My gadget purchasing is slowing & I blame the tech

I don’t know if it is down to my newfound love of philosophy and embracing a more simple life or whether it is down to technology itself, but I find my gadget purchasing to be slowing down considerably. Ok, I’ll be honest, it is mostly the latter. Technology has gotten so good it is causing even gadget lovers like myself to slow down. I need to be able to justify a purchase, even if it is pretty flimsy justification. So what gadget am I likely to buy next? Let me think…

Laptops

A few years ago, I thought about getting a gaming PC, which will require a lot of lovely updating and trips to tech malls. But I am pretty happy with my my Playstation 4. So all I really need from my laptop is the ability to write in both Word and Scrivener while also doing some mild graphics editing and the ability to save a variety of files on a desktop or proper filing system. Plus the ability to use a mouse. A tablet won’t quite cut it but pretty much any laptop these days does. I am now just looking at reliability, battery life, weight and how good the keyboard is. My current laptop is a hybrid – a Microsoft Surface that I bought a couple of years ago – and that does everything I need. Next, when I eventually need something, I will probably be even more boring and just buy a light and slim Dell or Lenovo. I used to buy a new laptop every two or three years but that was when they were getting lighter and dramatically improved hardware. My laptop before this lasted five years and I can’t see me getting new one for a while yet.

Samsung Galaxy Watch

Ok, this was a gadget that was hard to justify but I love my Samsung watch. I have now had the thing for over six months and I have lost 2 kilos – 4.5 pounds. I also love the increased accuracy of my step counts, although the vertical stair-counter thing is a bit shite. I love seeing the weather, steps, time and date. I also really found it interesting to see my heart rate. Whenever I get checked at the doctors I am normally on my second or third coffees and have just walked up stair. My blood pressure is 110/70 but my rate is usually between 90-100. My watch tests my bpm every 10 minutes, so it is a relief to know that is actually varies between 60-100, which is less alarming. The watch also lets me answer the phone and actually talk into it, as well as skipping tracks in Spotify and answering messages and so on. Not an essential gadget, but handy when on a packed train, on the toilet, or you just left your phone next door. When this dies, I will probably review whether I really need another one. I do quite like wearing a watch now though and what if I want to switch phones?

Samsung S8+

My phone was the main thing I bought every two years without fail. Not be cool and down with the kids but because the battery just eventually dies and the thing becomes slow and annoying. You used to be able to swap out batteries on Samsung phones but the last time I did, it didn’t make much difference. As the software updates and advances, it drains your battery more. I increasingly use my phone as a portable wifi hub more than anything else and it is great. When I use it as a phone, it is still pretty damned zippy and as I have a battery that slots on the back, it lasts for well over 24 hours. I justified the new phone not just because of the slowness and battery but also because I wanted waterproofing, NFC and wireless charging. Nothing new has really come out since then. The next phone I buy will likely be a cheaper foldable version and/or anything that can do 5G when that becomes more prevalent. So probably a while.

Original IPad Pro 12.9 inch

I bought my iPad Pro in 2015 and it is still going strong. It was still going strong when I reviewed it two years after that. I adore that device. I know longer try and use it for writing anything beyond an email when on the couch but for reading magazines and comics, it is unsurpassed. It is also my portable TV when I am moving around the house gripped by Netflix, or a radio thanks to its 4 speakers. The main thing that I try love the iPad Pro for though, is that when used with a Apple pencil and Procreate, it is a superb drawing/art tablet. It won’t replace my laptop anytime soon but it is essential for everything else. (I need to read and draw as it relates to work.) I will buy another 12.9 inch the moment the battery life drops below about an hour or when Apple makes it so obsolete I can update anything any more. I think that means I am good for at least another 2 years or so.

So when will I buy the next thing?

I have some other gadgets, like my Kindle Paperwhite from 4 or 5 years ago, a standard iPad and some Sony Headphones, but they are all good for years and the technology in them has barely changed in the last five years. They just work and even battery degradation is minimal. The problem for technology – as shown by iPhone sales and a desperate race for fold-able technology – is that nothing really game changing is happening now. If you doubled the processing speed of all my gadgets but didn’t tell me, I may not notice because everything I do on them, which is mostly reading, writing and drawing, doesn’t need much. Things are light and thin. Battery life is roughly in line with software demands so usage times are still about the same for laptops or phones or tablets as they were five years ago. For most games and major TV/film enjoyment I am still using a 12 year-old 1080p Panasonic and my five year-old Playstation 4. Both of which play proper Hi-def in superb quality.

So in conclusion, the next thing I buy will probably be a Playstation 5 and/or a new TV. And I wouldn’t even class them as gadgets. Everything else can wait.