My Minimalist Phone Setup for 2026 | Digital Minimalism

Even in a time where it seems minimalism trends fluctuate every so often, I still think at the bare minimum, having your phone set up more minimally is probably the most effective ways to see the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle. The last time I made a phone setup video was back at the end of 2024, and I like to do these as sort of a way to see the way things have changed over time, and also as a way to share some of the things that I do that some people might hopefully find beneficial, and to become more intentional with their own devices. So today in this video I'm just going to do a full tour of my current phone setup in 2026, as well as a few tips on how I keep my setup more minimal. But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by. Here we talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature. So if that sounds good to you, and you end up liking the video, be sure to like, and please typhoon kick the subscribe button off the top of Mt. Yotei. Let's get started. I'm going to start by talking about the phone itself and the accessories attached to it. If you saw my recent Capsule Tech setup video, you would know that I'm still running with my iPhone 13, that of which is in desperate need of a battery replacement and I plan on doing that very soon. This is just the 128GB in green. As far as the case and screen protector go, I'm using this very clearly worn out privacy screen protector that I got on Amazon, and I actually really like it because it creates sort of this matte finish on the screen, but it's starting to be in such a rough shape that I'm probably gonna have to replace it pretty soon. And my case is this matcha green silicone case that I also got on Amazon like a year ago for $15. All things considered, it's held up super well and only has a small amount of fray in the corner. Especially when I think about how many times I've dropped my phone on all different types of surfaces with this case, I'm pretty happy with it. I'll have a link for this in the description if you're interested because I think they have a few different colors as well. Overall, I love this phone and hopefully I'm able to get a few more years out of it, especially after I get my battery changed. Like I've said before, I was never huge on getting the Pro or Pro Max versions of iPhones, but after seeing some of the camera quality on the newer iPhones, I could absolutely understand circumstances where if that's just your primary camera, it definitely makes sense. I mean, it's really good. But other than that, I don't want a bigger phone than this. Thank you to GenSpark AI for sponsoring this video. You might recognize GenSpark from their Super Bowl ads. GenSpark is an all-in-one AI workspace that provides access to all top AI models under one subscription, one interface, and one workspace. Unlike traditional AI tools that only provide text responses, GenSpark actually gets the work done for you. One of my personal favorite features is its custom agents and custom workflows to help handle things like repetitive email tasks automatically. I can literally have it set up to clean out any spam or marketing emails. And even unsubscribing from promotional emails with automated response templates. In a way, it's like automated decluttering. But where I think GenSpark AI shines the most is when you take advantage of its AI developer. You can literally build a business or personal website app in 60 seconds and make any adjustments you need, and they'll make it right there, right in front of you. I tested this out by making a website for a bread recipe. And no lie, after the second prompt, this is exactly what it came up with, and it looks amazing. GenSpark is actually offering free credits upon signup and unlimited usage of the AI chat and AI image feature for all of 2026. Nano Banana 2, GPT Image, Flux, C-Dream, Gemini 1.5 Pro, GPT-4o, Claude Opus 3.5, and more top models inside these two features are available with unlimited access for paid users. To get started with GenSpark AI, Make sure to use the link in the description box to see how it actually can enhance your productivity and efficiency with work and creativity. And thanks again to GenSpark AI for sponsoring this portion of the video. Home screen. Now funny enough, I went back into my old videos to actually double check this, and it turns out I've had literally the exact same screen setup since 2020. Which is a testament to how practical this minimal setup is, and if it isn't broken, don't fix it. So that being said, my home screen is still just my phone app and the messages app at the bottom, I have this gradient green background that matches the green phone case, and if you couldn't tell, green is my favorite color. Yes, I'm 6 years old and have a favorite color I've probably changed my wallpaper less than a handful of times in the past six years, and when I did, it was usually once I just drew myself on Procreate and I would keep it for a few weeks, but I noticed for me personally, I much prefer just having this plain color because I'm a lot less likely to just get sick of looking at it. As far as apps and widgets go, I remember trying to have my apps organized into different widgets and folders, but ultimately just preferred swiping to the side to get to the app library And choose whatever I need. I found that by trying to over-organize it, I ended up over-complicating it. So just having these two apps on my home screen is a subtle reminder that I want my phone to be a device for communication more than anything else, and that by creating even a little bit of friction to getting to the other apps, like swiping over to the right to get to the app library, keeps me a little bit more intentional with my phone's use. Next, I'll go into the apps that I actually have on here. For the apps that I actually keep on my phone, I'm a lot more strict here rather than what I keep on my iPad, but without feeling like I'm depriving myself of any conveniences. My iPad, for example, I'll download any app I'm interested in trying, but what I do keep on my phone app-wise is as follows. The App Store, AT&T, which is only there to pay my bill, Calculator, Calendar, my bank app, Clock, Contacts, Discord, which I use about every single day when I'm in a call with a group of people I game with, FaceTime, Files, the Find My app, which is very useful if If you've lost your AirPods numerous times like me, or have AirTags, My car insurance app, my work schedule app, mail, maps, messages, notes, OfferUp which I only keep on my phone when I have things listed for sale or am looking to buy something used, my health insurance app, passwords, phone, photos, ProtonVPN which is a free VPN app that I use whenever I'm on public wifi. There are benefits to using paid VPNs like actually being able to choose the country, of your VPN, and this one you don't get to, but it's still free which is nice. This app here is to control and get any footage from the dash cam in my car, the Ring app for our doorbell camera, Safari, Settings, Wallet, which is genuinely probably my favorite app, I think Apple Pay is incredibly convenient, the Weather app, my gym app to scan in, and of course YouTube and YouTube Music, which is just like any other music app. So at least half or more of these are just the built-in iPhone apps, and everything else is some sort of utility or need. Aside from the YouTube app and YouTube music, which I only listen to at the gym or if I'm driving. Sometimes I'll install a new app if I just want to test it for something, but overall these are the core apps that stay on my phone 100% of the time. Next is the settings. This is something I decided to talk about in one single category because there's not a lot changed and it kind of covers everything. The next time I make a video on setting up a phone for digital minimalism, I'll go into more tips and details about this. But for now, I'll share what I personally do and a little bit about how I have it set up. As far as my notifications go, I have mostly everything turned off. I think I'm literally only able to get notifications when I'm getting an actual phone call. This even means I have my text messages on Do Not Disturb most of the time, or for most conversations. And speaking of phone calls, I do have a few different notifications from different IPs that I like when I just want a different ringtone. Other than some focus mode setup that I never actually use, that's about as deep as it goes with my settings. I've experimented with things like setting up my phone in black and white mode to see if it makes my phone less addicting to actually use, and it's nice to try sometimes, but I've actually never messed around with my settings too much, so maybe I'll dive into that and see if I come up with any tips that might be useful. I ultimately am not trying to make my phone setup as minimal as possible, but just trying to keep it as a device for communication and convenience exclusively. And as far as this exact phone goes, I'll be keeping this one for as long as possible. Let me know if there's anything unique you guys do with your own phone setups that makes it a little less distracting and maybe a little more intentional in a minimalist setup. Anyways, as always, I appreciate the time you spent here and I appreciate you watching. If you did like this video and you like this type of content, be sure to like And consider subscribing to my channel, and I'll see you next time.