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I want to spend the rest of the day having a pointless argument so here’s the best way to arrange your app icons
Life hack: how to best arrange your iPhone apps, one icon at a time
After years of fiddling, I finally cracked it. This is how you should organise your home screen – and it’s advice that could be handy for Android users too
theguardian.com
315 replies and sub-replies as of Jul 14 2017
I’m seriously worried I’m going to be milkshakeducked over apps
Anyway this guy is probably correct
Life hack: how to best arrange your iPhone apps, one icon at a time
After years of fiddling, I finally cracked it. This is how you should organise your home screen – and it’s advice that could be handy for Android users too
theguardian.com
(I need to shout out @brucedaisley who’s been doing this longer and better than me twitter.com/i/moments/7821…)
Home screen counselling is OPEN
I am a world expert on Home Screen Feng Shui. I offered advice to civilians, FOR FREE.
twitter.com
Wait, you can get emoji as folder titles? Black Twitter? WHAT SECRET ILLUMINATI MADNESS IS THIS?
Black twitter is a @brucedaisley perk, but yeah, emoji can be anything in macOS and iOS
Home screen should be a blank page, then swipe left to get to apps. Like this:
Also I'm under 40, and shoutout to @simonstalenhag for the art
But I regularly use gmail, maps and chrome. They're all right there.
But maps should live with citymapper in the travel section! Also everything should look really emo.
I refuse to use CityMapper. I am a god fearing man and google maps is good enough for me.
Maps is for walking and leaving London, Citymapper is for checking when the next bus is
Buses are about every 10 minutes. Now you can delete the app.
Re the Destiny app – have you used @IshtarCommander?
Wow. Long time Guardian reader so that is cool to know!
The whole internet loves Alex Hern, Guardian's tech reporter *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you that Alex Hern is a cluttered mess
You haven't even considered color coding!
I can accept this.
Not if you live that minimal app lyfe.
very much would tag my dad in this but he's just smashed his iPhone against the floor
i also would tag my mum in this but she just put her phone in the washing machine so i suspect she may have bigger issues to deal with now
Like my home screen, then. Folders first, then icons, all sorted alphabetically ... it's worked well for ten years.
Everything about this is making me so angry why do you not have battery percentage turned on
I'm 38, jerk
touché
in related news I recently looked into boat tours of the locks of the eerie canal
I feel like if you spend time thinking about it instead of just searching for things you're over 40
I’m feeling smug, because I’m 40 and it’s only on my home screen.
wait so am I!
@ me next time
what if it's in the trash folder
still home screen
It.. is not.
it's three swipes over
Wait about it being in the dock purely in case of emergency? But never used..
It’s on my dock. Lol
I haven't used a dock since my palm pilot
"what's a phone?" - under 20
Homescreen, and 40. But also introvert and hate talking to people on the phone.
patrician home screens have 1 page with everything in folders. multiple pages is an abomination
I don't think this will get the amount of indignant tweets you're obviously going for. Why not break it down by race and gender next.
I make at least two calls a day, so it makes sense. Of course, one of those calls is to my doctor for my old people medicine.
If my dock were my top four most used apps I'd definitely be swapping out Mail for JustEat.
this is rubbish, over forties are medley of folders for single apps and having six pages for 25 apps
Like my desk - I find leaving it completely random and relying on memory to find what I need works well.
I have so many feelings about this. Ridiculously, I never change my dock. You have inspired me to do so. BEGONE, 'MUSIC'! HELLO, SPOTIFY!
I'm fully a folders gal though. Everything in folders apart from Sleep Cycle, Gmail, Facebook and Settings.
i actually meant to respond to the folders&apps mix tweet but mine applies to both
yeah thats a folder of apps that i need on my phone but dont like
it’s great! total scam that you have to pay so much for cross platform syncing tho
yeah but the prices hike waaaaay up for desktop and ipad
probably for the best
luv google
this seems unfair!
I'm a little naughty what can i say
but i dunno these are my compulsively monitored social apps i need them always
it's my Reddit app, Beam
i guess as far as the folder is concerned, i use my phone differently than some people...
...in that i don't have push notifications or badges for my social apps
so i manually keep tabs a lot
What if it’s on the homescreen but in a folder?
Image from Tweetbot : 14/07/2017, 15:19
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ln.kiril.org
Ha ha, spot on
May I propose an exception to this rule: I have mine on my dock because I use it in place of the contacts app, not because I make calls
I'm over 40 but it's on my dock because I can't be arsed to move it, not because I actually use it
I'm not far off the elderly group. So what's dock??!
You just made me realize my least-used apps (that are used at all regularly) are on the dock. o_O
NO. NOT YET. YOU COULD STILL SAY MID-THIRTIES REALLY
Late thirties.
Heather said something like "10 years older than us - nearly 50" the other day. She's almost a year younger than me :-o
You're the oldest person I know.
Counterrxample
Have you not tried spelling out some memes with that #bigbagofcans
hahaha. I was just reading this very thing. Two maps apps. Should be next to each other. App Store is not a home screen app
Clock app on screen two when you can get it by swiping up! Chaos
why????
Not homescreen. I consider this my life's work
Home screen counselling is OPEN
I am a world expert on Home Screen Feng Shui. I offered advice to civilians, FOR FREE.
twitter.com
I mean you are all wrong for having iPhones but I respect this dedication a lot.
Why do you put your most used apps on the top left? Isn't that the hardest place for your thumb to reach?
Depends which hand you use to hold your phone.
Still harder to reach the top than the bottom! This is mine and I believe it's ergonomically perfect.
What icon pack is that? P fresh photos icon
Miu – MIUI inspired but better. Replaced Elun as my fave.
Not sure about that WhatsaApp green.
Spotlight for everything not on the first page
I did the colour folder thing a few months ago. Doesn't work, nothing works like search once you have more than 50 apps
All I want is dynamically (weekly?) rearranging app screens based on use, please @Apple
Yes James is right
pin this tweet
yep. I put everything on two half pages and the rest in one folder
half pages?
also, making everything super big is the way to go
You are incorrect
No, Oliver. Us sane people use folders. I have a photo of my kid as b/g hence why it's organized like that. Just turned it off for this
So, do you move apps up the chart on the first page as well - as in, you resort the list every time you open something?
I’m torn, because it seems like madness. But it’s madness with strict rules, and I appreciate that. Good!
It's hilarious that iOS still forces you to have all of your apps on your home screen(s). What year is it.
i mean, how else do you see what’s installed
You have an app list.
Why is it different to the home screen? I’m not seeing the benefit.
Because you only have the stuff you use regularly on your home screen. Like the OS X Dock, Windows task bar etc.
I don't personally like having multiple pages / swiping sideways to view my apps. I have a list in alphabetical order and it's easy.
I once arranged all my apps by colour and I can tell you one thing for free, that does not work. I couldn't find a thing. Looked nice though
just found a picture of it. In retrospect, I also think the background colour choice was a mistake
I go for an aesthetically pleasing but not entirely useful colour coding system. My general approach to life really
Hoooohboy. That's just wrong
Listen to early episodes of @_cortexfm - the discussion on this is weirdly brilliant. And yes, alphabetical.. tried it, soul destroying
Sorry but I have found the most efficient layout and it's arranging them by colour
IGNORE THE NOTIFICATIONS but I arrange by colour. Like your system, it's objective, not irritatingly subjective like named folders
5% battery!
I love how you have the Dreamcast swirl for blue, but at the same time disappointed you don't have the Japanese Dreamcast swirl for Orange
IT'S A LITERAL ORANGE JAMES
bane of my life is IDIOT developers yes I am looking at you Instagram changing their GODDAMN ICON COLOURS
Hnnnnggggggg the notifications
You should ask @davidhelgason to post a picture of his... it's... haunting.
charging!
the real challenge is to get an ok DIAGONAL GRADIENT ACROSS FOLDERS. the dark souls of colour-sorted iphone home screens
also ok I've finally moved "phone" out of the dock and replaced it with Twitters. RIP ME
I pretty much use the android app folder most of the time.
The arrow launcher folder is really intuitive.
It's easier than trying to work out where things go and this way you can see the wallpaper.
You can get straight to the app from a notification. Everything else is low priority
I don't even have a second page of apps. Everything I occasionally use goes in a folder called "occasional nonsense"
oh come on all the things that were originally on the home screen stay on the home screen as god intended
No point replying to Willard when his battery’s on 4% though.
And DON'T MESS WITH THE DOCK
I'm 37. Surely, surely you use your phone constantly as a journalist. Rare I make less than 5 calls a day, 10-20 on a shoot.
Why do you have netflix on your phone? Do you ever watch it?
(Also, top Telegraph veterancy there, with two telegraph apps in "reading")
I, er, have I think literally never used either of them. But I think fondly of them
so once or twice Apple TV broke and I had to AirPlay whatever we were watching through my phone onto the telly
I'm sure I do my researchers head in when I say "have you called him?"
From this, I deduce you like FITNESS and TRAINS. Possibly also bears.
My phone updated and now there is a gap and I can't remember what was in there. This bothers me.
I could look it up but intrigued, whats Bear? is it a whimsical virtual bear companion (called bear?) who tells you fun facts about Canada?
That would be amazing, but actually is a really good notes app.
I suspect I have less apps on my phone because I use my ipad for 90% of what i do
I use the compass ALL THE TIME! How else would I know what direction to go in? I'm telling you, it revolutionised my life.
Less since they put it in google maps, but still often. It's way more reliable than the google one.
100% this
it used to be super ropey though
they have apps for iphones now willard, not sure if you realised
I have other ones occasionally, but I tend to delete them if i don't use them much
i just put them on another screen and forget about them (might need them one day!)
Oh my god can you not just look at where the sun is and work it out
Also 4% battery another mark of someone who is not normal.
Ha! I have a similar folder called 'Crap I Never Use'.
Why haven't you turned off notifications for Instapaper yet?
Is 160 notifications encouragement? Really?
ʳᵉᵃᶫᶫʸ﹖
Gd. bt also arrange non-dock items based on thumb reach of dominant hand not left-to-right western reading sys. Least used = hardest 2 reach
Because of the dock? This is crazy now, admittedly, but, there is a 'central arc' from the dominant thumb's corner which is less strenuous
Shouldn't the focus be on writing rude words with icons, productivity be damned?
I like this a lot. If you care at all, my method is a) only have 3 pages, no folders, delete any overspill, & b) arrange each page by colour
i go for two pages, bare minimum on first page, lots of folders on second
would be great if there was an app to implement alex's system though. i'd be curious to see results, but too lazy to track myself
Yes! Like how I've remembered every PIN I've ever had not by the actual digits but by muscle memory of the pattern on the keypad
I attempted to go into a building like that yesterday. I had to call my contact and get them to come out and get me.
Yeah, tbh, I was relieved to see you tweet about such a thing. I was pretty convinced I'd just forgotten how to read numbers.
The two may not be mutually exclusive.
Ah ha, interesting that you sort from the top of the screen. I put my most-used stuff in the middle, where it's easier for me to tap.
Eh, you could just have it so the middle two rows of icons are designated 'prime', rather than bottom tray + top row.
But also, as you say, the top icons are pretty static now. So you could just move them all to a more reachable location! Imagine the comfort
Alex, you need a holiday
One single half-hour session when I got my phone and a rare 20 seconds when I get something new > systematic anarchy
Mine is obviously more intuitive in the majority of circumstances, and yours does take up more time to sort than mine, I'd argue
Is that work bad though? In a sense I actually enjoy the sorting, and once its done it requires little active maintenance
Tbh, anything that gets my iPhone screen as close as possible to my old android experience is what I'm aiming for. I miss widgets.
It's a nice idea, but I can't approve of this - muscle memory means I need certain apps to always be in EXACTLY the same place.
Put everything in folders, only access apps by searching
folders and just search for everything
I'm glad somebody else thinks about these things besides me. I went for on screen of folders and an awful mix on a screen I ignore 😅
this is awful you are awful (buy an Android)
That's it I'm cancelling my subscription
Last night I got drunk and this morning I woke up to find I'd rearranged my home screen icons in rainbow order
FWIW it's still like this
This is the correct answer
Doesn't it mean you spend about 40% of your day endlessly juggling your two most used apps positions?
good photo @SamuelGibbs
wait. I've just actually read it. You move your apps around every time you use them? Isn't that all a bit xkcd.com/1445/ ?
Please tell me you didn't pay £3.99 for a weather app??
Jesus wept.
That'd kill me. I rely on muscle memory to find things, movements be damned.
Of course the empty space possible in Android helps with that.
That’s a lot of hopping in and out of wiggly mode.
Have you actually written this, Alex?
why wouldn't he, it's aimed at a tech audience and they love this kind of stuff
Am checking my phone now to see if it complies
No it's awe not hatred
What with NUMBERS FOR FOLDER NAMES? (FFS).
You're stupid and wrong to think there will be people with equally strong opinions that you're wrong and stupjd
Wait until you read some of your stuff, Nick.
Who’s the guy at the Guardian who hates iPhone and only talks about how expensive phones are when he reviews them? How does he do his icons?
But that's extra clicks to get to the right one, folders are bad imo
if u have more pages u have to swipe thooo
not for most important apps which are on first page tho
Voice Memos on the top right. Swear position makes it easier to tap *while* swiveling the phone into microphone mode when doorstepping
Oh my goodness *gets popcorn*
Mild tangent but my favourite thing about modern smartphones is definitely that I need 7 different apps just for music.
Which is why 'categorised folders' is actually the right answer.
this, by BBC correspondent @sommervillebbc, is aesthetically-pleasing...but not for me.
Use Folders. Or be a heathen
Surely this ignores the fact that the bottom right of the screen is the easiest part to tap one handed?
bottom left, you mean [argument intensifies]
Having just got a slightly larger phone, my screen is now entirely laid out on the principle my thumb can't reach the far side of the screen
I’ve been doing a slower, less involved version of that for years. I update it if/when I get annoyed at how long it takes to open an app.
I keep my most-used stuff in the bottom right (Tweetbot, Instagram, Safari, Mail) because that's where they're easiest to reach one-handed.
Why are you reaching them one-handed James?
*hur-hur*
Even I don't check Twitter while I'm wanking.
Clear all the apps off your home screen. Use the pull-down search instead. It will change your life.
what have you done?
But for the record: commonly-used apps near bottom of homescreen then rows of folders to get more apps easily reachable
apps in folders on homescreen > apps on swipe to next screen