What’s On My Homescreen?

Utkarsh Chhiber
Aug 25, 2017 · 6 min read

Let’s talk about Homescreens. Android Homescreen. This is my Homescreen.

Main Homescreen

I have the most basic Homescreen. It does the work for me so I have no issues. Whatever app I am featuring here, I will upload link for each app in Google Docs.

I am rocking Nova Launcher as my go-to launcher with no icon pack. I like it simple. Above there is a Google Widget which is default on Google’s devices with weather and date.

I have two rows with lots of apps hidden inside the other icons which I will talk about in a while.

If you’ll notice, you can see a dot beside Google Photos. This shows that there is a notification, you can see on my status bar, too.

Rows

Google Photos — It is on my Homescreen because I can get into my pictures quickly. I don’t use any gallery app, Google Photos does the work and is highly recommended.

Facebook Messenger — Facebook Messenger is my favorite messenger and it is my go-to texting application. Hence, it is here on my screen. I have other messenger applications on my homescreen inside Icon Swipes which I will talk about later.

Instagram — Self Explanatory. I use it most of the time. Follow me there — utkarshchhiber.

Google Keep — All my notes are here. Quick, Simple, Easy.

GTasks — I add my tasks of the day here. With some Todos.

Google Maps — Again, I use Maps but I kept this on my Homescreen because of Icon Swipes.

Flamingo — This is one of the best application on my phone right now and has the best UI. It is a third party Twitter application made by Sam Ruston. It is highly customizable. It is paid but it is worth the money.

Spotify — Spotify isn’t in India but I still have it because of Premium Membership. Spotify is the best application for streaming music, nothing can beat this service. There are other apps inside (Icon Swipes) Spotify which I will talk about later.

Dock

I have two Dock on my Homescreen.

From Dock One, an application worth mentioning is,

Google Inbox — This replaced Gmail for me as soon as it released. The way this app works is much better than Gmail.

My second Dock

Second Dock.

Pushbullet — This app sends push notifications to your PC and lets you take control of your phone from your Windows or Mac.

M-indicator — This app is for people who travel by train in Mumbai, India.

Then there is a folder with all my apps related to payments. This includes — PayTM, Pockets, JioMoney.

Medium — You are reading the article here. (That icon though)

VSCO — VSCO is my favorite photo editing application on Android. It has some nice filters which make picture look beautiful.

Icon Swipes

This is my one of the most favorite part of the Nova Launcher. I totally love this feature. What it does is, it hides few apps inside another app as a folder.

Messengers

All Messengers I use — WhatsApp, Allo, Duo.

Inside Keep

Inside my Keep — It has a shortcut for Dropbox Paper. I edit all my docs there. I have edited my article on Dropbox Paper, it still needs lots of work but it is simple. Then I have ‘Simple Note’ It is a shortcut of Evernote. If I click on it, it can jot down anything. I will be deleting Evernote soon because of their paid service. I am working on transferring all my docs to Dropbox Paper.

Google

Google — All the applications I use made by Google is in this folder.

Snapseed — I use it to edit black & white pictures and for only black & white pictures, it does the work better than VSCO.

PhotoScan — This app is to click a physical picture to make it digital. How is it different? Well, it removes glares and makes the picture much better than how you click from your traditional camera.

Wallpapers — Google made an app for Android that has wallpapers of different categories.

Find Device — It is an app like Find My iPhone or Android Device Manager.

Media

Media — I have all my apps I use with Spotify in this folder.

Genius — This app shows lyrics with annotations.

Netflix — ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SoundCloud — I rarely use this app.

Pocket Casts — This application is my go-to podcast listening app. It has one-time payment for a podcast which is nice. You have to pay separately for the web.

Second Screen

Second Screen

That widget is from Todays Calendar.

Then I have this dock in which I tried fitting everything I couldn’t fit in the first screen.

Waze — Waze > Google Maps. TRY IT.

Aware — This is a mindfulness application and is a lot cheaper than other meditation application and it has a free premium membership for students. Mail them and for all students out there, they will give it to you for free.

Tide — It has an ambient sound which I use while typing. In fact, I am using this now through the web.

Third Screen

I will talk about widgets first. I am using three widgets on this screen.

1. Google Music Recognition — People download different apps to guess music, well it is inbuilt inside Android. Just go to widgets and it will be under Google’s section.

2. Weather Timeline — This is an app made by the same developed of Flamingo. It is also one of the most beautiful apps I have ever used. Just look at the widget. You can change everything about it. It is paid and again, it is worth the money.

3. IFTTT — This app is an automation app. Check it out.

I have six applications here which I rarely use.

Zomato — Uber for foods.

MyWalls — Wondering where my Homescreen wallpaper came from? Well, download it.

Reos Lite — For changing colors of my smart bulb.

TV time — This app lets me keep track of my TV series.

Extra

Google Now Companion

When I swipe to the right side. A panel opens quickly. This opens Google quickly. For this to work, you need to download an application named Nova Companion.

Conclusion

This is it. This is what my Android Homescreen has. I keep it very simple to make it work for me. Not a lot of customization.

You can download the apps from this link -

App Links

Thanks for reading it. Feedback would be appreciated.

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