I never would have thought I’d move from Google to Apple products, then it happened all at once.

My device swapping in 2019 reveals life changes.

I’ve been a die hard Google product fan for years. In 2012, I practically washed up on the shores of the Mississippi, fresh back from a journey of sorts, attempting farming “internships” between Sonoma County and mid-Missouri. I had a $20 pay-as-you-go phone and was without a computer altogether.

Shortly thereafter, I started Food Pedaler with a bike, a $300 Chromebook (I paid extra for the version with free limited cellular internet), and the Nexus 4 (my first legitimate smartphone). Since then I’ve gone through at least a dozen Android phones for business, and even more Chrome devices. I dumped out my wallet for both flagship Chromebooks — the Pixel LS 2, which was nuts, and the underwhelming Pixelbook.

The aforementioned most expensive computer ever from Google has a powerbank that notoriously dies, and after shelving the beautiful, lifeless piece of aluminum, I decided to see what Google might do to fix it. For a known hardware problem on a $1500 computer, the only option they offered was, “you can take it to Geek Squad to have it fixed at your own expense.” This was disappointing, and maybe motivating, but not sole the reason why I purchased my first Mac in 10 years. And not why I purchased my first iPhone ever the next week, a $125 SE Amazon.

No longer tied to an on-demand bike delivery service, I am relishing not being attached to a phone. And, among other things, with the time I’ve traded in, I’m digging into programming more. No more power-using my smartphone, and riding around all over STL with a laptop, ready to tether it and work at any given moment.

More than brands, in the past week I switched, not so intentionally, to the largest, most capable laptop and the smallest, simplest smartphone I’ve ever owned. I just set up the SE this evening and I already miss some off the click-saving features of pure Android, though interestingly enough the G-board swiping seems better on the iPhone… It’s taken some time to figure out managing windows, extra keys, and trackpad sensitivities on the Mac, and it will never be as elegant a UI as ChromeOS. But this indicates a shift of my own needs, and I’m happy I have options to grow with. If a very powerful sub 4.5" Android with a killer camera and water resistance comes out, I’ll probably be on it, though.