I spotted an interesting post by Nick Heer this morning while catching up (also, you should be reading his blog; it’s great). He presents the idea that sometimes hardware is as much of a barrier to switching platforms as software is, which is often overlooked by those considering doing so.
The barrier to switching from, say, an iPhone to Android is usually thought to be software — iMessage, for instance, comes up frequently. However, I think Nick has a valid point worth considering. I started to think about the reasons why I tend to stick with Apple products, particularly the iPhone, and really, it boils down to three areas: hardware quality, with a focus on the camera, and the app ecosystem.
I have written about my journey of becoming entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. Until the iPhone 5s, I was a dedicated Android user. I had used the iPhone 3G for a while but didn’t truly enjoy it, and bought my first Android phone, the Galaxy Nexus. The reason I switched to an iPhone, after a considerable succession of Android phones that never really met the mark, was the hardware.
They all promised to fix short battery life or offer a camera that wasn’t subpar, and I was fed up with having to hack my phone to make it work well. I enjoyed using phones like the Moto X and the Nexus series, but they all left me feeling overall disappointment. The iPhone 5s resolved all the issues I had with poor build quality and disappointing hardware in one fell swoop. It came in a high-quality, really nice feeling package, and I no longer worried about capturing a good photo.
Taking good pictures on Android phones was too laborious. I had to install other camera apps or make other technical adjustments to achieve the desired results. I don’t feel that is the case any more; Android phones are on par with the hardware quality of iPhones, offering more interesting form factors beyond the glass and metal oblong Apple adheres to.
I am no stranger to using Android phones, having recently used the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Pixel Fold, and S23 Ultra for an extended period. What now affects switching is my completely subjective opinion on the pictures from these phones. I am not a fan of the oversaturated Samsung images, nor the processing of the Pixel phones. So, I now stick to iPhones due to my personal tastes; there is no other barrier apart from my preference.
I used to love Android for its utility, constant introduction of new features, and the freedom to customise my phone as I desired. Much of that remains true; however, every time I use it now, I am confused about whose phone it is. Android, in its various forms, seems to push Google services in my face, or adverts if you use a Samsung phone.
The good news is you can usually turn most of these features off and make the phone your own. It just takes more time than it used to, and compared to iPhones, it offers a level of customisation that Apple will never allow. Comparing the OS is a bit like comparing apples to oranges, but what I particularly dislike is the disparity in app quality.
This might be down to the types of apps I use and the fact that I first used them on Apple devices. However, that doesn’t excuse the inferior quality of some cross-platform attempts. That is, if the app is even available, as the likes of Matter and Ulysses just aren’t there. This is no fault of Google or Android, but it is a consideration when thinking about switching. It keeps me using iOS instead of searching for alternatives; the cost versus reward doesn’t add up for me.
Another point worth mentioning, and what was the deciding factor in getting an iPhone in the first place, is the ecosystem. I was introduced to it with an iPad. I won’t ever switch to Windows unless forced, so it just makes sense for me to have the whole Apple package. Every so often, I think I am one of the iSheep people mock, but if that’s the case, I am content knowing what to do and how to get the most out of my ecosystem. Even if, at times, it is frustrating to be so confined.
As I wrote about twice in the preceding days, I use Apple Notes for everything, but I always keep an eye on, and test the new features of Bear. So I’d like to share a few thoughts on its recent updates and the celebration of its seventh anniversary. The past year has brought notable changes, including their 2.0 update, and the improvements coming look fascinating.
Bear 2 launched in July with significant updates including tables, nested styles, pinned tags, and quite a bit more. My biggest takeaway from testing the beta for a few months was the cleaner Markdown formatting. It tidied up all the issues I have with most other Markdown editors and allowed me to write my favoured way but not have too much markup in the way. It also brought in folding text sections, sketching tools on iOS, GIF support, and footnotes among other things.
The new update for their anniversary brought in new customisation options, including a collaboration with Basic Apple Guy for a new icon is an interesting move, highlighting Bear’s engagement with the wider Apple community. It’s a neat addition for fans of both the app and Apple-themed designs.
In their recent email they also highlighted an upcoming Quick Open UI on Mac which looks really helpful. It’s good to see an app evolve based on user needs, and for such a niche note-taking app to be around for 7 years later makes me happy. It has some really engaged users, and their development over time, although slow, is very responsive to what its users want.
If you are looking for a more advanced note app that doesn’t overcomplicate things, I will always point to Bear Notes. They don’t pay me or anything, I just think it’s a really great, well-designed app and long may it continue.
After a full morning of running around in the head office and helping everyone out, I needed to get out and catch up on things, but didn’t want to go home. So I went on the next instalment of coffee shop adventures and stopped off for a Black Forest Hot Chocolate on the way back.
There’s no quaint little coffee establishment this time. It is a full-on capitalist franchise, Costa Coffee. That is a bit OTT because I quite like Costa Coffee and the staff in this one are always nice. I also can’t complain about a place that I can park freely right outside and not have to worry about navigating shoppers.
There’s no wave of MacBooks this time either, the place isn’t empty, but it’s full of people meeting and actually drinking coffee. As such, I feel really self-conscious sat typing on this massive laptop, but I am sure I am not far away from it being full of people tapping away whist taking Friday night sales calls - speaking from experience.
I am already used to the keyboard positioning on the 16” MacBook, but I still have a few reservations and wholeheartedly think that the 14” is the version people should go for. However, I love the larger screen and doing some design work, which is precisely what I should be doing now, is actually possible away from a monitor.
I guess it always was, but never the best experience. Working on elements are much easier to see, and I enjoy working out and about now. Perhaps that is what much of the 16” MacBook, and even which MacBook to buy as a whole, is about. Most things are possible on all versions, but ‘better’ specs can make your tasks more enjoyable and you need to weigh up where the line is.
If the only difference that upgrading my laptop has made is being able to work in more places, that to me is worth it. It is easily £3,000 worth of value and enjoyment, but would be complete overkill for others.
Since sharing some thoughts on the default apps blogging trend yesterday, I have had a few emails from some people, which is always nice, asking about even the few apps I did highlight. So I thought I would concede that perhaps even my setup might be interesting and share my homescreen for the first time since 2021.
I don’t like to have many apps on my actual homescreen, as that tends to prompt me into usage that I don’t want to have. All the apps on the last two rows are to encourage me to do something useful, or the apps that I use the most but won’t trick me into engaging with them longer than needed.
Day One - I journal as much as I can. Although the Apple App shows good promise, it doesn’t live up to Day One yet.
Apple Notes - I use Apple Notes for everything, and I think you should too. Even more so now that iOS17 is out.
LIghtroom - I use this to edit all of my photos, be it mobile or with a real camera.
Matter - The best read it later services I have tried. I can save articles, videos, and podcasts that will also be transcribed for me to use the information later.
Ulysses - I mess around trying to replace it every so often, I can’t.
micro.blog - Speaks for itself, it’s where this post was published!
Brain.fm - I tried to hack my creativity and inspiration, and I love this app for background noise in my headphones when I am working.
ChatGPT - this is a recent dalliance with LLM’s to aid my working life. I used Claude in Notion for a while, but nothing comes close to GPT4. You’ll notice some images created with Dall.e 3 creeping in to my blog too.
If you have any more questions about apps, feel free to ask, using the buttons below. The orange app with the white squiggle on it is where I book my martial arts classes, I can’t find the source of the wallpaper so can’t distribute it I am afraid. Apart from that, I think everything is pretty boring.
I love a good blogging trend, me. I don’t always join in with them, but this time around it has even brought Andy Nicolaides out of retirement. So I thought about sharing mine. Deciding against it in the end because I don’t have much to share, but as I said yesterday, I have embraced the fact that I have to have a good think about why first.
This trend is sharing the default apps we are using. Nothing more. It asks very little of a person, but we all know that it says a lot about us instead. I’ve seen some replies similar to “what an Apple fanboy” but in the general sense, we are all searching for that special needle in a haystack “Ah Hah” moment of finding something new.
We are constantly told that technology improvements are not exciting any more. I would disagree, particularly currently, due to augmented reality and AI promising a different computer interaction paradigm. There is some admission though that most new products don’t scratch the itch they used to. The days of massive improvement when a new OS came out, or my Android faithful will remember waiting for a new ROM release was enough excitement to keep you up at night.
Now, particularly in the apps space, everything seems like the last one that went before it and very little improvement to be found. Unless, of course, you can dig through the recommendations of those with a similar use cases to you and find out what they are using. I have avoided such a process, and read very few of them because I know I will find an app, and be off down a rabbit hole and spend more time moving things around.
As such, I tend to stick to default apps unless I hit a ceiling. Apps like Fantastical sit in place of Apple calendar because it displays information better for working and time blocking. Todoist manages my tasks because it is easer to get them in and schedule them around. Take away my working life, and none of these types of apps make sense for me to use. The only shout-out I could possibly give is for Matter - but again, it is very niche and expensive if you’re not into saving lots of content.
I apologise for being boring, I wish you all the best in finding new and exciting things. Don’t spend too much money but enjoy yourselves!