Unless you’re one of the lucky people who is on an unlimited data plan, you have to worry about your cellular data usage. While iOS already has an in built monitor that lets you view your usage, it is hidden deep inside the settings. When it comes to monitoring your usage on iOS just like with weather monitoring apps, you either get apps with detailed statistics or apps that simply inform you of your usage. DataMan Next falls into the second category.
DataMan Next is a lot like a minimal weather app. On launching the app for the first time you are prompted to enter details about your data plan and then the app is good to go. The main view has your usage percentage in the middle in bold with the amount of days left in this cycle below it. The app monitors cellular and wifi usage and the bottom of the screen is split up into both of those and you can even make the app display downloads and uploads separately instead of combined usage. The main attraction of the app is the background colour changing depending on your usage and forecast. DataMan Next has a Smart Forecast that looks at your current usage to decide whether you are on track to exceed your usage or not. The best part here is you can just launch the app and quickly go to something else after glancing at the colour of the background. Everything looks great. You can swipe up to view your usage history and swipe to the left to access the settings. Editing your data plan, usage alert percentages and resetting the statistics can be done from here.
I really wish Apple had a better way of monitoring data usage. Android has a detailed chart within the settings that is really much better because in some cases you want to know which app uses the most data. DataMan Next is by far the simplest and most elegant looking data monitoring app on iOS. It is available at 50% off for a limited time for $0.99 on the App Store. Note this will not work for shared data plans for obvious reasons.