What's on Peter's iPhone right now!

Posted March 3, 201410 yr

The wallpaper and apps on my iPhone 5s and why they're there, as of March 2014

Following my Mac dock inventory, I thought I'd share with you what my iPhone looks like. If you want more of this sort of thing, check out how Ally has her iPhone set up and how Rene has configured his iPad Air.

Just like Rene, I'm something of a Mr. Default for my home screen. I can't blame taking screenshots and not wanting to confuse people as the reason. I just like the "standard" app configuration. Beyond that, though, I'm a big believer in using folders to keep my iPhone organized.

Wallpaper: I turned off dynamic wallpapers almost immediately after I started using iOS 7 because I find the animation distracting. I found this shot of the Earth in the default wallpapers folder and have stuck with it ever since.
Stock apps: Surprisingly, I do use most of the stock apps. Stocks is probably the old one I don't use with any regularity — all the rest of them are crucial to my workflow. It's muscle memory to pull them up, so I leave them where they are.
Utilities: This folder contains an assortment of apps that I can't really find a better place for — Contacts, Calculator, Compass, Voice Memos, Find My iPhone, and a lot of third party tools like XfinityConnect, which I use because I'm a Comcast customer, Ookla's Speedtest app, which I keep handy when I'm testing network speeds, and a few other tools.
Games: While I find that I have a lot less time than I used to to play games, I still keep a few favorits around for those spare moments. I have Puzzlejuice, the Tetris-meets-Scrabble game from the makers of Threes, Color Zen, Pocket Trains, Hay Day and a few others around.
Passbook Apps: I try to use Passbook apps whenever I can. My two most frequently-used Passbook-capable apps are Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, because coffee.
Social: I like to stay in touch with my social networks on my phone, so I've grouped all my social networking tools together. Echofon Pro is my go-to Twitter client. I also keep Skype and Facebook handy, occasionally check Klout and LinkedIn, view Vine videos, keep Flint handy for Campfire-based conversations with other iMore staff, and use Avocado, a social networking app for couples, to send kisses and hugs to my wife from time to time.
Travel: I usually stay close to home but when I travel I like to keep a few apps handy just in case. Transit helps me figure out how to get around using public transportation — something that Apple's own Maps app doesn't do. I also have Google Maps if Apple's Maps comes up short. I love the Uber car service — not something I use all the time, but something that's handy to have in a pinch. And Guidebook is a cool app that's useful for finding your way around conventions and other gatherings.
Photography: I love taking pictures on my iPhone. I have an Olloclip photo lens kit, and their free app helps me make adjustments to images that I take with those lenses. iPhoto is absolutely crucial for me for effective photo management. Big Lens is a cool tool for adding depth of field effects to images, to help me highlight what I'm taking a picture of. I also keep Readdle's phenomenal Scanner Pro in here for when I need to scan a document; between the iPhone 5s's great camera and Scanner Pro, I no longer need to use the flatbed scanner on my multifunction printer.
Entertainment: I occasionally need to program the TiVo to record something when I'm out, so I keep the app handy in this folder. I also use Spotify when iTunes Radio comes up short, and occasionally hear music I'd like to know more about, so I keep Shazam handy for figuring it out.
Payment Tools: I do a fair amount of purchasing on my iPhone. Cumberland Farms is a local convenience store chain that I buy gas from; using their iPhone app saves me 10 cents per gallon. I also order pizzas from Dominos, pay my T-Mobile bill, buy concert tickets via TicketMaster and check my bank account balance.
Lifestyle: The iPhone came up with this description when I created this folder and I've been too lazy to rename it. Pages is in here, along with the Day One journaling app, Nike+ Move, Pocket, iBooks and iTunes U.
iMore: The most important app on my phone! You must download this immediately!
Doge Weather: Ally Kazmucha and I are big fans of the doge meme that's been bouncing around the Internet the last few months. Doge Weather is a fun little weather app that shows Doge (a shiba inu with a curiously round head) in various weather gear (a yellow slicker when it's raining, sunglasses when it's sunny) with doge-like observations about the weather, like "much numb" and "many popsicle" for the wintry conditions we've been suffering with.

That's my iPhone, in a nutshell. How about yours? Do you use any of the same apps? Let me know, let hop onto our forums and [show us what's on your Home screen.