I’m at that sweet spot where all my technology is old

For me, there are two sweet spots with technology and while both of them coincide with moments of financial horror, my love of gadgets can overcome that. Who cares if you have to eat nothing but pot noodles for 6 months when you have a shiny new toy?

You can probably guess what these sweet spots are just from the title. Just in case you aren’t my usual genius reader, allow me to elaborate.

All my tech is old

It sounds weird but in the current technological climate, I don’t mind old technology. I wrote before on the slowing down of gadget development. There is nothing particularly new that makes me need to rush out and get it.

In olden times I bought a new phone because of 4G or waterproofing or wireless charging or some other innovation. All of which were solved with my Samsung 8+. I can’t see any reason right now for a new phone and frankly, most new phones are all pretty similar. People are now just getting new ones when the battery gets too shit or it slows down or breaks. This will change when it is 5G everywhere and compatible phones are needed and possibly again when foldable tech becomes good, but there is easily a year before either of them happen.

Tablets are great. But apart from slight software updates, there isn’t much changing with them. People used to get a new iPad when the software got too demanding for the hardware. That is slowing down. My original iPad Pro from 2015 still works fine.

My laptop will probably be the next new purchase. My current one is a Surface Pro from a few years back. It is starting to have a few battery issues, such as it has gone into standby mode when it gets to around 30% but apart from that, it does everything I need. However, that issue is getting annoying and I will need something new. I also want a bigger screen because bigger is better.

My only other bit of hardware is a PS4 that will obviously be replaced by a PS5 at a later date.

Why do I like this sorry state of affairs?

After a couple of years of using a piece of technology and finding it does exactly what you want it to do, you have demonstrably spent your money wisely. Kudos on your choices. There is low-level anxiety that there will be money needing to be spent imminently, but who cares? The longer you use your device for, the more money you have saved. And also, leading on to my next sweet spot, the longer you hold on, the better your next purchase will be.

The other sweet spot

I love watching gadget reviews on Youtube. Channels like Dave Lee and Unbox Therapy are great and keep you up to date. Even though things are changing slower than ever before, the hardware and software are getting slightly better all the time.

A decade ago, everyone was getting excited about ultra-portables (after the Mac Air first came out), then touchscreens and 2-in-1 computers. Now it is all about tablets becoming laptop replacements – or the other way round. But the humble laptop, tablet and phone are all improving slightly.

Every time I watch a new technology demo, the laptop bezel is smaller with graphic and screen improvements, or you get a better keyboard and mouse input with a tablet, or the phone camera is a tiny bit better. I increasingly don’t give a shit about phones but the other two are good. It used to be common to change your tech every two years just for battery and slowdown purposes. The software got more demanding and your device slowly turned to crap. I think that I can comfortably wait four years now and when you get your shiny new device, it will be a superb thing that will be ideal for 99% of the population.

So I am now at that delightful cusp where every day is a win. I am saving money and if a device breaks I will be very happy with how long it lasted. Granted, I then have to spend money and will be broke, but I will have a state of the art device that will last me for years.

I had a point to make initially but essentially, I am enjoying the slowing down of tech development. Competition has led to ever improving devices that seem to be lasting longer. Long may it last.