How to learn to love MacOS after a lifetime of PCs (while still recognizing the superiority of Android)
Over the holidays, I decided to make a big change to ring in the new year. After 15+ years of Windows + Android, I would convert to MacOS / iOS. I was curious what the other side could deliver. What was I missing out on? Was the hype real? And could I expand my aperture of what to expect from my technology by seeing the other ecosystems?
I got an iPhone 16 Pro and a Macbook Air and was ready to go. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I quickly found that on some levels, the promise wasn’t the reality.
Could iOS be the operating system for “design guys”?
I wasn’t switching to iOS for anything to do with messaging. For better or worse, as an Android user, you’re not even conscious of the difference until your iOS friends remind you of their broken chats (the blue bubbles are completely caused by Apple’s restrictive cross-platform messaging stance).
I originally intended to switch for completely different reasons - for the apps themselves. While people claim that at this point, both operating systems are so mature that the available apps should be identical across platforms. While that’s true in theory and for the top 25 apps, it’s not so for a number of specific apps for tech nerds like me. And after years of frustration in the Android Play Store, I wanted to experience something better.
One note for the audience - I’m what my brother refers to as a “design guy.” I care a lot about the aesthetics of an app and to me it’s as important and sometimes more important than function. In the marginal tradeoff between form and function, after a certain point of minimum viability, I will trade form over function. Because for me, form is function and a well-designed app says a lot about the developer’s focus, attention to detail and care for the user experience.
With Apple, you have to pay for quality
So iOS already appealed to me for those reasons, but I had found a way to mostly get Android to conform to my design principles, at least in terms of the system settings, launchers and app config. But apps were another story and I was reliant on developers to share my point of view. While there are diamonds in the rough, it’s unfortunately abundantly clear that Android apps focus on function whereas Apple’s balance form and function.
Here were the apps I was ready to switch my mobile operating system for:
Copilot Money ($13 / month): Based on the screenshots and gushing reviews, I felt like I needed this money tracking app. I’ve used Mint, Rocket Money and a whole host of other tools but never found my default app
Fantastical ($5 / month): I use some version of my calendar app every day, maybe every few hours and being able to use natural language processing, smart event openings/bookings, all in a design-focused package with better offline support felt so right
Sequel ($3 / month): I am constantly keeping lists of everything I want to see, play, read and listen to - it’s a daily activity. So making that activity media rich and delightful really appealed to me over noting things down in Google Keep
Flighty / Tripsy ($4 - $10 / month): We had a crazy year of travel in 2024 with an average of two flights per month. I knew I needed better trip tracking and didn’t want to be stuck with the seemingly anti-design app TripIt in the Play Store
Bear Notes ($3 / month): In what will likely become a post later this year, I have been on a lifelong journey to find a better notetaker and Bear seemed like the happy design-focused medium between simple but useless Google Keep and useful but complicated Obsidian
And for the most part, I was able to find equivalent alternatives in the Android Play Store with some dedicated searching.
Rocket Money (Free): There is no question that post acquisition of Truebill, this is the single best way to reliably track spending, investments and all manner of linked accounts and of course will help you with keeping your recurring spending on track. Interface is just as clean and consistent as any other app and I found navigation a lot better than Copilot which felt a little wrapped in its own hype
Upgrade pick: Origin Financial costs $99 / year but is definitely worth it as you’ll get all that Rocket Money offers plus a financial planner, robo-advising and access to a team that’s iterating very quickly
Notion Calendar (Free): While I’ve had some reservations about the over-engineering in Notion, Notion Calendar is just as streamlined and design-forward as Fantastical, with all the features all for free
Listy (Free): I actually love the simplicity of Listy vs. Sequel and it has all the same features, more list categories and a nice web clipper for full flexibility
Wanderlog (Free): Wanderlog has the design chops of Flighty but with the full travel itinerary / trip planning capabilities of Tripsy, all in one package that’s easy to use and better to collaborate with than either of the iOS-only options
Notion (Free): While I use Lazy for my note-taking, I think Notion is the most analogous to Bear and with their recent focus on stability and performance combined with a drive towards AI-enabled knowledge management, it’s been surprisingly delightful in recent months.
I also came to realize why there’s such a difference in quality between Android and iOS apps. I had always been confused why developers continued to choose iOS first or iOS only when the Android userbase is 2.5x the iOS market globally and ~60% of the market in the US. But switching over helped me realize what’s up:
On iOS, nearly 20% of apps are Paid/Premium and there’s an apparent predisposition to pay for quality apps and almost every app that does anything worthwhile has a price or an ongoing subscription
Developers are eager to develop in an ecosystem that by default will have paying users
On Android, there’s almost 2x the number of total apps and ~10% are Paid/Premium, so by and large there is always a free option for an app that you want
The proliferation of free apps makes it easy for users to get access to functionality for free but is likely a nightmare for developers who want to put out quality products that cost something to make
iOS is no better than Android and noticeably more restrictive
Meanwhile, I quickly found that iOS was truly no better than Android and noticeably more restrictive in a few ways that were unacceptable when a perfectly good alternative was right there. A few of the things that were needlessly frustrating:
Back button: No universal back button, for no good reason
Default apps: No easy way to change default apps for common functions
Sideloading: No way to download apps outside of App Store
Notifications: Limited ability to actually swipe notifications left / right (why??)
File management: Can’t easily access my files or screenshots - file transfer has to be done in limited ways
Apple’s most surprising letdown was its (phone) hardware
When I made the switch, I anticipated having some issues with adapting to a new way of operating but what I thought would be assured was that the quality of the phone in my hand would be better than any Android phone, in the same way that its widely accepted that the Macbook laptop line is the best quality hardware for the price of any laptop manufacturer.
Not so with phones. There’s so much to say here but I think “Created by Ella” handles it best in her recent comparison of the latest flagships: Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Apple iPhone 16. It’s really not a question anymore that Samsung has outpaced Apple.
Apple’s last hope is MacOS which indeed reigns supreme on both hardware and software (with tweaks)
The hardware of dreams
Now it’s not all bad for Apple because Apple laptops continue to stand out as high-performing, beautiful machines at increasingly competitive price points. Only Microsoft (via its very good Surface series) could potentially compete with the OS + Hardware platform integration that Apple delivers on, but it’s ultimately held back by an operating system that almost by its nature cannot stop its own fragmentation and inconsistent app support. And even then, how do you compete with Tim Cook’s inexorable march to further supply chain integration that results in a Macbook Air M4 with 18+ hours of battery life, razor thin unibody all for <$1K?
An Operating System + App Store that controls just enough for ease of use without getting in the way
What I was pleasantly surprised by about MacOS operating system is that the amount of control it exerts in terms of standardization is just enough without getting in the way (like it does on iOS). I actually do want every application to reliably have a settings page in the topleft menu bar. I do like the standardization and management of notifications so I’m not getting random popups in random parts of my screen. I’m all for the streamlining and standardizing of UIs across MacOS apps and the focus on form alongside function. I appreciate simple app installs and simple app uninstalls - this doesn’t need to be as complicated as it is on Windows.
And man is everything just so fast. You don’t need a top of the line Mac to get top tier performance. It just feels so snappy because of the Apple silicon integration between hardware and software. I didn’t want this to be as true as it is, but it is true.
How to learn to love MacOS with some software tweaks
That isn’t to say that MacOS is perfect. There are still tweaks and issues like any typical tech offering. But what’s great is that there are an abundance of fixes and utilities, so much so that I think the utility ecosystem for MacOS is almost an intentional thing crafted by the Apple design gods to keep users engaged in optimizing.
In any case, here’s my stack of fixes to get Windows-like efficiency within the MacOS package. First off, get yourself SetApp. For $9.99, you get access to 200+ apps, many of which are handpicked as the best-in-class utilities. Think of it like Microsoft PowerToys but instead of relying on unpaid labor of hacker devs, they actually distribute revenue to the app developers themselves. The ROI speaks for itself and it’s MacOS’s best-kept secret.
Here’s the full list of apps I love:
AdGuard (free to start): System-level adblocker across all apps
Alfred (free): Better app/file/anything search for your Mac
AltTab (free): Windows-like app switcher (it's just better, admit it)
AppCleaner (free): Simple app uninstall w/ full sys file deletions
CleanshotX (on SetApp): Better screenshot app
DisplayLink Manager (free): For managing 2 monitors
Flux (free): auto color temp adjustor for your computer to avoid eye strain (only needed if using DisplayLink for 2+ monitors)
Granola (free to start): Best AI for meetings + summary transcription ever
HiddenBar (free) : Organize your menubar (best app name)
LeaveMeAlone (on SetApp): Smart unsubscriber
Lungo (on SetApp): Keep screen awake (the first of many Sindre Sorhus apps I love)
Magnet / Rectangle (free): Better window management & snapping (2/3 1/3 is 🐐 )
Menu Bar Calendar (free): Adds an actual monthly calendar to your menubar (Sindre Sorhus can’t be stopped)
Novabench (on SetApp): Cross-platform performance monitoring
Paste (on SetApp): Super clipboard
PopClip (on SetApp): Better context menus for highlighted text
Shareful (free): Adds "Save as" and "Save to Downloads" to Apple's Share menu (so so clutch - @sindresorhus you are the 👑 )
Spark Mail (on SetApp): Clean, simple email app w/ best compose AI I've used
Supercharge (on SetApp): Cut feature and PowerTools for Mac (another sindresorhus gem)
Superlist (free): Best todo list by far and it's not even close (the phoenix rising from ashes of Wunderlist)
TopNotch (free): "Hides" your notch on your Mac laptop
Waiting for the world to inevitably move to the MacOS + Android meta
I’ve got to say, I’m very excited for the world to eventually come around to the MacOS + Android meta, thereby enabling better cross-platform experiences and better open ecosystems for all. You’re already probably using Android even if you’re not aware of it - Peloton, Roku/Fire/Google TV, Amazon Kindle all run on versions of Android’s operating system. With the continued rise of Samsung’s hardware/software dominance on mobile, it’s only a matter of time before more people recognize the power of Android and build more experiences that are intercompatible across operating systems. It’s already exciting to see some of my favorite modern companies - Superhuman, Superlist, Beeper, Replit, Tidal, Volv build first-class experiences for Android. Meanwhile, the rise of full-featured progressive web apps (PWAs) have enabled developers to build app-like interfaces that work well on mobile and desktop independent of operating system. The future looks bright!