Computer - Mac - specifically 14" M1Max MBP Many other machines, all macs
Display - 32" Dell, soon to be replaced with BenQ
Phone - iPhone 14 Pro
Tablet - iPad Air + Pencil - doesn’t get used
Watch - Apple Watch series 6 - currently broken. Replacing when new models announced
Streaming Device - Apple TV, connected to a smart TV
Earbuds - Wired Apple earbuds
Smart Speaker - HomePod mini - my least liked Apple product - it’s rubbish
VR Headset - I don’t have a VR headset
My primary computer is a M3 MacBook Pro, although I’m an old Unix nerd who is grumpy about things, so I may end up considering Linux my main computing platform soon. I also have an iPhone 13 mini, and although I think of phones as just appliances and much less important, I still like a lot and plan to hold onto until it dies.
Lastly I also have a pair of AirPods Pro which I think are fantastic. Other brands may be equally good, but this is my first pair of truly wireless earbuds with noise cancelling, and I can’t imagine ever switching back to a different form factor.
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Mac, Dell, Pixel, none, none, Roku/TCL TV, Shure TWs, none, definitely none, Angels Envy 16y Twin wood.
Might be interesting to track
- in ear
- Over ear
Headphones.
“Disconnected smart TV” is a distinct category in my opinion. We got an excellent deal on an LG OLED that’s much easier on our aging eyes—but the sheer number of blind contracts that LG wants the user to agree to in return for using any of the apps on the TV confirm that my setup (an AV receiver and Apple TV box) is a much better proposition.
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First, a disconnected smart TV is essentially a dumb TV.
Second, the point of the poll is to what extent people are in the Apple (hardware) ecosystem. Apple doesn’t sell TVs. The question is about streaming devices, i.e. devices used to watch streaming channels like Netflix. A disconnected smart TV can’t be used for streaming.
At least, not without some other device that is doing the streaming. And in that case, the poll question would be about that device.
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Perhaps.
And, to take your proposition further, why I distinguished the two (dumb TV vs. smart-TV-not-using-onboard-apps, which is really what I’m suggesting here) is that streaming on a monitor or vanilla TV screen requires a streaming device.
A set with a built-in OS, networking capabilities, and various apps meant to supply content in an AIO environment does not require a streaming device. A user has to make a conscious choice and an extra purchase to add that to the set.
Choosing Apple TV over LG’s OS keeps my TV viewing in the Apple environment, in a situation where I don’t have to do that and have to spend more money than I would otherwise.
It also connects my TV to my other Apple devices around our home.
That’s why I think it would be interesting to know how many others (besides those who have revealed themselves in this thread!) are making a similar choice. It’s very different than connecting Apple TV to a simple dumb TV or large monitor.
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It’s been my experience that these days, you can’t buy a dumb TV at all. Every TV sold, regardless of size, price and capabilities all have “smart” processors in them
I do strongly recommend not connecting it to the Internet if you’re going to be using external boxes for all your content. But some TVs won’t let you complete the initial setup without a network connection. If possible, I would suggest connecting it via Ethernet (not Wi-Fi), so you can disconnect the cable after setup has completed, and you don’t have to worry about the TV surreptitiously reconnecting to your Wi-Fi when you think it’s disconnected.
And yes, I would actively prefer a dumb TV. In addition to removing the possibility of spyware, they boot up faster. My old LG dumb TV powers on to a picture in about 5 seconds. My newer smart TVs take nearly a minute (longer if they were unplugged since the last session), because they need to boot their operating system (typically Linux or Android).
But as far as @ace’s survey is concerned, it is all moot. He’s asking about the device that streams your content, not the device you use to display the results.
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OK, I’ve built the actual poll now. I’ll get the intro article written tomorrow.
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As for watch, my Withings ScanWatch does not fall into any of suggested categories, as it is on the crossroads of those. Up to a month of battery life, classical look, connected to the phone and displaying notifications on OLED display – enough for me to love it. Next step for me will be Tissot T-Touch Connect Solar, I hope.
Also, limiting a poll with radiobuttons instead of checkboxes is not a good idea, because I, for one, indicated AirPods which are always with me and great for any imaginable use outside, but at the same time I actively use Sony WH-1000XM4 when at home.
This topic has been on my mind lately primarily because of data security (and secondarily because of user interface standards). Apple’s Advanced Data Protection lets you control your own encryption keys, and the in-house Secure Enclave on devices cuts out potential problems with 3rd party ‘integrated’ solutions (see this month’s Broadcom chip ‘ReVault’ debacle on Dell laptops, for example).
For reasons of up-front capital cost and forced ad hoc decision-making over time, my personal computing life is Balkanized. Windows 11 on cheap Dell hardware (but with iTunes for Windows + a venerable iTunes Match subscription, and the iCloud for Windows client), an Office 365 subscription and OneDrive for personal productivity and data storage, except on iPhones and iPad, which store to an iCloud subscription with Advanced Data Protection turned on, but also run Microsoft’s OneDrive app.
But I use Gmail rather than Outlook for personal mail. And a whole lot of photos are spread across SmugMug and Google.
So personal data in four separate ecosystems (Microsoft, Apple, Google, and AWS via SmugMug) that don’t necessarily get along together and certainly do not handle encryption and data access in the same ways. And multiple apps, sites, credentials, and ‘footprint’ to keep track of.
It’s chaos.
I want very much to push all the personal data – including mail – into the secure Apple ecosystem with encryption keys under my own control wherever possible. Complicated and expensive to get there, but secure and reasonably simple once the deed is done.
Computer
- Mac- 1st gen. M1 MacBook Pro, M1 iMac
Display
- I don’t have a separate display
Phone
- iPhone 16 Pro
Tablet
- iPad Pro M1 11” 3rd gen.
Watch
- Apple Watch Series 8
Streaming Device
- Apple TV 4K
Earbuds/headphones
- AirPod Pro 2
Smart Speakers
- HomePod (2) HomePod mini (4)
VR Headsets
- I don’t have a VR headset
Pretty heavily vested in the ecosystem since my first Apple ][e…
I have a Mac laptop because it keeps my sanity. Windows on the other hand makes me money.
I don’t have an iPad nor an Apple Watch because that would just be two more mouths to feed; I work on enough other people’s systems…
I don’t need the quality of a AirPod, the only reason I use wireless earbuds is for people calling in for service calls, or for long conversations.
I want to use Apple Music, but I can’t afford it.
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