel the iPad to stardom. Want to watch a movie? Download the Netflix app. Want to get some work done? Download the long-awaited and recently released Microsoft Word for iPad app. Any task you want to do, there's probably an app for that.
According to Apple, more than a half-million dedicated iPad apps have been released worldwide. That's an incredible number of apps to enhance and expand the iPad family's functionality, whether you've got an old iPad 2 or a brand-spanking-new iPad Air.
That poses a discovery problem: How does one navigate the 500,000+ apps and find those that are worth downloading? It's quite simple, really. Check out PCMag.com's picks. Our staff has tested hundreds of iPad apps and kicked the stinkers to the curb. If you're the intrepid type, you could dig through the depths of the App Store for user reviews, but do you really want to do that? That demands a lot of time, and little-known apps may have only a handful of reviews, despite being great.
What You'll Find in This List
This list includes native iPad apps that deliver unique and compelling tablet-based experiences, not iPhone or iPod touch apps running in 2X mode. We've divided our selections into seven categories to make app-discovery incredibly easy: Social Networking, Business, Communication, Entertainment, Creativity, News/Reference/ Information, and Reading. There's an iPad app for everyone. Install the apps of interest (assuming your iPad is compatible and has the available storage!), and you'll enjoy an excellent tablet experience. 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.
This list includes native iPad apps that deliver unique and compelling tablet-based experiences, not iPhone or iPod touch apps running in 2X mode. We've divided our selections into seven categories to make app-discovery incredibly easy: Social Networking, Business, Communication, Entertainment, Creativity, News/Reference/ Information, and Reading. There's an iPad app for everyone. Install the apps of interest (assuming your iPad is compatible and has the available storage!), and you'll enjoy an excellent tablet experience. 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
In this round-up you will not find pre-installed apps or mobile games. The former aren't included because default apps are easy to find—they live on your iPad's home screen. The latter aren't included because we've given the best iPad gamestheir own dedicated, curated section that highlights the best iOS tablet games.
In this round-up you will not find pre-installed apps or mobile games. The former aren't included because default apps are easy to find—they live on your iPad's home screen. The latter aren't included because we've given the best iPad gamestheir own dedicated, curated section that highlights the best iOS tablet games.
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 the full review to learn more about it.
Ready to discover some awesome iPad apps? Let's get started.
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.
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.
Hootsuite
Free
HootSuite allows users to create numerous social network streams and view them in a clean, friendly interface, dispatching messages to multiple networks simultaneously.
HootSuite allows users to create numerous social network streams and view them in a clean, friendly interface, dispatching messages to multiple networks simultaneously.
 | Tweetbot  Featuring an excellent design and loads of customization options, Tweetbot is an iPad app that Twitter users should sample—but only if they use Twitter exclusively. If you want to integrate Twitter and Facebook, MyPad is the way to go, but if Twitter is your exclusive social network, Tweetbot is a superior selection. |
 | TweetDeck for iPad It may not support social networks such as Facebook or location-based services such as Foursquare, but TweetDeck for iPad is a respectable Twitter reader with an intuitive interface and accurate geo-tagging. |
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.
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 Yelp's iOS app brings the Web site's reviews and recommendations to the iPad, but diehard Yelpers will miss a handful of features that didn't get ported to Apple's tablet. |
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