Homescreen – 2025

January 26, 2026
8 min read

As you can see from the screenshot, I’ve been procrastinating on writing this post for a while now. But to keep the ball rolling, after publishing in 2024, 2020, mid–2020, and 2019, I’ve decided to give it another go.
The main reason is that, at the end of 2025, my homescreen is a mess. I even thought about quickly rearranging apps to make this post look better, but after some consideration, I decided it would be more fair to publish it as is. This is a true representation of my screen at the end of 2025.
Last year I gave in and added a folder to the main homescreen. This year there are two – and I don’t like it.

Widgets

As you can see, last year’s large widget stack gave way to one medium and two small widgets instead. Both Fantastical and Things 3 stayed, but I separated them – having them in a stack eventually didn’t make sense. I would forget about one or the other even existing.
The third one is an AI stack. There are three widgets I manually scroll through: Perplexity, Claude, and ChatGPT. I mostly use Perplexity for product searches and comparisons, and Claude as my day-to-day AI agent. I’ve been a paying subscriber to ChatGPT for a long time, but recently cancelled. Somehow Claude works better for me, and I also really don’t like what OpenAI is doing as a company, nor do I trust Sam Altman with my data in the long run.

Stayed

It seems like every year starts with a couple of honorable mentions for apps that are on my homescreen no matter what – mainly Overcast, Photos, Apple Music, Revolut, and MoneyWiz, with Citadele potentially becoming a multi-year holder as well.
As mentioned previously, both ChatGPT and Perplexity have stayed on the homescreen, but as widgets, not merely app icons.
Two apps that stayed but were probably opened only a handful of times this year, unfortunately, are MasterClass and Day One. I really want to use them, but I can’t seem to build the habit.
After using Arc for all my browsing needs, last year I mentioned that I went back to Safari for personal browsing – and I’m happy to say I’ve stayed there.
I still read books in Kindle and make notes in Bear, although Bear will get mentioned a couple of times later.
Sequel is still my app of choice for tracking TV shows, although I can’t say I’m completely satisfied with it. Considering it’s a subscription, I might look for something simpler.
I’ve also started using Google Maps even more. I’ve been saving places I like all over the world for some time now, so the map has a lot of pins. Recently, I also started leaving ratings and reviews. I use those all the time myself to find good spots, so why not give back to the community in a small way?

Removed

Two of the apps that were added last year didn’t make it through the whole year. They’re still on my phone, but I reach for them less and less.
I would love for Apple Music Classical not to influence my actual Apple Music account – but it does. And I haven’t read the Bible as I hoped I would, though I still hope to.
The last removed app is my daughter’s kindergarten app. I’m using it less now, so I just find it via search or the App Library.

Replaced

I’ve been going back and forth with Ulysses for a long time. I loved how it integrated with my blog, allowing me to publish directly, and how it proofread my posts. But it came at a cost, and with subscription fatigue setting in, I decided to look for an alternative.
I found a solution in something I was already using: Bear. It’s also an amazing app for writing. I can export articles and share them with the WordPress app on iPad and iPhone, and I proofread my posts with AI anyway now. So far, so good. It’s a bit more manual, but with my current output, I just couldn’t justify the cost of Ulysses.
Another app that got replaced mostly due to cost is Matter. It’s a beautiful app, but paying almost €100 a year for a read-it-later service is madness – at least for me. So I gave GoodLinks another try. It’s a one-time purchase, and although I’d tried it before and it didn’t click, this time it worked. It’s simple but powerful: offline articles, highlights, and not much more – and I like that.
I also used Matter as an RSS reader. For that, I now use Lire. I did like having one app for both, but paying upfront for apps makes more sense to me.

Added

There are a couple of apps that have always been on my phone, but this year I added them to the homescreen. Communication apps are back: WhatsApp, Telegram, Phone, iMessage, and Mail. At one point they were on my homescreen, then I removed them and relied on notifications and the App Library. Now they’re back again. I’m still not sure which approach is better.
Another boring app I added for easier management is the app for climate control in our house. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support HomeKit, so I have to use a separate app.
Oura, which I previously accessed through the lockscreen, got a more prominent place in the dock. I used to open it only in the morning, but now I check it more and more throughout the day.
I added Trade Republic after I started using it because of the Saveback feature. There aren’t many cashback options in Europe – and especially in Latvia – so this is at least something.
As my recovery from surgery is still ongoing, MyFitness has become an app I visit often. Since entry to the gym is through their card in the app, it got promoted to the homescreen.
Previously, I removed Waze from the homescreen since I only use it in the car and both of our cars have CarPlay. But I still found myself reaching for it on the phone to type an address more quickly, so I moved it back where it belongs.
CleanMyPhone is on the homescreen purely to avoid an empty space in a folder. As much as I hate having folders on the homescreen, I hate empty spaces inside them even more.
Two of the biggest additions to the homescreen this year are Linx Camera and MyMind.
The first one is one of the main reasons my Instagram game has improved recently. It’s a photo app with built-in filters – and those filters just work for me. I love the aesthetics of many of them, and I’ve started taking more photos. Most importantly, I’ve started taking slightly different kinds of photos than usual, and I think that’s made me a better photographer.
MyMind got me with their discount. I’ve always been fascinated by a notes app that can do everything for you. I believe I should just dump my thoughts – quotes, articles, products, whatever – into a system, and the system should create structure, surface what I need, and serve my needs.
Unfortunately, what usually happens is that you end up maintaining Obsidian or Notion more than actually using them. I’m trying to use MyMind as my main notes app instead of Bear, but so far it’s been really hard to let go of manual structure. Even though this is what I wanted, the old way is so ingrained in me that it’s hard to let go.

Lockscreen

My lockscreen this year is even simpler. It’s just plain black, with a big clock added in iOS 26. The Oura widget is still above it.
I moved the other widgets down – I think this is a much better place for them. Pedometer++ is still there, as well as WaterMinder. I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking water all the time, so I barely track it anymore; it’s mostly there as a reminder.
I also replaced the Fantastical next event widget with a Flighty widget showing my next flight. Last year I flew more than in almost all previous years combined, so it came in really handy.
The two bottom controls stayed the same: creating a new note in Bear and ChatGPT. I’ve realized I don’t use the second one that much, so this might change this year.

Buttons

The two buttons iPhones now offer stayed the same for me. The Camera Control just opens the Camera – and I love it. It’s one of the best additions to the iPhone. Launching the Camera is incredibly easy, especially in winter with gloves on.
The Action Button still creates a new task in Things 3, and I use both all the time.

Conclusion

I’ve once again made my homescreen dull to encourage using it less. But this year, I’m really not happy with how things are. I might rethink it completely – or at least tweak it a bit. Either way, I expect a very different post next year.

Homescreen – 2024

December 29, 2024
7 min read

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been three years since my last homescreen post. It’s always fascinating to see how my homescreen evolves over the years. I first shared it back in 2019, then again in mid-2020, and finally at the end of 2020. Here’s hoping I can finally make this an annual tradition.

For a long time, I resisted using folders, but I’ve given in this year. I tried my best to stick with just 12 apps (including the Dock), but it’s just not feasible. While I don’t need every app in the folder, it looks better when full. Surprisingly, even with three years gone by, not much has changed.

Widgets

This time, I’ve settled on a stack of two large widgets—Fantastical and Things 3—replacing the two smaller widgets I used before. I experimented with multiple widgets of various sizes, but this setup has stuck with me the longest. It gives me a wealth of useful information at a glance. I still use the Photos widget, but it now lives on the Widget screen to the left of my main homescreen.

Stayed

Some apps are staples of my homescreen and haven’t budged: Photos, Overcast (even though the redesign was rough, the sound engine remains unparalleled), Music, MoneyWiz, and Revolut.

I briefly stopped using Ulysses when I tried replacing it with Notion, Craft, and later Obsidian. None of them worked for me. Recently, I returned to Ulysses, and as you might have noticed, my blog output has improved drastically. While the tool isn’t the only factor, it’s definitely helped.

One surprising change was my browser choice. For a while, I exclusively used Arc for personal and work browsing. However, after the team announced they are abandoning it (it will still get updates, but I wouldn’t hope for a lot), I tried several alternatives before returning to Safari. While it’s not perfect, it’s still better than most.

Removed

Only one app got completely removed from my phone — Audible. I’ve stopped listening to audiobooks altogether. My approach to reading has shifted—I now highlight extensively and take notes, which doesn’t work well with audiobooks.

Communication apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Mail (and previously Telegram) now stay in the App Library or are accessed via notifications. They no longer need a spot on my homescreen.

Oura got promoted to the Lock Screen, but more on that below. Duolingo has a widget on the Widget screen and also sends notifications at the end of the day in case I forget.

The Hue app is another casualty. I still use the lamps, but I control them through the Home page in the new Control Center.

Some features, like my Brain Dump shortcut, were replaced by new lock screen buttons and the Action Button. Similarly, I removed the Camera app from my screens entirely after upgrading to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I now exclusively launch the camera using the dedicated Camera Control Don’t Call It A Button Button.

Replaced

There were a couple of significant changes this year, but let’s start with the smaller one — Books got changed by Kindle, but that is changing all the time depending on which book I’m reading.

I’ve also changed my RSS reader and read-it-later service. For about a year I was using Readwise Reader for both. It was also getting all the highlights from Kindle. But the way it looked and worked was always bad, and I decided that too much automation is missing the point. So found the most functional, but good-looking app — Matter.

Another big change was my to-do app. Things 3 won for me just because it’s more simple and beautiful, and doesn’t have a subscription. But lately, I’ve been thinking about going back, since Things 3 doesn’t support natural language in the task name field. This is just bonkers. And in some little things Things 3 doesn’t click for me.

The biggest one is the notes app. After leaving Craft for Notion and later going to Obsidian and staying for a year, I was still not completely happy — it looks horrendous, whatever you do. The way it works with files (especially images sucks) and search on mobile is unusable. So again started to look at different apps — Notes, Craft, Tana among them. But surprisingly chose the one, I completely forgot about — Bear. The easiest way to describe it is Obsidian, but thoughtfully designed. It’s much simpler, but that is why I love to use it. And it allows you to change fonts, which I loved in Obsidian.

I also tried Craft after the recent 3.0 update, and it’s still not it. Too bulky, still too document focused, and occasionally a bit slow in terms of navigation and animation.

Added

There are a couple of apps I’ve always used that got promoted to the homescreen, like Citadele for banking, an app for our daughter’s kindergarten. Day One which I want to use, but somehow don’t even when it’s on homescreen, but I’m trying. Google Maps where I started to save places I loved or want to go to. So my map quickly becoming filled with all the pins.

I’ve also finally changed an app to track the TV shows I watch to Sequel. It’s beautiful and syncs with Trakt, so moving data would be easy when needed.

Masterclass is the other app I want to use more. I got it together with my Revolut subscription and like some content in it, but want to watch more.

There is a side of me that changes and two apps reflect that a lot — first, I started to listen to classical music and Apple Music Classical, which is included in the subscription, is spectacular for that. I go through the Essentials albums for multiple composers. Second is the Bible app, which I’ve never read in full and want to change it.

The last two apps shouldn’t be surprising to anyone — ChatGPT and Perplexity. First is just a default for AI. At first, I changed it with Claude, which seemed like a better model, but ChatGPT has a better product overall, nicely integrating with iOS and macOS. And also, Revolut gave subscription to the Perplexity Pro, which became my second choice.

Lockscreen

My lockscreen is simple. It’s the photo I made at the Barcelona Grand Prix. With Oura widget at the top, hence removal from the homescreen. Fantastical widget below clock for the next appointment and Pedometer and WaterMinder small widgets.

At the bottom, where Apple finally gave us the ability to change controls, I have a new Bear note button and ChatGPT button.

Buttons

There were 2 physical buttons added recently to the iPhone. First, the Action button which quickly became task entry button for me, now opening a new task window in Things 3. The Camera button for me is just a launch button and rarely take a photo button because when you press it, it shakes the phone. And I’ve turned off all the features inside the camera, since it is too finicky to use as a touchpad.

Conclusion

You might’ve noticed that my Homescreen looks dull, which is completely on purpose. It is a part of my strategy to use the phone less. At first, I didn’t like how the new tinting feature worked because it didn’t look good in any of the screenshots I’ve seen, but recently, I’ve decided to use it to my advantage.

Below you can see how my homescreen looks in 3 different modes: tinted, light mode and dark mode.

Homescreen – 2021

January 21, 2022
6 min read

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).

2021
2021

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.

Homescreen — 2020

February 10, 2021
5 min read

In 2019 I’ve decided to start a new tradition of posting my homescreen at the end of the year to look back and see what has changed and what didn’t.

Already in my first year I broke the “tradition” and posted my homescreen in September because it felt like iOS 14 would change so much bringing widgets. Turns out, it didn’t.

Well, it did at first, but after a couple of months, when the novelty wore off it returned to a more classic iOS look.

Homescreen when widgets first came out
Homescreen when widgets first came out

At first, I liked that I had just a couple of apps accessible with one tap and the rest in the folders right there on the first screen. But then I realised I use regularly just a few, so I started removing some. And then it occurred that those widgets shouldn’t be there — I can see my activity on the watch and Timery widget was not very informative throughout the evening and at most weekends. So, I moved it to the screen on the left, where it seats with Photo, Battery and Streaks widgets, which makes a nice one-page dashboard, ready with just a swipe.

My current setup
My current setup

Widgets

There are just two widgets in a stack on my homescreen — Fantastical and Carrot Weather. I love both. Fantastical shows a nice heat map for my calendar and upcoming events. Carrot Weather is actually a great widget which changes throughout the day — in the morning and during the day it shows weather for next couple of hours, but in the evening it changes to forecast for next couple of days. They rotate throughout the day and most of the time I see exactly what I want.

Stayed

The most consistent category on my homescreen is communications — Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and Mail are right there in the top row.

Also, Photos and Lightroom are still here. Although as I mentioned I have Photos widget on the screen on the left, I still like to have easy access for my photos.

All of my usual suspects are the same — I still listen to audiobooks while walking, Overcast for podcast listening and Safari as a web browser.

I still use Books instead of Kindle app, mostly for aesthetics and try watching educational YouTube videos (but often am lured by entertainment).

Revolut is still my go to, and I am writing this post in Ulysses, although I am considering removing it from the homescreen as I don’t use it often on an iPhone.

I’ve upgraded to the latest version of Reeder, which is just a beautiful, simple and easy to use app.

I left Tot for the last because I don’t think it will be on my phone much longer as other apps take on its role.

Removed

There are a couple of apps removed from the homescreen and not only because of the limited space with widgets occupying 8 slots.

I’ve created a shortcut which activates by tapping the back of the iPhone to open Halide.

I don’t use the Phone app a lot, so when I need it, I just search for it.

Recently, I decided to cut on the social media, so deleted Twitter from my phone and removed Instagram from the homescreen (I left it for the messages, but will try to remove it in a near future). I also stopped using Morning for news. There are no Formula 1 races until March and I don’t think I will return the app to the homescreen as Siri is actually good when you open the same app at the same time regularly (like F1 on weekends).

I moved to Reeder from Pocket for the read-it-later service because I don’t need anything fancy and the number of ads for the Pocket premium service was too high. I still open Apollo from time to time, but I try to do it less, so I get to it from the App Library.

Right now I’m trying to focus and create some fundamentals, so some hobbies were cut due to priorities, one of them was learning how to code, so I removed Mimo from the homescreen.

Replaced

Spotify — Apple Music

I’m back. It was a nice summer with free Spotify, but my wife didn’t like it and I decided to try out Apple One with Apple Music built in, so far don’t regret the decision.

Asana — TickTick

Asana is amazing for work, but it is bad for personal stuff if you mainly use iPhone. TickTick is my to-do app of choice for now, but I’m still looking for something better.

CoinKeeper — MoneyWiz

I had a line in a previous post that I don’t see myself leaving CoinKeeper any time soon and here we are. I finally got to the point where I needed something with more features. To track mortgage, investments etc. After trying out a couple of different apps I went with MoneyWiz. Although it is all about syncing with all the banks, I use it manually.

Notes — Craft

I wanted to move Craft to Added section, but it did replace Notes app for me, but also did so much more. I moved some things from Ulysses, from Notes, I’m thinking of removing Tot because Craft filled this niche for me. It is a beautiful, fast, responsive and easy-to-use app, with the new features constantly added.

Added

I started to watch more Netflix on my phone, so it was promoted to the homescreen. Not sure for how long, but I do enjoy having it there.

iPhone Homescreen – iOS 13 Edition

September 16, 2020
6 min read

Before the end of the year 2019, I’ve decided to start a new tradition, by posting my homescreen and looking at what changed over the year. I feel like it is a bit different right now, because of the WFH situation and also with the release of iOS 14 with a lot of changes focused on the homescreen. So let’s look at the last iOS 13 homescreen, before updating to the iOS 14, which I feel like will change homescreen dramatically (I’m actually running public beta, but screenshot was taken right before installing it).

Stayed

There are some apps that stayed on the homescreen, although some of them changed placement. I still use Telegram, Messages and WhatsApp and the Phone app for communication. After an absence for a month Twitter and Instagram are back. And of course Safari is still in the dock.

For keeping up with the news and blogs I still use Reeder and Pocket, and YouTube for videos, while Overcast remains my podcast player of choice.

I won’t be replacing CoinKeeper any time soon. As well as all of the photo apps, like Halide, Lightroom and Photos.

The one app I am considering switching but which is still there is Notes. I don’t know what to replace it with. For writing I’ve found the replacement, but I’m not sure about the archival stuff.

Removed

There are a a couple of apps that are no longer on the homescreen, but I do use almost all of them.

App Store and Settings I can usually get to from search or from the second screen, but I don’t do it often.

I very rarely use ExpressVPN on iPhone and as I’ve mentioned in my previous overview its placement on the homescreen was temporary. Just like Gemini – I now use it only when it sends push notification once a week, so there is no need to keep it on the homescreen.

The last two are a bit of a different story. I’ve started editing mobile photos in Lightroom, as I enjoy the way it changes photos more, so I’ve cancelled my VSCO premium subscription and removed it from the first screen, although I didn’t delete it from my phone, yet.

I’ve removed Waze because this past half a year I’ve driven much less and it doesn’t get a lot of use. On the rare occasions I drive to work I have a Shortcuts automation running when I get into the car which launches Waze automatically with driving directions.

Replaced

Kindle – Books

A little while ago Kindle app introduced a bug, where it would forget the place you’ve stopped reading. So I had to remember and find the place every time I’ve opened the app, which was … not ideal. So I’ve switched to the Books app. Although it opens a book for quite some time, I liked it in the end. It opens on the right place, shows words, what more do you need.

Music – Spotify

In the begging of summer Spotify had a deal, where new users could get three months for free (including Family plan). I’ve long ago wanted to give Spotify another chance and it seemed like a perfect opportunity.

The free trial ended and I am still paying for Spotify. I think algorithms are better. Music is the same. The only advantage Apple Music has – integration. But I don’t have HomePod and rarely use Siri asking to play music, so I don’t feel like I’m loosing much.

Reminders – Asana

I’ve been using Asana for work for a long time and actually liked it a lot, so decided to use it as a personal task manager and for cooperation with my wife. It has all the features I want in the task manager and it is free. Hard to beat that.

Added

Apollo

My Reddit client of choice. Like how it looks and feels and it gets updated all the time.

Revolut

I’ve been using the app more and more. It is now one of the places I have investments. So it made sense to bring it forward from the second screen.

Audible

Since we’ve had a child, I started listening to audiobooks more and more. It’s perfect for walks with a sleeping toddler. She is a bit older now, so I turn the subscription on and off, mostly waiting for the deals, since I don’t have time to listen to all the books I already have.

Ulysses

The app I’m writing this post right now. I’ve been looking for a writing app for a long time, since I don’t actually enjoy writing in the Notes app. This felt perfect, so now I’m a subscriber. I even started using Markdown, which I didn’t get before, but now it makes sense.

Tot

You might say it’s silly to have three writing apss on the homescreen and I might actually agree. But they are all for different purposes and Tot is for short bits of text which I need for a short period of time. I’ve tried using Drafts for a similar reason before, but Tot fits much better. It’s a very pricey app, but sometimes it’s ok to overpay for something you enjoy.

Mimo

I’ve decided to learn programming. I probably won’t become a full time programmer, but I want to understand code. Also as a business analyst it’s very helpful to know at least some code.

Mail

I’ve been using Mail.app for a long time, only now did I bring it to the homescreen. It’s only for my personal use, I don’t have notifications turned on, so I check the app 1-2 times a day.

Formula 1

As I’ve said earlier, after watching the Drive To Survive documentary I decided to try to watch Formula 1 races. We are half way through the season right now and I enjoy it a lot.

Morning

Recently I’ve tried to delete all social media apps for 30 days (and was successful at it), the app gave me the rundown of the most important news of the day.

My Homescreen At The End Of 2019

January 13, 2020
5 min read

It is nice to look back and see how my homescreen has changed. It shows the most used and important apps at that moment. I would like to start the tradition of going through the apps on my homescreen each year to see what has changed or stayed the same (took the idea from M.G. Siegler).

For a couple of years, my first rule of arranging the homescreen is no folders. Just the most used apps I can open in one tap. I’ve tried to put folders in the first row recently, as it is hardest to reach, but it didn’t work aesthetically for me.

The top row consists of the rarely used apps and Telegram, which I open mostly from the Notification Center. App Store stays here since the days I’ve manually updated all the apps.

The second row is all about photography. Instagram is where I post my photos almost exclusively, Photos app which I love. My two main editing apps – Lightroom, where I edit my real camera photos and VSCO where all the mobile editing is done. I’m not sure why I still keep Lightroom on the homescreen, I almost don’t use it on the phone, but it is one of the top apps on my iPad.

There is another photography app on this screen, although it is a bit lower for easier reach – Halide. I’ve been using it a lot less recently, now I either take photos with the built-in camera app or with my real camera, but sometimes it’s nice to have RAW capture capability (I open the built-in camera app from Lock Screen or Control Center).

CoinKeeper is the app for tracking expenses . I’ve been using it for a long time, there is a new version out, but I’m so used to this one, I’m hesitant to move, lucky for me they keep both of them in the App Store.

I’ve been using TweetBot for years, until the summer of 2019. I wanted to use Twitter less and also have all the features that the service offers, so I moved to the official Twitter client. At first it felt like I was using completely different service, but after some time I actually began to like it.

Almost everything I read on the internet goes through Pocket. I have a couple of IFTTT rules that save all the articles from select blogs, I also go through the Reeder (yes, RSS reeder in the 2019) and save the articles that seem interesting for reading later (that is why I didn’t update to Reeder 4 this year, for what I am using it for, the previous version is enough).

I’ve tried to watch more YouTube videos, but it is hard. Twitter and Instagram allow for a short bursts of usage, with YouTube you have to be in the right place and have a lot of time.

Although most of my reading is done on the iPad before going to bed, Kindle is one of the aspirational app placements – I wanted to read even more, so I’ve put it on the homescreen.

It is impossible to live in Europe without Waze and WhatsApp (in the case of the latter – unfortunately). Most of my work chats have moved to Slack (which I have somewhere in the folder and I have notifications turned off on my iPhone, it’s enough I get them on the computer), I chat in iMessage with my wife and in Telegram with most friends. But there are still couple of groups in WhatsApp (mostly family) which I can’t move anywhere else.

I use Apple Music mostly because of all the integrations. We have a family plan between me and my wife and I like using Siri when trying to play something.

Last two apps are temporary – I use Gemini in the short bursts, almost like using Twitter or Instagram, to go through all of the photos and delete similar ones. Once I go through all of them, I plan to remove it from the homescreen and do the cleaning periodically, probably using a reminder.

ExpressVPN is the app I literally installed on the December 31st. While at the hospital, I’ve had some time to kill, so I wanted to watch a couple of TV shows. Netflix in Latvia, as it turns out is so bad, it’s not even funny. So it is totally worth it to pay for the VPN service in order to get content I want.

Since iOS 13 came out, I’ve moved Reminders to my homescreen and use it as my one and only to do list app. The new design, integrations and simplicity is what keeps me using it. I’ve tried a lot of different apps for tasks, but my needs are very simple, so all those apps mostly drove me away from productivity.

In the dock there are Messages, Notes, Overcast and Safari – those are probably my most used apps. I listen to a lot of podcasts and the sound engine of Overcast is the best in class.

I’ve been using Bear for a year and moved back to Apple Notes. It works for me. I like to use rich text while editing and nothing can beat its price.

Because of syncing, battery life and privacy focused features I use Safari on all my devices.

So here it goes, my homescreen at the end of the year. I know that it’s far from perfect, I know a couple of improvements I want to make already (actually some of them are already made), so it will be fun to take a look at the same screen next year.