This is my home screen at the start of 2023.
Doing this post was inspired by M.G Siegler who has done posts like this for the last ~10 years.
The apps I use are all pretty simple.
The biggest changes for me this year were moving house and playing more golf so my apps reflect this.
I have my classic communications apps which I so heavily rely on (Phone, Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack).
I have apps that me and my partner Emma use to manage our schedule (Calendar) and make shared notes (Notes).
I also use Tot as my secondary notes app which I use as a todo list and for any random thoughts that need to be quickly captured. Basically Apple Notes is for serious note taking (that often needs to be shared with Emma) and Tot is for quick little thoughts that will eventually be deleted.
Mail is an interesting one. I'm still using Hey for my email but I really don't like the iOS app. I found it had a lot of bugs. I'm instead using a shortcut to open the Hey web app which in my opinion works much better.
Photos and Camera are both rock solid apps. In saying this, I would love to have a more modern iPhone to take better photos with.
BOM is still the best weather app you can have in Australia. From my experience it's the most reliable and accurate. I also like using the radar to see where rain is coming from.
Overcast is still the best podcasting app by a mile. This reminds me that I should write something about the podcasts I listen to.
I use Spotify. I switched from Apple Music this year and haven't looked back.
I also have Music which is another shortcut that opens up my /music page on my blog. I usually use this to listen to one of my favourite albums randomly.
I'm completely addicted to YouTube and TikTok. Both are fantastic apps that provide endless hours of entertainment.
I then have 4 folders which are:
- Navigation, use Apple Maps for driving and Google Maps for discovering places
- Utilities, paying bills
- Finance, banking
- Golf, as I mentioned a new entrant this year, I use MiScore for scoring competition rounds and getting distance to holes and I have a shortcut that opens the web view for booking a tee time
1Password is still indispensable to me for handling all my passwords securely.
I like having Settings on my home screen since I access it so much.
In the dock I have my two most used apps (Safari, Messages) and I also keep NetNewsWire in there to keep my reading habits up.
I only have 1 page for apps. I can scroll right for the app library and left for the widget view which I never use.
I play a couple of mobile games occasionally. Played heaps of Wordle last year. I still sometimes play Flight Control. I also play a little bit of chess with Really Bad Chess.