In 2020, many among us have spent more time than ever before with our mobile devices. For many years, technology developers, designers, researchers and ethicists have each debated the impact of technology on how we spend our time and relate to others. Our relationships to and through our devices are increasingly complex; and perhaps for none more so than university students. And yet, there remain many gaps in our knowledge of just how students perceive and desire their engagement with these devices – leading to a lack of real-world design solutions to enable configuration of these vital human-device relationships. This paper presents a design-led inquiry into the role smartphones play in students’ lives; contributing findings from five phases of mixed-methods research conducted as part of a user-centred, iterative design process (n=157), and resulting in a novel scaffolding of the mobile app ecosystem in support of the modes of engagement students desire