The phone in GTA 6, and what its apps do

An object, not an overlay

In the previous game the phone was drawn as flat graphics over the picture. Here it is described as a real object in the character's hand, handled the way a phone is handled.

That has a practical consequence the studio points out itself: Lucia can check hers from the passenger seat while Jason drives. The game does not stop for it.

It is a small detail that says something about the rest. A phone you hold is a phone that costs you your hands and your attention, which is a design choice, not a graphical one.

The apps that have been named

Four are named outright: a video app, a fitness app, a banking app, and one called Scooter Bros, whose job is to have your own car delivered to wherever you are.

You can also look at other people's social media. Reading is allowed; the limit is on the other side.

The relationship between the two characters, and your bank balance, are both things you can check in game. The studio's own comparison for the first one is blunt: as with real relationships, keeping it good takes effort.

What it will not do, and why

You cannot upload photos. You can send one to your partner, and that is the whole extent of it.

The reason given is not technical. Both of them are being hunted, so they are not posting anything anywhere. The premise closes the feature.

It is worth noticing how rare that is. A modern game with a phone usually turns social media into a toy. Here it stays a place you read, never one you appear in.

Sleep, and the health app that nobody named

Sleep is tracked. It reports whether the character is well rested, and that has an effect on how certain attributes regenerate. Those are the words of the co-director, reported by a creator who attended the studio session and asked him.

But the app the headlines call a health app is nobody's word. The person who asked the question says he saw it in the menu, or that it might have been the fitness app, and he does not settle it. The press chain turned that hesitation into a confident name.

The Japanese interview, for its part, names a fitness app and no health app. Until one is named by the publisher, that is where this stands: a real thing that is tracked, in an app whose name we do not have.

Cash and the bank account

You carry cash, and you also have a bank account. The two behave differently, and the difference is the point.

Cash is at risk. Being taken down by the police or by civilians after causing trouble loses all of it. The studio's advice is the obvious one: put it somewhere safe.

Which turns the banking app into something other than decoration. It is where a good night stops being a total loss.

Frequently asked questions

Which apps are on the phone in GTA 6?

Four have been named: a video app, a fitness app, a banking app, and Scooter Bros, which delivers your personal car to you. You can also read other people's social media.

Can you post photos to social media?

No. You can send a photo to your partner, but nothing can be uploaded. The reason given is the story: both characters are hiding from people looking for them.

Is there a health app that tracks sleep?

Sleep is tracked, and it affects how certain attributes regenerate. But no health app has been named. The person who asked hesitates between the menu and the fitness app, and the Japanese interview names only a fitness app.

Does not sleeping change how the characters look?

That claim exists, but at third hand, and the person relaying it is not sure who said it first. It is not written here for that reason.

Is money safer in the bank than in your pocket?

Yes. Cash on hand is lost if you are taken down after causing trouble; the account is not exposed in the same way.