By Mehdi HassanWhich mobile apps have the best UI design, and why?
The mobile apps with the best UI design make one decision that fits their product so well it feels obvious: the core action is on the first screen, navigation matches how often people switch tasks, and secondary features stay out of the way. The 20 examples below are annotated by decision, not by looks, so you can tell which ones apply to your own app.
We grouped them by the problem each decision solves: making the core action obvious, structuring navigation, first-run experience, gestures, and fitting data on a small screen. Every example is a publicly visible pattern in a well-known app; apps redesign often, so treat them as patterns to understand rather than screens to copy. For the full design process, see our mobile app design guide.
Decision | Apps that do it well | Steal it if |
|---|---|---|
Core action is the home screen | Uber, Cash App, Shazam | Your app has one dominant task |
Search as a guided sheet | Airbnb | Search needs several inputs |
Fast capture with smart parsing | Todoist, Things 3 | Users add items many times a day |
Persistent context across tabs | Spotify, Apple Maps | Something keeps running while users browse |
Action placed inside navigation | Strava, Instagram | Creating is as frequent as browsing |
Value before sign-up | Duolingo, Headspace | You can show a result before an account exists |
Gestures with visible fallbacks | Tinder, Gmail, WhatsApp, Halide | Power users repeat one action constantly |
One number first, detail on demand | Apple Weather, Robinhood, Flighty, Apple Wallet | Your app shows dense or live data |
How do the best apps make the core action obvious?
The best apps make the core action obvious by turning it into the home screen itself, rather than a button somewhere on it. When an app has one job that people come for most of the time, removing every step before that job is the strongest design decision available.
- Uber: the home screen leads with a "Where to?" field. Ordering a ride starts with the one piece of information only the user has, and everything else, from pickup to vehicle type, is suggested after.
- Cash App: opens to a number keypad. Sending or requesting money starts with the amount, so the app skips the menu and makes the most frequent action the first thing you touch.
- Shazam: one large button that does the whole job. The history and charts exist, but they never compete with the button.
- Airbnb: search is a single field that opens a stepped sheet for where, when and who. It breaks a complex query into small decisions and shows progress as you go.
- Todoist: quick add parses natural language, so typing "call the bank tomorrow at 5pm" sets the date and time without opening a picker.
How do great apps structure mobile navigation?
Great apps structure navigation around what keeps running and what people switch between. A persistent element, such as a playing song or a map, stays on screen while the user moves around it, and actions people take as often as they browse get a place in the navigation itself.
- Spotify: a mini player sits above the tab bar on every screen, so music keeps context while the user browses. Tapping it expands the full player as a sheet.
- Apple Maps: the map stays full screen and a bottom sheet snaps between collapsed, half and full heights. Search and results never fully hide the thing they're about.
- Strava: recording an activity sits in the tab bar alongside the feed and profile, because for its users recording is as frequent as browsing.
- Instagram: a bottom bar of icons without text labels. It works because its icons are learned by a huge audience; for a new app, labels are the safer choice.
Our comparison of mobile navigation patterns covers when to choose a tab bar, a single screen with sheets, or a drawer.
Which apps get onboarding right?
The apps that get onboarding right let people experience the product before asking for commitment. They ask a few questions that shape the first result, deliver that result, and only then ask for an account or notifications.
- Duolingo: lets new users pick a language and start a first lesson before creating a profile. Sign-up arrives after there's progress worth saving.
- Headspace: asks what the user wants help with and uses the answer to suggest a first session, so the opening minutes feel personal rather than generic.
Both are value-first flows, the approach we explain step by step in mobile app onboarding design, including when to ask for permissions.
How do the best apps use gestures?
The best apps use gestures as shortcuts for actions that also have a visible control. Experienced users get speed; new users can still find everything by tapping.
- Tinder: swiping a card is the signature interaction, and the buttons below the card do the same thing for anyone who doesn't swipe.
- Gmail: swiping a message row archives or deletes it, with the action configurable in settings and the same actions available inside the message.
- WhatsApp: swiping a message sideways starts a reply quoting it, which is faster than long-pressing for the menu that offers the same option.
- Halide: a camera app that puts manual controls such as focus and exposure on swipes within thumb reach, so photographers adjust without looking away from the shot.
How do great apps fit data on a phone screen?
Great apps fit data on a phone screen by leading with the one number that answers the user's question and putting detail one tap or one scroll away. They also use the platform's own tools, such as widgets and live updates, to deliver that number without opening the app.
- Apple Weather: current temperature and conditions first, then hourly and daily forecasts, then detailed modules for wind, UV and air quality that users scroll into when they care.
- Robinhood: a large line chart with the current value above it. Dragging along the chart shows the value at any point, turning a small chart into an interactive one.
- Flighty: flight status as one clear line, with gate, delay and timing details below and live updates on the lock screen, so travelers rarely need to open the app.
- Apple Wallet: cards and passes as a stack of familiar physical objects. The front shows what you need at the counter; the details live on the back.
Fitness and analytics apps face the same problem. Our guide to fitness app UI design applies it to progress and habit tracking.
Why Things 3 is studied for restraint
Things 3, the task manager from Cultured Code, is often cited by designers for what it leaves out. Lists are mostly type and whitespace, color is used for meaning rather than decoration, and its add button can be dragged to the exact place in a list where a new task should go.
The lesson isn't to make your app minimal. It's that every element should have a job, and that strong typography and spacing can carry an interface without heavy visual treatment. It's also a reminder that restraint takes more design work, not less: each removed element is a decision someone had to make and defend.
What should you take from these mobile app UI examples?
Take the decisions, not the visuals. Before borrowing any pattern, check that your product shares the problem it solves: one dominant task, something persistent across screens, dense data, or a repeated action that deserves a gesture.
Write your core job in one sentence
If you can't, no example will help yet. The examples above all start from a clear job.
Find two apps with the same job shape
Not the same industry: the same shape. A booking app might learn more from Airbnb's search than from a competitor.
Name the decision, then test it
Write down what the pattern does and why, sketch it for your product, and put it in front of five users.
Adapt to each platform
Keep system controls native on iOS and Android, as we explain in iOS vs Android design.
Check accessibility
Gestures need visible alternatives, and charts need text equivalents. Our accessible web app checklist covers the principles.
For desktop product patterns, our collection of SaaS UI design examples follows the same annotated approach. And if you're budgeting for the work, app design cost explains what drives the price.
