You don't need to use the official Mastodon apps, they're not the best way to use Mastodon. The official apps only arrived last year, and they were intended as "Fisher Price My First Mastodon" things with a restricted set of features.
Third party apps have been around longer than official ones, and include way more features. You can sign in with the same account on all apps.
On Android try Tusky, Fedilab, Megalodon, Tooot
On iPhone/iPad, try Toot!, Ice Cubes, Ivory, Mona
@feditips I am using tusky at the moment - this might be really cheeky to ask, but are there pros and cons to each one? Not knowing entirely what is available from mastodon means that I'm not sure which of the apps is really delivering the best functionality or even if it's what I'm looking for. I just took the first recommendation I was given so I might be missing out on lots of stuff I didn't even know existed.
What I would find even nicer is a specific recommendation, like "If you are new to Mastodon, and want a place to start, right now is I'd suggest X."
Add all the caveats you want, but for most people the problem with Mastodon is too many choices. Your informed opinion is more valuable than a list of options.