My 2017 Homescreen

So, this is my Homescreen for most of 2017. My top 4x applications are Messages, Safari, Twitter, and Fantastical. Fantastical is a great application for keeping track of both reminders and calendar appointments. It works with Google Calendar, iCloud, and Exchange and has a fantastic Mac, Apple Watch, and iPad app. I really like how it shows everything (reminders + calendar appointments) as one coherent timeline. I live and die during the day by my reminders + calendar so this is a God-send for me. Next layer up is folders and settings. Those are self-explanatory. I have my “extras” folder there simply because a “games” folder is better kept out of sight during the day so therefore out of mind. I know I’m being a hypocrite by keeping Twitter on my dock, but that’s how I do consume a lot of news and talk about it. Twitter is my tech-vice so I just embrace it. I probably use email more, but my most important emails get push notifications plus I’m in the app all day anyway so its normally just one double-app away of the home button. I use Feedly for RSS feeds and Apple News for general news. Pockets is the excellent podcast client from Shifty Jelly and my pick after trying all of the popular ones on iOS. I use the Apple Notes and Reminders because you can dictate stuff via Siri, plus their interfaces are fast and built for mobile. For work, I end up using OneNote for heavier note taking or document mark-up. I use Lifesum for tracking my diet, weight, and more importantly water intake. Streaks is another reminder app for stuff I literally do every day. Reminding me to get enough sleep, floss my teeth, pray, do homework, etc. Its a fun and simple app that works well on the Apple Watch as well. Finally, I do use iCloud Photo Library and Apple Music. I use mainly Apple gear at home and work so being able to access my music and photos from any device is fantastic. That, and I just prefer Apple Music to Spotify, namely because the user interface and the curated playlists it gives. Spotify is o.k. I’ve just had more luck finding music I like from Apple Music. Finally, I go back and forth about which Maps I use. I typically use Apple Maps for getting around town, but when I’m in a situation that I absolutely don’t know where I’m going and its critical I get to somewhere on time. If I’m in full-panic mode I end up defaulting to Google Maps.

I do use Google Photos, but I let my Mac do the uploading. I may change that in 2018, but I have a large library right now and I fear that if I swap from my Mac uploaded to my iPhone uploading shots its going to destroy my phone battery life. I had a bad experience a long time ago on the iCloud beta and I guess I haven’t gotten over it. I recommend both of them now though. Both iCloud Photo Library and Google Photos are very solid and great choice. If you live mainly in the Apple ecosystem and want to have the original quality photos backed up I would recommend Apple, but for most people I recommend using Google Photos. Anything you take on your smartphone is going look great. Most people only shoot photos on their smartphones. Google Photos is free and unlimited and overall it’s a better experience if you don’t have a Mac.

Anyway, Photos tangent aside, there is my Homescreen for 2017.