I’ve been deep in Apple’s ecosystem for several years. So it might be surprising that my MacBook Air became a Chromebook Air over the past six weeks. Then again, I’m a tech geek, so it’s not too great a shocker.
Instead of Apple’s default apps, I migrated to Google’s ecosystem on my Mac, iPad, and iPhone. I didn’t plan to switch platforms (again), but once the snowball starts, the avalanche follows. Apple hardware, meet Google software. I even switched my default search engine from DuckDuckGo to Google - whoa!
Overall, it was a nice setup. But it wasn’t ideal, and there were a few things I couldn’t easily replace or replicate from Apple to Google. Switching software was also leading me to jump the garden wall to Google hardware too: Chromebook and Android.
Much to my relief, my wife talked me down from the ledge. In fact, my family’s reliance on Apple’s ecosystem (Find My, Apple Cash, Apple Music, iCloud+, AirDrop, iMessage, FaceTime) was a big anchor, keeping me from a full migration. Now I’m happily encamped once more within the magical ecosystem that is Apple (recent corporate ethics notwithstanding).
Tools of choice
Fanboy hat on: I love how Apple makes the whole cohesive stack, both the software and hardware. So for years, I’ve enjoyed an iPhone plus an iPad or MacBook as my main devices.
Tech geek hat on: Likewise, Google makes much software and services that work well together. And while they’re available across a range of devices, they’re tailored best for Android phones and Chromebooks, which I fully embraced before too.
But I’ve stuck with my main computing hardware like I said in No New Tech, which happens to be all-the-Apple things. My M1 MacBook Air, iPhone 12 mini, and iPad Air are dependable and delightful.
For over a month, though, my main software apps and services were totally Google. And oh wow, I went from native apps to web apps, web apps, web apps:
- Apple Notes, Reminders, Maps, Photos -> Google Keep, Tasks, Maps, Photos
- Apple Mail -> Gmail (both client and service)
- Apple Podcasts -> Pocketcasts
- Safari -> Chrome
- iCloud -> Google Drive/Google One
- Pages & Numbers -> Docs & Sheets
It was quite an app switch. My family still uses a few Chromebooks, and I was able to login and see all my Googly web apps data instantly. Nice! Experimenting a few times, I moved from my MacBook Air to the Chromebook and continued whatever tasks I was doing - it all just worked. Plus ChromeOS impressed me; it’s come a long way with window management and Android app features.
Why the app switch?
How was my former Apple resolution and fascination unmoored? While many Apple enthusiasts were mesmerized by Vision Pro for several weeks, my eyes had cast their gaze at Chromebooks like the Eye of Sauron on his precious ring of power. Being heavily invested in Cupertino Computers, what could move me from some of the world’s best tech?
One
The first wedge for me in Apple’s garden wall was an article I read in early January. It’s about the MacBook Air versus a Chromebook, with some strong opinions (spicy takes), like this zinger:
“The MacBook Air is an overpriced web browser.”
While I disagree with parts of that piece, the author did make a few good points about a Chromebook’s simplicity and affordability. And I generally agree that many folks using a MacBook Air may likely find a Chromebook to be just as capable for most tasks.
Two
Something else that affected me was my oldest son buying a Samsung Galaxy phone. He had a fascination with Android, wanting to try it out while not really switching from his iPhone. So after looking at Android phones at Best Buy with him to advise on his purchase, I helped him navigate the ecosystem differences, trying out Google apps on my iPhone.
Three
Another big pull for me turning to the dark side Google-verse were some specific app advantages. Google Docs, unlike Apple Pages, retains formatted text when I copy/paste into WordPress, a big benefit to me at the time. It hides/unhides headings and subsequent paragraphs via a disclosure arrow for focused writing. And its side panel shows Keep notes next to my Doc for easy sharing of text between them.
Four
What impresses me is that Google apps work great on any device because the web! Call it cross-platform agnosticism. If a device has an internet connection, then it has Google’s web-first, cloud-first paradigm. Any device you log into with your Google account provides you with all the apps/services you really need. Savvy.
Aside - wanna see a fun debate? Put a nerd and a geek in a room and say, “Native apps versus web apps: fight!”
Five
Last but not least, I was pushed away from Apple by its recent responses to developers and the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act. Apple appears maliciously compliant, greedy, spiteful, etc. As a consumer, it put me off. While its products are still excellent, the gross company conduct, Poor Optics, and questionable ethics in the marketplace soured my taste for its products.
Final thoughts
Re-discovering how well Google’s apps work together was refreshing. Of course like all huge companies driven by relentless shareholder growth, Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto is dubious. And trading Apple apps for Google or third-party counterparts wasn’t easy to pull off; there were some things I wasn’t able to switch.
Neither is Apple perfect; it has so far failed this year to optimize its public relations. Also, the (financial) cost to get in the Apple ecosystem is very high. And the (switching) cost to get out of the Apple ecosystem is very high.
That said, Apple’s hardware and software are excellent overall. My family and I were already heavily invested. So after a brief escapade in the Googleverse, I’m happy and relieved to be, once again, ALL-IN with Apple. Every time I try to leave, I come running back.
No comments:
Post a Comment