Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
The iPhone series continues to improve year after year. Released at the end of last year, the iPhone 15 family brings several universal changes including the adoption of Dynamic Island on all models and the introduction of USB-C. The Pro line goes even further by introducing the powerful new A17 Pro SoC with its advanced GPU capable of near console-level gaming. No matter which model you choose, there’s a lot of power here, but what are the best iPhone 15 ($829.99 at Amazon ) apps to take advantage of it? We have selected 5 apps that can help you take your iPhone experience to the next level.
Note that we’ve focused on apps that make unique use of iPhone features, particularly Dynamic Island.
The best apps for Apple iPhone 15 and 15 Pro
Spotify
Price: Free / optional subscription
It might seem a bit ridiculous to recommend Spotify over Apple Music, and in many ways it will come down to preference. Both apps have a large library of songs, although Spotify has the upper hand when it comes to podcasts with over 4 million titles to choose from. Spotify also excels at recommendations thanks to automatic playlist recommendations. You can choose your favorite songs and quickly make a radio out of it with tons of suggestions. This is how I find most of my music or rediscover old favorites that I had completely forgotten about. The layout of the Spotify app is also much easier to jump right into.
What makes Spotify stand out on the iPhone 15 (and iPhone 14 Pro) series? There’s handy support for Dynamic Island that lets you access the streamer without opening the app. Tapping the island opens a mini-player at the bottom of the screen and lets you quickly skip songs, pause them or even go back to what was playing previously. Again, you’ll find a similar experience with Apple Music if you prefer it to the former.
Uber
Price: Free (of course you have to pay for the ride)
Uber is a must-have app for getting around the city or visiting new locations. Not only does it work almost everywhere in the world, but it also supports a variety of payment options. The interface is also easy to use, and you can even see UberEats options right in the main Uber app if you’re so inclined.
For iPhone 15 users, you’ll also get full support for Dynamic Island’s Live Activities feature. Dynamic Island lets you quickly see the status of your ride, including how far it is. You can also open the Live Activity widget which also gives you a few more details like the pickup time and the details of the car coming your way. All this without having to fully open the application.
Structured
Price: Free / optional subscription
While many might recommend Notion as their first choice for tracking tasks and other activities, Structured is an excellent alternative. This day planner app allows you to import calendar entries directly into the app as well as create new tasks. It takes all that information and turns it into a simple outline that outlines what needs to be done that day. You can even mark time and duration goals for each task.
Dynamic Island comes into play here of course, with a countdown clock that tells you how much time is left for the task you’re currently working on. Although the app is free, some of its best features require a $2.99 monthly subscription. You can also sign up for a full year for just $9.99 or get a lifetime subscription for $29.99.
Grocery store
Price: Free with in-app purchases
While it’s certainly possible to use any note-taking app to organize your grocery list, there are dedicated apps that can make this process a little easier. Not only can you quickly type your grocery lists into the app, but you can also quickly organize them into categories and units, make notes, and invite your household to add their requests to the list.
A handy recipe keeper is also built in. It’s not just about making grocery lists on the fly, as you can track your household supplies and even add expiration dates and purchase history. Dynamic Island also lets you quickly view your grocery list, or you can slide it to the lock screen for a quick view.
This one needs no introduction. Despite recent bad press, Google Maps is the most useful GPS navigation app on the planet. We highly recommend downloading it using something like Apple Maps. While it doesn’t currently make good use of Dynamic Island, Google is reportedly working on an update in the future that will add support so it will only get better for iPhone 15 users.
More great iPhone apps worth checking out
While the above were the top five apps for the iPhone 15, there are many more apps worth checking out. The above simply match the iPhone’s Dynamic Island and Live Activities features perfectly, or are simply better than any default iPhone app (such as Maps).
Looking for more suggestions? Here’s a short list of five more worth checking out:
- Note: This note-taking app is a great alternative to Structures, as well as a perfect workspace app for professionals.
- Spark Mail + AI: This AI-driven email app uses AI to prioritize and organize your email.
- Apple Music: While I prefer Spotify, Apple Music has human recommendations and even more music than Spotify, making it a solid alternative.
- Just Press Record: This handy recording app has support for Dynamic Island which makes it easy to use.
- Streaming Apps: Not just one suggestion, we recommend grabbing all your favorite streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Peacock and Max.