As I first did in 2019, then in the middle of 2020 and at the end of 2020, I’m sharing my Homescreen. It is fun to go and take a look at how it changes (or stays the same). During 2021 there were quite a few changes, actually. Here is a look at 2021 edition (although a bit late).
Widgets
If previously there was only one stack of widgets which combined both Fantastical and Carrot Weather, now I have two separate, but smaller. First, is still Fantastical, which is a Stack of plain calendar with a heat-map and events view (similar to what I’ve had before, just separated in two widgets). Second, is Photos. I’ve previously had it on the left of the homescreen, but realised, I don’t go there often, and I wanted those memories to show up, so now it is promoted to the homescreen.
Stayed
Probably the most consistent apps are Messages, WhatsApp, Mail and Safari. I use those not even daily, but hourly. From entertainment, there are Music and Overcast – with Apple One it is harder to justify paying for Spotify and there is nothing better than Overcast in terms of sound (I don’t care for the design, so this was the year I’ve tried a couple of competitors, but nothing comes even close). The only change is that Overcast was demoted from the dock, but as I have only one homescreen, it’s not a big deal.
Now that I’ve exchange my bigger Pro Max for a plain Pro, I find myself not reading as many books on the phone. Still, Books app is still there whenever I find time. As is Audible, but again, that might change because I mostly listen to the audiobooks in the car and I launch the app from CarPlay there.
I’ve stuck with Reeder as my RSS app of choice, as well as read-it-later service. I intend to try Matter (I did before, but didn’t like it, now that it is more established, I want to give it another go).
Although there is a Photos’ widget, I still kept the Photos app icon just because it opens the Library, saving at least one tap compared to the Widget.
A bit more boring category – two finance apps are there as well – MoneyWiz and Revolut. Still use them daily, although I’ve changed icons for both.
Craft is my app of choice for notes, and it was “promoted” to the dock. Briefly, I tried to move writing there as well, but I didn’t like paragraph breaks for that, so returned to Ulysses, which is also still here.
Removed
I don’t use Telegram as often for personal communication and there are just two channels I like reading, that is why I started using it on a laptop more, so it was one of the first apps to go.
I also don’t watch a lot of Netflix on my iPhone anymore (the difference in screen size between Pro and Pro Max iPhones is small, but in watching videos – very noticeable). Similar with YouTube. The size of the screen is less of the issue here, it’s just I didn’t open it daily.
In 2021, I posted less to Instagram (and it feels like I took fewer photos), so wasn’t using Lightroom on my phone at all. I still have a subscription and use it from time to time, but not as much.
Replaced
TickTick – Todoist
As I’ve mentioned last year, I chose TickTick, but still searched for something better. Somehow, it never really clicked with me. So, this summer I’ve migrated to Todoist, which I’ve used a couple of years before, and I love it. I can’t put my finger on it, but something changed. I didn’t like Todoist last time I’ve tried it, but now it became good.
Tot – Brain Dump Shortcut
I also mentioned last year that I don’t think Tot would survive 2021, and it didn’t. I’ve deleted it from all my devices and replaced with nothing at first. I’ve had Craft for note-taking, but it didn’t have a simplicity of adding something random. Closer to the end of the year, I created a shortcut which opens the text input field and saves whatever you write in the Brain Dump note in Craft. This method is surprisingly good. It is fast. You can type, paste something. If you want to save it or expand on your thought, you can create a document out of the paragraph in Craft. It is still a work in progress, and I am also considering using Drafts for that. So look forward to the update next year.
Added
As we spend more time at home and winter days are very short, Philips Hue app found its way to the homescreen. I have a couple of smart lightbulbs and love them a lot. If price was lower, I would change all the lights in my house to Philips smart ones.
Surprisingly, the Camera made its return to the homescreen. I didn’t have it before because I was launching it from lock screen or Control Centre. Recently, though, with a more active child I sometimes found myself loosing precious seconds trying to open Control Centre and finding a small icon, thus losing the shot. So, I’ve added Camera icon to the dock (in the same place it is on a Lock Screen, for muscle memory).
I’ve returned Duolingo to the homescreen (and my phone), since I want to try to learn French. I’m uncertain if I’m ready to pay for the service, so trying to make my piece with thousands of ads in the free version.
My wife gave me Oura ring for my birthday. Now every morning I open the app to check on my sleep, that is why I like having it right there on the homescreen.
Conclusion
As is always the case, the homescreen is a work in progress. But as you can see over even a couple of years, there are some apps that took a strong hold, and it is hard to imagine they wouldn’t be there next year. Although, again, as life shows, nothing is certain and anything can happen.
