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The Mac is a Third Wheel

Posted by Matt Birchler
β€” 1 min read

I sat down at my Mac to do something yesterday and it hit me square in the face: the Mac is not the center of my computer life anymore. And it's not even close. My life used to be on the Mac with iPhoto, iMovie, and iTunes in particular, but really every single bit of computing happened on my Mac and I couldn't live without it. Today, the Mac is just another tool in my arsenal, and it's one who's uses are dropping by the week.

The iPhone is my #1 computer without any shadow of a doubt. I manage my entire life from this 5.5 inch piece of glass, and it is easily the best tool for most tasks I can throw at it. It's with me 100% of the time and it takes care of me.

The iPad is emerging like a phoenix out of the iPad doldrums of the last couple years. The iPad Air 2 and the all new iPad Pro are powerhouses that benefit from a great operating system in iOS 9. The library of apps for this device is growing and is now chock full of professional quality apps. When I'm at home, this is what I'm using.

And then there's the Mac. I still need it around for some things, but that list of required tasks is dwindling. I use my Mac because I need to, not because I want to. This is a profoundly odd experience as someone who has spent most of their life defending OS X, trying to convince so many people that it's better than anything out there. I just don't feel that spark of joy I get when using iOS. The delightful animations aren't there. The apps that I love and have a deeply emotional connection with are not as good.

The Mac is still great at what it does, and I would rather use a Mac than Windows any day of the week. But the way my computer needs have changed over the past 5 years, it's just no longer a good fit for my main machine. It's dropped to my least used Apple platform in 2015 and I doubt it will ever climb up from that position.