I’ve spent a lot of time (and money of course) over computer hardware ever since I started my association with computing more than 20 years back. I’ve gone through lots of hardware, that I’m probably too old to remember (but I’ll try to write up a separate post on that sometime), but here’s what I’m using right now!
Personally I use 4 devices primarily, and planning to go down to 3 with the next iteration
- MacBook Pro - 13 inch, early 2015 model - This is the oldest device I have now, having purchased this sometime in Sep 2015. I got it from the US, primarily because the 16GB variant was not available in India in the 13 inch variant. To me, this was the perfect balance of portability and computing power and I almost top specced it (core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD). When I got it, the 1 TB version was prohibitively expensive even at US prices (at that point of time) and I had to settle down with the lesser storage.
This was supposed to be my all in one box - use it for general browsing and also for my R&D as well, using a segmented virtual network to run all my virtual machines in. However, as it turned out, it wouldn’t work really well as I had not thought through all of the requirements completely.
This will be sold soon, and the replacement has already arrived (a Thinkpad E14 shared with everyone in the house). I don’t anticipate using a traditional laptop for most parts, courtesy of the next item on the list.
- iPad Pro - this is the big one. IMHO, this is the best “general purpose computing” for most people. With iPadOS 14 and 15, the experience has gotten a lot more refined. Mouse / trackpad support is quite good, the files application works reasonably well and the integration with OneDrive is quite good.
It’s also a lot better from a usability and a safety point of view, you really don’t have to worry about malware / viruses as long as you use popular and legitimate apps from the AppStore. As long as you don’t jailbreak, you are good.
HOWEVER, the bog caveat is the support for external monitors. Connecting the iPad to an external display results in ugly black bars on the left and the right, with the actual display mirrored at a horrible 1024x768. So on a large display, the scaling is pretty bad. Another drawback is the fact that the iPad has to be unlocked and powered on for the mirroring to work. These two factors combined make an incredibly distracting experience. You can get nothing done!
The rumour mills predict that iPadOS 16 will eventually bring full support to external displays. IMHO, this one feature will truly unlock the potential of the iPad. And precisely for this reason, I will be upgrading to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro this year, after the M2 chip refresh. Even if the external monitor support does not come, I can take solace in the bigger screen and the fact that it is a great runabout machine.
- Microsoft Surface 6 - This one is the lab machine dedicated to running pretty. much all of the questionable stuff that I encounter as part of work / research. I was under the initial impression that the MacBook could be used for this purpose along with day to day computing by virtualising all of the research stuff.
However, when it comes to watching videos or taking notes, the tablet form factor shines. Hence, it was a no-brainer to get one of this. I didn’t make the mistake that I did when I ordered my MacBook - I got the fully spec’ed surface pro 6 - core 17 processor, 16 GB RAM and 1 TB of storage. I’ve also supplemented this with a 400 GB microSD card to contain all of the training material / videos that I need to browse / watch. I’ve also got the accessories - the type cover and the pen which make note taking and generally working much more effective. IMHO, Microsoft should have provided these as part of the bundle, or at least given a discount when purchased.
The arrangement works really well and unless something drastic / totally unique comes up, I will be replacing this surface pro with another surface pro in maybe 3-4 years.
- iPhone 11 Pro Max - The only telephony device - does it’s job without fuss and integrates well with the whole ecosystem. I pretty much have this device everywhere I go.
Work e-mail integrates into this device only, and this has taken a big hit on the battery life. After about two years of usage, I’ve got only about 87% of the battery life left. I might either move the office profile and apps to a secondary phone, or (wink wink) just give up the convenience of BYOD.
One thing that I wish Apple would have done is to provide a bigger screen on a non-pro model. I rarely use the pro features like video / photography and the only reason I switched to this from the iPhone X was the screen size.
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The backup devices - I also have my old iPhone X as a backup device / test device. Also, this is the last device that can be jailbroken by exploiting a hardware vulnerability, and can run the most recent iOS versions. I also have a Nokia 6.1 android phone that I once used for BYOD and some testing however, I will be selling this soon. I don’t think I will be continuing with Android any more.
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The other pieces - All of this comes together at my desk, with a dual monitor setup - the first one is a 32’ 4K display and the second one is a 27’ 2k display both mounted on adjustable gas struts to take up minimal desk space. On the peripherals, I use the Logitech MX master 3 mouse and the Logitech MX keys. Fantastic devices and worth the sticker price.
And then of course, there is the office laptop - a standard issue Thinkpad.