Is your smartphone swimming in the number of apps you’ve collected over the years? If so, it may be time to organise your apps, and we know just how to do it.
There are two ways that you can go about organising your apps on your Apple device. The first is through iTunes, the second, and probably easiest way, is to do it directly on your device. To do this, simply press and hold on any app icon on your screen. When you see it start to shake, you’ll have the ability to move them around. You can switch the position of your apps, or, if you want to create folders, drag one app over the top of another until one swallows the other. You’ve just created a folder that you can name accordingly.
Now that you know the basics, here are five ways you can organise your apps.
1. Organise by function
The simplest and, in my opinion, the best way to organise your apps is by function. Say you have a few news-related apps on your phone. Press and hold an app icon, then drag one of the news apps over the top of the other, until they combine. You can now name your folder ‘News’, then drag all of your news apps into that folder. Do the same with your reference, to-do, conversion and weather apps (just to name a few). How you organise your folders is up to you.
2. Organise by how often you use them
There are apps you use every day, and those you may only access every so often. On your home screen, which is the screen that appears each time you unlock your phone, drag all of the apps you most frequently use. Then swipe across to another screen, or, if you don’t have a second screen, press and hold an app icon until it shakes, then drag that app all the way to the right until you open a blank screen. You now have a second app screen into which you can place all your less-frequently used apps. You can repeat this process for up to 11 screens on your iPhone.
3. Themed rows
A variation on the ‘organise by function’ method is to organise by theme. This is where, instead of creating themed folders of bunched apps, you create a row of separate apps (or a screen full, if you have that many) designated by theme. You could have your news apps in a row, followed by your health or fitness apps, followed by your entertainment apps, social media apps, games and so on.
4. One screen with folders
I also like this one, although one drawback with it is if you only have two apps that fit under a specific category, then you may as well leave them separate, rather than having to drill into a folder to access one of them. That said, there are 20 ‘slots’ per screen into which you can place 20 folders, where you pop all your apps into the appropriate folders. You’ll never have to swipe right again (unless you’re a Tinder user!).
5. By hand position
Your thumb can only stretch so far, so placing the apps you use most frequently within easy thumb distance is a good way to go. Simply switch the position of your favourite apps closest to the finger you use to tap them open. This method makes accessing your apps super fast and it also places less strain on your digits.
One more for the road…
If organising your apps seems like a bit of a mission, you can always alphabetise them instead – and it’s super easy to do. Just go to Settings > General > Reset, then scroll down to ‘Reset Home Screen Layout. This will place all your default apps in the original location and organise the rest of your apps alphabetically.
Handy hints: I only ever place 16 apps on any one screen. That way, when you’re playing around with the position of your apps, or swiping your screen, you won’t accidentally move or open an app that your finger presses. I also put my Messages, Phone and Mail apps in the dock at the bottom of my phone, and I create a ‘Utilities’ folder where I put all my regularly used utility apps, such as Settings, Clock, iTunes, Calendar, Voice Memos, Calculator and Notes.
Do you know of any other ways that you can organise your apps? Why not share them with our members?
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