iPhone as main device

[eyoungren]

Oh you mean 80% of the population? This isn't really that unique, in fact I'd bet the vast majority of people under 18 and the vast majority of people over 55 are exclusively on iPhones.

My wife is 59. Although she does use her phone a lot, she has a PC laptop, a MBP and her school laptop. Her school laptop is actually a year newer and a size larger than the 2023 MBP my work has issued to me. It tells me that her school district (she's a teacher) is Apple-centric.

I'm 54, so a year shy of your statements. Since I don't see anything changing in two years though, in 2026 I can tell you I'll still be typing messages in on a 2009 Mac Pro.

 

[bluedoggiant]

For sure. I’ve come to appreciate my iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard as my laptop and for when I want a bigger screen than the iPhone. No MacBook anymore, I have a Mac Studio for productivity

 

[8667132]

And I stay connected to people, which is the most important thing to me. Disconnect if you want. I won't.

In the words of Beckett Mariner, "No no no I'm not living off the grid anywhere. I thrive on the grid. I require grid."

Been there, which I guess is why I am where I am now. I don’t need a lot of attention though and I guess my ‘group’ is also low maintenance. I thrive alone or in a small group of beings and the real world interaction, even if infrequent, cannot be replicated by a device.

I ‘need’ a smartphone as much as I ‘need’ social media accounts, in that I don’t. It could never be a primary device for me where a desktop remains a device where I can create.

 

[eyoungren]

Been there, which I guess is why I am where I am now. I don’t need a lot of attention though. I thrive alone or in a small group of beings and the real world interaction, even if infrequent, cannot be replicated by a device.

I ‘need’ a smartphone as much as I ‘need’ social media accounts, in that I don’t. It could never be a primary device for me where a desktop remains a device where I can create.

Don't misunderstand. I'm a loner and my wife is a loner. Somehow we both found each other. We can spend hours apart, her in one room and me in another. So on and so on.

But for most of my teen years I lived rural. And had no contact with friends except during school hours. Heck, I didn't even have a person I could call a real friend until around 1986 (when I was 16).

I do have a Twitter account and it is used solely to contact customer support for T-Mobile. Otherwise, it's not used. My FB account was closed in February 2017. Permanently.

Since we moved to Phoenix in 2000, both my wife and I have found no one to physically interact with (i.e., friends) in 24 years of living here. Family is out of state and in my case cousins were always adults when I was a teen, or toddlers. I don't associate, we have nothing in common.

So, I want to stay connected to those I do have a connection to. And I like tech. Because it makes my life easier.

So, please do not confuse me with a social butterfly. Those people see me coming and run the other way.

 

[mk313]

Don't misunderstand. I'm a loner and my wife is a loner. Somehow we both found each other. We can spend hours apart, her in one room and me in another. So on and so on.

But for most of my teen years I lived rural. And had no contact with friends except during school hours. Heck, I didn't even have a person I could call a real friend until around 1986 (when I was 16).

I do have a Twitter account and it is used solely to contact customer support for T-Mobile. Otherwise, it's not used. My FB account was closed in February 2017. Permanently.

Since we moved to Phoenix in 2000, both my wife and I have found no one to physically interact with (i.e., friends) in 24 years of living here. Family is out of state and in my case cousins were always adults when I was a teen, or toddlers. I don't associate, we have nothing in common.

So, I want to stay connected to those I do have a connection to. And I like tech. Because it makes my life easier.

So, please do not confuse me with a social butterfly. Those people see me coming and run the other way.

Completely off topic, but I saw the '6 Displays' link in your signature & clicked. But I count 8 displays. Curious as to if some of them aren't used or if there is a different explanation.

 

[Marty80]

I am the same i have 2021 16” macbook pro m1 max, a 12 pro max & Apple TV’s scattered along the house.

My iphone is my most used device, my Macbook is only used at home given 16” is a lag to carry around.

However i prefer a larger macbook display to avoid buying a monitor which takes up space. i guess am a minimalist i prefer to have just the things i need, rather than buying carelessly and than selling it on ebay.

 

[eyoungren]

Completely off topic, but I saw the '6 Displays' link in your signature & clicked. But I count 8 displays. Curious as to if some of them aren't used or if there is a different explanation.

The two displays with the flurry screensaver going are attached to my work MBP. The two large 30" Cinema Displays are attached to a KVM switch which is shared between my Mac Pro and my work MBP. So, when I am using the work MBP it will have the two 30" displays and the two vertical end displays. When I am using the Mac Pro then it does not include the two end displays - so only six of the eight for the MP.

At one time I had all eight attached to the Mac Pro, but those end displays use a DisplayLink adapter and that software was giving my MP fits every time I had to restart. I got tired of all the glitches, so just attached them to the work MBP.

That makes the work MBP have 'four' displays. The work MBP is in clamshell mode under the desk if that helps you visualize this any better.

 

[Trensharo]

I was wondering if anyone else out there is like me? I have an iPhone 16PM and MacBook Air. I had an Apple Watch several years ago, but sold it because I really didn’t see the point. I keep my iPhone on me everywhere so what’s the need for the watch? With that said, I pretty much use my iPhone for everything I do because it’s nearby and convenient even at home. My MacBook has really only been for grad school work and professional things. My iPhone is my main device and I love it! 😁

14" MacBook with an iPhone acting as an Instant Hotspot. It runs almost all of my iPhone apps.

That's 90% of my iPhone use.

Outside of that, it sits on the MagSafe Charger and I still use my Note 9 as a daily driver, hilariously.

I have a watch for controlling the camera from distance at the training facility and playing playlists without having to have the iPhone on me.

There is no way I could run my life off of an iPhone. I type 2.5-3x faster and 10x more accurately on a PC keyboard, and that alone is worth whipping out the MacBook in many cases.

Apple's tech stack on macOS is designed to enable you to basically ignore all your other devices and get everything you need on a Mac whenever you can use a Mac. AirDrop, Continuity, Handoff, Screen Mirroring, Widget Sync, iCloud Sync, Cell Relay, Instant Hotspot, etc.

When you can use a Mac, the Mac is the iPhone... in addition to being the Mac. The iPhone is [practically speaking] relegated to a really expensive 5G Dongle with a Carrier Plan.

Multitasking on an iPhone is basically non-existent, as well. It just isn't a productive device when compared with a MacBook for too many things. You can do a lot, but I can do a lot of a lot faster on a Mac... the productivity gap is huge and that makes it hard to choose the iPhone over the Mac, given the option. The tiny screen (comparatively speaking) and constant pinch and zoom, and lack of [productive] true WYSIWYG for document viewing/editing are other factors that push the MacBooks over it.

Of course, if I am going to be walking through an airport, I will use an iPhone over a MacBook Pro... because the latter makes literally no sense in that specific scenario.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I think you'll find that, for 90% of people, their smartphone is their primary computer.

 

[eyoungren]

I think you'll find that, for 90% of people, their smartphone is their primary computer.

90% of people don't work the way I do.

 

[serpico007]

I was wondering if anyone else out there is like me? I have an iPhone 16PM and MacBook Air. I had an Apple Watch several years ago, but sold it because I really didn’t see the point. I keep my iPhone on me everywhere so what’s the need for the watch? With that said, I pretty much use my iPhone for everything I do because it’s nearby and convenient even at home. My MacBook has really only been for grad school work and professional things. My iPhone is my main device and I love it! 😁

My wife has used only her iPhone as her main computing device for several years. I can't imagine using my phone as my main device until I can dock it when I get home and a desktop OS boots. Similar to how people use Samsung DEX.

 

[RinkDinkus]

This. This has been me pretty much ever since I got my 14 Plus. I sold my iPad (which I kind of regret) and gave my XS to my dad in 2022. Was tired of trying to juggle everything between the MacBook, the iPad, and the iPhone. Realistically, my iPhone has more compute power than my MacBook (still an Intel one), and the apps are expansive on iOS. I am convinced that realistically you could just get by with either the iPhone, or iPhone + iPad if you need more screen real estate (or a specific iPad app).

The only issue though is I used to use a MacBook Pro for music creation as a hobby and for university about 7-10 years ago, so I’m not used to all the DAWs and the quirks that come with trying to make music from an iPhone/iPad…and currently the DAW scene on iOS is pretty lackluster…

Even outside of my use case—my wife uses a 12 Pro Max and does photography, and even uses her iPhone to edit in iOS Lightroom to do quick one off edits or previews for her clients’ galleries.

 

[Ctrlos]

The iPhone started out as the satellite device for your Mac, the centre of your digital existence. As smartphones became more integrated in society, so we came to rely on them more. Now the iPhone is at the center and the Mac has become a satellite device.

I do wonder if the Apple Watch might one day supplant the iPhone as the default paradigm, with all the communication benefits but none of the addictive weaknesses. Maybe one day the iPhone will be a satellite device of its own!

 

[Andy_2341]

The iPhone started out as the satellite device for your Mac, the centre of your digital existence. As smartphones became more integrated in society, so we came to rely on them more. Now the iPhone is at the center and the Mac has become a satellite device.

I do wonder if the Apple Watch might one day supplant the iPhone as the default paradigm, with all the communication benefits but none of the addictive weaknesses. Maybe one day the iPhone will be a satellite device of its own!

The watch taking over would be my dream. I could have just a watch and an iPad mini. Maybe a Mac mini for real intensive stuff or big screen things.

 

[Ctrlos]

The watch taking over would be my dream. I could have just a watch and an iPad mini. Maybe a Mac mini for real intensive stuff or big screen things.

Right? I feel it’s the way things are going. It will take a bump in battery life though and some generational improvements to the on-device LLM though as many complex interactions will need to involve Siri.

 

[Ctrlos]

My wife has used only her iPhone as her main computing device for several years. I can't imagine using my phone as my main device until I can dock it when I get home and a desktop OS boots. Similar to how people use Samsung DEX.

It would be lovely if they built Stage Manager into the Pro iPhones.

 

[eyoungren]

The iPhone started out as the satellite device for your Mac, the centre of your digital existence. As smartphones became more integrated in society, so we came to rely on them more. Now the iPhone is at the center and the Mac has become a satellite device.

I do wonder if the Apple Watch might one day supplant the iPhone as the default paradigm, with all the communication benefits but none of the addictive weaknesses. Maybe one day the iPhone will be a satellite device of its own!

This is backwards in my world and the watch has no place in it. The iPhone was never the satellite of anything here at the beginning, especially when introduced. I had a phone then that could send pictures and do cut and paste while my AT&T friends could not.

The iPhone didn't come into the picture until December 2011 and not as a primary phone until September 2012 - when my carrier started offering it. I wasn't going to switch to AT&T for a phone.

Never became a center of my world. It's still useful, a 'satellite' now, as you say. But not the center. The center is my computers.

 

[eyoungren]

The watch taking over would be my dream. I could have just a watch and an iPad mini. Maybe a Mac mini for real intensive stuff or big screen things.

LOL. I'm at a loss to even begin thinking how I'd connect six displays. a mouse and a keyboard to a watch.

 

[NeonNights]

No way an iPhone could be my only device. I even prefer typing text messages on my MacBook compared to on the phone. I've since switched back to Android but I miss my Apple Watch more than the iPhone itself. The cellular Apple Watch could unlock my car door, control home door locks, open/close my garage door, pay for things, control my home AC, take calls and respond to texts, etc, all without requiring my phone with me. I didn't really care about the health tracking on the Apple Watch. It was so freeing being able to go on a hike or swim yet still be reachable in emergencies, while leaving the bulky iPhone at home.

Whether MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, or iPhone, they're all just tools. Use what works best for your needs. I play violin and I certainly wouldn't try to read sheet music on an iPhone. For that I prefer the iPad or some other tablet. I tried having the iPad replace my laptop but that idea crashed and burned because iPadOS sucks donkey when it comes to file management and multi-window support. That is where I much prefer my MacBook Pro with actual MacOS. For my uses, an iPhone is inadequate as my sole device.

*As an aside, my current Fold6 comes closer to achieving "sole device" status because it does all the phone things, can unfold to a respectable iPad Mini-size tablet, and also connect to a monitor and transform into a portable desktop computer with Samsung DeX.

 

[eyoungren]

No way an iPhone could be my only device. I even prefer typing text messages on my MacBook compared to on the phone. I've since switched back to Android but I miss my Apple Watch more than the iPhone itself. The cellular Apple Watch could unlock my car door, control home door locks, open/close my garage door, pay for things, control my home AC, take calls and respond to texts, etc, all without requiring my phone with me. I didn't really care about the health tracking on the Apple Watch. It was so freeing being able to go on a hike or swim yet still be reachable in emergencies, while leaving the bulky iPhone at home.

As much as I like tech, that's a level of control/trust I am not prepared to give up to a single device. There are things that will never come in to my house for various reasons and reasons I won't use certain features on the stuff that is already in the house.

I'm not giving a watch that much control.

 

[NeonNights]

As much as I like tech, that's a level of control/trust I am not prepared to give up to a single device. There are things that will never come in to my house for various reasons and reasons I won't use certain features on the stuff that is already in the house.

I'm not giving a watch that much control.

I don't quite understand. The watch has the same level of control (for certain things) as a phone. If you trust your phone to control something, then why not trust the watch to control the same thing?

 

[eyoungren]

I don't quite understand. The watch has the same level of control (for certain things) as a phone. If you trust your phone to control something, then why not trust the watch to control the same thing?

If something happens where I lose possession of my phone or watch I do not wish somebody else to have access to my home or car. Nor do I wish to lose my own access because the phone or watch isn't functioning correctly.

Home automation is a bit different, I've used that in the past but not currently. That's not so much a matter of distrust there, but other reasons.

 

[Andy_2341]

LOL. I'm at a loss to even begin thinking how I'd connect six displays. a mouse and a keyboard to a watch.

Lol. You wouldn’t. That’s what the Mac mini is for. The watch is just acting for communication without distraction.

 

[eyoungren]

Lol. You wouldn’t. That’s what the Mac mini is for. The watch is just acting for communication without distraction.

Ah, then there's the rub. If I'm going to be using a Mini, I might as well just continue to use the 2009 Mac Pro I am typing this message on.

Minis are great of course, I own five (3x 2006 models and 2x 2009 models), but I prefer towers.

And distractions really aren't my issue. I'm quite capable of ignoring people or things (such as messages/notifications) when I need/want to focus on something.

 

[NeonNights]

If something happens where I lose possession of my phone or watch I do not wish somebody else to have access to my home or car. Nor do I wish to lose my own access because the phone or watch isn't functioning correctly.

Home automation is a bit different, I've used that in the past but not currently. That's not so much a matter of distrust there, but other reasons.

Valid concerns. Although my watch/phone can unlock my car, house door, and open garage, they all need the watch/phone to be unlocked first to access the respective apps. Some smartlocks now support Apple HomeKey where you simply wave your phone or AppleWatch near the keypad and it unlocks. My locks lack that feature and I don't want that feature for the same reason(s) you shared.

The exception is a lost Apple Watch or iPhone WILL unlock my Tesla door, but Sentry Mode will record the thief on camera and the thief won't be able to drive away for a few reasons:

1) "PIN to Drive" is enabled, so once inside the car you still need to enter a code to actually drive away.

2) "PIN to Drive" can be remotely bypassed in the app, but once again you'd need to unlock the stolen watch or phone to access the app.

3) Stealing a Tesla is not very smart as the vehicle's location is easily tracked at all times.

I do share all your security and safety concerns and considered the threat if either device was lost. In that case, I would cancel all credit cards and can still log into MyQ on a computer to unpair my garage door, same for unlinking the smart door account, etc. I usually keep my Tesla keycard in my wallet as a backup. I would have to lose my wallet, watch, and phone to be completely locked out of the car. And even if that were to occur, if I can borrow a phone to call my wife then she can remotely unlock the Tesla and allow me to drive home (assuming I get to the car before the thief). Again, if the thief somehow managed to steal the Tesla, and actually drive away, then I could easily tell the police their exact location.