Never Buy Another New Apple Product Again
This must stop somewhere — let it be with you
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I admit I was an Apple Fanboi. I drooled over the news there would be a new MacBook Pro and obsessively read the specs for all the new iPhones. I had plans to buy an Apple Watch, AirPods, and an iPad just for me (my daughter already has one she uses for drawing, Roblox, and TikTok).
I was firmly entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, and I doubt if I would have ever got unstuck. Even though under the surface, I had issues with the usability of Apple, and was frankly a little bored with iOS and macOS, I like that the products I was using were premium, fast, and problem-free.
Who doesn’t like a little luxury?
But then, something happened. By now you all have heard I had a heart attack. Well, paying for the angioplasty I needed broke me, and when I got out of the hospital, I needed money to save my house from foreclosure because we had used all our money to pay the hospital bill.
The first things that sold were my M1 MacBook Air and my iPhone XS Max. They were really the only thing I had of value to sell because underneath, I really am a minimalist who craves simplicity, but I just happen to love expensive tech products.
Selling my devices helped to save my house, the rest came from GoFundMe. I had given my old Dell Windows laptop with no battery and a broken keyboard to my brother-in-law, and he gave it back to me when he bought my MacBook. I started using it even though I couldn’t use the shift key on the left and I had to keep it plugged in at all times because there is no battery.
The funny thing is, when I started using the laptop again, I started remembering all the things I missed about the Windows environment (it was using Windows 11). I remembered how much I enjoyed using Windows and how easy everything was. The keyboard shortcuts were easier, and I already knew my way around fixing any problems without looking everything up on Google.
And even though I had to use the shift key on the right side, which took some getting used to, and I had to remember to save everything often in case the power went out (which happens a couple of times a day in the Philippines), I really enjoy using this laptop. Even if it’s not the newest and fastest, and it doesn’t have the pretty Apple logo on the cover, I enjoy the experience of my broken Windows laptop.
It goes to show you, that I don’t need all that fancy tech — after all, in my heart, I am a minimalist who cares about the environment, and I know it’s much better to use tech that is older and fix tech that breaks so it doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Now, there was another problem: I had no phone. When I got the iPhone XS Max, I gave my Samsung S9 to my wife and she was using it as a backup because she already had a Samsung A71. The S9 was small and had some ghosting on the screen, but I happily started using it.
Just like the realization that I loved Windows, I found that Android was so much easier and so much more fun than iOS. Now, I did miss Siri, because I used her for everything and I have some serious issues with Google Assistant, but everything else was as problem-free and enjoyable as I remember it.
A lot of the tech I use comes down to how I “feel” using it, and I happen to enjoy using Windows and Android much better.
Now I have a broken laptop and a five-year-old phone with a bad screen, but you know what? They do everything I want them to do perfectly, and I don’t feel the need to go back and spend a shitload of money to buy Apple products again when I get back on my feet.
In fact, I think I am going to buy a battery and new keyboard for my old Dell, and a new screen for my S9 and use them until they die of old age because I realized I don’t need all that fancy tech from Apple, and I am happy using my old tech.
I love having less stuff, and I don’t like being that person who is obsessed with something so much that they would spend thousands to have the latest and greatest on the market. I like being the guy with the old cellphone and laptop, who instead of always buying the latest, doesn’t fill up the landfills with all their old tech.
I may buy an Apple product again, but you can damn well be sure it won’t be new. It’s past time we all stopped paying $1200 for new phones and $3500 for MacBooks. It is ridiculous what we spend because we want that fancy little apple emblazoned on the front.
It’s time we stopped making Apple rich and ourselves poor because everyone is telling us only the “cool” people use Apple. Let’s start thinking realistically and start refurbishing old tech.
It’s the smart thing to do.
