Since the end of last year, I’ve gradually added or replaced quite a few gadgets. It’s probably the most I’ve spent on tech in years, so after living with everything for a while, it feels worth writing down some impressions.
iPhone 15 Pro and Apple Watch Series 9
For everyday devices, I’ve been deep in Apple’s ecosystem for a long time. Having one account across everything is hard to give up, and iCloud makes the whole setup ridiculously convenient.
Before the 15 Pro, I was using an iPhone 12 mini bought in 2020. I absolutely loved the size. For smaller hands, the one-handed experience was about as good as it gets. The downside was the battery. I replaced it once in 2021, and by 2022 the battery health had already dropped below 80% again. Going out without a power bank was basically not an option, and if I spent much time on my phone, I’d be charging twice a day.
Switching to the 15 Pro solved the biggest annoyance immediately: battery life is much better, and paired with a fast charging cable, it has done a lot for my battery anxiety. The camera is also a noticeable upgrade. It doesn’t have the 5x zoom of the Pro Max, but for normal day-to-day use, it’s more than enough.
The funny thing with iPhones is that changing to a new one can feel almost like not changing at all. The logo is the same, the UI barely changes, and if you use the system transfer tool, all your settings come over exactly as before. Convenient, yes, but there’s basically no sense of novelty.
My previous Apple Watch was a Series 3, bought sometime around 2017 before a trip to Xinjiang. The reason for upgrading was, again, battery life. It could barely last a day anymore. The new watch supports fast charging too, and the improved water resistance is useful now that I go swimming every week. I mainly use it to log exercise and track sleep if I wear it overnight.
That said, the function I use most often is probably still just checking the time. It’s kind of funny, but true. Even with my phone always nearby, I’ve gotten so used to wearing a watch that going out with nothing on my wrist feels strangely wrong. I’ve owned a few fashion watches before, but once the batteries died they basically got abandoned. The Apple Watch, on the other hand, is the one I’ve consistently worn all the way up to now.
I don’t have many complaints about it, though that’s probably because I’m not using any especially advanced features. If someone doesn’t have a specific need for it, I don’t actually think an Apple Watch is necessary.
MacBook Air M2
The laptop was an anniversary gift, and I love it.
My previous computer was a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2015, and I used it for nine years. Hopefully this one will last seven or eight at least. These days I don’t actually use my personal laptop very often. I have a work-issued machine for the office, and at home on weekends I usually use a Windows desktop for gaming. The old MacBook still functioned, so it wasn’t unusable, but it had definitely reached the point where everything felt a bit sluggish.
I’ve always believed that buying tech should be based on actual needs, while still aiming for the best option you can reasonably afford. At the same time, there’s no need to chase the absolute top configuration just because it exists. Even though the M3 had just come out the month before, I didn’t think it was necessary for me. My daily use is pretty simple: writing documents and watching videos. Even an M1 would have been more than enough. If anything, the money is better spent on memory and storage than on pushing for a more powerful CPU.
Unboxing it was genuinely exciting, and I even filmed a little video because I was so happy.
Interestingly, this Air is basically the same model and configuration as the laptop my company gave me for work, just in a different color. Since they were bought at different times, there seem to be slight differences in the accessories too. For example, the charger that came with the work laptop is the big bulky kind, while the new one has two ports, which is actually pretty convenient because the extra port can charge a phone or watch at the same time. One weird detail: the cable connectors are still white, which looks oddly out of place. I honestly have no idea what Apple was thinking.
As for drawbacks, mine is the Midnight color, which is really more of a very dark blue, matching my 15 Pro. It looks great, but on a laptop it attracts fingerprints like crazy. After only a few days, the back had already turned into a fingerprint display board, and eventually I just gave up wiping it down. I’ve also seen people online say that the finish around the ports and certain edges can chip. The safest choice would probably have been silver, but I really dislike Apple’s classic silver, so I chose the one I liked and left it at that. Electronics are consumables anyway.
Fujifilm instax Mini 90
I honestly can’t even remember exactly why I suddenly wanted an instant camera. It was probably one of those cases of seeing too much online and getting influenced. I happened to pick it up during a trip to Hong Kong since it was a bit cheaper there than back home.
I used to own a Mini 7S, which had a cuter look and was more of Fujifilm’s basic entry model. The Mini 90 is often described as the top model in the instax line, but from the photos I’ve taken, the results don’t feel dramatically different.
What instant film cameras do best is obvious: you can see the photo right away. It’s perfect for capturing little everyday moments, and the prints are nice to stick on the wall at home.
The biggest issue is still the cost of film. A single outing can easily burn through two packs. And if your mode settings aren’t right, it’s also very easy to waste shots.
Sony A7C II
I wasn’t originally that determined to buy an interchangeable-lens camera, but during a Lunar New Year trip to Australia I realized the price difference was huge compared with buying one at home. The body plus a Tamron 28–200mm lens came to under 15,000, while the same setup would have been around 20,000 domestically. At that point, I completely forgot the old rule that not buying something saves 100%.
Sony has improved the photo transfer experience between camera and phone, and that makes a real difference. Sharing camera photos is much easier now. For travel, having a dedicated camera still means better pictures, and that part feels worthwhile. The problem is that after buying it, I haven’t had much time to go anywhere. Hopefully I’ll get out more this year.
The obvious downside of a camera like this is low usage combined with the fact that it’s large and heavy. To make it practical to carry, I ended up buying a whole set of accessories, and it really needs its own bag. I actually prefer backpacks to shoulder camera bags, but smaller-capacity backpacks often can’t fit camera gear properly. Recently I’ve been looking at the Aer Day Pack 3, and I’ll decide after I get back from my May holiday trip.