The Weekly Review — Issue 1

The Weekly Review — Issue 1

Apple updates, Medium earnings and why I won’t be buying the iPhone 15

This week, I have been looking at different ways of sharing what I have collected over the past week and putting into a weekly post format. I looked at all the newsletter options as well as the blogging route.

I decided to settle with the blogging route for now. Each Friday, I will upload a journal-style post with bits I have gathered from the internet — tweets, YouTube videos, software, including life events, and much more. This will be my first issue.

Medium earnings

I signed up for Medium’s Partner program 28 days ago. In my first post, I mentioned how I wanted to earn enough to pay for my Medium and Ulysses subscription. It was a small target, but a target I felt was worth aspiring to if I wanted to maintain the outgoings of my adventure. It took only 26 days to hit that target. I am absolutely stunned by how quickly it took to reach my goal.

Furthermore, I am blown back by the number of people who took the time to read my content. The claps and comments are the icing on top. I appreciate you all. Thank you. Seriously, it means the world to me. To think, I was worried that no one would bother reading anything I wrote. I had put off the idea of blogging for nine years because I was anxious about being rejected.

Apple updates

This is a big week for Apple. They released new iPhones, Apple Watch and OS updates. My iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch updated without any issues. However, I have noticed my Apple Watch SE is going through more battery than when it was on watchOS 9. By 10PM, I would have 41% remaining battery level. Now it is draining down to 26% by the same time. This is a small price for all the cool features in the recent update. I appreciate the cosmetic changes.

Finally! I was anticipating iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 because I wanted to have note linking in Apple Notes. The new feature is remarkable. I can link my notes easily with cmd+k. Unfortunately, links appear as ellipses on the macOS version of Apple Notes. I will have to wait until 26th September for macOS Sonoma to come out.

I’ve been busy making stickers on my iPhone. It’s a little cheesy to have personal stickers, but I can see how there are plenty of creative opportunities in the process.

Why I won’t be buying the iPhone 15

As much as I like the look of the iPhone 15 and Pro version, I don’t think Apple did enough to tempt me away from my trusted iPhone 12. I don’t game or run social media apps on my phone. The advantage of this is I don’t need an updated processor to run the latest and greatest. I stick with the stock applications as much as I can, which run smoothly on my phone.

I think an iPhone 15 mini would have caught my attention. Apple appears to have given up on the idea of having a mini in their product line. It’s a shame. I prefer smaller phones.

USB-C and a better camera is great. It isn’t enough for me to make the switch. Maybe the iPhone 16 will be enough? I try to stick with my phone until Apple stops supporting the phone altogether. Furthermore, I am not a fan of the new iPhone 15 colours. Has Apple run out of colour? They look washed out. I miss the days of the iPhone 5C — I loved mine in blue!

I had seen online (mostly on X) that there were arguments for a higher screen refresh rate than 60Hz on the iPhone 15. To be honest, I have never seen or experienced 90Hz or 120Hz, so I don’t know what I am missing. I am clueless to know what the difference it makes to the application experience. Hopefully, I will get time to go out and try a phone with a high refresh rate in the near future.

Posted this week

This week I posted two blogs. I talk about how I manage my emails and why the Day One journal app has helped me journal consistently.

1. How I use email as a Digital Minimalist
2. 100 Days of Day One journaling app | Reflection

Two on Twos

Two posts that inspired me this week.

Nino shared his tips for using the Twos App, as well as some cool pointers for applying AI/ChatGPT. Admiringly, I am new to AI, so this post is helpful for me to learn some cool tricks available.

Secondly, Jedda shared her adventure at Tech Crunch’s Disrupt event. It’s nice to see Twos get the attention it deserves. I am yet to get myself to America, but it is on my list of places to go. Great job, Jedda!

Saved articles

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/benefits

YouTube bookmarked

Thank you for reading my weekly review. Coming back next Friday for more updates. This is one of many to come.

Mark @ CodeMacLife

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Email me at connect@codemaclife.net