This is my minimalist (default or basic) setup I’ve been using for 6 months now on all my devices. It made more more focused, productive, calm and happy.

The idea behind this was to reduce clutter in my life, have less stress and no distractions, cope with information and app overwhelm. I decided to simplify things and see if it’s possible to live with this setup and still be productive. Will it be possible to do my work easily or it’ll be hard to use such a “dumb” iPhone.

In a previous post Minimalist Apple Life I shared more details about this concept.

I wanted to have as less apps as possible. Because for me it’s the only way to easily operate with iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Minimalist (default) iPhone, iPad and Mac setup

When you restore any Apple device to factory settings you always have default apps layout. As you get a set of pre-installed apps. I used to do this before but after several hours or max 2 days I started downloading other apps.

Now time has changed. I decided to live with basic setup on my devices and rely on default apps only. I wanted to check if I’ll still be able to do the most important and valuable things with my tech. Apple claimed, long time ago, I can do almost everything with pre-installed apps. They didn’t lie. I was able to do everything I wanted. In some cases a little bit slower that I could if I had some apps, but it’s not that big difference (it was only about 5% of all tasks).

But what a joy it is. You only have 2 (not even full) screens of apps (about 40 apps) and some of them I don’t use at all (TV, stocks, Home, iTunes Store, Tips, Contacts). I could easily hide them but I wanted to have that feeling of freedom, lightness and newness when I open my devices and work with them. Because every time I unblock any of them, I see an app layout when you pick up absolutely new device from a box.

After 6 months I still have this feeling. And it’s amazing.

Do I miss third-party apps? Yes, some of them and sometimes. Only because Apple didn’t pay enough attention to it’s own apps and especially what iOS / iPadOS can do. For example working with PDFs is bad on iOS and iPadOS as a built-in viewer isn’t even basic, it’s almost a zero. But still I can work with PDFs and do the work. Not a great experience and no that bad.

Yes, I miss Preview and Dictionary from Mac. That’s why I created fake icons to these apps to have the same set of apps on iPhone, iPad and Mac. All apps are in the same order on any device. This is a nice tip too.

Actually Apple should consider to finish the process of wiping rough edges among their devices. Just create some apps form Mac that are missing on iPhone and iPad. And create missing apps form iPhone and iPad that are missing on Mac (Health, Wallet, Weather and others). Till that time I’ll do this for you, Apple :)

Results and profit is the same with built-in and 3rd party tools. No need to clutter my tech.

Your personal assistant

iPhone, iPad or Mac isn’t just my personal device. It’s my personal assistant. It must help me. And with this setup it really makes me more productive, effective, fast. I’m sure I can rely on it. I’m sure it’ll do everything I need.

It’s simple, easy to operate but so powerful. I don’t need nothing more than that.

My main apps

There are 10 main apps I use multiple times a day: Calendar, Reminders, Files (iCloud Drive), Apple Notes, Books (iBooks), Numbers, Keynote, Photos, Safari, iMessage. Most of the time I work with them only and don’t touch other apps.

This is a core set of my minimalist productivity system. This system has been tested for 6 months and I’ve never been happier using any of my Apple products before.

Widgets

I don’t need even to unblock the iPhone or iPad to open my 3 most used apps: Calendar, Reminders and Apple Notes. I’ve placed theirs widgets in a widget panel. It’s my timetable for a day. My planner. Everything is in one place without clutter and unnecessary information or apps. Only important one.

Notifications

I’ve turned off almost all notifications. Some notifications appear only in a Notification Center with no sound, vibration and badge on app icons.

It appeared I really need notifications from a couple of apps only. They are: Calendar, Reminders, Find My (I use AirTags), SMS from my Bank.

That’s it. Just 4 apps can send me notifications with sound, vibration and they are visible on a Lock Screen. In this case if I hear notification, I’m 100% sure it’s something important and I must check it out. Maybe it’s time to go for a meeting, or to do a task, or someone is stealing my money as I receive sms from my bank or I’ve forgotten my backpack and Find My with Air Tags tells me about that.

I don’t receive any notifications from email, weather, podcasts, tv and any other app except those 4.

Other SMS, iMessages are delivered without sound or vibration. iMessage is my main messenger. In this case I've custom sounds for several contacts. Messages form others are silent.

The same minimalist setup is everywhere

On each device I have the same default wallpaper (from iOS 15). I used to have default Monterey wallpaper on Mac, but didn't like having different wallpaper on it. I use the same set of apps + they all are organised the same way. No matter what device I use I have the same app organisation. I have the same widgets on iPad and Mac as on iPhone. My MacBook desktop is always empty. I never store there any folders or files as I open everything with Spotlight or Siri.

Everything is the same. It’s not only a very interesting experience, it’s also a magic as if you have one device and it can "change" it’s size, like responsive web design.

Results

As I sad at the beginning, this setup made me more focused, productive and calm. I wish I did it earlier.

I feel my self so free and happy with it. Nothing irritates me. Nothing needs my time and attention more than it should.

I don’t do dumb scrolling in the internet or YouTube, I’ve no social media apps and games too. I need my tech to do the work, not for entertainment or any low value activities. When I understood this, organised everything this way, I stopped wasting my time.

What do you think

Let me know what you think about my setup. Have you tried to do this? Or maybe you think it’s a weird one to make your own smart phone dumber. Anything you want. I’d like to hear form you.

You can contact me via this email.

P.S. I'm not a native English person, so sorry for my typos, mistakes and sometimes difficult language. I'll do my best to make my English better and improve my writing. If you find any mistake or anything that can be written better - please send me an email. I'll appreciate it.