I was inspired by Hemispheric Views 097 - Duel of the Defaults! and this post by Robb Knight.

Below is the list I use in the various categories mentioned. I have excluded my strict work usage only applications.

📨 Mail Client: Mimestream (macOS) / Mail.app (macOS/iOS), Gmail (search only) (iOS)
📮 Mail Server: Gmail, Fastmail
📝 Notes: Notes.app (ad-hoc), NotePlan. I do still occasionally dabble with Bear and Obsidian.
✅ To-Do: Reminders, Things 3
📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: iOS Camera
🟦 Photo Management: Lightroom, Photos.app, Google Photos
📆 Calendar: Calendar.app
📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive, Google Drive
📖 RSS: Feedbin + Reeder
🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Contacts.app, Cardhop (for birthdays)
🌐 Browser: Safari, Arc (when Chromium required)
💬 Chat: iMessage, Telegram, Discord, Slack
🔖 Bookmarks: Raindrop.io
📑 Read It Later: Matter
📜 Word Processing: Ulysses
📈 Spreadsheets: Excel
📊 Presentations: PowerPoint, dabble with Keynote
🛒 Shopping Lists: Instacart/Meijer app direct or Reminders
🍴 Meal Planning: N/A (use Shopping apps to plan)
💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Copilot / Chronicle
📰 News: Apple News, RSS
🎵 Music: Apple Music, Tidal (via Vault subscription)
🎤 Podcasts: Apple Podcasts
🔐 Password Management: 1Password, but migrating slowly to Keychain
👨‍💻 Code Editor: Nova
✈️ VPN: Tailscale

Other Apps I rely on:

• Search/Utility - Raycast
• Screenshots - CleanShot X
• Clipboard Manager - Paste

• The 15 Pro Max seems (as of iOS 17.2 Beta)to run more warm then my previous iPhones. Definitely more noticeable to me than I ever remember with the 14 Pro Max.
• Titanium finish is fantastic. In fact, the feel of the device was so good, I decided to go case-less for a bit, and ended up dropping my phone on cement almost immediately after making this decision.¹
• The 15 Pro Max weight differences (and re-balancing of the device) are significant. The phone has a better balance in hand, and the albeit small differences in weight, do make a difference.
• I went with the Natural Titanium finish, and its fine. I think it’s the best of the overall even more toned down color palette for the Pro series.
• The fine woven cases are not great. I think if you are someone that enjoys the feel of suede this case may appeal to you.
• The action button is a cool inclusion, but I still do not feel like I have found a great daily use case for it (much like the action button on the Ultra).²
• The 15 Pro Max 5x lens is fantastic, and I am already getting a lot of use out of it for my kids soccer games.
• USB-C is… fine? I am glad to have nearly all of my primary Apple hardware with a few exclusions³. I do worry about lint buildup in the port which has been an issue with USB-C ports in the past on the Pixel phones I have owned, and USB-C is still a messy spec.

Overall, minus the heat issue, the iPhone 15 Pro max has been my favorite iPhone to date, bumped specs aside, it was nice to see Apple focus on the materials (titanium is fantastic), and find ways to reduce the weight/feel of the device in hand.

I have been testing out the new iOS 17 Podcasts app, and for the most part it gets me 90% of what I want in a Podcast app.

Biggest drawbacks:

• Missing trim silence/smart speed feature. I did not realize how many of my podcasts I regularly listen to had so much dead air.
• Additional incremental / custom per podcast speed settings People speak at different speeds, and it is really helpful to have custom settings per podcast
• Quick access to show notes The iOS 17 Podcast app has the show notes available, but they require multiple taps to access, which is an added frustration.

Favorite features:

• Cross device application support (macOS, Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS)
• Design aesthetic.

For now I am still bouncing between Overcast and the Apple Podcasts app, but I am happy to see Apple catching up in this space.