I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about simplifying my setup and with my daily issues around FaceID still after all this time I’m tempted to make a change. The main reason I stay on the flagship (in this case 11 Pro) is all down to the camera. I spend all that money on a new phone each each just for the camera upgrade. This got me sitting down and thinking about how I could stop this cycle, maybe I need to change the way I think about the camera. As good as it is it still won’t beat a dedicated camera in my opinion.

Maybe I go for a compact great camera and a phone where I’ll be happy unlocking and using but can still take those shots to remember a moment.

As with a lot of things in my life (and something I wish I didn’t do) I’m probably overthinking and will torture myself with the choices, overanalysing everything.

But, I’m thinking I may change my setup.

Sell the 11 Pro. Get an iPhone SE 2020 or Google Pixel 4a. Get a Sony RX100.

This way I have a great little camera plus a phone with a good enough camera to catch those unplanned events.

Anyone else use this method or can recommend a small great camera?

After a day’s play I’ve completely given up on using Google services, iOS apps are old and not up to date. Some very wierd differences around what you can do on the web and what you can in app. Going cross-platform seems Microsoft might be the way to go… didnt think I’d be saying that …

I’m not completely going in with Microsoft yet but will be testing out OneNote, Outlook and MS TODO on iOS.

Posting from iA Writer to Micro.Blog

I’ve written up on how I have been posting to Micro.Blog from Apple Notes and thanks to some advice from Maique I gave iA Writer a go. This app has always been my go to writing app but for some reason I forgot it was there (I’ll blame my iOS 14 testing...) and this is the first post that I’m testing - fingers crossed.

I’ve used the iA Writer app on my iPad (with cloud sync if you’re curious) to write this post and with the URL above I used the text function within iA.

For the images (fingers crossed again that they worked) I used the same selection and picked the image icon. This then let me select the screenshot and embed it above.

I’m already sold on this workflow so I’m dropping Apple Notes for iA when posting longer form to Micro.Blog. I then used the same share sheet and picked Publish.

This takes you to a new post within the browser, you can then edit to add tags and publish your new post.

I’ve never really felt subscription fatigue before but in these trying times I’ve needed to look closely at my finances and figure out what I can both let go of services that I don’t or rarely use and ones to get into to help others where I can afford to. It’s uncertain for a lot of folks in terms of careers and their livelihood and the first step for me to watch my outgoings was to look at the iOS App Store and the subscriptions that I had on-going - some of which I’m ashamed to say that I completely forgot I was paying.

Thankfully most were monthly so I cancelled everything apart from my Apple Music and iCloud subscriptions. With the Reminders improvements and widgets in iOS 14 I’m confident I can let subscriptions like TODOIST go and use Apple apps. If it doesn’t work out I’ll fall back to OmniFocus where I have already paid for the app. I’ve also started to use Apple Notes for my writing, something else that I was paying a third party app for, even though I hardly used the app. I can post from Notes to Micro.Blog easily enough - even if it means copy and pasting to and fro apps.

In terms of platforms I’ve been dropping ones that bring complication or negatively impact my wellbeing. I dropped my blog plan at Wordpress, deleted Twitter and invested in Micro.Blog, a platform where I can blog, share my thoughts and have genuinely great conversations. Not that I don’t have great interactions with some on Twitter but the negative outweighs the positive, especially since I started doing my own podcast. I also find the app infuriating and I cannot go near the news right now, I don’t have a choice with it being thrown at me in the official app.

Recently I’ve also been hearing a lot of membership options on podcasts and to be honest it’s helped me trim down my queue. Not that I have an issue with podcast membership, I don’t and support several but when I hear hosts seemingly throwing their money away or being rude to listeners then I just can’t support them. Whilst I do listen occasionally it annoys me when I hear hosts talking down to people trying to help, or seem to spend a large amount of money on unnecessary purchases.

With TV services I’ve stuck to buying movies on iTunes and subscribing to Disney+, I dropped Netflix and don’t pay for Amazon Prime. For me as a massive Star Wars fan I get everything I need here - if anyone fancies starting a Star Wars positive podcast let me know…

I think that’s it for tech related subscriptions, how are you feeling or managing these with everything going on the world right now?

I’ve put my Apple Watch back in the drawer, with changes around home working now I’m just not motivated to use it. It’s actually making me feel worse using it these days to be honest. I’m definitely moving to a mindset of it being a negative for me at least to track everything instead of just being human and let it be. I know I need to move more so I track a habit of getting out for a 30 minute walk around the block. I find that I tend to go through all of the health data too much if I wear one and it makes me feel more anxious. Anyone else dumped their Apple Watch to take a step back to a quieter tech life?

I’ve stopped using YouTube completely over the last couple of weeks and I have to admit that I don’t really miss it, I also feel like I have some more headspace. The main reason I stopped using it was the suggested algorithm pushing me towards the more negative content and the thumbnails that gets clicks really annoys me. There only so many face palms I can take. The tech space is particularly bad with this and I just had to say stop for my own wellbeing. Give it a try, you’ll find you suddenly have a lot more free time.

For years now in work I’ve had a simple text app (Notepad++) on my work PC to keep little references, meeting logs, notes and how to’s - I treat it like post it notes or a scratchpad. I’ve never really brought this over to my personal devices but since using TOT I’ve started to do the same across iOS.

I used to use Notes but since it’s big update a few iOS versions ago even that seems too heavy for this function. Well, I’ve been using TOT now for a couple of months and found it’s become this scratchpad. I can only have 7 notes at any one time, which to be honest fits my use case. I want somewhere quick to jot down some thoughts and move on.

I’m using it for a daily check list of things I want to accomplish today, posts like this one that I can paste into Micro.Blog, things to remember for later and so on. These are notes that aren’t meant for the long term just a temporary storage area.

Not everyone likes to work this way but it fits with how I like to jot things down quickly.

I’m trying to get more active and blown the dust off my Apple Watch Series 2 to give it a test to see if it helps motivate me. I’ve found that the user interface is pretty laggy on the series 2 but you can speed it up with some accessibility settings. Turn on reduce transparency and reduce motion.

After another day of my iPhone 11 Pro overheating I decided to go back to iOS 13. It’s amazing how quickly you get used to things in iOS 14. I’m missing the app library and widgets the most. Not seeing my day as I open the device and now swiping to left of home again seems old already.

I move around iOS versions so much I’m not missing data at all thanks to iCloud, so no stress there.

I’ll keep an eye out on the feelings on beta 3 but for me at least some rogue process was spinning up my CPU and even on restart it would kick back in, note I’m not complaining this is beta.

I’ve been using the Apple Watch a lot less in the last few months but when I do it’s the series 2 I’ve had now for years. It’s scratched up a bit but the battery is still fine and it does the job when I want to track a workout. This got me thinking if the series 2 was still worth it in 2020. I previously said somewhere (I’m getting old so can’t remember where…) that it wasn’t but the more I’ve used it this week I’ve changed my mind. It won’t be getting the latest watchOS 7 and yes the interface is a bit laggy but if you want something to track your steps and walks I now feel it makes a good option vs something like a Fitbit. At less than £100 used you can’t got wrong now in my opinion. Yes the series 3 is faster but still doesn’t drop in price too much if you’re on a budget and don’t want to invest too much in the Apple Watch to see what it can do for you.

So I’ve changed my mind and now recommend the series 2 IF you can find one less than £120 and you want to start tracking your steps.

I don’t think I’ve messed around with a Home Screen as much as I have in the last couple of weeks playing with the iOS 14 beta. I’ve gone all in with the App Library and only have a single page of icons with my second screen going straight into the library. In terms of the old today view I only have the battery widget. On my main screen I’ve got calendar, reminders, fitness and weather.

As you might have seen on Twitter, I’m moving my social onto Micro.Blog as a test for a bit as I am feeling completely worn out by the attitude and way that free social platforms (and video sharing) sites work. Rewarding negativity and outrage isn’t a service I want to support so I’m slowly making moves to come off them.

I’m going to posting to my Micro.Blog exclusively now for a bit to see how I get on and if it sticks I might even move the blog over.

See you there.

Almost 10 months in and I was surprised to see I’d lost only 1% of battery health.

When I had the XS at the same point it was at least 5% lower than this. The only thing I’ve done different with this one is I’ve never used wireless charging, only cables. There also a battery optimised setting to change a bit more intelligently so wonder if this was the reason.

How’s yours faring?

I don’t think I could go back to iOS 13 now after beta testing iOS 14, it’s made the iPhone home screen so much more alive and interactive. I’ve not gone overboard with my widgets but now settled on one large one that is ‘stacked’. This stacking means that I added the medium sized calendar, followed by reminders. I then dragged reminders on top and hey presto I have a stack I can scroll through. I then simply added weather, notes, music and battery.

They aren’t updating super reliably at the moment but I’m so impressed with the implementation.

As a side note this beta 1 seems really stable, much more than iOS 13. I think Apple have taken the negative feedback on board from last year.

Can’t wait to start seeing more of your setups.

I always love to watch the keynotes but get lost in the details so always like to paw my way through the Apple info afterwards.

Apple has now created it’s iOS 14 preview page and I look forward to reading through it all as I digest the massive feature dump from today’s keynote.

I should have learnt my lesson totally trusting my data to iCloud given my track record but the latest failing got me thinking about my password management habits. They are shocking to be honest, I’ve kept an Apple Note with some in (not written any down on paper) and relied on iCloud Keychain. As you can see above it lost almost all of them in the most recent iOS device restore.

I’ve been using it as a password manager when I should have used a dedicated app.

I’m open to suggestions as I start to review options to moving to a dedicated app.

With this Hey and Apple argument still on going it made me rethink a few things and take a step back and review the way I think about apps. I’ve always tried to do my best to support developers but more recently I realise I’ve been trying to use Apple’s own apps a little too much. Seeing the power and frankly bullying from Apple around their App Store guidance it got me really reviewing what core apps I’m using and that I should be using as many third party (and cross platform) apps that I can.

This is to both support other businesses and to reduce my reliance on iOS. I’m not switching to Android but putting all my eggs in one basket isn’t sensible if my view changes and I have to say that it might should Apple continue down this defensive path.

So, I’m going to do my best to share more app releases and reviews from third party developers going forward. If you have an app idea or want me to offer advice or reviews then please reach out to me on Twitter or on the contact form on my blog.

I like to quickly write down my thoughts as I use a product rather than write up a big review so here are my first impressions of the Apple Magic Keyboard for the 11” iPad Pro. I’ve had the 2020 iPad for a couple of weeks and enjoying it but it didn’t feel complete as I was waiting for the keyboard to arrive and today it did.

Even on the smaller iPad Pro it’s got some weight to it but for me at least it’s fine to carry around with the iPad like I did my Smart Keyboard cover on my 10.5” iPad Pro.

Before even plugging it in the build quality feels amazing (as you’d expect for almost £300). The keys are good, more travel than my 12” MacBook so I’ll need to adjust but enjoying the typing experience. The hinge to hold up the iPad is stiff and that’s a good thing, the trackpad is also a little stiff to click - but it’s only day 1.

Here’s a summary of things I’ve spotted from my first hour with this new setup

• It really highlights the apps that embrace the setup, if your app doesn't have secondary click support I cant use it - I'm currently working out which of the apps I use are good or bad in this respect (would you be interested in a post about this?)
• My writing style means my hands are quite high so my nails are hitting the bottom of the docked iPad, I just need to adjust to this - no big problem
• I like the flexibility of using whichever method I feel like - keyboard, trackpad, undocked or pencil, it's one of the main reasons I love the iPad so much
• The trackpad is actually bigger than I was expecting on this smaller iPad and I'm enjoying using it
• The keys feel cramped to begin with but I'm getting used to it
• I miss the function row that I had with my MacBook
• It feels a little top heavy on the lap but totally doable for me I don't think it needs to be a desk only accessory on the 11"
• I wish the hinge had some more angle to it but understand why not - it would topple over...

Using this setup really makes me appreciate my choice to stick with the iPad and means that I have so much flexibility. I’m looking forward to seeing what iPadOS 14 brings up in terms of iPad support even more now.

It’s that time of year when those early adopters amongst us trash our data and devices with beta software for a few months. Every year I tell myself I’m not doing it and always end up enrolling in the developer program again. I’m preparing for this year I’ve gone all in and installed iOS, iPadOS and macOS betas across all of my devices.

I’m embracing it this year and planning to write up more of my thoughts on the new software versions and its impact on my workflows.

Almost all of my apps use data in the cloud so I never even back my devices up. This makes restoring non stressful knowing all my data is either in iCloud or a third party. If you’re new to the beta train then make sure you have an iCloud backup before doing anything! And if you can also do it make sure you’re photos are exported out somewhere separately.

We are less than a week away from WWDC’20 and after moving back to the iPad full time I thought I’d have a think about what I’d like to see in the next version of iPadOS.

Keyboard enhancements

Multi-user support

Better external monitor support

Podcasting improvements

Improved Files app

A change of home screen

Apple competing with their own apps

So here are some of my hopes, what are some of yours?

Wow, this thing looks wild. I’ve been a fan of PlayStation since the original and always loved the design (yes, even the PS3) but this is something else. Love the white and black contrast and that controller looks great. Good to see the relaunch of the media controller and the digital only release alongside is a smart move. I could see it being a bit fragile with those thin edges but we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.

Check out the video here.

If you’ve been following along you’ll know I destroyed my beloved 10.5” iPad Pro a couple of months ago. Since then I’ve been using a combination of a MacBook, iPhone and iPad Mini. This worked well but I’ve been missing the larger iPad screen. When our family iPad mini 2 stopped being able to run the apps we needed the mini 5 got reset and put into it’s place (Apple, please can we have multiuser support in IPadOS).

I decided to finally put in an order for a new iPad. I decided to go for the 2020 iPad Pro 11” in silver 256GB. I contemplated the 12.9” but in the end the added cost and size put me off. I use my iPad mostly in tablet mode and for me portability is the number 1 priority.

On first opening I was shocked at how big it felt and to be honest still does. A couple of months with the iPad Mini and I really came to love the form factor. This actually feels like a 12.9” to me right now, I’m loving it.

I also picked up the 2nd generation Apple Pencil and a smart folio.

I’ve switched a lot of my personal journaling and productivity over to the iPad from my iPhone and finding I’m using the Apple Pencil a load more. I’ve found that with it attached to the side it’s always there and charged. I’m making more notes (especially in work) than I did before and I can’t believe how much better Pencil 2 is. The decrease in weight, matte finish and shorter stem means it feels a lot more like a errrr Pencil.

Battery life is a lot better than my years old iPad Pro 10.5” was so added bonus.

Performance is great as you’d expect. I haven’t got a 2018 to compare with but it feels slicker than my 10.5” but to be honest in my day to day use I’m not seeing much. I don’t game on it or do video editing but will soon be recording music so I’ll see how it handles and report back.

The only real downside so far is losing my home button and TouchID. I’m finding that unlocking my iPad with FaceID is slower and I’m constantly blocking the camera. This is teething problems for me rather than the iPad but wasn’t something I thought I’d have issues with.

I’m only a few days in but really liking the new form factor and Pencil. I’ve also ordered a Magic Keyboard so I’ll report back with how I’m doing.

As someone that wrestles daily with wearable tech it got me thinking about how good the Apple Watch workouts app is and wondered if there’s a case to put it on the iPhone without the need to own an Apple Watch. Apps like Strava can track your runs without a watch but I’m not comfortable giving them my data. If Apple could give us a privacy focussed Strava then I’d be into using it.

What do you think?

As you most probably know I’m bigger iPad’less at the moment and have fallen back to macOS for a lot of my production stuff. My current setup hardware wise is as follows:

• 2016 MacBook 12”
• iPad Mini 5
• iPhone 11 Pro

What I’ve realised is that with the current creative projects I have going on these devices are working a lot better than I expected and I’m less and less interested in spending the money to get a 2018/20 iPad Pro.

Here’s how I’m currently working.

Writing

This is something that is probably 50/50 between an iOS device and macOS device. This post I’ve written up using TOT (review coming soon…) i.e. I want to write something up a bit longer form so I went for my device with a keyboard attached. The posts that come from my iOS devices are shorter where I want to quickly get something off my chest or share some cool links.

Podcasting

I have to be honest and have completely given up trying to podcast from an iOS device. I can’t afford the additional hardware I need when I have a Mac in front of me that is better (for me) at this task. Even when I recorded the audio into my iPad or imported audio files then I still struggle to edit on the iPad Mini. I tried Ferrite but I just couldn’t make it work for me. I find that Garageband on the Mac just works better for me in terms of efficiencies as I literally edited one podcast in an hour compared to half a day on the iPad and I still wasn’t happy with the result. My other issue with using an iPad for podcasting is that my podcast requires guests, this is a nightmare on iOS and I find an already out of my comfort zone activity is made more stressful when using something I’m not completely happy with.

Photo Editing

I take a lot of images on my iPhone and DSLR and have found that my iPad Mini or iPhone is where the editing happens. My MacBook just isn’t up to running the Photos app well, I have 8GB ram and it can’t keep up with my 40,000+ photo library. I end up just flying through them on iOS.

Consumption

iOS is the hands down winner here, whilst I have watched Disney+ and YouTube on the Mac I much prefer the lay back form factor of the iPad here although I am missing a larger screen for video. I tend to listen to music evenly across the platforms with my Mac connected to the office HomePod in the day and then my iOS devices in the evening.

Guitar

I’ve recorded using an iPad and MacBook and there isn’t a lot between them but I prefer macOS simply for the reason that I prefer to use Logic Pro to edit. That way I’m not transferring any files around. I plug in my MIC, record and edit all in the same app.

Comfort

I quite like the keyboard on the MacBook now I’ve adjusted to it and for writing longer posts it’s the best experience for me in the current setup. I like also being within a fingers reach away from the trackpad, which helps my RSI. Having the iPad is a big win for my RSI also as I can simply take it with me and lie on the sofa or even pop outside in the garden and still get stuff done. If the monitor support was better on iPad I’d say it’s a winner overall but I can’t get over the black bars on the iPad when plugged into an external display.

Summary

So my overall setup here is something I’m really happy with right now. I have three devices that adjust to me, I prefer smaller devices and when I want the bigger display I plug my MacBook into a dock attached to a 32” widescreen monitor. The only thing I miss is a larger iPad display for watching video. I’m tempted to actually have a go at repairing my 10.5” iPad Pro somehow and have that as my larger iPad rather than spend £1000+ on a new setup that won’t fulfil all of my needs.

Quite a few changes since I last posted and I’m wondering if I should do another episode about the changes?

Main takeaway is Fantastical (mainly because the widget is great), worry tree (for obvious reasons…), Tot, AirTable and Tally.

Since using the series 5 somethings happened I wasn’t expecting - a much better experience with third party apps.

I’d tried to use third party apps on and off in the past but sync or performance always turned me off. Using the series 5 has me excited to use them on my wrist again as they perform really well. As you can see above my watch face (Meridian) is pretty simple and I’m using

• Activity
• Date
• Things
• Streaks

As I build a new system for myself I’m trying to keep a few apps core to the way I manage my goals and tasks.

I’m only at the beginning and I’ll be posting how I’m using them all soon once I’ve created a framework and it’s settled down.

I’ve had a full day with a fully charged Apple Watch Series 5 with the following

• Always on display
• 3 workouts lasting a total of 35 minutes
• Occasional check of task list or setting a timer

At the end of the day I’m on 34%, in comparison to my Series 2 where I’d be on about 50%. So we’re looking at 15-20% less with the always on display, which to me doesn’t seem too bad.

I’ll be charging overnight as I don’t go as far as sleep tracking. This means that as long as I end the day with 15-20% I’m good. Obviously haven’t tested a long day out somewhere yet but I’m hopeful it’ll get me through it ok.

What are your experiences?

I’ve decided to try to take control of my weight and thought I’d dig out my Apple Watch series 2 to give this whole rings things a good go. I’ve owned one since the original but in the last year I’ve all but stopped using it.

When put my series 2 back on a week ago I started to get on a run of walk and ring completion streaks and started to enjoy it but the series 2 was getting slow to use. The workout app was slow to start often missing the beginning of my walk and I’d get lag everywhere in the UI.

I decided to trade my series 2 back to Apple (£60) and use a little work discount to upgrade to the Nike Series 5 in silver. I paired it with my original black sports band, 5 years old and looks as good as new.

I love the black/silver looks and some of the new faces look great.

I’ve been using it for a day and I have to say that moving from a series 2 is a massive jump up. The hardware is more refined, that bigger screen is amazing and the speed improvement is huge. Having worn a mechanical watch or digital for a while I’m also appreciating the always on display. Something I’m still getting used to having and still find I’m raising my wrist like I still have the series 2.

I’m glad I went aluminium too, having briefly owned a stainless steel series 4 the lower weight makes it feel more like a sports watch.

I might write something up on my activity progress but first impressions are great so far.

Now I’m using the mini pretty much full time to complete the look for the journal I picked up a Smart Cover.

I really like the colour and these covers although expensive are great. I like the feel of the soft material on the inside when it’s folded back and you’re using it in book reading mode.

I’ve really gotten into the iPad Mini recently and it’s become my go to daily iPad. One area that I’m only just experimenting with this but I’m seeing if it can replace my paper journal.

I started journaling again a month or so again and when running out of paper on my last one I thought why don’t I give the iPad Mini a go.

The notebook I was replacing was the same size as the iPad Mini but the space to write was smaller due to the bezels so I opted for apps rather than use the pencil.

My home screen isn’t much changed with this aside from a new Journal folder on my dock.

(See Matt’s amazing wallpapers here).

Apps

Tally

This app allows me to track times I’m doing something I want to stop or making sure I’m sticking to good habits. These are things like making sure I eat 3 bits of fruit a day or go out for 1 walk. It’s also stopping me from bad habits like tracking the number of times I’m picking my nails or fingers (mainly when I’m anxious!).

Worry Tree

This app is a new discovery and helps me deal with anxiety by using CBT methods. It’s something that has helped me review any worries I might have or deal with uncertainty.

Day One

Everyone’s favourite journaling app and aside from still saving off memories I use templates to log how I’m doing at the beginning and end of the day. I ask a series of questions like “Write down 3 positive things that happened today”.

Mood Notes

This is an app to track mood and commentary anytime you want to reflect on how you’re feeling.

This is going to be an interesting experiment I think so I’ll report back.

Ludovico Einaudi is one of my favourite artists of all time and I recently discovered that he has recorded an album at his home with an iPhone whilst in lockdown.

Check it out on Apple Music here.

Here’s a not so nice app story for me, appreciate I’m in the minority that uses this app but it’s had a change to move your data away from being local to on their server.

The beauty of this app was it’s simplicity in allowing you to see how long since something or to record streaks.

I’m not keen on moving my data so I’m deleting the app.

It’s a sad day for an app I’ve used for so long but there are alternatives so I’d recommend you start looking for one if you want to keep your data local.

There is a skip button but as you can see above it’s non functional.

NetNewsWire continues to be my RSS reader of choice now I’m back on a current generation iPad Mini. I love it’s clean look and speed but I’ve only just discovered that you can quickly move between the stories by swiping left and right.

Whilst you’re reading a story you can simply swipe to move to the next or previous in your queue.

Had the pleasure of talking to Chris Lawley about his setup on the iPad this week, a great conversation and given me lots of ideas on how I can get more out of my iPad.

Here’s Chris’s home screen

Links

• Chris’s Site
• Home Screens

Not sure if you’ve noticed but I’m hardly updating the blog at all these days. This is in part due to simplifying my iOS setup with an iPad Mini replacing my iPad Pro. I’m now using an iPad Mini 5 as my iOS device of choice and my MacBook 12” for podcasting. I’ve found I’m consuming more and creating less, from a writing perspective. I’m thankful I don’t rely on my writing to earn so am lucky in a way I don’t need to write about news to make a living right now.

I’m able to do my day job and still take on creative projects as a hobby.

I obviously only have so much time in the day for this so I’ve slowed down on the writing and putting energy into the Home Screens podcast instead. These days I have very little time for my creative outlet and trying to focus on one.

I’ll still post here but I’m no longer thinking of it as something I need to do daily, I’ve taken the pressure off myself to feel that I need to.

After moving back to my iOS 12 iPad Mini I needed to make a choice with one of my favourite apps. I’ve been using NetNewsWire for reading my RSS and loving it but it doesn’t work on iOS 12. I needed to switch back to Reeder 4. Once I started using I remembered two areas it beats NetNewsWire for me.

• Navigation: when reading all of your feeds you can simply swipe up and down to move between stories
• You can turn off the unread article counts

These two features are keeping me using Reeder on my iPhone now both devices are back in sync on the same app.

I’ve been using my iPad Mini 2 (from 2013) again as my daily iPad and wanted to share some more experiences of using it. In terms of what I’m doing I’m still finding lag but it’s not really bothering me too much now.

For me an iPad replaces a Mac so I’m using it for photos, messages, reading books, watching video, music and browsing. It’s handling all of those ok even on iOS 12 in day to day use. I’m using the on screen keyboard to write posts and any input. I’m using my wired headphone or streaming to the HomePod for music.

I’m missing iOS functionality that you get with iOS 13 like dark mode and mouse support. I also can’t use some of the Apple apps including Reminders so I’m back on a third party to do app again. I also miss the Apple Pencil so moved back to good old pen and paper, oh and TouchID.

My iPhone does a lot for me but my eyes are feeling strained not having a larger iPad so moving up even if only a little is helping me ergonomically. I can switch positions ok and that helps to keep me in check.

So for a 7 year old piece of hardware it’s still pretty amazing to me I can still get away with using it as my main device.

Along with dark mode in the latest Apple Support app update we get a new addition I hope is a thing to come to all of Apple apps. It’s something that Google does really in their apps, give the chance in app to offer feedback.

I’ve been using the MacBook as a replacement for my iPad now for two weeks and wanted to share my updated view on how it’s gone in that time, adjusting back to a laptop and macOS.

As far as the hardware goes I’ve been impressed with the 12” MacBook, even the keyboard has grown on me (no sticky keys yet). I’ve not babied it and used it inside and out in the garden and I’ve pushed the 8GB Ram and to be fair it’s held up well.  The only area that frustrates me is using Photos, it runs like a snail compared to how it runs on iOS, maybe I should have gone with 16GB Ram but for 80% of what I’m doing (including podcast editing) this base spec machine has been fine and worked well. I’ve appreciated the USB-C and now when I’m at the desk I go into a Dell hub connecting my MacBook to a keyboard, mouse and 34” monitor. All works really well and has been great to use when podcasting in particular where I can have a lot of windows open at the same time, something I can’t do on iOS.

Where I’m starting to struggle a little is with some RSI and shoulder strain from using a laptop for my day job and now in my spare time. I didn’t realise how much the iPad had helped my RSI over time. I can use it in many different ways and am able to change my position to make using it more comfortable and this is why the MacBook falls down for me as an iPad replacement. I don’t have any particular issues with macOS and in some of the ways I work (especially file management) the Mac beats the iPad but I’m just not using it as much and therefore creating, something my Apple devices have always enabled me to do.

I miss the flexibility of the hardware, the pencil and the apps on iOS, using the Mac feels like work to me and I’m just not wanting to sit down and use it to do something creative - it just isn’t as much fun as using my iPad.

I’m going to have to count my pennies and I think I’ve finally decided on my setup. An 11” 2020 iPad Pro (1TB), Apple Pencil 2 and the new magic keyboard. My reasoning for not going 12.9” is I had a 1st gen pro and ultimately sold it on as I use it in tablet mode most of the time and found it to be uncomfortable for me on the sofa etc… I also have this bigger setup that I can dock it with and use a bigger screen as and when I want to. As I said I still have to count my pennies so don’t be surprised if I end up with a 2018 12.9” if I end up being able to get a good deal used but my intention is to go 11.

It’s been a good experiment to go back to macOS but I’m ready to go back home to iOS.

I’d always wanted dark mode in iOS but since using my Mac more I found it quite oppressive to have on all of the time so I switched it to automatic based on time of day.

On going back to my iPhone I suddenly felt the same and it’s been so long since I used it in light mode I did the same switch.

I’m actually enjoying the two different contrasts. Being in light mode most of the day and dark mode at night now seems to have become my go to setup. It’s strange that for years I wanted it all to go dark but now I’ve made this switch I appreciate being able to make that choice whenever I want.

What do you use?

Having talked about my setup on Home Screens I’ve changed things up a little.

This is for a few reasons

• I went back to my MacBook and got into Setapp and BusyCal

Getting back into Streaks

I'm wearing my G-Shock again to track my steps and make sure I'm keeping active

Reminders lost some data and started showing badges when I had nothing due so I'm back on OmniFocus

PresentMind is a new Mindfulness app that my work place helped point me towards

Any new apps you’re checking out?

Don’t worry I’m not going to do many more “I don’t currently have an iPad” posts but I wanted to share an experiment I’ve been doing. I do have an iPad Mini 2 but I’ve lost my patience with 1 minute app load times and it’s going to be traded in with Apple (£50 isn’t bad for a 7 year old device).

I cleared down the iPad for trade and decided to work completely off my iPhone. In terms of performance and apps it’s perfect, I’m on an 11 Pro and everything runs just great.

I’m using apps for writing, banking, photography, music and even the odd bit of recording.

The only downside of this workflow is screen size. I haven’t gone as far as plugging in a keyboard but could use a Bluetooth if I wanted to.

I love iOS and for me the only stopper is that bigger screen but I’ll be ok for now. I can still update the blog and do my creative projects from the iPhone.

I’ve had the MacBook for a few years but not really seen the benefit of USB-C until now, it’s a strange thing to write but it’s finally clicked for me. My day job is home based and for a while I’ve had a DELL hub that I haven’t really tried for long periods, I simply plugged my work issued DELL laptop into my DELL 34” widescreen monitor. On thinking about my setup now I have the MacBook I decided to give it another go.

I took the DELL hub and plugged in my screen, a mouse, keyboard and power into it. Coming out was a single USB-C cable, ok here we go. I took this single input cable and plugged it into the work laptop, it all worked - stage 1. I then took my single port MacBook and woohoo it worked too all in the best resolution on my large screen. This single cable connects all my inputs, powers and has USB ports to spare for plugging in drives etc… 

I’m really happy that this one hub has enabled me to use one setup on my desk.

What I’m wondering now is if I get myself a Magic Trackpad 2 and the 11” iPad Pro with USB-C how great this setup could be to cover everything. I have no experience of using an external display with the iPad but given I’m in the market and general prefer the smaller form factor (coming from a 10.5” iPad Pro) I’m thinking I might skip the new magic keyboard completely and just put the money into the trackpad 2 and the iPad itself. This way I have portability of using the iPad in tablet mode when I want, if I want a bigger display I can just dock it into this hub and go for it. The enhanced mouse support with my trackpad should make it a great setup. Now I’m using my MacBook then I also have the option of taking it from the desk and using it with trackpad etc… The thing I haven’t enjoyed about using my MacBook is the fact that I can’t use it comfortably on the sofa and of course I miss using the pencil. I can get the trackpad and pencil for the less than the cost of the new Smart Keyboard cover so I’m very tempted to go this way.

Anyone used the iPad with a large external display by any chance?

(Having a spare USB-C power cable is also handy for plugging into the Nintendo Switch I have on the desk!).

I wear my Apple Watch quite rarely these days but when I do I’m reminded how slow the series 2 is in 2020. On playing around with settings I’ve discovered a couple of settings that appear to have sped it up a bit.

Reducing transparency and motion seem to have sped up the general UI issues I was experiencing.

I’m probably writing something that a lot of Mac users will know but coming from an iPad the Music app on macOS needs a lot of work. I’ve been using it for a week or so and wow is it clunky and buggy in my experience.

As you can see above I’ve done a search and the results showing are completely blank. It takes a restart of the Music app to get the search to work and happens multiple times a day.

Here’s another, the Apple Music feature “browse” completely breaks after a while and again shows blank, requiring a restart of the Music app.

In general I’m also noticing performance is slow across both my MacBook and iMac 5k, it’s strange given that I have a fast internet connection and relatively new Macs.

I don’t know how much work goes into the Mac version but please let me know if I’m complaining for no reason here and I have a few settings that need tweaked or something.

I’ll never complain about the Music app on iOS again after this experience.

I’ve seen a few posts about the HomePod and realised I’d had mine for over 2 years now and still use them almost daily. We have one in the kitchen and another in the home office.

The one in the office I AirPlay to from my iPhone or Mac every single day I’m working. The one in the kitchen gets talked to by my family to start music or streamed from an iPad.

I never think to ask it for the weather or set timers to be honest, I see them as a really great little speaker.

There are only two things that frustrated me

1. I turned off the trigger word in the office as I found it was firing off. when I was on work conference calls
2. Updating them to this day still confuses me. The home app isn't the most intuitive out there and I always seem to get lost in it

They are genuinely in my top few products Apple have released in the last 5 years, I love them.

I like the size, the design and most importantly the rich sound. I even had them hooked up to my Apple TV for a while and used them as a home cinema setup. Ultimately this failed though as I couldn’t route all of my audio through them, I play a lot of video games and I couldn’t get this through the HomePods.

So, if you’re into good sound and want a speaker I still recommend the HomePod. It’s a speaker first and assistant second.

I’ve been figuring out what to do since destroying my iPad Pro and after initially recycling my MacBook with Apple I’ve decided to keep it after all. I was getting £175 for it as a gift card but on using it again today I’ve decided to keep it. Putting it into perspective that is less than it would cost to buy a new Smart Cover and much more than an Apple Pencil. This laptop is too good to take that little amount for and whilst I’m back on it as my portable device I think it makes more sense in this climate to stick with what I have available and reduce the load on others.

The keyboard is still too flat for my liking but I’m slowly adjusting and starting to get pretty quick on it, the trackpad is great and so is the screen. What still frustrates me is the speed compared to the iPad but that might get better as I use it, you never know…

I’m still dubious how long it’ll be without a keyboard failure now I’m using it every day but I’ll keep you updated on that one, which I think I’m covered on an extended warranty for (fingers crossed!).

I’m still going to use my iMac for any heavy lifting and podcasting mostly but the MacBook is going to be used for everything else.

I’ll report back on if the 2016 MacBook is worth buying cheap in 2020 once I’ve given it a good try.

I trashed my beloved iPad Pro 10.5” and my iPad mini 2 is proving frustrating trying to do production work so I’ve switched back to the 12” MacBook that’s been sat unloved mostly for the last few years. It’s a base model and comes with that original (badly thought of) keyboard. Here’s my experience of switching from iOS full time back to the macOS.

Specs:

• Early 2016 MacBook 12”
• 1.1 GHz Dual Core M3
• 8GB Ram
• 250GB SSD

I picked up this MacBook refurbished from Apple back in early 2017 and although it’s only just over 3 years this processor is showing it’s age worse than my 3 year old iPad Pro was, it’s mostly ok for what I do though to be honest. The storage space is a step up from the base model and as I don’t store pictures or music on it I’m finding space to not be a problem at all. I’m out of Apple Care+ now but in the time I’ve had it I haven’t had any problems, not even with the keyboard. I guess now is the time to test that theory as I’ll be using as my daily machine for now.

My workflows:

• Recording my podcast and editing in GarageBand
• Editing images using Photos
• Writing on the blog
• Browsing the internet
• Listening to music with the Music app
• Apple Notes, Calendar and Reminders

Performance is varied, very much depends on the activity that I’m doing. For recording my podcast (even when I tested with Logic Pro) and editing the performance holds up for me. Editing images in Photos isn’t amazing, if you go full screen with thumbnails scrolling isn’t too smooth and there is lag on opening up the image to edit. Anything browser based is fine as you’d expect and also Notes etc. all run fine too. Overall for my use it’s ‘fine’ as I’d expect from a few year old machine, macOS holds up well and it’s only really the Photos app that I can’t believe is so slow compared to what I can do on an iPad.

Getting back using macOS has both it’s positives and negatives as I’m learning each day I get back used to using it.

Pros:

• File management beats Files on iOS hands down, here’s an example. I recorded a voice memo on the iPhone and moved it onto the files app on iOS. I found that managing this file was a lot slower. I couldn’t rename the file and move it into the Music App. I ended up going to iCloud on my Mac, pulling them onto the desktop, renaming and then importing into Music all on my Mac. I could then see it show up on my Music app on the iPhone
• A trackpad built in, yes I know it’s a silly one given iPad cursor support but having a trackpad under my keyboard is great
• Screen adjustment, I forgot how nice it is to be able to adjust the angle rather than the Smart Keyboard being fixed
• Pro apps, I know it keeps coming up but where are the pro apps on iOS? Even an app like GarageBand is better on macOS, it’s not like for like between the platforms. There’s no doubting the hardware and iOS as a professional platform but I’d like to see Logic Pro moving over to iOS with as close functionality to the Mac as possible
• USB-C, it’s nice to be able to share a power cable between my laptop, Nintendo Switch and work phone

Cons:

• Less flexible than an iPad in terms of helping with posture and RSI. I like the flexibility of my iPad in that I can use it as a tablet or laptop style with a keyboard. I do miss the touchscreen a lot when trying to sit and relax so tending to use my iPhone when I’m not in my office
• I miss the Apple Pencil…
• I’m not a huge fan of the keyboard on the MacBook (it’s very flat) and I prefer the Smart Keyboard cover
• I miss the speed of iOS, I mean (for me) I get work done quicker on an iPad and used to flying around apps and functionality of the apps
• I don’t get my iOS apps I’m used to so falling back on Apple apps, which most are fine but I still find them a little limiting in places e.g. Reminders tagging but both Calendar and Notes work great on both platforms
• Battery life isn’t as good as my iPad was although I’m still testing this one. As I mentioned above though as I mostly have my Switch plugged in (thanks, Animal Crossing) I can easily reach over and plug my MacBook in
• Missing TouchID

This isn’t meant to be an iOS vs macOS post but just my experience on coming back to the Mac after being on iOS for so long. I think I’ll be ok for now and want to give it a go.

I’ve tried to take a step back from social media for a while and always struggle but I’ve found using the screen time feature in iOS has helped me limit the time I spend on them.

I’ve added a couple of limits to help me gradually reduce the time I spend on Twitter each day. I’ve set 20 minutes as a limit and will gradually reduce this slowly until it gets to 5.

I’ve been checking out the other apps via the ‘see all activity’ and tap on the app you want to add a limit to.

Anyone else using this?

My iPad Pro is out of action so I switched back to a 2013 iPad Mini that we have in the household. Using it for a bit now I feel I can share my thoughts on what it’s like to use one day to day in 2020.

Hardware

First off I’m very impressed with how the hardware has held up. Once I took off all of the stickers it’s still looking brand new on the back. The bezels have a few chips but nothing that bothers me. The screen is in good shape apart from a few hairline scratches and nothing visible when the screen is on. All of the buttons work absolutely fine.

iOS

This iPad is stuck on iOS 12 and coming from iPadOS 13 I miss dark mode and some apps don’t work. Luckily for me it’s just my RSS reader that’s been switched out, all of the other apps I use daily work.

Listening to music and watching video via apps like Disney+ all work fine too.

I think I’ll be ok back on iOS 12 and utilising app by app dark mode. The only slight concern is security but iOS 12 is still getting security updates so I think it’ll be ok temporarily. No trackpad support though, which is a big downside.

Performance

It’s pretty sluggish but I’ve found a few settings that help with some of the daily use. Not much you can do about slow running apps, for instance Disney+ took about 2 minutes to load and get to the point that you can watch something.

Definitely leave all your apps running in the background for a quicker launch next time. I’d suggest turning off motion though to increase the overall feel of iOS.

Settings, general, accessibility, reduce motion then turn on.

Aside from this there isn’t a lot you can do to improve the performance. Remember this is a 7 year old processor now and yes it’s a little slow but pretty amazing I’m still using it for everything, including writing this post.

Security

Here’s the major downside of using an iPad Mini 2, no TouchID. To unlock its back to a passcode.

Should you buy one?

Nope, it’s way too slow in my opinion when you can spend a bit more on a used iPad Mini 5 that also has pencil support. If like me you have one lying around and your usual iPad is out of action then it’ll do as a short term replacement but not a viable replacement. There’s no trackpad support and iOS updates are going to stop most probably soon. Spend a little more to get a 9.7” or iPad Mini 5.

I’ve been less inspired to write but on pondering what to do I came up with an idea of sharing my favourite iPhone models. I’m just going to do a top 5 for now as I thought it might be interesting to look back a bit but not go into too much detail as to get boring. This is in no particular order, they are all my favourites.

iPhone 11 Pro

I didn’t think I’d have a phone with FaceID in my top 5 but here it is. I really love using my 11 Pro, the main reason - the camera. I won’t post a load of samples as this has been done before but just to say that both indoors and when it’s getting darker outside there’s no iPhone that compares. I’ve also noticed that in good light indoors when I zoom into images I’m seeing so much more detail than on previous iPhone’s.

This is indoors with no overhead lighting, just the light from one window. You can even see the weave on the keyboard material.

I continue to use and enjoy portrait mode and the 2x zoom.

I never use the ultra wide angle, I just find that the image quality really suffers and especially in bright light I see lens flare (great for JJ, not for me…).

Durability has been good, even with no case and drops. I’ve got a little scratch on the side where it was dropped and a few light marks to the screen, nothing major.

Battery is still impressive and I’m going two days between charges at the moment.

Downside is obviously cost but I ended up selling an older model to help pay the overall cost.

iPhone 5c

Seems an odd choice given it’s popularity but the 5c is in my top 5. I loved the plastic back, reminded me of one of my other favourite models (3G) and was comfortable to hold. I didn’t worry about drops and the scratches gave it some character. I had both the yellow and white variants over time and part of me wishes Apple would do a plastic backed 11.

iPhone 3G

My first iPhone, I did own an original later and still have it but I waited for 3G before jumping in. When I got it the App Store was already established and I was using an iPod on a daily basis so combining my phone and music player was the main draw. I babied it a bit at the beginning but soon used without a case and loved the comfort and durability of the form factor.

iPhone 5

Appreciate I already have a 5c but the 5 was a nice return to something that I could use without a case. I came from the 4, which is my least favourite model. The glass back made it less durable and slippery so having a metal case and slightly longer form factor was comforting to me. The camera was a nice bump too on this model and I used it up until a drop then I sold and switched to the plastic 5c.

iPhone 6

Having my trusty 5c I was reluctant to switch but the metal backed bigger screened 6 felt good straight away. The camera wasn’t a big jump but the screen size was a nice addition.

What are your favourites?

As you’ll know if you follow me I finally got in gear and put out a new podcast. It’s one I’ve wanted to do for a few years but with everything going on right now I needed a distraction so put some energy into doing something creative.

I looked into hosting options and decided that right now given I’m on a budget and want ease of posting I decided to go for Anchor.

I work primarily on iOS so downloaded the app.

When you launch you can create an account and podcast including adding artwork all within the app itself.

I created some simple artwork on my iPad using Procreate and exported as a JPG ready for adding to my podcast in the Anchor app.

Once I’d created an outline of the first episode I recorded it with my iPad Pro 10.5” and Blue Yeti Microphone using Ferrite.

I did my best to edit on the iPad but ended up falling back on old habits and used my MacBook and GarageBand.

Once I had my finished and exported MP3 file I used the Anchor website to add the show. I found the app a little lacking for adding shows and writing a good show note was a nightmare. You get a little text box and can’t see the text very well.

That was it.

Anchor handles distribution to other providers and I’m currently still waiting for it to propagate to them all.

If you’re looking for a quick and simple way to get a podcast off the ground Anchor might be a good choice.

Another creative project that I’ve kicked off as a distraction for both myself and hopefully others who are into other people’s setups.

• Google podcasts
• Spotify
• PocketCasts

Please let me know if you enjoy it or think of ways that I can improve.

I really appreciate anyone that listens or subscribes, I’m learning this one as I go.

I’ve been looking at picking up a 2018 iPad Pro but after using iPadOS 13.4 for a few days I think I might keep my current one going. It’s still fast and the battery seems to have improved slightly.

Another reason is I’d completely missed this product from Logitech and it might do me just fine. Yes it’s not as elegant as Apple’s version but at more than half the cost I think I’m going to give it a go. There’s a few reasons at the moment I don’t want to make any big purchases right now and keeping my 10.5” going with one of these is going to be my way forward for now.

No idea if it’ll be out in May but I’m going to keep an eye out and I’ll report back in.

Like a lot of the world I’m looking for good iPad apps and any links that I can use to help my daughter with her learning, I thought I’d make a list of ones that I’ve found to be good that cover both academic and creativity

Coding

• Swift Playgrounds (best coding app I've found so far)

Creative

• Pages (create posters and practise images and layouts)
• Procreate (doodling)
• GarageBand (music)
• Minecraft
• Easy Music
• Hey Duggee colouring
• iMovie

Education

• Karate Cats (grammar/spellings)
• The Human Body
• Times Table Rockstars

Found this link super helpful, especially if you are looking at saving some money on the yearly sub before it expires.

I know it’s seems like an odd time to be talking tech but I think it’s good to have a distraction, that’s something I’m doing so ploughing on with writing and some creative projects. Anyway that’s not why I’m writing this post.

The surprise iPad Pro announcement this week was interesting and with it’s new trackpad keyboard cover it’s got me thinking about my setup.

My 10.5” iPad Pro is still great but the battery is on it’s last legs and you wouldn’t believe how much having a Bluetooth mouse plugged in drains the battery. I’ve gone three years and thinking it might be time.

The question is though should you get the new one or save some money with a refurbished model?

Looking at a refurbished 2018 model you’re saving about £150 and still getting

• That cool new design
• FaceID
• Small bezels
• Compatibility with the lighter Apple Pencil
• Compatibility with the new keyboard and trackpad cover

What are lose is

• Fastest processor
• Ultra wide camera
• New AR optimised camera
• A brand new battery (unless you get an Apple refurb)

For me those aren’t important, the processor isn’t that much faster than the 2018 in what I’ve read and AR is still early.

My biggest question now is should I get a 12.9” again?

I’d keep my 10.5” so I’d have something more portable but with it’s new trackpad I’m thinking bigger might be the way to go.

But saying that I need to sell my 10.5” and MacBook really to fund it.

I’ll wait a bit I think but looking forward to seeing that trackpad and keyboard combo.

Personally I’d look at picking up a used 2018 and using the money saved to get the keyboard and trackpad case from Apple.

As I type this in the Wordpress app I’m suddenly finding that I go to look for the menu bar, that’s right i forgot I was on my iPad for a second. I’ve got a really cheap HP mouse plugged in, one of the three button and scroll wheel ones. I’ve used it with Assistive Touch before but this new mouse support really does feel like a game changer for someone (like me) that lives on iOS.

There are pros and cons of using this type of mouse because the new cursor support really is intended for trackpads only. When you use a mouse you can no longer go home or swipe between pages of apps or home screens (this only works by also turning on assistive touch). It’s pretty limiting but I crammed all of my apps onto one page and can access apps from within apps but simply moving the cursor down to the bottom of the screen and bringing up the dock.

On using apps, being able to right click to access the context menu is amazing.

Another area that impressed me (whilst I was making my one page home screen) was the ability simply click and hold and drag an app to move it.

Something you’ll notice that the cursor changes depending on the context, so it’ll stick as a circle when scrolling for example but as soon as you hit a bit of text it changes to allow you to manipulate the text, genius.

I’ve probably had a couple of hours with it so far and completely sold, Apple software at it’s best.

Next up is to try and get my hands on a trackpad to see what it really can do!

I saw this on my phone the other day and realised the iPad Pro 10.5” still with it’s original Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil is one of the longest daily use devices I’ve owned. With that in mind I thought it would be a good time to do a bit of a write up on how it’s fairing over all of this time.

The hardware has held up really well. I don’t abuse my hardware but it doesn’t get the screen or back protected (aside from a few stickers stopping scratches). The sides have a few little dents and the screen has some scratching but doesn’t affect daily use.

Amazingly both the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard both work fine. The only thing I’ve noticed is I sometimes get an iOS accessory warning message but that’s literally every few weeks. I take the iPad off the keyboard and back on and it’s fine.

The 10.5” does have a white spot issue, mine got replaced early on with this defect but if you’re considering picking up a used 10.5” iPad Pro you’ll need to ask the seller if they have experienced this. Best way to check is to make sure it’s not in dark mode and go to settings app. Look at the screen to make sure you aren’t seeing any white spots.

Looking at the new model iPad having a slightly bigger bezel now seems a bit old but I like having a home button and TouchID. I’ve been pretty vocal about not liking FaceID over the years and even though it’s much improved on the iPhone 11 models I still like having the physical home button on my iPad.

The speakers are great having the older style 4 speaker layout, I sometimes don’t even stream to a speaker just listen on the iPad.

The screen quality is still amazing and the high refresh screen really does make a difference.

Overall I still couldn’t be happier with the 10.5” iPad Pro, in fact if the worst happened to it I’d probably just replace it with a used one to pop straight into my existing keyboard and pencil setup.

Since setting up my iPad Pro and Mini again I think I might have a fix for my iCloud sync issues. Notes seems to have sorted itself out now across all of my devices but Reminders is still acting weird on my iPhone and I’m also getting some strange Calendar Ui glitches. This seems fine on my iPad so I think the answer is to reset my iPhone.

I’ve not done this since getting it out of the box back in September so it might be time to do a full iTunes reset (DFU mode) on the iPhone and see if it fixes my issues.

I’m going to take this opportunity to reset a little mentally and try not to install social media or podcasting apps. Time to get a little headspace back on my devices and take a step back for a bit.

This might seem like a strange post for someone that lives on iOS but I’ve been using my MacBook a little more lately due to the battery issues I’ve been experiencing on my iPad Pro. It’s been sat on my work desk so if I’ve needed to check my to do app or play some music I’ve been reaching for the MacBook.

Durability

It’s been in my camera bag and been on holiday with me but in general gets used around the house. It’s showing some signs of wear around the edges but overall if I took the stickers off you’d think it was less than the 3 years I’ve had it.

That keyboard...

I don’t love it, I make typing mistakes but it’s been reliable. I might be in the minority but as someone that usually has issues with gear the keyboard has worked fine. I did have a sticky tab key for a hour or so but tapping on it a few times seemed to remove whatever was stuck below it. I don’t have Apple Care for it anymore but hoping Apple would honour any repairs given this keyboards sordid history. I definitely prefer typing up posts on my iPad Smart Keyboard though.

Performance

This is where I notice it the most, it’s slow. My 10.5” iPad Pro never stutters but this feels slow and more than a 3 year old machine. I’ve got the base model so expected it to slow a bit but on the latest version of macOS I’m getting a little frustrated at the rate apps load, lag in Notes and general slow background iCloud sync.

I’m actually going to refresh back to the original OS it came with and see what happens to performance.

Battery

Battery still seems good, no issues and a factor for me picking it up over my iPad Pro that can’t get through a few hours at the moment.

Overall

As a part time machine the MacBook works well for me but only for basic tasks. I wouldn’t be able to do much video on it but for music production it’s been fine to be fair. Logic Pro runs ok on it and in my use recording guitar it’s also ok. I wouldn’t recommend anyone picking one up now though unless it’s a bargain and not your main machine.

It occurred to me the other day that I’d had a podcast on for an hour and not taken in a single bit of information or followed the conversation - listening to podcasts has become a habit. I’ve lost the ability to just have some peace and quiet and time to shut myself off from having a constant stream of conversation in my ears.

I’m trying to be more intentional with my technology and breaking this habit has gone to the top of my list.

I’ve deleted overcast from my devices and going to take a month away from listening to podcasts.

It’ll be interesting to see how long I last and how much more music I enjoy again.

Where I’ll struggle is on walks and long drives but let’s at least give it a try.

Wow, I’m really jealous of the setup Habib has going on here. Looks so elegant and clean and has me thinking a lot of thoughts about how I’m setup at home. Working from home I have a big 32” Dell screen that I think I could connect my iPad to, all I’d need is a mouse and keyboard. But then getting a stand for my iPad Pro and doing it like Habib is tempting too, decisions decisions.

This announcement looks pretty interesting from Casio. I’m enjoying my step tracker G-SHOCK but it seems Casio are joining the smart watch crowd. Not for me I don’t think as I’m keeping it simple but I’d be tempted to give it a test.

12 month battery for step tracking, 14 hours for heart rate and GPS.

No UK retail price but quick conversion seems to work out around £380.

I’ll see if I can pick one up closer to the time.

I feel like I’ve used the G-SHOCK enough now to get a feel for the differences I’ve experienced compared to using my Apple Watch and wanted to share a few thoughts on using both.

Comfort

For me the resin bands on any of the Casio models offer really great comfort. I’ve tried all sorts of bands on the Apple Watch but just couldn’t find one to match it. My default remains the sports band and when I wear an Apple Watch I’m on the original black band I had years ago with my original model. Now of course this is personal preference but I find the no fuss resin bands of the Casio more comfortable. One thing I would say though is the G-SHOCK band is thicker than your average Casio so does take a bit more to adjust to.

Price

Easy one here, Casio is £80 and Apple Watch whilst still cheaper for a series 3 is £299. You do get a lot more tech though so hard to compare here. You have to have a good think about what you’re looking to track.

Activity tracking

The Casio is nothing more than a step counter, no HR (Heart Rate) sensor but does have an accelerometer so does a great job of tracking how much you’ve moved throughout the day. When you’re walking you don’t set a workout going you simply go, I do set a timer but that’s for me to track my regular walking route. It’s not going to tell you anything other than steps and time. The Apple Watch is much more in-depth and if you’re ok with a lot of data and all day HR checking then the Casio cannot compete in this arena. You do of course get a tonne of battery life on the Casio (2 years) and although I don’t workout this way there are options for setting specific saved timers. I can’t comment on this as I walk for my exercise.

Smarts

Nothing on the Casio apart from the app and Bluetooth to connect. No notifications or apps built in, it’s a watch with simple step tracking. I like this about it, I forget I’m wearing it and can sync data to the app whenever I want to (although it does it on it’s own a few times a day). Of course you can pair the notifications of the Apple Watch down to nothing also if you want to but I still find I get distracted by anything on the Apple Watch.

Which should you get?

G-SHOCK is a massive watch brand and has a cult following, if you’re into G-SHOCK then this is probably the one to get. I also think it’s a good choice if you want to start to track how active you are and don’t want to put much data into the world about it, like the now Google owned Fitbit.

For me it was about simplifying my setup and tracking less, just seeing if I’d hit 10,000 steps is all I need.

Don’t get me wrong the Apple Watch is a great bit of kit but for me personally it opened up a world of information that I couldn’t track anymore (more on this in a separate post coming soon…). For most people though it’ll be a great choice, especially a series 3, the activity ring system is world class and a great motivator once you get streaks going.

Ultimately though it may come down to price and for £80 you can’t beat the G-SHOCK.

I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts via the newsletter but the service I’ve been using is no longer viable for me. I’ve had an account for months and no matter what information I provide I can’t seem to get a verified account. This means that I can no longer send issues via the service so am stuck. I can’t delete my account (because it’s not verified) and can’t send issues so for now I’m putting the Newsletter on hold whilst I figure out what to do.

Thanks for everything that has subscribed to me so far and watch this space for updates.

I’ve had my niggles with the Wordpress for iOS app for a while but in the last couple of months it’s gotten worse, so bad I’m considering leaving. As someone that is iOS only the majority of the time it seems pretty obvious to me that the folks over at the Wordpress iOS team don’t actually use the app.

The first major change and gripe is the forced user experience of the block editor.

It seems I have to change this setting each time the app updates. It’s not I don’t like change but the block editor has some broken functionality (like the one below) and I just wish the developers would respect my choice of disabling this feature.

As part of this block editor another area broken with it is the writing experience itself. I like the way the images are resized but when it comes to text it’s lacking.

In the screenshot above you can see my text disappearing under the keyboard. Yes, when you type and it flows past the screen it goes underneath the keyboard and you have to manually scroll down. This doesn’t happen in the non block editor and is the main reason I think no one at Wordpress is actually using the app.

So I’m sat wondering what platform us best for someone that is predominantly on iOS. I’m open to suggestions.

I’m a couple of days in with the G-SHOCK 800 and it’s been a nice step back from something too smart.

I’m taking stock of the tech around me and taking a break from Apple Watch was top of my list. I’ve been struggling with a few issues lately and the Apple Watch has made things worse but I didn’t want to stop wearing a watch. I’ve been into watches as long as I can remember and whilst I’ve been wearing old school Casio and automatics lately I looked into Casio options for something that could keep me honest with my activity.

The 800 series had an accelerometer on board to monitor steps, something that I wanted. A more basic way to tracking felt a bit less heavy handed.

It’s also a G-SHOCK so super durable and the soft strap is comfortable.

I’m still getting to grips with the iOS app but it works fairly well but doesn’t sync with Apple Health, a bit of a bummer.

Overall for £80 I’m really pleased so far and I’ll have a full review in the coming weeks.

I’ve been using my 10.5” iPad Pro now for almost 3 years and along with it’s Smart Keyboard cover and original Apple Pencil it’s still one of my favourite Apple devices I own.

You can pick these up from around £290 on auction sites so it got me thinking about whether it’s still a good buy in 2020.

I use it every day and push it pretty hard both on the hardware durability and software front. Even though the processor is a few years old it still performs well and doesn’t hinder me in anything I do.

Here’s some of the tasks that I’m asking of it

• Email and web browsing
• Editing images from both my iPhone and DSLR
• Managing my productivity
• Note taking using Apple Pencil
• Editing the occasional video
• Recording music
• Consuming video
• Reading books
• Writing and posting to my blog

On the hardware front it’s held up pretty well. I have some scratches on the screen that I can’t see when the screen is on so doesn’t bother me. The sides have a few scratches but no dents and the back (although covered in stickers) looks good. All buttons work as good as the day I got the device, as does the home button. The keyboard is showing signs of wear and tear but works fine and aside from a few cat nibbles the pencil is looking good too.

It’s really a great all round device and paired with 256GB of storage, the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil I still believe that in 2020 this’ll do you just fine.

It’s better than the current iPad Air in my opinion with it’s high refresh screen and 4 speaker configuration so before buying have a look for a used bargain 10.5” out there.

I’m simplifying my setup (again!) after falling out with several third party apps and going stock apps. I’ve also moved all of my apps into one page. I usually have two pages but moving to one means I remember what apps I have and to actually use them. I always forget I have some great photography apps like Darkroom so again having them in my face is a reminder. Talking of Reminders I’m slowly moving into using Reminders and now use a stock Calendar/Reminders/Notes workflow. The thing that bothers me is the lack of updates to these apps but for the basic way I’m using it all is ok. iCloud seems ok so I’ll just get on and use it and report back if I have any sync issues.

I like to keep a few third party apps on outside of folders such as Wordpress to let me quickly write posts up like thus one. I’ve given up on using iA Writer now I just quickly jot ideas down in notes and write the post in the Wordpress app.

I’m pretty happy so far with this setup.

Few new apps I’m testing out this month

• Productive: help me with habit tracking
• Todoist: yup I'm back on Todoist
• Pedometer ++: trying to get more active
• Tally: simple counting app to allow me to record how often certain things happen
• Peek-a-view: non destructive way to allow someone to look at your photos

Think that’s it at the moment, layout isn’t great but I’m trying to keep apps open so the way I’m using my phone is changing slightly.

Coming up to five months so thought I would share how my iPhone 11 Pro is holding up. This time around I’ve used a case a bit more but more recently I dropped it and gone back ‘naked’…

I’m also using a glass screen protector this time, which does have scratches but no point in showing as it’s not a true reflection of how the glass has held up.

The back looks like new, no problems. Also no problems with the camera.

Bottom is also like new. Not showing any signs of wear when by the charging port.

Really hard to take a photo of this but my drop took a tiny bit of the coating off, it’s really hard to see.

I think this iPhone is more durable than the X series. In particular when comparing to the black X I had it’s held up well, especially the coating on the sides, in general use that is not drop protection.

I’m very satisfied with how it’s holding up.

I know I don’t have to close an app as soon as I’m done but I find I’m still in the habit of doing this. I’m going to try to leave them open and use app switching to navigate between them. How do you use your apps? Do you close them straight after using them like me?

I’m not sure working at home has been good or is good for me, getting out of the house is something that I’m coming to discover is a massive booster for your mental health. Getting out for a walk or a day trip is a great distraction and doesn’t give you a lot of headspace to mull over things.

With the iPad turning 10 this year I’m seeing articles from people like me that celebrate it’s existence and from those that are clearly Mac first and bemoan the way it works based on their to be frank lack of day to day use of iPadOS. I know they have the ear of Apple and I hope that this time Apple aren’t listening.

For me I’ve always gravitated to technology that I enjoy using and works with my brain. I’m not Mac is bad and iPadOS is good, I just use what works best for me. I don’t care what your devices of choice are if they work for you that’s great. I’m also not wedded to Apple gear, if something better comes along I’ll give it a go.

I don’t write articles that bring negativity against something I don’t like, I just show my perspective.

You should use what you want to use and ignore those that tell you otherwise.

I still have mine, on an old iOS but like the original iPhone I keep it around to remember where it started and how far we have come.

The most striking thing about picking it up again is the weight and thickness of the device compared to the 10.5” iPad Pro that I use on a daily basis. The original iPad (WIFI) weighed 1.5lbs compared to the 1lb of my current iPad Pro.

I think the image above illustrates it well where you can see that the 10.5” fits underneath the bulge on the back of the original one. This would be even more extreme if I had the most recent pro, but even with the 10.5” it’s pretty awesome seeing how far Apple have come in 10 years with the hardware. Even with the Smart Cover attached it’s thinner than that original one.

Looking at the (dented) side on mine I still miss the mute switch but I do prefer the metal buttons on the iPad of today.

Looking at the bottom we have the older dock connector and a small speaker, I haven’t tested it but the stereo speakers in my 10.5” regularly get used as a speaker for the office and sound great.

The bezel also stands out, even with my home button enabled 10.5”. The home button on the original still works and feels nice when pressed, still has a nice click to it.

When it comes to storage mine is 16GB compared to the 256GB on my 10.5”, I thought it would have been 32GB but maybe I went for the cheaper version as I wasn’t sure how much work I would do on it (turned out quite a lot).

I’ve still got the Apple cover, which has leaked it’s dye straight onto the aluminium so the back of my iPad is kind of purple these days.

Something that you’ll notice with the above shot is the fact that it doesn’t have a camera, something that all iPad’s come with now but to honest I rarely use. I literally can’t remember the last time I used it.

Looking at the differences in screen is another major difference. I’ve tried to illustrate that with the images below best I can, you’ll also notice the bezel difference.

It’s been interesting to see how far we’ve come in 10 years with the iPad hardware, it still feels like the future and has become my platform of choice. I get so much flexibility from using one day to day, be it using the keyboard or pencil or just using it sat on the sofa. It’s given me so much opportunity to be more creative and I couldn’t imagine what I’d be using now if it never came along.

I’ve tried and tried but I’ve come to the conclusion that Apple Reminders doesn’t work on the Series 2 Apple Watch.

I’ve restarted my watch and even factory reset but no matter what I do the data on the Apple Watch never syncs.

Here’s what it looks like on my iPhone.

I hardly use my Apple Watch these days so it’s not a deal breaker to me using the app but if I do start using it again I’ll need to get this sorted.

I have to be honest I haven’t used a mouse with my iPad much since it was introduced in iPadOS 13 but in the last few weeks I’ve found myself gravitating to using it again. This came from a need that I used to find myself using my MAC for - managing some of my personal productivity.

Changing to do apps seems like something I do to hurt myself but after being disappointed with TODOIST and OMNIFOCUS not syncing notifications or sometimes data between devices I moved over to REMINDERS. I’m glad to report that sync works flawlessly e.g. I created a load of new items on my iPhone that I wanted to get done today. When I picked up my iPad these items had already sync’d over and were in my widget on the home screen, this is the sort of feature that will keep me using an app.

Anyway, I’d brain dumped onto a notepad (yes using pen and everything!), which aside from having them somewhere not on iOS reminded me of some RSI issues I’m working with when it comes to writing with a pen these days, but I’m getting distracted. The next stage in my workflow was to take these handwritten notes and put them into the REMINDERS app.

In the past I’ve connected my mouse to my MACBOOK, sat down and put them in - somehow it felt more productive. Well this time I decided to keep my MACBOOK in the drawer it lives in and connected my mouse and entered it all on iPadOS and I have to say that it felt just as great and I got through them really quickly. The only downside I found was the date picker is a little fiddly with a pointer but I got used to it quickly and got them all in.

The mouse of choice for me is a cheap HP wired mouse that whilst isn’t ideal for my RSI as I usually use a vertical mouse, it was ok for these smaller stints. To connect the mouse to the iPad I used a lighting to USB/SD Card adapter I got off Amazon (a really cheap one, not even branded). I hate the wires so might have to look a vertical wireless mouse if I can but found that they don’t work when I’ve tried in the past. The USB wireless dongle that goes into the iPad adapter just doesn’t seem to sync across to the mouse itself. Please recommend me a wireless mouse that works with an iPad Pro 10.5”.

This is all to say that I forgot how great the mouse support is for me to get the job done and help me with some RSI issues when I want to swap my setup instead of lifting my arm to touch the screen (remember I’m docked with a Smart Keyboard most of the time).

10 years on and I’m still finding great ways to use my iPad.

I’ve really gotten into using Fantastical over the last few months and particularly enjoy the fact that my calendar and reminders are all in one place.

Flexibits have teased us with a new version and whilst I’m not so excited about new functionality around sharing I’m very excited to see what they do about better integrating reminders into the app.

I like the statement above emphasising the word tasks, the current version is a little lacking when it comes to managing your to do list. I’d love to be able to use just fantastical so anything they can do to improve this integration would be much appreciated.

There’s been a lot of talk about Apple not offering encrypted backups over the last week, personally I’m keeping out of this one for now but if like me you don’t need to backup your device to iCloud here is how to do it. Please make sure you are happy turning off your device backup, all of my photos, notes and music etc are in the cloud already so I don’t need this secondary backup method.

Head into settings:

Then follow these highlighted steps in the screenshots below:

Tap on iCloud:

Tap on iCloud backup:

Toggle the switch to OFF:

I love sharing how I’m using my devices and here’s another monthly update on how my devices currently look. Up this time is my 10.5” iPad Pro.

I’m keeping it simple when it’s comes to productivity at the moment using Fantastical and Reminders. I’m going to give this a go for a bit to see if it sticks. All of my iCloud issues seem to have settled down with Reminders for now so I’ll give it another go.

Other than Streaks (to hopefully help a few habits stick) it’s a pretty standard setup with a mix of photo, video and social apps.

Feel free to drop me a note if you want to delve into any.

I am a little concerned with the battery and overall performance of my iPad Pro though. If I try apps that push it like GarageBand or iMovie I’m getting slow down and app crashing and hanging, very weird. The battery also looks to be suffering with it’s age. I’m 1000 days in with this one, not planning on getting a new one just yet in the hope new models come out this year.

Waking up and being faced with this red 22 to remind me how much I have on my plate makes things worse. It adds stress to an already stressful time, it’s got me thinking again about simplification. In this case Todoist is showing everything due today rather than stuff that’s gone over.

OmniFocus and Reminders can show me a badge count for when things go over due instead.

My current thought is just to turn off badges completely on everything apart from Messages.

Anyone else find it’s better just to turn them off?

On checking my DayCount app this morning I realised I’ve had my 11 Pro for 120 days now so thought I’d share another update. I’d said in the last update the battery improvements and camera changes were the main reason I was glad I updated. This remains the same today, the battery is unbelievable and although I’m taking less photos these days I’m still super happy to have the ultra wide and improved low light whenever I use them. One thing I did notice over the last month is that portrait mode seems improved. I’m not sure if this is hardware or software related but on looking at photos from a family trip out I was impressed with how close to my Canon they looked.

The rest of the iPhone to be honest feels a lot like my X and XS but for me battery and camera are the most important so I’m happy I traded my XS in for the 11 Pro.

When it comes to durability, so far so good. It did live a little out of a case but since the end of November I’ve been using the Pitaka Air, which is my favourite iPhone case I’ve ever used. This time around I’ve had an Apple installed screen protector since day 1, it has scratches but I can’t vouch for how good or bad the actual iPhone screen holds up over time. The X and XS was some of the worst I’d experienced in my time with iPhone so I’d assume the 11 Pro doesn’t improve this.

Working at home it’s easy to forget to move and get some exercise in so moving into new habits (not resolutions) I was looking at a way to track this.

The native health app can show steps but it’s fairly basic - that’s where Pedometer ++ comes in.

It offers a really nice visual guide into how much you’re actually moving and helps you motivate yourself with awards.

I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and with the complication on my Apple Watch it’s a stark reminder of how little I’ve moved sometimes.

I’m going to be adding this to my daily routine going forward, trying to get to 10,000 steps to help me get moving again.

Like a lot of people that work at home I want to get more active and remember to get away from my desk so I’m starting to plan to use the Apple Watch for it’s primary intended use - a health and fitness tracker. One area that’s overly busy to me is the workout metrics, that is the screen that it shows when you’re working out (walking in my case).

The good news is that you can change this pretty easily.

Within the Watch app on your iPhone make sure you tap on ‘My Watch’ from the tabs along the bottom. Then tap on ‘Workout view’ and select ‘Single Metric’.

It’s strange, they’ve been around forever but I’ve only really started using them properly over the last year.

Here are the 6 that I have pinned and use daily.

• Weather: I use the weather app that comes with iOS. I do occasionally try third party ones but find the way they don't update all the time annoys me. Working at home I only really look at the weather a few times a week and the standard app gives me what I want.
• Fantastical: I've made the switch really due to frustrations switching views with the Apple app. I like to have a list view and Fantastical is the quickest way to view this, the up next widget view and quick monthly calendar view makes it a winner for me
• OmniFocus: It shows me all of my items due today, it's amazing the amount of to do apps that don't do this and just show the first few.
• Shortcuts: I have a few shortcuts I run multiple times a day, this is for quick access.
• Favourites: I like to have quick access to make phone calls to certain contacts. This works great but it doesn't remember favourites in iCloud so new iPhone and you have to set it up again.
• Batteries: Handy for keeping an eye on AirPods and Apple Watch battery.

What are some of your favourite widgets.

I’ve been swapping between macOS and iPadOS almost daily for the last couple of months and it’s reaffirmed for me why I love using my iPad in my day to day.

The devices I was swapping between was my 2016 12” MacBook and my 2017 iPad Pro 10.5”. I used the iPad along with the pencil and Smart Keyboard cover most of the time also.

My tasks were as follows

• Photo management (Photos)
• Writing (Wordpress app or in safari on macOS)
• Productivity (OmniFocus and Notes)
• Listening to music (Apple Music)

Pretty basic day to day nothing too heavy in terms of pure processing power needed. For each of the tasks I used the same apps where I could across the two devices.

Using the MacBook

First off you’ll expect me to say that I hated the keyboard, well not entirely. I make a lot of mistakes typing on it but after a while I got used to the flatness of it and actually quite enjoyed using it but the mistakes kept coming and I got frustrated at times. Reliability has been fine and it’s four years old this year and not had any keys replaced or significant problems.

Now onto performance, this frustrated me. I have the base model and it’s slow, took me more time to do anything. Whether I was firing up Music, loading and editing images in Photos or just waiting for it to load emails - everything felt like I was waking through treacle compared to what I could get from my iPad. I honestly can’t recommend this model of MacBook to anyone, even if you are a light user, you’ll be left frustrated.

Comfort in using it was a also downside for me, using a trackpad and keyboard all of the time doesn’t suit my RSI issues I experience using equipment daily as I do. I’m not saying I wish it had a touch screen, I just think I’ve outgrown a traditional laptop at this point.

Where it definitely beats the iPad for me is in battery life. Now my iPad is newer than the MacBook but I bet I get half the battery life. The MacBook seems to last forever compared to the iPad which I have to charge a couple of times a day sometimes with heavy use.

iPad Pro

Whenever I came back to the iPad I was instantly reminded of the speed and portability. I work in different locations and with RSI issues I like to swap things around. The iPad gives me this flexibility. The Smart Keyboard is fine, not amazing but works. Being able to use a pencil on the screen for note taking is still something that I love doing and almost do it daily.

Having a machine that is always on and ready to go, that can fit nicely in my bag and be used wherever I am is why I love the iPad. Photo editing was a lot slicker than on my Mac and writing in a simpler environment meant I wrote more.

I do miss the keyboard/trackpad combination sometimes but I can live with plugging a mouse into my iPad when I want to work this way, most of the time I use it lounging back, feeling more relaxed and it puts me in a more creative mood.

Going forward

I’ll fire up my MacBook now and again but now I’ve done this experiment I reconfirm that the iPad is the platform of choice for me. I have the apps, portability, performance and overall user experience that feels like the future to me and I’m still in awe of what it can do sometimes when I sit back and think about the fact I’m writing this post up on a machine that is as thin as my paper notebook and allows me to tap directly on glass.

I also realised that the 10.5” iPad Pro is still a great iPad, it’s quick and has all of the accessories you need. If you are after an iPad I’d still recommend picking one of these up used.

I’m back using OmniFocus and one of the features I’m glad I have back is the Forecast view. I check this a few times a day.

I check it in the morning, around midday and then in the evening. I look at the count at the top to see if I have any items left today and I can also have a look at my calendar items.

If I see an item that I need to reschedule I simply long press and then pick an option to move it tomorrow.

Using this as I’m moving through my day is helping me keep on top of things.

Following on from my Zombie Reminders post I deleted all of my lists and yet the reminders keep coming back, this is from today.

Anyone else?

I’ve been giving the official Twitter app a go based on the fact I can’t see likes etc via Tweetbot. I stay away from the whole trends etc and just use the timeline and notifications panes.

But a side effect that I wasn’t expecting was that by keeping the timeline in “top tweets first” I am using the service less. I’m no longer scrolling until I read everything but just checking top tweets a couple of times a day.

I switched to RSS for my news months ago so I’ve found that by using this method it’s let me step back from Twitter quite a bit.

I did use Safari for a while but to be honest the experience wasn’t great so I’ll leave the app in place and either set some limits or just remember to check in now and again.

If you’re looking to use social media less then I’d recommend trying out this method.

This is a good one, so I recently purged everything out of Reminders and it’s iCloud database. The weird thing is that slowly but surely they are coming back but only for things scheduled. I had several daily Reminders that remind me to take a break and get out for a walk, these were moved over to another system and deleted from iCloud. The problem is they keep coming back and I have no idea how to fix it.

You can see this in the above screenshot. So I have two of these deleted daily Reminders that have come back from nowhere. One of these is even coming from a list that doesn’t exist. Check out the My Lists area saying there is 1 Reminder in the system but Today is showing 2, argh.

So I currently have Zombie Reminders in iCloud coming back for me and kind of another confirmation that moving my data out of iCloud slowly in the background as I’m currently doing is a good idea.

Saying no to something isn’t always easy but with the Decline sticker pack it makes things a little easier to select the right response.

I use sticker packs a lot and having another one to pick from is something I’m always going to take a look at.

There’s a good selection of responses and the artwork is clean and stylish. Personally I’m looking forward to more sticker packs, no pressure!

Great work from Alyssa and Tim, well done. Check out more at their site here.

A week or so ago I was listening to a tech podcast and I realised I had little interest in what was being discussed, I stopped and realised listening to others had become a habit. I had over 15 shows in my list and I’d stopped being able to just have peace and quiet. It’s ok to be bored and have some headspace to digest and think about things. Having a job where I drive a lot it’s good to have some podcasts to listen to but listening at home when I’m not doing something else has become a bit excessive.

I’ve decided to reduce my podcasts down to about 4 shows and I’m only going to use them for driving or out walking.

It’s been nice the last few days not reaching for my headphones and just being present in the moment.

I’ve been a fan of the NASA app app for a while but only really just started using it for getting great wallpapers.

Firing up the app you can see images on the main screen.

You can type your search terms in the top bar.

Tap on the image to load and then tap again to bring up options.

Tap on the share icon in the top right and tap ‘save image’.

Anyone else still having rotation issues? I get this almost daily but wondering if it’s down to me being in a 10.5” and most of my follows are using a new Pro. One day it’ll be fixed I’m sure, I can live with it but I’m still amazed that it’s still there.

I wanted to scratch my photography itch and mistakenly installed Flickr. It seems like nobody is using it anymore, very little photos being uploaded and no interaction. To be honest I’ve even forgotten who owns it these days.

I’ve deleted it and now trying EyeEm as an alternative. Already seeing more engagement and some beautiful images.

I live in dark mode on iOS 13 but I don’t like having a dark background on Apple Notes. The good news is you can change this just for Notes.

Head into settings, then tap notes and you’ll see the following option

Just pick the Note Background that fits what you want to see.

I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of time on Twitter and I’ve found the following steps have helped kick my habit of mindlessly loading and scrolling. It’s also a platform that like most social networks brings the worst to the top and as someone trying to be a bit more positive it’s having a negative effect on my wellbeing.

Remove the app

Now this depends on if you use the official app or not in some respect. I use Tweetbot so I don’t see ads or moments and the filtering tools are much more powerful. I literally cannot use the service if I’m forced to use the official app. I removed the app to a folder on the second page so I had to go looking for it. The next step I took was to remove the app completely and just check in via the Twitter site in Safari a couple of times a week. If you try this you’ll be amazed at how little you actually find yourself using it.

Cull your follows

If you want to continue using it as you are but want to see less then follow less people. What I did over time was anything I saw shared I didn’t like I stopped following that person. I went from over 700 to now around 100.

Embrace RSS

I found I was using Twitter to catch up on the latest news as it happened. What I discovered when I switched to reading news via an RSS app was I didn’t need to know everything. Checking into my RSS app a couple of times a day is enough and as a result I stopped following quite a few accounts. Unless it’s your job to report on the news it’s perfectly acceptable not knowing everything going on.

Screen time

I feel this is a last resort but use the screen time features in iOS to remind you to take a break. Limit yourself to 30 mins a day and see how that feels. This didn’t work for me but it’s an option built into iOS that is worth checking out.

Ease out of it

I wouldn’t recommend going cold turkey but it’s what I did a few weeks before Star Wars came out and it was pretty difficult to stop the habit outright. Some people respond well to this method but you should know yourself well enough to know if this is what you need personally. I’ve weaned myself off it slowly using the above and with only a few checks a week feel I’m on the right path (for me).

Source: Birchtree

As someone else who is trying to track stuff I’ve dabbled with Notion but in the end I couldn’t get on with the iOS apps but reading this post has me wanting to kick it back up again.

Matt, I might be in touch.

I’ve needed to simplify a bit over the break and made the switch back to Todoist.

Todoist has been my fall back app for a while but I’m determined to make it stick. It’s the fastest way to get things out of my head and the natural language passing really helps to track repeating items. I’ll share more as I move through my experience of getting to know the app really well.

Any tips?

On a side note I’ve really tried to use Reminders but I have no confidence it’ll see any updates until September and it’s got UX issues in my use.

I’ve tried to post daily here and looking back I can see it’s had a big impact on the traffic coming to the blog.

I’m not setting the world alight but for me I’m up over 14,000 views over the previous year. I’m still a nobody in the grand scheme of things but I enjoy sharing regardless of these stats.

Resetting a Sonos continues to drive most traffic but strangely an iPhone case post beats it this year. Continues to show that if you want to build traffic how to’s are the way to do it.

Bulk of traffic coming from Search and Social but readers have started to pick up from Wordpress itself.

Finally I always find it interesting to see where my readers are coming from. Top 3 remain the same but Germany and India are new additions to some of the bigger traffic.

I’ll continue doing what I’m doing and see what happens.

Been a lot going on so I’ve trimmed my home screen down as I get through the Christmas period. Only apps I’ve really been using lately are Notes (sync seems fixed now), DayOne (journaling) and Todoist (simplicity of keeping to do lists).

I’m planning on using Headspace and MoodNotes more in the new year but for now they sit there as a reminder.

How’s your home screen looking as we close out 2019?

I noticed today that I’m 100 days in with my iPhone 11 Pro so thought it sounded like a good milestone to report back on how it’s been.

I’d picked up the midnight green with 256GB storage along with an Apple leather case on day one. I’m no longer using the leather case and went naked for a while until I settled on the Pitaka Air. I also had a screen protector fitted by Apple since launch, which amazingly is still on there and I forget about it.

The two main reasons I love this phone is the battery and camera, something I’ve highlighted in previous posts.

The camera excels both indoors and in low light outdoors. I find I never use the ultra wide but nice to have it when I need it, as long as I remember it’s there.

The battery gets me through two days most of the time, I work from home so don’t need to worry too much about long travel days. I’ll charge as and when I remember to.

I’m glad I went for the Pro over the 11 due to the 2x zoom, something I use on an almost daily basis.

Overall the update to the 11 Pro my favourite year on year upgrade that I’ve experienced in my years of iPhone ownership.

I have to admit that a few months ago my iPad mini 5 was put in a drawer but over the last few weeks I’ve picked it up again and loving using it everyday. I do have a 10.5 pro that I use the majority of the time but the battery life has gotten pretty bad on it so when the iPhone 11 Pro came out I pretty much switched to my iPhone for the majority of the time instead. Now I’m back on the mini I’m using it instead of my iPhone at home. I’m not writing up large posts but using it in portrait and two hand thumb tapping out posts like this is perfect for me. I also like having the bigger screen than my iPhone 11 that I can use to read comics or articles and even create the odd video. I’m planning on using it a lot more and integrating into my photography workflow again. He only downside I’m finding is that it’s a little cramped to sketch or take notes using the pencil. I prefer using my larger iPad for this.

If you’re planning on selling anything over the holidays I’d recommend against using Gumtree. I’m having a bit of a clear out and been spammed with scammers multiple times a day. Messages like the one above come within about 20 mins of anything posted so please be careful. Don’t give your email address out to anyone, stick within the Gumtree app. They’ll want it to send you money via PayPal then claim it’s damaged on delivery etc to force a refund.

Another telltale sign above, first trying to get a bite.

Just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas. I’m taking a break at the moment from writing but wanted to say thanks to everyone that has stuck with me this year reading and sharing my stuff.

Have a great Christmas.

I’ve broken a screen or two in my time with Apple Watch from a fall but overall I’m still impressed with how durable the Apple Watch is. My daily Apple Watch is a Nike Series 2 that has been worn every day since June 2017.

This being the Nike model means it’s the lower end model without the sapphire display, it’s also in a space grey finish so the darker one. I’ve reverted back to using the black sport band that came with my original Apple Watch, which given how old it is looks brand new.

This particular watch has been worn at the beach, in the pool, shower and my daily wear.

You can see some light scratching here to the top edge of the screen.

On the right hand side you can see some scratching on the coating above the Digital Crown.

Left hand side of the watch is as good as new.

Back remains as good as new.

Overall for this age of watch worn daily I think it’s held up really well. I’m out of Apple Care now I’m hoping it keeps ticking…

BTW all of these images were taken on the iPhone 11 Pro, wow they are great for these indoors tech shots.

I didn’t realise this was possible but on reviewing the latest app updates I discovered you can swipe to delete directly from the update section of the App Store on your iPhone.

Being able to do this is a nice little time saver when I realise an app I haven’t used in ages is being updated and I don’t even need it anymore.

As I’m using the latest public builds of iOS 13 I’m still amazed at the number of UI issues across the system. This actually applies to watchOS too and iPadOS. I’m not trying to pile on as there have been plenty of posts about iOS 13’s lack of stability but simply to share my experiences. Performance wise I’m happy with iOS 13 but the little glitches around the system really have me scratching my head into what the QA actually does and how they test.

The main offender is my iPad Mini, which I honestly think has never been tested internally at Apple given the devices popularity. Rotation issues are a daily occurrence for me across both of my iPads but the Mini seems to get stuck in one orientation or the other mode often than not.

I’m not sure if this down to the performance of the older 10.5” iPad Pro and slower processor of the Mini but I do wonder if this is an issue on the latest iPad Pro and if Apple are testing on older devices.

watchOS has it’s share of UI issues with little glitches like the one above.

Here’s a nice share sheet bug that doesn’t show the Reminders icon but if you tap the blank space it opens the app.

Apple Music on my iPad Pro is the worst offending app though. This layout issue above occurs in multiple places and I still get issues when using the app in landscape mode. An example of this is when it shifts to album view it resets the left hand pane and takes me to the top of my music again.

This isn’t really a rant post but I can’t air these bugs with Apple as I get zero response or a fix as these have been going on since beta 1. I gave up reporting bugs or asking Apple for help a while ago, I still haven’t been called back for my Notes sync issue despite multiple promises I would be.

I’m writing this to get it off my chest and the little hope someone from Apple might come across it and reach out.

Keeping my fingers crossed that iOS 14 has very little new features and a focus on stability.

I’m a couple of days in with my series 2 on the latest watchOS and it’s settled down after a shaky start. Battery seems to have taken a hit but performance isn’t any better or worse.

I’d hold off updating to the latest watchOS version on the series 2 for now.

Mine was stuck in this boot loop for 45 minutes after the update and after holding down several buttons finally managed to get it out and working.

Performance is also less than ideal and it seems like it’s taken a backwards step on older watch hardware.

I’d hold off if you’re happy with your current watchOS version.

I’ve actually not bought that much stuff this year but I wanted to share new gear that I’ve enjoyed and the ones that continue to serve me well.

iPad Pro 10.5"

It’s over 2.5 years old now and still my number one daily computing device I own. As you most probably know I use it with the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil. I have looked over at the new 11” Pro with envy at times but once I look at the total cost with a new keyboard and pencil it stops me making the purchase. I’ve seen them on sale several times but I’m really content with with my 10.5”. It’s still fast on the latest version of iOS and does everything I need.

Casio F-91w

I’ve been dipping back into the world of watches and my go to has been the Casio F-91w. It looks great, reminds me of my first watch and is comfortable. I like to take breaks from Apple Watch from time to time and this is my favourite one to use.

iPad Mini 5th generation

We still have a 2nd generation in the house but I wanted a smaller iPad I could take with me to client site and use like a field notes book. It’s been a great little device, since iPhone 11 Pro I’ve used a bit less but it’s still my favourite way to read comic books or just browse.

Yamaha practise amp

Probably my favourite purchase this year. It’s light, sounds great and can be plugged into my Mac for recording.

iPhone 11 Pro

Without doubt my favourite iPhone and biggest upgrade. For the improved camera and battery life alone it’s been a great upgrade. I’m still not completely satisfied with night mode but that’s more on me than the camera I think. In day to day use it’s replaced my DSLR more than any other iPhone and I’m constantly amazed with how great the image quality is.

AirPods Pro

A fairly new addition but I wouldn’t be without them now. I’ve always liked my AirPods but was itching for noise cancelling and my preferred in ear silicone tips, I got both and am completely happy. They are more expensive than standard AirPods but when compared to Bose QC I think they are well priced. The noise cancelling in my experience so far is on par and sometimes better than Bose. I can’t recommend these highly enough.

Fender Eric Johnson Thinline Stratocaster

I’ve not bought a new guitar for years but when I saw a big sale on this model I couldn’t resist. I’ve been wanting a semi-hollow body guitar for years and seeing this one from one of my favourite artists I jumped at the chance to own one. Now I’ve setup to my liking I can’t put it down. It’s light, sounds great unplugged and the neck carve is very comfortable for me. The only downside is the nitro finish is very tacky still so I already have wear and tear but I love the lived in look anyway.

What’s some of your favourite gear?

I’ll preface this by stating this isn’t the list of apps that came out this year but the ones I’ve used the most on my iPhone. It’s a mix of things here but all served me well at times in 2019.

Dark Noise

I’ve been using this ambient noise app to help me relax or just to have something in the background whilst I work. It’s beautifully designed and offers a load of customisation and shortcut support.

Link.

Apple Music

Continues to be my music streaming app of choice. I’ve dabbled with Spotify but for me the UI offered with Apple Music just matches how I’d like it to work. It mixes the music I’ve purchased over the years with ones added from the streaming service and recently played and recommendations are great.

Link.

OmniFocus 3

An app I’ve used on and off for years but when iCloud started to fail me I switched full time. It can be as simple or complicated as you need and although I keep it pretty simple I’m learning new ways to use it all the time. The backend sync has been rock solid and I have complete trust in the data storage. I’ve been using shortcuts more with it these days and finally settled on a daily workflow that helps me get stuff done.

Link.

Reeder

Now I’m getting back into RSS I don’t think I can go back to using a news app like Apple News.

Link.

Pennies

I’m trying to get better at managing a budget and spend less on gear, this app has been a great way to set a budget cap against categories and stick to it.

Link.

Overcast

Still my podcast player of choice, works great in the car too. User friendly interface and sync across devices is rock solid.

Link.

DuckDuckGo browser

My go to browser, replaced Safari for almost everything I do. Being more privacy focused is something I’ve been working towards and this browser is the best out there in my opinion. You’ll be surprised at home many trackers are being blocked on your favourite sites.

Link.

Eventail

This is a widget app and it shows me exactly what I need, a 5 day view of my calendar. Can be customised in lots of ways and is worth a look if you have a busy schedule.

Link.

What are some of your favourite apps?

Ok, I can dream LOL. This includes the Pro XDR display BTW.

I’ve been wearing my mechanical watch a lot more lately but this week went back to the Apple Watch to see if I’ve missed it.

What I’ve discovered is the health features of the Apple Watch have lost all of their meaning having gotten used to a traditional watch again. I dip in between a Casio Quartz Digital and vintage Seiko Automatic and obviously none of these have any sort of tracking. I’ve set myself some fitness goals and after using the Apple Watch this week I’ve realised that having rings has made no difference. I used to like tracking and try to stick to streaks but I’m just not motivated by them anymore. I’m not sure if I’ll use these to try to help me get to my weight target or just ignore them completely and put my Apple Watch in a drawer.

The area I have been missing though is on the productivity and practical front. It’s been good to see my calendar on my wrist, it took a little anxiety away for me as I didn’t know when my next appointment was. On the practical front being able to quickly see the time lit up has been nice. The Seiko is old school and can’t be seen in the dark and the Casio backlight isn’t amazing but works. The Apple Watch has been great on these two fronts. These areas also have me looking over at the series 5 given how slow the series 2 has become in day to day use with the calendar and to do apps.

I need to now think about if I want to be constantly connected to my iPhone or not. Do the activity benefits need to act as a motivator to keep using it or not.

Lots to think about as I continue on my new journey with Apple Watch.

I’ve been using the Pitaka case for over a week now and wanted to do a durability check in.

I really am enjoying using this case and it’s held up well. Fingerprints rub off the texture easily and I’ve noticed no wear marks at all. The only thing that’s happened is on the right hand side below the power button it started to lift away from the phone a little and a gap appeared. I took the case off and applied a little force to bend it back. It’s now back to having zero gap. I did reach out to Pitaka on this but had zero response.

Overall I’m still happy using this as my daily case, it’s thin and light and adds the grip I want to give me more confidence in using my phone.

I’m dipping back into the Apple Watch after taking a break but on wearing the Series 2 for a week I’ve come to the conclusion it’s still ok as a fitness tracker but frustrating as a productivity device.

What I mean here is that if you’re looking at using it for tracking your calendar and reminders it’s pretty much unusable. In my experience on watchOS 6 the Reminders app is a buggy slow mess. In the screenshot above I’m showing you what it looks like for the first 30 seconds or so before any data loads and when it does it’s not in sync with the app on your iPhone. It’s strange that it shows items as overdue that you have already completed. The performance of the Calendar app isn’t much better but it does at least show you the correct data. When I used third party apps such as omnifocus to test that was slow to sync so often items were showing as incomplete even though I had ticked them off on my iPhone.

The only useful productivity item on the series 2 is having complications on the face showing you your next appointment.

As a fitness device though the series 2 is still a great device but if you want something to cover everything an Apple Watch should then skip to the series 3 or 4 if you want to save some money and use an older model.

Ah, my favourite iOS issue is back with a vengeance. With the latest public iOS release my iPhone has been pretty great but on the iPad (especially the Mini) iPadOS is still giving me daily issues that has me actually using my MacBook a bit more. It took me a restart to get rid of the above issue this time, something I was doing on my iPhone at least once a day. iPadOS seems to be getting a little less love internally right now as I can’t believe it’s just me experiencing this. On a side note I’m also getting other issues that appear just on the Mini, which has me scratching my head and wondering if they actually test on physical devices at all.

This was the last straw, watching a video via the iOS app and this message pops up under the video and no matter how much I tap on ‘skip trial’ I get nothing. This is the latest message that got me to delete the app again.

Here’s another on that pops up when I close the app on iOS.

How is this not user hostile, I’m not sure why it doesn’t remember my choice instead of forcing me to see these ads almost every time I use the service.

I’m a couple of weeks in with using OmniFocus exclusively and it’s actually starting to stick. I wanted to write a series of posts on how I’m using it in my daily life.

First up each morning I’m looking at what I have on my plate and adjusting the day to suit my availability and energy.

I tap on the relevant day in the forecast view to drill into the day itself.

This shows me my agenda and the to do items I have set for the day.

If there is something on there I’m not going to be able to achieve I’ll long press and move to tomorrow.

My forecast view also shows me any items I’d like to get done today but haven’t set a due date or time. I tag these items with ‘today’ and change the view settings to show me them in my forecast view.

These show at the bottom of the list in the forecast view.

That gives me a view of the day within the app. To supplement this I also use the widget and the Apple Watch complication to have a quick reference of how I’m getting on.

So far the data sync has been good but if I’m updating on my iPad and don’t open the app on my iPhone to sync then app notifications do get a bit out of sync.

I’ve been using the Pitaka Air for a few days now and wanted to share my thoughts on what I’m it’s like to use day in day out. I came across this case whilst listening to a podcast and after checking some details on the case immediately knew it was one I wanted to check out.

It’s on the expensive side (around £50 at the time of writing) but based on my experience it’s up there with the official Apple cases in terms of quality so it’s somewhat justified. It’s also the first case in a while I’ve not thought about taking off once.

The case itself is super thin, like a few pieces of paper thin and weighs hardly anything. It’s a snap on case and is easy to apply, just make sure you have wiped off your iPhone before putting it on.

It’s made of a carbon fibre type material that feels tough and the finish hasn’t scratched up at all. It’s got a nice amount of grip and because it’s so thin it doesn’t feel like you have a case on the phone particularly. The finish of the case adds just the right amount of grip and getting it in and out of pocket is easy.

All of the buttons, some of the top and some of the bottom are exposed. This makes using it easy, no rigid plastic over the existing buttons. I like this approach but it’s no Otterbox, this doesn’t look a particularly drop proof case. I’m perfectly fine with this, I’m looking for something that adds grip but no bulk, this case does that. If you’re after something that gives you more confidence on big drops you’ll want to look elsewhere.

If you worry about screen scratches you’ll still want to apply a screen protector. There isn’t a lip around the case, which I love. I hate cases that restrict gestures of actually using the device.

For me this is the perfect case, price aside (an included screen protector would have been nice) it’s the first case in a while I forget is on there. Personally I like the carbon fibre look and the extra grip it adds is all I need really in a case.

As someone that is usually caseless I’m always looking for something as thin as possible. This case gives a good balance of being barely there.

If you are ok spending £40+ on an iPhone case and want something to give basic day to day protection then this case really is the one to get.

I’m taking baby steps with shortcuts and this time I’m actually getting it. I’ve tried in the past but I think I was going the wrong way about it. Now I’m starting small and thinking of little time savers for things I do frequently.

I’m trying to create a shortcut that I enable when I’m out on day trips to help preserve some battery life.

I’m just a couple of steps in so far as I think about steps I can take to put me in that maximum battery saving day trip mode.

Here’s the link to the above.

I’m open to suggestions of what to add.

I’ll have a full review but wanted to post some images now I’ve unboxed. First impressions though, wow this might be best case I’ve ever used.

This iOS bug just my problem? I know spotlight has it’s moments but I’ve been finding it buggy since iOS 13.2.3 - just me?

At the moment I’m using the Apple Watch sporadically whilst I figure out where it fits in my life but have been playing around with settings to test battery life. I’m on a Nike Series 2 and to be fair aside from some lag here and there it’s still a great Apple Watch. The battery lasts longer than the Series 5 I had for a brief period and not needing an always on display I’m sticking to this one when I do use it.

Here’s a few tips that I wanted to share to get the best battery life out of your Apple Watch.

Use cinema mode

This is activated by swiping up on the watch then hitting the icon marked above. I use it if I leave my watch on to sleep but also in the day if I’m out and about on a long family day out for instance. It’ll turn off the screen and only be enabled when you tap it.

Turn off background refresh on apps you don't use

Within the watch app on your iPhone you can go into Background App Refresh settings and turn off all of the apps that you don’t need to be making updates in the background.

Shorter screen on time

Under wake screen settings make sure you have 15 seconds for the on tap settings, the shortest setting.

Turn the brightness to the minimum

Even on it’s lowest setting the screen is fine to my eyes and will save you a little battery throughout the day.

Pair down Notifications

It won’t have a massive impact but on showing notifications you care about is something else that you can do to help. This also helps to avoid too many distractions, I only have notifications for messages and calls.

Sticking with a fairly basic home screen this month. Loved snapseed to the main page now I’m using it more and more. Reeder is how I’m catching on any news and my favourite blogs. Omnifocus is my productivity app of choice. Notes is syncing again so I’m testing it out. Finally I’m getting more into shortcuts so I’ve moved that onto my front page.

My second page is a bit of a dumping ground so not that well organised more reference apps as and when I need them.

I’m still unhappy with most iPhone cases but now I’ve been using the leather case a bit more it’s started to develop a nice patina.

Last year I did this artificially but wearing it in naturally is a bit more satisfying. The Apple cases are a bit slippery out of the box but a few weeks in and they start to wear in. I’m still not completely comfortable having a leather case but for now it’ll do. I’ve got a review case coming in soon that I think will be better, more on this soon.

Wow, how did I miss this announcement - well I know I’m pretty much off the internet right now but I’ve only just caught up on the new Motorola Razr. I’d owned plenty of phones back in the day but the original Razr was and still is an iconic design. At $1500 I won’t be buying one on a whim to test out but it’s the first phone that has me lusting for something other than an iPhone. For me foldable is this form factor, not like the Samsung giving me two phones slapped together but something that is small to go in my pocket but is easy and satisfying to open and use when you want the bigger display. I’ll be doing my best to get on Motorola’s review list to see if I can take one for a spin.

I’m not sure if this bug is specific to my make and model of car but I’ve finally found a way to fix this annoying bug. I have a Volkswagen Golf GTE with factory fitted CarPlay and about 50% of the time it would not play any audio. I would turn the volume up and it would say ‘No Audio’.

I’ve found a fix, well a hack really. If you move into the Media section first then do a new Bluetooth search for your iPhone. Once you have seen the iPhone in the list of discoverable devices don’t tap it. Simply tap app again to go into CarPlay, the audio will magically start working again.

So we’re a couple of months in with iOS 13 and it struck me that after updating to iOS 13.2.3 it seems to have finally settled down. I’m getting far fewer bugs than I did before the update and it’s where it should have shipped back in September. Before this update I was having to turn my iPhone on and off at least once per day due to audio bugs. Now the only time I’m doing that is when I use CarPlay.

I’ve got one bug that I’m not seeing anywhere with CarPlay. Once I’m done using it in the car the audio app stays on the lock screen even though the app is closed. The only fix is to restart the iPhone.

I also still experience the odd camera bug when I’m taking photos from the lock screen.

I don’t use the Apple Watch now so can’t comment on the fixes I needed on the Series 2 when I was using it.

iPadOS seems ok although I still get rotation issues but they have been there for years now.

I wanted to post a follow up on my Notes sync issues as I’ve been testing it in the background whilst using other apps. So, first up Apple have never called me back. As I’ve already written about they seem ok with hardware issues but struggle with anything software related. Now I’m not sure if this is training related but even their senior advisors are heavily reliant on a backup software team. They need some more software people in the senior advisor role in my opinion. I still think Apple support is lacking right now.

So my Notes have stayed in sync over the last week and the speed of sync seems to have improved, yes there is a but here - only if you don’t have folders. I’ve found that in my testing if you have a flat structure then sync becomes a lot more reliable. If you’re have problems then on top of migrating out and deleting everything then start with a flat structure, don’t create any folders. I find that as soon as you introduce folders it goes awry. Sync becomes slow and unreliable, especially on macOS.

I’d tell Apple if they ever called me back but I think that ship has sailed and I’m not wasting anymore of my time being on hold for them.

I’ve switched cases now almost weekly and not happy with any of them. The thing is that each one frustrates me and takes away the joy of using the iPhone. I should preface this with the fact I have Apple Care +, I wouldn’t contemplate doing this without it.

My Apple leather has some nice patina now but I still find it slippery, the thicker plastic one I bought I also find slippery and the TPU style whilst grippy makes pushing buttons harder.

The naked iPhone 11 Pro has some texture on the back so doesn’t slip off my lap and the side rails on the midnight green are a little sticky with the finish applied so feels pretty good in the hand.

If I’m away on holiday I can see me

sticking to a case given I’ll be be away from an Apple Store but for the rest of the time it’ll be as Apple intended.

As you’ll know if you read my blog I’m struggling somewhat with iCloud. I’m now at the point I’ve moved completely away from Notes and Reminders as I’ve lost trust in Apple to both store my data and commit resource to working on the app and support the infrastructure, I’ve still not heard anything back from senior support on my iCloud sync issues despite several promises.

The two I’m testing my workflow with is Google Keep and Notability.

Over the last week I’ve used both and can see me using both but for different scenarios.

I’m using Notability almost just for reference information like flight details or for keeping extended warranty information. An archive of information I need to reference at a later date.

I’m using Google Keep for quick notes and checklists. I don’t like the UX for Notability for adding quick notes with bullets etc. I can’t seem to quickly get in and out. Google keep is simple and intuitive. It also has a widget that speeds up entry.

Main downside of using Google apps on iOS for me is their lack of adoption of core iOS features so no dark mode but I can live with that in a notes app.

It’s a beginning so I’ll update how I’m getting on in a month or so.

I’ve been a paying member of Apple Arcade for a month but in the end we decided to cancel it. Turns out I’m more of a console gamer (something I always knew to be honest but wanted to give Arcade a go) and spent my time on PS4 or Switch instead. Even with the new additions in Apple Arcade over the weeks we ended up sticking with a few favourites like Sneaky Sasquatch and What the Golf but I couldn’t justify paying a subscription just to keep playing those couple of games.

We’re having too much fun with the consoles and don’t play mobile enough to warrant the subscription. I may come back when we go on trips maybe and want some different games to play but for now I’m out.

Aside from loving the smaller form factor I’m also loving the screen on the new iPad Mini so it made sense for me to use it in my workflow. I’m using it alongside my Canon DSLR to import the images and have an initial run through, deleting those that I don’t like or won’t edit later.

When I picked up my iPad I also picked up the lightning to SD Card reader. This imports images from my memory card quickly and goes straight up to iCloud. I’ve been taking some test images and testing imports and this iPad Mini is going in my camera bag with me on longer trips.

I almost picked up an iPhone 8 to have as a testing device to write about the new iOS but it hit me, I loved the iPad Mini so why didn’t I just use the cash for that instead. A used 8 was going to cost me more than this iPad Mini 5 and I’d get less use out of it.

The reason my last one went back was the lack of work use but the more I’ve been reading and listening to music and wanting to spend less time on my XS the Mini seemed the perfect device for me. I now have a comfortable device for reading in bed and with the larger than my iPhone display it’ll be my main device around the house. I might even use it in my camera bag to take with me when I want to take the DSLR out for the day.

I knew this should be in there somewhere, I had a play with the settings and now I can see the entire title when viewing my to do.

I’ll need to test the widget display but this gets me what I want.

I’ve been enjoying my time with GoodTask but I’ve hit a display issue that has me rethinking my app choice. It may seem small but I use a to do system to remind me of things I should be mindful about.

You can see that when I do this I don’t see the entire text. A lot of apps do this, I stopped using Things because of it. Strangely Apple Reminders is the best at displaying this. Omnifocus also does a good job here.

I don’t want to make the text smaller with my ageing eyes so if you know a way around it please let me know.

Update: it’s in settings

I’m constantly trying to get better at managing my social media time and I thought the best first step (this time!) was to move everything social to my iPad. I use the iPad more intentionally so I’m going to manage social along with my blog in a folder of it’s own. On the iPad I have a blog folder with all of my Blog stuff, it’ll live in there.

If you’re trying to cut back on your social media a bit then I’d recommend moving it off your smartphone and onto a laptop or tablet so that it’s less of a temptation and more intentional.

I tend to write about my hardware when I get it and at the half way point in the year. I like to do this to see how my feelings have changed over time and see how it’s holding up to the daily wear and tear. For this post I’ll be looking at my silver 256GB iPhone XS.

Durability

I’m on my second XS (read about that in a later section) so the wear and tear will be less than if I’d used it since the launch version I had. I don’t use a case day to day so as expected my stainless steel band shows scratches. I don’t mind this, in fact I like the worn in look. They’re only really there if you look closely but overall the construction that Apple went with for with the X models seems to hold up.

The screen shows some light scratches but nothing that bothers me. The back glass has a few deeper scratches but on the silver model you can’t see them easily and again they don’t bother me.

I did drop my last one onto concrete and although the corner had a scratch the glass held up fine.

Camera

The camera has been good this year a definite step up from the X, especially in low light. I can’t make my mind up on smart HDR but tend to leave it on. I found especially when comparing to the Pixel 3a they were over brightened to my eyes but with some editing you can get really great shots. The camera is the only reason I upgraded last year and I’m pleased that I did it for the outlay. Remember I sold my X for a good amount so moving to the XS cost me a couple of hundred pounds. This was worth it for me to get the improved camera.

Any replacements?

I tend to get the Apple curse and need replacements, I always get Apple Care+. I’m on my second XS currently, the first being replaced due to the SIM tray keeping working it’s way out all by itself. This was sorted easily over the phone with Apple shipping a replacement.

Performance over time

The only lag I’ve found is when I take a picture then go to look at it. I see a slight delay in rendering the image. I’m not sure if this is iOS or my processor but it’s something I’ve noticed on and off over the last year.

Battery life

Battery life has been fine, I wouldn’t say any better or worse than my X or 7 before that. I get through a day fine but as I’m home based I don’t tend to need to worry about it. I do make sure though that background app refresh is turned off for almost everything.

FaceId

I’ve come to accept that we aren’t getting TouchId back so embraced FaceId this year and on the whole it’s fine. I do get frustrated when I’m in sunlight outside with a hat and sunglasses on and it works maybe half the time.

My major niggle

Is a software one. I’ve written about this before but I’ve been calling my emergency contact a lot from my pocket with the XS. I’ve got an open radar with Apple on this one and need to give them some system info to look into it. I’m hoping working with Apple I can help influence getting it fixed.

Overall thoughts

I’m glad I upgraded to the silver XS, I like the colour and the camera. It’s holding up fine and I’m not feeling the need to change it.

I’ve not normally actively reached out for review units and apps but in light of testing the Pixel 3a it reminded me how much I like to play with new stuff. If you have a product be it an app, device or accessory please drop me a note via my contact page and I’d love to take a look.

I wrote that I wanted to stick with iCloud and if you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know that Reminders does my head in. I moved over to GoodTask a little while ago but didn’t commit to using it until a month or so ago. Here’s how I’m using it.

Apple Watch

Reminders doesn’t have a new complication so I’m using GoodTask to show me how many items I have due today.

Today widget

The widget shows me both my reminders and appointments on one view. This means I can see my day in order and also means I can use one widget instead of two.

Lists

I’m using lists to categorise all of my tasks. Still getting started but here are my lists so far. I’m also using Overdue, High Priorities and Within 5 days.

Today with no time

Using Reminders in the standard app doesn’t let you mark a task due just today, you need a time. I don’t like this to be the only way of doing it. With GoodTask I can mark something due just today and not worry about adding a time element.

I used the Google Pixel for just under a week but in the end I decided to return it within my return window. I wanted to share my thoughts about why I did this. I really feel that even in a week I’ve got a new appreciation for iOS but I’m also more conscious of what’s missing from it. Ultimately spending almost £500 on a device plus accessories when it would be used maybe 20% of the time felt wasteful in this day and age and I feel better having given it a try. Here are few of my feelings:

• Android isn’t for me, full time at least. I liked the novelty of using another OS but for me it was the nagging that I couldn’t get under control. Even though I turned off everything I could find I was still getting asked to share my location or tune another setting. For someone like me it’s just too many options and I want to just use my iPhone to get things done.
• Assistant vs Siri isn’t even a competition and I’ll miss it. I’m not the biggest fan of Siri anyway but now I seen how the other half live I’m jealous of some of the things you can get the assistant to do for you. Even more so the way it understood everything I asked of it, Siri has about a 50% success rate for me on iOS.
• Third party app ecosystem for me works better on iOS. I’ve come to really like apps like Bear, GoodTask and Halide. When I used Android I found myself not really enjoying browsing the Play Store and used Google apps instead.
• After playing more with RAW and editing my images I realised that the XS (for me) took better images. The Pixel 3a takes a great shot without editing for my eyes but with editing I preferred the XS images.

Now my tech fund is back and iOS 13 is coming I may be putting it towards an iPad Pro 12.9” soon…

I’ve come to really enjoy Bear again after a brief hiatus. I tried my best to use Apple Notes but started to find it slowed me down when I tried organising my Notes. The most powerful feature of Bear for me is quickly being able to organise your notes.

I’ve found that being able to quickly add a ‘#’ to the end of a note to quickly organise my Notes into ‘folders’. I started with looking at it around my writing in ‘draft’ ‘blog’ and ‘published’.

As I started to build up my Notes and everything went in Bear more tags appeared. You can see above my total list so far, it’s constantly evolving and I’m enjoying this way of organising.

Refreshed my iPhone and coming back from Android decided to try some new apps.

• GoodTask for my to do app, well back to using it actually
• Bear for my Notes
• Darkroom for photo editing
• Autosleep to do a bit of sleep tracking
• Daylio to keep track of how I'm doing throughout the day

It’s weird after coming back from Android I’m enjoying more third party apps.

We are only a matter of weeks away from WWDC so I wanted to (as it traditional) jot down some thoughts on what I’d like to see from Apple.

IOS

As you know I use iOS as my operating system of choice and use it many times a day be it consuming or creating content. The hardware that I use the most is the iPad Pro 10.5” along with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard cover. Using it day in day out I’ve got an appreciation of what it does and more importantly what I’d like to see improved.

Productivity

There are enough rumours to make me believe that we are indeed getting a new Reminders app and a small (most probably) update to Mail. I use the Apple Mail app for managing my iCloud and Gmail accounts and to be honest it does everything I want it to. I’m not a power user of mail, I hardly use it to be honest these days but seeing Apple put some effort into their own app would be a positive. I’m more intrigued by the reimagined Reminders app and it certainly stands out as an app that needs an update, something I don’t think it’s seen for 5 years since iOS 7. It’s full (in my use) of UI bugs and if you try to use it on the Mac it’s even worse. I’ll be so happy to see it finally getting some love. It’ll be interesting to see how much it’s changed and if it can finally be my go to productivity app of choice.

The TODAY view could do with a bit of a clean up and I still get UI glitches but I’m not sure if that’s Apple or the third party developer.

Dark all the things

Dark mode on iOS will be interesting, most of the apps I use are in dark mode so being able to see the system in this mode will be great. I constantly blow my eyeballs out when I’m in apps at night and open up Messages to reply to something.

Audio enhancements

When I did a podcast I was ok on my own but when I guested I always used my MAC, I’d like some audio enhancements to allow me to record my local audio plus talk to someone on SKYPE for example.

Apple to embrace external keyboards on iPad

It’s bad how little the keyboard is being used in some of the Apple apps, the main offender for me is Photos. Every time I use it I get annoyed that I can’t use the left and right arrow to scroll through images. I’ve raised a radar with Apple but to be honest I can’t see how anyone using the iPad for any length of time and an external keyboard wouldn’t get frustrated with this one.

Ability to shoot in RAW using the in built camera app

Yes third party apps are great but I’d like to at least see a little toggle in the camera app that allows me to toggle RAW. This can be hidden somewhere in the settings not to confuse but it would be a good addition to the app (for me anyways).

Apple Music knows what I’ve downloaded

Every time I set up a new device I have to manually (remember) and download each album that I’ve downloaded in the past. I’d love it to ask me on first start up ‘Do you want to re-download all of your music you did in the last backup’. The iPad interface also needs a bit of work to clear up some of the UI glitches that I still encounter.

WatchOS

Generally I’m happy with watchOS and it’s been improved at a good rate of pace but I’d like to see:

Native sleep tracking

I can’t believe we are on the 6th iteration of the OS and we don’t have native sleep tracking yet. It’s the one question I get from anyone looking to move from a Fitbit.

More options or Third Party Watch Faces

When series 4 launched we got two new ones but it broke some of the older ones, such as changing the bottom complication on Utility to be more rounded. I’m not sure where I stand on third party ones but I’d at least like Apple to put a bit more effort into their own ones.

Dynamic Complications

I try not to use too many complications but it would be nice to have dynamic ones, what I mean is if there isn’t a timer set for example it changes to a secondary one like the current weather.

Keeping my fingers crossed for a big one this year.

I’m trying to stay off Social media a bit more limiting myself to about 20 minutes a day. The side effect of this is that I’m blogging more short form thoughts, which is good. This has meant that I’ve been using the Wordpress app as a replacement for writing down quick thoughts.

With the most recent announcement from Bear and Wordpress that they were more closely integrated I had to give it a go and it’s been working pretty great. After a little hiatus I’m back using Bear, with its tagging and theme options it’s working well with how my brain works. The only downside that I’ve found is that the post when put into the Wordpress share sheet interface doesn’t remove tags so you’ll need to remember to do this yourself. It even works with images, like the screen shots I’m adding below. I’ve found even just in the day using this method it’s going to be a lot smoother than using the Wordpress app itself.

I’m back on the iPhone XS after 4 days on Android and I’ve got a lot of thoughts. I’ll be posting up these in a series of posts in the coming weeks but in summary

• I’m glad to be with my Apple Watch again (it’s Apple lock in at its best)
• iMessage needs an independent app
• I’m using more Third Party apps (I’m writing and posting this via Bear)
• I miss the Pixel always on display
• I miss Android Notifications
• The iPhone XS naked is a slippery beast!

Switching back and forth between the iPhone and Pixel I was struck with how much narrower the Pixel felt to me when going back to my XS.

Now here’s the Pixel 3a

They are both great displays to my eyes but the aspect ratio of the Pixel and on visual inspection with the 5.8” of the iPhone, the iPhone is both wider and taller. For me this makes it more comfortable to type on.

What helps Android though for me here is the fact I have a swipe keyboard so I’m not tapping keys but still I prefer the screen real estate of the iPhone XS over the Pixel for general day to day comfort.

Colour wise they both looks excellent to my eyes and I’m not seeing the price difference.

You can’t go wrong with the Pixel 3a at £399 for the quality of the OLED it’s packing in my opinion.

To preface this review I need to state up front that I’m new to Android and haven’t been hooked into the assistant for long so your mileage may vary. This is a review from someone that’s lived on iOS for the last 10 years but is gaining new perspective on mobile operating systems.

When I picked up the Pixel 3a I took advantage of the offer to get a free Nest Hub. I didn’t really know what to expect with it to be honest being a heavy iPad user I didn’t know where it would fit it.

Setting up is easy and all you need to do is turn it on and manage the setup from the Pixel Home app.

The construction is great for the price but I would have liked a black front option rather than white. On top we have a couple of sensors and the screen although not huge is clear and looks great when displaying photos.

On the back there’s a manual switch to disable the microphone if you want to make sure you’re not always being listened to.

On setting up I was immediately struck with how useless this product might be for me. No Apple Music, only Spotify and Google Music and without my entire photo library in Google Photos it meant my picture frame options were limited.

I put it in my office and thought I’d see what it can do for me in my day.

Well, all it became was a clock for me. I asked it to play my YouTube subscriptions but it couldn’t. The only way is either to ask for specific videos or cast from your Pixel. This was ok but my iPad has a bigger screen and is already hooked into my YouTube account.

After looking at the photos for a bit I realised this is a £119 fancy clock that tells me stuff about the weather.

Remember this is my experience if you’re totally hooked into Google then I’m sure it’ll be good as a photo frame but I couldn’t get the use out of it and now it’s sat in the box and I’m wondering what I do with it.

It’ll go back with the Pixel if I ultimately decide to return the whole package.

I’m a big fan of the AirPods and as nice as it is to have a headphone jack on the Pixel it’s also nice to not have to get wires caught in stuff. I hadn’t even thought of pairing my AirPods. Well the good news is that they work (to a point), you obviously don’t get Siri and tapping them doesn’t seem to do anything but I don’t do this even on my iPhone. The one that annoys me a little is them not pausing when I remove one AirPod but that’s not a big deal for me whilst I just use them to go for a walk or whilst I’m doing stuff at my desk.

• On your Pixel head into 'settings', 'connected devices', then tap 'Pair new device'
• Make sure your AirPods are in the case and then hold down the button on the back of the case
• You'll see them pop in the list

• Tap on the AirPods and you are good to go

When I fired up Apple Music and started listening they were automatically connected.

I’ve posted quite a bit about my love for the feeling of the Pixel, it’s warm, comfortable and hopefully more durable than the glass on other phones. My main phone as you most probably know is the iPhone XS but I still find it slippery and hard to grab onto sometimes. Looking through my case collection I’ve had in for review I spotted the Totallee case I had in for review.

Adding it to the iPhone XS immediately improves the grip and although it won’t make it particularly more durable does feel like an iPhone 5c in the hand.

It’s got access to the all the original buttons and good sized openings around all of the ports.

As you know I’m not a fan of cases but this might be a time when I need to suck it up and accept we aren’t getting a new shell from Apple anytime soon so I help myself by adding to what I already have with a case.

Here’s the Pixel 3a, so gives me that look and feel without the addition of too much to the iPhone.

One thing I’ve seen in some reviews of the Pixel is the cheaper materials being seen as a negative. For me it’s a positive.

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know how much I miss my 5c. I love the feel in the hand of a polycarbonate phone. Glass is fragile and slippery. After using the Pixel I have to say that I prefer picking up and using it than the iPhone XS. Apple are never going back to colored plastic phones but I can dream.

If you’ve ever used a 5c you’ll know what a pixel feels like.

It’s comfortable to hold and although I haven’t drop tested it’ll hold up fine. I dropped my 5c a lot and although I had fine scratches on the back and a few chips it kept going. The Pixel will be the same.

The buttons are chunky and have a nice click to them.

The only area to be concerned about is the screen. As with any phone it’s the main weakness. If you’re worried about this user a screen protector. Personally I don’t like them.

My only worry with the Pixel is how to get it serviced if I do break it somehow. With Apple I can just pop to the store but with Google you’re going to need to mail it in. This is fine if you don’t mind being out of a phone for an unknown period of time.

Now I have the Pixel 3a in hand my main driver is photography so expect to see a few posts this week just covering my views on the Pixel. I’ve wanted to try one for ages but now I can get one for under 400 pounds it was a good opportunity to jump on board.

For these shots I used a range of zoom ranges and speaking of zoom I’ve really missed the 2x zoom from the XS and had to resort to digital zoom on the Pixel. I found that if I wanted something closer it would ask me to go back a bit to focus. Any edits I.e. crops were done with Google Photos.

Pixel 3a

IPhone XS

Pixel 3a

IPhone XS

Pixel 3a

IPhone XS

Pixel 3a

IPhone XS

Overall I’ve been impressed with the Pixel in these shots against the XS. I’ve missed the 2x zoom and that’s why some of the images from the XS to my eyes are clearer. For the money this Pixel has an amazing camera and isn’t 600 pound inferior to the iPhone.

I’m still getting to grips with Android but here’s my setup.

• Messaging seems a mess but I've settled on using hangouts
• I'm using Google keep to do my notes taking
• Using Todoist as my task manager whilst I test the Pixel

It’ll most probably change a bit daily but here’s my starting point.

I’ve had the Pixel 3a for an evening and wanted to share some really quick good and bad things I’ve found about it. This is coming from someone that’s been on iOS since the original iPhone and only uses Android on my day job phone.

The good

• Screen is great
• Feels great in the hand
• Fingerprint reader is quick and a nice change to faceid
• Widgets on homescreen
• Squeeze to use Google assistant
• Swipe down on fingerprint reader to see notifications
• Selfie camera gesture, flick of the wrist and it swaps between front and back cameras
• Swipe keyboard is better integrated into the OS

The bad

• App quality, especially productivity
• Apple music doesn't load my library
• Play store is laggy
• App switching not as fluid in the interface

From a device perspective I’m happy, from a software perspective I’m still getting my head around it. All my negatives so far are from my lack of experience with Android.

Next up is camera testing.

I’ve been browsing around looking at different ways to get a Pixel 3a and came across this return policy for Carphone Warehouse

Wow, you can’t actually return a SIM free phone at all. This is unbelievable in this day in age when compared to some other stores and their 14 day return policies.

If you are after a Pixel 3a (or any SIM free phone for that matter) then I’d avoid Carphone Warehouse completely.

I wasn’t expecting to watch Google IO yesterday but when I saw the introduction of the Pixel 3a I started to get excited for it.

I’ve been wanting to get an Android phone for a while but couldn’t justify the cost of the Pixel 3 to use as a reference device. With the introduction of the £399 Pixel 3a I was ready to jump in. I’ve cancelled my order for now until I can try one in store but it got me thinking about what I’d like Apple to borrow from the 3a.

Colour

Yes, more colours please across everything. I appreciate we have the XR but I want subtle design changes like the coloured buttons on the 3a white version. Goes without saying I’d like to see this on the iPad too. This also applies to accessories, those woven fabric cases look amazing.

Polycarbonate

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know I love the 5c. I’d give anything for something that looked like an X design but in a polycarbonate shell. It would be easier to repair, more comfortable to hold, lighter and bring the cost down a bit. I know the 5c didn’t exactly set the world alight but maybe the time is right to bring it back in spirit with a new model. Some will think I’m being silly here but I’d be all over a polycarbonate XS in yellow 😀

Offer better value for money

We know Apple isn’t serving the lower priced smartphone market but with sales falling why can’t they dip their toe into this market at least a bit. I’m not saying they could bring us a £399 iPhone Xe but how about £599?

What are your thoughts on the 3a?

I’ve been playing with a lot of third party productivity apps and you know what I’ve discovered - it’s best to stick with the defaults, at least in terms of data storage. I’ve been missing things because I haven’t been seeing them, I forgot which app I’d put it in (I appreciate this is my problem).

On sitting back and thinking about what I have to manage going on and how I want my data to be stored, here are the apps I’m using with iCloud:

• For my Calendar I remain stuck in the default app camp, whilst it isn’t the prettiest I like being able to see the date on my home screen with it’s app icon and it does the basics fine. I don’t micro manage everything on my personal Calendar so fits the bill quite nicely
• For my Reminders I’ve switched over to GoodTask, it’s a much better interface to iCloud and I like both the Today widget and Apple Watch complications
• For my Notes I use Apple Notes for everything. I write posts like this one in there, store images or receipts etc.. and food recipes. I like the simplicity of it and the fact I can do both handwritten and typed notes
• For my Photos I use iCloud Photo Library
• For my journal I back up DayOne to iCloud rather than sync with their service

These are the areas that are most important to me.

The only data in the cloud outside of iCloud that I rely on is Gmail and Blog posts.

For the first time in a while I’m content with this setup and for me even though the apps are pretty basic I find all the extra functionality in apps like OmniFocus adds unnecessary complication (for me) and I spend more time messing with my systems (and tags I don’t need) rather than actually doing stuff.

One of the more interesting points in the iOS 13 article by 9to5 was the mention of a new Reminders app. It’s interesting to me as someone that has tried and failed to use the existing app many times.

It’s a very basic app with bugs, some of which I’ve had open for 3+ years with Apple. It looks like from the outside there is literally no one working on it.

The thought of it having a refresh fills me with hope that I can do away with third party apps but I do have to be careful with my enthusiasm given their track record of looking after their own apps.

For me I’d love to see something along the lines of Things where we can have a scheduled reminder or an open Today list with no time commitments just a list of stuff you want to get done today. In fact I’d like Apple to either Sherlock or buy them outright and be done with it.

As Apple leans into services I think it’s important for them to put some effort into their core apps and not leave them in limbo only to be updated once or twice a year. I’d also like to see them stripped out of iOS and launched into the App Store like Numbers or Pages. That way we can get (hopefully) lots of updates throughout the year.

After trying one on in store I really liked the colour but it was out of stock for weeks. On a whim I checked the store app and there it was. Really liking this colour.

As with the other sports loops if you’ve tried them they are really comfortable and my favourite watch band out there.

These are available in store and online at the moment.

Wow, it starts up. On iOS 5.1.1! let’s see what happens once I get it all back setup.

It may be that it’s early and my brain hasn’t woken up but when messing around with Reeder 4 this morning it wasn’t obvious to me how I unsubscribed from an RSS feed I’d added.

1. Go to the 'All Items' view

2. Long press the RSS feed you want to unsubscribe from

3. Tap unsubscribe

This months home screen update. No huge changes here, updated to match my iPad one from the other day. Most distractions moved to the second page and I’m now using screen time to limit certain apps to 30 minutes a day, such as Micro.blog.

I’ve given up using Apple News, mainly because of the Today view that is constantly broken for me.

Mine only shows everything from days ago not today. Even though my sites themselves have newer stories the Today view never updates.

I’ve got back to actually reading the sites via the DuckDuckGo browser.

Anyone else?

Thought I’d post an update to my home screen on my iPad Pro 10.5”. Recently newly setup my warranty replacement so this is pretty new, literally just got to setting up today.

As you can see I’m still using Emoji for my folders

• Social
• Apple
• Creative
• Stuff

Then just the apps that are used more often on the home screen and my dock.

Apps are pretty consistent but moved back to OmniFocus. Despite rumours of a refreshed Reminders I have zero confidence in Apple’s ability to create a good app these days so I’m sticking with third party for my productivity. I am sticking with Notes however as it does everything I need it to and sync is reliable.

I’ve been playing with my blog theme for a while but have settled on a darker look to the site. After spending less time on social media I read blogs, in a browser! What I’ve noticed is that mine blew my retinas out if I browsing early in the morning. On the back of this you’ll see my site is now sporting a darker look that’s easier on your eye balls.

I used a mini for almost two weeks before moving back to the 10.5. I didn’t use the 10.5 once in that time as I was waiting for a warranty replacement.

Two things I’ve noticed. Confirms my love of the iPad Mini as a book reader. Reading comic books however feels better on the 10.5 to my eyes. Secondly I’d forgotten how great Pro-motion is for both scrolling and writing with the Apple Pencil.

I’m missing the smaller form factor of the Mini. I think I’ll look at picking up a cheap one used just to utilise it as a reading device.

As you know if you’ve been following me lately I’ve enjoyed using my 5th generation iPad Mini so it might surprise you to find out I’ve returned it for a refund.

Here’s why.

Using it as Notebook had been great as I wrote up a few days ago but with an increasing focus on security I’m now limited on where I can store my notes. With this use effectively taken away from me for work use I’ve lost the major selling point.

With me realising it was the form factor I enjoyed but couldn’t effectively use it for work note storage I thought the best option was to return my 5th generation and get my almost £600 back.

What I think I’ll end up doing is getting a refurbished 4th generation and save myself over £300. The performance is going to be fine for my use case where I’ve enjoyed using it like comic books and as a kindle alternative.

For now I’m back on my 10.5” iPad Pro, just had a new one through on Apple Care + so I’ll be using it again as my device.

I’ve finally gotten to use my new 5th generation iPad Mini in work meetings and to manage my day. I’ve used it exclusively this week instead of my paper notebook. I want to drop paper completely given I travel with work and also there’s only so much space in my home office to put the old ones.

My setup is Noteability for the note taking app and then the Apple Pencil.

I had my doubts going in but I have been pleasantly surprised by how good the experience is. Writing in portrait had me worried but on using it I shouldn’t have been. It is more cramped obviously than a bigger iPad but it’s comfortable and been very good in use.

I’m using folders within noteability to organise my notes by project etc and now I’ve been using it this week I think that I won’t be going back to paper. In work meetings I always felt a little conscious pulling out the bigger iPad and with this notebook sized iPad Mini it’s almost perfect.

Another positive for me is travelling with a laptop is sometimes tiring and having a smaller iPad to put in my bag that I can use for reading on the commute and also use in work for notes is ideal for my use case.

So would I recommend, yes. If you’re looking to move to digital notes then having the iPad Mini with a pencil is the perfect companion to use in your work day.

YouTube has become worse for me over the last few years both as a distraction (all on me) and becoming a hive of negativity, humble brags, encouraging people to waste money and fake theories. It was a real eye opener when I used it signed out for a week but worse than that my own suggestions are also polluted with these same videos and awful thumbnails.

YouTube’s algorithm for encouraging this kind of content has gotten out of hand and I don’t want to be part of it. As I’ve written before I’m glad I stopped growing my channel about 7 years ago now I’ve seen what content YouTube encourages you to create. The way to grow is to be extreme!

I thought that I have my subscriptions that I mostly enjoy and as long as I only use it on our TV watching only those things I think I’ll be ok but when the app defaults to recommend and the first thing I see is “how I blew £2000 at (insert store name here)” I’d had enough. The content I watch I can get in podcast form so I’ve just subscribed to the podcast feed in Overcast instead.

I’ve now deleted it off all of my iOS devices, unsubscribed to all channels and deleted my account from our LG TV.

I’ve been enjoying my time so far with the iPad Mini 5th generation and have finally had some time to sit down and read some comic books.

For me the go to app is Marvel Unlimited. I pay a monthly fee to read pretty much whatever I want. One of the appeals for me of the Mini is how easy it is to hold in one hand and enjoy reading.

The laminated screen on the iPad Mini is a massive upgrade over my previous 2nd generation and with the addition of True Tone makes the Mini a great device for consuming comic books. All of the Marvel ones I’ve read look good and even with my ageing eyes I’m able to read the text without having to zoom in. Viewing angles are also really good and even outside it works but obviously you’re going to struggle with direct sunlight behind you.

The portability over the 10.5” makes the Mini my go to reader now and I can comfortably hold it anywhere. If you’re into reading primarily I’d definitely recommend an iPad Mini over the regular iPad.

No excuses not to get this one, all you need to do is any workout for 30 minutes today to get a badge in activity. I got the 2018 one so need to remember to get out and do my 30 minutes walk today.

A big draw for getting an iPad Mini for me was using it to read. I find the larger iPad (my 10.5”) a little cumbersome to use comfortably. The screen is great but find I read less. Well, since getting the Mini I’ve almost read a book already. I use iBooks so made sure I had my current library and travelled with it yesterday.

I found the screen to be great both indoors and outdoors (avoid direct sunlight). The advantage over a Kindle for me is I have a device I can obviously do more on. I chucked my headphones on and used Apple Music and away I went.

The screen vs e-ink should tire your eyes more but for me it’s fine and I appreciate the backlight.

Paired with the Smart Cover I’m finding the iPad Mini to be a great, light book reading machine.

So I’ve had my first day of using the iPad Mini 5th generation and I have to admit I’m really enjoying using it. I did some travelling and made sure I had my iBooks downloaded so I relaxed a bit reading. My other uses today have been writing a couple of shortcuts and this post.

I’m using mostly in portrait and typing is pretty easy. In fact I’ve hardly used my iPhone today, just as a camera actually.

I doubted the answer I got in the Apple store today when I picked up my 5th generation iPad mini but when I checked against my 2nd generation, they were right.

I have tried the Smart Cover and Leather case for the 2nd generation iPad Mini on my 5th generation and they don’t fit. I picked up a white Smart Cover for my new mini and I’m glad I did. The magnets feel a lot better than the 2nd generation, which although the size is ok it doesn’t stick to the side of the iPad very well.

You can see here it’s not fitting the leather case.

2nd generation Smart Cover is the right size but magnets don’t work.

It’s in the house finally, I picked up a 5th generation iPad Mini that I want to use for social, comics, making notes in work meetings and reading. I’ll write more posts when I start to use it more.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had a Switch and thought I’d share how its holding up.

Overall it’s still in great shape, it’s been taken with me on holiday and work trips and when at home lives in the dock under the TV most of the time. The screen has had a protector on it given its plastic not glass and after recently taking it off is scratch free.

From this image you can see some signs of wear, which is what I have in various places on it.

The kick stand is still intact although has fallen off a couple of times. You can also see the wear around the screw hole.

The back shows some wear exactly where your fingers sit when holding.

I’d read stories about the top plastic components breaking off or cracking, mine are completely fine.

So overall it’s in great shape, in fact it’s held up better than my Apple gear has over the last couple of years.

I love this device and hoping Nintendo are bringing us a Mark II with a glass screen and some more performance to allow for more high end ports, such as Star Wars Battlefront II and maybe bigger joy con options but I’ll keep these thoughts for another day.

I was waiting for this day, yes the dreaded keyboard failures on the new flatter Apple laptop keyboards has finally hit my 2016 12” MacBook and I’m really glad I still have Apple Care+.

The key I’m having issue with is TAB, when I went to use it today it was stuck down and flat to the laptop. After a bit of tapping it came back to life but doesn’t feel like the rest of the keys.

Looks like I’ll be contacting Apple Care tomorrow to get this one sorted out.

I’ve been using Apple News on and off for a while but in the last month or so it’s gotten bad for me. Check out what’s happening with mine.

Here’s my channel list on iPad

Here’s my channel view on iPhone

As you can see they aren’t in sync, which coincidentally only started happening when I looked at how News looked on macOS, which had a completely different list of channels.

This one bug alone makes it unusable for me.

Another issue I have is that in the Today tab I’m getting stories from 2 or 3 days ago and nothing from today.

This both means that I’m not using Apple News anymore.

Anyone else?

We’ve had our iPad Mini 2 for a while as you can see and here in 2019 it’s still in daily use but it’s starting to show it’s age with iOS 12. I’ve been very tempted to upgrade our family one but it’s serving it’s purpose and for viewing video and kids games it’s still fine. Where it shows it’s age though is switching apps and swift playgrounds. If you’re thinking of getting an iPad Mini in 2019 I’d avoid anything other than the 4 and 5 iterations. The original iPad Mini, 2nd and 3rd generations should be avoided in my opinion even though you can pick them up relatively cheaply now.

I’ve been following the reviews on the new iPad Air particularly as someone that uses the 10.5” iPad Pro and wanted to put down my thoughts on which one might be best.

First off the screen size and accessory support is exactly the same. That means you can use the same smart Keyboard Cover and first generation Apple Pencil.

For me there are only two important points to help you make your decision.

The speakers are different between the two models. The 10.5” has the same 4 speaker technology that came with the previous 12.9” iPad Pro and it sounds really great. If listening to music or watching movies on device is important to you then get a 10.5” iPad Pro.

Now let’s look at performance. The 10.5” has the A10X, which in my experience still keeps up with anything I’ve thrown at it. That’s editing podcasts, video and my blogging. I don’t notice any slow down and it’ll be good for at least the next 5 iOS versions. The Air has the A12 Bionic that’s in the iPhone XS series. This isn’t the same as the A12X in the more expensive Pro series. It’s a fast chip and it’ll be good for years to come. If you’re going to use your iPad for a lot of music production or video production you might want to consider the iPad Air (that’s if you can’t stretch to the Pro).

For most people the Air will be the default iPad to get but if you can pick up a refurbished iPad Pro 10.5” don’t write it off, it might serve you better and save you some cash.

I’ve been talking a lot about new iPads over the last few months and thought it was about time to share my setup as of April 2019.

Which iPad?

I’ve dabbled with getting a Mini and new Pro but ended up back where I’ve been happy with my setup - the 10.5” iPad Pro from last year. Mines a 256GB in space grey and although I’m on my third with warranty issues I’m still completely satisfied. I’m really starting to be more conscious of my impact on the environment and buying tech I don’t need isn’t a good thing. Also keeping what I have is the best I can do, more on this at a later point.

Accessories

My iPad tends to have the Smart Keyboard permanently attached and my original Apple Pencil is still going, which is also attached via the pen clip I’ve added.

In daily use

It’s still my main ‘computer’ and I’m either writing posts like this, consuming video or doodling notes or sketching.

Moving forward

I’m keeping my 10.5” going forward, based on my experience with faceID on the XS I think I’ll get frustrated with a new Pro. With the Mini I’m very tempted but can’t justify getting another iPad just for 30% of the time so I’ll park that one too for now.

I went back to a 7 Plus for a day in a bid to remove pain points from using an iPhone XS daily but in the end went back to the XS, here’s why.

• To my surprise I missed True Tone
• The camera on the XS is so much better indoors that the 7 Plus
• The wider frame upset my RSI

So I’m back to my XS hoping Apple can fix the dialling in my pocket issue and that Apple are looking to improve faceID.

After recently making the switch over to the notes app Bear I needed to see how good my options were for exporting over to my blog. Well in a nutshell, there aren’t options for posting directly to your Wordpress blog I.e. there is no integration.

The only option (from iOS) is to use the share sheet and pick Wordpress, this is the same as I would do if I were using say Apple Notes.

This definitely has me rethinking my choice of moving to Bear and will start to look at alternatives such as Ulysses and Drafts.

Argh, my iPhone XS has been dialling my wife from my pocket multiple times a day and after doing it again today I needed to figure out why. Doing a quick dig around and looking at the lock screen I came to the conclusion it’s happening from my lock screen.

Somehow my emergency contact was being dialled, not sure if my phone was unlocking before going into my pocket or a key combo or what but I’ve had enough.

Here’s what I’ve disabled on my iPhone

• Tap to wake (from accessibility)
• Auto Call (from emergency SOS)

Not ideal turning off tap to wake but removing my emergency contact From my iPhone isn’t an option.

I’ve also decided to go back to an iPhone 7 Plus to test this more. (More on this in another post).

I’m trying out Todoist again and when messing around I discovered vacation mode.

I don’t know how new this feature is but it’s potentially very useful. Being away from work allowed me to do a bit of a brain dump but I didn’t want to be reminded of chores when away. This vacation mode puts everything on hold until you’re ready to get back to it.

Somethings clicked for me with the notes app Bear. I’ve used it before but since trying Drafts and trying to get my head around workspaces I went back to try Bear and it suddenly makes sense for me. With its iCloud sync and support for the Apple Pencil and Attachments it fits my need for a better looking Notes app than Apple Notes.

The main reason I’m using it is tags - it’s really pretty simple. Every time you create a note add a tag to help organise.

Here’s my setup (so far), you can see that I have already started to organise my notes by tags and when I tap on any of them all I see is the notes with that tag. This is something I struggled with when using Drafts and gave up trying to get my head around with how workspaces worked.

The main tag I’m using is ‘blog’, anytime I get an idea (like this one) I start a new note with my heading of what I want to write about and add the tag ‘blog’. When I’m in the mood to do something for the blog I can simply tap the ‘blog’ tag and see everything I’ve started on.

Just like in this image.

Another tag I’m finding useful is ‘reading’ where I’m importing entire articles from the web to keep and read later then delete of have as reference. This is done via shortcuts, I’ll write up a post on this in the coming weeks.

Are you using Bear? How is your setup?

If you’ll remember last week I wrote down how to move from DayOne into Apple Notes, well I’m back with DayOne. I have to say it’s nice too, Apple Notes just wasn’t built to hold massive notes full of images and text. I’m talking 800MB single notes here, the performance just isn’t workable.

If the large Journal note is the last thing open I found Notes would either crash out or hang on reload. If I left it long enough it would load but it’s just not a workable solution unfortunately. Basically if I did load I needed to move away from it as soon as possible so I could actually use the app.

Viewing images wasn’t ideal if you wanted to check on events and even though I thought Photos could give me this it also fell a bit short.

Anyone else tried and succeeded?

If you’re after an iPad Mini then good news, they are now showing up for in store pickup. I’ve been watching this all week but everyday they haven’t been in stock has been another day I can have a rethink. After being keen to get one straight away I’m holding off now. I’ll pop in and have a play with one in a few weeks maybe but for now I’m good with my 10.5”. Between using my iPhone XS and the 10.5” I suddenly realised although I love the form factor it’s a bit excessive at the moment for me financially at the moment to spend on something that sits between my phone and iPad.

I’ve been slowly growing tired of trying third party apps on iOS. I’m not sure if it’s me getting older or trying to consolidate my data in one place but an area I needed to look at was journaling. This is something that I’ve been using DayOne for but not being a premium member It’s becoming a pain as I need to manually remember to backup and manage my entries.

That got me thinking about using Apple Notes as a journal. I use it for everything else so why not? The first thing I needed to do was to figure out my folder structure. I had plans for an elaborate setup but in the end kept it simple. I created a folder in Notes simply called Journal. Then within this folder I created a note called Journal 2019. I also pinned it and then added the notes widget to my today screen so that I can quickly get at it. Every day I create a new entry with the date and just jot down my thoughts along with any images I want to add to the day. It’s pretty simple but will always be in the order of latest first. I can also add as many images as I want, something I can’t do in DayOne without paying and giving them my data. There were two areas I wanted to address. The first was searching, well after testing I’m happy with what Notes gives me. Secondly images, I can add but if I want to look back I need to see all of the text too. DayOne is great for showing just images but I’ve decided I can just use the photos app for this. That’s how I’ve initially setup but now I am looking at shortcuts to let me quickly jot down my thoughts rather than fire up Notes every time. I’m happy I don’t have to remember to manually export and backup but now I need to figure out how to get my DayOne into Notes.

watchOS 5.2 came out last night and if you’re in the UK it’s now on…watchOS 5.2 came out last night and if you’re in the UK it’s now on par with the health features of the software released back in October in the US. It’ll be interesting to see if sales improve here because I imagine maybe some people were waiting for the new functionality to be released before making a purchase.

For a just over 400MB update I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it updated. Maybe took 10 mins, now sure what Apple did but I hope they are all that quick going forward.

Looks like my shortcut to share to Wordpress from Apple Notes went down well, thanks to everyone that shared.

I’ve got a list that I want to work on so watch this space.

It’s been a strange week with the iPad Mini release date seemingly moving day by day. It’s extra strange that Apple haven’t announced it officially as far as I can tell. Amazon have now moved their release to 29th March from 28th earlier today. I’m still on the fence about getting one but am keen to check out drawing on one to see if it really can become a field notes book for me.

Made a few changes to my workflow so wanted to share a revised home screen.

• GoodTask: giving it another go as I'm determined to only use iCloud for my data and the Reminders app isn't fit for purpose and pretty neglected at this point
• Apple Notes: now in my dock as I'm using it for journaling and writing
• That News icon!! Sigh.

Believe it or not this post was written in Apple Notes and posted to me blog via the share sheet. It’s pretty simple to do and I’ll be writing up a how to, this is my ‘hello world’ moment for Apple Notes and Wordpress publishing.

About 50% of the time I take a walk I get this in my activity app.

Anyone else?

This is a nice change I’ve just found. If you go to the settings app, then general, then about you’ll now see Apple Care + coverage.

Yesterday’s Apple keynote was certainly different and to be honest a little disappointing in places. I’m not breaking down everything but here are some of my initial thoughts.

News+

This seems like a good deal and if and when it does hit the UK I’ll be giving it a go. I used to subscribe to a few actual magazines, yes they used to come in the mail and I’ll be curious to see how they translate over to digital. I’m a little skeptical that publishers will put effort into Apple News long term but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see on this one.

Credit Card

Here’s where I start having problems with Apple. A credit card is useful and the benefits and rate that Apple are offering look good but it was the keynote presentation that felt wrong. Cheering and applause for a credit card seems wrong at an Apple event to me. This is especially bad for me when on the other hand they say they are very conscious of their environmental impact but are now encouraging us to buy more stuff. I’m not sure how to feel about this new Apple just yet.

Arcade

Based on the games shown and my general interest in games on iOS this isn’t very compelling to me. I think it’s a good idea but for me gaming is on consoles not iOS.

Apple TV+

This was pretty painful to watch and the point I dipped in and out whilst doing other things. I feel this should have been a trailer for each show not a presentation by each star. There was a highlight reel but didn’t give me much of anything. Not compelling me to subscribe based on what I saw. Don’t think Netflix are going to be too worried. Let’s see what happens over the next year on this and unless I missed it I didn’t see any pricing or dates.

What got missed?

I’d have liked to have seen a focus on service packages like an increase in iCloud storage and Apple Care+ as a package for one monthly fee.

All I can say to summarise it is I’m glad it’s over and roll on WWDC.

Feeling inspired by playing my favourite guitar today I realised that I could record my ideas onto my iPhone using Ferrite over the voice memos app. It’s great to be able to record ideas quickly and organise them, something this app does better than anything I’ve tried.

Nothing fancy just into my Boss Katana Mini then into the on board MIC on my iPhone.

Don’t think of Ferrite just for podcasting give it a go if you play an instrument.

I’m trying to get better at being more productive and keeping an eye on what’s happening over the coming week. I tend to focus on the current day and not look ahead and plan for things happening over the week. Staying in the moment is great but sometimes I feel more relaxed or prepared for the week if I know what I’m up against.

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying out an app called Eventail.

When I say app I actually mean a supercharged Today widget.

It’s completely configurable and for me I use it to display just my Calendar events for the next 5 days. It doesn’t give me times but just an order of what’s happening each day.

I can also tap on any of the days to give me a view of the day in detail if I’d like.

What’s even better is nothing leaves your device so privacy isn’t an issue.

There are also options for showing Reminders but I’m yet to dig into this one at the moment.

If you’re using iCloud for your Calendar then I’d definitely recommend giving Eventail a look.

I’m genuinely interested, at the moment my use has switched a bit to Reddit but I’m tending to move back to Apple News just now.

My main reason for asking is that this blog isn’t currently available and I’ll need to make an investment in my wordpress plan to enable it.

So, my question is - would you like me to add the blog to Apple News?

As you know I’m excited for the launch of the new iPad Mini but now it’s time to decide which one to get.

Storage?

This is 64GB or 256GB, which is a large jump and if your budget allows go 256GB. Between storing movies and games it’ll fill up quickly. For me I want to use it as a field notes book and also photography. I’m going 256GB so that I don’t have to worry about running out of space.

WiFi or Cellular?

I’d love to go cellular this time but can’t justify the cost increase so I’ll just tether to my iPhone. If you tether then I’d save over £100 and get the WiFi model.

Colour?

The other one we have in the house is space grey so I’ll go white this time. I find a white front better if you do a lot of doodling and note taking. The black borders on the space grey make me feel boxed in. If you find the white borders distracting then go space grey otherwise get gold or silver.

Apple have released new bands today along with the AirPods. I’m liking the new colours. Here’s some but there have been refreshes across the entire line.

The more I’ve thought about the potential use cases for a new Mini the more I’m getting excited to have one. One area I’ve always enjoyed on iOS is photography. Be it browsing and editing images through to importing from your camera.

The 10.5” Pro has been my day to day iPad and goes in my camera bag with me about half the time but with a new Mini my camera bag is going to get a bit more space available to me.

The thought of being able to 100% take my iPad with me is going to be great, especially at events and holidays as I can throw my images onto the iPad on the go.

This is great for backup and just getting into my iCloud library as soon as I can.

I’ll report back when I get one.

Cancelled my online order in favour of going into the store. I did some digging and although Apple don’t seem to state when its in store John Lewis are showing 26th March.

I’ve been using CarPlay since I got my new Golf last year and it’s been solid until the latest version of iOS, 12.1.4.

What I’m finding is that I’ll be using it and it’ll suddenly disconnect my iPhone and go back to the ‘connect iPhone to use CarPlay’ message on the VW in car screen.

I’ve gotten used to a ‘no audio’ message that requires a restart but this is stopping me using it. To fix it I need to reconnect the cable.

Anyone else experiencing this?

(For reference this is me using it on a 2017 VW Golf GTE).

Along with a new Air, Apple introduced a new iPad Mini yesterday. The most surprising thing for me though is I’m more excited for this new Mini than I was for the new iPad Pro introduced last year.

A notebook

As you know I use my iPad in work and play and take it with me for client visits. Having a smaller iPad with pencil support is enough to make this an instant buy for me. The 10.5” isn’t exactly massive but being able to have a field note iPad is going to make taking notes on the go a lot easier. When you’re karting around a heavy Dell laptop on top of its power supply every ounce helps.

Replacing our 2013

We’ve had a second gen iPad Mini since 2013 and it’s become very slow. My daughter has started to use swift playgrounds and it’s almost unusable on it. I’m pretty pleased that it’s still going after 6 years but it’s definitely showing it’s age.

Comics

I’m a big Marvel Unlimited fan and have a more portable comic book reader is going to be ace.

So I have my justification for a new Mini, it also means I don’t have to pick up a new pencil given my 10.5” one will work.

I can’t wait to get one to review.

Apple surprised us all with a couple of new iPads yesterday, an Air and Mini. As far as I can tell my beloved iPad Pro 10.5” has morphed into the new iPad Air. This makes some sense given we have new 11” and 12.9” Pro’s and keyboard and pencil support is now available on the Air.

It’s a good buy and should be the default iPad that most people buy in my opinion.

Here’s the full detail.

I’m feeling like I have a bit more headspace now I’m less active on social media and to my surprise it’s allowed me to focus on trying one productivity app at a time. This might sound strange but when I was on Twitter daily I’d look at others and their apps and get FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). This would inevitably lead me to trying other apps.

Well since last week I committed to using iCloud (for privacy reasons mainly) and when I saw Reminders wasn’t up to scratch I started using GoodTask. I think my problem in the past was I didn’t stick with one app long enough but now I’m not seeing others feeds I’m not tempted to switch apps.

I’m keeping it simple so far and still in the process of moving everything in from OmniFocus. As you can see I’ve split up by Reminders lists so far, I’ll be sharing more as I go but this is stage 1.

I’ll share more on creating smart lists at a later point once I get my head around them.

Are you using GoodTask? Any tips?

Now I’m taking my break from Twitter I’ve taken the apps off my iPhone and simplified a little.

The main new workflow is using GoodTask for my productivity. I’ve settled on iCloud and using the Reminders backend with a better front end makes the most sense for me at the moment.

I’ll report back on if GoodTask sticks and any new apps I’m testing next month.

I just noticed that I passed the three year anniversary of a bug I raised when trying to use Reminders on macOS. There been no update since and it’s marked as duplicate, like a lot of them do 😀

Mine actually stops me being able to use Reminders on macOS.

It’s a great one too. When I create a new list it doesn’t apply the name to the right hand window as you can see above.

I really hope Apple is throwing Reminders away and starting again on iOS 13. As someone that tried (I’ve moved on now) to use Reminders to get things done it’s pretty embarrassing how bad the app is.

I’ll be posting iOS 13 wish list stuff soon but expect Reminders to feature.

Listening to a podcast yesterday and then reading this article I feel Apple need to get ahead of this one. If they are sharing data to Foursquare everyone I use Apple Maps I want to know why.

I don’t see any of this on their privacy page.

I’m trying different apps that stick to iCloud and have installed both Memento and GoodTask.

Well I was planning to try out Memento this week but after reading their privacy statement I started to have second thoughts.

On looking at their faq I saw this

Expired certificates don’t fill me with confidence.

I’ll skip Memento and head over to GoodTask and Fantastical.

I’ve mostly stopped listening to podcasts but still using audiobooks to help me on my walks or in the car. I get all of mine via the Apple Books app.

Here’s how I’m doing it.

I upgraded my Wordpress site to a premium site today and saw the options of adding some monetisation options as a test. Well, as soon as I saw my site in DuckDuckGo I removed them.

As you can see I went from 1 to 16 just by adding word ads to my site. Now I'm back to my 1 (just for sharing posts to Twitter).

It's hard to make any money from your site, I'm back to no ads and looking to just get on and create good content.

As you know I’ve been happy with my 10.5” but after getting frustrated with my MacBook again and trying the 12.9” for a bit in store I’m tempted. I’ve added up the prices and accessories and my eyes are watering so looking at used deals now.

I’ve worked out if I sell my MacBook I’ll get about ½ the cost of a 12.9”, I’ve also seen companies like MusicMagpie getting in used 2018 models now, in fact I almost picked up a 11” but held back after going back to my though of keeping the 10.5” and joining the multi-iPad lifestyle.

Watch this space, I’ll let you know if I see any good used deals along the way.

I’ve been using the journaling app DayOne since 2011 and it’s one of the only apps from that time I’m still using. As you most probably know I change my mind like the weather but this app has stuck with me.

First off I should explain that I don’t use their sync service. Journaling is very personal and it’s not I don’t trust DayOne but the less data I have out there the less there is to potentially lose. I used the import from DayOne classic function to move my data into the new app. I then backup manually by exporting to JSON and saving into an iCloud folder. I’ll do a post on this method soon.

I use DayOne in one of two ways.

Firstly I’ve found that I add images to remember day trips out, things I want to remember like first time as a family we went on holiday along with an image for each day and what we did. This has become my main use, a photo log of our life.

Secondly I’ve started more recently to try and look on the bright side of life and write down three positive things that happen each day.

Over the last 6 months this is where I’ve come to realise that I use this app for only these two purposes.

It’s become a habit for me and something that I (almost) daily make sure I do.

Do you journal or use DayOne?

After going back to my MacBook for a bit it’s become painfully obvious to me that iOS is severely lacking in the keyboard control department.

I’d gotten used to using my keyboard again for navigation and coming back to iOS I’m struck with how little is supported. It’s also important for those of us encountering RSI issues with iOS and want to keep our hands on the keyboard rather than constantly reaching up.

I’m not talking third party apps, which on the whole make an effort but Apple apps.

My main wish list app is Photos, there is no keyboard support that I can see. I’d expect navigation through the photo library but nope nothing.

Reminders and Calendar the same.

Mail is serviceable but basic, same for Notes.

I’ve raised radars with Apple on all of these but not expecting any responses but it’s all I can do to flag it up with them. I’m sure they are perfectly aware of this but it’ll be down their list on the product roadmap favouring adding more services over software quality.

Now I’m starting to think more about iOS 13 this has moved right up my list above a home screen redesign. If Apple want switchers from macOS to take it seriously it needs to embrace the keyboard.

I’ve had so many little UI niggles lately I though I’d finally use my developer account and jump into the beta on my iPad and iPhone.

So far I’ve only really noticed a couple of things.

News got an Apple logo instead of the company name, it also got a new app icon.

I’m not sure what to think about this one, it doesn’t really say News to me. I don’t think I like it.

Secondly even though it’ll be logging more information at an OS level it seems snappier than the public release. Where I notice it most is in app switching.

Here’s a post on all the changes, my one is about things I’ve personally found when using it.

I picked up the series 4 Apple Watch at the end of September 2018 and now at a few weeks before 6 months with it I wanted to share my longer term testing thoughts.

I picked up the silver aluminium model, 44mm. I was going to treat myself with a stainless steel version but couldn’t justify spending almost double the price. It’s frustrating that Apple force cellular on the stainless now adding to the overall price. To change things up though I went for silver rather than my traditional space grey.

Durability

One thing to bear in mind here is that I’m on my second one due to warranty replacement. The issues I had was around heart rate tracking on a workout, it just couldn’t keep it locked. My new one is probably 3 months so not going to be a full view of the durability over the whole time period. Mine has held up well, shows no signs of wear on the body and the screen is scratch free. With the addition of a ceramic back it is also scratch free. I’ve had the original watch and series 2 and they both showed scratches on the back and the screen. In theory the screen is the same glass but in my experience it has held up better.

New screen size

The immediate thing you notice when trying on your new series 4. If you’re coming from a 42mm I didn’t notice any difference to the way it felt on my wrist but I did notice the increase in screen size in use. You quickly get used to it however and it’s not large enough to force an upgrade from a 42mm series 2 or 3 in my opinion. The new watch faces are ok but I haven’t really settled on them. It also makes the older ones worse, the rounded complications on the bottom don’t sit well with me and I end up having less data than on my series 2. I’m hoping we get a better range of options soon.

Speed

Wow, it’s a fast watch. Massive upgrade from my series 2, which felt laggy almost every time I used it. Having skipped series 3 it was the main reason I upgraded. There’s no lag in anything I’m doing even after 6 months of watchOS. I’m not seeing any need to upgrade this year based on the performance of the processor in the series 4.

Bands

The only new band I have is the white one that came with it. The good news though all of my old 42mm still work so it’s not been an expensive six months for me in terms of picking new ones up.

Is it worth upgrading?

From an original or series 2, yes. From a series 3 then no. I wouldn’t upgrade for the slightly bigger screen but I would for the performance gain, that’s if like me you use your watch every day.

If you are considering an upgrade or even a new purchase then get into a store and try both sizes. I went 44mm so that older bands wouldn’t go to waste and I think the size looks fine on me but with the old 38mm becoming 40mm maybe that would suit you best.

You might also want to shop around a bit as there may now be deals given we are around 6 months from an update and series 5 potentially. (And don’t forget you can trade in your old one directly with Apple).

This one image sums up my ongoing issues with location services and the iPad. I have no idea what’s going on but I’ve restored multiple times and weather apps always seem to struggle on iOS and my iPad, especially when using the widget.

Here’s another example where Dark Sky sees where I am but gets the weather measure wrong between the app and widget. It should be 8 not 47.

Here’s an example of what most weather widgets show me.

I literally have no idea what’s going on, all my settings look fine.

Anyone else? I’m going to move onto the beta and give it a test before raising a radar with Apple.

Our Sony soundbar has been playing up for a while but I decided we needed to replace it when the speakers started to stop working well at low levels. The infrared had already broken so it was time.

I looked around and without spending £600 Plus I just couldn’t find something that I liked. It hit me whilst looking, why don’t I just use the HomePod from our kitchen. One prerequisite here is the Apple TV mind you. We have been using one for years so was ok in that department.

Setting up

So the way this works is via AirPlay. Put your HomePod to where it’s going to live under your TV then head into settings on the Apple TV. You need to look for audio settings and select the source to be the name of your HomePod. Also deselect the HDMI, which seems to be the default.

What's it sound like with one HomePod?

I put the HomePod near the centre of the TV. On listening to Star Wars, New Hope I was immediately impressed with how clear the voices and effect music was. I heard sounds in scenes I’d never heard before and I’d been watching Star Wars since the 80’s. Where it fell down for me was in scenes with a lot of music. Star Wars has a great score and the orchestra plus voice and effects was a little too much. I found the score to be put to the back and drowned out a little.

What about two HomePods?

This is were it was a game changer for me. I grabbed my HomePod from the office and put them in a left and right configuration. The first thing you need to do before using is create a stereo pair. You can do this by using the Home app and tapping create stereo pair. Once you’ve created a stereo pair that’s it.

I fired up the same scene from New Hope (escape from the Death Star in the Falcon) and wow, what a difference. A few things stood out. First the speech was clear but I could now hear the music clearly too. Second the width of the stereo effect was unlike anything I got out of my soundbar. Wide and even background sounds were audible. In this scene I could still hear the tie fighters flying around the Falcon whilst the scene was set inside on Han or Luke. Lastly the bass, two homepods make for a massive increase in bass even over the subwoofer in the soundbar. I moved forward to the final battle against the Death Star and I realised I could now hear the engines of the X-Wings whilst inside with the pilots, it’s going to be great rewatching the entire series before Episode 9 comes out.

Would you buy a HomePod over a traditional soundbar?

This is an interesting one. The issue with using a HomePod is that you can only stream to it if it supports AirPlay. So as an example I can’t listen to my PlayStation 4 on the HomePod. This means that the solution isn’t entirely fulfilling my needs at home unfortunately but I’m definitely using it to enjoy movies for now until I see the need to replace to cover my gaming. I’ve started to use my PlayStation with headphones anyway so I’m going to try to stick with this setup and see how it goes. If you have one or two already then I’d say set them up with your Apple TV ASAP. If you are in the market but don’t have one I’d say stick to the traditional route and get a soundbar. This gives you the most flexibility.

Please Apple can you make a soundbar with the HomePod tech in it pretty please.

Update

After using it again now the power has been off all night I’ve realised something really basic that’s not happening. Whenever you restart the Apple TV forgets the output and defaults to HDMI. This is going to get annoying real fast, I’ll raise a radar.

I’m getting more and more into spending time editing and using RAW on my iPhone rather than just stick with the stock camera app. It’s a great app but I want to push my iPhone and see what it can do. Here’s my current list of camera apps on my iPhone XS. I’m planning on testing Spectre and writing up a little review, Halide I’m already appreciating and Darkroom is the best editing app I’ve used. I’m aiming to leave my DSLR at home a little more and using the RAW and zoom capabilities of my iPhone more over the coming months.

I’ve been an on and off user of Todoist for years but the latest update might make me stick around. The main thing I’ve always liked about the app was it’s straightforward UI and flexibility. I can do a fee form ‘today’ or have specific time reminders. That’s the best of both worlds for me.

The latest update introduces a few things that really improve its use (for me).

First up is a checkbox next to each item. Sounds simple but improves both the use and look of the app. If you want to go back to swipe to complete you can (it’s in the general settings) but this is now the default behaviour.

Next up (I think I’m right on this one) there’s a little more space around elements. Hitting the create task icon seems like there’s a bit more room in this latest update.

Lastly the text seems a little larger or bolder to my eyes, a nice visual improvement.

I’m only just getting into the latest update but as you can tell I’m happy with the little tweaks and I’ll be giving it another go.

Personally I really like the addition of checkboxes in the latest Todoist update but not everyone does so the good news is whilst you can’t remove them you can go back to swiping to complete.

When I started working on an iPad full time I was sold on the flexibility of the device but as time has gone on I’ve started to find issues with RSI. When I’m doing something heavy like updating my productivity app, editing images and editing a podcast I found I ran into shoulder issues. The constant need to keep moving my arm up to do actions have become an issue. It’s got me rethinking my entire setup, well for a bit anyway. For consumption the iPad was much better than my laptop but using it full time has had me struggling a little.

I’ve decided to make a change and switch back to using my MacBook for a few months for some of the heavy lifting to see if it helps. I’ve also noticed that using the iPad without the Smart Keyboard cover and just the glass on my lap helped so I’ll be adjusting my use a little to start using that method of input or the Apple Pencil.

Along with some shoulder exercises and general getting out for daily walks I’m hoping to move forward positively and address this.

So I’m back to the MacBook probably 70% of the time for a bit and I’ll report back on how it’s going.

Anyone else run into these issues?

Now I’ve posted iOS Only going through my iPhone setup I wanted a quick share of my iPad Pro 10.5” home screen.

I’ve kept it pretty minimal with my most used apps at the bottom and then a clean desktop. I’ve talked about most of the these apps on the podcast but a few differences. I have the Apple Files app in the dock as my iPad is more of a production device so wanted quick access. My other app that I used a lot on my iPad is Marvel Unlimited. I pay for a monthly subscription and frequently read rather than go on social media.

I’d recommend clearing your home screen down to this and give it a go, you might find it annoying or less distracting…

I haven’t watched all of Samsung’s latest event but I did see the new Galaxy Fold, what a name… anyway a foldable $2000 smartphone is something I wanted to comment on.

My first impression when seeing it on the livestream was, wow that’s just two phones stuck together. It’s kind of cool to see something folding out to a bigger screen but this isn’t the implementation that makes sense to me. I’m sure on video I could see a folder or crease at the middle point that would just be distracting. I believe that sliding additional screen from the side is the way we’ll see this implementation. Think of a scroll that you roll out, not unlike the LG foldable TV that was announced earlier in the year at CES.

I’ve got to give it to Samsung for trying here and getting something out but it looks like a terrible implementation to my eyes.

Now with that price I have to think it’ll sell in the hundreds rather than millions here. Looking at the global smartphone slowdown this isn’t the answer, it’s high end luxury and the sales will show it. It’s a party piece to show off not something to use as a daily driver. However it’s good to get it out there and get some in the wild to see how it takes off and get some real world testing completed.

I’m not entirely sold that foldable is the future but whatever it is, this isn’t the end implementation. It’s a baby step, a stepping off point something that gets the technology into the hands of users that are willing to give it a go. For me it still looks like two phones stuck together, I’ll be waiting a while for the ‘scroll phone’.

I’ve had a love hate relationship with cases for years and always end up using the iPhone naked but I might have found my perfect case (not quite, see my update at the end of this post). I’ve been aware of thin cases for a while and used the cheaper ones on Amazon on and off but always felt they lacked quality control or were slippery. I’ve also been aware of Totallee but they weren’t easily available in the UK. Well now they are on Amazon UK and I picked one up straight away.

I’d always loved my iPhone 5C and have been after something that gave me that look and feel. This case gets me 80% of the way there. It’s thin, adds hardly any bulk and apart from the metal buttons looks like it’s part of the iPhone. It feels in hand just like my 5C did, that’s if you go for the jet white or black finish.

All ports and switches are easily accessed and I haven’t experienced any issues with wireless charging.

I’m not brave enough to drop test my iPhone XS but looking at the protection prospects it should be ok from low level drops and will definitely protect it from scratches.

I love the feel of the iPhone without a case but it’s so slippery with the glass back. Sometimes it’ll even come off the wireless charger overnight or fall of a sofa. This adds a nice texture for both holding and keeping it put where you leave it.

UPDATE (15th Jan 2019)

It’s broken so I’ve done an Amazon return, another thin case problem as with the cheaper cases out there. Can’t recommend unless you NEVER take the case off.

UPDATE (4th Feb 2019)

I used the Totallee 2 year warranty to make a claim and got a new one posted out to me, great customer service.

Amazon link.

Yes and no 😀

Here’s my saddle brown before the washing machine. I’d already sanded off the the wax finish and added some oil to speed up the patina process. I thought it looked great and certainly improved the grip of the case.

Here’s my case after a run through the washing machine (along with all my watch bands and silicone case).

I think it looks great (looks better than the photos in person) and the wash seems to have taken off the oils that I put in there via my hands and oil I’d purposely put on it it.

I dried it off with a hairdryer and it went back to the light colour. Also note that wash has improved the feel of the case and made it really grippy.

Im glad I did it, remember your results may vary and don’t go in expecting perfect results.

Believe it or not this isn’t as straightforward as you might think if you aren’t looking beyond the end of your nose.

To turn off shuffle make sure you have the current track playing full screen as per the image on the left (see above).

Swipe down a bit and there is the shuffle button. Tap to disable shuffle.

Wow, this amazing shortcut developed over at MacStories is phenomenal. If you want to see your most listened to artists, songs and genres in a calendar year get it now.

Just a few images of the unboxing experience until I can spend a few weeks reviewing.

New year so thought I’d test some new apps and share my first home screen of 2019.

Things 3 and NightCap are two new apps that I’m testing and seeing if they fit into my workflow.

Things 3 was meant to be a test of the dark mode but it looks so good it might become part of my daily routine.

NightCap is a photography app that I’m hoping allows me to get better low light images and astronomy photos.

Oh, also trying to use Micro.blog more so for their app for quick posts to here.

I thought I know I’ll finally get around to testing Things 3 dark mode - now I’m rethinking my productivity workflow!

It’s just such a pretty looking app. Maybe not as efficient for quickly entering and marking repeating reminders but it’s one of the best looking apps out there.

I’m going to do a little experiment and use it alongside my main to do app (OmniFocus) and see where it takes me.

This is pretty exciting stuff from Apple. The AirPlay page at Apple has had an update and it now states that AirPlay 2 is going to be a standard that TV’s can come with. I’m assuming this will need new hardware so I might be out of luck with my 2017 LG but fingers crossed it’ll be software enabled.

AirPlay 2 has already hit speakers I think but the TV portion is new.

Apple is really starting to go all in on services.

Wow, I’m in shock over this announcement by Samsung. So iTunes, movies, TV shows and AirPlay 2 all coming to Samsung TV’s this year. Never thought I’d see the day but looks like Apple are going all in with services. It’s great to see and looks like their own content will be available across a lot of different devices.

I really wanted to stay off the iPad bend-gate train but after this post from Apple I had to add my comment.

So first off wow, Apple have added their own support page for bending of the new iPad Pro. Something I don’t think I’ve seen since the days of the iPhone 4 losing signal if you held it wrong. This is on par with Tim Cook recently explaining that people getting cheaper battery replacements has meant that fewer people bought new iPhones this year. Good info but not necessary.

Secondly it shows us that only the iPad Pro with cellular are affected. Again good info but why call it out. They could have silently been replacing in store within 14 day return policy rather than call it out.

I’m all for transparency but it seems Apple are doing a less than ideal PR job right now.

BTW I appreciate this is a little negative but I really am trying to put more positivity out there this year just had to get it it off my chest.

Over the last year I’ve come to the realisation that I don’t actually like going to the Apple store. I used to go weekly as it was close to work and found browsing for 10 mins to be a pleasant experience but stood in line for an already late running genius appointment I had an epiphany, I dislike getting service at an Apple store these days. It took me a while to realise it but in the last few years it’s become somewhere I dread going.

Today at Apple

At my local store there isn’t a great deal of space and in the last few months what space there was to wait for an appointment has been taken up with today at Apple spaces. I’m not knocking Apple for running courses, it’s great but not all stores have the space for it. I found I was just loitering next to the guy doing the course, not ideal for either of us.

Online and in store are two different businesses

Maybe not technically but it certainly feels like it. Over the last few years I’ve been sent to the Apple Store by online only to be turned away. Most recently I had a problem with my leather loop band and was told online to go to the store to swap it out. On turning up I was told there were no appointments and online shouldn’t have sent me to the store. If online tell you to go in store make sure you don’t or take a record of the conversation. In my experience if it’s online then stay online don’t try to get service in store.

Appointment availability

This is slowly getting worse in my area, if online try to book for you or you do it yourself then it can sometimes be two weeks before you can get something. It’s worth noting if you go early without an appointment you should be ok getting same day if it’s emergency like a smashed screen.

Running tests

Regardless of any tests run online the genius will need to run them again. If you’re even thinking about going in store just go don’t attempt to resolve online first.

Forget it if you have an Apple Watch issue

The stores can’t do much when it comes to the Apple Watch, it’s better to deal with this via online.

My advice - stick to online

After this realisation I decided that I’ll only deal with Apple support online and avoid their stores as much as humanly possible.

I’ve had a few issues with my iPad and series 4 Apple Watch and dealing with online is much easier. Often it follows this process

• Chat online with their staff
• A box is sent next day via courier
• Pack up your device and take it to the courier the same day
• It'll go to Apple that same day, be looked at next day and typically you get it the day after that. So about a 3 day turn around, which I think is great

The only exception that would get me to a store is a broken screen.

What are your experiences of using an Apple Store at the moment?

Every year I ask myself about the state of blogging. In this age of social media it’s often forgotten about that people still have them. Personally I’d rather put my content (that I value) somewhere that’s mine and share from social rather than build up content on someone else’s platform. Throw away comments are fine on Twitter but a post like this one will always be put on my blog.

I don’t think blogging is anywhere near dead and will come back around once the social media frustrations are drawn out. I’m already seeing a decline in people using social media, especially FB and before I deleted my account saw hardly anything from friends.

My focus for 2019 might shift a little towards podcast or video but a blog will always be the backbone of my content, somewhere everything hangs off.

Here’s the second shipping box sent to Apple in 4 weeks for my 10.5” iPad Pro. I love this device and missing it already, I’ll most probably work from iPhone than use my MacBook until I get it back next week.

Last time I had a replacement because of a bright white area developed on the screen. This time when I press the home button the screen gets some light bleed at the edge.

This is why I always buy Apple Care +.

I’ve been bumping up the font on iOS slowly over the last year or so but after switching my Apple Watch to bold text (and preferring the look of it) thought I’d do the same on iOS. I’ve done this on my iPad and iPhone and prefer the look, I’ve also been able to reduce the font size back to normal.

The keyboard is the biggest change that I’ve gotten to terms with but it’s much easier for me to see now with my older eyes.

Apps (well most of them) support this mode, some apps (looking at you Amazon) don’t seem to support bold everywhere.

Anyone else using this?

Turns out a headline like this one would get me better traffic on YouTube than something I wanted to be more positive such as ‘How to set up Apple News’. A goal of mine has been to share more but based on my testing of YouTube their algorithm really does skew towards the negative and extreme. As someone that wants to put out positive helpful content in 2019 it seems that YouTube isn’t a place for me.

Here’s a little test, yes the viewing numbers are small but check out the view comparison. If you want to get any sort of traction (and don’t have a large community already) you’ll need to create negative or divisive content to get any sort of views. When I started a guitar channel back on 2008 it seemed that helpful content was all I needed to put out but that isn’t cutting it in this day and age of fake news.

It’s got me rethinking some 2019 goals of mine.

It might be a pessimistic view but please let me know what you think.

I’ve not long had this replacement iPad from Apple but noticed some light bleed near the home button. This is made worse when the home button is pressed… my Apple curse continues.

I’ll update as I get through the support process.

I don’t normally do roundups on here but this year I thought I’d start a new tradition. As you know I switch apps quite a lot through the course of a year and I’ve tried a lot of different ways to get things done on my iOS devices.

So here we go my first apps of the year round up. Note these aren’t apps that came out in 2018 but my most used ones.

Productivity

OmniFocus

I’ve been a user of OmniFocus on and off for many years but with the latest version that supported tags it’s actually stuck. It may seem complicated from the outside but with OmniFocus you can really make it your own. I’ve gotten into a workflow with it now and don’t see me switching again anytime soon. The functionality that got me was the ability to show a specific tag in the ‘today’ (called Forecast) view. This shows all of the calendar events and any tasks with a due date of today. With the addition of tags I can now show anything I want. So I have a ‘today’ tag that I show in my forecast view. This gives me a less formal way to organise things I want to get done today without adding a due date. The Apple Watch app is also solid and the sync works well between all of my devices.

Apple Notes

This is easily my favourite Apple app, it had a big update a few iOS versions ago and has stuck with me. I use it for recipes, mind maps using Apple Pencil, storing important documents and project planning. It’s sync works great and it’s always with me no matter what device I’m on. I might be in the minority but I actually want an Apple Watch version as I store codes in there and would like quick access, but that’s probably just me.

iA Writer

If you’ve been following me for a while this app choice shouldn’t be a surprise. I’ve used iA since it was launched and it continues to keep being updated and just works for me. I use iCloud to sync my documents and the app is great across all of my devices.

Shortcuts

I have to admit I didn’t get shortcuts right away but now it’s a massive time saver for me. Aside from quickly adding health information being able to create images for the blog is worth the time investment in learning it alone. I’m nowhere near the level of some shortcut devotees but steadily finding ways that it suits me and can improve how I use my devices.

Email and Calendar

Just wanted to mention it as we’re talking productivity, I use the Apple apps for both email and calendar. They both work fine for my needs and although I’ve tried several third party options none of them have stuck.

Creativity

Ferrite

One of my finds of the year, I love this app. It took me a little bit to get my head around it but now I know the workflow I use it for recording iOS Only. It allows me to use only my iOS devices to record and produce a podcast.

LumaFusion

Another standout and allowed me to produce YouTube videos on my iOS devices. I actually prefer this experience to anything I’ve done on macOS, it’s great. I used to do everything on iMovie but LumaFusion has replaced the need to even have it installed.

Wordpress

Since moving my blog from squarespace to Wordpress I haven’t looked back. The iOS app gets constant updates and I feel more in control of my site. I can write posts like this one, check my stats, reply to comments and even change my theme via the iOS app. As an iOS Only user this is especially important as the experience in Safari on iPad isn’t the greatest. My only wish is for a dark mode.

Photography

Halide

This year with the camera improvements in the X and then the XS I’ve tried to replace my DSLR for those smaller family day trips and shots for the blog and social. One of the ways to get the most of out this is to shoot in RAW so I gave Halide a go. Out of the box it was intuitive to use and I’ve found that especially in low light I’ve gotten shots that I wouldn’t have been able to rescue if I’d used the stock camera app. I don’t use it for every shot when I’m out but if I’m doing a landscape or something I’ll want to share I’ll use Halide.

Darkroom

Darkroom has slowly become my go to photo editing app of choice. I find it intuitive to use, has a tonne of options and is tightly integrated with Halide.

Wellbeing

DayOne

I’ve been using DayOne since 2011, it’s become a long standing habit to journal my thoughts and keep a log of photos. I use it without a premium account and still use sync with iCloud via export and import of backups. It’s not I don’t trust DayOne with my data but why pay when my workflow already does the job. I just have to remind myself to do a weekly backup.

Calm

Calm has slowly become my meditation app of choice. I find it intuitive to use and I like the voice of the teacher. I don’t always use it everyday but do my best when I’m feeling particularly anxious. The music addition is nice and I find myself using it whilst I’m working, it seems to help my focus.

Sleep++

I’ve swapped between a few sleep tracking apps but find that Sleep++ is the most reliable.

Consumption

Marvel Unlimited

I got back into reading comic books this year and being more into Marvel I naturally went for the Marvel Unlimited app. I’m paying my monthly subscription and have access to everything I’m after. It’s intuitive to use and the only downside is that you can only store 12 comics for offline viewing.

Apple Music

I’ve been a subscriber to Apple Music from the beginning and I’ve become particularly keen on the for you tab to see what I’ve recently played and what my friends are listening to.

Other apps

Apple Maps

Now I’m using CarPlay I’ve become used to using Apple Maps and to be fair it’s not sent me to the wrong location once. As privacy becomes more important it’s my only option so thankfully it’s been great so far.

DuckDuckGo

I’ve completely switched to the DuckDuckGo app as my browser of choice. It blocks all of the ads and lets me browse as privately as I can.

Apollo

A big change is getting into Reddit, it’s replaced my use of Apple News. I avoid what’s popular and just view my favourites.

Night Sky

Myself and my daughter have really gotten into astronomy this year and I find Night Sky to be a great reference for both information and where in the Sky stuff is, like our daily viewings of the ISS.

Tweetbot

I have to use the official app to check notifications but that’s maybe a few times a day but every other time it’s Tweetbot. I love the themes, lack of ads and a clean (in time order) timeline.

Which apps have you been using this year?

Notes

• This article was completely done on iOS
• Thanks to MacStories for their shortcut to add frames to images

Capsicum has launched today and brings with it an app that reminds me of a paper journal and is a remarkably relaxing way to manage your life.

It combines a to do, calendar, habit tracking and notes into one place and in my experience so far has been a more relaxed place to organise myself than a more traditional to do app.

Check it out, it’s got a free trial so you can’t go wrong to at least give it a go and try something different.

Over the holidays I’m juggling the XS with no case, the Otterbox and the Apple Leather case. After using the Otterbox constantly then going back to no case and back to leather I think the leather one offers me the best grip and size compromises of using a case.

Two things that are downside of the Otterbox, slippery back so it spins around on tables, buttons are stiff and the lower part of the case restricts the up swipe for multitasking.

The leather case offers a smaller footprint, is grippy and no restrictions on the bottom of the case.

I’ve only really just gotten into creating my own watch faces and wanted to share how I’m doing it.

1. Head into photos and pick the image you want to use
2. Tap the share sheet icon
3. Tap create watch face
4. Tap which of the two watch faces you want to use

1. Tap add

I’ve created a few different ones that I’m switching in and out of. At the moment you can only add a couple of complications but hopefully in the future we’ll see more options.

I’ve started to use OmniFocus folders as my areas of focus, such as career and financial. Within these I have projects such as podcast and blog. They are building up and seem to stay in the same order they are created in. Well the good news is that you can reorder these.

To do this simply tap on one and hold. You’ll then be able to order them by moving around.

I’d like to see a sort order added to the app, if anyone knows a better way please let me know.

I’d already seen mixed reviews of the Pixel Slate but watching MKBHD reviewing it I’m stunned they released it in this state. Check out the lag.

With 2018 coming to a close I thought I’d reflect back on some of the Apple products that have been released this year, I’m starting with the Apple Watch.

As you know I’ve worn an Apple Watch since the beginning and although I’ve not fully embraced the fitness aspects I wouldn’t be without it. I enjoy it for tracking my walks (a new thing for me), replying to quick notifications and the design itself.

The series 4 was a purchase for me this year, coming from a series 2 I really appreciated the faster performance. Looking back on it now though if I still had the series 2 I’d probably hold off another year. The bigger screen is nice but not a game changer and some of the new health features aren’t available in the UK. I don’t regret the purchase (I went for the cheapest model I could) but if I advised someone today I’d tell them to wait it out until the new health features were available.

This is especially true if you want a stainless steel model. That’s what I wanted but Apple decided to only offer this model with cellular, something I have no interest in. The issue for me is that’s it’s almost double the price of an non cellular aluminium model. So I couldn’t justify the extra cost and went for the only model available to me, the 44mm aluminium in silver.

When I look back at the benefits I’ve had from the series 4 I’d say it’s an OK year for Apple Watch. Not blown me away but an ok update. If you have anything other than a series 0 or original Apple Watch hold off upgrading this year.

Looks like XR and XS sales continue to be a concern for Apple as it brings its increased trade in values to the UK.

Here’s what you can now get an XR or XS for in the UK when you trade in your perfectly good existing model. iOS 12 works fine on all these devices so personally I’d stick with what you have unless you really want a better camera.

Took a while to get here from the states but I’ve had through the Otterbox Marvel series case. This is the Symmetry series of cases but with an Infinity War flavour, which I’m loving.

These cases are a little bulkier than an Apple silicone but offers much more protection.

The only slight downside to the bulk is it’s a little harder to use the swiping up gesture on the X series but the width for me makes typing easier.

If you’re into Marvel or like style of case I recommend picking one up before they are discontinued.

I even did a little video.

I’ve always liked the Spider-Man suit from the Sam Raimi movies and yesterday it was added (for free) to the PS4 Spider-Man game.

I love this game and after completing I’m still doing side missions and collecting stuff.

Whilst listening to an episode of Mac Power Users there was a really great tip shared by David when using OmniFocus.

I wanted to post this to help me remember more than anything but hopefully you will find this useful too.

If you are deep down in a project and want to quickly get back to the home you can simply long press the ‘back’ button. This may not say back but it will labelled with whatever the sub division you are in. This doesn’t matter as its always the button in the top left.

This has already saved me a tonne of taps.

Before new products are announced I like to play a little guess the pricing game. With the pretty much confirmed new battery case for XS, XR and XS Max I thought I’d have a guess at the price.

The current price is £99 for ALL battery cases, that’s is for 6 and 7. We are in new Apple pricing territory now and they aren’t ashamed to push up pricing so here’s my optimistic prices.

• XS: £149
• XR: £179
• XS Max: £209

These are the lowest I feel that we’ll see if they make it this year.

As I’ve noticed Apple News slowly getting worse over the last few months I’ve started to look at other sources of news and forums. I’m late to the party but I installed Apollo and have Given Reddit a go.

I have to say that it’s now completely replaced Apple News for me. I’ve found subreddits that I’m interested in and find myself discovering more news than I am in Apple News.

It’s gotten worse for me over the last six months. I no longer see anything other than Apple stuff in my ‘Today’ view and the stories in my other channels (such as F1) aren’t updating very well and often show stories from weeks ago.

I don’t know what’s happened behind the scenes but wondering if I’m the only one experiencing this drop in quality.

I’ve been using Apple Reminders or at least its backend for years on and off and always thought it needed work. Whilst the backend sync has been good the app hasn’t been updated since what feels like years. It looks out of place and especially on iPhone isn’t easy to use.

I’ve been raising issues for a while and still have open bugs that have been there for years with no updates.

Well it looks like I have my answer

This is for a macOS bug in which the list name doesn’t update in the entire UI on new creation. I’ve not received bug updates on iOS like this yet but I expect them to be coming.

This makes me think either Reminders is being dropped or on a more positive thought being redone.

Anyone else had one of these?

Looks great on first look, I’ll have a dig into it later on.

Durability isn’t great so I’d avoid getting the official Apple leather loop.

I’ve used a few different apps over the years to try to build good habits but in the end they all fall by the wayside. The main reason for this is I’m not seeing or being reminded of them. When switching over to OmniFocus I thought I’d use their tagging system to help me with this.

On discovering I could add a tag to my forecast view I had an idea. If I want to build up habits why don’t I make sure I’m seeing them everyday.

So to this end I created new tasks such as ‘complete exercise rings’ and marked them with my ‘urgent ’ tag. This means that when I see my forecast I’ll always see them. The only downside is that these don’t appear on the Apple Watch app, unless I’ve missed something of course - please let me know if I have.

The task itself is never actually marked as complete so I don’t have it repeating or anything. It’s just a visual reminder to be better.

A useful feature in OmniFocus 3 is the ability to add tags to your tasks. Whilst looking at the forecast view I realised I could customise and show 1 tag along with my calendar and scheduled tasks.

I find this useful when I have something I’d like to get done but don’t necessarily want to add a hard due date and time. I created an urgent tag that I use for this.

So the image above shows what tasks have been flagged as urgent for me, basically anything I want to be reminded of daily.

To do this simply go to the forecast view, tap on the eye symbol.

You’ll then see an option for tag, simply tap this and chose your tag.

I’ve had an on/off relationship with OmniFocus over the years but with a period of overwhelm I’ve decided to stick with it and learn how to actually use it effectively.

When plotting out my overwhelm I used a mind map and split everything into areas of focus. I did this is an earlier post but redid it as my mind has changed on a few passion projects.

When looking at the whole folder vs projects debate it hit me. Folders can be a way to group my projects into these areas of focus.

I then created a folder per area of focus.

My next step is to create my projects, such as my blog and DIY projects into their relevant folders.

Seems very formal to me but I need to create my buddy brain to keep me in check.

Not sure why it’s taken me so long to spot this one but I’ve found a way to move quickly through email.

If you tap on a mail to view then want to move to the next without going back to the inbox use these arrows in the top right to move between mails.

What’s happening at Apple marketing?

In the last few weeks we’ve seen more and more desperate moves to get people to update to the latest models. The reason I’m writing this is I’m getting concerned that Apple is spending too much time on this, especially with this latest report from 9to5.

Spamming the in store screens, especially the one at the Genius Bar isn’t a good look. Those displays show how to best use your products not be sold to. The others in store I don’t care about but the Genius Bar - NO.

When you’re waiting for an appointment sat on the stools there isn’t a lot to do and I’ve seen numerous people watching those how to videos and getting something from them. Moving them to advertising totally goes against the message of trying to educate its users.

At the moment all of this desperation (including the App Store push notifications) seems to be limited to the US so far but I’d expect to see it hitting the UK in the near future.

Not a good look Apple.

I’ve never been a fan of big cases and to be honest never really looked at an Otterbox but when I saw the Star Wars edition whilst searching on Amazon I was intrigued. I read up, watched a few videos and decided to give one a go. They looked to be more minimal than their usual heavy duty cases so as a day to day case looked doable for me.

The presentation is good and all materials appear to be recyclable, which is great to see.

The case itself has a large outer shell with a impact protected inner one that is a softer rubber. The case is quite stiff when you first use it but once I’d taken it on and off a few times seemed easier. Oh quick word of warning, if you’re looking for an included screen protector then it doesn’t have one. This isn’t a knock on the case but just be aware.

The design I went for was R2 and Leia but there are other designs available including Vader and BB-8.

Although a bit thicker than the Apple silicone case it’s not too bad for a protective case. I find the Apple silicone case texture to be horrible to hold after a while, no such problems here. It’s a softer material so won’t get that sticky feeling I hate so much. It also doesn’t collected lint and slips easily into your pocket. There’s enough grip to let is sit on sofa cushions etc. This is one of the reasons I’m not using my XS ‘naked’ it feels great in the hand but not for sitting down places.

All the buttons are easily pressed and have a satisfying click to them.

Ports are all accessible and wireless charging is fine.

Value for money wise it’s around £35, which is on the expensive side but a lot better value than the official Apple ones. I noticed though that the Star Wars ones are more expensive so if that’s not your bag just pick up a standard Symmetry one. They do them in loads of different colours.

So overall I didn’t think I’d like a more heavy duty case but otterbox have really done a great job of balancing protection with a more minimal design and come up with a good compromise.

Amazon Link. (All associate revenue goes towards the purchase of stuff to review for the site).

Last one for 2018 and a few changes.

• Todoist: I'm back using it for my to do app, more on this in a separate post
• My daughter is getting into space so we are using the NASA app and Night Sky to learn more
• No more Instagram, I've deleted everything facebook

With the new year upon us and feeling a little down on my passion projects I’ve decided to close my podbean account and with it iOS Only.

I’ve thought of a few new ideas but for now I can’t justify hosting costs for the amount of downloads I’m getting. It’s hard for me to pay for all of the infrastructure for this and my blog and I prefer to blog just now.

I’m looking at alternatives so it might come back in the new year but for now I’ve stopped to take a break and take stock of all of my projects.

Thanks to those that downloaded and followed along.

I came across this thread on the MacRumours forums yesterday whilst investigating an issue I think I have with mine. About an inch up from the home button I have a lighter area of the screen, which is visible on a whiter background and more evident when scrolling. Given this is now a 14 page thread I’m wondering if there is a problem with the 10.5”?

I’ll keep an eye on mine as I have Apple Care + still valid for a little while but I’ll report back.

I’ve been using the series 4 since the last week of September so wanted to put down some thoughts on my experience and if I’m glad I updated.

My model is the 44mm base one without cellular. I’m liking the silver over the space grey this time around but still look at the stainless steel with some envy. For me I wasn’t paying another £300 for the finish, I was never going to be using the cellular connection. The picture above is my most used setup, platinum Nike sports band, which I think looks great with the silver.

In day to day use it’s the performance that’s won me over with the series 4. I wouldn’t say I’m noticing a big difference in the screen size but I always come back to how much more responsive the interface is. For example in doing a workout on my series 2 I’d quite often have to tap multiple times to get a workout going. Now I just tap and it gets going straight away.

In terms of charging and battery performance I’m seeing no improvements over the series 2. Battery had never been a problem since I moved from the original Apple Watch up to the series 2.

Based on my use I’d say that if you’re on a series 2 or older then an upgrade would be worth it. If you’re on a series 3 then I’d stay put and wait another year.

In an interview with CNET Apple have responded to claims that the iPhone XR isn’t doing well by stating it’s the best selling iPhone at the moment and is outselling the other models since release.

This is fine but how well is it selling? Without numbers this is a pretty useless interview and seems to be a defensive move.

I’m not proclaiming doom and gloom here but just wanted to take a step back from a lot of pro Apple sites reporting that this is a good thing, for me it doesn’t really prove anything.

Personally I love the look of the XR but feel it’s still on the expensive side. Recent reports of Apple reducing the price for carriers in Japan and the increased amount they are giving on their give back program has me wondering about how well it’s actually selling.

I’m really curious how these recent price increases are doing to their sales.

Now I’m firmly in the using iCloud camp both Calendar and Reminders have become very important to me. Whilst Calendar is fine Reminders hasn’t seen an update in years. I’ve been raising radars to Apple for years and all my suggestions for improvements have been ignored. I think Reminders is now only updated for compatibility rather than giving us an overhaul.

This series of Tweets has me looking back at GoodTask.

I’ve created lists based on my areas of focus and thanks to GoodTask I can see everything that I’ve flagged as high priority with their smart list feature.

Creating tasks is pretty straight forward and I’ve started to brain dump into the app.

I’ll post a review in the coming weeks.

At the moment my little podcast gets done once every one or two weeks and I’m trying to figure out a recording schedule going forward.

For those that listen, what would you like to see?

My thought is every two weeks.

I’ve started to only use Apple apps these days, maybe I’m getting old or maybe I restore too many devices. I just can’t be bothered to remember all the log in information for the many to do apps I’ve tried or don’t trust them with my data.

Here’s how I’ve organised into Apple Reminders.

You’ll notice I have a today/urgent list, which satisfies my need to be able to add a to do with just a date and no time. I use this in conjunction with the Scheduled view to plan my day.

Do you use Reminders?

Another video from me about what’s on my iPhone.

Head over to YouTube.

Thought I would started to do some video to highlight how to’s. Gives me practice and also sometimes it’s easier just to show than write it down.

Head over to YouTube.

Quick LumaFusion experiment.

See the video.

Thanks to the suggestion from Andy over at The Dent for suggesting LumaFusion for video editing on the iPad. I’ve installed and started to play around in it. Intuitive so far so time to get into some video projects.

The straw broke the camels back today when using Overcast. I’ve been having multiple issues including random crashes and this morning my phone was playing a podcast with no app running. Overcast has lost my trust.

I’m giving the in built podcast app a go, wish me luck.

I’ve never been a case guy but over the last few months I’ve been going between the Apple Silicone and Leather cases. I’m using an old black X silicone case on my XS and a saddle brown leather XS one.

After testing both a lot I’ve come to the conclusion I really don’t like the silicone. It might be the fact I have the black version but

• It picks up everything it touches
• It's almost too much grip to get it out of your pockets quickly
• It wears on the edges really badly and already frayed and breaking
• Now it's worn it feels sticky, not in a good way

So I just can’t recommend it. At £45 this is one of the worst value for money propositions Apple gives us.

Avoid and if you’re ok with animal products get a leather one instead.

At the beginning of the year I’d decided I’d had enough of contributing to Zuckerberg’s empire and made a decision to leave Facebook. I knew I’d miss updates from my friends but mostly my feed was manipulated anyway just to see (almost always negative) news, which wasn’t good for my general wellbeing. This on top of the privacy concerns and their apparent lack of valuing anyone was the final straw. My problem was that I’d removed my phone number but two factor was still turned on. I was locked out.

I didn’t use it for 11 months, I had an inactive account. As far as Facebook was concerned I wasn’t an active user, this is a good thing to hurt their numbers. My issue was my data was still there. Well this weeks revelations was enough for me to sit down and figure my account out. I had to send in a redacted passport, removing all my info aside from the basic they needed. Within 5 minutes I had access again.

I checked my feed and notifications and then download my photos in an archive. Something to be fair Facebook make easy. Once I had this archive (html) downloaded to iCloud I proceeded to delete my account.

I was free, well not quite.

I also had an instagram account, something I quite like using. I had to stick by my principles on this one and deleted that too.

I can get my photo fix elsewhere, it wasn’t worth keeping my account and supporting this immoral company anymore.

So, end of 2018 and I’m finally free of using any Facebook properties - it feels great!

I finally managed to spend some time with the new iPad Pro, both the 11” and 12.9”. I also managed to try the new keyboard and pencil.

Remember these impressions are from someone with a 10.5”.

First thing I noticed was how light they were, especially the 12.9”. In my hand it still felt like a tea tray, large screen - a little too big for me. Weight was great but screen too big to be my only iPad. I was more attracted to the 11”. The screen was very impressive but not a huge leap from a 10.5”. I didn’t test FaceId. It did feel weird using a iPad without a home button but as an iPhone X user I’d imagine I’d get used to it quickly. If I were to get one someday I’d get the 12.9” and keep my 10.5”, a desk iPad and mobile iPad.

The keyboard felt as per the one I use everyday on my 10.5”. The angles weren’t any better I’d say in my quick testing.

The most impressive thing about my hands on with the new gear was the Pencil, wow it really is a step up in quality. It’s matte finish makes a big difference but the most impressive thing was the decrease in weight. It felt a lot more comfortable than the version I’m using. Here lies one of my frustrations with the new hardware, it’s not backwards compatible. I’d happily pay for a new one but I won’t buy a new iPad for it. Snapping it onto the top to sync and charge is also a game changer.

Overall the new hardware I found to be great in my 15 minutes or so but it wasn’t compelling enough for me to take a loss on the 10.5” and spend a load of money on a new one.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Google and their services over the last year and finally decided to stop using their products on iOS. This means that I’ll be using iCloud for my mail and Apple Maps, which actually works pretty well for me. When I refreshed my iPhone and iPad I decided to not sign into Google for my mail in settings or the Google sign in for their apps. I don’t entirely trust what iOS is giving them access to.

This also means that YouTube is a service that will stick with my main TV. This isn’t actually a bad thing as it means I have less distractions to stop me from being productive on my mobile devices.

The only issue I’ve run into so far is my micro.blog app won’t work as I need to authenticate using gmail. So I won’t be using it and will use the Wordpress app to post my thoughts instead.

Let’s see if I can make it.

Nothing available but looking at the store here in the uk it’s just a matter when they’ll add stock. Guessing they will be £299.

If like me you like to personalise your gadgets a bit you’ll love these sticker packs I discovered on Amazon. There is no way they are licensed but for just over a fiver you get 100 to put on your favourite devices. I always put them on my iPhone cases and iPad. Technology should be colourful and more importantly yours.

I’ve not gone to town sticking them everywhere yet but I will be in the coming days. These are the Marvel set but I also have a Star Wars pack coming soon.

Here’s the (affiliate) link.

After reading a few new reviews I thought I’d post some of my favourites.

Six Colors

The Dent

Matt Gemmell

Austin Mann

MacStories

Chris Lawley

As you most probably know I use the Apple Smart Keyboard cover, in fact I prefer typing on it than my 12” MacBook. I’ve owned my current version since June 2017, so at almost 18 months use I thought I’d report back on the durability.

For me the keyboard cover is attached to my iPad about 80% of the time, I carry it between meetings in work and it goes into my bag to form as protection to the screen. I’ve also dropped it a couple of times and it’s protected my iPad both times.

Overall for the 18 months of hard use I’ve given it I’d say it’s held up well. For the money I feel it’s a little on the expensive side but worth it if you keep hold of your iPad for more than a year. If you change your iPad each year don’t invest in one because it’ll be another couple of hundred that you can put towards Apple Care + or the iPad itself, these things aren’t getting any cheaper.

Where I’d like to see it improved

I’m yet to try the new iPad Pro and it’s new Smart Keyboard, I’m staying as far away from an Apple store as possible - especially if I have access to a payment method but from my experience of the current 10.5” here is where I’d like to see improvement

• Improved stability if using on my lap, the 10.5" is a little narrow and doesn't feel stable when I'm using it on the sofa
• Improved screen angles, not a couple but like the Microsoft Surface and more like a MacBook. I'd like to be able to adjust to wherever I'd like (if you know a good third party that does this please let me know)
• More durable material, as you can see in the images of mine the edge of the keyboard has frayed so I'd like to see some harder wearing material
• Bit more affordable, I know I know this isn't going to happen 😊

[gallery ids=“1075,1077,1078,1079,1080” type=“rectangular”]

I’ve had my 10.5” iPad Pro since June 2017 and now the newly designed one is out I thought I’d provide an update and thoughts on using it as my daily “computer “.

As you can see I’ve customised it somewhat (sticker haters look away) and I have the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil almost always attached. I’ve held off with an update to the hardware this year, for me I can’t justify the price increases when I have an iPad I’m happy with.

Anyway, I digress.

So I’ve got the 256GB with a few movies that like to rewatch when I’m on the go (Avengers: Infinity War, various Star Wars including Clone Wars which I’m working my way through) and most of my music downloaded locally. Across all of my devices I go for as much storage as I can afford. Another reason for staying put this year as I can only afford 64GB, Apple this should be 128GB as the base model but that’s a topic for another day.

I’m my 9-5 job I’m still using Notebility to take on the fly meeting notes and sketches that I can take into more formal documents as reference. These are often server architecture diagrams that I can easily export as PDF and share. I have tried Apple Notes but I find the pen tools more satisfying in Noteability.

Outside of my day job I obviously blog and podcast so for that I’m using Noteability again to write show outlines and ideas. My posts are either written directly into the Wordpress app or iA Writer.

For podcasting I’ve gone more basic and nowadays using my iPhone with Ferrite. I’ll either use my Yeti Mic or just the headphones. I find either work fine for my micro-casts, I’m no ATP yet.

I’ll upload to podbean via mobile Safari, which works well. This handles distribution.

If I want to try to relax and do some sketching I’ll use Procreate.

Photo editing these days is done via Photos. Even if I’m importing via my DSLR I’ll often touch up in Photos rather than use a dedicated Photo app.

I’m not going to talk about productivity because I change my mind so much!

Durability wise my 10.5 has held up well. I don’t baby my tech but I’m not abusive to it either. The screen is fine but remember I used to use a matte screen protector until about a month ago. The edges have a few nicks where it’s gone into my camera bag and general moving around. The back has some scratches but overall great.

The keyboard hasn’t fared so well and the corners are starting to fray but it works just fine.

Apple Pencil has some scratches but continues to work well.

So that’s an update from me, what apps and setup are you using for your iPad?

I’ve talked a little off on the side about this but wanted to put it down in a separate post. I traded in my X and went all in with the XS Max (camera made it worth it for me). I’d struggled with the Plus models but wanted to give it a go based on how it felt in my hand at the store.

I kept it for a week but ultimately returned it for the XS, here’s why.

• I always felt like I was going to drop it. It's a two handed device, I like using one hand when I'm out and about.
• I didn't want to increase the size with a case, which made it even more likely to break.
• I felt it was too heavy and heavy in general. Getting back to an XS just felt right (for me).
• I didn't see any advantage of having the larger screen. Yes a bit easier to see but I didn't see any benefit in app layouts.

This time my RSI was fine but I just feel more comfortable with the 5.8” version that I can carry around and use with one hand more easily.

Really interesting Reddit thread here discussing the increases in Apple prices this year. Interesting how similar I feel to a lot of the sentiment in there.

Personally now I’ve taken a step back at least it’ll encourage people to hold onto their tech for as long as possible but there are going to be people switching platforms over this. For me I’ve accepted Apple are going to try to get as much as possible out of its existing user base with their sales falling or flat.

As i’ve already written up I’ve been priced out of a new iPad Pro but my 10.5” is fine and works well.

I came across this reddit thread and wanted to share as it helped make my decision on which new iPad Pro would be best for me.

I was leaning towards the 12.9 given the smaller footprint but after seeing this thread I’d go for the 11” every time. I value portability over screen real estate as I’d have to sell some gear to even think about buying a new one.

If you missed out on preorders but want an iPad on launch day then they are now available for in store pickup.

Use the App Store app and you should see pick up at your local store. Seems to be a lot of availability, it’s not an iPhone so demand will be lower. You’ll be ok for a while I should think.

Source: The Sweet Setup

Great write up on the best calendar apps for Apple Watch. Got to agree, I love Fantastical.

As I mentioned yesterday I’ve refreshed my iOS devices. It’s all gone fine but the bit that catches me every time is downloading my music. I’d love it if iOS could remember which songs I’d previously downloaded and ask me if I want to download the same ones again.

I needed to refresh my iOS devices and when trying to sign into the App Store with my AppleId (with two factor on) I had the message below.  I’ve logged it with Apple and its a known issue that’s being looked into. I wasn’t provided with a timeline so it’s a case of checking if it works once per hour until resolved.

I used to test a lot cases on my blog but fallen off the wagon with settling on Apple cases. I thought it was about time I picked up some third party cases and let you know what I thought.

First up is the Elago Slim Fit.

This case is a plastic shell that snaps onto the back of your iPhone. It has coverage on all of the buttons and leaves them with the pretty much the same nice click as before.

It’s very minimal and doesn’t add a lot of bulk.

The main downside for me is the slippery finish they have used. It’s a light matte finish but leaves it hard to hang onto. This kind of defeats the object of having a case in the first place.

This is a case to avoid.

I’ve really tried to use Siri more in my day to day but it’s still embarrassingly bad (for me).

Here’s my latest failure when I asked about food measures. My most common one at the moment is garbled reminders. I’ll be in the car and remember I have to do something later so I’ll say “remind me to”. Often when I check my reminders it’ll be so off base I’ll not even remember what I asked it to remind me.

The HomePod fares better at understanding me but I’m not always at home using it.

It’s a hard problem to fix and I’m not stating how I’d go about fixing it but anyone else still struggle to use Siri? I feel it’s 7 years later and just as basic and unreliable.

Now I’ve given Things a good crack I’m dipping back into Omnifocus. I’ll report back on my thoughts in a month.

Few new experiments including getting back into using Omnifocus and Noteability.

I use an app called Dreamdays to keep track of certain things, one being how long I’ve owned certain gadgets. Might sound weird but something I’ve come to like to track. It hit me how long we’ve had our iPad Mini. In a couple of weeks it’ll be our longest used iOS device, 5 years. It’s the perfect device for reading but also for the younger members of a family. It’s taken a beating, the battery is still good, it runs iOS 12 (better than iOS 11) and it’s got a headphone jack.

I’m probably cursing it but talking about how much I love the iPad Mini but had me thinking about what I’d want in a new one.

For me it’ll go one of two ways. It’ll either stick with TouchID and become a new affordable iPad or embrace the new less bezel design of the pro. I don’t see the later having any chance of happening.

We also have the argument that the XS Max is almost a Mini, which is a weak one. The Mini to me is for those that like portability or for kids. The Max may replace the Mini for more affluent users but for the majority it doesn’t even register.

When you compare iPads though it really stands out like the recently updated MacBook Air. Just look at the processor. It still runs an A8 and is £20 more expensive than the iPad running an A10. It’s both embarrassing and confusing.

My wish for the Mini is to leave the form factor alone but update the processor to the A10 and update the camera. Then offer it for £299 or £325. If ours broke I’d have no option but to buy a used older one. The iPad Mini 4 is no way worth £399.

I know I tend to complain about Apple accessory pricing after every keynote but this time it’s actually stopped me buying the new devices. When you add up the cost of the new pencil + keyboard vs what I can get for my existing ones used it doesn’t make sense. When you take the cost of this plus Apple Care I’d be looking at almost £1500 to get a new iPad. It’s made me stop and think more about my purchase this time.

Just look at the non Smart Keyboard cover, how can Apple justify £99 for some cloth and magnets?

Then take a look at the £30 increase for the new pencil, why? Some new tech yes but how does that add £30.

Then the keyboard also gets an increase in cost, £200 isn’t far off what a Nintendo Switch is to buy.

I’m sorry Apple but enough is enough for me, I just can’t afford to pay your accessory prices anymore.

You might think I’m bitter, I’m not. I’m just sharing some of my thoughts on the pricing of accessories. It’s happened with the leather case more recently for iPhone where £6 was added overnight.

Don’t get me wrong I love the look of the new iPad Pro but cost vs increase of functionality over my existing 10.5” Pro can’t be justified (for me).

I do genuinely like Tim Cook as a leader of Apple but he does love his profit margins…

Guess I’ll skip this update and keep using my already great 10.5”.

I always look forward to these after a new iPhone release. Use of proprietary screws always go against the iPhone but 6/10 doesn’t seem too bad.

iFixit

Bye buddy, right on Red Dead 2 day I’m sending my PS4 Pro to Amazon. When I bought it back in 2016 I picked up their Amazon Protect product. It would appear that the WiFi in my PS4 is having connection problems so I called it in.

The process is simple so far. Call the support number, explain the issue and DPD come with a box that you put the console, controllers and cables into.

Make sure you re-initialise it though before you send it to protect your privacy. As I pay for PSN it’s all saved in the cloud along with my games.

The latest update brings app icon selection, I’m going retro.

NDA has obviously dropped today so wanted to post a few of my favourites so far. These are all YT videos, I’ll update as I read more of my favourite publishers.

The Verge

Rene Richie

MKBHD

Lance Ulanoff

CNET

Daring Fireball

After a few days with my patina project it’s really started to pick up wear and tear nicely.

I know it’ll horrify some people but I’m really glad I’ve made this leather case my own.

If you buy an OLED TV from LG it looks to be that a percentage of the shipped units will show banding pretty quickly. I’ve owned a 55” B7 since last November and am now in a position where I have a TV with an issue.

You can see from both images my TV is showing an issue on the right hand side. A vertical banding that shows on anything with a darker picture. This happens across all inputs.

I called Richersounds who directs you to LG if your TV is within manufacturers warranty. My issue is now with LG, they are not acknowledging a problem.

Their message is I’m watching TV in the wrong conditions. To add injury their staff talked down to me on the phone, almost rude to the point I had to hang up.

To me this is an issue. I shouldn’t have to watch in ideal natural lighting, if I do then market your TV to state that fact. If I’m watching at home in low lighting I shouldn’t expect to see issues.

I’ll be taking this up with Richersounds now to help me with LG.

I’ll update this post as I move through the process.

Update

It would appear to have now been acknowledged and I’m expecting an in house repair.

Update

New panel being ordered.

Update

New panel fitted.

I was very tempted by the XR this year but I didn’t want to lose the 2x zoom capabilities of the XS. I’ll be tracking the availability later on but I think it might be a big seller.

Wasn’t expecting this free update to Tweetbot, wow it looks great with pure black mode for OLED screens and redesigned profile pages.

I thought we were done with rotation issues in iOS, it turns out not quite. Sigh, I feel that this isn’t going to be addressed until we see a complete reimagine of the home screen on iPad.

I always look forward to iFixit teardowns and more importantly the repair scores. Apple have been hit and miss but generally improved over the years as far as I can see.

The last Microsoft Surface laptop got a zero, did they learn their lesson on the new one - NO.

Video can be viewed here.

New additions

• Fantastical 2: using iCloud for my productivity these days. This app offers a nice front end to calendar and reminders
• Streaks: trying to get into some good daily habits, this'll keep me accountable
• Micro.blog: I've stepped away from a lot of social and this is my way to share my thoughts quickly to my blog
• Ferrite: I'm struggling to find any energy to podcast but with Ferrite and my AirPods I'm hoping I can record some on the go

This post might seem a little strange but bear with me. I’ve always been a fan of that aged patina leather look, be it on a belt or jacket ala Indiana Jones. I’d seen a few leather cases in the wild that had aged gracefully and in my opinion looked pretty cool. The problem I had was the saddle brown case from Apple is pretty slippery. They have a wax coating that made it almost impossible for me to use day to day.

So, I set off on a quest to artificially age my case to make it look cool but also be able to be used without slipping out of my hand.

Here’s how I did it on a saddle brown iPhone XS case.

You will need:

• Very light grit sandpaper
• Some oil, I used coco butter but you can also use something like olive oil or coconut oil Here's what I used.
• Some paper towel
• Patience...

Here’s your starting point:

As you can see very light colour and a waxy slippery finish.

First step is to take your sandpaper and get rid of some of the wax finish. I had a think about where the finish would darken over time and very lightly scratched the surface. Don’t go too deep, don’t worry about the front edges and make sure you avoid the metal buttons.

As you can see from the image above I’ve tried my best to think about where it will pick up wear and tear in natural use.

Now I have removed some of the finish I can add some colour. Take a paper towel and apply some of the oil to it. Now simply rub it into the case. Make sure you do your best to evenly coat it. Just one coat will do.

Now you need to get it to dry. I put it in my airing cupboard but you can leave it out to dry naturally. I wanted to use it quickly so let it dry next to our boiler.

After. Few hours I had a case that is now grippy, looks cool and was created by me. It’s nice to have something individual to me. I’ve never been a fan of cases but using something I helped create and is unique makes it stand out from all of the other iPhones in the wild.

Let me know how your projects go.

I’ve been using the series 4 since launch so feel I’ve had enough time to write up some thoughts on using it compared to the series 2 it replaces. I went for the 44mm in silver, it’s the aluminium non cellular version.

Luckily all my 42mm bands fit fine so I’m good on that front. So coming from an existing watch you’ll be ok band wise.

I also picked up Apple Care + because I smashed my series 0 and it came in handy back then saving me a load of cash to buy a new one. Quick note on this, I had to call Apple to sort mine out as there was a bug for some people that bought the series 4 + Apple Care on day one. Mine showed that I hadn’t purchased it even though I had the order receipt. A quick call to Apple sorted this out.

I almost got stainless steel this time around but couldn’t stomach the extra money, especially when I had no intention of using cellular. With the creep up in Apple prices over the last few years I wanted to spend as little as I could to upgrade.

Size

Coming from a 42mm I naturally went for the 44mm. This is because I wanted the biggest screen available and also to make sure my bands fitted. On my wrist I feel it’s looks fine, in use it doesn’t feel any different to the 42mm.

The screen is just stunning on the series 4. The extra real estate makes tapping so much easier. I didn’t feel the series 2 was cramped until I tried this new one and couldn’t go back. I actually find myself using apps on my watch more than I ever have in the past. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I could play a game or view images but in day to day use it’s a lot easier on my (ageing) eyes!

As with most reviewers I’d love to see an always on low power display mode to show me the time.

Watch faces

There are a couple more watch faces to choose from, both provide a good amount of complications but I find myself still wanting more. Already spoke about at length on various blogs including this one by Marco Arment they are actually quite hard to read. I’ve found myself settling on modular so I can see the time quickly. I really do feel that it’s time to open up the ecosystem to third party watch faces.

The one above in particular looks amazing but when you use it day to day it’s hard to quickly see the time and it blows your eye balls out when you check the time in the middle of the night, make sure you use the black options for the dials.

Performance

Wow, it’s how the Apple Watch should have been all along. Technology has caught up with expectations. No more lag when tapping to start a workout or switching watch faces. It just does everything when you want it to. I’ve experienced no lag in anything I’m doing. I can’t vouch for series 3 but coming from a series 2 it’s such a big leap for me.

As with the screen it makes the Series 4 a joy to use and I find myself using more apps.

Should you upgrade?

You rarely have to update every year, especially a watch but for the series 4 I’m making an exception. If you have some spare cash or can sell your existing watch it’s a no brainier to update to a series 4. The screen and performance improvements alone makes the Apple Watch experience more enjoyable, therefore a must buy for fans of the watchOS.

Tip: if you’re looking to get one for Christmas, order now. They are always pushed to back end of November.

Stage 1, I’ll post a full how to but scary sanding bit done tonight.

It seems extreme but I’ve found that not only does it save me a lot of battery when I’m out and about but offers a less distracting iPhone experience.

I’d recommend at least trying it.

Here’s how.

I’ve written up a few posts on how I’ve been trying to use my device less over the last few months including switching it to black and white to reduce the attractiveness of the home screen. Whilst browsing Micro,blog I came across this post by Megan Morrone about how she is also pairing down things to help reduce the time spent on devices.

Some great tips here.

I feel like I’m in the minority but I loved my white iPhone 5c. To this day it’s still my favourite iPhone (looks wise) that Apple have released. With its plastic back there was no need to worry about breaking it and I carried it case less for the entire time I owned one.

I started to think about this when I realised we are close to the new XR being able to preorder. I’m on my XS and part of me wants to return it to get a refund to try one out. I picked up the white and silver XS so I at least have some colour now but I’m looking over at the Yellow XR with a little envy.

When the 5c came out putting the last year innards was a mistake, although performance wise I didn’t have any issues but in making a more affordable iPhone Apple compromised it out of the box. For some it gave the impression that it was just last years phone in a new shell, which it totally was but set it off in the wrong light. For me the 5c brought an element of fun to the iPhone line up, which it needed. Everyone’s phones look the same suddenly seeing a blue or yellow 5c really stood out and even now when I see them I reminisce to when I had mine. Let’s not also forget how durable and comfortable it was. More friendly than the sharp corners of the 5 it brought back that soft feel of the 3G I loved so much. I also dropped it multiple times and didn’t break it, yes scratches but that looks cool.

I’m really hoping the XR is a success and Apple embrace colour back in its line up, imagine a colourful iPad!

Since moving to the iPhone XS I’ve been seeing the low power warning pretty much every day. It was way worse than my X. I’m glad to report I’m getting through a day again, all by turning off screen time.

(How to: go to Settings, screen time, turn off screen time).

This has made a difference to my day to day experience and I feel the XS is back on par with my previous X.

If you’re having battery issues on iOS 12 try doing this setting change and turning off screen time.

Let me know how you get on.

I picked up an XS last week and finally gotten it setup. Here’s my starter home screen, imagine my to do apps will change but for now here it is.

Source: TechCrunch

So it begins, now the founders of Instagram are out for this very reason the slow decline of Instagram begins. Having dropped Facebook and limited my time on Twitter I started to use Instagram again. I’ll be back to using my blog as my social share it looks like given this news.

My new cape code iPhone XS case is creaking like crazy. I think it’s slightly loose so whenever I hold it there’s some flex and an audible creak. I’ll be taking it back but curious if anyone else has had this?

Ooops, bet people inside of Apple are working to fix it ASAP though. Strange bug.

Sort of, if you have an Apple Leather case you’ll be able to use it but might be a little tight as you can see in the pics (bottom right edge of the camera cut out). The camera on the XS is a little bigger than the X so you’ll see it  pushing against the edge of the case. Given it’s leather then it should adapt and work, I’m certainly keeping my bright orange case from my X.

Not long out of the box but wanted to take a few pics of the new Cape Cod Leather case, it’s definitely a lighter shade of blue but will patina nicely.

[gallery ids=“821,822,823,824,825” type=“rectangular” orderby=“rand”]

As promised by Apple all of my old 42mm series 2 bands fit my new series 4.

After getting my series 4 the first thing that started to bug me (just a little) was Siri going off unintended. Turns out I moved my arm up and raise to wake went off, here’s how to turn it off.

On your Apple Watch go to Settings, then General, then SIRI.

As you can in the screenshot you can simply swipe to turn off ‘Raise To Speak’.

Not long arrived but thought I’d post a few images.

[gallery ids=“807,808,809,810,811,812,813” type=“rectangular”]

Source: MacStories

MacStories have done it again with an amazing roundup of iOS 12. I’ll be passing this onto anyone wanting to know what’s new in iOS when it launches today.

Expect lots of updates on iOS 12 and watchOS 5 this week on the blog. I’ve just started to test apps that use the Siri watch face so I’ll be reporting in on how they are performing and some of my favourites.

There’ll be lots of app updates today as part of the big iOS 12 launch. Up next for me is an app that I am starting to play with, GoodTask. Anything that uses iCloud for calendar and reminders is on top of my list at the moment. I’ll update on how I get on but for now here’s what’s changed in version 4.1.

One of the apps that I’ve started to get into is Streaks. Along with iOS 12 today we get a version 4, which most importantly adds an iPad app and iCloud sync. Looking forward to getting it all setup today and testing.

Whilst I was looking at the new products within the Apple store app I noticed the above. They have increased the price of their leather case by £6 overnight. Why? I don’t see an increase in the cost of silicone but the leather got quite a big price increase. I know Apple are increasing the cost of a lot of their hardware but this seems unjustified.

As I’ve already shared I really wanted to update my series 2. Ordering for me was surprisingly smooth but I did notice a new screen.

This happened for a couple of minutes and the store came online for me around 8:02am.

Here’s my order for this year. Don’t see any other Apple products in my future this year so feeling pretty good about spending less this year.

At the moment it shows delivery for 21st, I went for home delivery rather than in store pickup.

Can’t wait.

It’s iPhone and Apple Watch preorder day and the store has gone down in preparation.

It’ll be back online around 8am (UK), if you’re looking at ordering I’d use the iOS app.

One interesting thing from the 12th that has stuck with me was the intro video.

Here’s the link.

If you watch when she asks Siri for directions it’s hands free.

This isn’t possible on the current models, you need to tap them.

So, did Apple intentionally leave them out? Is it me reading too much into it?

I’ve tried to use a combination of reminders and calendar on iOS to manage my life over the last week. I’ve tried using both apps separately and Fantastical as the interface.

Both haven’t stuck with me.

Fantastical has become more stressful having calendar and reminders in one view and switching to using the poor Reminders app left me even more stressed out.

I’ll update once I figure this out.

My series 2 is getting slow now so I’m definitely in the market for a series 4, now to decide which one.

If like me you live in the UK and are not on EE or Vodafone then you only really have two choices. Space grey or silver aluminium. You can get these in either the Apple or Nike variants. Be aware that the Nike edition launches later than the Apple one so if you want it on day one then get an Apple one.

I’ll either be picking up silver with white strap or black with loop.

First time I’ve seen this.

I’ve used a few of the different colours now of the Apple leather case and they all definitely wear differently. Now I’ve settled on my bright orange one it’s showing the wear and tear.

[gallery ids=“750,751,752,753” orderby=“rand”]

Shared via Twitter we are seeing the rumoured 6.1” iPhone.

As you can see it’s available in multiple colours at launch and has dual sim slots.

As I talked about on the podcast this is going to be an interesting announcement, will it have the notch?, how low will the cost be? and who is this model aimed at?.

Only two days to go until we find out.

Since moving to Apple services for Reminders and Calendar I’ve been trying out the SIRI watch face. To my surprise it’s starting to stick. I tend to change my watch face daily but since using this one it’s been the only face I’ve used.

I like that it just gives me a feed of what I need to know when I need to know it.

I’ve customised the complications to show me the date on the left and current temperature on the top right.

Are you using it yet?

I’m done with third party to do apps (famous last words), I’m feeling overwhelmed. I was in the car and used CarPlay to add a few things I needed to do via Siri. I also gave the Siri watch face a go and surprisingly liked it. Both of these combined gave me some clarity in what I wanted in a to do system. Be easy to enter and easy to remember.

Here’s my initial Reminders setup.

I’ll share more as I get through my setup. All I’ve done so far is to create these areas of focus.

Hmmm, wish me luck.

I can’t see any cracks, I’ll let you know what happens.

update: Genius Bar appointment sorted it out, replacement camera module

Nightshift is a feature in iOS that allows you to have a warmer display. It cuts out the blue and should help with eye fatigue and sleep patterns. I’m going to test having it on all of the time, I actually quite like a warmer display anyways. I’ll report back on how I get on.

• Head into settings
• Then 'display & brightness'
• Then 'night shift'

Copy these settings

I’ve had mixed experiences with third party watch bands for my Apple Watch and therefore kept with Apple ones. After browsing leather cases on Instagram (as you do!) I spotted a nice leather band for Apple Watch. On inspection it was by Nomad. I did a quick search on Amazon and saw the modern strap was reduced in price so thought I’d give it a test.

The packaging and presentation was everything I’d expect from a high end brand. Well packaged and a good use of cardboard. The only thing I’d mention is that the strap is quite tightly secured so you end up marking it getting it out. This isn’t a problem, remember leather will pick up marks very easily.

First impressions was the lightness of the band and the quality of the build.

You can see the workmanship in the product, it’s all very precisely cut and any stitching is clean and straight.

The lugs used are well designed and give the watch a little more bulk.

On first use it’s stiff, this is leather though. It’ll soften up and after a few days of use it had already started to do this.

After a week of use I ultimately decided that as good as this strap is leather isn’t for me. I find that it didn’t give my skin any breathing room and became a bit sticky, especially when used in exercise.

I’d gotten used to my leather loop (which is thinner and more flexible) or a sports loop.

So if you’re into leather bands then this is a strap that should be top of your list offering great value for money and quality. If like me you’re on the fence about leather straps then looks elsewhere.

Link to Amazon listing

I’m about 8 months in with an iPhone X, it’s lived with no case for most of the time so as usual I wanted to share how it’s aged.

The screen is the least durable of any iPhone I’ve owned but the stainless steel band still looks brand new.

[gallery ids=“692,693,694,695,696,697” type=“rectangular”]

How’s yours holding up?

I switched to Wordpress in December 2017 having previously been using Squarespace. On checking my admin I realised that I’d never really shared my experience of switching over.

I left Squarespace for a few reasons.

• Slow iOS app development
• Lack of support to edit your design in iOS Safari
• The price

Moving the blog for me was easy, it also gave me a chance to rethink what my blog was about. I’d gotten so caught up in trying to compete with bigger sites I’d lost track of what the purpose of a blog was and stopped enjoying posting.

The first thing I did was look at my existing content and copied anything I wanted to keep into a text file. This took a little while but I’m glad I did it manually.

Now I headed over to Wordpress and created a basic paid hosted account. I’d never had a server so it made sense to use theirs. It also worked out at a quarter of the price I paid at Squarespace. This was a massive win as I’d gotten to the point I was ready to stop blogging.

Now I had my domain etc sorted I got into editing my design. I was delighted to see that the Wordpress site works on iOS Safari just as well as Mac. As iOS is my platform of choice this was a must. I edited it all on my iPad.

When it came to posting I used the Wordpress official app. The only place it’s let down is embedding photo galleries. With Safari if you add multiple images it offers to build a mosaic so it looks nice in your post. On the iOS app you don’t get this option so the images are just inserted one after the other. I’m hoping this gets addressed in a future update.

I took all of my favourite posts that I’d copied into text and created posts on my new blog.

One major thing I’ve noticed compared to Squarespace is that Wordpress appear to be committed to investing in their iOS presence. The app gets frequent updates and whist there are a few niggles (like the photo insert one mentioned) I get the feeling people are working on it. I never got the feeling that Squarespace was invested in iOS at all.

So almost a year in Wordpress and I haven’t looked back!

Another leak from 9to5 shows us the next two iPhone models, the XS… I’m not thrilled with this naming.

To us, the tech fans it’ll be 10S. To everyone else it’ll be XS or excess. Yes, with the pricing most probably over £1200 I can see the jokes rolling in now. Why haven’t Apple made it X+? I still think Pro would be a better name, like the MacBook or iPad.

Anyway, name aside it does look like we are getting a larger X this year.

It’s going to be a stunning screen at that size based on how great the X already is so looking forward to trying one out. I’ve never been a fan of the Plus model so it’ll be interesting to see if I take to it. I’m currently not planning on an upgrade this year but let’s see what happens…

Last observation on this is that it’s gold, so looks like Apple have sorted a gold finish on stainless steel.

What do you think?

So I’d say that this image is officially what the next Apple Watch is going to look like. 9to5 managed to get hold of some marketing material and have started to share the contents. I certainly wouldn’t want to be inside Apple right now…

Anyway what do I think?

Hardware

First off it looks like the current band mechanism stays, this is good. I’ve not invested as heavily as some but still have a few bands that I really like to use.

It’s hard to tell without side by side with the real thing but from the images I’d say it looks both thinner and wider than the existing model. It’ll be interesting to see if it stays 42mm, it’s hard to tell. It definitely has smaller bezels. If it doesn’t stay 42mm, it’s going to need additional bands so I’m guessing it stays at 42mm.

The red on the Digital Crown signifies it’s the cellular version, gone is the red dot (woohoo). For me personally I hope that they have this model non cellular as it’s not really taken off in the UK and is still limited to one carrier.

The side button looks to be more recessed. I’m thinking it’s haptic feedback based rather than mechanical.

It’s gold, not the edition version though. It looks like they have created a gold stainless steel model, makes sense if they are doing a gold iPhone X.

Software

That’s not a watchOS 5 beta watch face. I’m running the beta and it looks like we are getting some new faces to match the new screen size. It looks ace. I’ve been wanting a new face to enable a lot more complications so can’t wait to try it out. Looking at the image we have a lot of new weather data, which looks to match what’s available in the weather app on iOS 12.

We look to be getting 9 complications in this image, it’s a welcome addition to watchOS.

If this image is to be believed and I think it is then I’m so glad I held off on a series 3 as this is going to be a big update from my series 2.

What do you think?

After a week and a half the saddle brown case is finally getting some patina and grip. I think Apple put a wax or similar coating that protects the finish. This appears to have worn off now and as the case picks up oils and damage it’s become a bit easier to handle. [gallery ids=“672,673,674,675,676” type=“columns”]

I’ve always heard good things about Nomad so decided to finally pick up one of their modern straps.

I’ll have a review in a couple of weeks once I’ve figured out if I like it or not.

[gallery ids=“657,658,659,660,661,662,663” type=“rectangular”]

Here’s the Amazon Link

I’ll be upgrading my 2 year old Apple Watch this year I think. Aside from overall slowness I needed to restart it a few times over the last week due to weather complication issues. Note, this is on watchOS 5 so odds are there will be debug code running that will contribute to the slowness.

How’s your startup time?

It depends..

After having purchased both the bright orange and saddle brown it’s become evident that out of the box at least there is a difference in the leather used between colours.

The bright orange leather case is much more textured than the saddle brown, which is smooth. This makes it slippery, when holding on the sides it’s almost unusable. Even using within the 15 day return period I’ve found that the grip doesn’t increase. I know it will over a long period but I can’t wait, I’ll most probably drop it.

So I’m returning the saddle brown and sticking with my bright orange, when I use a case that is. I already have so many scratches on my iPhone X that I’m less worried about dropping it. I have Apple Care + just in case.

My advice if you want a leather case from Apple is to try before you buy in store. They don’t mind you opening them up and having a go, you will find the grip changes depending on the colour you choose.

Wow, my iPhone has suddenly gotten full of social networking apps. I’m struggling a bit to keep up to be honest. Here’s what I’m currently doing.

• Facebook: no active account
• Instagram: no account at all
• Twitter: used for sharing my posts, replying to tweets and checking engagement
• Mastodon: Starting to replace Twitter as my day to day, what's happening in my world
• Micro.blog: Linked to my blog, potentially replaces Mastodon but I'm still experimenting

Phew…

I’ve just uploaded the next episode of “iOS Only”, my new iOS focussed podcast. If you’re subscribing already (thanks) it’ll appear.

Otherwise here are all the link you need.

Press release:

IK Multimedia proudly announces that the iRig Keys I/O 25 keyboard controller/audio interface is available in Apple Retail Stores around the globe. In addition to offering laptop and desktop compatibility, the iRig Keys I/O 25 is ideal for iPhone and iPad, thanks to the included Lighting cable connections and certified MFi compatibility. It now also features full support for Apple’s MainStage 3 performance app.

The only controller with a pro audio interface

The iRig Keys I/O 25 all-in-one music production station evolves the concept of traditional controllers with a unique design that integrates 25 full-sized keys with a full-fledged professional audio interface featuring 24-bit audio up to 96kHz sampling rate, balanced stereo and headphone outputs, plus a combo input jack for line, instrument or mic input (with phantom power). Over $/€550 worth of IK’s professional software and creative apps is included, delivering an unmatched selection of everything needed to make complete music productions out of the box.

Create and perform with GarageBand, Logic and MainStage

For instant and easy control, iRig Keys I/O 25 offers dedicated scenes that integrate with Apple’s Logic Pro and GarageBand music creation DAWs. It now also offers a scene for Apple’s MainStage 3 app that enables the controller’s drum pads to be used to conveniently recall the first eight scenes in MainStage during a live performance.

Expert-level integration with tutorials

To demonstrate how well iRig Keys I/O integrates with Apple’s music creation software, IK worked with Eli Krantzberg and Doug Zanger of Logic Pro Expert to create a series of videos showing how to set up and use these solutions together. Eli Krantzberg is the editor of Logic Pro Expert and author at Groove3, and Doug is a contributor to Logic Pro Expert and an Apple Certified Pro.

In addition to iRig Keys I/O 25, other IK Multimedia products like iRig HD 2 (guitar interface), iRig Pro I/O (universal mobile interface), can be found in Apple Stores worldwide. IK Multimedia is the leader of the mobile music creation revolution as one of the first companies to utilize the power of the iPhone and iPad to let musicians create anywhere, any time.  From the original iRig interface, IK has developed the industry’s widest range of mobile accessories, from interfaces to microphones, keyboard controllers to stands and accessories, and continues to innovate in this fast-growing new market.

Workstation to Go

From August 1 until September 30, 2018, anyone who purchases iRig Keys I/O 25 will receive a complimentary iRig Keys I/O Travel Bag featuring adjustable straps, a zippered pouch for cables and other small items, and a stylish logo.

We are a matter of weeks away from this years iPhone lineups and this got me thinking about this years top end model and specifically it’s price.

If rumours are to be believed we are looking at a 512GB iPhone X Plus as this model.

The current top end is iPhone X 256GB at £1,149.

I’m thinking that the iPhone XS will be the same price points.

So add £150 to get to iPhone X Plus 256GB retails at £1300.

This makes another £150 for storage, so iPhone X Plus 512GB at £1449.

Let’s see how wrong I get this in a few weeks.

Is it too much to pay for an iPhone?

With the keynote only weeks away I’m starting to think about what I need to budget for. I’m trying very hard to use my devices at least until their Apple Care runs out, I’ve not been that successful in this as you know if you follow me. The one device I have had for a while is my series 2 Apple Watch. I’m running watchOS 5 and the performance isn’t great. I’m constantly tapping twice on things as it’s becoming unresponsive.

This got me thinking about what I’d like to see in a new Apple Watch.

Design?

Generally I’m happy with the design, a round face would be nice but it’s never going to happen. The only thing for me is to make it a little thinner.

Sleep Tracking

Yes, I know I can do this from a third party but I want it built into the watch. Apple is lagging behind in this aspect with other manufacturers doing sleep tracking as standard. It’s the one glaring disadvantage of the Apple Watch.

Keep the strap design

I’ve bought too many straps, please don’t change this yet!

I honestly can’t think of anything else I’d like to see. I’ve been wearing one since it launched and it’s fitted into my life very well, I definitely wouldn’t be without one now.

What do you want to see?

New apps: Dark Sky, Todoist, Fantastical and Calm.

I’m trying to use Apple Reminders for about the millionth time to see if it can fit the way my brain works.

I’ve switched to do apps so many times I’m declaring app bankruptcy and trying the default. The main draw is no fiddling with other accounts and knowing where my data is. I trust iCloud and Apple, that means a lot to me.

After looking at what I wanted in a to do app the main two were as follows.

Being able to create a free ‘today’ view. No time assignment just a list of things I’d like to get done today. I’ve achieved this by having a ‘today’ list that I can maintain.

Next up are reminders. As the app name suggests it’s good at reminding me to do stuff when I need to do it.

Another bonus of using Reminders is being able to call on Siri. I’m in the car for work quite a bit and being able to use CarPlay to set reminders and add ideas to my lists has been invaluable.

Lastly the Siri watch face integrates with Reminders so I’m not missing what I need to do when I need to do it.

Let’s see if it sticks this time.

Thanks to everyone that’s listened and given me feedback on the first episode of iOS Only. I’m really pleased that it’s been well received and I appreciate everyone that took the time out to listen.

I’ve been thinking about episode 2 and what the ongoing schedule should be. I’m thinking weekly with a release hitting your podcast player Thursday or Friday.

Look out for episode 2 next week.

After reading some of the threads related to #breakingmytwitter it has just reinforced my decision to leave.

Who knows if I’ll be back but at least I have 30 days to give Mastodon a good go and get some headspace back from the toxicity of Twitter.

I’ve wanted to launch a podcast on my own for a while, not just to share my thoughts but to learn how podcasts are made and distributed. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve finally got it done and all on iOS. The show is called iOS Only and at the time of writing this it’s been approved by Apple so all of the links in the page I’ll share below are valid. The only thing I’m waiting on is for it to appear in the search of iTunes.

I can’t wait to hear what you think and please send any feedback to me at iosonlypodcast@gmail.com

Thanks in advance to everyone that takes time out to listen, sub, review and give me feedback.

You’ll find all the info here.

And it’s back.

Hopefully not down for too long given the increase in switchers from Twitter. It’ll need to show it can handle the traffic or fall by the wayside. Unfortunately people don’t have a lot of patience.

As someone trying to launch a podcast I’m struggling a bit with sending my feed to Apple Podcasts at the moment and it appears I’m not alone. A quick Google search shows that other users experience this intermittent problem with little support from Apple. There is a bit of a infinite loop going on that some users are experiencing.

When I head over to the applepodcastsconnect page, log in and accept terms I get the above page. Tapping on ‘contact us’ takes me to iTunes connect, which then loops back to the same podcastsconnect log in, which as you might guess gives me this error again.

It feels more like an Amazon or Google support experience than Apple. I’ve contacted the support team linked to my developer account in a hope someone can help me out.

I can’t give you my podcast subscription link until I sort this out.

If by a miracle someone from Apple spots this please reach out to me.

I’ve started the first steps into podcasting on iOS, whilst I spent a bit of time planning I realised I needed to use iOS to create some artwork. I ended up using procreate, the Apple Pencil and an image I took of my iPhone X.

Imported the original image into Procreate then created a new layer and started to sketch an outline. I’m no artist but pleased with how it came out. It’s almost finished…

iPad Pro + Camera connection kit + blue yeti + ferrite app

I’ve been testing out third party lightning cables for a while now but realised I’d never actually shared which was my favourite. After having enough with the Apple cable breaking after only a few months I went on a search.

My favourite third party lightning cable is from Anker. It’s braided so flexible and sturdy. I’ve been using it for about 8 months and it’s still in the same condition as when I bought it.

Here’s the Amazon link.

As part of watchOS 5 we get a new feature that can stop us from forgetting to end our workouts. If your watch detects you have have stopped moving it’ll ask you if you have finished a workout. Sounds great but in reality I’ve found it annoying. I quite often set an outdoor work if we go on a family day out somewhere. These walks quite often involve stopping to have a drink or look at something. I found that the workout app would ask me way too often.

There’s good news, you can disable this feature.

Go to the watch app, then workout, then disable ‘end workout reminder’.

Apple have collaborated with Logitech on a Qi charger for iPhone 8 and X. It retails at $69.99 and looks pretty neat.

Details here.

Even if you set a passcode on your iPhone you maybe less secure than you might think. Buried under FaceID security settings you can tweak what is available on your lock screen when locked. I’ve included the above screen shot that shows how mine is locked down so that even if I lose my phone I’ve done all I can to secure it.

Head over to Settings then FaceID & Passcode. Scroll down and you will see the settings above. If you copy mine then it’ll be locked down.

Control Centre is really handy for getting to those settings that require a bit of drilling down quickly. I use it mainly for enabling low power mode or greyscale. Here’s how I customise it.

Head over to settings and tap control centre. From here tap customise controls. You can now add and remove items in your control centre as you see fit.

I’ve got two main tips that I use to get more battery life out of my iPhone on long day trips away from a power socket.

Low battery mode

This is a great feature even when you have a fully charged battery. Head to settings, battery and toggle on Low Power Mode.

My next tip is a bit more drastic but works wonders.

Enable display accommodations

By enable black and white mode you can stretch your iPhone battery even further.

Head over to settings, general, accessibility, display accommodations, colour filters. Turn this toggle on and use greyscale.

I’ve updated my feed in Apple News to point to the new site, here’s the link to open in the News App.  It might take a few days to update.

• Apple News

I know I’m running a risk with a beta but the OTA (Over The Air) update for iOS 12 Beta 6 has been terrible for me. My AirPods no longer work with my iPhone, the phone just hangs multiple times a day and battery is getting me through half the day.

I’m going to do a restore with the downloadable file from the developer portal to see if it resolves.

Anyone else getting issues on the latest beta?

Now I’m seriously planning out moving from social media I need to be better at finding other ways to share my content.

First up is getting a proper RSS feed for my site sorted out, you can see the link in the MENU on my site or use this link

• LJPUK RSS

I need a break, in Twitter’s latest escapade of supporting fake news and encouraging arguments on its platform it’s pretty obvious it’s not good for your mental health. I can no longer add content to its platform.

I’m not deleting my account just in case someone else is brought in to run the company but I’m done for now.

This post will be shared but I’m not even sure I want to add links to my posts anymore.

Once I know what I’m doing I’ll share where we can stay in touch.

I’ve seen lots of images of patina on the Apple leather case but never actually experienced it for myself. I picked up a bright orange case on 27th June 2018 and have been using it pretty much full time. For me as someone that doesn’t like using a case it’s a good sign I like it.

The bright orange case will wear differently to say the saddle brown due to the colour but I can at least share how it’s ageing over time.

Here are a few images after a month and a half of use.

I’m starting on a new creative project around using iOS full time and putting the MacBook to bed for a bit. My first challenge is recording a podcast with my beloved Blue Yeti.

After putting a shout out on Twitter (Thanks Andy and Daryl) it looked like the iPad Camera Connection kit was the way to go.

Here’s the one that I picked up on Amazon.

I simply plugged it into the lightning port, connected the microphone via USB and it worked. I did also use the power pass through connection but this isn’t necessary to get it working I just wanted to keep my iPad charged.

Everything works as normal, I can use the mute button and listen via the Mic on headphones.

My recording apps such as GarageBand and Ferrite both worked and picked up the yeti automatically.

I’ll share more on my workflow once I figure it all out.

Over the air update has just kicked in on my iPad. If you’ve signed up for the beta get yourself updated.

As you know if you read my stuff regularly I’m going all in on iOS, first up is getting images from a Canon 70D to my iPad and into iCloud Photo Library.

It worked out very easy in the end, I picked up a cheapish card reader on Amazon and simply plugged the memory card in. Note that in the picture the card is upside down, yes this one came out a bit wonky but it works.

Once I plugged in the memory card it brought up the images in Photos and I tapped the ones that I wanted to import into my library. Once in my library they uploaded to iCloud and hey presto.

I’m yet to test really huge RAW files but in my testing so far the speed of import is better than the last time I tried, this is most probably due to using iOS 12 but I’ve not validated this.

Here’s the reader I picked up

Amazon

As with my iPhone, I’m going to share my second used device I own. This is from my 10.5” iPad Pro.

Some highlights this month are.

Marvel Unlimited continues to be a monthly subscription for me. I enjoy chilling out reading comics and this app has a huge amount to choose from.

Wordpress is the best way I’ve found to run a blog from an iOS device. Since switching from Squarespace I haven’t looked back.

Workflow is an app I’ve dabbled with but am determined to understand and use better.

Ferrite is the app I am going to try and record a podcast from iOS with.

I want to get into the habit of sharing my home screen once a month to show you how I’m using my devices and the apps I’m currently using.

Here are a few highlights from August.

Todoist is my current app of choice for managing my life. I’ve gone back and forth but for this month I’ll be testing it out.

I’ve dropped all social media except for Twitter. I cannot use the official app with its ads and poor content filtering. Tweetbot is my app of choice.

Halide is a tester for me, I’m going to give shooting in RAW a go for some shots to see if it gets close to my DSLR for certain types of shots.

Headspace is there as another tester to see if I can get into meditation.

Lastly Fortnite is there for when I get two mins between tasks as a break or if I’m out and about waiting for an appointment etc.

I deleted my Instagram account a while ago but in the last couple of months I missed seeing some of the design accounts I followed. My username became available again so I signed up again.

It took a couple of months but I decided to remove my account again. I don’t want to feed facebook data, the search screen is full of inappropriate content and I was getting no value from seeing ads upon ads.

Luckily Instagram has an easy link you can use to do this - here you go.

I’ve always bought the official Apple Watch bands but recently I decided to try out some third party ones to see if I’ve been missing out. I decided to focus on one style, my favourite sport loop. I’ve loved this band since it came out and have a couple of official Apple ones.

I went onto Amazon and started to go through reviews and purchased a few to see which manufacturers were the best.

In my opinion there is a clear winner - Chok Idea. They are comfortable, the same width as the official Apple band and offer a selection of colours.

I picked up several that matched some of my favourite Nike ones that aren’t available anymore.

The colours I went for were midnight fog, black and white, flash and khaki.

Links:

• Midnight Fog
• Flash
• Black/White
• Khaki

[gallery ids=“497,498,508,509,510,511,512,513,514,515” type=“rectangular” orderby=“rand”]

I’ve been after an iPad sleeve for a while and came across this item on Amazon a few days ago. Took delivery today and I’m impressed with the build quality, remember it’s not leather though if you are thinking it might be. It’s fake leather, which I am perfectly fine with. This holds the iPad Pro 10.5” along with the Apple Pencil.  It will also fit the Smart Keyboard cover at a squeeze.

Here’s the LINK

So as you may know if you follow me on Twitter I’ve gotten frustrated with the state of Apple’s keyboards on their laptops and finally committed to going all in on iOS. It’s something I’ve done on and off for years but never fully embraced it, falling back on my Mac when I felt friction. Well after suffering with more RSI related issues using the 12” MacBook I’ve decided enough is enough and decided to use my iPad Pro 10.5” as my only mobile ‘computer’. I do have a 5K iMac from a few years ago but these days it’s only used as a way to import and store our family photos. I don’t use it in anger anymore, it sits in the corner on a shelf looking at me…

So as a result of going all in on iOS with my iPad + Pencil + Smart Keyboard Cover (I prefer this keyboard to Apple’s laptops) I am selling my MacBook, here are the specs:

• 12" Early 2016/Space Grey
• Core M, 1.1 GHz
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB SSD
• Apple Care until January 2020

I’m looking at £550 ONO, please contact me on Twitter (@LJPUK) or via my site if you are interested. I’m giving it a week then it’ll go off to an online site that will give me cash for it.

Wish me luck in my iOS only adventures, I’ll be sharing everything with you here.

[gallery ids=“483,484,485,486,487,488” type=“rectangular”]

I know this is old news but the handwriting recognition in Apple Notes appears to have gotten better in iOS 12. I pretty much write all the time with the pencil in notes so I’ve picked up a habit of writing my title for the page in capitals, nice and clear. You can see in the image that it’s correctly picked up my handwriting and converted.

Go on, give it a go.

This usually means they are getting ready to release new colours. Makes sense with us only weeks away from a new iPhone announcement.

Just spotted this change to the YouTube app on iOS. This falls in line with their new changes to Android around spending less time on your devices.

I’ve been having several issues on watchOS 4, the most annoying being weather not displaying and losing connectivity to my iPhone. It’s gone to Apple for servicing once already so I thought what the heck I’ll install the dev beta.

My initial impressions are good. It hasn’t lost sync and the weather app is working well so far.

I’m noticing a few little tweaks that I’m enjoying in watchOS 5. Timers now rememberers your last few so that you can simply tap on them rather than set a new custom time. Another welcome change is a more detailed weather app. Inheriting some of the changes from iOS in that it now shows wind and air quality.

Performance on my series 2 also feels improved. It’s great to see the same iOS performance ethos coming over to the watch.

Wow this is a lot of testers for the next releases. I hope that they have a good sized test team.

Personally I’m running iOS, watchOS and macOS betas.

You might have seen my tweet, it was the last one I did yesterday. I’ve decided to take a proper break from social media. I use Twitter, Instagram and Slack. I stopped using Facebook in Jan 2018. In a bid to get some more quality time back in my life it’s a decision that was actually quite easy with how toxic most of them are. I do get a lot of value from interacting with others but the negatives of both ‘the feed’ and companies attitudes towards its users has finally become too much for me.

I have a blog I want to put effort into, a podcast to plan and music to record. Spending too much time lost on Social isn’t helping me succeed in any of this.

What I’ve noticed

• I'm picking up my phone less
• I'm less distracted thinking about the news or thinking about purchases
• I'm spending more time in apps that give me some value, such as sketching out ideas in Notes for example

Yesterday happened to be the day when another iOS beta dropped but I stayed strong and didn’t install any social apps to catch up on what happened. Not sure how long I’ll last but I’m going to give it a good go.

Bye bye Mojave beta I need a reliable production machine for podcasting.

Hold Option + Command + R and press the power button on your Mac. Hold down until you see the image above.

Pretty cool right? Cheap as chips, £5 each and come with a screen protector. They aren’t official of course but Marvel seem to be missing the boat on not putting out cool cases themselves.

• Captain America
• Spiderman

Not long to go, iTunes has updated its pre-order page to 20th Aug, about 3 weeks after its release in the states.

I can’t wait to watch this film again, my pick of the year so far.

I don’t often talk about my day job on here but I thought it would be useful to share how I’m using my iPad to assist me in my 9-5 as a Technical Consultant.

I’m home based but work closely with clients all over the UK building out technical requirements for our projects. I won’t name names but I work for a large US company with offices all over the world.

We use Windows, so I’m on a Dell something or other and cannot integrate my iPad into my work email etc. So I use it to help speed up my workflow in other ways.

First off is note taking. I do use pen and paper but often take my iPad to meetings. It is often a conversation starter with clients, which helps break the ice but comes in really handy when they want a copy of something. I also have to make diagrams, sketching and sending is so much quicker than using Visio just to get an idea across.

For this I use Noteability. It’s hands down the best note taking app I’ve found.

Next up is mind mapping. This is more for my knowledge. I’ll create mind maps to remember how to do certain tasks and get things done. Believe me working in a company of over 25,000 people who seem to constantly change roles it’s important to remember who to go to for information or process.

For this I use MindNode.

For a to do given I need to be multi platform so I use Todoist. I have an Android phone and Windows so it’s important I can access it from anywhere.

Lastly for email I stick to outlook on my work machine, no iPad use here unfortunately.

How do you use your iPad to support your day job?

I’ve owned this particular iPhone X since February (I’m on my third, it’s a long story) and I’m amazed at how easily the screen scratches. Now first off, this doesn’t bother me - nothing stays perfect and you’ll be set up for disappointment if you expect it. Over the years I’ve come to be relaxed about and embrace some wear and tear on my stuff. I treat my gear well but if I ding one of my guitars or put a scratch on my iPhone I let it go immediately, no emotional reaction to it.

Anyway I digress.

Whilst using my screen a week or so ago I felt a deep scratch that I can feel with a fingernail. On inspection I have quite a few hairline scratches all over the screen. Since I started with my iPhone 3G I’ve really never used cases or screen protectors and I can honestly never remember an iPhone that picks up screen damage as easily as the iPhone X.

I’ll be watching the September keynote with great interest to see what the deal is with the new screens.

These new screen don’t appear to be using the same glass as the 7, which wore really well in my experience.

Do you have an iPhone X and is it scratched?

As part of trying to be more mindful about how I use my device I’ve simplified my home screen a lot. Here’s how it’s currently setup

• Only use utilities or methods of communicating with others on my first page, this covers most of the apps on there
• My wordpress site that allows me to share my thoughts quickly, like this post
• Access to my camera
• A browser to check news rather than Apple News algorithm
• Maps
• Everything else is on the second page with distractions like social media hidden away in a folder.When I want to launch apps I use spotlight.This is my setup for now, I'll report back on how it's helping me spend more time focussed on where I want to be using my smartphone.

As part of trying to be more mindful of my smartphone usage I’ve installed iOS 12 public beta specifically to try out app limits. The “Time Well Spent” movement I’ve been following isn’t about demonising technology but letting it help us get some control back. It’s obvious makers of social networks don’t respect us so thankfully Apple do. I’ve set myself a 30 minute time window for social networking rather than removing my apps completely. You can find all of this under Settings, Screen Time and then App Limits.

iOS 12 has some great new features that allow you to be more mindful about how you use your device, playing into the “Time well spent” movement. It helps in two ways

1. Being able to set a time where only your defined apps are useable
2. Setting up app limits e.g. 30 mins a day on social media

As I wrote about in a post yesterday I am very aware of how my iPhone causes me distractions and I’d like to test our iOS 12 to see if it can help on top of what I am already doing I.e. greyscale at times and a new designed home screen that stops my muscle memory of automatically going for that Tweetbot icon.

The more I read up on this new “Time well spent” movement the more I understood that it isn’t so much about stopping using Twitter all together but setting yourself some barriers to using it. It’s not about demonising technology but being more mindful of how you are using it (bearing in mind the creators don’t care about you and want you to use it more).

So, I’ll throw on the beta and set myself some limits.

Inspired by the Center for Humane Technology I've decided to take some control back and adopt some of their suggestions for using my iPhone less. The first stage to this was to implement the greyscale filter, not only does it give you more battery life but makes your iPhone screen seem less playful and in turn less likely to play around with too much.

Here's how to enable this

• Tap Settings
• Tap General
• Tap Accessibility
• Tap Display Accommodations
• Tap Colour Filters
• Tap the toggle and make sure Greyscale is selected

You can easily disable when you want to take a photo or view images by adding a shortcut in control centre like this

• Tap Settings
• Tap Control Centre
• Tap Customise Controls
• Tap the + next to Accessibility Shortcuts

Now when you want to get some colour back simply swipe down from the top and tap on the Accessibility Shortcut button.

After watching a few videos and a recent BBC documentary on smartphone addiction, especially social media I’ve decided to make some changes. This may or may not last but I want to give it a go. I don’t spend a lot of time of Instagram, haven’t used Facebook since January 2018 but still use Twitter and YouTube heavily. I find that as soon as I unlock my iPhone I’m instinctively reaching for the app icons of these two apps. The BBC documentary really highlighted for me the mind games employed by social media app makers and the lack of respect that they have for their user base. There is good and bad to everything but in recent times social media has been awash with the bad. Thankfully I don’t see a lot of it targeted at me but when I have it’s unsettling and reminds me to take a step back. Certain fandoms are toxic right now and changing your mind on a device or subject also gets you some flak. Having an opinion is important but I’ve decided not to air it all in public on social media so much. I’ll still be sharing my thoughts on my passions here on my blog but I may be quieter on Twitter for a while. I also have a few new passion projects I want to get into and limiting my time on social media will give me some time back. Wish me luck and I hope a few of you will join along and take a step back for a minute.

Lory Gill over at iMore has written up a few thought on running iOS 12 beta on the iPhone SE. As resident tech support for friends and family this is encouraging and hopefully stays when released in September.

I picked up the leather loop in 2015 and have worn it probably 25% of the time since then. On using it last week I noticed the band has separated from the lug on one side. I raised it with Apple and was told it is only covered for 1 year. This got me thinking that for the money, which was over £100 at the time it should have lasted longer. In my experience with traditional leather straps they last the lifetime of the watch in my use case. I feel that Apple should extend the warranty on their higher end bands. What do you think?

Source: Upgrade

It’s the summer of fun over at Relay.fm and this weeks episode is all about podcasting. As someone that’s looking at moving to podcast like me it’s a must listen.

I’ve been using the Apple leather case for a week and ended up exchanging the saddle brown for bright orange, I really enjoy the more colourful look of my iPhone.

I’ll write up my thoughts but for now here’s a gallery for your enjoyment.

[gallery ids=“412,413,414,415” type=“rectangular”]

Thought it was about time I cased my iPhone X for a bit. I’ve had a silicone case but never owned a leather one. I picked up a saddle brown one, here it is as day 1. Looking forward to seeing how it ages over time.

The home app isn’t the most intuitive bit of software from Apple. I wanted to unpair my new HomePod and it wasn’t immediately obvious.

Here’s how

1. Tap on the home app
2. Long hold on the paired HomePod icon
3. Tap details
4. Scroll to the bottom and you'll see ungroup accessories
5. Tap

I’ve been loving having a quality audio experience in my home office, as I wrote about before but the more I used it the more I loved having it in the office.

The issue I had is that I took it from the kitchen where the whole family could enjoy it. We had gotten used to calling on Siri to play our favourites and having already taken the Sonos out of action didn’t have a replacement.

I had a Sonos Play:1 and the thought of having to use it again after getting used to using Siri filled me with dread. The Sonos app is slow and being only able to call up songs via it rather than voice was annoying. After getting used to the HomePod and using either Siri or AirPlay without having to log on anywhere was a breeze.

I decided that we should get a second, but justifying over £300 for a second one needed me to be a little creative.

I decided to pick up a second one used so I traded in my Sonos Play:1, a couple of old iPhones and a couple of PS4 games I’m not playing. End result a shiny new (and still wrapped in plastic) HomePod for £5 after my trade with CEX.

At the moment I have them as a stereo pair to test (it sounds amazing) and then I’ll be moving the space grey one up to it’s place in the kitchen and leave the white one in the office.

If you’ve moved to iOS 12 beta and want to go back here’s how to do that on iOS 11.

1. Turn off your iPhone X (hold down power and volume up for a few seconds)
2. You'll need a Mac so fire up iTunes
3. Grab your lightning cable
4. Plug it into your iPhone whilst holding down power (right side button) and volume down at the same time
5. Click restore

Once your Mac has downloaded iOS 11.4 it’ll start to restore your iPhone.

Head over to my YouTube channel.

Here’s a little video on iPad changes for iOS 12 over on my YouTube channel.

I’ve done a little how to over on my YouTube channel.

Head over to my YouTube channel.

If you get one of these, do not click on the link. I’ve started to receive spam pretending to be from Epic. Most likely due to the popularity of Fortnite, spammers have found a new way to try to get your details.

Be safe out there.

Nice link over at 9to5 so that you can get the Mojave (night one is my favourite) on your devices now.

I’ve started creating video again, head over to my YouTube channel to check out my initial look at iOS 12.

Watch on YouTube

As per App updates in iOS 12 you will be able to install software updates automatically. This is off by default, as it should be. I’ll be enabling this in the beta to see what happens.

There’s two native apps missing here, something to measure Nutrition and something to sleep track.

I’m hoping we get native sleep tracking in watchOS 5 at WWDC. There are a slew of sleep tracking apps out there but I’ve found none of them to work as I’d expect. Sleep++ is the most accurate that I’ve tested but I’d like the security of an Apple solution.

Apple should trust us to manage the battery and give us native sleep tracking. It’s an area Fitbit has over the Apple Watch currently, once they’ve offered it as standard they will be pretty much on par.

Please Apple give us native sleep tracking.

I’m selling a load of old gadgets and the first thing I had to do was reset my Sonos Play 1.

Here’s how to reset

1. Turn off your Sonos at the wall
2. Hold down Play/Pause and Volume Up
3. Turn on your Sonos at the wall
4. Keep holding down until you see a red and white flashing light
5. Let go of the buttons
6. Wait until you see the light change to a flashing green and white light

It’s now reset.

With iOS 11.4 Apple have enabled AirPlay 2 and the ability to pair two HomePods to create multi-room or stereo pairing two of them together. I’m currently strategising on how I can pick up another one (selling Sonos and some old gadgets to fund it) but here is Jason Snells take on the update.

I’ve been asking for third party watch faces on watchOS for the last few years and have come to the conclusion we won’t get them - ever.

Apple work closely with brands such as Nike and Disney to create new ones but hasn’t as of yet opened it up wider. Based on this and the lack of focus on allowing developers to build their own I’m sticking my neck out and stating we won’t ever get them.

Apple are very precious about their brand values, I just don’t see them allowing any developer to create something that could potentially tarnish the Apple Watch brand.

The only way I see this happening is with strict controls on reviewing everything. I just don’t see Apple having the staff to do this on top of the already difficult to manage App Store.

I might be being pessimistic here but as with a refresh of Reminders on iOS Apple have disappointed me too much when it comes to my hopes for each WWDC announcement.

I hope I’m proven to be wrong.

If you’re heading to WWDC this year Apple has announced a special set of challenges for the week to get everyone moving.

This is a great idea and something I hope they do more of in partnership with other events.

Link.

It’s a big day for the Omnigroup, today sees the launch of OmniFocus 3. I’ve been a user of OmniFocus for a while, well on and off. I switch a lot but always seem to come back eventually. I like their privacy and encryption stance and trust them above any other productivity app to look after my data.

I’m starting to test and will let you know how I get on.

Omnigroup

I look at my home screen and generally I’m happy but I look at those app labels and wish there was an option to remove them.

[gallery ids=“337,338” type=“rectangular”]

This shouldn’t be the default behaviour but I’d like a user option to remove all app and folder labels. It looks much cleaner and I never have to use them. I’ve seen friends and family rely on these labels but for me they add visual clutter.

Making this change will also help remove this sort of eyesore from your device.

I look at the dock on my iPhone X and it looks so much better without labels underneath the apps.

Please Apple, give us some options here. Not that long to go now until WWDC so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

With WWDC upon us I’m doing my annual review of what I’m storing in iCloud. When I did it struck me how limited Apple still are in terms of offerings.

Here’s my storage, I pay £6.99 a month for my almost 400GB of storage, where’s the 500GB option? Whilst I’m at it I also thought again how much Apple is taking it’s customers for a ride still only offering 5GB for free when we spend so much on products.

5GB in 2018?

It’s small and in my experience gives users a bad time using an Apple product. I’ve been asked by almost everyone moving or new to iPhone why they can’t back up. You can guess the remarks when I tell then they need to pay to back up their device or store their photos. Having spent upwards of £600 on a new device it’s a bit galling to have to pay anything to backup the phone you just paid a lot of money for.

I’m concerned with Apple’s focus on making revenue from services that a bigger free tier (to at least back up our device completely) isn’t going to be coming anytime soon. Apple have boasted for a while about how much services is making, you can bet that they are not suddenly going to offer everyone something for free.

I’d like to see Apple offer 50GB for free, for all it’s users. Not just ones that say bought an iPhone X but any device that exceeds the 5GB. I’m saying that if your device hits a limit in iCloud you should be given some more, up until the capped 50GB that they offer for free. This would be a much better user experience and would certainly stop all of the conversations I’ve had with friends and family around this matter.

Come on Apple, you can afford to do this.

Tier review

At the moment there is a jump from £2.79 (200GB) straight up to £6.99 (2 TB), for my use case I need 500GB or 1TB. I’d like to see Apple add new tiers

• 500GB at £3.79 a month
• 1 TB at £5.50 (including family sharing)

This would me to save just over £3 a month.

What about family sharing?

Regardless of if you set up family sharing (I don’t) or not I feel that offering this new costing is the right thing to do. Technically if you have a large family all with iDevices then maybe at £6.99 you’ll save some money but in my experience family sharing is a nightmare. I’ve tried (and failed) to set it up in the past and now don’t trust the service.

Saying that though most families would be ok with my new 1 TB tier, therefore saving families money over paying for 2 TB as I do.

Am I mad, is my maths our of whack? - as always, let me know…