Chris WiegmanWhile I’m still working to eventually switch back to using Linux as my daily driver there are a few things from Apple I appreciate and will miss.
First is the synced focus mode. Sure everything (or nearly everything) has “do not disturb” and other similar features and those worked well enough for me for a while but the synced focus modes that appeared on Mac and iOS a few years back are really hard to beat. On any given day I have 4 or 5 that turn on based on location, time and more. When something in my routine changes I only need to change it once and its ability to filter by app or contact ensures the people I care about can always get in touch with me should they ever need to. That is something I will really miss.
Next is the ability to control my TV and speakers from my iPad or iPhone. We have Apple TV on each of our TVs and Sonos speakers throughout the house and I often find myself changing music, radio stations or even the TV from one of them. It’s a little thing but it is something that a Linux stack will never be able to match and that I will miss.
Synced calls and messages, regardless of whatever app I have open, is something else I’ll really miss. I spent most of my time when I was on Linux in the past trying to cobble together apps to make this happen and it never really did work. I rarely touch my phone unless I leave the house and I get a surprising amount of phone calls so losing this will make my tech significantly less convenient for me.
For all the well-deserved hate it gets I’ll also miss Safari. I originally went back to it because of iOS’ restrictions on browser engines and I’ve found I really like it. It’s fast, easy on the battery and has the best design of all the browsers. I use features like its Reading List and so many others regularly and, no matter how much I want Firefox to be my favorite as I use it on Linux, I just can’t find anything else that can compete.
Finally, I think what I’ll miss most is that Apple’s default apps all work for me. I use Notes, Reminders, Mail and more and I don’t have any issues with their stability nor with their functionality. On Linux I can come close with Gnome apps and on Android I can come close by patching a bunch of things together (I’d rather not use Google apps) but none of that will ever be as simple or useful as Apple’s offerings.
I do prefer to use my Linux machine for dev work. When I had it I preferred my Android phone for travel. By themselves both were great devices but they just didn’t work together. While there is plenty of advantage to me moving back to them in other things, there are a lot of little things I will definitely miss from Apple.