The iPhone X has a new screen size, a new screen resolution, and new hardware to design around (like the curved edges and the notch). Apple has been clear in their directive – flow with the curves and embrace the notch. And some of the best apps for the iPhone X manage to do just that (a few add their own unique twist to it).
If you’ve got an iPhone X, these are the best apps for your shiny new iPhone.
Must read: Top 25 iPhone X Tips and Tricks
1. VSCO
VSCO is still the best camera and photo editing app for beginners. By default, it takes better pictures than the Camera app. And you can go in and use one of the amazing filters to make your photos even better. VSCO now fully supports the iPhone X screen size.
Download: VSCO
2. Halide
Halide is a professional level camera app that manages to be simple in design. The app covers a lot of extremes – from capturing in RAW with manual focus and manual ISO to basically a point-and-shoot Auto everything, save to JPEG mode. And going from Auto mode to RAW only takes a couple of taps and slides. Plus, Halide is one of the few apps that actually uses the ears next to the notch. The app will put details about the photo and a histogram up there.
If you’re even little bit interested in getting better photos out of your iPhone X camera, you should start using Halide (capture in RAW, then edit). Halide’s designer has a nice breakdown about capturing in RAW here.
Download: Halide ($4.99)
3. 1Password
1Password has always been our preferred password management app because it gives you the control over where your encrypted vault is stored (locally, on a Mac, on Dropbox or on their service). 1Password for iPhone X brings Face ID into the mix and turns the whole process of entering passwords into true magic.
Now when you open 1Password, you don’t have to do anything. Face ID will scan your face and 1Password will instantly unlock your vault. The same goes for when you’re filling in a password from a third party app.
Download: 1Password
4. Overcast
Overcast went through yet another UI change. This time, ditching the drawer UI and going back to the page view. But the app still has all the things we love – Smart Speed, Voice Boost, and Smart Playlists. Overcast has been updated for iPhone X and it stretches all the way to the top and the bottom of the screen.
Plus it has a really cool Black theme now which goes well with iPhone X’s OLED display.
Download: Overcast
5. Apollo
Apollo is a new Reddit client which has been in Beta for more than a year. It’s designed to fit in with iOS. The app is gorgeous and easy to use. Plus, it has a Black theme for that totally dark OLED look.
Download: Apollo
6. Pcalc Lite
Pcalc Lite is our favorite calculator app. It’s been updated for iPhone X and the app just looks gorgeous on the tall screen. It uses iPhone X’s new curved edges and includes in in the UI itself. Plus, it fades to black and the top so the notch just disappears.
Download: Pcalc Lite
7. YouTube
Everyone’s favorite entertainment app has been updated to support iPhone X. By default, YouTube will play videos in a letterboxed mode in landscape view (ignoring the notch). But you can pinch out to expand the video to take up the whole screen. This zooms into the video and cuts off the part that’s behind the notch.
If you’re watching a video that’s in the cinema scale super wide resolution (like a Marvel movie trailer), YouTube will automatically play that in the stretched mode.
Download: YouTube
8. Carrot Weather
Currently, Carrot Weather is the best weather app for viewing as much important weather information on one page. It can connect to Weather Underground and give you the weather details for your exact location. Plus, you can customize the entire dashboard to include the weather details you care about. This new version lets you turn down the Carrot Weather AI (so that you don’t get all the snark).
Download: Carrot Weather ($4.99)
9. Snapseed
Snapped is the best free photo editor on the iPhone. And we are including it in the list even though the app hasn’t been updated for iPhone X’s screen. Even in the letterbox mode, it works great. It’s still really easy to import a photo (including a RAW image), tune it up a bit and export it to the camera roll. You can choose to ignore Snapseed’s new Looks feature and still use the Tune Image feature which lets you quickly change the brightness, contrast, ambiance, saturation, highlights and more.
Download: Snapseed
10. Instagram
Instagram is currently the only social network I like using. Instagram’s iPhone X update embraces the notch by extending the navigation bar to the top of the screen. And that’s it, really. There are no other major changes for the iPhone X here.
Download: Instagram
11. Focos
Focus is a third party app for editing Portrait mode photos. If you love taking Portrait mode shots (both from the rear and front-facing cameras) on your iPhone X, this is the app you should install. Portrait mode is great when your subject is a person. But when you’re shooting an object using the Portrait mode, it doesn’t always get the blur right.
Must read: How to Take Awesome Depth Effect Portrait mode Selfies on iPhone X
You can go into Focus and tap on the part you want to focus on. You can even change the intensity of the blur and its type. The pro version ($0.99/month) gives you more blurring options.
Download: Focus
12. Spotify
Everyone’s favorite Apple Music alternative has been updated with iPhone X support. And because Spotify has a dark UI, it actually looks really cool on the iPhone X’s screen. The notch just disappears and the content takes focus.
Download: Spotify
13. Workflow
The best automation app on iPhone (which Apple acquired) has been updated to support iPhone X. Plus, it also supports drag and drop for elements.
Download: Workflow
14. Spark
Spark is our recommendation for the best overall free email app. Spark’s iPhone X update allows you to see more of your email message on the taller screen.
Download: Spark
15. Coinbase
If you’re just starting out with buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Etherium, and Litecoin, Coinbase is the best app for you. And it’s been updated for the iPhone X. The app includes some gorgeous charts and design elements that now stretch across the screen. Using Coinbase, you can start buying Bitcoin right on your iPhone with just a couple of minutes of setup. Learn more in our Coinbase guide.
Download: Coinbase
Editor Note: Use this link to signup for Coinbase. Once you buy or sell $100 of digital currency or more, we both will get $10 of free bitcoin.
16. Snapchat
Snapchat has been updated for the iPhone X’s new screen resolution. Plus, Snapchat is one of the few new apps that use iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera sensors to enhance its functionality. Snapchat is using the technology to create much better-looking masks and better face tracking in videos.
Download: Snapchat
17. Reeder 3
Reeder 3 is the best RSS app for iPhone. It’s been updated for iPhone X resolution. The best thing about the app is its Black theme. This turns the background into pitch back and text goes white. It’s a great reading environment.
Download: Reeder 3
18. Flipboard
If you’re looking for more of a magazine style reading experience on the iPhone, check out Flipboard. The app takes advantage of iPhone X’s tall screen and puts a lot of content in between the toolbars. Plus, navigating through Flipboard feels more natural on the iPhone X as it’s all a gesture-based UI now.
Download: Flipboard
19. Instapaper
If you’re looking for a full-screen, beautiful, offline reading experience for the web, Instapaper is it. The app has been updated for iPhone X and reading on the new OLED screen is pure joy. While Instapaper doesn’t have a true black theme yet, its dark theme still looks pretty good. There are a couple of font options to choose from.
Download: Instapaper
20. Vellum Wallpapers
If you’re looking for fresh and awesome wallpapers for the iPhone X’s vibrant OLED display, Vellum is the app for you.
Download: Vellum Wallpapers
Bonus: Google’s Suite of Apps
Google has hastily pushed out updates to their suite of apps. This includes Google Maps, Google Sheets, Google Photos and more. But it’s clear that Google hasn’t spent much time on this update because, in Google Maps, the app’s UI elements interfere with the Home bar. Google Maps’ bottom card-based UI is so close to the Home bar that it’s sometimes impossible to interact with the buttons without accidentally closing the app. We hope that Google fixes these issues with the next update.
Download: Google Maps | Google Sheets
The Usual Suspects
The apps you use daily have been updated for iPhone X as well. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Netflix and so on. But these are minor updates for supporting iPhone X resolution. There’s nothing much to write home about.
What are your favorite apps for the iPhone X? Share with us in the comments below.
