Yeah, if all you have in your home are Apple devices, sure. You can have a nice experience.

I dropped all my sympathy towards Apple and gave my MBP13 to my girlfriend the day they willingly implemented an outdated version of SMB in OSX that broke compatibility with almost all of my other machines.

I had a leftover Cinema 24inch display too. I sold it because to regulate its brightness I had to install a custom driver under Windows, and to tinker a lot under Linux, because the damn thing had no physical buttons. It is a primary function of a display device.

No more Apple devices for me, thanks. These are just overpriced toys.

As a Android user who is lured by the appeal of the Apple Watch and the long update availability, I have recently found that the wall of the garden has gotten so high that it is harder to get in than thought:

- there is no way to migrate messages from Signal messenger from Android to iOS

- there is no way to synchronize Opera bookmarks from Android to iOS

- SwiftKey keyboard can't sync my Android settings to iOS

I might have to buy another Pixel I guess...

> there is no way to migrate messages from Signal messenger from Android to iOS

Talking only about iOS and Signal here. What you describe is entirely Signal’s decision not to allow backups and restores (on iOS Signal made an explicit decision not to allow any sort of backup and restore). Signal only allows transfer of chats from one iOS device to another when both devices are in close proximity. If Signal wanted to, it could’ve asked the user to enter a strong password, use that to encrypt backups and store them anywhere (iCloud or Dropbox or on a Mac/PC).

Many apps provide backup and restore. Heck, WhatsApp, which uses the Signal protocol, recently implemented cross platform backup and restore for chats. So it’s not technology that’s stopping anyone. Signal is just adamant on not doing it because security.

Agreed. It is a stupid decision by Signal/WhisperSystems. They could easily offer backup for instance via a trusted PC or offer a paid service or just encrypt as you said.

Mine is an anecdote of one but I was quite annoyed to learn that I couldn't migrate my Signal messages from my old Android to iOS when I switched 1.5 years ago. That annoyance lasted about a month until I realized that I never had need for those old messages anyway. I can't say I ever really missed them once they were gone.

The first rule of the walled garden is you play with Tim apples toys only.

Signal, Opera and SwiftKey are 'guest' species inside the garden.

(no, really, the apple experience is BY FAR better when you just use apple's stuff).

... and that's where antitrust should come in at some point. I like that Apple stuff works so well. I don't like that they very intentionally cripple other vendors.

It may seem intentional. I think that Apple only cares about integrating Apple products. This means they launch features which competitors cannot participate in.

Can you blame them? Enabling third parties to act as 1st class citizens means big sacrifices in UX.

Apple believes that great UX is more important than interoperability. Seems like there's a large enough market that agrees for them to meet their business goals - because at the end of the day that's what all of this is about.

FWIW WhatsApp didn't have Android -> iOS migration for the longest time, but was introduced earlier this year

I'm in the same boat, the walled garden is too good to ignore.

I understand airtagging a dog, but how do you fit one in your wallet? Are you worried about misplacing it in your home, leaving it behind somewhere else, or theft? I like airtags and use them myself, but never considered using it with a wallet.

In my case, first I used https://www.amazon.com/TagVault-Standard-Flexible-Pending-El..., and now I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0975HFFMM/.

It has alerted me to the wallet being left behind, and a few times I've used the AirTag to find the wallet in the house.

The big downside to AirTags right now is missing family support. We hid AirTags on the kids' bikes, but only my wife can see them.

You hide tracking devices on your children and you think the big downside is that Apple doesn't support that?

There's zero intersection between people who should be tracked and people who are able to ride bikes.

• In fact, the children suggested AirTags — ebikes are expensive. Their only hidden tracking devices are their "LoJack&Jill"-brand subdermal cellular GPS implants for kids, installed while they were under heavy sedation.

• They had phones^H^H^H^H^H tracking devices already, so…

My bad, I misinterpreted your comment.

See the link elsewhere for Chipolo. It's killer. I've used it so many times now to find my lost wallet that I'd gladly pay twice the cost.

I was recently existing an airplane, and realized I didn't have my wallet in my pocket. Folks were packing up behind me, and I was getting pressure from my family to start existing down the aisle. I wasn't sure if the wallet was somewhere in my carryon or on the floor of the plane. I was scrambling checking pockets of various carry on bags, etc. The I remembered I could ping it. Within seconds, I could hear the chirp and very quickly found it.

Highly recommend!

It's just a wallet with a bubble on the outside shell that holds the air-tag in it ... doesn't stick out too far and fits fine in my pocket

I put an AirTag inside the little pouch/sleeve on the inside of my wallet (behind the cards).

It was a little awkward at first to get used to my wallet not sitting as flat anymore but I got over it. Luckily, I’m not a person who stores months worth of receipts and 20 cards in my wallet like my father, so there’s plenty of space.

It’s definitely come in handy a few times!

There are third party solutions too, like https://chipolo.net/en-us/products/chipolo-card-spot

I use Tile's Slim tracker. It has the footprint of two credit cards. Sucks the battery is not replaceable, but it's helped more often than I can count.

You can carry an AirTag or a condom. Choose your own adventure. ;-)

Thats is how they get you eventually, once all alternatives have vanished.