Well Knitted Ecosystem

I’m a big fan of devices and application that are well knitted together on different form factors. I’m one of those nerds who wants to have almost any major form factor device that is available in market. I would love a device if it has better integration and sharing/syncing of data between the other devices that I have. I want my data or apps to be available on almost all the devices I own so I don’t have to feel that I’m missing out on something. So that is the crux on why I love devices which form an ecosystem.

My first love for ecosystems

This started when Microsoft launched the theme for One OS, One Core, One Experience in their software. Windows 8 was their first OS as per my knowledge with this motto. That was indeed my my first love for ecosystem. They had desktop, laptop, phone, phablet, tablet form factors and even a smart watch, which were all supported by this one OS. Eventually Xbox got added. I was literally a fan of that idea and that is when I became the fanboi for MSFT. Except for watch I used all form factors and it was really good to see and that was a great experience, also the syncing of data between all these devices was some kind of magic for me back then. They tried a lot with Windows 10 for this motto and they even added new Mixed Reality devices under the One OS, One Core umbrella. But eventually they couldn’t achieve the final goal what they believed in but that was a great and decent try.

Looking for an alternative ecosystem

While MSFT failed to build their own ecosystem, they were quick enough to realise that they need to support the next best option they. That was to create apps and try to build semi-ecosystem with Android devices. They did a decent job in the beginning and that was the only reason I ever switched to Android phone. Discontinuation of Windows Phone was the major reason though. But I didn’t get satisfied with that setup. After a few years I was searching for open-source apps and tried Google ecosystem which was in pre-matured state. I still had the feeling that none of them gave me the experience I wanted. I was a true hater of Apple back then. Because I didn’t feel that they were good enough or they didn’t have a set of features that I wanted. One day I was watching Apple Event where they revealed the upcoming features in their software lineup and all other APIs, SDKs. I must admit that I was pretty impressed. I was equally excited about their universal application just like when I got to know about Universal Windows Platform applications. That is when I felt that this is the new ecosystem that I should try, this is something that MSFT wanted to achieve.

Entering the Apple Ecosystem

Not gonna lie, but I was still sceptical about the promises that Apple made about their ecosystem. I was not fortune enough to buy their devices and try everything. My journey started with a MacBook Pro that I got during my intern period. I explored lot of stuff about a lot of things. That is when I decided MBP is definitely a great choice for ambitious developers like me. I was not nerdy enough to go for a Linux one. There is also a reason why I didn’t go that way, because I always wanted something to work “Out of the box”, I don’t want to setup things, they should work with minimal setup. So may that was the reason why I got attracted to Apple.

Finding the perfect Ecosystem

After MBP, I used an iPad Pro, which definitely mesmerised me with the continuity features. That is when I made the decision that this ecosystem is what I have been looking for. Then I eventually ended up owning majority of Apple products.

Major use cases

Many people ask me why you’re so mad about the “Ecosystem” thing. Does it really matter? Does it really add value? What do you even do with that? So I explain about what I use it for and they are indirectly the answers for all those questions

• Universal apps and syncing data between all devices which is seamless. I can text someone on my watch, phone, tablet and my laptop. Which is a major requirement for me. Also syncing of reminders, notes notifications etc.
• Universal Copy, now this feature is available on many platforms but they require setup and which I want to avoid. I want pure seamless integration. I copy on one device and paste on other device, just simple but beautiful.
• Handoff and Continuity feature. Let me explain this with a scenario. As part of my job I have to read a lot of documentation and do extensive browsing. Say I opened a bunch of tabs in Safari on my Mac and now I want to take a walk, I just standup and open Safari on my iPhone, voila I have all my tabs from Mac. Not just from Mac but also iPad. So whatever the device is that I’m gonna use for browsing I don’t miss on anything.
  • Also if an app is Universal, then I use it on one device and take it other device in the same state with just a single tap.
  • Setting up devices is so simple that you just tap a button and everything else is taken care of. Though the first device will take some time.
  • When you get a new device, you just turn it on while you’re near your other devices, that’s all you should do to integrate and set it up. It just works out of the box with zero or minimal setup.
  • Seamless switching and connections of Airpods with all other devices
  • Using devices in combinations. iPad as external screen for MacBook, Watch to control media and volume, iPhone and iPad as remote for TV, handing off calls from one device to another.
• Sharing data, passwords, mobile hotspot with other Apple users and devices with just single taps.
• Find My to locate all your friends and devices in a single place.
• Using Watch to unlock Phone and Mac is the most underrated feature IMO

Not just these but there are many other features as well that keep me in this ecosystem. Though many would argue that X feature you mentioned above in in Y ecosystem. My question to them is does all the features I mentioned above exist in any single ecosystem of devices? That is THE reason for me to finally settle for this.

I’m an Apple fanboi today because the above, if someone else does it better then I’ll be their fanboi. I’m a lover of ecosystem and cross platform and cross device applications. In this digital era all that matters to me is seamless connectivity than some sophisticated features. My respect to all those who build such well knitted and well connected products.