Default app updates for 2026 Q1

I’m making some updates to my app defaults.

I have three broad motivations:

1. Although I don’t hate Liquid Glass, it is odd enough to motivate exploring approaches by indie developers. To be honest, I’ve really missed using indie apps, so this is a great excuse to make some changes.
2. Many of Apple’s apps emphasize discovery too much. I like opening Overcast and only seeing a list of unplayed podcasts that I’ve chosen to follow or opening Albums and seeing colourful album art exclusively from artists I like. These apps are designed for me to access content I’ve chosen, not to upsell me on other things.
3. Like many others, I’m accumulating some vague ickiness with Apple these days. I’m nowhere near switching, but want to reduce some dependencies. Of course, I’m still using lots of Apple devices and services, so this is a very small step.

Given these motivations, here are the changes:

• 🎧 Podcasts: Overcast
• 🎶 Music: Albums for listening and MusicBox for tracking
• 👓 Read It Later: Micro.blog Bookmarks
• 📰 RSS: Micro.blog Inkwell, discussed here
• 🗓️ Calendar: Finalist
• ✅ To-Do: Finalist

As I wrote, small steps and I’m not making a big deal of this. Just fun to explore some new apps.