My Default Apps - 2023

I always enjoy reading or watching YouTube videos about how people use their devices, and more specifically, the apps that catch their interest. When I came across this post by Birchtree, I quickly decided to create my own list.

I also included some brief explanations for why I chose to stick with these apps and services. It’s worth mentioning that I’m a dedicated Apple user, and I tend to favor Apple’s default apps unless there’s a third-party option that offers significant advantages.

• Mail Service: Gmail - It’s been the same for about 15 years; however recently I’ve been exploring iCloud Mail with my custom domain.
• Mail Client: Apple Mail
• Tasks: Apple Reminders
• Calendar: Apple Calendar on Mac and Calendars 5 on iPhone.
• Notes: Apple Notes for all personal stuff, Obsidian for most work-related notes, TextEdit if I need to draft something quickly when I’m working on my Mac.
• Text Editor: Visual Studio Code
• Messaging: Signal and sometimes LINE because it’s impossible to live in Taiwan without it.
• Maps: Google Maps - I wish I could use Apple Maps more often but from my experience in Taiwan they are significantly less useful.
• RSS Client: NetNewsWire
• News: I get most news through my RSS Client, about once a day I also check Reuters and the Financial Times.
• Launcher: Raycast
• Cloud Storage: iCloud and Google Drive for some projects.
• Presentations: Keynote if I work alone and (unfortunately) Microsoft PowerPoint if I collaborate with coworkers.
• Photo Library: iCloud
• Photo Editing: Photomator
• Web browser: Safari and Firefox for some work-related stuff.
• Weather: Apple Weather
• Bookmarks: Raindrop.io
• Podcasts: Overcast - Smart Speed saved me over 200 hours already.
• Music: Apple Music
• Clipboard Manager: Maccy
• Password Manager: Bitwarden - I hope to move to Apple Keychain in the future (most likely once passkeys fully take over).
• Budgeting: Expenses - I want to mention that I manually log every single purchase I make in this app and I’ve been doing that for about 2 years.
• Mastodon: Elk on Mac and Mammoth on iPhone.

Last updated on 27 March 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan 🇹🇼.