diff --git a/packages/autopublish/package.js b/packages/autopublish/package.js
index e23b9ebcdd..483e6a4473 100644
--- a/packages/autopublish/package.js
+++ b/packages/autopublish/package.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Package.describe({
-  summary: "Publish the entire database to all clients",
+  summary: "(For prototyping only) Publish the entire database to all clients",
   version: '1.0.4-plugins.0'
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/autoupdate/package.js b/packages/autoupdate/package.js
index 648337a1da..b7bf2ca174 100644
--- a/packages/autoupdate/package.js
+++ b/packages/autoupdate/package.js
@@ -25,10 +25,10 @@ Package.onUse(function (api) {
     'underscore'
   ], ['client', 'server']);
 
-  api.use('reload', 'client', {weak: true});
+  api.use('reload', 'client');
 
   api.use(['http', 'random'], 'web.cordova');
-  
+
   api.addFiles('autoupdate_server.js', 'server');
   api.addFiles('autoupdate_client.js', 'web.browser');
   api.addFiles('autoupdate_cordova.js', 'web.cordova');
diff --git a/packages/blaze-html-templates/README.md b/packages/blaze-html-templates/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..84ad905655
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/blaze-html-templates/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# blaze-html-templates
+
+A meta-package that includes everything you need to compile and run Meteor templates with Spacebars and Blaze.
+
+For more details, see the documentation of the component packages:
+
+- [templating](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/templating): compiles `.html` files
+- [blaze](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/blaze): the runtime library
+- [spacebars](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/spacebars): the templating language
diff --git a/packages/blaze-html-templates/package.js b/packages/blaze-html-templates/package.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..12f570a747
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/blaze-html-templates/package.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+Package.describe({
+  name: 'blaze-html-templates',
+  version: '1.0.0',
+  // Brief, one-line summary of the package.
+  summary: 'Compile HTML templates into reactive UI with Meteor Blaze',
+  // By default, Meteor will default to using README.md for documentation.
+  // To avoid submitting documentation, set this field to null.
+  documentation: 'README.md'
+});
+
+Package.onUse(function(api) {
+  api.imply([
+    // A library for reactive user interfaces
+    'blaze',
+
+    // The following packages are basically empty shells that just exist to
+    // satisfy code checking for the existence of a package. Rest assured that
+    // they are not adding any bloat to your bundle.
+    'ui', // XXX COMPAT WITH PACKAGES BUILT FOR 0.9.0.
+    'spacebars', // XXX COMPAT WITH PACKAGES BUILT FOR 0.9.0
+
+    // Compile .html files into Blaze reactive views
+    'templating'
+  ]);
+});
diff --git a/packages/blaze/preamble.js b/packages/blaze/preamble.js
index b90acdb3c3..aba9384a76 100644
--- a/packages/blaze/preamble.js
+++ b/packages/blaze/preamble.js
@@ -26,8 +26,7 @@ Blaze._escape = (function() {
 Blaze._warn = function (msg) {
   msg = 'Warning: ' + msg;
 
-  if ((typeof Log !== 'undefined') && Log && Log.warn)
-    Log.warn(msg); // use Meteor's "logging" package
-  else if ((typeof console !== 'undefined') && console.log)
-    console.log(msg);
+  if ((typeof console !== 'undefined') && console.warn) {
+    console.warn(msg);
+  }
 };
diff --git a/packages/insecure/package.js b/packages/insecure/package.js
index f103d36fd3..4a42028932 100644
--- a/packages/insecure/package.js
+++ b/packages/insecure/package.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Package.describe({
-  summary: "Allow all database writes by default",
+  summary: "(For prototyping only) Allow all database writes from the client",
   version: '1.0.4-plugins.0'
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/meteor-base/README.md b/packages/meteor-base/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8a62ab8fc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/meteor-base/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# meteor-base
+
+A default set of packages that almost every app will have. You should only remove this package if you really, really know what you are doing.
+
+It comes with the following packages:
+
+1. [`meteor`](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/meteor) - Super basic stuff about the programming environment, and a handler for the `css` file type.
+2. [`webapp`](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/webapp) - The actual web server that handles connections, serves files, etc.
+3. [`underscore`](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/underscore) - A library with lots of useful utilities that most of Meteor is built on.
+4. [`autoupdate`](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/autoupdate) - Refreshes the client automatically when the server has new code.
+5. [`ddp`](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/ddp) - A protocol for communicating between the client and server. This is what enables `Meteor.methods`, `Meteor.publish`, `Meteor.subscribe`, etc.
diff --git a/packages/meteor-base/package.js b/packages/meteor-base/package.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0b64f228d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/meteor-base/package.js
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+Package.describe({
+  name: 'meteor-base',
+  version: '1.0.0',
+  // Brief, one-line summary of the package.
+  summary: 'Packages that every Meteor app needs',
+  // By default, Meteor will default to using README.md for documentation.
+  // To avoid submitting documentation, set this field to null.
+  documentation: 'README.md'
+});
+
+Package.onUse(function(api) {
+  api.imply([
+    // Super basic stuff about where your code is running and async utilities
+    'meteor',
+
+    // This package enables making client-server connections; currently Meteor
+    // only supports building client/server web applications so this is not
+    // removable
+    'webapp',
+
+    // Most Meteor core packages depend on Underscore right now
+    'underscore',
+
+    // The protocol and client/server libraries that Meteor uses to send data
+    'ddp',
+    'livedata', // XXX COMPAT WITH PACKAGES BUILT FOR 0.9.0.
+
+    // Push code changes to the client and automatically reload the page
+    'autoupdate'
+  ]);
+});
diff --git a/packages/mobile-experience/README.md b/packages/mobile-experience/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4c0d0a980d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mobile-experience/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# mobile-experience
+
+A set of Cordova/PhoneGap-specific packages that set some good defaults when building for mobile. These packages only activate when you are building a native Android or iOS app.
+
+1. [fastclick](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/fastclick) - avoid the 300ms touch delay
+2. [mobile-status-bar](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/mobile-status-bar) - avoid the status bar information covering up your app content
+3. [launch-screen](https://atmospherejs.com/meteor/launch-screen) - cover the app with a launch image so that people don’t have to see things loading
diff --git a/packages/mobile-experience/package.js b/packages/mobile-experience/package.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cc0d804d20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mobile-experience/package.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+Package.describe({
+  name: 'mobile-experience',
+  version: '1.0.0',
+  // Brief, one-line summary of the package.
+  summary: 'Packages for a great mobile user experience',
+  // By default, Meteor will default to using README.md for documentation.
+  // To avoid submitting documentation, set this field to null.
+  documentation: 'README.md'
+});
+
+Package.onUse(function(api) {
+  api.imply([
+    // Fastclick: remove the 300 ms click event lag in mobile browsers
+    "fastclick",
+
+    // A nicer appearance for the status bar in PhoneGap/Cordova apps
+    "mobile-status-bar",
+
+    // Show a nice splash image while your PhoneGap/Cordova app's UI is loading
+    "launch-screen"
+  ], "web.cordova");
+});
diff --git a/packages/meteor-platform/.gitignore b/packages/non-core/meteor-platform/.gitignore
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/meteor-platform/.gitignore
rename to packages/non-core/meteor-platform/.gitignore
diff --git a/packages/meteor-platform/README.md b/packages/non-core/meteor-platform/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/meteor-platform/README.md
rename to packages/non-core/meteor-platform/README.md
diff --git a/packages/meteor-platform/package.js b/packages/non-core/meteor-platform/package.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/meteor-platform/package.js
rename to packages/non-core/meteor-platform/package.js
diff --git a/tools/static-assets/skel/.meteor/packages b/tools/static-assets/skel/.meteor/packages
index 792d1296b6..a9f8340d51 100644
--- a/tools/static-assets/skel/.meteor/packages
+++ b/tools/static-assets/skel/.meteor/packages
@@ -4,9 +4,17 @@
 # 'meteor add' and 'meteor remove' will edit this file for you,
 # but you can also edit it by hand.
 
-meteor-platform
-standard-minifiers # JS/CSS minifiers run for production mode
-autopublish # publishes all data to the clients for prototyping
-insecure # allows all DB writes from clients for prototyping
-es5-shim # ECMAScript 5 compatibility for older browsers.
-ecmascript # allows ECMAScript2015+ syntax by default
+meteor-base             # Packages every Meteor app needs to have
+mobile-experience       # Packages for a great mobile UX
+mongo                   # The database Meteor supports right now
+blaze-html-templates    # Compile .html files into Meteor Blaze views
+session                 # Client-side reactive dictionary for your app
+jquery                  # Helpful client-side library
+tracker                 # Meteor's client-side reactive programming library
+
+standard-minifiers      # JS/CSS minifiers run for production mode
+es5-shim                # ECMAScript 5 compatibility for older browsers.
+ecmascript              # Enable ECMAScript2015+ syntax in app code
+
+autopublish             # Publish all data to the clients (for prototyping)
+insecure                # Allow all DB writes from clients (for prototyping)
diff --git a/tools/upgraders.js b/tools/upgraders.js
index 40ff72e3f8..d8a12f0293 100644
--- a/tools/upgraders.js
+++ b/tools/upgraders.js
@@ -132,6 +132,37 @@ var upgradersByName = {
     projectContext.projectConstraintsFile.addConstraints(
       ['standard-minifiers']);
     projectContext.projectConstraintsFile.writeIfModified();
+  },
+
+  "1.2.0-meteor-platform-split": function (projectContext) {
+    const packagesFile = projectContext.projectConstraintsFile;
+    // meteor-platform is split into a series of smaller umbrella packages
+    // Only run this upgrader if the app has meteor-platform
+    if (packagesFile.getConstraint('meteor-platform')) {
+      packagesFile.removePackages(['meteor-platform']);
+
+      packagesFile.addConstraints([
+        // These packages replace meteor-platform in newly created apps
+        'meteor-base',
+        'mobile-experience',
+        'mongo',
+        'blaze-html-templates',
+        'session',
+        'jquery',
+        'tracker',
+
+        // These packages are not in newly created apps, but were in
+        // meteor-platform so we need to add them just in case
+        'logging',
+        'reload',
+        'random',
+        'ejson',
+        'spacebars',
+        'check',
+      ].map((pkgName) => {return {package: pkgName}}));
+
+      packagesFile.writeIfModified();
+    }
   }
 
   ////////////