This article is a little late, as is obvious from title itself. But this is not only a major milestone in my tech journey, it also talks about the journey itself over the last decade or so. So better late than never!

If you have read my history with computers, you would know that I made the switch to the Apple ecosystem sometime in 2010 with an iMac as my primary machine, an iPhone as my handheld and a MacBook for the occasional travels and the like. in 2012 I also got myself an iPad, an iPad 2 that still have to this day, though it’s hardly usable anymore due to lack of software updates.

Back then though, the real advantage in being in the Apple ecosystem was still developing. I saw the introduction of continuity features, like the ability to pick up where you left off on another device, the cross-device clipboard and so on. But I could not use any of them as they were only supported on newer models and all of mine were several years old already.

If you read about my history, you would have also noted that around 2015 when I wrote that, my MacBook was no longer working as desired and the iMac was no longer an all-in-one and had to be used with an external monitor. The experience with Apple support in getting the display issue fixed was not so good. It happened around the time my extended AppleCare plan was expiring, and although they tried to offer a fix by replacing almost every component of the iMac just before the plan expired, it wasn’t really fixed. And once the AppleCare plan was over, I was on my own.

The iMac which I had spent a good amount of money on, only lasted me 3 years the way it’s meant to be (as an all-in-one). And although I continued using it with an external monitor for 2 more years, in the end it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

In 2014 when it was time to replace my iPhone 4S, I got myself an Android phone as Android was looking quite potent as a mobile OS at that time, unlike when I got my first iPhone in 2010. There were plenty of options and I could get something decent for a lot less than an iPhone.

Sometime around late 2015, my iMac was also starting to show signs of age, and with that I switched over to a PC as my primary computer and completely left the Apple ecosystem.

Fast forward to 2021. I had been through a few minor revisions to my desktop computer and had also got myself a decent Windows laptop a couple of years ago. But somehow I was missing the feel of using a Mac – its hard to explain. Maybe it’s the look and feel, or the ease with which you can do some things on a Mac that Windows still can’t match. Prime example? Quick Look! Or the columnar view on Finder.

The M1 Apple Silicon Macs were just out and everyone was raving about them. And it was around the same time I was having a strong urge to use a Mac again, after 6 years of being without one. Looking back at it now, I think there might have been a nostalgic aspect to it too. And I so got myself an M1 Mac mini. I still was a desktop user for the most part and I already had the required peripherals, so it was a no-brainer to go for the Mac mini with its lucrative value proposition. 

It was around the same time I was setting up a home office or study. And it fit nicely on a corner of my desk, connected to my 2 monitors – one directly with HDMI and another via a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter. 

Soon after I also got a nice Mac oriented mechanical keyboard from Varmilo and an Apple Magic Trackpad. I was using my old Magic Mouse with it initially but it wasn’t tracking very well on my smooth, almost glossy desk surface and I hate using mouse pads. I figured that the track pad would be better suited for the Mac with the various gestures that macOS now supports, and I was right – it’s so much better than using a mouse. 

And in case you’re wondering, I did get it covered under AppleCare. Despite the less than ideal experience last time, I figured if I could get 3 years of stress-free use out of it, it was worth it. On the whole it was less of an investment than my iMac had been back then, relatively. 

I was quite happy with the Mac and the impressive performance that Apple Silicon could provide so effortlessly. The experience was feeling good. So a year later in 2022, I also got myself an iPhone – a 13 Pro Max and a series 7 Apple Watch. I was now fully into the Apple ecosystem, like I had never been before. I could copy text on one device and paste on the other, easily move files with Air Drop and so on. The Apple Watch really comes in handy with unlocking my Mac automatically.

Soon after I also got an Apple TV and Airpods Pro. The Apple TV does take advantage of the ecosystem as far as possible, such as using your iPhone for colour calibration and audio-video sync. But I had a Dolby Vision TV, so colour correction was not needed and somehow the audio sync with the iPhone didn’t always work so well for me. Not sure why.

But the Airpods! That’s perhaps the best application of the Apple ecosystem that I’ve seen. It connects automatically to whichever device you’re using – my Mac, iPhone or even the Apple TV. It even switches between my Mac and iPhone when I receive a call in the middle of watching a video on the Mac. Well, it doesn’t even need to, because I can just take the call on the Mac itself. Yes, a regular phone call!

Very recently I also got myself an iPad, a 2025 base model, not the Air or the Pro or even the Mini. For my use case the base model was more than enough and with any of the higher models, I would just be wasting a lot of money. Sure, the iPad Mini is attractive for its size but then again it’s not that much bigger than my iPhone and when you choose to use an iPad over the iPhone, the screen real estate is often one of the primary reasons. I also like the Pro Motion OLED display of the iPad Pro but not something I sorely miss.

As for the software/services side, I currently have an Apple One subscription. It started with an Apple TV+ promo that I got with the Apple TV. The content was good and the monthly fee was quite reasonable, so I decided to continue it. Then came the need for iCloud. I only use it for device backups currently but the base 50GB that Apple provides with the free tier is just not enough in this day, so I decided to get iCloud+ and share that with my wife as well for her iPad device backups. I had not got my iPad at that time. Soon after I also upgraded my home Hi-Fi system and thought it would be good to have lossless streaming with Apple Music through the Apple TV. The Apple One subscription felt like a good option to have all of these at one price.

So there you have it. I’m pretty much all the way in with the Apple ecosystem, maybe sans a Vision Pro. That will not happen anytime soon as I just don’t see the value of it with the current prices and capabilities.

Any regrets? Not really. Well, my Apple Watch’s digital crown is no longer working. I went on a low-depth scuba dive with it and it survived, only to stop working after a quick dip in the sea water at a beach several months later. I’m still using the watch, although the lack of the digital crown makes it difficult to use some functions and navigate menus. 

When this started and I wasn’t sure if the watch would be usable at all, I was contemplating the possibility of having to replace the watch with a new one. But although I really like the Apple Watch, I wasn’t very sure I wanted to get another one. 

See, I actually like having and wearing regular watches too, and adding an Apple Watch to the mix doesn’t really work for me. Why? Well, you use your Apple Watch as more than just a watch. You use it for fitness and sleep tracking as well as tracking various biometrics like your heart rate, oxygen saturation and so one throughout the day. If you only wear the Apple Watch occasionally, you have gaps in these metrics and I feel that’s not quite ideal. 

So it’s good as long as this Apple Watch lasts for me, but I’m not sure if I want to get another one. Sure, I’ll have to think of a non-watch fitness/biometric tracker and there aren’t any really good ones out there at the moment, at least one that’s not too expensive (looking at you Whoop).

Anyway, I’m digressing here. I suppose that gives you a good picture of where I am right now – from ditching Apple around a decade ago to slowly making my way into the ecosystem again, in a much bigger way than before. What does the future hold? Only time can tell!