I’m wondering if I should take the 17 Pro Max my carrier is offering or wait til December when they will have the 18 in stock (but more expensive).Really hoping the 18 is a nice upgrade AND not too much of a price increase. Still looking to upgrade to that, have the 14 now and it works just fine but feels its time.
Might as well wait, its just a couple of months to know if it is something you want, and they might even offer a better deal the 17 pro max.I’m wondering if I should take the 17 Pro Max my carrier is offering or wait til December when they will have the 18 in stock (but more expensive).
Yeah I was thinking that as well, it’s not like my phone needs to be replaced.Might as well wait, its just a couple of months to know if it is something you want, and they might even offer a better deal the 17 pro max.

But, those are quite nice to have?Yeah I was thinking that as well, it’s not like my phone needs to be replaced.
But they’re throwing in Airpods 4 and Apple Watch SE3 which I could sell![]()
I already have my Airpods Pro 2 and Watch 11But, those are quite nice to have?

For a second I considered a Whoop but I need another subscription like I need an asshole in my forehead.Apple Watch is the one thing I miss about the Apple ecosystem. I'd buy them for life if Apple let them work independently. Alas.
You really don't. They've completely fucked the OS with macOS 26 and I'm not sure they're going to fix it with 27.I want a MacBook Prohaha
I haven't had any issues with my Air so far tbh if there was a previous version of MacOS that was much better, well, I wouldn't knowYou really don't. They've completely fucked the OS with macOS 26 and I'm not sure they're going to fix it with 27.
iPhone and iPad are great devices, but Macs are terrible right now.

Is there a reason the Air isn't working out for you? For day to day stuff I didn't think the MacBook Pro was any better or worse than an Air, unless I was doing a RAM intensive task.I haven't had any issues with my Air so far tbh if there was a previous version of MacOS that was much better, well, I wouldn't know![]()
Nothing wrong with it, I just want to consoom.Is there a reason the Air isn't working out for you? For day to day stuff I didn't think the MacBook Pro was any better or worse than an Air, unless I was doing a RAM intensive task.
But isnt that just changing one ecosystem for another? I dont know anything about samsung but didnt Nebulys they were a privacy nightmare?Nothing wrong with it, I just want to consoom.
That being said, I'm feeling the hooks of the ecosystem yet again. Apple One has increased it's price yet again to 31 USD. That's a lot for me, methinks. I only use the iCloud backups and Apple Music. I occasionally use Apple TV and Fitness+, never ever use Apple Arcade. Let's just say I'm not seeing the value of those 31 bucks.
And also, now that I'd like to try the new Samsung foldy things, that would mean giving up my Apple Watch.
It's hard to avoid privacy nightmares without getting rid of all your devices.But isnt that just changing one ecosystem for another? I dont know anything about samsung but didnt Nebulys they were a privacy nightmare?
They have? How so? Other an app store I have not seen anything being advertised to me on an iphone. Also dont they make a big point of that they cant access your data? Granted eveyone is forced now to scan everything so I guess theres that.Apple's privacy credentials protect your data from everyone except Apple, and they have given in to the temptation to advertise at this point anyway. All that delicious telemetry data on platforms they 100% control was too good to not monetise.
Maps advertises at you. It's likely the beginning of other parts of their stack doing it.They have? How so? Other an app store I have not seen anything being advertised to me on an iphone. Also dont they make a big point of that they cant access your data? Granted eveyone is forced now to scan everything so I guess theres that.
That sucks. But my point still stand, there is no way samsung is better in that regards?Maps advertises at you. It's likely the beginning of other parts of their stack doing it.
Yeah, this is true. The more Samsung apps you use, the more telemetry they're able to collect and paint a picture of you to serve you ads.That sucks. But my point still stand, there is no way samsung is better in that regards?
Yeah as Nebulys pointed out, I just need to switch my services to others.But isnt that just changing one ecosystem for another? I dont know anything about samsung but didnt Nebulys they were a privacy nightmare?
Sooooo, anychance you could do a break down of everything you do in the ethically online thread?Yeah, this is true. The more Samsung apps you use, the more telemetry they're able to collect and paint a picture of you to serve you ads.
The only ads I've seen on my phone is in Samsung Pay, which is annoying, but it's only when I open the app and not when I go to pay for something.
And given it's Android, I've been able to aggressively adblock in Firefox (plugins work). And as I can sideload a lot of apps from F-Droid and Obtanium, I'm probably sending less telemetry to Google and Samsung than I would to Apple on an iPhone.
However, as I said, you can't really 100% avoid it. The best thing to do is set up a stack that doesn't use Big Tech products and services, and just load whatever devices up you have. If you only paint a fragmented picture of yourself to the companies that use your data, they can't effectively advertise at you. If you want to be a real bastard to these companies, you can do data poisoning, but as I don't rely on Google search or Gmail I haven't felt the need to curate a fake profile for them.
I use an Android Phone, Apple iPad and Linux laptop - I've got them all working together by not using as much of the manufacturer stuff unless it's absolutely essential. For that mostly means Google Play/Apple App Store, built-in maps (with aggressive permissions applied) and Samsung/Apple Pay and - because its integration with other apps is important - Google Calendar.
The rest is alternatives that aren't tracked by the big tech companies, including:
Most, if not all, of these work cross-platform. So I could switch to iPhone tomorrow or a Windows laptop and get a good approximation of most of the above.
- Launcher (Smart Launcher 6)
- Search (Kagi)
- Emails (Proton)
- Photos (Ente)
- Passwords (multiple apps - I keep different layers of security for different things, including keeping some local-only self-hosted passwords)
- Docs (Proton)
- VPN (Proton)
- Browser (Firefox)
- Reminders (Tiimo)
- Media (Plex, soon to be Jellyfin)
- Music (Deezer)
- Notes (Obsidian and self-hosted Memos)
- Health (Health Connect with various providers, all connecting to a single point of truth in a health app I downloaded from F-Droid)
- News (BBC, Kagi, RSS reader built into my launcher)
- Weather (BBC)
- Travel (local bus and train providers)
- Smart home (Homey)
- Reading (self-hosted KOreader)
I would want to do more self hosting but at the moments its just jellyfin.XD I know youve posted bunch there but would love to see your current lineup in more detail.