Poor by default

I’ve been using only Apple devices for a few years now. I don’t have a Windows PC or an Android smartphone. I don’t even have headphones or accessories from other brands. I subscribe to iCloud+ and use various Apple services, such as Music, Arcade, and email with a custom domain. In short, I’m a user who is totally immersed in the Cupertino ecosystem, but I’m not a satisfied user at all.

I will omit the details — which are not insignificant — regarding Cook’s proximity to Trump, funding for the White House, and the whole universe of relationships between money and fascism¹.

Mine is pure operational dissatisfaction, linked to the use of an increasingly unusable OS — forget it! — and applications with an increasingly poor user experience and limited functionality compared to the competition.

I continue to use some default apps²: I do so with great effort and extreme patience. I use them because they are synchronized, because they are integrated and harmonized with the OS. I use them because frequently I have no other choice, not because they are the best. For others, however, I have given up altogether.

– Safari. On iOS, you’re stuck with it³. Other browsers have more features but aren’t integrated into the system at all. It has decent protection and security, but it pisses me off not having any alternatives. On macOS, I would have some, but due to the browsing sync logic and the whole context, I force myself to use it there too.

– Mail. Come on, it’s Mail. He’s the dumb friend, the one everyone knows and who gives a lift to anyone who asks. But he’s a bad driver, he has a beat-up car, he doesn’t give way, and you have to constantly remind him how to get to your house. Dumb, in short.

– Gallery. Nothing to complain about, at least about this one. I prefer it to others, but then don’t let anyone say it’s not true that smartphones are sold just for photos.

– Messages. In Italy, and perhaps in Europe, it’s practically useless.

– Remainder. It’s gotten a lot better. But try using Todoist or Things 3 for more than a few minutes and go back to Remainder. Done? Ok.

– Podcasts. It’s more useful for finding new podcasts to listen to than for listening to podcasts you want to listen to. It’s confusing and lacks a wide range of features needed by daily podcast listeners: silence trim, volume boost, chapter auto-skipping, advanced filters, automatic playlists, detailed statistics, and more. Come on.

– Maps. Excellent only for syncing with Watch. But if there’s traffic, something else is better. Something else, you know, right?

– Password. I used it for a long time, but I’ve gone back to Bitwarden. It’s excellent for passwords alone. For complete management of associated data and its security, it’s a bad thing.

Then there’s Music, which has nothing to do with Spotify; Arcade, with many banal games and not always worthy of the subscription; Stock Exchange, which doesn’t let you manage a portfolio (what’s the point?); Journal, try comparing it to the market!

In short, they’re apps made for the average user and do average things. Average users are superficial, and the apps are superficial. They’re designed for users with no computer savvy and developed without essential features. They’re good, but if it’s true that good is the enemy of great, it’s also true that those who settle for less don’t enjoy it.

Ecosystem. They’re worth using for that alone, for the ecosystem. If you stick your nose out even a little out of the fence, they’re nothing or a bit more.