Use Apple Intelligence for on-device AI tasks, not just cloud-based AI from other companies.
The Butler Who Thinks Inside Your House
Imagine you have a personal assistant to sort your private mail. Most AI services are like a corporate mailroom; you have to send your private letters to their headquarters, where strangers read them to figure out what’s important. Apple Intelligence is like having a brilliant, trustworthy butler who lives inside your locked house. He can read your mail, understand your requests, and organize your life right there on your kitchen table. Your private information never has to leave the safety of your home to be understood. It’s powerful intelligence with a powerful lock on the door.
Stop thinking of Siri as just a voice assistant. Do think of it as the beginning of a more integrated and proactive AI experience.
The Butler Who’s Learning to Anticipate Your Needs
For years, Siri has been like a butler who stands in the corner, waiting for you to call their name to perform one specific task. But that role is changing. The future of Siri is a butler who is learning to anticipate your needs before you even ask. He sees you’re running late for a meeting and proactively suggests sending a “running 10 minutes late” text to the attendees. Siri is evolving from a voice that just answers questions into the central, proactive nervous system of your digital life, an assistant that understands your personal context.
Stop ignoring the potential of Augmented Reality. Do explore the AR apps on your iPhone and iPad to see the future of computing.
The Magic Window That Blends Two Worlds
We think of computing as something that happens inside a rectangular screen. Augmented Reality (AR) is the magic that shatters that boundary. Your iPhone’s camera is not just for taking pictures; it’s a magic window. You can point it at your living room floor and see exactly how a new virtual sofa would look. You can point it at a flat table and play a 3D board game that seems to be physically there. It’s not a gimmick; it’s the first step towards a future where digital information is no longer trapped behind glass.
The #1 secret for being prepared for the future of Apple is understanding their long-term vision for a seamless, integrated ecosystem.
The Architect’s Master Blueprint
Apple’s new product releases can sometimes seem disconnected. But they are not just building separate gadgets; they are an architectural firm that is slowly and deliberately building one single, magnificent, interconnected home, and they have a master blueprint. The #1 secret is to understand that blueprint. When you see that the watch, the phone, the Vision Pro, and the Mac are all designed to be different, specialized rooms in the same house, you can start to anticipate how they will all work together, creating one single, cohesive living experience in the future.
I’m just going to say it: The Vision Pro is not just a VR headset; it’s the first step towards spatial computing and the future of the Mac.
The Blueprint That Becomes the Building
Today, your Mac is a flat window you look into. The Vision Pro is the first step towards a future where you can step through that window. It’s not just about watching movies in 3D. It’s about taking all the powerful apps and windows from your Mac and placing them in the space around you, like magical, floating holograms. It’s the evolution of the computer from a 2D screen you look at, into a 3D “spatial” environment you are in. It’s not a replacement for the Mac; it’s its future.
The reason your current smart home is so clunky is because it’s not based on a unified standard like Matter, which Apple is heavily invested in.
The Tower of Babel vs. a Universal Language
Your current smart home is a technological Tower of Babel. Your smart lights speak one language, your thermostat speaks another, and your smart lock speaks a third. They don’t understand each other, so nothing works together smoothly. Matter is the new, universal language for the smart home. It’s like a magical translator that allows every device, regardless of who made it, to speak the same language. Apple’s investment in Matter is their commitment to turning your clunky, frustrating house into a truly intelligent and seamlessly connected home.
If you’re still thinking of your Apple devices as separate gadgets, you’re missing the big picture of a single, powerful personal computing system.
The Different Organs of a Single Body
Thinking of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac as separate devices is like thinking of your hands, your eyes, and your brain as separate, unrelated objects. The real magic happens when you see them as different, specialized organs of one single, powerful body. The iPhone is the hand, out in the world, sensing and communicating. The Mac is the powerful brain for deep, focused work. And the iPad is the versatile, adaptive heart. They are all designed to work in perfect, harmonious sync, creating a personal computing system that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that the future of tech will be complicated; Apple’s goal is to make it more intuitive and integrated into our lives.
The Disappearing Butler
We often see futuristic tech in movies, and it’s full of complex dashboards and confusing controls. But Apple’s vision of the future is the opposite. It’s like the difference between a clumsy, mechanical robot and a perfect, invisible butler. The goal is for the technology to become so smart, so proactive, and so seamlessly integrated into the fabric of your life that it simply disappears. You won’t have to think about the “how”; your needs will just be quietly and intelligently met in the background. The ultimate technology is the one you don’t even notice.
I wish I knew more about the potential of the U1 chip in my iPhone for more precise location and spatial awareness.
The Indoor GPS for Your Personal Space
GPS is brilliant for telling you which street you’re on, but it can’t tell you where the TV remote is in your living room. The U1 chip in your iPhone is like a tiny, hyper-accurate indoor GPS. It doesn’t use satellites; it uses radio waves to understand its exact position relative to other devices with the same chip. It’s the secret sauce that allows you to point your phone and have it know exactly which friend you want to AirDrop to. It’s the first step towards a future where your devices are truly aware of the space around them.
99% of people make this one mistake when thinking about the future: underestimating the power of incremental software updates to transform the user experience.
The Slow and Steady Remodel of Your House
We often think the future will arrive with a big, dramatic “bang” in the form of a flashy new piece of hardware. This is a mistake. The real revolution happens slowly, through dozens of small, incremental software updates. It’s like a slow and steady remodel of your house. One year, the plumbing gets a little smarter. The next year, the lighting becomes more efficient. You might not notice the daily changes, but after five years, you wake up and realize you’re living in a completely transformed and futuristic home, all without ever moving.
This one small action of trying a new feature with each major OS update will keep you on the cutting edge of what your devices can do.
Using the New Tool in Your Toolbox
Every year, Apple gives you a free, major software update. This is like a master toolmaker showing up at your workshop and giving you a brand new, powerful tool, for free. The mistake most people make is that they put that new tool on the shelf and keep using their old, familiar hammer. The small but powerful habit of taking just 30 minutes to learn and try just one of those major new features is how you stay on the cutting edge. It ensures that your toolbox is not just full, but that you actually know how to use it.
Use the Shortcuts app to create complex, multi-step automations, not just simple commands.
The Rube Goldberg Machine for Your Digital Life
Using the Shortcuts app for a simple, one-step task is like setting up one single domino. But the true, mind-bending power of the app is that it’s a full-featured Rube Goldberg machine kit for your digital life. You can create a complex, multi-step automation where one action triggers another, which triggers three more. You could have a shortcut that, with one tap, calculates your commute time, sets your home thermostat, turns on your lights, and sends a message to your family, all in one beautiful, cascading chain reaction.
Stop thinking of your car as just a car. Do look for deeper integration with CarPlay and future Apple automotive technologies.
Your Car as a Room in Your Digital House
For a long time, your car has been a separate, disconnected metal box. But the future of the car is that it’s just another room in your seamless, digital home. The new generation of CarPlay is the first step, moving beyond just a simple media player to a system that can integrate with your car’s speedometers and climate controls. The car is no longer a separate gadget; it’s becoming a powerful, rolling accessory for your iPhone, another perfectly integrated part of your personal ecosystem.
Stop being a passive user of your technology. Do explore the settings and customization options to make it work for you.
The Inhabitant vs. The Architect of Your Own Home
Many people live with their technology like a passive tenant in a rental apartment. They accept the layout and the rules as they are given. But your Apple devices are designed for you to be the architect of your own home. The Settings app is your blueprint and your toolbox. You have the power to change the wallpaper, rewire the light switches (notifications), and rearrange the furniture (the home screen). Being an active user, and taking the time to customize, is what transforms a generic tool into a truly personal space.
The #1 hack for getting a glimpse of the future is participating in Apple’s public beta programs for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
The Test Drive of Next Year’s Car
Every year, a few months before the big car show, automakers will let a few lucky people take a test drive of next year’s models. Apple’s public beta program is the exact same thing for your digital life. By signing up, you get to install and use the next major version of the iPhone’s operating system, months before it’s released to the public. It’s like getting a sneak peek of the future, a chance to see and touch the new features that everyone will be talking about next fall.
I’m just going to say it: Apple’s focus on privacy will become an even more significant differentiator in an increasingly data-hungry world.
The Bank vs. The Social Club
In the future, your personal data will be one of your most valuable assets. Many tech companies are like a social club; they offer you free services in exchange for the right to listen to your conversations and sell that information to others. Apple’s business model is to be a bank. You pay them for a high-quality product, and in return, they offer you a secure, private vault for your information. As the world becomes more aware of the value of data, the company that acts like a Swiss bank will become an increasingly compelling choice.
The reason you’re not excited about the future of tech is because you’re not seeing the potential for it to solve real-world problems in areas like health and education.
The Toy vs. The Tool
It’s easy to look at new technology and see it as just a new, expensive toy for entertainment. But the real, exciting future of technology is not about better games; it’s about better tools for humanity. It’s the Apple Watch that can detect a heart condition before it becomes a tragedy. It’s the iPad that can give a child in a remote village access to a world-class education. The reason to be excited is not the flashy new object, but its potential to be a powerful, life-changing tool that can solve some of our most fundamental human problems.
If you’re still using a password for everything, you’re not prepared for the future of authentication with Passkeys.
The Skeleton Key vs. The Biometric Handshake
A password is like an old-fashioned, metal skeleton key. It can be lost, it can be stolen, and if a thief gets a copy, they can use it to open your door forever. Passkeys are the future. They are a magical, biometric handshake. To log in, you don’t type anything. You just use your face or your fingerprint. It’s like the door has a scanner that recognizes you personally. It’s more secure, because there’s no “key” to be stolen from a website, and it’s infinitely more convenient.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to understand how the technology works; you just need to understand what it can do for you.
The Mechanic vs. The Driver of a Car
You do not need to be a mechanic to be an excellent driver. You don’t need to understand the complex inner workings of the internal combustion engine to use a car to get to work. The same is true for technology. The biggest lie is that it’s a club for experts only. Apple’s entire philosophy is to make the complex, powerful engine completely invisible. Your job is not to understand the “how”; your job is to be a curious and creative driver who can imagine all the amazing places your new car can take you.
I wish I knew about the developer community and the amazing apps they are creating that push the boundaries of the ecosystem.
The City Full of Brilliant Artists and Inventors
Apple provides the beautiful, well-run city (the operating system) and a few of the municipal buildings (the built-in apps). But the real, vibrant life of that city comes from the thousands of independent artists, inventors, and shopkeepers who live there. I wish I had known sooner to explore the incredible work of the third-party developer community. They are the ones who are truly pushing the boundaries, creating the specialized, powerful, and often magical apps that can transform your device from a great tool into the perfect tool for you.
99% of users make this one mistake: thinking that the way their devices work today is how they will work tomorrow.
The Tadpole That Will Become a Frog
Looking at a tadpole, it’s easy to think it’s just a simple little swimming creature. You might not see its true potential. Your Apple device is that tadpole. Through the magic of software updates and the evolution of the ecosystem, the simple device you hold in your hand today will slowly and steadily transform into something far more powerful and capable. The way you use your phone today is just a snapshot in time. It is a creature that is constantly, and often surprisingly, evolving.
This one small habit of reading about Apple’s latest patents will give you clues about their future product roadmap.
The Architect’s Discarded Sketches
A company’s patents are like the discarded sketches from an architect’s notebook. Not every single sketch will become a finished building, and some of the ideas are wild and experimental. But the small habit of occasionally looking at these sketches will give you a fascinating insight into the architect’s thought process. You can see the problems they are trying to solve and the materials they are experimenting with. It’s one of the best ways to get a secret, early glimpse of the blueprints for the buildings of tomorrow.
Use your Apple Watch for more than just notifications and fitness; explore its potential for health monitoring and early detection of issues.
The Fitness Coach vs. The Live-in Doctor
We think of the Apple Watch as a fantastic fitness coach that can track our runs and close our rings. But its true, life-altering potential is that it’s also a silent, live-in doctor who is monitoring our health 24/7. It can take an ECG to check your heart’s rhythm, it can monitor your blood oxygen levels, and it can detect if you’ve had a hard fall. It is evolving from a device that helps you get fit into a powerful medical instrument that could one day save your life.
Stop thinking of your devices as tools for consumption. Do use them as tools for creation, communication, and learning.
The Television vs. The Workshop
It’s easy to fall into the trap of using your powerful, beautiful devices as a high-tech television, a passive screen for endless consumption of social media and videos. But this is like owning a state-of-the-art, professional workshop and only using it to watch TV. Your iPhone is a Hollywood-quality movie camera. Your iPad is a world-class artist’s canvas. And your Mac is a professional recording studio. They are not just windows; they are tools, and the future belongs to those who use them to create.
Stop being afraid of automation. Do embrace it to handle the tedious tasks in your digital life so you can focus on what’s important.
The Butler Who Does All the Boring Chores
The idea of “automation” can sound robotic and impersonal. But it’s better to think of it as hiring a very efficient butler for all the boring, repetitive chores in your life. The Shortcuts app is that butler. You can teach him to sort your photos, to create your weekly expense report, or to send a “good morning” text to your family every single day. By delegating these mindless tasks to your digital butler, you are freeing up your own precious time and mental energy for the creative and human work that truly matters.
The #1 secret for a more powerful smart home is creating automations that are triggered by your location, the time of day, or other devices.
The House That Comes to Life on Its Own
A smart home where you have to use your phone to turn on every light is not that smart. The true secret is automations, which are like giving your house a brain and a set of instructions. It’s the magic that allows the house to come to life on its own. You can create an automation that says, “When the first person arrives home after 5 PM, turn on the living room lights and play the evening playlist.” It turns a collection of remote-controlled gadgets into a truly intelligent and responsive environment.
I’m just going to say it: The seamless integration between hardware, software, and services is Apple’s biggest competitive advantage and the key to its future success.
The Master Craftsman Who Makes the Violin, the Bow, and the Music
Some companies just make the hardware (the body of the violin). Others just make the software (the bow). And others still just provide the services (the sheet music). Apple’s unique and powerful advantage is that they are the master craftsman who meticulously designs and builds all three. Because the same team is in charge of the entire experience, the hardware, software, and services can be integrated with a level of seamless, harmonious perfection that no one else can match. This is the secret to their magic.
The reason you’re not getting the most out of your devices is because you’re not thinking about how they can work together to solve a problem.
The Individual Tools vs. The Assembly Line
Most of us see a problem and think, “Which one of my tools can solve this?” A better, more futuristic way to think is, “How can I build an assembly line of my tools to solve this?” You could use your iPhone’s camera to scan a document, which automatically saves to your Mac’s desktop via iCloud, which then triggers a Shortcut on your Mac to rename the file and move it to a specific folder. It’s this multi-device, workflow-oriented thinking that unlocks the true, exponential power of the ecosystem.
If you’re still manually managing your files, you’re not ready for a future where AI will help you organize and find your data proactively.
The Messy Desk vs. The Self-Tidying Desk
For decades, we have been the janitors of our own digital lives, manually creating folders and dragging files into them. It’s like having a messy desk that you constantly have to tidy yourself. The future of file management is a desk that tidies itself. With the power of on-device artificial intelligence, your computer will be smart enough to understand the context of your files and automatically sort them for you. You won’t have to think about “where” a file is; you’ll just ask for what you want, and it will appear.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that the future is all about flashy new hardware; the real revolution is in the software and services that connect it all.
The Car vs. The Entire Road System
Every year, we get excited about the shiny, new car model. But the real, world-changing revolution is not the car itself; it’s the invention of the entire road system, the traffic lights, the GPS, and the gas stations that allow all the cars to work together. The flashy new hardware is the new car. But the true, futuristic magic is in the invisible software and services—iCloud, an AI-powered Siri, the Find My network—that connect all of our devices and turn them from isolated objects into a powerful, intelligent, and cohesive system.
I wish I knew that I could use my iPhone to create 3D scans of objects with the right apps.
The Camera That’s Also a 3D Photocopier
We think of our phone’s camera as a tool for capturing a flat, 2D picture of the world. But with the advanced sensors in a modern iPhone and a clever app, it can also be a magical, 3D photocopier. You can walk around a real-world object, like a chair or a sculpture, and your phone can capture its shape and texture from every angle, creating a surprisingly detailed and realistic 3D model. It’s a powerful, futuristic tool that is hiding inside the camera you already own.
99% of people make this one mistake: dismissing a new Apple product category, like the Apple Watch or AirPods, before understanding its long-term potential.
The Seed That Will Become a Giant Tree
When a new Apple product is announced, it’s like looking at a tiny, unfamiliar seed. Many people make the mistake of looking at that seed and saying, “That’s just a small, weird-looking pebble.” They dismissed the first AirPods as looking silly, and the first Apple Watch as a useless toy. But Apple is not planting pebbles; they are planting the seeds of giant, future-defining trees. The mistake is in judging the seed for what it is on day one, and not for the massive, ecosystem-changing tree that it has been designed to grow into over the next decade.
This one small action of setting up your Health app and sharing the data with your doctor could have a profound impact on your long-term health.
The Daily Diary for Your Body
Going to the doctor once a year is like them trying to understand your health based on a single snapshot in time. The Health app is the detailed, daily diary of your body. It tracks your activity, your heart rate, your sleep, and more. The small, powerful action of choosing to share this data with your doctor gives them the entire storybook, not just the last page. This can help them see trends, spot potential issues earlier, and move from reactive sick-care to proactive health-care.
Use the accessibility features on your Apple devices, not just if you have a disability, but to find powerful new ways to interact with your tech.
The Secret Room Full of Superpowers
The “Accessibility” section of your settings is often seen as a room only for people with specific needs. This is a huge mistake. It’s actually a secret lab full of incredible superpowers that anyone can use. You can use Back Tap to create a secret button on the back of your phone. You can use the Magnifier to turn your camera into a powerful magnifying glass. It’s a treasure trove of innovative and powerful features that can make your device easier, faster, and more fun to use for everyone.
Stop thinking of your data as something to be protected from your devices. Do think of it as something that can be used by your devices to provide a more personal and helpful experience, with privacy as a priority.
The Butler Who Knows Nothing vs. The Butler Who Knows Your Preferences
You can have a butler who you keep completely in the dark about your life. He won’t know what you like, and therefore can’t be very helpful. Or, you can have a butler who securely and privately learns your preferences. This is Apple’s vision. Your data should be used for you, on your device, to create a more helpful experience. Your phone should know your favorite route home and warn you about traffic. This isn’t a violation of your privacy; it’s the definition of a truly personal and intelligent device.
Stop being a spectator. Do try to build a simple app with Swift Playgrounds to understand the power of coding.
Reading About a Car vs. Getting Behind the Wheel
You can read a hundred books about how a car works, but you will never truly understand the feeling of power and freedom until you get behind the wheel yourself. The same is true for software. Stop just being a passive user of other people’s apps. Download Swift Playgrounds. It’s a free, fun, and game-like app that is the ultimate “learner’s permit” for coding. The moment you write your first few lines of code and see your creation come to life, you will have a profound new appreciation for the magic behind the screen.
The #1 hack for a more future-proofed tech life is investing in an ecosystem, not just a collection of standalone products.
Buying a House vs. Renting a Bunch of Unrelated Rooms
Buying a collection of different, unrelated gadgets is like renting a dozen separate rooms all over a city. Nothing is connected, and your life is a constant, inefficient commute between them. Investing in an ecosystem is like buying a beautiful, well-designed house. Every room is connected, the plumbing and electricity all work together, and the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a long-term investment that provides a more cohesive, powerful, and ultimately more future-proof living experience.
I’m just going to say it: Apple’s investment in its own silicon is the foundation for its future innovations in AI, AR, and performance.
The Master Architect Who Also Designs the Bricks
Most tech companies are like architects who have to design their buildings using a standard set of bricks that someone else makes. Apple’s decision to design its own computer chips is like an architect deciding to also design and manufacture their own, custom, super-advanced building materials. This gives them a level of control and integration that is impossible for their competitors. These custom “bricks” are the powerful, efficient, and intelligent foundation upon which all of their future, magical houses will be built.
The reason you’re not seeing the “magic” of the ecosystem is because you’re not using the features that allow the devices to be aware of each other.
The Family That Lives in the Same House but Never Talks
You can have all the Apple devices, but if you’re not using features like Handoff, Universal Clipboard, and AirDrop, you are missing the magic. It’s like having a family that lives in the same beautiful house but where no one ever talks to each other. They are just a collection of individuals who happen to share a space. The “magic” is the conversation. It’s the seamless, invisible communication between the devices that turns a collection of separate, powerful objects into a single, cohesive, and intelligent family.
If you’re still thinking in terms of files and folders, you’re not ready for a future where search and AI will be the primary way you find your information.
The Librarian vs. The All-Knowing Oracle
For thirty years, we have been our own digital librarians, carefully organizing our information into a logical system of folders and sub-folders. But the library of our digital lives is becoming too vast to organize manually. The future is not a better librarian; it’s an all-knowing oracle. You won’t need to remember “where” you saved something. You will just ask for “that presentation I made about the marketing plan last spring,” and a powerful, on-device AI will understand the context and instantly summon it for you.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be young to understand new technology; a willingness to learn is all that’s required.
The Language, Not the Accent
Learning to use a new piece of technology is like learning a new language. A young person might pick up the “accent” a little faster, but anyone, at any age, who is willing to be curious, patient, and playful can become fluent. The biggest lie is that it’s an exclusive club with an age limit. The only ticket required for admission is a genuine desire to learn and a willingness to not be afraid of making mistakes. It’s a skill, not a birthright.
I wish I knew that I could use my Apple devices to control drones and other robots.
The Universal Remote for the Physical World
I used to think of my iPhone as just a remote for my digital life. I wish I had known that it’s also becoming a powerful, universal remote for the physical world. With the right app, you can use the familiar interface of your iPhone or iPad to pilot a high-tech drone, seeing what it sees in real-time. You can control sophisticated robotic arms or even program a Lego Mindstorms creation. It’s a powerful reminder that the bridge between the digital and the physical is getting shorter every single day.
99% of users make this one mistake: not taking the time to understand the “why” behind Apple’s design decisions.
Arguing with the Architect’s Blueprint
Apple often makes design choices—like removing a port or changing an interface—that can seem frustrating at first. The mistake most people make is that they only see the immediate inconvenience. This is like arguing with one small part of an architect’s blueprint without trying to understand the vision for the entire building. By taking the time to understand Apple’s core philosophies—like simplicity, integration, and privacy—you can start to see the “why” behind their decisions, and you can get a clearer picture of the beautiful, cohesive house they are trying to build.
This one small habit of following a few good tech journalists and analysts will keep you informed about the future of the ecosystem.
The Professional Tour Guides for the City of the Future
The world of technology can feel like a vast, confusing, and ever-changing city. Trying to navigate it on your own can be overwhelming. The small habit of finding and following a few, high-quality tech journalists and analysts is like hiring a set of professional, trustworthy tour guides. They spend their entire lives studying the city, they know the secret passages, and they have a good sense of which neighborhoods are about to be built. They are the essential guides for understanding where the city is today, and where it’s going tomorrow.
Use the “Live Activities” feature on your iPhone’s lock screen for real-time information, not constantly opening and closing apps.
The Live Ticker at the Bottom of Your Screen
You’re waiting for a food delivery or tracking the score of a game. The old way was to constantly unlock your phone, open the app, check the status, and then lock it again. Live Activities are like the live, updating ticker at the bottom of a news channel. The most important, real-time information—your driver is two minutes away, your team just scored—is displayed right on your lock screen. It gives you the information you need at a glance, turning a dozen frustrating interactions into one calm, passive one.
Stop thinking of your iPhone as just a phone. Do think of it as a powerful computer in your pocket that is the hub of your personal ecosystem.
The Sun, Not Just a Planet
For a long time, the computer was the sun, and the phone was just a small, orbiting planet. That has now flipped. Your iPhone is no longer just a “phone”; it is the powerful, super-computer in your pocket that has become the sun, the central hub of your entire personal solar system. Your watch, your headphones, your computer, and your car are now the planets and moons that orbit around it, all drawing their power and their intelligence from that one, central star that you carry with you everywhere.
Stop being overwhelmed by technology. Do focus on learning one new feature at a time.
Trying to Learn a Language by Memorizing the Entire Dictionary
Trying to master a new device by learning every single feature all at once is like trying to learn a new language by memorizing the entire dictionary on day one. It’s an impossible, overwhelming, and joyless task. The better way is to focus on learning just one new, useful “word” a week. This week, learn how to use a Tab Group. Next week, learn how to create a Shortcut. This slow, steady, and focused approach turns an overwhelming chore into a fun and empowering journey of discovery.
The #1 secret for a more personalized device is allowing it to learn your habits and preferences over time.
The Butler Who Gets Smarter Every Day
When you first get a new iPhone, it’s like hiring a butler who doesn’t know you at all. The #1 secret to a truly personal experience is to give him permission to learn. Your device can securely and privately observe your habits. It can learn that you always open the music app after you connect your headphones, and it will start to suggest that action for you. It’s not spying; it’s a student, and by allowing it to study you, it can transform from a generic tool into a truly intelligent and personal assistant.
I’m just going to say it: The future of the Apple ecosystem is one where the technology fades into the background and the experience is what matters.
The House That Runs Itself
The ultimate smart home is not the one with the most complicated control panels and buttons. It’s the one where the temperature is always perfect, the lighting is always right, and the music is always fitting, all without you ever having to touch a thing. This is the future of the Apple ecosystem. The goal is for the technology itself—the chips, the software, the connections—to become so powerful, so proactive, and so seamlessly integrated that it all just fades into the background, leaving you with nothing but a beautiful, effortless, and magical experience.
The reason you’re not prepared for the next big thing is because you’re not paying attention to the clues Apple is leaving in its current products and software.
The Breadcrumbs on the Path to the Future
Apple rarely unveils a major new product category out of the blue. They spend years leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow. They put Lidar scanners in their phones for years before they released a headset that could use that data. They built a powerful chip for the watch long before they needed it for its current tasks. The reason you’re not prepared for the future is that you’re not looking at these clues. The technologies that will power the magical devices of tomorrow are often hiding in plain sight in the devices of today.
If you’re still using a different app for every little task, you’re not leveraging the power of integrated apps that can share data and work together.
The Village of Disconnected Specialists vs. The Cohesive Team
Using a dozen different, single-purpose apps is like living in a village where you have to go to a separate, specialist shop for every single thing you need. The future is an integrated team. It’s the Reminders app that can talk to the Mail app, which can then talk to the Calendar app. It’s the power of having a small, cohesive team of generalists who all speak the same language and can work together to solve your problems, rather than a chaotic and disconnected village of specialists who can’t.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you have to be an expert to have an opinion on technology; your own experience is what’s most valuable.
The Food Critic vs. The Person Eating the Meal
There is a world of professional tech critics who will give you a detailed, technical breakdown of a new product. They are like a food critic who can tell you about the molecular gastronomy of a dish. But the most important and valuable opinion always comes from the person who is actually eating the meal. Does it taste good? Does it make you happy? You do not have to be an expert to know if a tool is working for you. Your own, real-world, lived experience is the most valuable data point of all.
I wish I knew more about the potential for machine learning on Apple devices to create more intelligent and helpful apps.
The App That Learns You
A standard app is like a dumb tool; it does the same thing every single time. An app that uses on-device machine learning is like a smart tool that gets to know you personally. I wish I knew more about how this works. It’s the photos app that learns the faces of your family members, or the keyboard that learns the unique way you type and gets better at predicting your next word. It’s the future of software, where our apps are no longer just static tools, but are intelligent partners that adapt and grow with us.
99% of people make this one mistake: assuming that Apple will never change its mind on a feature or design.
The Company That is a River, Not a Rock
We often see a company’s design choice—like the size of a phone or the layout of an operating system—and assume it is a permanent decision, carved in stone. This is a mistake. Apple is a river, not a rock. It is constantly flowing, evolving, and adapting based on new technologies and user feedback. They brought back the MagSafe charger. They changed their keyboard design. The ability to be fiercely opinionated, but to also be willing to learn and change course, is one of their greatest, and most misunderstood, strengths.
This one small action of trying to solve a daily inconvenience with a Shortcut or automation will open your eyes to the power of your devices.
The “There’s a Better Way” Mindset
We all have those small, daily, repetitive tasks that are a minor annoyance. The small but profound action of, the next time you face one, stopping and asking, “Could a Shortcut do this for me?” will open your eyes to a new world. It could be as simple as a one-tap button that sends a pre-written text, or as complex as a script that processes your files. This one shift in mindset—from a passive acceptor of inconvenience to an active solver of problems—is the key to unlocking the true power of the supercomputer in your pocket.
Use your Apple TV as a beautiful, dynamic screensaver with its stunning aerial videos, not just a black box when it’s not in use.
The Painting on Your Wall That’s Also a Window
When you’re not watching a movie, your big, black television screen is like a dead, empty space on your wall. The Apple TV’s aerial screensavers can transform that dead space into a breathtaking piece of art. They are not just a slideshow; they are slow, majestic, high-definition videos of some of the most beautiful places on Earth. It’s like turning that black rectangle into a magical window that looks out over Dubai, or a beautiful, living painting that is constantly and subtly changing.
Stop thinking about what your devices can do now. Do imagine what they could do in the future as they become more intelligent and connected.
The Musical Instrument vs. The Symphony It Will One Day Play
Looking at the iPhone in your hand and only seeing its current features is like looking at a single violin and only seeing a simple wooden instrument. You are missing the bigger picture. The real magic is in imagining the entire, hundred-piece orchestra that is being assembled, and the breathtaking symphony that they will one day be able to play together. The future of your devices is not in the individual notes they can play today, but in the complex, intelligent, and beautiful harmony they will create tomorrow.
Stop being resistant to change. Do embrace the evolution of the user interface and the new possibilities it brings.
The Familiar Old Road vs. The New Superhighway
When a user interface changes, our muscle memory rebels. It’s like the city has replaced your familiar, old country road with a brand new, ten-lane superhighway. Your first instinct is to be frustrated because you don’t know the new exits. But resisting this change is a mistake. The new highway has been built for a reason: it’s faster, more efficient, and can take you to exciting new places. Embracing the evolution of a user interface is about being willing to learn the new map, and trusting that it will lead you to a better destination.
The #1 hack for a more seamless future is to go all-in on a single ecosystem, whether it’s Apple’s or another.
Speaking One Language vs. Being a Part-Time Translator
Living with a mix of devices from different ecosystems is like living in a house where everyone speaks a different language. You can make it work, but you have to spend a huge amount of your mental energy acting as a part-time translator. The #1 hack for a seamless life is to choose one language and become fluent. By going all-in on a single ecosystem, you eliminate the friction of translation. Everything can communicate effortlessly, creating a cohesive, frustration-free, and truly “smart” environment.
I’m just going to say it: The future of computing is not about a single device; it’s about a constellation of devices that work together seamlessly.
The One Master Tool vs. The Specialist’s Toolkit
We used to think the future was one single, master device that would do everything. This is like thinking a master carpenter only needs one tool. The real future is a constellation of beautiful, specialized devices that are in constant, invisible communication. You will have a device on your wrist for quick interactions, a device in your pocket for mobile tasks, and a device on your face for immersive experiences. The power is not in any one star, but in the way the entire constellation works together as one.
The reason you find new technology intimidating is because you’re trying to learn everything at once; focus on what’s most relevant to you.
Drinking from a Firehose
A new operating system can feel like a firehose of new features, and it can be intimidating to the point of paralysis. The reason it’s overwhelming is that you are trying to drink from the firehose. The better approach is to completely ignore the firehose and just find the small, elegant water fountain in the corner that is most relevant to you. You don’t need to learn every new feature. Just find the one or two new things that will solve a real problem in your life, and focus only on them.
If you’re still using a non-smart watch, you’re missing out on the life-saving potential of the Apple Watch’s health features.
The Jewelry That Tells Time vs. The Guardian on Your Wrist
A traditional watch is a beautiful piece of jewelry that tells you the time. An Apple Watch is a guardian angel that lives on your wrist. It can monitor your heart for irregular rhythms, detect if you’ve had a hard fall and call for help, and even take an ECG. It is a device that is evolving from a simple convenience into a serious, life-saving medical instrument. While the classic watch is a statement of style, the Apple Watch is becoming a profound statement of self-care.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that technology is making us less human; it’s a tool that can be used to enhance our creativity, communication, and connection.
The Hammer That Can Build a House or a Weapon
The technology itself is just a hammer. A hammer is amoral. It can be used to build a beautiful home that brings a family together, or it can be used as a weapon. The biggest lie is that the hammer is inherently bad. The truth is that technology is a powerful amplifier. It is a tool, and its ultimate impact—whether it makes us more or less human—will always be a reflection of our own choices, our own values, and our own intentions as the wielder of that hammer.
I wish I knew that I could use my Mac to run other operating systems like Linux and Windows, making it a versatile tool for any task.
The House That Can Magically Change Its Interior Design
I used to think that buying a Mac was like buying a beautiful house with a fixed, unchangeable interior design. I wish I had known that it’s actually a magical, shape-shifting house. With virtualization software, a Mac can perfectly run other “interior designs,” like Windows or Linux, in a window right on your desktop. It’s a powerful and versatile tool that allows you to have the beautiful, premium hardware and the user-friendly design of a Mac, but with the chameleon-like ability to become any computer you need it to be.
99% of users make this one mistake: not thinking about the long-term implications of the technology they adopt.
The Tasty Snack vs. the Long-Term Diet
When a new app or service appears, we often judge it like a tasty, sugary snack. It’s fun, it’s free, and it gives us a quick hit of dopamine. The mistake we make is not thinking about it as a part of our long-term, digital diet. What are the ingredients? How is this company making money from me? What are the long-term implications for my privacy and my attention? Thinking about our technology choices with the same care that we think about our food choices is the essential step towards a healthier digital life.
This one small habit of being curious and playful with your devices will lead you to discover their most powerful and hidden features.
The Tourist vs. The Explorer of a New City
Most people use their devices like a tourist in a new city. They follow the well-trodden path from the hotel to the main attractions, and they never deviate. To discover the real magic, you have to be an explorer. The small habit of being curious and playful—of tapping on a button just to see what it does, of digging into the settings to understand a weird switch—is like deciding to wander down a small, interesting-looking alleyway. It’s in those unexplored corners that you will always find the city’s best-kept secrets.
Use your AirPods for more than just listening to music; use them for hands-free access to Siri and to stay connected on the go.
The Headphones That are Also a Butler
We think of AirPods as just a great pair of tiny, wireless headphones. This is like thinking of a butler as just a guy who can carry a tray. The true power of AirPods is that they are your discreet, always-on connection to your digital butler, Siri. While you’re walking or your hands are full, you can make phone calls, send messages, and control your smart home, all without ever touching your phone. They are not just a tool for consumption; they are a powerful interface for hands-free interaction with the world.
Stop thinking of your wallet as just a place for your cards. Do embrace the digital wallet for everything from payments to identity.
The Leather Pouch vs. The Secure, Digital Master Key
A physical wallet is a simple leather pouch that holds a few pieces of plastic and paper. The digital Wallet app is evolving into the secure, master key for your entire life. It can already hold your credit cards, your boarding passes, and your car keys. But the future is that it will also hold your driver’s license, your hotel room key, and your proof of identity. It’s moving from a simple convenience to a foundational piece of technology that will securely and privately manage your entire real-world identity.
Stop being a passive consumer of content. Do use your devices to create your own content and share your voice with the world.
The Audience Member vs. The Actor on the Stage
For decades, technology has positioned us as the passive audience, sitting in the dark and consuming the content that is presented to us on a screen. The revolutionary power of the devices you now own is that they have demolished the wall between the audience and the stage. Your iPhone is a professional film studio. Your Mac is a recording studio. You are no longer just a consumer; you have a powerful, global distribution platform in your pocket. The future belongs to those who use it to create.
The #1 secret for a more informed life is using Apple News to get a personalized feed of news from trusted sources.
The Personal Intelligence Briefing, Delivered Daily
The modern news landscape is a chaotic, overwhelming, and often untrustworthy firehose of information. The Apple News app is the tool that can tame that firehose. The secret is to take the time to customize it. By telling it which specific, trusted sources and topics you are interested in, you are transforming it from a noisy town square into your own personal, daily intelligence briefing. It’s a calm, curated, and reliable way to stay informed without being overwhelmed by the noise.
I’m just going to say it: Apple’s gradual and deliberate approach to innovation is often mistaken for being slow, but it results in more polished and integrated products.
The Hasty Sketch vs. The Finished Masterpiece
In the fast-moving world of technology, some companies are like artists who are constantly showing the public their hasty, unfinished sketches. Apple is the master painter who will keep their work hidden in the studio until they believe the masterpiece is absolutely, perfectly finished. This deliberate, patient approach can sometimes be mistaken for being slow. But it is this obsession with getting it right, with polishing every detail, and with making sure it integrates perfectly with the rest of the gallery, that results in a final product that is not just new, but timeless.
The reason you’re not taking advantage of the latest features is because you’re still using your devices the same way you did five years ago.
The Modern Car That You Still Drive Like a Horse and Buggy
Imagine being given a brand new, powerful electric car, but you continue to treat it like your old horse and buggy. You don’t use the GPS, you don’t use the cruise control, and you’re still worried about finding hay for it. The reason you’re not getting the most out of your modern iPhone is that your habits are stuck in the past. Technology is evolving at an incredible pace, and to truly benefit from it, we have to be willing to let go of our old workflows and embrace the new, more powerful ways of doing things.
If you’re still using a physical key for your house, you’re not ready for a future with Home Keys in the Wallet app.
The Clumsy Piece of Metal vs. The Secure, Digital Signal
The physical house key is a clumsy, insecure piece of technology that hasn’t changed in over a century. It can be lost, it can be stolen, and it can be copied. The future is the Home Key in your Apple Wallet. It’s a secure, encrypted, digital signal that can unlock your door with just a tap of your phone or your watch. You can even send a temporary “guest” key to a friend via iMessage. It’s the smarter, more secure, and more convenient evolution of one of our most fundamental tools.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be a “tech person” to enjoy the benefits of the Apple ecosystem.
The User’s Manual vs. The Intuitive Design
Some technology is like a complex piece of machinery that comes with a thick, intimidating user’s manual. The Apple ecosystem is designed to be like a perfectly crafted tool that just feels right in your hand. The goal is for it to be so intuitive that it doesn’t need a manual. You do not need to be a “tech person” to appreciate the magic of your AirPods connecting instantly or your notes syncing seamlessly. You just need to be a person who appreciates when things work the way they are supposed to.
I wish I knew that I could use the “Find My” network to help find other people’s lost devices, contributing to a global community.
The Neighborhood Watch for Your Digital Life
I used to think that the Find My network was just about me finding my own stuff. I wish I had known that it’s actually a massive, anonymous, and collaborative neighborhood watch program for our collective digital lives. Every time your iPhone silently and securely relays the location of a stranger’s lost AirTag, you are being a good neighbor. You are a tiny, but important, part of a global community that is helping to reunite people with their lost belongings. It’s a beautiful, hidden example of crowdsourced kindness.
99% of people make this one mistake: buying into the hype of a new product without considering how it will fit into their personal ecosystem.
The Beautiful New Lamp That Uses a Weird Lightbulb
You see a beautiful, exciting new smart lamp, and you buy it on impulse. But when you get it home, you realize it uses a weird, proprietary lightbulb, it doesn’t work with your other light switches, and you need a separate, clunky remote to control it. The biggest mistake in tech is buying a single, hyped-up product in isolation. The smarter question is not “What does this thing do?” but “How does this thing talk to all the other things I already own?” A truly smart home is a team, not a collection of talented but non-communicative individuals.
This one small action of learning about the history of Apple and its design philosophy will give you a deeper appreciation for its products.
Understanding the Architect’s Vision
You can live in a beautifully designed house and appreciate its beauty. But if you take the time to learn about the architect—their history, their values, their vision for how a family should live—you will have a much deeper and richer appreciation for every single detail of that house. The small action of learning about Apple’s history and its core design philosophies will do the same for your technology. You will start to see the “why” behind the “what,” and you will understand the deep, intentional story that is being told by the objects you use every day.
Use the powerful cameras on your iPhone to shoot high-quality video in cinematic mode, not just for simple point-and-shoot clips.
The Home Video Camera vs. The Hollywood Steadicam
For years, the video camera on a phone was for capturing simple, shaky home movies. But the Cinematic Mode on a modern iPhone is a piece of Hollywood magic that has been shrunk down and put in your pocket. It uses powerful software to create a beautiful, shallow depth of field, just like a professional movie camera. It can even intelligently and automatically shift focus from one person to another as they speak. It’s a tool that can elevate your simple video clips into something that looks and feels truly cinematic.
Stop thinking of software updates as a chore. Do think of them as free upgrades that bring new features and capabilities to your devices.
The Annoying Chore vs. The Free Gift
That little red badge on your Settings app can feel like an annoying chore that you have to do. This is the wrong way to think about it. A software update is a free, exciting gift from the people who made your device. It’s like the car company showing up at your house and, for free, installing a more powerful engine and a better sound system in the car you already own. It’s the magical, transformative power of software, and it’s one of the most compelling reasons to be a part of a modern, evolving ecosystem.
Stop being limited by the apps on your phone. Do explore the world of web apps and progressive web apps that can be added to your Home Screen.
The Official Stores vs. The Bustling Street Market
The App Store is like the official, curated, high-end shopping mall for your phone. But just outside that mall is a vast, bustling, and innovative street market. These are the web apps and progressive web apps. They are powerful, app-like experiences that live on the web but can be “installed” on your home screen just like a regular app. Exploring this world will open you up to a new universe of tools and services that exist outside the walls of the official App Store.
The #1 hack for a more immersive AR experience is using it in a well-lit and open space.
The Stage for Your Holographic Play
Augmented Reality is like staging a play with magical, holographic actors. For the illusion to work, the stage needs to be properly prepared. Your phone’s camera needs a lot of light to be able to see and understand the “stage” of your room. And it needs a clear, open floor space to be able to place the holographic actors. The #1 hack for a good AR experience is not about the technology; it’s about being a good stage manager. Find a bright, uncluttered space, and the magic will happen.
I’m just going to say it: The future of health is personal, proactive, and predictive, and the Apple Watch and Health app are at the forefront of this movement.
The Fire Alarm vs. The Fire Prevention System
Our current healthcare system is like a fire alarm; it does a great job of telling us that our house is already on fire. The future of health is a fire prevention system. It’s about having a network of sensors—like the Apple Watch—that are constantly and proactively monitoring the health of your house. They are looking for the subtle, early warning signs of a potential problem, allowing you to predict and prevent the fire from ever starting in the first place. This is the profound, life-altering promise of personal health technology.
The reason you’re not having fun with your technology is because you’re only using it for work; explore its creative and entertainment possibilities.
The Tractor That’s Also a Sports Car
If you only ever use your powerful computer for spreadsheets and email, it’s like owning a machine that is both a powerful tractor and a thrilling sports car, but you only ever use it to plow the fields. You are missing out on half of the fun. The reason your technology feels like a chore is because you are only using it for chores. Take the time to explore its creative and entertainment possibilities. Learn to edit a movie, compose a song, or play an immersive game. Remember to take the sports car out for a drive.
If you’re still using a separate device for every function, you’re not embracing the convergence of technology into a few powerful and versatile devices.
The Junk Drawer of Gadgets vs. The Swiss Army Knife
The old model of technology was a messy junk drawer full of single-purpose gadgets: a calculator, a flashlight, a camera, a GPS unit, a Walkman. The future that we are now living in is one of convergence. Your one iPhone is the Swiss Army knife that has replaced that entire drawer. It is a more powerful, more convenient, and more elegant solution. Embracing this convergence means simplifying your life and recognizing the incredible, multi-faceted power of the few, versatile devices you already carry.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that technology is a solved problem; we are still in the very early days of the personal computing revolution.
The Dawn of the Automobile Age
Looking at the incredible power of the devices we have today, it’s easy to think that we’ve reached the end of the road, that the problems of technology have all been solved. This is like looking at the Ford Model T in 1920 and thinking that the world of transportation is a “solved problem.” The reality is that we are still in the very, very early morning of the personal computing revolution. The truly transformative, society-changing innovations are still ahead of us, and what seems magical today will seem quaint tomorrow.
I wish I knew that I could use my Apple devices to learn a new language, a new skill, or a new instrument.
The University in Your Pocket
I used to think of my phone as a tool for communication and entertainment. I wish I had known that it’s also a world-class, infinitely patient, and incredibly affordable university. With apps like Duolingo, you can learn a new language. With YouTube, you can learn any skill you can imagine, from woodworking to coding. With GarageBand, you can learn to play the piano. It is the most powerful and accessible learning tool ever created, and the only tuition fee is your own curiosity.
99% of users make this one mistake: not customizing the settings to make their devices truly their own.
The One-Size-Fits-All Suit vs. the Tailored Tuxedo
Using your iPhone with its default settings is like wearing a one-size-fits-all suit. It’s functional, but it doesn’t fit you perfectly. The Settings app is your personal tailor. 99% of people never even go in for a fitting. By taking the time to adjust the notifications, customize the Control Center, and tweak the display, you are turning that generic, off-the-rack suit into a perfectly tailored tuxedo that is a unique and comfortable reflection of you.
This one small habit of questioning how a task could be done better with technology will lead you to innovative solutions.
The Path of Least Resistance vs. the Search for a Better Way
We are creatures of habit. We often continue to do a task in a clumsy, inefficient way simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” The small but powerful habit of, when faced with a frustrating task, pausing and asking, “Is there a smarter, faster, more automated way to do this with the supercomputer I have in my pocket?” is the mindset of an innovator. It’s the question that will lead you to discover the shortcut, the app, or the workflow that can solve your problem in a way you never thought possible.
Use your devices to connect with people and communities who share your interests, not just for passive scrolling.
The Lonely Window vs. The Open Door
Social media can often feel like a lonely window, where you are passively looking out at a curated, disconnected world. But your devices can also be an open door. The true power of the internet is its ability to connect you with a global community of people who share your specific, niche passions. Whether it’s a forum for classic car enthusiasts, a Discord for bird watchers, or a Facebook group for potters, you can use your devices to walk through that door and find your tribe.
Stop thinking of your home as a collection of dumb objects. Do imagine how it could be transformed with smart home technology.
The Static House vs. The Living House
We think of our home as a static collection of dumb objects: a light switch, a thermostat, a front door. A smart home is a living, responsive environment. Stop thinking of the light switch and start imagining a house that knows when you arrive and lights a path for you. Stop thinking of the thermostat and start imagining a house that learns your temperature preferences and saves you money. The future of the home is not just about remote control; it’s about creating an intelligent partner that anticipates your needs.
Stop being afraid of AI. Do learn about its potential and its limitations so you can be an informed user.
The Mysterious Monster vs. The Powerful Tool
Artificial Intelligence can sound like a mysterious, uncontrollable monster from a science fiction movie. This fear comes from a lack of understanding. The best way to stop being afraid of it is to learn about it. AI is not a monster; it is a new, incredibly powerful, and complex tool, like fire or electricity. By taking the time to understand its basic principles, its incredible potential, and its very real limitations and risks, you can transform from a fearful spectator into an informed, empowered, and responsible user.
The #1 secret for a more secure digital life in the future is embracing passwordless authentication with Passkeys.
The Key That Can Be Stolen vs. The Key That is Your Face
A password is a secret that you have to keep. But in the digital world, secrets can be stolen from a thousand different places. The future of security is not a better secret; it’s a system with no secret at all. Passkeys are the secretless future. They use the biometric security that is built into your device—your face or your fingerprint—to prove that you are you. There is no password to be phished, no secret to be stolen. It is the fundamental shift that will finally make the internet a safer place.
I’m just going to say it: The most exciting innovations in the Apple ecosystem in the next few years will be in the software and services, not just the hardware.
The Beautiful Violin vs. The Music It Can Play
For years, we have been obsessed with the beautiful, physical hardware that Apple creates. It’s like being mesmerized by the beautiful craftsmanship of a Stradivarius violin. But a violin is just a silent, wooden object. The real magic is in the music that it can play. The most exciting and profound innovations of the next decade will not be the physical shape of the violin. They will be in the invisible, intelligent, and deeply personal “music”—the software and the services—that will bring these beautiful objects to life in ways we can barely even imagine today.
The reason you’re not prepared for the future is because you’re not cultivating a mindset of lifelong learning.
The Full Cup vs. The Empty Cup
If you approach the world of technology with the mindset that your knowledge is a “full cup,” you have no room to learn anything new. You will be stuck in the past, and the future will feel intimidating and alien. The only way to be prepared for a future that is constantly changing is to cultivate the mindset of an eternal student, of always having an “empty cup” that is ready to be filled. A willingness to be a beginner, to be curious, and to constantly learn is the one essential skill for the 21st century.
If you’re still doing repetitive tasks manually, you’re not using the power of automation to free up your time for more creative work.
The Human Robot vs. The Human Artist
When you spend your day manually copying and pasting data from one place to another, you are acting like a slow, inefficient, and very expensive human robot. The power of automation, through tools like the Shortcuts app, is that it can build a real robot to do that job for you. This frees you up to do the work that only a human can do. It allows you to stop being a robot and to start being an artist, a strategist, a communicator, and a creative thinker.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be constantly connected; the future of technology will also be about helping us to disconnect and be more present.
The Shackle vs. The Key
It can often feel like our technology is a digital shackle, a constant source of interruption that chains us to the virtual world. But this is just the immature phase of a new technology. The future of a truly “smart” device will not be about demanding more of your attention, but about intelligently protecting it. With features like Focus modes and on-device AI, our devices will become the key that can unlock us from those shackles, helping us to filter out the noise and be more present and engaged in the real, physical world.
I wish I knew that my Apple devices could be powerful tools for mindfulness and meditation.
The Noisy Casino vs. The Quiet Monastery
Our phones are often a noisy, chaotic casino of notifications and distractions. I wish I had known sooner that they can also be a serene and quiet monastery. With apps like Calm or Headspace, and by using the powerful Focus modes to create a true “Do Not Disturb” sanctuary, your device can become one of the most powerful mindfulness and meditation tools you own. It’s a beautiful irony that the same device that is the source of so much of our stress can also be our most powerful guide back to a state of peace and presence.
99% of people make this one mistake: not considering the environmental impact of their technology choices.
The Disposable Cup vs. The Reusable Thermos
When we buy a new piece of technology, we often only think about its features and its price. This is like only ever thinking about the convenience of a disposable coffee cup. The mistake is not considering the full lifecycle of that product. Apple is a leader in using recycled materials and in its commitment to carbon neutrality. By choosing to support companies that prioritize sustainability, by using your devices for as long as possible, and by recycling them responsibly, you are choosing the durable, reusable thermos over the endless pile of disposable cups.
This one small action of teaching a friend or family member how to use a feature on their device will help to spread digital literacy.
Lighting Another Person’s Candle
Technology can be intimidating, and many people are still living in the digital dark ages. The small, kind action of taking a few minutes to teach a friend or a parent one new, helpful feature on their phone is like using your own candle to light theirs. You haven’t lost any of your own light, but you have doubled the amount of light in the world. It’s a simple act of generosity that can help to demystify technology and empower the people you care about to live a more connected and capable life.
Use the Apple ecosystem not just as a set of tools, but as a platform for achieving your goals and living a more productive, creative, and connected life.
The Workshop vs. The Masterpiece You Build In It
The Apple ecosystem is a state-of-the-art, professional-grade workshop, full of the most powerful and beautifully integrated tools you can imagine. But the tools themselves are not the point. The ultimate goal is not to just own a beautiful workshop. The goal is to use that workshop to build the masterpiece that is your own life. Use it to write your novel, to start your business, to learn a new skill, to stay connected to your family. The technology is just the platform; your life is the ultimate creation.Use Apple Intelligence for on-device AI tasks, not just cloud-based AI from other companies.
The Butler Who Thinks Inside Your House
Imagine you have a personal assistant to sort your private mail. Most AI services are like a corporate mailroom; you have to send your private letters to their headquarters, where strangers read them to figure out what’s important. Apple Intelligence is like having a brilliant, trustworthy butler who lives inside your locked house. He can read your mail, understand your requests, and organize your life right there on your kitchen table. Your private information never has to leave the safety of your home to be understood. It’s powerful intelligence with a powerful lock on the door.
Stop thinking of Siri as just a voice assistant. Do think of it as the beginning of a more integrated and proactive AI experience.
The Butler Who’s Learning to Anticipate Your Needs
For years, Siri has been like a butler who stands in the corner, waiting for you to call their name to perform one specific task. But that role is changing. The future of Siri is a butler who is learning to anticipate your needs before you even ask. He sees you’re running late for a meeting and proactively suggests sending a “running 10 minutes late” text to the attendees. Siri is evolving from a voice that just answers questions into the central, proactive nervous system of your digital life, an assistant that understands your personal context.
Stop ignoring the potential of Augmented Reality. Do explore the AR apps on your iPhone and iPad to see the future of computing.
The Magic Window That Blends Two Worlds
We think of computing as something that happens inside a rectangular screen. Augmented Reality (AR) is the magic that shatters that boundary. Your iPhone’s camera is not just for taking pictures; it’s a magic window. You can point it at your living room floor and see exactly how a new virtual sofa would look. You can point it at a flat table and play a 3D board game that seems to be physically there. It’s not a gimmick; it’s the first step towards a future where digital information is no longer trapped behind glass.
The #1 secret for being prepared for the future of Apple is understanding their long-term vision for a seamless, integrated ecosystem.
The Architect’s Master Blueprint
Apple’s new product releases can sometimes seem disconnected. But they are not just building separate gadgets; they are an architectural firm that is slowly and deliberately building one single, magnificent, interconnected home, and they have a master blueprint. The #1 secret is to understand that blueprint. When you see that the watch, the phone, the Vision Pro, and the Mac are all designed to be different, specialized rooms in the same house, you can start to anticipate how they will all work together, creating one single, cohesive living experience in the future.
I’m just going to say it: The Vision Pro is not just a VR headset; it’s the first step towards spatial computing and the future of the Mac.
The Blueprint That Becomes the Building
Today, your Mac is a flat window you look into. The Vision Pro is the first step towards a future where you can step through that window. It’s not just about watching movies in 3D. It’s about taking all the powerful apps and windows from your Mac and placing them in the space around you, like magical, floating holograms. It’s the evolution of the computer from a 2D screen you look at, into a 3D “spatial” environment you are in. It’s not a replacement for the Mac; it’s its future.
The reason your current smart home is so clunky is because it’s not based on a unified standard like Matter, which Apple is heavily invested in.
The Tower of Babel vs. a Universal Language
Your current smart home is a technological Tower of Babel. Your smart lights speak one language, your thermostat speaks another, and your smart lock speaks a third. They don’t understand each other, so nothing works together smoothly. Matter is the new, universal language for the smart home. It’s like a magical translator that allows every device, regardless of who made it, to speak the same language. Apple’s investment in Matter is their commitment to turning your clunky, frustrating house into a truly intelligent and seamlessly connected home.
If you’re still thinking of your Apple devices as separate gadgets, you’re missing the big picture of a single, powerful personal computing system.
The Different Organs of a Single Body
Thinking of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac as separate devices is like thinking of your hands, your eyes, and your brain as separate, unrelated objects. The real magic happens when you see them as different, specialized organs of one single, powerful body. The iPhone is the hand, out in the world, sensing and communicating. The Mac is the powerful brain for deep, focused work. And the iPad is the versatile, adaptive heart. They are all designed to work in perfect, harmonious sync, creating a personal computing system that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that the future of tech will be complicated; Apple’s goal is to make it more intuitive and integrated into our lives.
The Disappearing Butler
We often see futuristic tech in movies, and it’s full of complex dashboards and confusing controls. But Apple’s vision of the future is the opposite. It’s like the difference between a clumsy, mechanical robot and a perfect, invisible butler. The goal is for the technology to become so smart, so proactive, and so seamlessly integrated into the fabric of your life that it simply disappears. You won’t have to think about the “how”; your needs will just be quietly and intelligently met in the background. The ultimate technology is the one you don’t even notice.
I wish I knew more about the potential of the U1 chip in my iPhone for more precise location and spatial awareness.
The Indoor GPS for Your Personal Space
GPS is brilliant for telling you which street you’re on, but it can’t tell you where the TV remote is in your living room. The U1 chip in your iPhone is like a tiny, hyper-accurate indoor GPS. It doesn’t use satellites; it uses radio waves to understand its exact position relative to other devices with the same chip. It’s the secret sauce that allows you to point your phone and have it know exactly which friend you want to AirDrop to. It’s the first step towards a future where your devices are truly aware of the space around them.
99% of people make this one mistake when thinking about the future: underestimating the power of incremental software updates to transform the user experience.
The Slow and Steady Remodel of Your House
We often think the future will arrive with a big, dramatic “bang” in the form of a flashy new piece of hardware. This is a mistake. The real revolution happens slowly, through dozens of small, incremental software updates. It’s like a slow and steady remodel of your house. One year, the plumbing gets a little smarter. The next year, the lighting becomes more efficient. You might not notice the daily changes, but after five years, you wake up and realize you’re living in a completely transformed and futuristic home, all without ever moving.
This one small action of trying a new feature with each major OS update will keep you on the cutting edge of what your devices can do.
Using the New Tool in Your Toolbox
Every year, Apple gives you a free, major software update. This is like a master toolmaker showing up at your workshop and giving you a brand new, powerful tool, for free. The mistake most people make is that they put that new tool on the shelf and keep using their old, familiar hammer. The small but powerful habit of taking just 30 minutes to learn and try just one of those major new features is how you stay on the cutting edge. It ensures that your toolbox is not just full, but that you actually know how to use it.
Use the Shortcuts app to create complex, multi-step automations, not just simple commands.
The Rube Goldberg Machine for Your Digital Life
Using the Shortcuts app for a simple, one-step task is like setting up one single domino. But the true, mind-bending power of the app is that it’s a full-featured Rube Goldberg machine kit for your digital life. You can create a complex, multi-step automation where one action triggers another, which triggers three more. You could have a shortcut that, with one tap, calculates your commute time, sets your home thermostat, turns on your lights, and sends a message to your family, all in one beautiful, cascading chain reaction.
Stop thinking of your car as just a car. Do look for deeper integration with CarPlay and future Apple automotive technologies.
Your Car as a Room in Your Digital House
For a long time, your car has been a separate, disconnected metal box. But the future of the car is that it’s just another room in your seamless, digital home. The new generation of CarPlay is the first step, moving beyond just a simple media player to a system that can integrate with your car’s speedometers and climate controls. The car is no longer a separate gadget; it’s becoming a powerful, rolling accessory for your iPhone, another perfectly integrated part of your personal ecosystem.
Stop being a passive user of your technology. Do explore the settings and customization options to make it work for you.
The Inhabitant vs. The Architect of Your Own Home
Many people live with their technology like a passive tenant in a rental apartment. They accept the layout and the rules as they are given. But your Apple devices are designed for you to be the architect of your own home. The Settings app is your blueprint and your toolbox. You have the power to change the wallpaper, rewire the light switches (notifications), and rearrange the furniture (the home screen). Being an active user, and taking the time to customize, is what transforms a generic tool into a truly personal space.
The #1 hack for getting a glimpse of the future is participating in Apple’s public beta programs for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
The Test Drive of Next Year’s Car
Every year, a few months before the big car show, automakers will let a few lucky people take a test drive of next year’s models. Apple’s public beta program is the exact same thing for your digital life. By signing up, you get to install and use the next major version of the iPhone’s operating system, months before it’s released to the public. It’s like getting a sneak peek of the future, a chance to see and touch the new features that everyone will be talking about next fall.
I’m just going to say it: Apple’s focus on privacy will become an even more significant differentiator in an increasingly data-hungry world.
The Bank vs. The Social Club
In the future, your personal data will be one of your most valuable assets. Many tech companies are like a social club; they offer you free services in exchange for the right to listen to your conversations and sell that information to others. Apple’s business model is to be a bank. You pay them for a high-quality product, and in return, they offer you a secure, private vault for your information. As the world becomes more aware of the value of data, the company that acts like a Swiss bank will become an increasingly compelling choice.
The reason you’re not excited about the future of tech is because you’re not seeing the potential for it to solve real-world problems in areas like health and education.
The Toy vs. The Tool
It’s easy to look at new technology and see it as just a new, expensive toy for entertainment. But the real, exciting future of technology is not about better games; it’s about better tools for humanity. It’s the Apple Watch that can detect a heart condition before it becomes a tragedy. It’s the iPad that can give a child in a remote village access to a world-class education. The reason to be excited is not the flashy new object, but its potential to be a powerful, life-changing tool that can solve some of our most fundamental human problems.
If you’re still using a password for everything, you’re not prepared for the future of authentication with Passkeys.
The Skeleton Key vs. The Biometric Handshake
A password is like an old-fashioned, metal skeleton key. It can be lost, it can be stolen, and if a thief gets a copy, they can use it to open your door forever. Passkeys are the future. They are a magical, biometric handshake. To log in, you don’t type anything. You just use your face or your fingerprint. It’s like the door has a scanner that recognizes you personally. It’s more secure, because there’s no “key” to be stolen from a website, and it’s infinitely more convenient.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to understand how the technology works; you just need to understand what it can do for you.
The Mechanic vs. The Driver of a Car
You do not need to be a mechanic to be an excellent driver. You don’t need to understand the complex inner workings of the internal combustion engine to use a car to get to work. The same is true for technology. The biggest lie is that it’s a club for experts only. Apple’s entire philosophy is to make the complex, powerful engine completely invisible. Your job is not to understand the “how”; your job is to be a curious and creative driver who can imagine all the amazing places your new car can take you.
I wish I knew about the developer community and the amazing apps they are creating that push the boundaries of the ecosystem.
The City Full of Brilliant Artists and Inventors
Apple provides the beautiful, well-run city (the operating system) and a few of the municipal buildings (the built-in apps). But the real, vibrant life of that city comes from the thousands of independent artists, inventors, and shopkeepers who live there. I wish I had known sooner to explore the incredible work of the third-party developer community. They are the ones who are truly pushing the boundaries, creating the specialized, powerful, and often magical apps that can transform your device from a great tool into the perfect tool for you.
99% of users make this one mistake: thinking that the way their devices work today is how they will work tomorrow.
The Tadpole That Will Become a Frog
Looking at a tadpole, it’s easy to think it’s just a simple little swimming creature. You might not see its true potential. Your Apple device is that tadpole. Through the magic of software updates and the evolution of the ecosystem, the simple device you hold in your hand today will slowly and steadily transform into something far more powerful and capable. The way you use your phone today is just a snapshot in time. It is a creature that is constantly, and often surprisingly, evolving.
This one small habit of reading about Apple’s latest patents will give you clues about their future product roadmap.
The Architect’s Discarded Sketches
A company’s patents are like the discarded sketches from an architect’s notebook. Not every single sketch will become a finished building, and some of the ideas are wild and experimental. But the small habit of occasionally looking at these sketches will give you a fascinating insight into the architect’s thought process. You can see the problems they are trying to solve and the materials they are experimenting with. It’s one of the best ways to get a secret, early glimpse of the blueprints for the buildings of tomorrow.
Use your Apple Watch for more than just notifications and fitness; explore its potential for health monitoring and early detection of issues.
The Fitness Coach vs. The Live-in Doctor
We think of the Apple Watch as a fantastic fitness coach that can track our runs and close our rings. But its true, life-altering potential is that it’s also a silent, live-in doctor who is monitoring our health 24/7. It can take an ECG to check your heart’s rhythm, it can monitor your blood oxygen levels, and it can detect if you’ve had a hard fall. It is evolving from a device that helps you get fit into a powerful medical instrument that could one day save your life.
Stop thinking of your devices as tools for consumption. Do use them as tools for creation, communication, and learning.
The Television vs. The Workshop
It’s easy to fall into the trap of using your powerful, beautiful devices as a high-tech television, a passive screen for endless consumption of social media and videos. But this is like owning a state-of-the-art, professional workshop and only using it to watch TV. Your iPhone is a Hollywood-quality movie camera. Your iPad is a world-class artist’s canvas. And your Mac is a professional recording studio. They are not just windows; they are tools, and the future belongs to those who use them to create.
Stop being afraid of automation. Do embrace it to handle the tedious tasks in your digital life so you can focus on what’s important.
The Butler Who Does All the Boring Chores
The idea of “automation” can sound robotic and impersonal. But it’s better to think of it as hiring a very efficient butler for all the boring, repetitive chores in your life. The Shortcuts app is that butler. You can teach him to sort your photos, to create your weekly expense report, or to send a “good morning” text to your family every single day. By delegating these mindless tasks to your digital butler, you are freeing up your own precious time and mental energy for the creative and human work that truly matters.
The #1 secret for a more powerful smart home is creating automations that are triggered by your location, the time of day, or other devices.
The House That Comes to Life on Its Own
A smart home where you have to use your phone to turn on every light is not that smart. The true secret is automations, which are like giving your house a brain and a set of instructions. It’s the magic that allows the house to come to life on its own. You can create an automation that says, “When the first person arrives home after 5 PM, turn on the living room lights and play the evening playlist.” It turns a collection of remote-controlled gadgets into a truly intelligent and responsive environment.
I’m just going to say it: The seamless integration between hardware, software, and services is Apple’s biggest competitive advantage and the key to its future success.
The Master Craftsman Who Makes the Violin, the Bow, and the Music
Some companies just make the hardware (the body of the violin). Others just make the software (the bow). And others still just provide the services (the sheet music). Apple’s unique and powerful advantage is that they are the master craftsman who meticulously designs and builds all three. Because the same team is in charge of the entire experience, the hardware, software, and services can be integrated with a level of seamless, harmonious perfection that no one else can match. This is the secret to their magic.
The reason you’re not getting the most out of your devices is because you’re not thinking about how they can work together to solve a problem.
The Individual Tools vs. The Assembly Line
Most of us see a problem and think, “Which one of my tools can solve this?” A better, more futuristic way to think is, “How can I build an assembly line of my tools to solve this?” You could use your iPhone’s camera to scan a document, which automatically saves to your Mac’s desktop via iCloud, which then triggers a Shortcut on your Mac to rename the file and move it to a specific folder. It’s this multi-device, workflow-oriented thinking that unlocks the true, exponential power of the ecosystem.
If you’re still manually managing your files, you’re not ready for a future where AI will help you organize and find your data proactively.
The Messy Desk vs. The Self-Tidying Desk
For decades, we have been the janitors of our own digital lives, manually creating folders and dragging files into them. It’s like having a messy desk that you constantly have to tidy yourself. The future of file management is a desk that tidies itself. With the power of on-device artificial intelligence, your computer will be smart enough to understand the context of your files and automatically sort them for you. You won’t have to think about “where” a file is; you’ll just ask for what you want, and it will appear.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that the future is all about flashy new hardware; the real revolution is in the software and services that connect it all.
The Car vs. The Entire Road System
Every year, we get excited about the shiny, new car model. But the real, world-changing revolution is not the car itself; it’s the invention of the entire road system, the traffic lights, the GPS, and the gas stations that allow all the cars to work together. The flashy new hardware is the new car. But the true, futuristic magic is in the invisible software and services—iCloud, an AI-powered Siri, the Find My network—that connect all of our devices and turn them from isolated objects into a powerful, intelligent, and cohesive system.
I wish I knew that I could use my iPhone to create 3D scans of objects with the right apps.
The Camera That’s Also a 3D Photocopier
We think of our phone’s camera as a tool for capturing a flat, 2D picture of the world. But with the advanced sensors in a modern iPhone and a clever app, it can also be a magical, 3D photocopier. You can walk around a real-world object, like a chair or a sculpture, and your phone can capture its shape and texture from every angle, creating a surprisingly detailed and realistic 3D model. It’s a powerful, futuristic tool that is hiding inside the camera you already own.
99% of people make this one mistake: dismissing a new Apple product category, like the Apple Watch or AirPods, before understanding its long-term potential.
The Seed That Will Become a Giant Tree
When a new Apple product is announced, it’s like looking at a tiny, unfamiliar seed. Many people make the mistake of looking at that seed and saying, “That’s just a small, weird-looking pebble.” They dismissed the first AirPods as looking silly, and the first Apple Watch as a useless toy. But Apple is not planting pebbles; they are planting the seeds of giant, future-defining trees. The mistake is in judging the seed for what it is on day one, and not for the massive, ecosystem-changing tree that it has been designed to grow into over the next decade.
This one small action of setting up your Health app and sharing the data with your doctor could have a profound impact on your long-term health.
The Daily Diary for Your Body
Going to the doctor once a year is like them trying to understand your health based on a single snapshot in time. The Health app is the detailed, daily diary of your body. It tracks your activity, your heart rate, your sleep, and more. The small, powerful action of choosing to share this data with your doctor gives them the entire storybook, not just the last page. This can help them see trends, spot potential issues earlier, and move from reactive sick-care to proactive health-care.
Use the accessibility features on your Apple devices, not just if you have a disability, but to find powerful new ways to interact with your tech.
The Secret Room Full of Superpowers
The “Accessibility” section of your settings is often seen as a room only for people with specific needs. This is a huge mistake. It’s actually a secret lab full of incredible superpowers that anyone can use. You can use Back Tap to create a secret button on the back of your phone. You can use the Magnifier to turn your camera into a powerful magnifying glass. It’s a treasure trove of innovative and powerful features that can make your device easier, faster, and more fun to use for everyone.
Stop thinking of your data as something to be protected from your devices. Do think of it as something that can be used by your devices to provide a more personal and helpful experience, with privacy as a priority.
The Butler Who Knows Nothing vs. The Butler Who Knows Your Preferences
You can have a butler who you keep completely in the dark about your life. He won’t know what you like, and therefore can’t be very helpful. Or, you can have a butler who securely and privately learns your preferences. This is Apple’s vision. Your data should be used for you, on your device, to create a more helpful experience. Your phone should know your favorite route home and warn you about traffic. This isn’t a violation of your privacy; it’s the definition of a truly personal and intelligent device.
Stop being a spectator. Do try to build a simple app with Swift Playgrounds to understand the power of coding.
Reading About a Car vs. Getting Behind the Wheel
You can read a hundred books about how a car works, but you will never truly understand the feeling of power and freedom until you get behind the wheel yourself. The same is true for software. Stop just being a passive user of other people’s apps. Download Swift Playgrounds. It’s a free, fun, and game-like app that is the ultimate “learner’s permit” for coding. The moment you write your first few lines of code and see your creation come to life, you will have a profound new appreciation for the magic behind the screen.
The #1 hack for a more future-proofed tech life is investing in an ecosystem, not just a collection of standalone products.
Buying a House vs. Renting a Bunch of Unrelated Rooms
Buying a collection of different, unrelated gadgets is like renting a dozen separate rooms all over a city. Nothing is connected, and your life is a constant, inefficient commute between them. Investing in an ecosystem is like buying a beautiful, well-designed house. Every room is connected, the plumbing and electricity all work together, and the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a long-term investment that provides a more cohesive, powerful, and ultimately more future-proof living experience.
I’m just going to say it: Apple’s investment in its own silicon is the foundation for its future innovations in AI, AR, and performance.
The Master Architect Who Also Designs the Bricks
Most tech companies are like architects who have to design their buildings using a standard set of bricks that someone else makes. Apple’s decision to design its own computer chips is like an architect deciding to also design and manufacture their own, custom, super-advanced building materials. This gives them a level of control and integration that is impossible for their competitors. These custom “bricks” are the powerful, efficient, and intelligent foundation upon which all of their future, magical houses will be built.
The reason you’re not seeing the “magic” of the ecosystem is because you’re not using the features that allow the devices to be aware of each other.
The Family That Lives in the Same House but Never Talks
You can have all the Apple devices, but if you’re not using features like Handoff, Universal Clipboard, and AirDrop, you are missing the magic. It’s like having a family that lives in the same beautiful house but where no one ever talks to each other. They are just a collection of individuals who happen to share a space. The “magic” is the conversation. It’s the seamless, invisible communication between the devices that turns a collection of separate, powerful objects into a single, cohesive, and intelligent family.
If you’re still thinking in terms of files and folders, you’re not ready for a future where search and AI will be the primary way you find your information.
The Librarian vs. The All-Knowing Oracle
For thirty years, we have been our own digital librarians, carefully organizing our information into a logical system of folders and sub-folders. But the library of our digital lives is becoming too vast to organize manually. The future is not a better librarian; it’s an all-knowing oracle. You won’t need to remember “where” you saved something. You will just ask for “that presentation I made about the marketing plan last spring,” and a powerful, on-device AI will understand the context and instantly summon it for you.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be young to understand new technology; a willingness to learn is all that’s required.
The Language, Not the Accent
Learning to use a new piece of technology is like learning a new language. A young person might pick up the “accent” a little faster, but anyone, at any age, who is willing to be curious, patient, and playful can become fluent. The biggest lie is that it’s an exclusive club with an age limit. The only ticket required for admission is a genuine desire to learn and a willingness to not be afraid of making mistakes. It’s a skill, not a birthright.
I wish I knew that I could use my Apple devices to control drones and other robots.
The Universal Remote for the Physical World
I used to think of my iPhone as just a remote for my digital life. I wish I had known that it’s also becoming a powerful, universal remote for the physical world. With the right app, you can use the familiar interface of your iPhone or iPad to pilot a high-tech drone, seeing what it sees in real-time. You can control sophisticated robotic arms or even program a Lego Mindstorms creation. It’s a powerful reminder that the bridge between the digital and the physical is getting shorter every single day.
99% of users make this one mistake: not taking the time to understand the “why” behind Apple’s design decisions.
Arguing with the Architect’s Blueprint
Apple often makes design choices—like removing a port or changing an interface—that can seem frustrating at first. The mistake most people make is that they only see the immediate inconvenience. This is like arguing with one small part of an architect’s blueprint without trying to understand the vision for the entire building. By taking the time to understand Apple’s core philosophies—like simplicity, integration, and privacy—you can start to see the “why” behind their decisions, and you can get a clearer picture of the beautiful, cohesive house they are trying to build.
This one small habit of following a few good tech journalists and analysts will keep you informed about the future of the ecosystem.
The Professional Tour Guides for the City of the Future
The world of technology can feel like a vast, confusing, and ever-changing city. Trying to navigate it on your own can be overwhelming. The small habit of finding and following a few, high-quality tech journalists and analysts is like hiring a set of professional, trustworthy tour guides. They spend their entire lives studying the city, they know the secret passages, and they have a good sense of which neighborhoods are about to be built. They are the essential guides for understanding where the city is today, and where it’s going tomorrow.
Use the “Live Activities” feature on your iPhone’s lock screen for real-time information, not constantly opening and closing apps.
The Live Ticker at the Bottom of Your Screen
You’re waiting for a food delivery or tracking the score of a game. The old way was to constantly unlock your phone, open the app, check the status, and then lock it again. Live Activities are like the live, updating ticker at the bottom of a news channel. The most important, real-time information—your driver is two minutes away, your team just scored—is displayed right on your lock screen. It gives you the information you need at a glance, turning a dozen frustrating interactions into one calm, passive one.
Stop thinking of your iPhone as just a phone. Do think of it as a powerful computer in your pocket that is the hub of your personal ecosystem.
The Sun, Not Just a Planet
For a long time, the computer was the sun, and the phone was just a small, orbiting planet. That has now flipped. Your iPhone is no longer just a “phone”; it is the powerful, super-computer in your pocket that has become the sun, the central hub of your entire personal solar system. Your watch, your headphones, your computer, and your car are now the planets and moons that orbit around it, all drawing their power and their intelligence from that one, central star that you carry with you everywhere.
Stop being overwhelmed by technology. Do focus on learning one new feature at a time.
Trying to Learn a Language by Memorizing the Entire Dictionary
Trying to master a new device by learning every single feature all at once is like trying to learn a new language by memorizing the entire dictionary on day one. It’s an impossible, overwhelming, and joyless task. The better way is to focus on learning just one new, useful “word” a week. This week, learn how to use a Tab Group. Next week, learn how to create a Shortcut. This slow, steady, and focused approach turns an overwhelming chore into a fun and empowering journey of discovery.
The #1 secret for a more personalized device is allowing it to learn your habits and preferences over time.
The Butler Who Gets Smarter Every Day
When you first get a new iPhone, it’s like hiring a butler who doesn’t know you at all. The #1 secret to a truly personal experience is to give him permission to learn. Your device can securely and privately observe your habits. It can learn that you always open the music app after you connect your headphones, and it will start to suggest that action for you. It’s not spying; it’s a student, and by allowing it to study you, it can transform from a generic tool into a truly intelligent and personal assistant.
I’m just going to say it: The future of the Apple ecosystem is one where the technology fades into the background and the experience is what matters.
The House That Runs Itself
The ultimate smart home is not the one with the most complicated control panels and buttons. It’s the one where the temperature is always perfect, the lighting is always right, and the music is always fitting, all without you ever having to touch a thing. This is the future of the Apple ecosystem. The goal is for the technology itself—the chips, the software, the connections—to become so powerful, so proactive, and so seamlessly integrated that it all just fades into the background, leaving you with nothing but a beautiful, effortless, and magical experience.
The reason you’re not prepared for the next big thing is because you’re not paying attention to the clues Apple is leaving in its current products and software.
The Breadcrumbs on the Path to the Future
Apple rarely unveils a major new product category out of the blue. They spend years leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow. They put Lidar scanners in their phones for years before they released a headset that could use that data. They built a powerful chip for the watch long before they needed it for its current tasks. The reason you’re not prepared for the future is that you’re not looking at these clues. The technologies that will power the magical devices of tomorrow are often hiding in plain sight in the devices of today.
If you’re still using a different app for every little task, you’re not leveraging the power of integrated apps that can share data and work together.
The Village of Disconnected Specialists vs. The Cohesive Team
Using a dozen different, single-purpose apps is like living in a village where you have to go to a separate, specialist shop for every single thing you need. The future is an integrated team. It’s the Reminders app that can talk to the Mail app, which can then talk to the Calendar app. It’s the power of having a small, cohesive team of generalists who all speak the same language and can work together to solve your problems, rather than a chaotic and disconnected village of specialists who can’t.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you have to be an expert to have an opinion on technology; your own experience is what’s most valuable.
The Food Critic vs. The Person Eating the Meal
There is a world of professional tech critics who will give you a detailed, technical breakdown of a new product. They are like a food critic who can tell you about the molecular gastronomy of a dish. But the most important and valuable opinion always comes from the person who is actually eating the meal. Does it taste good? Does it make you happy? You do not have to be an expert to know if a tool is working for you. Your own, real-world, lived experience is the most valuable data point of all.
I wish I knew more about the potential for machine learning on Apple devices to create more intelligent and helpful apps.
The App That Learns You
A standard app is like a dumb tool; it does the same thing every single time. An app that uses on-device machine learning is like a smart tool that gets to know you personally. I wish I knew more about how this works. It’s the photos app that learns the faces of your family members, or the keyboard that learns the unique way you type and gets better at predicting your next word. It’s the future of software, where our apps are no longer just static tools, but are intelligent partners that adapt and grow with us.
99% of people make this one mistake: assuming that Apple will never change its mind on a feature or design.
The Company That is a River, Not a Rock
We often see a company’s design choice—like the size of a phone or the layout of an operating system—and assume it is a permanent decision, carved in stone. This is a mistake. Apple is a river, not a rock. It is constantly flowing, evolving, and adapting based on new technologies and user feedback. They brought back the MagSafe charger. They changed their keyboard design. The ability to be fiercely opinionated, but to also be willing to learn and change course, is one of their greatest, and most misunderstood, strengths.
This one small action of trying to solve a daily inconvenience with a Shortcut or automation will open your eyes to the power of your devices.
The “There’s a Better Way” Mindset
We all have those small, daily, repetitive tasks that are a minor annoyance. The small but profound action of, the next time you face one, stopping and asking, “Could a Shortcut do this for me?” will open your eyes to a new world. It could be as simple as a one-tap button that sends a pre-written text, or as complex as a script that processes your files. This one shift in mindset—from a passive acceptor of inconvenience to an active solver of problems—is the key to unlocking the true power of the supercomputer in your pocket.
Use your Apple TV as a beautiful, dynamic screensaver with its stunning aerial videos, not just a black box when it’s not in use.
The Painting on Your Wall That’s Also a Window
When you’re not watching a movie, your big, black television screen is like a dead, empty space on your wall. The Apple TV’s aerial screensavers can transform that dead space into a breathtaking piece of art. They are not just a slideshow; they are slow, majestic, high-definition videos of some of the most beautiful places on Earth. It’s like turning that black rectangle into a magical window that looks out over Dubai, or a beautiful, living painting that is constantly and subtly changing.
Stop thinking about what your devices can do now. Do imagine what they could do in the future as they become more intelligent and connected.
The Musical Instrument vs. The Symphony It Will One Day Play
Looking at the iPhone in your hand and only seeing its current features is like looking at a single violin and only seeing a simple wooden instrument. You are missing the bigger picture. The real magic is in imagining the entire, hundred-piece orchestra that is being assembled, and the breathtaking symphony that they will one day be able to play together. The future of your devices is not in the individual notes they can play today, but in the complex, intelligent, and beautiful harmony they will create tomorrow.
Stop being resistant to change. Do embrace the evolution of the user interface and the new possibilities it brings.
The Familiar Old Road vs. The New Superhighway
When a user interface changes, our muscle memory rebels. It’s like the city has replaced your familiar, old country road with a brand new, ten-lane superhighway. Your first instinct is to be frustrated because you don’t know the new exits. But resisting this change is a mistake. The new highway has been built for a reason: it’s faster, more efficient, and can take you to exciting new places. Embracing the evolution of a user interface is about being willing to learn the new map, and trusting that it will lead you to a better destination.
The #1 hack for a more seamless future is to go all-in on a single ecosystem, whether it’s Apple’s or another.
Speaking One Language vs. Being a Part-Time Translator
Living with a mix of devices from different ecosystems is like living in a house where everyone speaks a different language. You can make it work, but you have to spend a huge amount of your mental energy acting as a part-time translator. The #1 hack for a seamless life is to choose one language and become fluent. By going all-in on a single ecosystem, you eliminate the friction of translation. Everything can communicate effortlessly, creating a cohesive, frustration-free, and truly “smart” environment.
I’m just going to say it: The future of computing is not about a single device; it’s about a constellation of devices that work together seamlessly.
The One Master Tool vs. The Specialist’s Toolkit
We used to think the future was one single, master device that would do everything. This is like thinking a master carpenter only needs one tool. The real future is a constellation of beautiful, specialized devices that are in constant, invisible communication. You will have a device on your wrist for quick interactions, a device in your pocket for mobile tasks, and a device on your face for immersive experiences. The power is not in any one star, but in the way the entire constellation works together as one.
The reason you find new technology intimidating is because you’re trying to learn everything at once; focus on what’s most relevant to you.
Drinking from a Firehose
A new operating system can feel like a firehose of new features, and it can be intimidating to the point of paralysis. The reason it’s overwhelming is that you are trying to drink from the firehose. The better approach is to completely ignore the firehose and just find the small, elegant water fountain in the corner that is most relevant to you. You don’t need to learn every new feature. Just find the one or two new things that will solve a real problem in your life, and focus only on them.
If you’re still using a non-smart watch, you’re missing out on the life-saving potential of the Apple Watch’s health features.
The Jewelry That Tells Time vs. The Guardian on Your Wrist
A traditional watch is a beautiful piece of jewelry that tells you the time. An Apple Watch is a guardian angel that lives on your wrist. It can monitor your heart for irregular rhythms, detect if you’ve had a hard fall and call for help, and even take an ECG. It is a device that is evolving from a simple convenience into a serious, life-saving medical instrument. While the classic watch is a statement of style, the Apple Watch is becoming a profound statement of self-care.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that technology is making us less human; it’s a tool that can be used to enhance our creativity, communication, and connection.
The Hammer That Can Build a House or a Weapon
The technology itself is just a hammer. A hammer is amoral. It can be used to build a beautiful home that brings a family together, or it can be used as a weapon. The biggest lie is that the hammer is inherently bad. The truth is that technology is a powerful amplifier. It is a tool, and its ultimate impact—whether it makes us more or less human—will always be a reflection of our own choices, our own values, and our own intentions as the wielder of that hammer.
I wish I knew that I could use my Mac to run other operating systems like Linux and Windows, making it a versatile tool for any task.
The House That Can Magically Change Its Interior Design
I used to think that buying a Mac was like buying a beautiful house with a fixed, unchangeable interior design. I wish I had known that it’s actually a magical, shape-shifting house. With virtualization software, a Mac can perfectly run other “interior designs,” like Windows or Linux, in a window right on your desktop. It’s a powerful and versatile tool that allows you to have the beautiful, premium hardware and the user-friendly design of a Mac, but with the chameleon-like ability to become any computer you need it to be.
99% of users make this one mistake: not thinking about the long-term implications of the technology they adopt.
The Tasty Snack vs. the Long-Term Diet
When a new app or service appears, we often judge it like a tasty, sugary snack. It’s fun, it’s free, and it gives us a quick hit of dopamine. The mistake we make is not thinking about it as a part of our long-term, digital diet. What are the ingredients? How is this company making money from me? What are the long-term implications for my privacy and my attention? Thinking about our technology choices with the same care that we think about our food choices is the essential step towards a healthier digital life.
This one small habit of being curious and playful with your devices will lead you to discover their most powerful and hidden features.
The Tourist vs. The Explorer of a New City
Most people use their devices like a tourist in a new city. They follow the well-trodden path from the hotel to the main attractions, and they never deviate. To discover the real magic, you have to be an explorer. The small habit of being curious and playful—of tapping on a button just to see what it does, of digging into the settings to understand a weird switch—is like deciding to wander down a small, interesting-looking alleyway. It’s in those unexplored corners that you will always find the city’s best-kept secrets.
Use your AirPods for more than just listening to music; use them for hands-free access to Siri and to stay connected on the go.
The Headphones That are Also a Butler
We think of AirPods as just a great pair of tiny, wireless headphones. This is like thinking of a butler as just a guy who can carry a tray. The true power of AirPods is that they are your discreet, always-on connection to your digital butler, Siri. While you’re walking or your hands are full, you can make phone calls, send messages, and control your smart home, all without ever touching your phone. They are not just a tool for consumption; they are a powerful interface for hands-free interaction with the world.
Stop thinking of your wallet as just a place for your cards. Do embrace the digital wallet for everything from payments to identity.
The Leather Pouch vs. The Secure, Digital Master Key
A physical wallet is a simple leather pouch that holds a few pieces of plastic and paper. The digital Wallet app is evolving into the secure, master key for your entire life. It can already hold your credit cards, your boarding passes, and your car keys. But the future is that it will also hold your driver’s license, your hotel room key, and your proof of identity. It’s moving from a simple convenience to a foundational piece of technology that will securely and privately manage your entire real-world identity.
Stop being a passive consumer of content. Do use your devices to create your own content and share your voice with the world.
The Audience Member vs. The Actor on the Stage
For decades, technology has positioned us as the passive audience, sitting in the dark and consuming the content that is presented to us on a screen. The revolutionary power of the devices you now own is that they have demolished the wall between the audience and the stage. Your iPhone is a professional film studio. Your Mac is a recording studio. You are no longer just a consumer; you have a powerful, global distribution platform in your pocket. The future belongs to those who use it to create.
The #1 secret for a more informed life is using Apple News to get a personalized feed of news from trusted sources.
The Personal Intelligence Briefing, Delivered Daily
The modern news landscape is a chaotic, overwhelming, and often untrustworthy firehose of information. The Apple News app is the tool that can tame that firehose. The secret is to take the time to customize it. By telling it which specific, trusted sources and topics you are interested in, you are transforming it from a noisy town square into your own personal, daily intelligence briefing. It’s a calm, curated, and reliable way to stay informed without being overwhelmed by the noise.
I’m just going to say it: Apple’s gradual and deliberate approach to innovation is often mistaken for being slow, but it results in more polished and integrated products.
The Hasty Sketch vs. The Finished Masterpiece
In the fast-moving world of technology, some companies are like artists who are constantly showing the public their hasty, unfinished sketches. Apple is the master painter who will keep their work hidden in the studio until they believe the masterpiece is absolutely, perfectly finished. This deliberate, patient approach can sometimes be mistaken for being slow. But it is this obsession with getting it right, with polishing every detail, and with making sure it integrates perfectly with the rest of the gallery, that results in a final product that is not just new, but timeless.
The reason you’re not taking advantage of the latest features is because you’re still using your devices the same way you did five years ago.
The Modern Car That You Still Drive Like a Horse and Buggy
Imagine being given a brand new, powerful electric car, but you continue to treat it like your old horse and buggy. You don’t use the GPS, you don’t use the cruise control, and you’re still worried about finding hay for it. The reason you’re not getting the most out of your modern iPhone is that your habits are stuck in the past. Technology is evolving at an incredible pace, and to truly benefit from it, we have to be willing to let go of our old workflows and embrace the new, more powerful ways of doing things.
If you’re still using a physical key for your house, you’re not ready for a future with Home Keys in the Wallet app.
The Clumsy Piece of Metal vs. The Secure, Digital Signal
The physical house key is a clumsy, insecure piece of technology that hasn’t changed in over a century. It can be lost, it can be stolen, and it can be copied. The future is the Home Key in your Apple Wallet. It’s a secure, encrypted, digital signal that can unlock your door with just a tap of your phone or your watch. You can even send a temporary “guest” key to a friend via iMessage. It’s the smarter, more secure, and more convenient evolution of one of our most fundamental tools.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be a “tech person” to enjoy the benefits of the Apple ecosystem.
The User’s Manual vs. The Intuitive Design
Some technology is like a complex piece of machinery that comes with a thick, intimidating user’s manual. The Apple ecosystem is designed to be like a perfectly crafted tool that just feels right in your hand. The goal is for it to be so intuitive that it doesn’t need a manual. You do not need to be a “tech person” to appreciate the magic of your AirPods connecting instantly or your notes syncing seamlessly. You just need to be a person who appreciates when things work the way they are supposed to.
I wish I knew that I could use the “Find My” network to help find other people’s lost devices, contributing to a global community.
The Neighborhood Watch for Your Digital Life
I used to think that the Find My network was just about me finding my own stuff. I wish I had known that it’s actually a massive, anonymous, and collaborative neighborhood watch program for our collective digital lives. Every time your iPhone silently and securely relays the location of a stranger’s lost AirTag, you are being a good neighbor. You are a tiny, but important, part of a global community that is helping to reunite people with their lost belongings. It’s a beautiful, hidden example of crowdsourced kindness.
99% of people make this one mistake: buying into the hype of a new product without considering how it will fit into their personal ecosystem.
The Beautiful New Lamp That Uses a Weird Lightbulb
You see a beautiful, exciting new smart lamp, and you buy it on impulse. But when you get it home, you realize it uses a weird, proprietary lightbulb, it doesn’t work with your other light switches, and you need a separate, clunky remote to control it. The biggest mistake in tech is buying a single, hyped-up product in isolation. The smarter question is not “What does this thing do?” but “How does this thing talk to all the other things I already own?” A truly smart home is a team, not a collection of talented but non-communicative individuals.
This one small action of learning about the history of Apple and its design philosophy will give you a deeper appreciation for its products.
Understanding the Architect’s Vision
You can live in a beautifully designed house and appreciate its beauty. But if you take the time to learn about the architect—their history, their values, their vision for how a family should live—you will have a much deeper and richer appreciation for every single detail of that house. The small action of learning about Apple’s history and its core design philosophies will do the same for your technology. You will start to see the “why” behind the “what,” and you will understand the deep, intentional story that is being told by the objects you use every day.
Use the powerful cameras on your iPhone to shoot high-quality video in cinematic mode, not just for simple point-and-shoot clips.
The Home Video Camera vs. The Hollywood Steadicam
For years, the video camera on a phone was for capturing simple, shaky home movies. But the Cinematic Mode on a modern iPhone is a piece of Hollywood magic that has been shrunk down and put in your pocket. It uses powerful software to create a beautiful, shallow depth of field, just like a professional movie camera. It can even intelligently and automatically shift focus from one person to another as they speak. It’s a tool that can elevate your simple video clips into something that looks and feels truly cinematic.
Stop thinking of software updates as a chore. Do think of them as free upgrades that bring new features and capabilities to your devices.
The Annoying Chore vs. The Free Gift
That little red badge on your Settings app can feel like an annoying chore that you have to do. This is the wrong way to think about it. A software update is a free, exciting gift from the people who made your device. It’s like the car company showing up at your house and, for free, installing a more powerful engine and a better sound system in the car you already own. It’s the magical, transformative power of software, and it’s one of the most compelling reasons to be a part of a modern, evolving ecosystem.
Stop being limited by the apps on your phone. Do explore the world of web apps and progressive web apps that can be added to your Home Screen.
The Official Stores vs. The Bustling Street Market
The App Store is like the official, curated, high-end shopping mall for your phone. But just outside that mall is a vast, bustling, and innovative street market. These are the web apps and progressive web apps. They are powerful, app-like experiences that live on the web but can be “installed” on your home screen just like a regular app. Exploring this world will open you up to a new universe of tools and services that exist outside the walls of the official App Store.
The #1 hack for a more immersive AR experience is using it in a well-lit and open space.
The Stage for Your Holographic Play
Augmented Reality is like staging a play with magical, holographic actors. For the illusion to work, the stage needs to be properly prepared. Your phone’s camera needs a lot of light to be able to see and understand the “stage” of your room. And it needs a clear, open floor space to be able to place the holographic actors. The #1 hack for a good AR experience is not about the technology; it’s about being a good stage manager. Find a bright, uncluttered space, and the magic will happen.
I’m just going to say it: The future of health is personal, proactive, and predictive, and the Apple Watch and Health app are at the forefront of this movement.
The Fire Alarm vs. The Fire Prevention System
Our current healthcare system is like a fire alarm; it does a great job of telling us that our house is already on fire. The future of health is a fire prevention system. It’s about having a network of sensors—like the Apple Watch—that are constantly and proactively monitoring the health of your house. They are looking for the subtle, early warning signs of a potential problem, allowing you to predict and prevent the fire from ever starting in the first place. This is the profound, life-altering promise of personal health technology.
The reason you’re not having fun with your technology is because you’re only using it for work; explore its creative and entertainment possibilities.
The Tractor That’s Also a Sports Car
If you only ever use your powerful computer for spreadsheets and email, it’s like owning a machine that is both a powerful tractor and a thrilling sports car, but you only ever use it to plow the fields. You are missing out on half of the fun. The reason your technology feels like a chore is because you are only using it for chores. Take the time to explore its creative and entertainment possibilities. Learn to edit a movie, compose a song, or play an immersive game. Remember to take the sports car out for a drive.
If you’re still using a separate device for every function, you’re not embracing the convergence of technology into a few powerful and versatile devices.
The Junk Drawer of Gadgets vs. The Swiss Army Knife
The old model of technology was a messy junk drawer full of single-purpose gadgets: a calculator, a flashlight, a camera, a GPS unit, a Walkman. The future that we are now living in is one of convergence. Your one iPhone is the Swiss Army knife that has replaced that entire drawer. It is a more powerful, more convenient, and more elegant solution. Embracing this convergence means simplifying your life and recognizing the incredible, multi-faceted power of the few, versatile devices you already carry.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that technology is a solved problem; we are still in the very early days of the personal computing revolution.
The Dawn of the Automobile Age
Looking at the incredible power of the devices we have today, it’s easy to think that we’ve reached the end of the road, that the problems of technology have all been solved. This is like looking at the Ford Model T in 1920 and thinking that the world of transportation is a “solved problem.” The reality is that we are still in the very, very early morning of the personal computing revolution. The truly transformative, society-changing innovations are still ahead of us, and what seems magical today will seem quaint tomorrow.
I wish I knew that I could use my Apple devices to learn a new language, a new skill, or a new instrument.
The University in Your Pocket
I used to think of my phone as a tool for communication and entertainment. I wish I had known that it’s also a world-class, infinitely patient, and incredibly affordable university. With apps like Duolingo, you can learn a new language. With YouTube, you can learn any skill you can imagine, from woodworking to coding. With GarageBand, you can learn to play the piano. It is the most powerful and accessible learning tool ever created, and the only tuition fee is your own curiosity.
99% of users make this one mistake: not customizing the settings to make their devices truly their own.
The One-Size-Fits-All Suit vs. the Tailored Tuxedo
Using your iPhone with its default settings is like wearing a one-size-fits-all suit. It’s functional, but it doesn’t fit you perfectly. The Settings app is your personal tailor. 99% of people never even go in for a fitting. By taking the time to adjust the notifications, customize the Control Center, and tweak the display, you are turning that generic, off-the-rack suit into a perfectly tailored tuxedo that is a unique and comfortable reflection of you.
This one small habit of questioning how a task could be done better with technology will lead you to innovative solutions.
The Path of Least Resistance vs. the Search for a Better Way
We are creatures of habit. We often continue to do a task in a clumsy, inefficient way simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” The small but powerful habit of, when faced with a frustrating task, pausing and asking, “Is there a smarter, faster, more automated way to do this with the supercomputer I have in my pocket?” is the mindset of an innovator. It’s the question that will lead you to discover the shortcut, the app, or the workflow that can solve your problem in a way you never thought possible.
Use your devices to connect with people and communities who share your interests, not just for passive scrolling.
The Lonely Window vs. The Open Door
Social media can often feel like a lonely window, where you are passively looking out at a curated, disconnected world. But your devices can also be an open door. The true power of the internet is its ability to connect you with a global community of people who share your specific, niche passions. Whether it’s a forum for classic car enthusiasts, a Discord for bird watchers, or a Facebook group for potters, you can use your devices to walk through that door and find your tribe.
Stop thinking of your home as a collection of dumb objects. Do imagine how it could be transformed with smart home technology.
The Static House vs. The Living House
We think of our home as a static collection of dumb objects: a light switch, a thermostat, a front door. A smart home is a living, responsive environment. Stop thinking of the light switch and start imagining a house that knows when you arrive and lights a path for you. Stop thinking of the thermostat and start imagining a house that learns your temperature preferences and saves you money. The future of the home is not just about remote control; it’s about creating an intelligent partner that anticipates your needs.
Stop being afraid of AI. Do learn about its potential and its limitations so you can be an informed user.
The Mysterious Monster vs. The Powerful Tool
Artificial Intelligence can sound like a mysterious, uncontrollable monster from a science fiction movie. This fear comes from a lack of understanding. The best way to stop being afraid of it is to learn about it. AI is not a monster; it is a new, incredibly powerful, and complex tool, like fire or electricity. By taking the time to understand its basic principles, its incredible potential, and its very real limitations and risks, you can transform from a fearful spectator into an informed, empowered, and responsible user.
The #1 secret for a more secure digital life in the future is embracing passwordless authentication with Passkeys.
The Key That Can Be Stolen vs. The Key That is Your Face
A password is a secret that you have to keep. But in the digital world, secrets can be stolen from a thousand different places. The future of security is not a better secret; it’s a system with no secret at all. Passkeys are the secretless future. They use the biometric security that is built into your device—your face or your fingerprint—to prove that you are you. There is no password to be phished, no secret to be stolen. It is the fundamental shift that will finally make the internet a safer place.
I’m just going to say it: The most exciting innovations in the Apple ecosystem in the next few years will be in the software and services, not just the hardware.
The Beautiful Violin vs. The Music It Can Play
For years, we have been obsessed with the beautiful, physical hardware that Apple creates. It’s like being mesmerized by the beautiful craftsmanship of a Stradivarius violin. But a violin is just a silent, wooden object. The real magic is in the music that it can play. The most exciting and profound innovations of the next decade will not be the physical shape of the violin. They will be in the invisible, intelligent, and deeply personal “music”—the software and the services—that will bring these beautiful objects to life in ways we can barely even imagine today.
The reason you’re not prepared for the future is because you’re not cultivating a mindset of lifelong learning.
The Full Cup vs. The Empty Cup
If you approach the world of technology with the mindset that your knowledge is a “full cup,” you have no room to learn anything new. You will be stuck in the past, and the future will feel intimidating and alien. The only way to be prepared for a future that is constantly changing is to cultivate the mindset of an eternal student, of always having an “empty cup” that is ready to be filled. A willingness to be a beginner, to be curious, and to constantly learn is the one essential skill for the 21st century.
If you’re still doing repetitive tasks manually, you’re not using the power of automation to free up your time for more creative work.
The Human Robot vs. The Human Artist
When you spend your day manually copying and pasting data from one place to another, you are acting like a slow, inefficient, and very expensive human robot. The power of automation, through tools like the Shortcuts app, is that it can build a real robot to do that job for you. This frees you up to do the work that only a human can do. It allows you to stop being a robot and to start being an artist, a strategist, a communicator, and a creative thinker.
The biggest lie you’ve been told is that you need to be constantly connected; the future of technology will also be about helping us to disconnect and be more present.
The Shackle vs. The Key
It can often feel like our technology is a digital shackle, a constant source of interruption that chains us to the virtual world. But this is just the immature phase of a new technology. The future of a truly “smart” device will not be about demanding more of your attention, but about intelligently protecting it. With features like Focus modes and on-device AI, our devices will become the key that can unlock us from those shackles, helping us to filter out the noise and be more present and engaged in the real, physical world.
I wish I knew that my Apple devices could be powerful tools for mindfulness and meditation.
The Noisy Casino vs. The Quiet Monastery
Our phones are often a noisy, chaotic casino of notifications and distractions. I wish I had known sooner that they can also be a serene and quiet monastery. With apps like Calm or Headspace, and by using the powerful Focus modes to create a true “Do Not Disturb” sanctuary, your device can become one of the most powerful mindfulness and meditation tools you own. It’s a beautiful irony that the same device that is the source of so much of our stress can also be our most powerful guide back to a state of peace and presence.
99% of people make this one mistake: not considering the environmental impact of their technology choices.
The Disposable Cup vs. The Reusable Thermos
When we buy a new piece of technology, we often only think about its features and its price. This is like only ever thinking about the convenience of a disposable coffee cup. The mistake is not considering the full lifecycle of that product. Apple is a leader in using recycled materials and in its commitment to carbon neutrality. By choosing to support companies that prioritize sustainability, by using your devices for as long as possible, and by recycling them responsibly, you are choosing the durable, reusable thermos over the endless pile of disposable cups.
This one small action of teaching a friend or family member how to use a feature on their device will help to spread digital literacy.
Lighting Another Person’s Candle
Technology can be intimidating, and many people are still living in the digital dark ages. The small, kind action of taking a few minutes to teach a friend or a parent one new, helpful feature on their phone is like using your own candle to light theirs. You haven’t lost any of your own light, but you have doubled the amount of light in the world. It’s a simple act of generosity that can help to demystify technology and empower the people you care about to live a more connected and capable life.
Use the Apple ecosystem not just as a set of tools, but as a platform for achieving your goals and living a more productive, creative, and connected life.
The Workshop vs. The Masterpiece You Build In It
The Apple ecosystem is a state-of-the-art, professional-grade workshop, full of the most powerful and beautifully integrated tools you can imagine. But the tools themselves are not the point. The ultimate goal is not to just own a beautiful workshop. The goal is to use that workshop to build the masterpiece that is your own life. Use it to write your novel, to start your business, to learn a new skill, to stay connected to your family. The technology is just the platform; your life is the ultimate creation.