2025-12-28 05:55:58
In Newsprint's recent Sunday Edition, Josh writes:
The last major aspect hanging over my head is also the most expensive one: a 32-inch 6K display. You see, I’ve tried everything now. I’ve tried two 27-inch displays side-by-side. I’ve tried two 24-inch displays side-by-side. I’ve tried Mac Virtual Display via Vision Pro. I’ve tried a single, small 14-inch MacBook Pro Display. I’ve tried a single 27-inch display.
I could wax poetic about each setup (I have many soapboxes I could stand on and shout from) but I haven’t been 100% happy with any of these options. I want to try a single 32-inch 6K display. I want enough space for three windows side-by-side — enough room for a tax return, a PDF, and an Excel sheet. I want the simplicity and focus of a single display setup. I would like to remove things from my desk.
And, of course, the 32-inch 6K display we all want stands just slightly outside the current budget. I’m not the only person wanting a Pro Display XDR for their setup. It’s a big, beautiful — incredibly beautiful — display, far beyond my needs, and certainly within my wants.
Although I have used a single 27-inch monitor for the longest time, last year, I considered upgrading to a 32-inch monitor. The Apple XDR was out of my price range, but I found a refurbished Dell 32inch 6k Monitor for an incredible deal with a 14-day returns policy.
It looked ugly in pictures, but in person, it was even uglier. I know beauty is in the beholder's eye, but as someone who has been using the Apple Studio Display since launch, I just couldn't get over its looks. After all, I am looking at it for eight hours a day.
If one can ignore the looks, the 32-inch 6K monitor is wonderful. It felt so much bigger and provided more room. I work predominantly with PDFs, word documents, spreadsheets and a browser. It felt cramped on the 27 inch but on the 32-inch; it felt just right.
My monitor in the office is a Dell 4K, 34-inch monitor, and that works wonderfully too. I am just being extremely picky, the work I do, 4K resolution is fine.
In my home study, it is important to me that it looks nice. Maybe 2026 will be the year that I get a 6K monitor.
Because I use both macOS and Windows, I am looking for a monitor that supports both and can have both connected via thunderbolt allowing me to switch between them seamlessly. As far as I know, there is no monitor currently on sale that allows two laptops to be connected and charged by a single monitor.
Also, even if one only has a work MacBook and a personal one, it still isn't possible to have both connected and charged with a single monitor. Perhaps I am being too picky, but having one cable from the laptop has spoilt me.
The search continues.
Note: in 2026, I am also hoping to be mindful of my purchases. Yes, I could buy a 32 inch monitor today, but my 27-inch monitor has been sufficient, as evident by the work I have done in the past. It is easy to fall into the mindset that the next purchase will improve/enhance my work further. However, most times, the work you do depends on you and you only.
2025-12-19 17:24:55
Cannot believe it has been two years and its good to see that people are still sharing their defaults. You can explore others defaults here. My 2023 list is here.
Anyway, as 2025 comes to an end, here's mine and how it compares to my 2023 list.
| App | 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Mail Server | Google Workspace / MxRoute | Fastmail |
| Email client | HEY Email | HEY Email |
| Notes | Notion/Tot | Notion/Tot |
| Task Management | Todoist | Todoist |
| Camera | Apple/Google | Apple/Google |
| Photo Management | Google Photos | Google Photos |
| Calendar | Google Calendar and Fantastical | Google Calendar and Fantastical |
| Calendar Backend | iCloud and Google | iCloud and Google |
| File Storage | Dropbox | Dropbox |
| RSS | Feedbin | Feedbin |
| Contact Management | iCloud | |
| Browser | Arc on MacBook, Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS | Arc on MacBook, Vivaldi on Android/Windows and Safari on iOS |
| Chat | Beeper | Beeper |
| Bookmarks | Raindrop | Raindrop |
| Read-it-later | Reader | Reader |
| Shopping list | Apple Reminders | Apple Reminders/Google Keep |
| Music | Spotify and YouTube Music | Spotify and Apple Music |
| Podcast | Pocket Casts | Pocket Casts |
| Password Management | 1Password | 1Password |
I have predominately remind true to my apps because they have served me really well. There are been a few changes.
The following is my current thoughts.
I consolidated my email server from Google Workspace/MxRoute to going all in on Fastmail as the backend of my email service. Having Fastmail also mitigates some of HEY's weaknesses like search, email rules, etc. This is an expensive way to solve this problem, but sometimes it's worth paying for a system to get exactly what you want. However, the practical person in me still considers either going all in on Fastmail and letting go of HEY. Gmail is also a decent solution, which may work with no need to pay for Fastmail and using MXROUTE as my email server.
But for now, happy to continue with Fastmail + HEY combo. Since 2023, my costs for HEY has reduced as now I am part of the HEY Family thus reducing the per user costs.
Arc is still the best browser on macOS for me, and as such, I still bounce between Arc and Vivaldi on Windows. On Android, Vivaldi has been my default browser for a while now, and I would say, 80% of my Android browsing is on Vivaldi. The remaining use is on Firefox because of its vast extensive extension support on Android, which Vivaldi does not. Once again, I have considered going all in on Vivaldi on all platforms. Life isnt always that easy. I like Safari on iOS, I like Arc on macOS, I like Vivaldi on Windows and Android.
I moved from iCloud to Google Contacts simply because it was just easier, especially because I live in a multi-platform ecosystem. Honestly, I cannot recall what pushed me over the edge, but it is pretty simple to move from iCloud to Google contacts and back, etc.
I am still using Dropbox and I am probably stuck on Dropbox as detailed here.
MereCivilian
I have considered Google Drive because of its AI integration. Having said that, Dropbox has enabled similar features through Dropbox Dash. Looking forward to exploring Dropbox Dash first before considering Google Drive. My motivation also from reducing costs because I already pay for Google One which includes 2TB storage via Google Drive. Going all in in Google will allow me to cut down on my Dropbox subscription. Knowing me, I like to keep things in different baskets so I am likely to continue using Dropbox.
Todoist continues to work well for me. I enjoy its design, and it works so well on all platforms. Todoist has increased its subscription pricing from now on. Thankfully, I am grandfathered into the old plan. The downside being, I will not have access to new features. As a customer, this feels unfair but it is the landscape of the SAAS business. If the new features are worth it to me, I obviously, I can upgrade to the current plan.
It has been over 2 years since I moved from Things to Todoist. I do not regret the move and it is disappointing that Things has not had a meaningful update in the last 2 years. It has stayed true to its roots and for some people, this is a huge positive. Having a reliable system is more important than bloating your app with new features.
It is also true that Things 3 helped me for many years and Todoist has also done the same. I know I can get things done with almost any task manager because I have a simple system in place. My biggest lesson having tried different task managers is to focus on the system and remember that no task manager exist today that can do things for you.
2025-12-02 08:45:11
For the last couple of weeks, I have been using the Pixel 10 Pro Fold as my only mobile.
MereCivilian
SIMsThe way a dual sim setup works is something I want to document for future reference. Essentially, I have two sims on my Pixel Fold.
Both numbers are registered for RCS but in Australia, iPhones still do not support RCS, so messages to and from iPhones are mediocre at best. Not a huge deal-breaker because WhatsApps is my default messaging app and, thankfully, I can use both numbers on WhatsApp and switch profiles accordingly. It works rather seamlessly.
In terms of messaging, it also works reasonably well. One feature that I thought I would miss most is the automatic entering of 2FA or OTP codes that are sent to mobiles. This is where Beeper comes in. Beeper connects to my Google account (this account has both numbers) and automatically pastes OTP codes to the clipboard. This works well enough. I say well enough because it is not as instant as iMessage. There is probably a 10 seconds delay. This delay is attributed to the fact that Beeper relays the messages from Google Messages to its servers and back to the Beeper client on the device. Honestly, sometimes this is annoying, but it does always work, just not as quickly as it would have compared to Apple's text forwarding feature.
Thanks to Beeper, messages sent to both numbers show up on the Beeper client relatively quickly on my MacBook, my Surface Pro and my iPad.
I am still on Beeper's free account but have some Plus features enabled from the days of my beta testing. The Auto Copy feature is part of the free plan.
Because text messages for both numbers are coming through on the one device, it isn't always clear which number received the message. This isn't an issue when you carry two phones because there is a clear distinction of which number got which message.
Sending a new message is super simple: I can pick the number and send the message, and all future messages will use that number.
Responding to messages is also simple. You will send the response via the same number that received the SMS.
The confusion comes when both my numbers receive messages from the same sender. This is common with OTP codes from banks. I manage my parent's bank accounts as well and OTP for my parent's bank accounts is sent to my work number and my one is sent to my personal number. Sometimes it is confusing which number the message was sent to. Particularly when the message says, there has been a transaction on your account and my authorisation is requested. During that time, where I am preoccupied, I cannot determine which bank account the SMS is referring to. There is a simple fix, though. Merely tapping on the message will show which mobile number received the message. However, I almost always forget about this feature. Moreso, if I am looking at the message on Beeper, there is no way to tell which number received the SMS. Beeper, as far as I can tell, does not support dual numbers and does not let you pick which number to send the message from. This means I will have to revert to the phone to see those details. Google has a feature where you can see your messages in any browser. However, I still cannot tell which number received the message using the web version of Messages. This means that once again, the only device that has that information is the Pixel Fold.
Another concern I have is that I'd like to keep these two numbers distinct. I really don't want to accidentally text a client or colleague using my personal phone.
Having two different devices makes it dead easy.
This isnt a deal breaker either but it is something to be aware of.
This has its own complexities and subtleties. When receiving calls, there is a clear label (although the size of the font showing this is small and should be much larger) showing which number has received the call.
When I make calls, I've enabled the option that asks me which number to use. It works great. If I do not enable this option, I am pretty sure all new calls will be made using the default line (which I can select in Phone settings) unless I pick the other number before calling. Personally, asking me every time feels like the safer option.
However, strangely, when calling people back, the Phone app on Android will ask me which number to use to call back people. In my mind, it shouldn't be asking this; it should just call back the person using the number that the person used to call me on.
This creates confusion when I receive a call from a number I do not recognise and when I tap on call back, it will ask me which line to use but at that screen, it does not show which number was called so I end up clicking cancel, going back to the previous screen to see which number called and tap on call again, pick that phone number and then make the call. This is exhausting.
On occasion, when I am returning a work call, I accidentally click my personal number and only realise when the person on the line asked if I got a new number etc. This does not happen when one has two phones.
The only time it does not ask me which phone number to call back on is when I select that always use this number to call this person. For example, if I call my wife, it will always use my personal phone number.
This frustrates me much more than I thought it would. Again, I feel this is a me problem but I go to great lengths to keep my work life separate.
Personally, despite each annoyance not being a deal breaker, when combining all of it, I am more inclined to go back to my two-phone lifestyle. It gives me peace of mind that this one-phone dual sim setup does not. However, I am curious how well the dual sim setup works with the iPhone, but I do not have the energy to undertake this experiment this side of Christmas. I will give it a go though, because carrying one phone is easier than carrying two. One cannot fight physics.
2025-11-09 05:57:25
Back in January 2025, I took my first hike with the intention of hiking every month. Well some good intentions just do not eventuate. However, it is never too late. So as we are in November 2025, I took my second hike on 6 November 2025.
Within minutes of starting the hike, I regretted not doing this more often. It was wonderful to be surrounded by nature and just being on my own walking, observing, breathing in the nature and most importantly just being present in the moment. Parts of it were dense forest, others were beautiful working along the creek. It was amazing.
For details:
Stats as per Alltrails app:
It wasn't a long walk but it was beautiful.
For this hike, I took my:
In hindsight, I probably could have gone without the watch because I didn't use it at all. The Pixel Pro Fold was handy with navigation (after all, one does not want to get lost) and AirPods were great for podcast listening.
I took lots of pictures too where I must say the Pixel Fold was incredible. At the time, I could have chosen to take the iPhone 17 Pro Max but decided against it. My thinking was, I will benefit from the larger screen on an unfolded foldable. Surprising, not once, I unfolded the phone. I used it as a slab phone.
The temperature on the day was in low mid twenties (in Celsius) and the Pixel Fold got warm, not hot. Having said that, it is expected considering AllTrails is continuously using GPS and I am taking pictures etc. Perhaps, with the vapour cooling on the 17 Pro Max, it would have been better. Well, we wont know anytime soon because as off yesterday, I gave it to my wife. Her iPhone 14 Pro Max had terrible battery life and since I had two phones, I felt terrible about it while my wife is struggling with her iPhone.
People say men do not communicate. My wife isn't much better when it comes to complaining about technology. She basically just lives with it. In her mind, it doesn't matter. In my mind, I am thinking the worse when I hear her battery life is terrible, battery health is 81% and she is using 126GB of her 128Gb storage on the iPhone. Long story short, I miss my iPhone 17 Pro Max but I am much much more happier it is put to better use.
This also means, I am back to one phone lifestyle for now. This may be a good opportunity to live an android only lifestyle for a few months. After all, how attached can one be to a mobile phone.
Some pictures I took:
I felt a bit scary at the following point, mainly in fear of snakes
However, further along from this, I saw these wonderful white parrots which made it all worth it (5 seconds of video):
Note: I used the telephoto camera a lot in this hike which I would have missed terribly on the iPhone Air. The above video is a also a good example. A terrible telephoto lens is still better than no telephoto lens.
2025-10-22 05:34:26
There is something special about the iPhone Air. I will not be doing it justice if all I said was that the iPhone Air is thin and light (which it most certainly is). I have previously written about the hypocrisy of the iPhone Air in my lifestyle.
I pre-ordered the iPhone Air at launch, and I explained the reason:
MereCivilian
Within two weeks of receiving the iPhone Air, I returned it for a full refund. Thank you Apple!
Why... Well, even though this may be an opportune time to list all the compromises of the iPhone Air, those are not the reasons I returned it (well, perhaps partly).
People who follow my journey know I carry two phones, and my other phone, my Android phone, is a foldable. When I got the iPhone Air, I did not have a foldable because I had traded it in for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold (details here). Anyway, the question that was on my mind was, will the iPhone Air be a delightful companion to my Android foldable?
Foldable have their own compromises, the biggest being subpar camera and battery life. For this reason, I carried the iPhone 16 Pro (which had a great camera but meh battery life). Interestingly, the iPhone Air also has the same compromises.
Therefore, I decided I will wait for the Pixel Pro 10 Fold to arrive and then buy the iPhone Air to live with my 2 phone carry lifestyle.
On 9 October, I got the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. I am so happy with this device, and being without a foldable for a month was painful.
Anyway, a few days later, when I was at the Apple Store, I bought the iPhone Air. I like to talk to people, so I took this opportunity to have a chat with the Apple salesperson.
According to him, the iPhone 17 series has been selling great, particularly the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max. They sold so well that there were none in stock that day. He said he had plenty of the iPhone Air in stock in all the variants. That did not give me confidence about the iPhone Air, but I bought it anyway.
OMG, it feels so freaking good to hold. So comfortable.
It is the only iPhone that is currently on sale, which makes me smile every time I hold. It is like holding a piece of glass, it's like I am on the cutting edge, holding a prototype of an iPhone years before its launch. It feels great.
Do yourself a favour; just holding the iPhone Air will make you happy. It is the perfect-size iPhone for 2025 and beyond.
Surprisingly, the battery life of the iPhone Air was decent, but when you compare it with other slab phones, it is clear the battery life is not its strong point.
The following is my battery usage when only using the iPhone Air (note; I did not use any other phone during this period and I was at home on Wi-Fi):
The battery life is decent.
As you can see, the battery life for such a thin and light phone is decent. Actually surprised myself how good it was. If we lived in an iPhone Air-only bubble, personally, perhaps I would be happy with the battery life.
The fact is that we do not; there are other iPhones that have significantly better battery life. Honestly, the iPhone Air has the worst battery life in this year's lineup, as shown in the following test:
To save you from watching the video, the following is how long each phone lasted in their battery test:
If you are in the US, the battery life is even better on the Pro models because the SIM card tray was removed to add extra battery. The above test was done on the UK version of the phone (thats the one sold in Australia), which does come with a physical SIM card tray.
Now, if you 100% know that the iPhone Air battery life is more than sufficient for your needs and you do not use the telephoto and ultraWide camera, the iPhone Air is the perfect phone for you.
For me, as it is, it isn't suitable for my needs. I usually give my iPhone to my family, and for most of them, the iPhone is the only computer in their life. They want a bigger screen, better battery life and the best camera possible. Don't we all 😆
The iPhones I buy are usually kept in the family for 3-4 years, and battery life gets worse as the iPhone ages, so it makes financial sense to buy the best one possible.
I bought the iPhone 16 Pro last year, and no one in my family wanted this phone. My mum, who has the oldest iPhone, the iPhone 13 Pro Max was not interested because it has a smaller screen. I totally understand this. Even my eyesight is not as good as it was. The iPhone 17 Plus would have been perfect for her 😥.
MereCivilian
The reasons are not dissimilar to my reasons for returning it the first time around.
I am a father, a husband and I take lots of pictures. Daily, I missed the ultra and the zoom lens on the iPhone Air. Parents will know the difficulty in taking pictures of their kids.
IPhone Air gets great reviews by YouTubers, as did the iPhone Mini. One thing that most viewers probably are not aware of is that most YouTubers have other phones and real cameras for their needs.
For me, my mobile phone is my only camera. Foremost, my mobile phones are tools that are required to get the job done and last me the whole day doing that job. As a tool, the iPhone Air disappoints both in terms of feature set and battery life. As a luxury object, it's my favourite iPhone in recent times. I considered getting it to use as my home iPhone (now that is a crazy thought lol)
I envy those who can live the iPhone Air lifestyle. In 2025, that is not me.
BUT, I am confident that there is an iPhone Air in my future. Precisely the same way, I have an iPhone 13 Mini that I still use every day.
To that end, I cannot promise you I will not buy an iPhone Air for the 3rd time around. And that is a tremendous compliment on the design and execution of the iPhone Air. Good Job Apple.
2025-10-05 16:12:20
Most reviewers say that the iPhone 17 is the phone to get this year (by the way, they said the same thing last year lol).
It packs remarkable value and features. Compared the last year's iPhone 16, the most notable additions are the ProMotion display and the selfie camera. Last year, I attempted to use the base iPhone 16, but despite finding it a joy to use, the lack of a ProMotion display and always on display was a deal-breaker. Both are resolved this year. This year, I feel I am not a Pro user; the base iPhone is perfect.
However, what if you aren't a Pro user but would like a bigger (iPhone Pro Max) display? This year, you have no other choice but to get the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Alternatively, live with the compromises of the iPhone Air, which doesn't have the best battery life and isn't the largest display on an iPhone.
Last year, you could have bought the iPhone 16 Plus. This year, we could have bought the iPhone 17 Plus. Instead, we get an iPhone Air, which will not have the same battery life compared to the iPhone 17 Plus and has only one camera.
The following is the price structure in Australia:
$400 more
$200 more
$200 more
The iPhone 16 Plus in Australia was priced at $1599 (admittedly, with only 128gb storage)
My parents are Pro Max users, not because they are Pro users, not because they want the latest and the greatest. They use the Pro Max because their eye sight isn't as good as it was and because they do most of their personal computing on their iPhone. Both my parents have an iPad Pro and iPad Mini, but I rarely (very rarely) see them using the iPad. They have no other choice but to get the iPhone Pro Max or downgrade to a smaller battery and a single camera.
I am not 40 yet, but even my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, and that is why, 99% of the time, I prefer using the Pixel Fold instead of my iPhone 16 Pro. I also regret not getting the Pro Max last year because of my poor eyesight. Although this poor eyesight thing is a recent problem for me 😞
While I appreciate what Apple has done with the iPhone Air, I cannot help but think that Apple deliberately removed the iPhone 17 Plus from their lineup to push people towards the most expensive iPhone they sell, the Pro Max. As an Apple shareholder, this most certainly is the right move for a corporate giant.
The following is the iPhone lineup in Australia. There was definitely space for the iPhone 17 Plus (right after the iPhone 17 and before the iPhone Air at $1599). As consumers, I feel we were a little short-changed. Again!
