/Defaults 2025
i have just added a /defaults slash page to this blog. it's a list of apps i use for various tasks, based on the list from a podcast called hemispheric views, episode 097. there's a compilation of more than 450 default pages on defaults.rknight.me and an easy way to copy the list with or without emojis to make your own.
my slash page only contains the list of apps. this post also adds some explanations as to why i am using these apps or what i've been using before.
(note: /uses is similar. i might combine both one day)
📨 Mail Client: Apple/iCloud Mail
i've been through a few clients like spark, airmail, hey. but now i'm just using apple's default mail app on both iphone and mac and i'm happy with it.
📮 Mail Server: iCloud
after being on gmail, self-hosted and hey, i'm now all-in icloud. this also includes most other stuff on this list.
📝 Notes: _Apple/iCloud Notes_
i've been using apple notes for a really long time now. probably since the iphone 5 came out in 2012
✅ To-Do: _Apple/iCloud Reminders_
i really liked todoist and things, but i eventually moved to apple's reminders app because it was easier to add location based reminders.
📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: Halide, Zerocam Mono, iOS Cam
apple's default ios camera is still the fastest way to take pictures on an iphone and at the same time gives me the awesome live photos feature. i use it for casual photo taking. but for a little more thoughtful photography i use halide for #ProcessZero images and zerocam's black and white camera for #Mono.
🟦 Photo Management: _Apple Photos_
well "management" is a little too much. i take photos and they're just sitting in my camera roll sorted by creation date.
📆 Calendar: _Apple Calendar_
similar to the before mentioned reminders situation. i've been using and loving fantastical for years and years, but after checking out apple's default ios calendar app with ios 18 again, i finally made the switch when using the ios 26 beta. fantastical has also become a little too expensive for a 4,5/5 calendar when the free default app is a 4/5.
📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive
i have abandoned dropbox for icloud drive a few years ago. i don't have to share a lot of files with others and icloud is easy to access with all my apple devices.
📖 RSS: Reeder Classic
reeder has been my rss reader of choice after version 3.2 added feedly support when google killed google reader in 2013 and made me move to feedly and with feedly to reeder. nowadays i'm using icloud instead of a third party service to sync my rss feeds. also, i'm using reeder classic because i don't like the new reeder. i'm glad he's keeping the old version up.
🙍🏻♂️ Contacts: _Apple Contacts Phone App
not much to say about this.
🌐 Browser: Firefox, [Safari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari%28web_browser%29)_
i didn't want to use chrome anymore and moved to firefox on my mac. i'm using safari on ios and also looked at arc and quiche, but i always get back to safari.
💬 Chat: WhatsApp, iMessage, Discord
it's hard to go without whatsapp in germany if you want to chat with real life friends and family. i've tried for almost two years but realized it was a mistake since not everyone can or want to use imessage nor wants to install apps like signal or telegram. i still keep these installed but there's not much happening. there's more activity on discord where i chat with people from the internet.
🔖 Bookmarks: Nothing?
there are bookmarks in my browser, but i don't use any third party services like raindrop right now.
📑 Read It Later: well…
i used to be a fan of instapaper but stopped using it in 2018, when the service was down for a few months. not sure if i tried anything else in the meantime but right now everything i want to read either stays in a open tab or i use one of the chat apps to send the link to myself.
📜 Word Processing: Drafts
used to be either apple notes or sometimes ia writer, but right now i'm back into drafts.
📈 Spreadsheets: _Apple Numbers_
🛒 Shopping Lists: _Apple/iCloud Reminders_
💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: _Apple Numbers_
📰 News: Reeder Classic, [Mastodon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon%28social_network%29), Reuters App, Threads_
i definitely need a better workflow for news. after deleting and unfollowing every news source a few years ago because it has always either been war or covid, right now i get my news from many different places. sometimes i even find out what happened through carrot weather's snarky current observation text…
🎵 Music: Apple Music
rdio was my first music streaming subscription. when it died, i moved to spotify. when spotify became shit, i moved to apple music.
🎤 Podcasts: _Overcast_
10 years of overcast usage, baby! i've been using this app since it launched in 2014. i've tried other podcasts app like queue, which is a really good app, but always went back to marco's overcast.
🔐 Password Management: Bitwarden, [iCloud Keychain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keychain%28software%29)_
bitwarden is my main password manager after cancelling my 1password subscription. but i also keep icloud keychain around as a handy little system-integrated tool.