An exploration of iPhone apps with great landscape views

When Apple announced the first “Plus” iPhone in 2014, it also allowed developers to design custom landscape views for its roomier display. You could think of them as iPad-like, as the point is to create a unique view that affords more tools or a different layout besides one big wide column, like the one you get with Safari in landscape on a regular-sized iPhone.

Now that I own a 6S Plus, I’ve been exploring these views. I may not use all 411 apps on my iPhone all the time (many are for testing or just checking out what the industry is up to), but I have opened nearly every non-game to see if it did anything creative with landscape. Many of them are pretty useful, and for the first time since 2007, I find myself using my iPhone in landscape fairly often because of these landscape advantages.

I thought I’d share some of my favorites here, and note my primary criteria: once switched to landscape, the app must automatically display its additional tools or unique layout with no other taps from the user. Of course, I collected them in a gallery below. If you want to support my efforts here at Finer Things in Tech, I also listed all apps pictured. If you tap some and buy them or anything else in the App Store or iTunes Store, you can send some affiliate love my way.