My Apple Ecosystem
Discover more from Erica Drayton Writes
I’ve been working on my Apple ecosystem for a really long time. I would say it all started in 2009 when I purchased my first ever 13” MacBook (Which I still own just don’t use). Ever since then I vowed I would never stray from the Apple world. Why? It boiled down to one thing: viruses. I know many may scoff and say they’ve never experienced viruses on their pc. But if you’ve ever lived through the ‘blue screen of death’ in the ’90s and needing to have Norton McAfee on your computer before you could do anything or refraging to fix an issue and it takes over 8hrs?! I’m sure (though I don’t actually know) that PCs have come a long way since then and times are probably not as bad as all that today. But those are nightmares I will never forget and ever since being an Apple-fan girl have never experienced.
It means a lot to go over a decade free from obstacles on devices where it just works. And with that ease of use comes my loyalty. But unlike the many YouTube personalities I watch who can afford to get the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer every year with their updates, I have to be very selective with what I buy and why. When each purchase is truly out-of-pocket and not paid for with money earned from my creative endeavors (yet) what I own needs to have use and purpose and not just for 6 months till the next best gadget arrives.
If that’s you? Working on a budget but looking for Apple devices that can not only be the best your money can buy but me totally worth it, here is what I own and use far longer than what’s out now. Cause let’s not forget another plus about Apple that is so often overlooked: You totally can own and use an Apple device for many, many years that will work excellently and benefit from just about every yearly OS upgrade without needing the newest. Trust me, cause I’ve done it and still do.
MAIN COMPUTER
Let’s start with your main device. The one where you’ll write that amazing story, create a PowerPoint to blow your boss away, or edit that latest YouTube video and upload it later in the week. All of that heavy lifting needs a powerhouse device. Over the years since my 13” MacBook, I’ve also had a 27” iMac, and a 15” MacBook Pro. My latest device is also a 15” MacBook Pro, but with the TouchBar. It’s lighter than my previous MBP and the shade of grayish-silver is darker. I splurged when I had a sudden influx of money to purchase the TouchBar MBP even though there was (and still is) nothing wrong with my previous MBP. In fact, what I do on this MBP is everything I did on my previous and probably still can. Here are the “tech specs” and the average cost I paid for those specs:
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
Processor is 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Memory is 16 GB
What are some of the things I do on my main computer?
Internet! I’m on the internet 99.9% of the time. These days I’m trying to really be all-in on the Apple ecosystem so I’ve removed Chrome and Firefox and I’m just using Safari (especially in anticipation of the latest OS and how improved Safari will be when it comes). But I check social media, build my website, do all my research with a multitude of tabs open. Check my email, access my newsletter, and Patreon for posts. So much I can’t even begin to list it all.
Software! I run a lot of software that is heavy-lifters when it comes to RAM use. Just a few that I tend to open daily: OBS (streaming purposes), Scrivener (writing), Photoshop (image editing, etc.)
Background apps! Yep, we can’t leave these out. You don’t really think about them, but trust me, you’ll use them more than you know. I mean, we all do most of our work “in the clouds” and what this means is you need to have all those cloud services up and running in the background auto-saving and syncing even when you forget it’s doing it! I have iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox. Yeah, I got a bunch of clouds in my sky. But I also use iHeartRadio for my music listening, though I’m working on transitioning to using Apple Music eventually. I’m getting there.
UI (aka User Interface) There is just something nicer-looking about the way Apple looks. For work, I have a pc laptop and every time I open it (which is for all of about 20min a day, and if I could open it never I would prefer that) my eye twitches instantly. Where everything is laid out on it, the harshness of the lines. I don’t know, it’s just not pretty at all. It’s the little details that I know Apple puts into the way the OS and software look on the screen that appeals to me and just makes me enjoy using the apps.
MOBILE DEVICE
I won’t go over every single iPhone I’ve ever owned. Instead, I’ll just leave this image that I love (and my wife hates) of all the iPhone boxes. Yes, I have every single box from the very first iPhone I ever stood in line 16hrs to get, the iPhone 3G to the one I’m currently using now.
My latest happens to be the iPhone 12 Pro Max. And while that is currently the newest iPhone model and the most expensive, I want to caveat this by stating that I do not get a new iPhone every single year. Going back to my “new every two” years when I first got an iPhone I have been conditioned to get a new iPhone every two years and I’ve never changed that system. My previous iPhone was the iPhone XS-Pro Max (I think…). And I anticipate if Apple stays on their numbers trend with the iPhone that my next one will be the iPhone 14. The iPhone is probably the only area where upgrading this often is acceptable only because the payments are split up in my cellphone bill so I don’t feel the pain of the cost as much. I know that’s not entirely true, but it’s how my brain works so go with me here.
But like my main computer, having my phone is essential. For one thing, without it I would have no means of communicating with the outside world (unless it was on my computer) simply because where I live is very remote. As in, without WiFi, I have no cellphone service whatsoever. We do have a landline, but who uses that anymore? Also, there is a lot I do on my phone that I prefer to do at times when I’m not glued to my desk at my main computer. Which is nice cause you should be able to just be out in the world or in another room and get work done (if you need to) without hauling your butt back to your desk! Amiright?
What are some of the things I do on my iPhone?
Recently I’ve scaled back on what apps I actually have on my iPhone to make it more productivity efficient. I also realized I suffered from having more than 75% of the apps on my phone never used! Crazy! But if you have a phone I dare you to check and see just how many of them have you opened in the last month or even the last year? My new rule of thumb is whenever I update my phone to a new iOS or upgrade the phone itself I do a refresh. I remove all apps I just never open. This meant all my games? Gone. All streaming apps? Yep, they're gone too. I’ll get to why in my next section. This left me with social media and productivity apps. Really changes the way I use the phone and when I reach for it I’m instantly doing something useful, something productive. In the long run that will pay off in dividends.
OTHER DEVICE
I’m putting the iPad in an “other” category because, for me, it’s an in-between device. It’s not a computer but it’s also not a phone either. And yet, there are things I do on it that I can do on either my main computer or my phone.
I will say it’s a device that you honestly don’t need. The cost is just not conducive to warrant needing it especially if you already have a main computer. The only time I can see an iPad being a necessity is if you intend on using it as your main computer (which it can be done) or if you are an illustrator, cause like, the Apple Pencil! Duh! Otherwise, to own an iPad is really just a status symbol to own and say “I have an iPad [fill in the blank for your generation]” and nothing more. Have I used my iPad a lot? Well, I’m writing this blog post on my iPad. But I could just as easily have written this on my main computer. I could also just as easily have written this on my phone if I really wanted to, while sitting on the john, listening to music on my headphones (coming up next).
What are some of the things I do on my iPad?
I’m thinking of things I do that I maybe couldn’t do on my other two devices and the only thing that comes to mind are my sketches. I like to sketch out ideas and until I got the iPad my sketches were done by hand on just scrap pieces of paper I’d find laying around. With the iPad, I’m able to sketch in the Photoshop app and then have that file open in Photoshop on my desktop to then recreate it on a larger screen. That has been very handy.
I also use my iPad (or at least I’m trying to get into the habit) when I’m downstairs in the family room. Before, I would disconnect my main computer (MBP) from all its cables in my office upstairs and carry it downstairs. But I have an iPad and I also have the Apple Pencil and the Magic Keyboard. I technically can do almost anything on it and I realize this. So, lately, I’m working on leaving my main computer upstairs in my office and just using my iPad Pro when I’m elsewhere in the house. Trust me, this is difficult to do and I may do another blog post later to share how that’s been going.
HEADPHONES
I have the first-gen, non-wireless charging case, AirPods. At the time I purchased these, I think the AirPods Pro were available but as I’m not the richest person, I could not, and still can’t, justify spending $250 for a pair of headphones. I think the most expensive headphones I ever paid for may have been a pair of Beats before they were acquired by Apple. And until recently, I was tempted to get the newest Beats in-ear headphones which are similar in price to what I paid for the AirPods.
The reason I just don’t need a pair of noise-canceling headphones is probably that a lot of the use-cases for why people love them just don't apply to me. I work from home permanently. And not only that, but my office is upstairs and my wife’s office is downstairs. Meaning, if I’m on a call for work or want to listen to music I don’t have to worry that I may be disturbing her or vice versa. She blasts her music downstairs and I do the same upstairs and we don’t hear each other. It’s great. The only time I find I use my Air Pods is if we are both in the same room and I don’t want to bother her with my YouTube videos I like to watch or late at night if I want to hear something, again and not disturb her. That accounts for maybe 5% of my day-to-day use cases? And even that number is really high. So, do I need a new pair of AirPods, let alone a pair that cost over $200? Hell, no!
SPEAKER SYSTEM
I mentioned listening to music as loud as I want? Well, that is possible because my wife bought me the HomePod mini this past Christmas. I’ll admit I didn’t use it much at first. Talking to devices like Siri or Alexa is just not my thing (it’s definitely hers though). But I realized I could just treat it like I would any other Bluetooth device I’ve had in the past and that’s exactly what I do. Whenever I’m in my office I just connect to that and anything I am listening to will come out of that tiny speaker. I currently have it on a bookshelf behind me and I think having it there allows the sound to bounce off the walls quite nicely. For a small size and a reasonable price, I could easily see myself buying others and one day using them as TV speakers. I think that’s possible? No idea…
WATCH
Lastly, I want to mention that I do own the Apple Watch Series 5. Happens to be a series I don’t think they even make anymore! You can only get the SE or the Series 6. You may even find the Series 4? Wonder why? Ah, well, I’m a part of an extinct generation then! Similar to my AirPods, my watch gets minimal use. And it’s for the same reason. I work from home. I could, I suppose, wear it when I’m around the house to log the many steps I take going up and down the stairs in my house throughout the day, but I’ve always just been used to wearing a watch whenever I walk out of my front door that I’m just not in the habit of wearing a watch just to sit at my desk in my office in my house. Just feels weird. And I don’t go out every day. I go out at least once a week and so that’s how often I wear it.
Would I ever upgrade my Apple Watch? Probably not. I mean, it would have to be a present from someone to me or I’d need to have some sort of HUGE windfall of cash. Even though the watch, I feel, is easily the one device Apple sells which isn’t all that expensive (when you look at the base model and not the high-end, of course) I’m not an athlete or a “gym-person” so the reasons why many live and die by the watch just aren’t my reasons. It works perfectly and if I remember correctly, this watch is actually the 2nd one I bought and at the time it was because, in order to get the watchOS update where the watch face would never shut off, you had to upgrade the watch itself. I remember my first Apple Watch and how much I hated that I would have to flick my wrist like mad to get it to recognize the gesture and turn it on so I could just see the time! Ah, the good ole days…
ENTERTAINMENT
This is the one area where I have actually dropped the ball and I do blame Apple here for this one. I love them dearly and I am a true Apple nerd, but the cost of their Apple TV? No way! The fact that I can get a streaming device at like ⅕ the price for Apple’s is a no-brainer for me. In the end, we either use a ROKU or Amazon Fire Stick on our many TVs. The cost of having BOTH of those devices on the 3 TVs in our house is actually the same price of having just ONE Apple TV on one tv. Think about that?! I just can’t justify spending $450 to put an Apple TV on all of our TVs. I’ve wanted to get one but still, I have all I need in a streaming device on ROKU and that is actually my favorite of all the options out there. My wife prefers all things Amazon and Alexa so that’s why our TVs have both (in case you were wondering). So don’t ask me about Apple TV cause the last one I have is from many, many, many years ago and we honestly never use it.