Apple has just finished their yearly iPhone update, so it's time for those of us here at iMore to update what we're using on our iPhones. I'm going to kick off this round with my iPhone 6 Plus because, of the new devices, it's newest.
As any long-time reader knows, I keep all my iOS device Home screens as default as default can be. I switch devices, slap on betas, restore phones, and otherwise change state so much it's too much work to keep them any other way. And, of course, it makes photos for iMore articles look familiar to everyone. So, instead of just covering what's on my iPhone 6 Plus Home screen, I'm going to cover my first two Home screens.
Note: I didn't restore from backup. I set up my iPhone 6 Plus as new and have only been downloading apps as I've needed them (or needed to write about them). So, this really is what I've been using specifically on the iPhone 6 Plus without any historical baggage.
- Wallpaper: Stock, of course!
- Tweetbot: I use Twitter a lot. It's my connection to the larger tech community. When I'm on the go, I need to be able to read quickly and reply fast. It's pure triage. And Tweetbot makes that easy.
- Extras: Apple puts an Extras folder on the iPhone to show you what folders are an how they work. It contains some of the less frequently used Apple apps. So I add to it. Find my iPhone goes in here, as does Apple's Remote app, Airport Utility, and Apple Store.
- iWork: Here's where I keep Keynote, Pages, Numbers, iMovie, and GarageBand.
- Social: Here's where I hide the official Twitter app, and Facebook Messenger (which I only ever access via notification), and where I keep Twitterrific which I use to read Twitter like a book, and Glassboard where a lot of beta discussion goes on.
- Home: I'm still waiting for Apple's new HomeKit to really roll out, but for now here's my Philips Hue lightbulb and Sonos speaker control apps.
- Entertainment: I usually have this folder on my iPad, not iPhone, but the iPhone 6 Plus is big enough I've been using it for video with the excellent Netflix app, and still-need-lots-of-love CTV GO and Global Go apps, which are the Canadian networks.
- Vesper: Notes. Tags. Thoughts. Collected.
- Fantastical: Replaces both Calendar and Reminders for me.
- Dropbox: My home directory pretty much lives in Dropbox and this app lets me access pretty much any file, pretty much anywhere.
- Photography: The iPhone may be the best camera I have with me, but it's the apps that make it into the best darkroom and studio as well. Here's I have Camera+ for manual controls, Hyperlapse for super-stable super-speed, VSCOcam for great filters, Afterlight for great post-processing, and Storehouse to make great visual stories out of the very best ones.
- 1Password: Now with Touch ID support and an action extension that works in Safari and any App Store app with a Share Sheet, it's not only as useful as the desktop version, it's even better.
- Facebook: Because, Facebook.
- Instagram: Little low-res picture squares aren't great, but the mobile photography community there is terrific.
- Slack: We switched over to Slack for our virtual office a few months ago and never looked back. This is how Mobile Nations and iMore work.
- Overcast: I've saved 7 hours on Guy English alone, thanks to smart speed.
- Screens: I used to use Screens more on iPad than on iPhone, but once again the bigger 5.5-inch display has transformed it from a when-I-have-to to a whenever-I-want-to app on iPhone for me as well.
- iMore: D'uh.
- Editorial: I live in BBEdit and Markdown on the Mac. In iOS, it's Editorial.
I have more apps on the third and fourth Home screens, including PCalc, which has been "demoted" only because the Today widget is so phenomenal I barely need to go to the app anymore, as well as Testflight new and old, HockeyApp, Uber and Tripit (which get moved up when I travel), Starbucks, Air Canada, and the other apps that feed Passbook, SwiftKey and other custom keyboard apps, Launch Center Pro, Drafts, TextExpander, Apple's WWDC app, and many more.
Biggest realization: Since I got the iPhone 6 Plus over 2 weeks ago, I haven't needed to download a single Google app. We use Google for Mobile Nations, but Gmail via Exchange is working great. Google Maps stopped announcing exit numbers, and has been getting complex Montreal street names wrong, so it's become near-useless for more. Apple's Maps has been fine, YouTube on the web is no more annoying that YouTube in the app, Hangouts was such a battery drain on my iPhone 5s, I've left it off my iPhone 6 Plus and just use it on my Mac, Snapseed hasn't been updated in a long time, Safari has always been way better than Chrome on iOS. I'll likely need to download Drive or the Docs apps at some point, but the browser transition has been so needlessly confusing I've been sticking to Dropbox lately. I guess time will tell.
We're going to be having everyone here at iMore update their "What's on my iPhone" posts over the next few weeks, so be sure to check them all out. And if you have any questions on my apps, or any suggestions you think would work better, let me know!
