Collections September 2026

5 apps for a year of trying new things

Trying new things mostly fails at the first step — not knowing where to go, who with, or what you had meant to try in the first place. These five each remove one of those: a trail at your level, the list itself, a group that already does the thing, a single class instead of a membership, and an instrument you can start on today.

The apps for a year of trying new things are AllTrails, BucketPal, Meetup, ClassPass and Simply Piano. I built BucketPal; the other 4 are other developers’ apps.

MiaAppLog— an iOS developer who reviews other people’s apps
Published September 2026 · apps and prices last checked 13 October 2026

Four stars is my score for how well an app answers this moment. An app I built gets four and a half — that is a rule, not a comparison. The App Store’s own average is on each card beside it.

1. 

   AllTrails

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Health & Fitness · App Store 4.9 (1,040,974)

   Find a trail by location and skill level, with turn-by-turn navigation.

   Official site ↗More lists with AllTrails

   
2. 

   BucketPal Editor’s pick

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · Free · Lifestyle · App Store 4.9 (16)

   Goals across 10 areas of life, so you can spot the ones you've neglected.

   App Store ↗More lists with BucketPal

   
3. 

   Meetup

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Social Networking · App Store 4.7 (272,660)

   Find a group for the thing you want to try, and people to try it with.

   Official site ↗More lists with Meetup

   
4. 

   ClassPass

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Health & Fitness · App Store 4.8 (198,603)

   Try cycling, boxing, yoga and more at studios near you, class by class.

   Official site ↗More lists with ClassPass

   
5. 

   Simply Piano

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Education · App Store 4.7 (854,733)

   Learn piano from zero with songs you know, on any piano or keyboard.

   Official site ↗More lists with Simply Piano

   

BucketPal is one of mine — everything else on this list is someone else’s app. How that works.