Apple Invasion? (Premium)

With me switching to an iPhone, one might naturally wonder if a Mac is next. Put simply, no. But you’re looking in the wrong place.

I’ll get to the specifics of that below. But at a higher level, it’s useful to think of Apple’s offerings like those from Google, Microsoft, and other platform makers, in terms of ecosystem. That is, each of these firms offers an ecosystem of products and services that work together where possible and offer better value, in terms of usability and cost, to those who adopt many of them.

Apple, of course, is infamous for using its ecosystems to lock-in customers. It’s a smart strategy, and I think the reason we associate the term “lock-in” with Apple so strongly is that it just does a better job at this than its competitors. Apple has delivered enough value over the years that its customers tend to be very loyal. They also tend to be more affluent, or at least more willing to spend money.

But there’s a dark side to lock-in, of course. Those who, in this case, never consider options from companies not named Apple may miss out on functionality offered by the competition. For example, Spotify offers certain advantages over Apple Music, as does Google Photos over Apple Photos/iCloud. And Apple’s offerings—with a few exceptions—also tend to exist only on Apple’s hardware, further limiting choice.

That said, I understand why people go Apple and never look back: there’s something to be said for solutions that just work. But I can’t do it. I feel very strongly about the advantages of diversity, where you choose the very best products and services, no matter which company creates them. And when I went into my iPhone experiment knowing full well that I could be ditching the Pixel after several years of frustrating loyalty to that product line, that I could suddenly become an iPhone user again. But I also did this knowing the dangers of lock-in, and with open eyes about which Apple products and services I might adopt and which I’d ignore.

And on that note, I’ve been multi-platform for many, many years. I’ve used various Android handsets for the past several years, Apple iPads, and various Windows PCs. I use Microsoft products and services, Apple products and services, and Google products and services. And I use some third-party alternatives where I feel that those solutions offer the best value. The right tool for the job and so on.

But I’ve always been fascinated by ecosystems, too, where some combination of products and services from the same company provide unique synergy. That might be as simple as using Google Pixel Buds A-Series earbuds with a Pixel handset. Or as complex as going all-in on, say, Apple’s entertainment offerings. Or whatever.

Because I just moved to an iPhone, I am of course thinking more broadly about what Apple offers across the board. And there are a few I could see adopting. And many I cannot.

So here’s a quick overview of the various product categories in which Apple competes, what it offers in each, and what I am using now and/or will use in the future.

Computers

When it comes to computers, there are four primary choices: Windows PCs, Linux running on Windows PCs, Chrome OS running on Chromebooks, and macOS on the Apple Mac. I use Windows for all the obvious pragmatic reasons, and I would keep doing so even if I suddenly stopped writing about personal technology. It’s just the system I prefer, have used the most, and am most efficient with. And I like the diversity of the hardware ecosystem and the capabilities that Windows provides.

That said, I experiment routinely with the alternatives, and I still plan on trying various Linux distributions in the new year. But I have a lot more experience with Chrome OS and macOS, and I find both very limiting, albeit it in different ways, when compared to Windows. I won’t say “never,” but I just don’t see a future in which I’m using a Mac. Sorry, Apple.

Tablets

I use an Apple iPad every day to read the news across The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Google News, and to read more broadly across Pocket, Medium, Amazon Kindle, and the Google Discovery feed (via the Google app). I use it to enjoy video-based entertainment across YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and the like when traveling. And I use it occasionally with apps like Google Maps (not for navigation), Airbnb, Zillow, and the like, and to browse the web (currently with Firefox).

And it is fair to say that most if not all of that will work on any tablet, be it a straight-up Android tablet from Samsung or some other firm, or a low-end Android-based Fire tablet from Amazon. And that I routinely research these things. But this one is easy. When it comes to tablets, there is iPad and then there is nothing else. No other platform has the variety and quality of apps that are available on the iPad, and there is no compelling reason to switch. So this was already in the win column for Apple, at least in my book. And it will remain that way.

Wearables

I’ve been using various Fitbit trackers and smartwatches for the past several years, and this solution is cross-platform, meaning it will work and sync with Android and the iPhone. It also has many meaningful advantages over the Apple Watch, most notably cost and battery life. But it has some disadvantages too, the most obvious being reliability. (And some device-specific disadvantages, like the impossible-to-press capacitive “button” on my Versa 3 that I literally struggle with every single time I go to the gym.)

Apple Watch got off to a rough start, but with Apple wisely refocusing on fitness and wellbeing, this device has become not just the market leader but an item of intense interest for anyone who cares about this kind of functionality. I would like to be at the point where I didn’t need such a thing—an imagined life where I am fit enough, sleep well enough, and am active enough that tracking is superfluous—but I’m not there. And I feel like there is a reward system for tracking my activities that makes a wearable desirable.

But Fitbit is just frustrating enough that I routinely research alternatives. I will/would consider any coming Google wearOS-based options, including the rumored Pixel Watch. And I’ve had my eye on some Garmin and Withings smartwatches. But … Apple Watch? I mean, come on. It’s kind of obvious. And while I’m not sure I’d use Apple Fitness+ enough to warrant that $9.99 monthly cost, its very existence speaks to how serious Apple is about this market.

Of course, there are some unique problems with this platform. It’s locked to the iPhone, meaning I couldn’t use it with Android should/when I stray back in that direction. And the battery life is measured in hours—as in one day or less—and not in several days as with Fitbit. I could overcome that latter issue, I think, with a charging strategy of some kind. Maybe charging it while I was shaving and showering each day would be enough. I don’t know.

Long story short, Apple Watch is a possibility. Not a given. But a possibility.

Productivity

When I think about productivity, three core concerns come to mind: traditional office productivity applications (for me, mostly word processing and note-taking), cloud storage, and web browsers. And for a lot of people, Microsoft has all three covered nicely between Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and Edge, respectively. Also, because most of this activity will take place on a traditional computer, the Microsoft advantage is even more obvious, especially for those choosing a Windows-based PC or a Mac.

The one exception may be Edge, which is increasingly problematic because of its bloatware features and anti-competitive Windows integration. But we can choose other cross-platform browsers. And at this point, I’d almost welcome Apple bringing Safari back to the PC, given its privacy focus. But I can make do with Chrome or Firefox and the right mix of extensions.

As for Apple’s productivity offerings—Apple iWork, iCloud, and Safari, respectively—all are available in native form across Mac, iPad, and iPhone, and even Windows users can access iCloud. Apple iWork is also available in a basic web version, I believe, but what Windows user would ever choose such a thing? Whatever. I won’t ever use Apple’s productivity apps, though I do pay $2 per month for additional iCloud storage so my kids’ devices are backed up.

Long story short, I’m staying put with Microsoft for office productivity and cloud services. And sticking with whatever cross-platform browser for the web.

Photos

Our photo collections are a special case because they’re literally stored memories and are thus personally important. As such, I make sure that my photo collection, which consists of all of my scanned paper-based photos and my digital photos, are stored in three places—Google Photos, OneDrive, and my local NAS—and that my phones all backup every photo to those first two locations as they’re taken.

Apple has its own thing—a combination of iCloud storage plus the Photos app on Mac, iPad, and iPhone—but I’m not interested in any of that and never will be. To me, Google Photos is the top choice for photos, but that replication across multiple services is very important too. I don’t see a time when one of those services is iCloud.

TV and videos

For most people, this will be streamed subscription content across a variety of services, mostly third party, like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and the like. But I’m a bit of an outlier because I also have a lot of purchased video content, mostly movies, mostly purchased from Apple. These days, however, that’s not much of a problem as the Apple TV app is available in most places, so I can use whatever set-top box I want. (The one exception is iTunes Extras, the special features that come with many movies. Those are only available on Apple devices, including Apple TV.)

So I use a lot of services, including Apple TV+. And I churn through a lot of different living room set-top boxes over time, but this past year I moved back to Apple TV 4K after using a Chromecast with Google TV. I liked that latter option for the most part, but I actually ran out of storage using just my normal selection of apps, a first for me. And there’s no easy/non-ponderous way to add more storage, which is stupid. So Apple TV it is, at least for now.

Music, audiobooks, podcasts

I use separate apps/services for music, audiobooks, and podcasts, and I’d like to keep it that way as I see these things as three separate activities. In each case, I want something that works with Sonos, which I use for whole-house audio at home.

I’ve been using YouTube Music since it was called Google Play Music and I like it a lot because it’s one of the few music apps/services that lets you easily mix your own ripped music collection with music from a subscription-based collection. It’s also the only music service to offer integration with the incredible library of music videos, many rare live videos, available on YouTube. So it’s kind of a no-brainer to me, especially when you factor in that I can’t stand the Spotify user interface. And I’d probably never use Apple Music, which feels disjointed and weird to me.

Speaking of no-brainers, I go with Audible for audiobooks, another cross-platform solution, and the best in the business. This one isn’t even worth debating: Apple sells overpriced audiobooks through what used to be called iBooks. They’re only available on Apple’s platforms.

And then there are podcasts, which are actually the simplest discussion here as it doesn’t matter what you use. I happen to use Pocket Casts for a variety of reasons—it’s cross-platform and works with Sonos—but you could use any app you like. Podcast episodes are just streamed, and unless you’re paying for a premium podcast service like Wondery, use the app you prefer.

And then there are speakers and headphones. There are a lot of options in both, and Apple is particularly strong in the latter. But I wouldn’t buy any Apple audio hardware as most of it is tied to Apple’s other hardware. And that’s not going to change.

As you may know, I use Sonos speakers at home. They are expensive and can be buggy, and I don’t like the app, but the sound quality is great. And it is, of course, cross-platform and works with virtually every music service out there, plus Audible and Pocket Casts. And some apps—Spotify, which I don’t use, and Audible—can play directly to Sonos. I wish more apps could. Anyway, I wouldn’t use Apple speakers if you bought them for me.

I don’t see myself making any moves towards Apple in these categories.

Other Apple services

Apple iCloud+ is obviously useful for the Apple crowd and, as noted, I do pay for a low-end tier for backup purposes only. But Apple News+ (news) is useless to me. Apple One, an uber subscription that combines various Apple services across three tiers with escalating costs, can be a good value for those in the Apple ecosystem, but none of them make any sense for me. So I can pretty much ignore these things.

Games

I play games on Xbox, period. That may change in the future, sure. But if so, it will be a cloud streaming service like Xbox Game Streaming (part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate). It will not be to Apple Arcade, which is stuck on Apple’s hardware platforms and of no interest to me.

Final thoughts

I see my move to an iPhone as a lateral move of sorts, one that doesn’t really disrupt my general way of doing things. The one exception, possibly, is Apple Watch. That is interesting to me, though I’m still debating the benefits of a third-party option that isn’t tied to a specific ecosystem. In fact, even if I do adopt Apple Watch, I will use it in a sort of non-integrated way, if that makes sense. That is, I won’t be subscribing to Fitness+ and accessing that service via an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. It would just be a standalone tracker, as with Fitbit today. At least I think so.

But aside from the other Apple offerings I’m already using—the iPad and Apple TV, primarily—I don’t have a lot of interest in the Apple ecosystem, and I feel like I’m already using the right tools in most categories. Apple’s pull is strong, and I feel it. But it’s not strong enough for me to make bigger changes.