Jason Snell released the results from his annual survey of the Apple blogosphere community at Six Colors. I thought it’d be fun to join in the fray and add some of my thoughts, because I’m pretty different from most of those surveyed. For one, my income isn’t at all related to Apple (at work I am required to use a terrible Windows laptop and terrible Microsoft services), and so I really only use these devices in my personal capacity and consequentially really remain on the “happy path” of Apple devices and services.
Mac: 4/5
I’m more on the fence about Tahoe compared to most of the respondents. It’s a totally stable OS, I do mostly like how it looks; it’s just a little thoughtless in places and needs to get buttoned up. I regularly use Stage Manager on my laptop, and I think it’s great. In general, the software is good-not-great at the moment, but it is good at the end of the day.
In contrast, Mac hardware is stellar. I bought a Mac Mini this year, and I love it. Its so wonderful having that little guy always ready-to-go on my desk, and regularly running back-ups for me overnight.
iPhone: 5/5
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro this year is the strongest line-up in ages. The iPhone 17 brought a ton of features down to the primary iPhone line this year, like ProMotion screens. If you’re an update-every-few-years sort of person, this year is the right year to update. The iPhone 17 Pro’s camera is awesome, and the huge plateau is nice to look at. Its great to see more of that wonderful orange sneaking out from my case every day.
I am not nearly as enamored with the iPhone Air compared to many folks, mostly because the camera is such a critical component of the phone for me. It exists. Its fine.
iPad: 3/5
I water damaged my third-gen iPad Air over the holidays, and upgraded to a refurbished M1 iPad Air in January. It’s notably faster. My spouse has an M4 iPad Pro. Its super quick.
Even with iPadOS 26, iPadOS still pales in comparison to Mac OS. I think the implementation of the stoplight buttons is just straight-up bad, and everyone being so excited about them is akin to a cold glass of water in hell. Yes, its a huge step forward for the platform, no doubt. But again, the Mac is just so wildly superior.
Still, the iPad is the best tablet on the planet, hands-down. Theres essentially no competition. Theres a few categories like this now, including wearable. Apple just seems to be resting on their laurels a bit, because there is effectively zero competitive pressure from Google or anyone else.
Wearables: 3/5
This whole category is buoyed by AirPods Pro 3. They’re great. AirPods Max need some serious love, and are just not taken seriously by the market.
Watch: 2/5
I love my Apple Watch Series 9, but has Apple added anything to the last two version to make me upgrade? I usually update on a 3-year cadence, but if Series 12 is as lackluster as 10 or 11, I may not.
The Ultra 3 was a *fine* update, but truly hasn’t added anything compelling since the first Ultra was introduced three years ago. If anything the Series 10/11’s larger screen makes me wonder where Apple wants to take this product.
Vision Pro: 1/5
I look at these periodically on eBay, but am consistent dissuaded by how often people with them say they use them.
Home: 2/5
The Home app remains usable, but where is the rumored HomePod w/ a touchscreen?
Apple TV: 3/5
sigh… Apple TV remains the best TV interface on the market, but similar to the iPad and Apple Water, a lack of serious competition has lead Apple to complacency.
The service, however, is firing on all cylinders.
Services: 3/5
Apple News is my primary app for reading the news, and it’s good-to-decent. It would be good if they eliminated low-quality stories, and cleaned up the ads in the articles.
Apple Fitness is good, but I do wish they’d make some generic exercises and you could just listen to your own music, rather than their playlists.
Apple Arcade is nice-to-have, especially when traveling.
Apple Music is great. No complaints.
Hardware Reliability: 4/5
Apple OS Quality: 4/5
Apple App Quality: 3/5
Developer Relations: No Opinion
World Impact: 1/5
You know.
At Ken 