Support
Essentials Launcher
Essentials puts the apps you use most on your Home Screen as a plain list of names. Tap a name to open that app. Need help? Email gigtracker@proton.me.
Add the widget
- Touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen until the icons jiggle.
- Tap the button in the top-left corner (on older iOS versions it says Edit), then Add Widget.
- Search for Essentials, pick a widget and size, and add it.
Essentials Plus
Essentials is free. Essentials Plus is an optional one-time purchase, never a subscription. It adds more lists, switching lists by Focus or time of day, the Date, Calendar, Reminders and Weather widgets, and every font, weight, text colour and background. Open the app and tap Essentials Plus at the bottom.
Bought Plus on another device or reinstalled? Open the Essentials Plus screen and tap Restore Purchase, signed in with the same Apple Account.
Choose which list a widget shows (Plus)
Touch and hold the widget, tap Edit Widget and pick a list, or leave it on Automatic. Automatic follows your Focus filter first, then your time-of-day rules, then your default list.
An app opens through Shortcuts
Some apps can't be opened directly from a widget. For those, Essentials uses a small Apple Shortcuts automation. The app walks you through setting it up the first time you add one. You may see a brief black screen before the app opens.
A Focus filter (Plus)
Settings › Focus › choose a Focus › Focus Filters › Essentials. Pick the list that widget should show while that Focus is on.
Weather (Plus)
Set your location once under More widgets in the app. Weather data is provided by Apple Weather.
Privacy
Essentials does not collect any data. Read the privacy policy.