As part of the Pixel 6 rollout Google gives out their latest devices to YouTubers and they are encouraged to share their thoughts via this hashtag. Don’t trust these reviews, it’s a gift so it’s already in the name they will mostly be a biased view point showing the positives not a real work review.
So just like pretty much every review then. Look I get it, the hashtag is a bit weird this year, and perhaps is a way to display #ad without actually saying it — but Google gives out Pixels to people all over YouTube every year — just like what seems like every other brand on the planet.
With that said, I agree with Lee. I absolutely do not believe what half the reviews say on YouTube currently. I have to watch loads of them to get an overview of what is actually going on and then try and pick out the topics reviewers have been told to cover. It’s pretty easy to pick them out because the same words are repeated but some brands are being downright manipulative about what is shown. Anyone remember the original Surface duo weird review embargoes? The below video from Mrwhosetheboss goes through the issues we face as consumers in loads of detail.
Without getting too much into the tools I use (yet again) I have been enjoying using Notion lately for all of my productivity needs. It’s not perfect but the power and flexibility it offers me for free is pretty crazy. One of the downsides is using it on the go as the iOS apps leave a little to be desired, but seeing as my usage on mobile is limited now I built a shortcut to help out.
The Set Up
The Notion API has been around a little while but it’s very under utilised in my opinion. Given the fact Notion appeals to a wide rage of businesses and individuals alike it comes as no surprised that the API allows for quite a lot to be achieved without even opening the app. In order to get access to this you will need to visit their integrations page and set up you own access token.
1 – Whilst signed in to Notion, head to the main page for setting up automation and add a new integration with a name of your choice. Once set up you will need the API Key, so copy this somewhere safe. This allows limitless access to your Notion data (with a few bits of extra information needed) so please keep it safe!
2 -Second you will need the ID of the database you want to add information into, you can find this in the URL when the database is open as a page. This does not work with Linked Databases so make sure you have the original one open and copy the URL.
If you have only one Workspace you wont have the Workspace name in your URL, so just copy everything after the Notion URL and before the question mark.
While you have this page open share this database with your integration by clicking ‘Share’ then ‘Add people, emails, groups or integrations’ and selecting the integration you just set up. This gives the API full access to this database only. In my example below this is my ‘Inbox’ where everything goes first for me to sort out later on at my desk.
The Shortcut
Download the Shortcut found here. Paste in the API Key when requested and secondly add in the Database ID. You can change these afterwards by editing the commented text boxes with the relevant data.
Once run, this simple set upasks you for a title and some content for the quick database entry you are making. This then puts the information into the below JSON format using the supplied variables. The real power of using the Notion API is the possibilities are huge. The API contains the ability to set up any number of blocks inside this page, rich text styling, adding images and loads more. You can find out more information in their extensive API documents.
I have set up a few of these to be able to add in items for my Todo list, blog post ideas and also clip web information for me to look at later on. I may look at creating something much bigger in future as my usage of Notion increases, it may never pull me away from Obsidian fully but it’s an amazing service none the less. If you create something I would love to see where you go with the Notion API and Shortcuts.
I would argue the only Apple Silicon Mac I can’t recommend is the 13” MacBook Pro. It’s several hundred dollars more than the Air and gets you the same performance in a larger body.
My first thought was of course you wouldn’t buy the 13″ model when something so good has just launched. To be honest I wasn’t really aware that the ‘older’ model (can’t really call it old now can we) was still available but sure enough there it sits starting at £1299. No doubt to give Apple a marketing angle that their pro laptops start at a lot less than they actually do.
Sure, look at the MacBook Pros in isolation and the base model, hell even the £1499 512gb version is an attractive purchase for some people. A saving of at least £400 is nothing to be sniffed at. However throw the MacBook Air into the mix and it makes no sense to go for a cheaper Pro.
There will be some people out there that need 4 ports, or want to squeeze out a couple extras hours of battery life and there are some very minute differences in performance but for the saving of several hundred pounds more the macBook Air is the machine to go for unless you have deep pockets.
Edit: turns out the 13” MacBook Pro has the same two ports as the Air. So even less reasons to buy it.
Whether that’s because Apple is more dominant when it comes to smartphones or just because the benefits of wireless audio were more obvious to people than USB-C accessories, people seem to have been far more ready to roll with Apple’s annoying headphone jack decision. There’s a valid debate to be had about whether Apple kicked off a trend towards wireless audio or whether its move just turbocharged one that was already taking place, but either way, Apple made a bet that the future of smartphone audio was wireless, and for all intents and purposes, it seems to have paid off.
It is unusual for Apple to be early into new spaces of technology it is not unusual on them making bets on the future of computing. Some of these fail (butterfly keyboards), some of them take a long time to come to fruition (flash), and some are forced through simply because Apple is behind them (headphone jacks). All of these are calculated by people far more intelligent than you or I, but theses always those waiting around to point some fingers. Generally speaking Apple seem to take the approach that in computing it’s better to be at the front and corse correct when possible, then be behind and risk missing the boat entirely.
Whilst the linked post above is vastly exaggerated, it’s great to see Apple willing to make corrections when needed. With that said replacing the SD card slot is not admitting they were wrong on USB-C at all, as pointed out they just don’t have the clout to push forward like they do on mobile. Most devices seem to still be sold with a USB-A cable at least on one end, and with so many brands dragging their heels it becomes a drag to carry around a dongle but not as bad as others seem to make out.
Apple didn’t put USB-A ports back in their laptops, but they did concede the the future is not as wireless as they might have thought. Unfortunately just a few months after admitting their bet on the future of keyboards they now return to a macBook that argues it has “pro-level” connectivity, when in fact it has a similar set up to a macBook found in 2015. Ouch.
Apple’s argument for getting rid of the SD slot was that the future would be wireless, and we wouldn’t need to use cards to transfer data anymore. It wasn’t true back in 2016, and it’s still not true. Sure, some devices equipped with SD cards now offer wireless data transfer, but let me tell you—it’s not as fast or reliable as just plugging in a card and transferring the data!
I still see this crop up from time to time. “I don’t need one because I have a dongle now” or “my camera supports some weird transfer over WiFi that I need an app for”. Nothing beats having an SD in your laptop, even more so for one aimed at pros.
I might be an edge case for people that will buy a MacBook Pro but I use 2-3 cards in rotation almost daily. Having to shoot onto multiple cards because they fill up fast. Not to mention I am away from my computer while doing this so I rely on being able to transfer all of this onto my Mac in one go. Even in a world where things have moved forward a few years and some cameras are moving partly to CFexpress but an SD card slot just makes sense if you have the room in the machine to put one.
I always love a good trip to the Apple store. A little to gaze at all its capitalist glory, but I usually have a good chat with the person sorting my stuff out and enjoy meeting some new people. Picking up my Apple Watch last week was no different and I had a good chat about the recent iPhone with the person helping me. We chatted for quite a while about their range of Pro devices.
We joked about what even is a Pro device, and that it means different things on different products, but they pointed out the surprising range of people that buy Pro branded products. To give you the cliff notes of our conversation, they pointed put how great the iPhone 13 is, and the iPad / MacBook Air. It’s great to have a device at every price point, but the reality is that a lot of people buy the most expensive one they can afford and often stretch to buy the Pro device without the need.
The anecdotal evidence seems to point towards the same conclusions. Your local coffee house features people browsing the internet, or writing Word docs on £1500+ laptops, and I have lost count of the number of friends whose children have written a MacBook Pro on their Christmas list. Every year when the new iPhone comes around, I see a whole new range of people that buy the expensive Pro phone and start taking photos walks for a few weeks to justify the costs. Sure, people can spend money however they wish, and more power to you, but Pro shouldn’t be your default.
This was even more evident, something I almost feel for myself, at yesterday’s event. Apple launched some new, good but staggeringly expensive, laptops yesterday which most people have zero need for. I work in a field that typically relies on powerful equipment to export video and manipulate designs easily and the power is still far more than I need. My 2017 iMac still doesn’t miss a beat, and no doubt more power would speed things up, but the cost isn’t worth the trade-off.
These Pros are for those that need serious power on the go, yet I have a feeling I will see these all over the place in a few weeks. Apple devices have always been a status thing for some. Like designer clothing the enjoyment comes from brandishing something just for the cost – or so I am told. I can’t wait to be able to pick those notched screens out with not too much trouble and have a look at what tasks are being done on a machine that is at least a thousand pound more expensive than required.
Of course, you do you, but the rest of the range are great too you know. Perhaps something cheaper might actually be better for you.
Every time I tweet these words or heaven forbid say them out loud, I get a wide variety of strange looks and responses. Many of which I couldn’t really understand and some of which could be the start of alienation completely. For some strange reason, some people took this personally — and that’s weird.
You may see my lack of need to use my phone as a statement of superiority. That I am looking down on those that do use their phones a lot, and while it could come across like this, nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is I could be seen on the same level as those weird families that didn’t have a TV while you were growing up. Not in a modern way — they don’t feel the need because they watch shows on a tablet or laptop — but because they don’t like it. These people seem to look down on others that did have a TV, and as Joey on friends asked, I never quite worked out what all their furniture pointed at.
I did use my phone a lot in years gone past. When spending hours and days on the road it became my lifeline back to my family and my working device. Sure I had an iPad, but my phone was always the biggest and best battery life iPhone I could get. It never left my person and I used it constantly.
Until the iPad mini was announced I was also talking myself into going with the Pro Max version this year and wrote about my thought process behind it (and some self-affirmation I needed). However, I spend most of my day sat at an iMac and when I am at home I just want to be away from things. So, my phone only fills in the small gaps now, it’s small itself because my needs have changed. I don’t use it much, but not in a weird way!
I’ve been toying with the idea of not using an Apple Watch on off for a few years. Usually when summer rolls around and I don’t want a tan line I think about leaving it at home more, but always go back after a few days. Well, this year I had an enforced hiatus from having an Apple Watch and its taught me a few things.
I wrongly sold my Apple Watch a week before the new one was announced thinking I would be without it for a little over two weeks maximum. Yet here we are a month later and still a week or so to wait. It has been a weird experience because I have had one strapped to my wrist since the first version. In fact, it is one of my favourite devices that I have ever purchased and, until the Series 6, have upgraded religiously each time. I can boil the reasons why I love wearing an Apple Watch Down to two areas and lacking one for a while has allowed me to see things a bit more clearly.
Heath Tracking
I love being active, It’s as simple as that. Although many life things get in the way I always find time to work out, even just a little. Before the Apple Watch launched, I went through a series of fitness trackers, running watches and fuel bands. Nothing quite filled the areas that I wanted nor provided me with something I could rely on.
This is the area I have missed most while being ‘Apple Watchless’. Although I have enjoyed the odd run a little more being freed from the ability to check how fast I am going, I miss the tracking. Being able to see how much I have been moving and see if I need to push a little further to fill my rings is priceless. I also like being able to keep an eye on my heart rate first thing in the morning and can often spot tiredness or illness coming before I feel it.
Of course, there are alternatives to this. However, health data is so personal I don’t trust anyone else with it. I have years of health data in iCloud, so the simple fact is I won’t go anywhere else. I could use the Strava phone app and a HR monitor and sync this into Apple Health but the Apple Watch just makes everything so seamless.
Notifications
This has been the biggest revelation. Whilst I thought I was doing pretty well with managing all the dings and red dots. Turns out I have just been triaging them on my Apple Watch and not sorting the issue. Due to the easy to feel taps on the wrist I can forget about, I have had my phone on silent for years and never really given it much attention. Now that I must have my phone on ringer, I have sorted the problem out for good. Setting up Home, Work and Sleep Focus modes to make sure I only get what I need. Don’t get me wrong I had all the usual suspects turned off but was still pinged a surprising number of times by apps I had neglected. Such las Apples own media apps and personal email.
Overall. It has been an interesting experience, but I can’t wait to order one on Friday and return to some normality. It’s weird that a bit of tech has thrown me. I could live without it, but I don’t really want to.
