My Last iOS 17 Home Screen Setup

Decoded Blog by Oleksii Lunkov
4 min readAug 1, 2024

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Inspired by a recent ATP podcast member special episode where Marco, Casey, and John discussed their home screens, I decided to take a closer look at mine. It’s been about 3–4 months since I last updated it, and my app usage has evolved, so I wanted my iPhone to reflect that — so here we go, meet my new home screen. With iOS 18 just around the corner, this might be my last iOS 17 setup. This post is a bit of a time capsule for myself and maybe some inspiration for you. Let’s dive in!

Widgets

Fantastical

I switched to Fantastical in March 2024, after experiencing yet another Notion Calendar outage. A reliable calendar is crucial for both my personal and work life, so I couldn’t keep using an app that frequently failed. Fantastical offers native apps across iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS, making it easy to manage all my calendars. While it can be slower than Notion Calendar, it’s a trade-off I’m willing to make.

Things

I’ve been using the Things to-do app since January 2022. Before that, I tried OmniFocus 3, but it was too complex for my needs. Todoist didn’t work for me either, mainly because of its subscription model and its lack of full iOS integration. Things 3 has been a perfect fit, with a clean interface and powerful features. I love using the interactive widget on my home screen and the Action Button on my iPhone 15 Pro to quickly add tasks.

Apps

Camera & Photos

A classic duo for everyday use. I set up my camera settings based on a video by Oliur / UltraLinx. For photo storage, I recently upgraded to 6TB of iCloud storage from 2TB, mainly because my wife, a content creator, and our family needed more space. I’ve seen some discussions on Threads about iCloud’s pricing not being great, and I agree, but it works for now.

Notion

Notion is a bit of a love-hate relationship for me. The app itself is buggy, crashing on Mac, not keeping resized windows, and being overloaded with ads. But it allows me to organize information just the way I want, bridging the gap between Apple Notes and Google Sheets. The ability to publish webpages in one click is a lifesaver for content creators like me.

Apple Notes

Apple Notes Meme

I’m a big fan of Apple Notes — it’s fast, simple, and native. I use it as a quick inbox for notes, which I later transfer to Notion or other apps. It’s straightforward and reliable, perfect for quick jots.

ChatGPT

AI is essential for staying relevant these days. While I don’t believe AI is “intelligent” or on the verge of taking over jobs, it’s incredibly useful for tasks like understanding new concepts, brainstorming, adding details to my writing, simplifying, rephrasing, and proofreading. GPTs are excellent with words, so I use them accordingly. If you’re curious about GPTs, check out this video.

Telegram & Messages

These are my go-to messaging apps. Even though Telegram isn’t the most secure option, it’s the most popular in Ukraine, so I use it out of necessity.

Dock

Phone

Because, well, I still make calls.

Safari

Safari is the best browser on iOS, hands down. While I use Chrome on my Mac, Safari suits my needs on the iPhone, especially since I rely on 1Password for managing passwords.

Podcasts

Apple Podcasts is my app of choice, especially since it supports chapters and chapter art, which I appreciate as a podcast producer. You can check my shows here.

Spotify

I switched from Apple Music to Spotify because Apple Music’s slow performance and poor search functionality drove me crazy. For instance, finding a specific album required a Google search instead of the app’s search in some cases. Spotify’s user experience is just better for me. UI is terrible though… You can find my Spotify page here.

Final thoughts

With iOS 18 promising significant changes to home screen customization, I’ll definitely be updating my setup. Stay tuned on my Instagram and Threads for real-time updates!

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Decoded Blog by Oleksii Lunkov

Adobe Commerce consultant. Productivity & wellbeing enthusiast. Writer & podcaster. Nerd & tech geek.