Looking Back at My 2020 Homescreen
The Widget and WFH Shuffle…
The hellscape that was 2020 was nothing if not disruptive. To basically everything. So why should my iPhone homescreen be any different? After years of relative stasis — 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013 — things look a bit different here on the first day of 2021. One very big, very obvious reason for this: widgets.
While iOS 14 finally broke up the grid-of-apps monotony, it perhaps wasn’t as crazy as I thought it might be, at least on my actual homescreen. As you can see, I’m only using the Calendar widget right now, to get a quick view into upcoming meetings. I’ve found this useful, but, to be honest, I’m still fidgeting around with how I should be using the widgets. After all, even this relatively small widget replaces the homescreen slot for three other apps (on top of the Calendar app). I’m more adventurous with the widgets on my other screens, after the homescreen.
Okay, so after the Calendar 2x2 widget, the Photos and Camera apps remain. As does Phone, which I actually started using far more than in years past due to the pandemic and remote work/life. In the other top slot we now have 1Password, which has long been my password manager of choice and finally got “upgraded” to the homescreen. It’s a long-overdue change.
Google Maps remains in its slot (with its new icon), with Uber still right next to it. Yes, I still have Uber there even though I can count on zero hands the number of times I’ve taken an Uber since the pandemic began. So while you could consider it aspirational as we start 2021, there is an actual reason to keep it: I am using Uber Eats more than ever. And while Eats has its own app, it’s also smartly now baked into Uber itself too.
Audible is still here, locked and loaded. While in another overdue change, Overcast has replaced Apple’s own Podcast app. Between “Smart Speed” and “Voice Boost”, it really is so much better. More importantly, it’s far more performant, in my experience.
On the note-taking side, I added Tot by IconFactory as a quick way to jot things down. Not only is the app super simple and fast, it syncs insanely fast with the Mac app (which can live in your toolbar). It does this, apparently, by not using typical iCloud sync, but rather their own engine on top of iCloud. Yes, it’s ridiculous they have to do this, but seeing how other apps perform with iCloud sync — which is to say, awful — it’s definitely a welcome change. One of those apps which use iCloud is Bear, which remains my main note-taking app despite that impediment.
Next up, two new apps which — full disclosure — happen to be GV portfolio companies. That said, as my (literally) documented history will hopefully show, I don’t just put any apps on my homescreen. The real estate is too valuable. Both of these earn it by being useful.
Universe is how I power my personal website. And because the service was built from the ground up with mobile in mind, it’s insanely easy to update my site — which I do often, to update links to my latest posts — on the go.
Matter is still in private testing — you can sign up here if you want access — but it has quickly become my go-to reading app. And, as of an update a couple weeks ago, listening app too. It has elements of Pocket and Instapaper for saving articles to read later, but it’s more heavily focused on discovery. And again, the reading/listening experience itself. Regular readers will know my affinity for this general space. It’s early, but I’m really loving this new entrant.
NYTimes remains — and I definitely appreciate their new COVID-19 tab in the main navigation as I sadly check this constantly. Economist remains too. Medium’s app has changed quite a bit in the past year, icon and all. I find myself using it more with the UI tweaks but also because I’ve actually been using it to publish more on-the-go (more on that in a future post). Speaking of publishing, Ulysses remains my go-to writing app for iOS/Mac.
As for the last row, everything is a constant, just slightly shifted around. Messages remains. As does Reeder, but the latter got a 5.0 update which makes it even more solid than it already was as an RSS reader. ESPN is still there as, thankfully, sports came back after only a few months absence during the pandemic. Instagram is still Instagram — though I’m quite worried that it won’t be for long…
The dock remains the same — which, amazing, it has since 2017! Slack’s app icon changed last year — and I switched it back to “Aubergine” this year — but otherwise, it’s locked in the second slot for the fourth straight year. Next to Mail, Twitter, and Safari. How wonderfully boring and constant!
In Memorium
So, to make room for these changes, some apps sadly had to depart the homescreen in 2020 — mainly due to the aforementioned widget. Those include Swarm, Foursquare’s “check-in” app, which doesn’t exactly make sense in a world where we’re locked inside our homes 99% of the time. We already discussed Podcasts going away in favor of Overcast. Apple Music is gone too as it’s now a pretty nice-sized widget (2x4) on Page 2. That’s where you’ll find Instapaper and Pocket as well — again, my many read-it-later services have started to be taken over by Matter (but not entirely — there are plusses and minuses to each…).
Widgets
I’m honestly surprised my homescreen didn’t change more given the emergence of widgets for iOS in 2020. But, of course, they really only launched a couple months ago and it feels like third party developers are still getting their feet under them with regard to what they could — and more importantly should — do with them.¹ But it would take a pretty amazing widget to enter my homescreen in 2021 just given how much space they take up, and away from individual apps. We’ll see.
¹ Shout out to Weather Line here — my favorite weather app, which also has a great widget (really a set of widgets that serve different purposes). It has prominent placement in the swipe-right widget area. As does Google’s search app widget, which is well done.
