Nat Voisey
For my friends.

Apps I actually use

For a long time I’ve used the default iPhone Home Screen as my own. I like to use the defaults for products so I best understand how a company wants to showcase their user experience.

However, I thought it could be simpler. So I moved to solely using the dock, and replacing Safari with the app that was most in fashion at the time.1

Recently I started listening to audiobooks again, and suddenly had 5 apps for only 4 slots. My first thought was to move the non-standard apps to the page, forming a pyramid, but I didn’t like seeing the app names, and additionally, large icons are for toy phones.

Some of these apps I don’t even use that often, especially Phone and Messages. Could I just do without them?

Yes, and these are the apps I actually use on my phone:

Infuse for movies, TV, and YouTube videos (auto downloaded). Bound for DRM-free audiobooks. And Music, which is used least of all.

These apps are the reality of my everyday. This is what my phone really is. You’d think it would be a calendar, notes, communication, or productivity device, but it’s actually a media machine.

Treat it that way; you’ll see the true purpose of your phone. It doesn’t help you, it consumes you.


  1. Reeder (Classic), Play, nothing, Camera, Infuse↩︎