App Screens
For the last seven years, I’ve taken screenshots of my iPhone home screens, sometimes sharing them with like-minded friends who enjoy discovering apps as much as I do.
M.G.’s post above made me look at them all at once, rather than his year-over-year, to see what’s changed about how I use the device as I’ve gotten older.
And while screen sizes have changed — I’m currently using the iPhone 6S Plus — it’s yet another thing to see the resolutions all at once and recall how hard it was to use the early devices as compared to today.
Here goes…
2009
This is the earliest screenshot I can find. I think this is the iPhone 3G or 3GS. Very obvious early that I loved Twitter and still hung on to some of the Yahoo! services I still loved having worked there through 2007. Mobile Fotos was for Flickr, and Tags was for Delicious. And there’s Evernote, which ultimately left my screen this year due to stability issues.
The only non-Apple ones I still from this screen to the last: Facebook & 1Password.
2010
Flickr released its first official app this year, as does ESPN, if memory serves. The iPod app still lives in my dock here too. And MyFitnessPal makes its debut, as I get serious about my health in 2010.
2011
iPhone resolutions get bigger with the iPhone 4. Tweetbot replaces Tweetie, and Read It Later (which will be rebranded Pocket years later) becomes my go-to place for bookmarks/reading.
2012–2013
And again, bigger resolution with the 5. My obsession with news apps takes a different swing with both Zite and Flipboard, and wow I actually had Newstand and Riposte — an App.net app — on my home screen. Music also moves to streaming, and for this particular year it’s Rdio. That would change.
2014
The greatness of Slack makes its first appearance. Supported friends at Beats with their new service this year, and Day One also became something I started.
2015
The iPhone 6 brought back Flipboard with its update, and Spotify and Overcast dominated my earbuds. I was a beta tester for Carousel, which was a great way for me to use Photos inside Dropbox. And I used AirPort Utility for a specific purpose now met by Circle.
Nuzzel makes its first appearance here, and it’s indispensable in how I use Twitter now.
Today, January 2016
The home screen today is largely a function of my new life and home. I listen to podcasts while walking to work, I try to post in Day One (again) once/day to reflect, and Messenger is how I group message with friends here. Google Drive is how many company works, so that’s been a pretty decent Evernote replacement in combination with other apps.
Overall, it’s a simpler set of things for a simpler life.
Dig.