Apple Ecosystem and its varied hooks

I have always been able to casually hop over the walled garden that is the apple’s ecosystem. Most of it due to a bunch of convenient coincidences -

I come from an area where no one uses iMessage; I bought an Apple Watch and liked it but sold it soon since I wasn’t into the tracking everything thing; I don’t want an iPad because my iPhone can do everything I want; I have a MacBook but my workflow with the two rarely overlap beyond using iCloud Drive and Safari which is easy to replicate with, say, Google Drive and Chrome;

All this has meant I have often switched between android and ios without too much friction…. That is, until I bought the AirPods Pro 2 last month.

Half of my phone usage involves listening to audio and how well these work together is addictive. These AirPods can work with android as well but it’s always the little things that you miss. The little things you never knew you needed but can’t live without once you experience them.

Like the U1 chip always showing me battery levels and also assuring me that my AirPods are on me or in my bag somewhere. And the Find My features when I don’t know where they are.

Like spatial audio that I really enjoy while watching movies.

Like adaptive EQ that makes most (not all) of the songs more enjoyable.

And all the proprietary hardware symbiosis between iPhone and AirPods like the H2 chip, conversation boost, control customisation and the little energy efficiency boosts that simply can’t work with a non apple device.

Suddenly, the phone and the earbuds have become a unit that I use in tandem. Years later, if I wish to switch to another platform, this will be a factor that will dissuade me unless there’s something equally compelling or better in the market. As of now, whatever Google, Samsung or Sony offer doesn’t match up to this for me.

I feel the hooks of the ecosystem for the first time. For the better or for the worse.