Personalizing the iOS home screen
I recently came across two blogs with ideas about how to streamline the iPhone/iPad home screen. As most Apple users are aware, Cupertino has adamantly doubled down on its original, stacked-icon design that debuted with the first iPhone back in 2007. One could argue that it more closely resembles the old BlackBerry main screen than a clean, modern UI. Since rumors suggest that major UX changes have been pushed out to 2019, I finally decided to ditch Apple’s outdated home scheme.
Minimalism = Accessibility
Abject minimalism has replaced the spreadsheet grid on both my iPhone and iPad, opting for home screens that function as clean slates ready to serve up what I really need rather than the previous visual assault of competing, bright and distracting rows of icons. In my iPhone X iteration, I have limited the home screen to four folders containing: 1) communications that require immediate attention, 2) apps I use daily, 3) social media, and 4) photography. When the red action badges appear on those folders, a force-press reveals only the list of apps showing new notifications. With this configuration, communications with real human beings are front and center, while less pressing emails and social media postings occupy lower hierarchies of attention. The second screen swipe organizes the remainder of my apps into folders. And with the average user having between 60–90 apps installed on their devices, Spotlight Search should be part of our daily repertoire when launching the virtual lighter app at the next Manilow concert. (Disclaimer: the previous musical reference may or may not reflect the actual genre preference of the author)
Increasing the availability of iPad apps for multitasking
For the iPad, app folders are accessible from the dock–making all apps available at all times for multitasking, split windows, drag-and-drop, etc. They are separated by icons that denote the content of the adjacent folder (e.g. communications, office suite, media consumption apps, utilities). I have set a goal to use the iPad Pro 10.5" as my daily driver, replacing my laptop for all in-class graduate lectures and (somewhat more limited) labs. To this end, I have been frustrated with having to toggle between the 16 apps allowed in the dock and apps located somewhere else on the home screens–the only means of access for split-screen viewing of non-docked apps (which I use all the time). Going minimal has boosted my productivity and caused me to actually use the plethora of new multitasking features introduced in iOS 11. My personal quest to completely phase out my laptop is an iterative two-steps-forward-and-one-back process, but I am hopeful that the time is near.
Share your thoughts if you have found more productive ways to personalize your iOS experience.