I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the ecosystem I am in and have been since the iPhone 3GS – Apple. I use all Apple gear (MacBook, iPhone, AirPods, HomePods and Apple TV) and for the most part it’s always just worked. However over the last few months and since really using iOS 16 day to day I have seriously started to look at Android. The amount of testing that Apple have done with both the iPhone Mini and accessibility is something they should be ashamed of. I see issues on iOS 16 multiple times a day and whilst none crash my device I get UI glitches and cut off text almost all over iOS. I also want to get a feel for something else, I don’t want to only have a one ecosystem view of the tech world.

I am also starting to feel like Apple are pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable from a price perspective and their recent hubris around opening up messages to support RCS really turns me off this company that I once held so highly.

Listening to so many Apple podcasts, following so many Apple users on social media and reading so many Apple sites really keeps me stuck in the mindset that Apple are the best out there and their hardware is a step above the rest. Getting out of that mindset and community every now and again I think is good for me. I cannot even contemplate moving to another ecosystem because of lock in and I think about it and give up. I need to push through this and figure out what is like to be in another ecosystem to learn a bit more about what else is out there. I have always said I’ll use what’s best for me and slowly but surely the iPhone isn’t fitting within this thinking.

I’ve already felt the impact of thinking about switching with the family calendar being in iCloud and iMessage – but there are alternatives. I still have my MacBook, that’s definitely not going anywhere so I still have access to these services. My photos can come out of iCloud and move to Google Photos no problem and then I can cancel my paid for iCloud services.

If you’re looking at switching and trying something else it’s important to remember that it won’t be the end of the world. There are alternatives and you might like them.

(I have no idea what I’m doing right now with it all).

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.

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.

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.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the platform I use most and whether I should tie myself to one platform. A company that you follow won’t always line up with how you think they should be doing business. This also coincided with a massive photo loss within iCloud for me this week and forced the issue to the forefront of my mind.

As I was wondering what to do I realised how trapped I am in one platform. I’d been paying for Apple One and totally sucked into using iCloud Drive for everything. I’d already cancelled my Apple one subscription so was free to consider other options.

With this crisis of conscience of the platform and company I was using I went through my apps and decided to move away from apps that only worked on iOS. This gave me the freedom to switch platforms as I want to.

My productivity app of choice is Todoist, a cross platform app. My notes have gone from Apple notes to Google Keep. Writing is now in Obsidian and the WordPress app.

Photos are now in Google Photos.

Apple Music has been replaced by Spotify. Overcast has been replaced by Spotify also.

Signal is slowly replacing iMessage.

Maps is an easy switch to Google Maps.

iCloud Drive now switched to Google Drive.

In terms of subscriptions I’m now left paying for

• 50GB iCloud plan
• Google 1 200GB
• Spotify

I’m still figuring this out but I think everyone should take a look at apps they use and how portable is your data from time to time.

This isn’t a ‘I’m switching platforms’ post it’s just giving me flexibility to switch should I choose.

I’ve been looking at an Apple AirTag for a while now and as of yet not picked one up. I’m not travelling a lot obviously right now but I am tempted to get one for my camera bag.

Does anyone have experience of using them yet? They seem affordable and pretty slick looking at the functionality they give you.

I’m curious as to what you use them on and if they have saved anything you own from being lost.