As the owner of the first M1 MacBook Air I’m still very happy with it but I do admit I like the look of the midnight M2 redesign. Here’s a great hands on from Six Colors explaining what it’s actually like.
Tag: technology
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I’ve been looking around to downsize my iPhone 13 to a mini or Android and there’s only one real option – the iPhone 12 or 13 mini.
I was surprised that there’s no smaller Android phones worth buying, in fact there’s no real small Android phones at all.
If you’d like to see more options check out this site from the Pebble cofounder who seems to feel the same way.
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I try not to rant too much on this blog but I wanted to share something I discovered today whilst shopping at the Apple Store. If you reserve an item for pickup it doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily yours. I discovered this fact today, going in store and reserving an iPhone for pick up 45 minutes later. I returned to the store, waiting another 20 minutes whilst I had service only to find out they sold it to someone else before I got there.
I wouldn’t recommend using this service, just buy online for delivery if you really want the item.
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I’ve been coming up against Apple Care expiring and started to think about which products Apple Care + is really made for. What I’ve come to realise is that where I’ve claimed on it in the past has been for devices that leave my home. So for me that has been my iPhone and iPad. My Apple Care has expired or is non existent on my Apple devices that don’t leave the house like our Apple TV or iMac.
If you’re thinking about whether you should purchase it then I’d advise that for any device you take with you, get it. Personally I have it on my iPhone 13, iPad Mini and MacBook Air. These all go out of the house with me and given their more portable nature are at higher risk of damage.
I’d also consider the age of the device. On my older iPhone 11 I didn’t bother extending as the iPhone model can be picked up refurbished for an affordable price. On something newer like the 12 or 13 I’d have Apple Care.
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I’ve been using my iPhone 13 mostly case-less but using it in my car again had me rethinking this as it slipped around whilst driving. I ended up picking up an Apple silicone case again and I both like and hate this case.
The good
There are some good things about this case. First off if you want some colour then it’s the way to go. I picked up Product (RED) and like the way it looks. Secondly the buttons are easy to press and offer good feedback. Lastly it lets you use the iPhone without it slipping off a sofa or other surface.
The bad
The bad outweighs the good in three main areas. I’m already seeing wear and tear on the case, the phone tends to slip out at the corners and it’s a lint magnet. This last one is the main reason I don’t like using this case, it picks up anything that touches it.
For it to be this grippy it needs to be tacky and unfortunately this means you’ll be wiping it off multiple times a day.
I picked up a MagSafe car mount and I’ll be going case-less with my iPhone.
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I’ve been on the iPhone 7 for a week or so but I had to switch back to my iPhone 11 yesterday. This was for one reason – battery life.
You’ll see from my image above that I went into low power mode after two hours of using it. I went for an 80 minute walk with my Apple Watch and listened to music for an hour whilst working. I lost another 10% in 15 minutes just with my AirPods connected and them paused.
I was hoping I could switch but it turns out even with my current reduced usage I can’t get through a day on an iPhone 7. If need to be constantly connected to power.
I’m not loving the weight of the iPhone 11 but at least I don’t have to think about charging it constantly.
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I’ve been playing with various iPhone models over the last couple of months and settled on the iPhone 7. It’s really helped me be more intentional about my mobile computing and I think helped me get a bit more focus, be in the moment and be ok with my own thoughts I.e. be bored. I’m using my iPhone now as a tool. Most of the time it’s sat on the desk.
What I mean by this is it serves me, not the other way around. I do have apps but not distractions. No social media or news are my main ones missing here. I’m still figuring out how I engage with social media so I’m just off that at the moment. I’ve also noticed I’m in a better mood generally when I’m not engaged in the news cycle.
My iPhone 7 is a phone, a messaging device, a music player and conduit for my Apple Watch (yes, I’m using one again at the moment). It feels like back when I had my Motorola Razr and it’s a nice change.
I’m not advocating everyone to do this but I would say that if you are feeling overwhelmed or want to spend less time on the screen then at least starting off with removing distractions and move them away to your laptop. Things like checking in with social media every Sunday for 30 minutes or keeping your video watching to your TV. It’s important I feel to be ok with doing nothing and let your mind rest, not always engaged.
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There’s a lot of rumours now that the next iPhone will have a hole punch cutout for the camera but I don’t see it happening.
This is my work phone, could you guess the brand?
We’ll, if I didn’t know it was a Samsung then I wouldn’t be able to tell what phone it was. I’d know it was an Android phone but no idea what the brand was.
Even from a long distance or a quick glance on a TV show this is an iPhone. Love it or hate it the notch identifies that it’s an iPhone in the modern age of it’s design.
If Apple go with a hole punch it’ll disappear into the sea of Android phones that we see everywhere. I just don’t see Apple doing this.
Being able to identify an iPhone in a crowd or in your favourite celebrities hand I’d imagine is very important to Apple and I don’t see this changing.
What do you think? Are there enough rumours to start to believe or do you think they want to keep the notch as a way of identifying an iPhone from a Samsung?
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As I wrote about yesterday I want to take a step back and think about my purchases a lot more. This isn’t just technology ones but it’s obviously more of the focus for me and I think a lot of the people that read my site.
Waste from these technology purchases is a massive problem and I want to be more responsible, setting a better example for those around me. Videos like this one are a great place to start and hopefully a few of you watch it and think about your next purchases.
It’s hard not to gush about the next hot phone but for me at least I’m going to be more about apps and things that are less wasteful going forward. I’m not saying that I won’t be talking phones or tablets but I will be purchasing more responsibly and pointing out areas of anything new where they fall down from a waste or recycling perspective.
The main thing we can do to be responsible is to reduce our consumption and only get what we need. Next we can repair what we have rather than throw away or buy new. Lastly recycle what you have, this is something top of my list as I clear out some old hard drives and phones. I’ll be keeping my original iPhone but the rest will be going for recycling.
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I’ve become very conscious of the technology I buy and the time I was out of a full time job made me realise I didn’t need the latest and greatest. Making an informed decision on new stuff wasn’t something at the forefront of my mind in the past, I’ll admit it was the new and shiny.
Guides like this one are worth a read if you’re upgrading every year and I’m hoping this year more than others people will genuinely have a good think about whether or not they need the new shiny or want to get off the constant need to upgrade.
I’m still on an iPhone 11 and as much as I’m tempted by the Galaxy Flip 3, the next iPhone or the new Pixel 6 I’m going to be making an informed decision. I’m thinking about my impact on the larger world around me and if I want to contribute to this current consuming first, environment last trend that seems to be in control.
This isn’t a ted talk it’s just a little nudge to have a think before pressing that but button.
LJPUK 