Default Apps for 2025
It’s that time of year again. I’ve been seeing people’s update posts pop up in my feed reader this morning, so it’s time to look at my default apps for this year. There are a few changes this year, as I’ve started a long plan of detangling from major centralised services and moving to more self-hosting and smaller platforms. As before I’ve marked updates with a ✨ emoji.
- 📨 Mail Client: Apple Mail + web
- 📮 Mail Server: Fastmail
- 📝 ✨ Notes:
ObsidianLogSeqObsidian - ✅ To-Do: Apple Reminders
- 📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: Apple Camera
- 🌅 ✨ Photo Management: Apple Photos, Immich
- 📆 Calendar: Apple Calendar linked to Fastmail
- 📁 ✨ Cloud File Storage:
iCloud + OneDrivenone - 📖 ✨ RSS: Inoreader
- 🙍🏻♂️ Contacts: Apple Contacts
- 🌐 Browser: Edge at work, Vivaldi at home, Safari on Mobile
- 💬 Chat: Work only - Teams; iMessage + WhatsApp, if they count
- 🔖 Bookmarks: Bookmarks on my blog
- 📑 Read It Later: Bookmarks on my blog
- 📜 Word Processing: Word
- 📈 Spreadsheets: Excel
- 📊 Presentations: PowerPoint
- 🛒 Shopping Lists: none
- 🍴 Meal Planning: none
- 💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Plum, banking app
- 📰 News: RSS
- 🎵 ✨ Music: Apple Music, Manet (connected to Jellyfin)
- 🎙️ ✨ Podcasts: none
- 🔐 ✨ Password Management:
1PasswordVaultWarden - 🤖 ✨ Code Editing: VS Code + Visual Studio
-
📚 ✨ Books: Kindle,
Audible, Apple Books, more physical books while looking for better digital options -
🌎 ✨ Blogging: Eleventy
+ IndieKit+ custom apps and tools - 🔍 ✨ Search:
Duck Duck GoKagi