Why Apple Ecosystem is Good for Navigating the “Second World”?

Remember we talked about Two Worlds and the portals between them? So here’s the thing about the Apple ecosystem.

I think what they did right, which is probably the whole reason for their outrageous success, is the way they represent the 2nd World itself. Its clarity, simplicity, and essential minimalism make it the most natural physical-to-virtual transition experience. The difference between the real and the digital worlds is blended in the most helpful and effective way possible.

And it’s not about VR or AR things, by no means. It’s about the fact that you almost do not have any questions when you see how they represent things within their interfaces. Everything is somehow “magically” clear.

How ChatGPT explains Apple’s simplicity

Apple software is designed with a focus on usability and simplicity. The company’s philosophy is that technology should be intuitive and accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical expertise.

One of the ways Apple achieves this is through its user interface design. The interface is clean, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. Icons and buttons are labeled clearly, and the use of color and typography is consistent throughout the software.

Another factor that contributes to the ease of use of Apple software is the company’s strict control over its hardware and software ecosystem. By designing both the hardware and software in-house, Apple can create a seamless user experience. This also allows for tighter integration between the different components of the system, resulting in faster performance and fewer compatibility issues.

In addition, Apple invests heavily in user experience research and testing. The company seeks to understand how people use their products and what they find confusing or frustrating. This information is used to make improvements to the software and ensure that it remains easy to understand and use.

Overall, Apple’s commitment to simplicity, user-centered design, and tight integration between hardware and software are key factors that make its software so easy to understand.

Productivity

I use Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, Mail, and Files to cover 99% of my needs concerning my digital information management.

There are certain points about Apple products that are extremely valuable in the digital information management context:

• You’re able to start right away. Everything is crystal clear and requires almost zero time spent learning. Every single Apple device and OS will already have all of their beautiful software pre-installed right away. You don’t have to search, install, configure, and so on. Just start doing it with zero onboarding time.
• The functionality is minimal, yet what it has somehow magically covers all the essentials of managing your digital lifestyle and information.
• “Seamless synergy” between different products and tools often leads to the 1 + 1 = 3 formula. For example, tags you use in Notes will be available in Reminders. If you create a reminder from email via the Mail app, it will put a backlink to the exact message in the Reminders, and so on.
• The most critical aspect — the information is always at your fingertips and is accessible right away. I am talking about the Spotlight search integration. The search engine is equally functional across all Apple products and the Apple OS range. It actually does not matter what you are looking for — this thing will scan all the corners of the built-in apps and will present you with all of the relevant messages, files, notes, and reminders it will manage to find on the subject.
• Great automation and customization with the Shortcuts. I’ll give you several examples of how that can be useful in the day to day life in a separate article. In short, there is a whole universe of options on how you can expand the functionality of the built-in applications with automation and little tricks.
• In addition to the direct Productivity impact outlined above, all Apple applications are secure and work well offline.

Is that really a perfect solution?

No. There is a lot to desire, actually.

What they’re currently not very good at — is the linking principle. If you are using a standard Apple application set you will have to rely a bit more on manual work to distill the relevant information and link different parts of content between each other.

Given the influence Apple has on the features and integration between its applications, it is strange to see the absence of some obvious functionality…

• Why can’t I create Reminders out of the Checklist items in Notes?
• Why there is no easy way to link notes between each other?
• Why can’t I easily create an event in Calendar from the Mail message?
• Why the Apple Calendar seems to be an isolated application that has zero integration options with Notes or Reminders or Mail (other than “Mail attendees”?) There is so much that could’ve been done better here!
• Why MacOS version of Reminders is so much different UI-wise from the mobile versions?
• Why can’t I drag and drop Reminder right in the Note and create a checklist with the backlink?

As you can see, aside from linking the notes with each other, those are quite geeky requirements :) No surprise they are not there! Other applications on the App Store gotta have something to do, right?

But anyways, in my digital information routine, I am relying on Apple built-in applications for the most part. I strongly recommend doing the same to the majority of users, who are doing non-specialized information management.

Apple’s overall approach to software design, research, quality control, and hardware-software integration — all contribute to its ability to cover essential functionality while ensuring that it is enough to meet the needs of its users. Due to the balance of accessibility, functionality, privacy, and security, it is always a good choice to go with.