I’m All-In with Apple’s Ecosystem… So Why Do I Still Look at Other Devices?

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If you’re a long-time reader of my tech stories here on Medium, you’ll notice a common theme: I go back and forth a lot. A lot. One minute, I’m looking at iPads or MacBooks, the next it’s Surfaces and Chromebooks.

This isn’t a new thing for me; for most of my technological life, I’ve flip-flopped between devices and operating systems in an effort to find the perfect computer. I went for Chromebooks because they were cheap, and I went for Windows laptops because they could run more programs.

It wasn’t until last year that I finally decided to give the MacBook a try; I’d always gone for cheaper computers and the Mac frankly always seemed unattainable for so long. I’d wanted one, certainly, but I’d never actually tried one.

It was hit and miss for me; the first MacBook I tried was the MacBook Air with an Intel Core i3 processor and a horrendous fan. And though I kept going back and forth between that computer and a few other options, it wasn’t until Apple released the M1 MacBook Air — fanless, speedy, and powerful — that I finally found the computer of my dreams.

That should have been the end of the story. I already used an iPhone and an iPad. I already had an Apple Watch and AirPods. The MacBook Air was the final piece of my Apple puzzle.

And yet… I spent some time using an Android phone instead, figuring out how well a Google Pixel worked in Apple’s ecosystem. I considered Chrome OS tablets instead of the iPad, trying to decide if I needed all of the power and app support that an iPad provides. I looked at the Surface Pro X, Go 2, and Laptop Go when I realized I didn’t like writing on the MacBook Air. Despite having what I considered to be the best, most powerful and useful devices all in one ecosystem, I continued to feel the need to look elsewhere.

Why is that?

Look, at the end of the day, I love my MacBook, I love my iPad, and I love my iPhone. At the end of the day, I know that those are the devices I’m going to continue to use. I know it deep down in my gut. But that’s at the end of the day; during the day, I’m left feeling uncertain. Uncertain whether there is an even better device out there. And that uncertainty nags at me.