2020 Year In Review — Apps

January 1, 2021
4 min read

Timery

Just when the pandemic hit, I’ve decided to try out time tracking as a concept. And now I recommend everyone to do it.

Just to be clear — I hate when work tracks how much time you spend working. If there is need for this, I think there are some deeper problems and tracking your employees won’t help. But time tracking for me was eye-opening. There were tasks I thought took a lot of time when in reality those were very minor and the opposite — some tasks that I thought I don’t spend a lot of time on, were taking a considerable amount of time.

Based on this information I made changes in my work. Moving some tasks around in the day, delegating others etc.

For time tracking I’ve used Toggl, which is free for individual use, but its iOS app is not good. That is why I’m using Timery. I’ve tried the free version and after about a week I paid for a yearly subscription, as I think it is very much worth it. The app is simple and has great widgets for iOS 14.

Halide Mark II

This year Halide published an amazing update to their app, which bring some education and also subscriptions. Although as someone who paid for the app before I got a free year, I still signed up for the subscription right away just to support the developers of my favourite iPhone photography app.

It is simple, yet powerful and with Apple ProRAW support and the addition of Instant RAW (which develops your RAW shots right inside the app) it is mandatory for iPhone photo enthusiasts.

I’ve set up Shortcut that opens Halide and now when I tap back of the iPhone 3 times it opens the app. Very helpful, especially during winter with gloves on.

Tot

The app actually came out in 2020 and at first I thought it was a bit crazy to buy it for €20. But after some consideration I decided to try it out (European laws on refunds help a lot in those kinds of situations) and I loved it. So much so, that since day one it is in my iPhone dock.

It is perfect for small things to write down. Thoughts, ideas. It delivered on a promise of Drafts, which I tried to use a couple of times because of a “where the text starts” tag line, but it was too geeky and overpowered for me.

Ulysses

This is where I type all the posts for my blog. Before I was all over the place, but now my blog starts here, in Ulysses. I even learned Markdown, so that I can use it to the fullest and actually enjoy it.

I like themes, integration with WordPress and new feature of text revision, which shows the most common stylistic mistakes. What I don’t like is the new update, which cut up the perfectly usable sidebar into 4 tabs which don’t occupy the whole height of the screen.

Reeder 5

I was using the previous version of this RSS reader or even the one before and didn’t think much about the update, but after reading MacStories review, decided to give it a try. It is every bit as beautiful as they describe. This app just feels nice. It is a pure pleasure — animations, speed, typography. It is simple to use.

I decided to try out the read-it-later service inside the app and so far, I like it. Of course Pocket was better in some places (I think just because of the experience), but I never liked the app itself. With Reeder 5, those things are not dealbreakers and the app is amazing.

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.

Sunday Endorsement – 31.05.2020

May 31, 2020
5 min read

📱 Tot Pocket

I was very skeptical at first. I mean, who wouldn’t be – €21.99 for a very limited note taking app. But after much consideration and keeping in mind the possibility to refund (yay Europe) I decided to give it a try. I’ve been trying to find an easy to use note app for a long time and nothing could come close to what I wanted. Notes.app was where I kept all my notes and didn’t feel like simple jotting app, I’ve tried Bear for a year, but it just replaced Notes and I never was a Markdown fan, I wanted something with rich text support. Drafts came close, but I always felt overwhelmed by it and after a week there would be tens of notes which I couldn’t remember what they were about.

Tot is light, colorful (it even changes the color of keyboard to match the dot and what surprised me most – even 3rd party keyboards get colored). I didn’t like icon at first, but recently they’ve added Mobius, which is now my favorite. I use all but one dots for something already and love it.

One disclaimer I have to add – I’ve had a data loss with the app. Just yesterday I was walking around town, listening to the audiobook and adding some notes, including citations I’ve transcribed myself. When I came home and opened an app – there was nothing. Just one word I’ve put as a placeholder when I created the note. And now I can’t shake the feeling of distrust. I hope it was a one time thing, but I’m not sure when I will be able to trust the application fully again.

I can’t recommend an app costing €21.99 to everyone, but if you look at screenshots and read the description you will know if the app is right for you. It is for me.

📺 Drive To Survive – Season 2

“Netflix are a bunch of cunts, aren’t they? I would love for them to play that.”

At the beginning of the season two they immediately let you know – this time it’s bigger, we have Mercedes and Ferrari now, but that somehow ruins it a bit. It became more pristine. The most controversial things were mostly when drivers and principals mentioned the documentary or Netflix.

But I still would recommend watching it. And I feel like it is much more interesting to those who have never watched F1, because otherwise you would already know what happened.

One additional note – I was the victim of advertising. After watching the show I went for a walk and had such a strong desire for a Red Bull I went to the store and bought one. Marketing works.

📜 Stratechery – The Google Squeeze

Half a year old article, but still very interesting. I never though how much advertising there is on Google. The screenshot which shows the results, where you have to scroll 3 pages in order to get to the organic results is worth the read alone.

I’ve compared the article with my own usage and it is the same in some instances and completely different in others. I hate the hotel module of Google. It always feels like some shitty websites want to give you a very bad deal. When I’m looking for a hotel I always go to booking.com. Always. And, as it turns out, that’s what they’ve tried to do – incentivize people to go straight to them. I guess it works.

⌚️ Pride California Watch Face

With the most recent update of the Apple Watch there are a couple of new Pride watch faces. One of them is California with Pride colors. It is my favorite watch face right now. I’ve been meaning to write about watch faces and how they all are bad for some reason or other. There are customizations, but it always feels like there could be more. But in terms of look – this one is just amazing.

One note – the process was a bit cumbersome. I had newest update on my Apple Watch, but new colors weren’t there. I updated my iPhone to iOS 13.5 and could choose a new California color, but it wouldn’t show up on my Watch. Only after restarting the watch did it work.

📚 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight

I’ve laughed a couple of times while listening to the book. It is probably the best memoir by a businessman I have ever read. It is more about motivation and drive and less about the decisions themselves. I’m sure that in order to build such a monumental company there have to be more controversial stories, but this book is not the place for them.

Ending is just beautiful. The book itself is very personal, but ending takes it to the new level. I didn’t want for it to end. One of the strongest recommendations I can give. Everyone should read it.