Top 8 Most Beautiful Apps iPhone
So, what do we mean when we say the “most beautiful” apps on the iPhone? Well, to be honest we have a huge weakness for clean and innovative design, so we are always particularly struck when coming across an app that does these things well. Perhaps, an interface that brings new functionality to the table in a clean and concise manner. Aside from that, it means exactly what it says! Apps that stun you with their pretty visuals and are a joy to navigate around: even those that you use over other, more efficient or feature laden apps that do their job better. This list is also a place to put a few of our guilty pleasures, as design fans: those apps that you don’t necessarily enjoy for their features or functionality, but continue using just because they look incredible! Of course, such a list can only be supremely subjective: check out our favorites below and then feel free to suggest your own in the comments section below that!
8. Airbnb (Free)
Perhaps the first app that I’d like to mention as a particular favorite is the current edition of the Airbnb app, which has been recently updated to create something that is a lot more suited to swiping images – something you will obviously do quite a lot when looking at potential places to stay, of course. I included an image of the new Airbnb’s logo above since it seems to get a lot of stick as something that perhaps connotes a sexualized idea rather than travel oriented. While I can agree with the fact that it doesn’t bring traveling to mind, it’s still a great logo in my book. This is complemented by a much cleaner interface that makes good use of the logo’s wonderful shade of red.
7. Acorns (Free)
Acorns is a finance app that I’ll admit to never using before researching apps to feature on this list. Once downloaded and opened, however, I could see why so many people have picked out this particular app for its clean interface and elegant design. Acorns is an app developed with the premise of allowing you to invest spare change from everyday purchases, which basically puts you spare change to good use rather than leaving it in your pocked or lying around the house. This will no doubt be of use to some, but for me the thing that stands out here is the app’s design. – Download from iTunes
6. Yahoo News Digest (Free)
I remember a time when Yahoo knew nothing about design, and it was Google that typically made their products look silly with their own minimalist approach to interface and layouts. Things have really changed in the last few years, with Yahoo making a marked effort to rethink the way it approaches design and has such created a handful of excellent looking apps (hint: this isn’t the last Yahoo app to be found on this list – perhaps you can guess the other?). The Yahoo News Digest app represents one of a few different attempts by similar companies to create a personalized news reading service, sending your digests of 7-10 articles each day in both the morning and the evening. This might be just what some users are looking for, but I’d rather stop to admire what is one of the best looking interfaces you will find on the iPhone at present. – Download from iTunes
5. Paper (Free)
Paper, like Yahoo News Digest represents an attempt to create some kind of curated newsfeed for existing users – in this instance created by Facebook. There must be something about these apps that encourages clean design, for Paper is also very well made, with an emphasis on useful layouts and the management of space. The app is an excellent way to get rid of the clutter of your Facebook feed and focus on the stuff that counts, and this is perfectly reflected in the app’s clear and clean approach to design. There is also a nice carousel feature that lets you blend topics to create a more personalized feed. – Download from iTunes
4. Manual ($1.99)
When it comes to pretty apps, you might expect that the majority of those are related to images in some way: photography apps being perhaps the usual suspects. Oddly, that’s not really the case when it comes to clean and beautiful design. Perhaps because so many of the photo editing apps you find out there these days are more concerned with packing in a whole load of functionality – either proper photo editing tools or a lot of Intagram filters – rather than cleaning up the workspace. That said, there are exceptions: Manual is a wonderfully designed photo editing app, but is also incredibely powerful in that it raises the hood on your iPhone camera and gives you full access (manual access, see?) to the advanced controls behind your shutter, exposure, etc. – Download from iTunes
3. Level Money (Free)
I remember first coming across Level Money when reviewing finance apps for our earlier articles: it really is a breath of fresh air, offering a simple and clean interface without the typical clutter of facts and info that does nothing but gets in the way of your navigating. Mint is currently the best finance app out there and deserves a mention for its own concise and geometrically satisfying layouts, but Level Money really takes that to a new level with its neat circles that are not just there to make the app pretty but offer a nice way of viewing and digesting useful information. This has been seen a lot since on the Apple Watch, mainly because the size of the screen suits it. – Download from iTunes
2. Litely (Free)
Another great looking photo editing app is Litely, which zones in on the idea of aesthetic rather than hardcore features and functionality. One thing that this app does is redefine the idea of editing photos, taking all of the iPhone screen and then splitting a photo in two to show what is basically a live preview. As you can see, it splits the photo diagonally so you get a cool effect that shows almost a before and after – very useful when editing, and looks cool, too. You use two fingers to take advantage of this preview, and the app’s non destructive editing means that you never have to worry about losing an original copy or doing something to your photos that can’t be undone. – Download from iTunes
1. Yahoo Weather (Free)
There are some wonderful looking weather apps out there, thinking of the likes of Dark Sky among others. The Yahoo Weather app is by far the best looking of the lot, though, with its nice hand picked background photos that match your location and its neat use of fonts and symbols. It is one of the most elegant apps you will come across, but is also very useful. Still, many of the weather apps out there boast the same kind of functionality without much in the way of alterations or innovations, so why wouldn’t you go for something that looks as good as this? – Download from iTunes
